22 Pounds Down

I weighed in this morning and lost another 3.8 pounds this week. Woohoo!!!! That makes 22 pounds even which means I also got my 20 pound star. Class is canceled next week due to the holiday, but I think I may go weigh in on Tuesday morning instead. I don't want to skip a week. Me skipping a week can be very dangerous. Oh yes, dangerous indeed! LOL!

Today I went back to the gym for the first time in about a year (even when I went a year ago, I only went a couple of times and then quit going). I've decided to blow the dust off of my membership card and get back in there. The money is just going to waste if I don't use it.

I tried out a different location that they built about 10-15 minutes from where I live (they have 3-4 locations and I can choose to go to any of them). This new place was cool! It's co-ed unlike the location I normally go to, but they did have a section just for women. The coolest part about this place was that they have a room called the movie room. It's painted black, has black lights in the ceiling (anything white glows), it has black light paint splattered on the walls, and they have a screen where they show movies with surround sound. It's not a huge room, but big enough for 3 rows of bikes, treadmills and elliptical machines. I didn't count, but I'd guess there were around 25 machines in the room. It was dark in there. The only light was from the black lights, people's white clothes glowing and the movie playing. I got in there just in time to see the movie start (can't remember the name of it, but they had English accents and there was a dragon in it. LOL!). I walked for 20 minutes on the treadmill but honestly I almost walked longer just to see if the dragon in the movie came back. LOL!

After I finished my warm up on the treadmill, I went to the woman's weight room (did you really think I was going to go work out with the men?) LOL! I figured out how all of the machines worked (the trainer helped when I couldn't figure something out). Some of the machines I'd never seen before, or they looked different than what I was use to and I didn't know how to adjust some of the seats. Today was more of a "go to get things set up". The trainer weighed me, took my measurements and body fat (eeeek!). In 6 weeks I'll get weighed and measured again. It felt pretty good to get back in the gym. The good news is they're open 24 hours during the week, so if I want to go work out later in the evening I can. My other gym use to close at 9 PM. Heck, I could go right now...... but I'm not going to since I was already there today. LOL!!! I think instead I'm going to head for bed. I only got 4 hours of sleep last night and I got up really early this morning. TTYL!

Inspired

I was browsing the web this afternoon and came across a video and website for a documentary film that's being made called Inspired: The Movie. Here's the video...

I personally am very interested in seeing this film. I felt like I could relate with a lot of these people since I know what it feels like to not only be obese, but I've also had a taste of what it's like to lose a lot of weight as well. I really liked the first woman who spoke in the video where she said "so if you can make it through one day, why not make it through the 2nd day and the 3rd day? Each day that you're successful you empower yourself to keep going on." I also went to the website to read more about it. I felt inspired just with the info I've seen and read about today. I haven't even seen the film yet. LOL! Check it out if you have time. I'd love to hear any input you have on the film.

I'll leave you with one last video I came across during my search this afternoon. I thought it was good too. :)

The Scale Isn't Everything

Do you base your weight loss success entirely on what the scale says? Do you get depressed when you know you had a really good week, yet the scale said you didn't lose anything or you even gained? Do you ever wonder just how many inches you've lost off of your body?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you should be measuring yourself. Actually, anyone at all losing weight should be measuring themselves. Our bodies continuously change as we lose weight. If you're working out a lot and you have a gain, it's not because you did something you shouldn't have; it's because muscle weighs more than fat. Even though you may have experience a gain, your body is getting smaller and tighter. How can we truly gage our success? Again, by measuring! If you don't already have one, buy a tape measure. Not the metal kind you get in the hardware section, but the fabric or plastic kind you find in the craft department where the quilting and sewing stuff is. If you buy a plastic tape measurer (this is what I use), over time it may stretch a little bit, so be sure to check it every now and then to make sure it's still accurate.

When you take your measurements, write them down. I suggest measuring yourself once a month, or in some cases, when you feel like you should have lost and you didn't (remember, it's not going to change overnight). Not sure how to go about taking your measurements? Here are some tips to guide you...

1. Bust: Don't squish yourself -- measure all the way around your bust and back right at your nipple line, and make sure the tape measure is not lower.

2. Chest: Measure under your breasts but as high up as you can go, keeping the tape measure parallel to this line when you reach it around your back.

