How is your daily exercising coming? You must be seeing results in your body by now, particularly in your arms, legs and rear. I am finally noticing the diminishing span of my thighs and seeing less of a fat roll around my bra, front and back. I still have bulges, BB shot dents and curds and whey, but I'm reaping the rewards.
I've been diligent about walking and have even added some interval running and although, I wholeheartedly enjoy being out there (once I'm out there), I still waffle. Waffling brings me back to that mental Polaroid of me slumped out on the fake leather physician's table, like a mammoth, melting, marshmallow Peep. That'll do it every time.
I picked up an inexpensive AM/FM radio with a spot watch so I don't have to sprint into the kitchen, after my walk, to check the time. It times me to the second.
Day Calorie Count: 1380 and 52:30:02
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 1/2 Panera Cinnamon Crunch bagel (210) with 1 t. margarine (30)
Later: 1/2 dozen McDonald's fries, 1/6 McDonald's Cheeseburger (100 total for both)
I'd rather not even eat those random, obscure bites because it's a pain to Google it, compare it with something similar, divide it and come up with a reasonable value. I'd rather not be bothered and that can be a very effective deterrent to overeating.
Most of the calorie values of the foods I regularly eat are embedded in my brain like newspaper print in Silly Putty. I can call them up instantly. Banana. 90. Hard boiled egg. 90. It's the unusual stuff that makes it tricky. Like homemade carrot cake. You can find a recipe that calls for a 13X9 baking pan, but what if the slice you eat is from 3 cake rounds? And has 3 cups Crisco oil? And yields 10 servings instead of 16?
You're probably thinking "who cares?" You do. If you hadn't raised your sticky hands to sign up for The Plan forty five days ago, I'd say, "go ahead, eat the whole cake, and while you're at it, have some cinnamon ice cream to go with it." But, if you're reading this, then that's not an option for you. You have to count.
Early Dinner: 1/2 turkey club (turkey and bacon 380) on whole wheat (120), 1 T mayo (90), 1 ounce Lay's chips (150 ), Diet Coke
Later: 94% Fat Free Kettle Popcorn (100), 1 ounce Snyder's pretzels (120)
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Day 44 A Bug's Life
There are ten to one hundred trillion bugs in our gut. They're called micro flora and according to Jeffrey Gordon (Center for Genome Sciences at Washington University), these little boogers lead very busy lives. They, among other things, "help create capillaries that line and nourish the intestines. They produce vitamins, in particular, thiamine, pyroxidine and vitamin K. In addition, they provide enzymes which metabolize cholesterol and bile acid. They also help extract calories from the food we eat and store these calories in fat cell for later use--which gives them, in effect, a role in determining whether our diets will make us fat or thin."
A New York Times Magazine article, "Fat Factors" (Robin Marantz Henig, 8/13/2006), reported that a new wave of research suggests that microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, intestinal microbes) may contribute to obesity. So, it's not the biggie sized meals after all, it's a fat bug.
The article states that it's long been understood in the study of obesity that diet and obesity genes play a major role in the drama of weight gain/loss. No surprise there. About 50 obesity genes discovered since 1994 are identified with regulating the amount of food people consume, when eaters feel full, and how efficiently their fires burn the calories off. Infectobesity is the term that describes the field of research striving to determine if the gazillions of microbes living inside our gut (gut bugs) are actually making or keeping us fact. Gordon adds that it's a long way down the road before these tummy creepy crawler's role in obesity is completely understood.
Interesting but, a bit far fetched for me. The critter theory has the convenient potential to be just another excuse for not taking responsibility. Bugs or no stinkbugs, 20PO are in charge of their own weight loss or gain. I have heard every possible genetic and physiological excuse in the weight watching world from women who insist they can't lose weight. Won't happen. Doesn't matter what they do, how much they starve themselves, they can't shed pounds. Not one iota.
Really? I am wondering if someone who claims they can't lose weight was dropped smack down on a deserted island for three weeks with only a volleyball named Wilson and unlimited Dasani water, would she, when airlifted out, be any lighter? I'd bet money she would've lost at the very least, a few ounces.