3. Waist: Measure wherever it is the smallest (if you have "no waist" go around yourself right at the navel line).

4. Hips: Measure at the very biggest part -- even if that is so low that you are almost on the top of your thighs.

5. Midway: Measure midway between the very biggest part of your hips and your waist.

6. Thighs: Measure wherever they are the biggest.

7. Knees: Measure right above the knee.

8. Calves: Measure wherever they are the biggest.

9. Upper arm: Measure wherever they are biggest above your elbows.

10. Forearms: Measure wherever they are biggest below your elbows.

I've created a chart in Microsoft Word that I use to write my measurements down on. If you would like a copy of it to print out and use for yourself, click here to download it (the Word file is zipped, so you'll need to unzip it). If you don't have a program to unzip files, you can download a free 45 day evaluation of Winzip.

A Day of Cleaning

Well, today I was supposed to blog about how to take your body measurements, but I'm too tired to type it all out. I've been cleaning out closets, doing regular cleaning, and getting laundry done all day. I'm tired, but the place looks better. :) Just so I don't leave you with nothing, here's the newest recipe I made (I've made it twice in the past 3 days)....

Italian Ground Chicken

1 Lb. Tyson Ground Chicken
1 Cup Frozen Pepper/Onion Blend
1 packet Splenda
1 (8 oz.) Can Tomato Sauce
Seasonings to taste: Garlic Powder, Basil, Oregano, Pepper, salt and cayenne pepper (you can use any seasonings you want)

In a large skillet, cook the ground chicken and pepper/onion blend until the chicken is no longer pink, breaking up any large chunks of chicken. Add the Splenda, tomato sauce and seasonings. Continue cooking until any liquid is cooked out and the sauce has thickened just a little bit. I only added 1 packet of Splenda, but if you think it needs more, add another 1/2 to 1 packet. This is good on a bun, over a potato, rice, on a salad, or anything else you can think of.

Serves: 7 (a little over 1/3 cup each)
Per Serving: 156 Calories; 6g Fat (35.3% calories from fat); 20g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 61mg Cholesterol; 257mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable. WWP: 3 (www.AimeesAdventures.com)

Exercise Can Be Fun (part 3)

Ok, today wraps up how exercise can be fun. The reason I've been writing about this subject over the past few days, is because I want you to know that you can exercise in many different ways and still have fun. You don't have to pound the pavement, walk on the boring treadmill, or even hit the gym to get your cardio in. All of these things can be done either in or around your home. Exercise should be fun. If it isn't fun, chances are, you aren't going to do it. Find something you like and get moving. :)

I'm going to talk about a couple of different things today. There are still many other things I could blog about (heck, I could make this a week long event LOL) but, I don't want to bore you. :) A few of the things that you could consider as fun exercise are: The Nintendo Wii (I don't have one, but I've heard it's fun and it gets you up off of the couch). You could play basketball, baseball, tennis, soccer, golf (they even have a virtual game for golf that looks like fun, again I haven't tried it. I prefer to actually golf outside - oh and in case you're thinking about the virtual golf you play from the couch like the Tiger Woods PGA golf, no, that isn't considered exercise. LOL). You could also swim (water aerobics are lots of fun), or you could find a fun class like yoga, pilates, kickboxing, Tai Chi, self defense, etc. As long as you're having fun, that's what matters. :) Ok, on to today...

The first thing I want to tell you about today is the EyeToy Kinetic. I have this and it's a great workout! It's a full body fitness program that has four fitness zones. They are: Combat - which helps you to increase strength, flexibility and reaction speed, Cardio - which will get you sweating through aggressive routines to improve your cardiovascular fitness, Toning - which targets specific body parts or complete body conditioning with a trainer, and Mind and Body - where you do Tai Chi type moves to help relax while working on your posture, balance and breathing.

Basically how it works, is you hook up your Eye Toy camera to your Playstation 2 or Playstation 3 and the camera puts you on the TV. It analyzes your every move to provide immediate feedback on your performance. What you do depends on which program you choose. For example: in the Combat and Cardio sections, you'll punch and kick balls that try to attack you. Check out the video below for an example. The actual game disc comes with a 12 week customizable training program and has over 20 exercises inspired by aerobics, martial arts, dance, yoga and more.

(Click here to see more videos of this guy working out with some of the various exercises)

I have another program for my Playstation 2 called Yourself! Fitness (it's also available for the XBox and PC). Basically, it's like having a certified personal trainer and nutritionist in your living room, only much much cheaper. The personal trainer's name is Maya and she helps you to choose health and fitness goals, and then works with you to achieve them. There are over 500 unique exercises featuring yoga, pilates, cardio fitness, strength training, felxibility, and weight loss routines. No two workouts are ever the same. You get to pick the scene and the music, as well as use fitness equipment you may already own (such as a balance ball, hand weights, or step).

When you first get started, Maya will ask you for basic information such as your age, height, gender and weight. She will determine your fitness level by using several simple evaluation tests, and combine it with your long term goals to figure out your workout plan. At the beginning of each workout, Maya asks you how you're feeling today. This tells her how much verbal encouragement you'll need during the workout and it helps her determine how hard the workout will be. If you're feeling great, the workout is going to push you a little harder (don't worry, she stops every now and then to ask you how you're doing and she'll adjust according to your answer). The funny thing about Maya is... like a real trainer, she asks you to set up a workout schedule (something you know you can commit to) and then gets on you if you skip it. LOL! Here's a video I found to help give you an idea of what it's all about...

(Click here to see an additional video of just the game)

For more fun ways to exercise, check out this website I found called Exergames. There are some really good ideas there, some of them are pretty expensive too, but neat to look at. :) Check out this video of a guy using the Nintendo Wii for exercise.

Exercise Can Be Fun (part 2)

Today I'm going to talk about Dance Dance Revolution (more commonly referred to as DDR). This home version is based off of the popular arcade game (pictured to the left) and is a fun way to not only play a game, but to also exercise at the same time. It was my choice of exercise on days when it was too hot to go outside or raining (it was also great in the winter time to help keep up my endurance). DDR is played on either a Playstation or Xbox console and is a very simple game, yet a really great workout (you can burn a lot of calories, and if you play in workout mode, it will calculate your calories burned for you based on your weight).

How it works: There is a pad that you step on with four arrows: up, down, left, and right. There are four stationary arrows at the top of the TV screen. There will be arrows that scroll up from the bottom of the screen. When the scrolling arrows overlap the stationary arrows, you then hit the corresponding arrow on the pad. There are different levels of skills. Start out in the lessons section and learn how to do it (this will also help you memorize where the arrows are and which feet to use, so you don't have to look down at all while you play). The different levels can go anywhere from slower music with less arrows to step on to really fast music to so many arrows you wonder how anyone can keep up. LOL! Here's a video from when DDR was on The Today Show. It's a good example to show you how it works and the different levels....

The cost can vary depending on if you already have a Playstation 2, Playstation 3 or Xbox (I have a Playstation 2). A pad will cost you around $20 for a cheap one (I use a cheap one, but I've gone through about 3 pads), or you can pay a little over $100 for one that is metal and holds 500+ pounds which is a little better (I'll probably invest in a metal one down the line). I saw a new metal pad with a handle bar to hold onto that costs around $150, which looks pretty cool. It holds around 300 pounds. The games can vary anywhere from $25-$50 depending on how new it is. If you already have a Playstation 2 or Xbox, then it will be cheaper and all you'll need is a dance pad to step on and one of the DDR games (there are several). I own 4 DDR games, but will probably buy some of the newer ones when my knee is healed up and I can do it again. Here are a few of the games and pads that are available so you can see what they look like...



Bottom line, DDR is a lot of fun! If you're bored with the exercise that you're currently doing, looking for a way to burn a lot of calories while having fun, and you can afford it, this is something you've got to check out! One last thing... check this link I came across to a video I found from a teen that lost over 100 pounds and talks about DDR (if you have kids that sit on the couch playing video games and are over weight, show them this video). DDR is not just for teens and young kids. Any age can do it. I've had parents email me and tell me that they play this with their teens and have a blast, so give it a try. If you aren't sure if you'll like it or not, before investing the money, go find an arcade that has the game so you can try it (most mall arcades have this game since it's popluar). The arcade game might be a little harder to start off with but it will give you an idea.

Exercise Can Be Fun (part 1)

Now that Summer is here, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite more non-traditional ways to exercise and still have fun. To keep this subject from being so lengthy, I'll probably break it down into a couple of days worth of blogs. Even though I can't do these right now due to a knee injury and my weight, I totally look forward to when I can do them again (hopefully by the end of this summer). I've written about these in the FAQ section of my website, but I still get at least 1 email per week asking me about them, so I figure people must be interested. LOL! Ok, here we go...

Today I'll talk about the Trikke I mentioned in yesterdays blog. I LOVE my Trikke! It's a FULL body workout! You'll use muscles you didn't even know you had and you'll no doubt feel it the next day. LOL! I have two Trikke's (I bought one for my ex-husband so that he could ride with me, but made him give it back to me when we got a divorce - in case I wanted to ride with a friend). My dad who is almost 67 years old also has one and use to ride with me. I'd be out riding my Trikke right now, but the weight limit is 250 pounds and I'm not quite there yet. Any more than 250 pounds and you risk bending the frame (which would pretty much make it useless). There are several different sizes ranging from the kids size T5 to the newest and biggest size T12. I have the T8 which at the time when I bought it was the best one they had. I think the T8 now has a choice of inflatable wheels or the polyurethane wheels. Mine has the polyurethane wheels. I'd love to get the new T12, but with a price tag of $500, I just can't afford it. I like what I already have anyway.