Day44 Caorie Count: 1433 and 50+ minutes of walking
A New York Times Magazine article, "Fat Factors" (Robin Marantz Henig, 8/13/2006), reported that a new wave of research suggests that microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, intestinal microbes) may contribute to obesity. So, it's not the biggie sized meals after all, it's a fat bug.
The article states that it's long been understood in the study of obesity that diet and obesity genes play a major role in the drama of weight gain/loss. No surprise there. About 50 obesity genes discovered since 1994 are identified with regulating the amount of food people consume, when eaters feel full, and how efficiently their fires burn the calories off. Infectobesity is the term that describes the field of research striving to determine if the gazillions of microbes living inside our gut (gut bugs) are actually making or keeping us fact. Gordon adds that it's a long way down the road before these tummy creepy crawler's role in obesity is completely understood.
Interesting but, a bit far fetched for me. The critter theory has the convenient potential to be just another excuse for not taking responsibility. Bugs or no stinkbugs, 20PO are in charge of their own weight loss or gain. I have heard every possible genetic and physiological excuse in the weight watching world from women who insist they can't lose weight. Won't happen. Doesn't matter what they do, how much they starve themselves, they can't shed pounds. Not one iota.
Really? I am wondering if someone who claims they can't lose weight was dropped smack down on a deserted island for three weeks with only a volleyball named Wilson and unlimited Dasani water, would she, when airlifted out, be any lighter? I'd bet money she would've lost at the very least, a few ounces.
Day44 Caorie Count: 1433 and 50+ minutes of walking
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Day 43 Weigh In #6
The scale didn't smile at me this week, but it didn't exactly smirk, either. My Job moment. I stared at the measly .4 pound loss, not even 2 sticks of butter. Honestly, I was ever-so-hoping to shed over 8 sticks of butter this Weigh In. After all, I had religiously hiked up the hills each day and counted every calorie I had put in my mouth. I even had to tighten my bra straps this week
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote, "Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn."
I'm confident that "the place and time" , (the scale in 7 days from now) will prove her words true. I'm mentally picturing that naked blob hunched over in the doctor's examining room. SHE would give up. SHE would become discouraged. SHE would stick her head inside the kids' pillow cases full of left over Halloween candy and gobble up all the stale Almond Joys, not coming up for air until the last peanut M&M was gone. I am not her, anymore. I'm the girl with the new hair cut, new lipstick and arched eyebrows.
"Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit." *
I am not quitting.
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 1 bite of Jimmy Dean link sausage (60), 1 1/4 cup Lucky Charms (140), 1/2 cup skim milk (40)
Snack: Panera Muffie (1/2), (155)
Lunch: 2 slices veggie pizza (390), Diet Coke
Dinner: Green salad w/ 3 T. Paul Newman's Balsamic Vinaigrette (135), 3 ounces chicken, roasted (140), 1/2 buttermilk biscuit (50), 1/2 cup corn w/1 t. margarine (135)
Later: 94% Fat Free Kettle Popcorn (100), 1/2 glass Pepsi (80)
Day 43 Calorie Count: 1505, close to 52 minutes walking
*Napoleon Hill
Day 42 Jeans: The New Religion
Citizens of Humanity, 7 For All Mankind, Blue Cult, True Religion. Sounds like new spiritual movements. They're not, they're jeans, I mean, denim and you don't buy your jeans at department stores anymore, you go to denim emporiums or premium denimtiques. These ain't your Mommy's Levis.
Button Fly 501 Levis and Wranglers are as passe as aviator sunglasses these days. Where's Gloria Vanderbilt and Brooke Shields when you need 'em?
It's been years (yeah, you read that right) since I bought a pair of blue jeans that I've lost touch with the whole denim revolution. The denim scene arrived and I wasn't even aware of it until I popped into one of those holier than hip boutiques to pick up Reward #4. I was overwhelmed. The salesperson spoke a dialect I didn't know existed, denimese, and prattled on about thread, fit, wash. Then, I glanced at a price tag and I had to sit down.
A gaggle of giggling teens entered, armed to buy and I grabbed that opportunity to escape.
So much for "heavily twilled blue cotton cloth", I think I'll get reader glasses instead.
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 2 pieces toast w/2 T. Polaner's Sugar Free Orange Marmalade (160), 1 T. butter spread (90), 1/2 container Lite blueberry yogurt (45)
Snack: Cotton candy (50), 2 slices sm. vegetable pizza (390). 8-10 ounces BLT salad (250), pizza sauce (50)
Dinner: Healthy Choice BBQ Chicken (370)
Day 42 Calorie Count: 1485 and 45+ minutes walking
Button Fly 501 Levis and Wranglers are as passe as aviator sunglasses these days. Where's Gloria Vanderbilt and Brooke Shields when you need 'em?
It's been years (yeah, you read that right) since I bought a pair of blue jeans that I've lost touch with the whole denim revolution. The denim scene arrived and I wasn't even aware of it until I popped into one of those holier than hip boutiques to pick up Reward #4. I was overwhelmed. The salesperson spoke a dialect I didn't know existed, denimese, and prattled on about thread, fit, wash. Then, I glanced at a price tag and I had to sit down.
A gaggle of giggling teens entered, armed to buy and I grabbed that opportunity to escape.
So much for "heavily twilled blue cotton cloth", I think I'll get reader glasses instead.
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 2 pieces toast w/2 T. Polaner's Sugar Free Orange Marmalade (160), 1 T. butter spread (90), 1/2 container Lite blueberry yogurt (45)
Snack: Cotton candy (50), 2 slices sm. vegetable pizza (390). 8-10 ounces BLT salad (250), pizza sauce (50)
Dinner: Healthy Choice BBQ Chicken (370)
Day 42 Calorie Count: 1485 and 45+ minutes walking
Day 41 Water, Water, Everywhere
You're probably thinking, "where does the water thing come in? Not seeing much about drinking water to flush out all the fat." Well, I don't drink a lot of water, certainly not the recommended 64 ounces daily, but I do drink water throughout the day and especially after walking. Generally, I'll drink a Diet Coke along side water at meals.
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 1 packet Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal (160), 2 slices bacon (180)
Lunch: Wendy's Junior Cheeseburger, extra pickle (280), Wendy's small chili (220), 2 saltine crackers (24), Diet Coke.
Later: 20 Dark Chocolate M&M's (1023 calories per cup), I had about 1/16 of a cup (170)
Dinner: Lean Cuisine Sesame Chicken (340)
Day 41 Calorie Count: 1454 and 47 minutes of walking
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 1 packet Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal (160), 2 slices bacon (180)
Lunch: Wendy's Junior Cheeseburger, extra pickle (280), Wendy's small chili (220), 2 saltine crackers (24), Diet Coke.
Later: 20 Dark Chocolate M&M's (1023 calories per cup), I had about 1/16 of a cup (170)
Dinner: Lean Cuisine Sesame Chicken (340)
Day 41 Calorie Count: 1454 and 47 minutes of walking
Day 40 Count Your Drinkable Calories
We're a couple days out from Weigh In #6, when we will be at the halfway marker on the 20/90 Plan. You should be toting around 40 sticks less butter, if you're not already. How accurate is your calorie counting? Are you counting everything? Is it as precise as it can be? A gentle reminder: do not blow off or overlook the "little" things, two handfuls of movie popcorn, confiscated Nestle Crunches from your kids backpacks, Duncan Hines cake batter licked from the beaters, and, liquids, yes, especially liquids, they all add up and over, big time.
Be careful with what you drink, just because you don't chew the calories, doesn't mean they're not there. They're there, in all their unassuming, unobtrusive glory.
You pop out of bed in the morning, and quickly guzzle 16 ounces of Tropicana 100% Pineapple-Orange juice. Easy to do. (260). Next, a cup of coffee with a few splashes of International Delight Hazelnut Creamer (45 calories a splash). No time for breakfast? You grab a Yoplait Nouriche yogurt drink (260). On the drive to work, you hit Starbucks for a Grand Blackberry Green Tea Frappuccino w/cream. Sound so fengshui good for 560 calories. O.K., so where are we at? 1215 calories and you haven't even chewed anything.
You've got to count everything that passes through your lips; Frappuccinos, frappes, smoothies, Slush Puppies, slurpees, McDonald's Triple Thick Strawberry Shakes, Hot Toddies, gloggs, mulled apple cider, hot cocoa, egg nog, Brut champage, Kahlua & Creams, Martinis, Mudslides, non alcoholic grape juice, cranberry juice, Gatorade, Powerade, Monster Energy drinks, Red Bull, Thelmas's Frozen Lemonade, Mike's Hard Lemonade, Limeade, freshly squeezed lemonade, apple juice, Popsicles, Astro Pops, Bomb Pops, Icees, Push Ups, Yoo-Hoo, Brown Cows, Pinot Noir, steamers, lattes, kefir, carob Rice Dream, beer, stout, Long Island Iced Teas, sweet teas, peach teas, Pepsi, Pumpkin Pie International Delight coffee creamers, Grappa, Grand Marnier, Jello shots, protein drinks wine spritzers, wine coolers, Amaretto, Absinthe, skim milk, goat's milk, buttermilk, low fat milk, 2% milk, Slim Fast, carrot juice, Instant Breakfasts, Mountain Dew, veal stock...
Day40 Calorie Count: 1480 and 46 minutes walking
Be careful with what you drink, just because you don't chew the calories, doesn't mean they're not there. They're there, in all their unassuming, unobtrusive glory.
You pop out of bed in the morning, and quickly guzzle 16 ounces of Tropicana 100% Pineapple-Orange juice. Easy to do. (260). Next, a cup of coffee with a few splashes of International Delight Hazelnut Creamer (45 calories a splash). No time for breakfast? You grab a Yoplait Nouriche yogurt drink (260). On the drive to work, you hit Starbucks for a Grand Blackberry Green Tea Frappuccino w/cream. Sound so fengshui good for 560 calories. O.K., so where are we at? 1215 calories and you haven't even chewed anything.
You've got to count everything that passes through your lips; Frappuccinos, frappes, smoothies, Slush Puppies, slurpees, McDonald's Triple Thick Strawberry Shakes, Hot Toddies, gloggs, mulled apple cider, hot cocoa, egg nog, Brut champage, Kahlua & Creams, Martinis, Mudslides, non alcoholic grape juice, cranberry juice, Gatorade, Powerade, Monster Energy drinks, Red Bull, Thelmas's Frozen Lemonade, Mike's Hard Lemonade, Limeade, freshly squeezed lemonade, apple juice, Popsicles, Astro Pops, Bomb Pops, Icees, Push Ups, Yoo-Hoo, Brown Cows, Pinot Noir, steamers, lattes, kefir, carob Rice Dream, beer, stout, Long Island Iced Teas, sweet teas, peach teas, Pepsi, Pumpkin Pie International Delight coffee creamers, Grappa, Grand Marnier, Jello shots, protein drinks wine spritzers, wine coolers, Amaretto, Absinthe, skim milk, goat's milk, buttermilk, low fat milk, 2% milk, Slim Fast, carrot juice, Instant Breakfasts, Mountain Dew, veal stock...
Day40 Calorie Count: 1480 and 46 minutes walking
Monday, February 2, 2009
Day 39 Funky Food Day
There's no egg in egg creams and no cotton in cotton candy. I know because I ate both of those today.
I stopped in a candy and nut shop in my neighborhood that specializes in nostalgic candy: Mary Janes, mini marshmallow ice cream cones, chocolate cigarettes, Fizzie Drink Action tablets and every retro sweet in between including Gold Mine gum and candy buttons (globs of colored dots on adding machine paper).
I was there with my son, big mistake, who spied the cellophane bags of pink cotton candy. A 2 ounce package of dyed sugar batting has 200 calories. I pull off a piece from the fluff mass, maybe an 1/8, and let it dissolve in my mouth (50). It wasn't so much as delicious as it was memory inducing.
Now unto that classic NY beverage, the eggless egg cream, of which the essential components are soda water, Vitamin D milk, and chocolate syrup. Not just any chocolate syrup. Any egg cream aficionado worth his seltzer knows it's not a classic egg cream unless Fox's U Bet chocolate syrup is used.
My son, while watching something on t.v., calls out to ask me what's in an egg cream? Rare teachable moment. I ask him what HE thinks is in it. He shrugs, disinterested, "I dunno know." I seize the moment to educate. I was heading to the grocery store anyway, so while there I thought I'd pick up the three vital ingredients, fully expecting to substitute Hershey's, but to my shock, our Midwest supermarket actually stocked Fox's U Bet. Small world, at least, in the ethnic aisles at the grocers.
I walked my son through each preparation step, from using the appropriate tumbler, to pouring the syrup slowly down the inside of the glass and stirring like mad with a long iced tea spoon, resulting in a drink with an inch of fizzy, white foam on top. As he clanked the spoon inside the glass, I enlightened him with all things egg cream from its legendary, and somewhat disputed origins to pasteurization, soda jerks, the esteemed egg cream guru, Louis Auster, Brooklyn. He sipped it and shrugged, "it's okay, kinda like a Graeter's chocolate soda without ice cream." I started to tell him about other Jewish foods we could explore...blintzes, bialys, hamantaschen. He walked out of the kitchen, totally uninterested, "hey mom, why couldn't we have just added soda water to Nesquik chocolate milk?" What chutzpah.
Day 39 Calorie Count: 1370 (including cotton candy and the egg cream).
I stopped in a candy and nut shop in my neighborhood that specializes in nostalgic candy: Mary Janes, mini marshmallow ice cream cones, chocolate cigarettes, Fizzie Drink Action tablets and every retro sweet in between including Gold Mine gum and candy buttons (globs of colored dots on adding machine paper).
I was there with my son, big mistake, who spied the cellophane bags of pink cotton candy. A 2 ounce package of dyed sugar batting has 200 calories. I pull off a piece from the fluff mass, maybe an 1/8, and let it dissolve in my mouth (50). It wasn't so much as delicious as it was memory inducing.
Now unto that classic NY beverage, the eggless egg cream, of which the essential components are soda water, Vitamin D milk, and chocolate syrup. Not just any chocolate syrup. Any egg cream aficionado worth his seltzer knows it's not a classic egg cream unless Fox's U Bet chocolate syrup is used.
My son, while watching something on t.v., calls out to ask me what's in an egg cream? Rare teachable moment. I ask him what HE thinks is in it. He shrugs, disinterested, "I dunno know." I seize the moment to educate. I was heading to the grocery store anyway, so while there I thought I'd pick up the three vital ingredients, fully expecting to substitute Hershey's, but to my shock, our Midwest supermarket actually stocked Fox's U Bet. Small world, at least, in the ethnic aisles at the grocers.
I walked my son through each preparation step, from using the appropriate tumbler, to pouring the syrup slowly down the inside of the glass and stirring like mad with a long iced tea spoon, resulting in a drink with an inch of fizzy, white foam on top. As he clanked the spoon inside the glass, I enlightened him with all things egg cream from its legendary, and somewhat disputed origins to pasteurization, soda jerks, the esteemed egg cream guru, Louis Auster, Brooklyn. He sipped it and shrugged, "it's okay, kinda like a Graeter's chocolate soda without ice cream." I started to tell him about other Jewish foods we could explore...blintzes, bialys, hamantaschen. He walked out of the kitchen, totally uninterested, "hey mom, why couldn't we have just added soda water to Nesquik chocolate milk?" What chutzpah.
Day 39 Calorie Count: 1370 (including cotton candy and the egg cream).
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