If you decide to buy one, don't run right over to the Trikke website and buy one. Look around for a cheaper price. I bought mine on Ebay for $99 plus like $20 S+H back in 2003. Trikke was pretty much unheard of here in Ohio and many states other than California back then (I got many stares and questions when I was out riding it). I just looked, and it seems the going rate for one on Ebay today is around $130 plus shipping (the auctions I looked at still have a day to go though, so I'm sure it will go up some more. If you buy on Ebay, make sure you check out the persons feedback score before you buy). I saw some "Buy It Now" auctions going for about the same as what the Trikke website is asking but they're including a free backpack and shipping. The Trikke website wants $370 for one. If you're going to pay that much, you might as well get it from the actual dealer. Whatever you do, DO NOT buy one that is "like" the Trikke. It will be worded like "Trikke 8 style". I don't know if they're making them any better, but I heard the knock offs were really cheap and would bend easily when I was shopping for my Trikke a few years ago. Also check Amazon.com since they sell them too (the exact one I have goes for $320 and includes shipping).

Check out What's Trikke? to learn more. If you decide to buy a Trikke, make sure you where a helmet! I've never fallen (knock on wood) but it's aways better to be safe than sorry. Here's a video I found on using Trikke for fitness just to give you an idea of how it moves and works your body...

Doing The Happy Dance

I went to my meeting this morning and was down 3.8 pounds for the week. Woohoo! I'm hoping to hit the 20 pound mark next week. Right now I'm at 18.2, so I don't see why I can't make it or at least come close to it. It's a goal anyway. :) I think what I'm doing is working for me and I don't feel deprived in any way not having all of the junk I was eating before. The payoff of passing up on certain things is watching the scale go down each week. That alone makes it all worth it to me. I'm just tired of screwing around every week and I haven't been this motivated since when I lost weight the first time around. I'm hoping now that my knee feels better, that I can start walking a little bit again. It's been so hot here during the day, but maybe after the sun goes down I can start taking Riley for walks again. I know he'd like that. :) While we're speaking of weight loss and such... for anyone who use to read Ben's blog (he's taking a break from blogging for awhile), he lost 3.5 pounds this week and is now at 27.7 pounds gone. Just thought I'd give you a little update. :)

Many of you are spending more times outdoors now that the weather is nice. I was browsing the web this afternoon and found a product that I thought was worth passing on to you. It's called Road ID and it's an ID that you can wear on your wrist in case anything happens to you while you're out exercising.

I use to ride my bike and my Trikke, and I also hiked a lot, and this would have been a good thing to have in case something would have happened to me while I was out and about. You can even wear it swimming. It comes in 5 colors and you can pick up to 6 lines of text. They also have a shoe Id and pouch too that looks interesting. If you go to the site, check that out too. I just think it's a really good idea. You never know what could happen while you're out exercising, especially if you're alone.

Ok, well I'm off to make dinner. TTYL!

Feeling Good

I've been pretty busy lately. Yesterday I wanted to get out of the house for awhile, so Rick and I went and saw the new Fantastic Four movie. It was good. I can't wait for the new Harry Potter movie to come out, and the final book. You probably won't hear from me for a couple of days when the book comes out, because I'll be locked away reading it from start to finish. LOL! I'm a super huge HP fan. :)

Well, tomorrow is weigh day. I feel really good about it. I've done really well with my new eating plan since June 10th (Core and watching my carbs). Eating less carbs has really done wonders for me. I feel so much more energetic, I don't think about food constantly, I don't feel like I need a nap in the middle of the day, and my knee hasn't hurt for several days. Just my knee not hurting has made passing up the cookie dough sundaes worth it. I haven't felt this good since before I gained all of my weight back. Don't get me wrong, I felt even better then, but lets just say I haven't felt this good in a long time. :) I'll stop in tomorrow and tell you how I did on the scale. I'd love to hit the 20 pound mark this week, but that may not happen until next week. Nothing wrong with a little hope though. LOL!

I tried a sorta new recipe tonight. Since you know I have been trying not to eat ice cream and such, I made a mock rootbeer float. I just took like 3/4 of a can of diet rootbeer, and added 1 tablespoon of sugar free french vanilla coffee mate to it. Man, that was tasty! 15 calories with 1 gram of fat and 1 carb. Can't beat it. :) I want to try it with diet cream soda too. I'll bet that will be really good too. Even still, if I do drink these, I'll be limiting myself to 1 per day (perhaps in the evening as a treat).

Well I'm off to get a few things done, then I'm heading for bed to get some extra ZZZZ's for my weigh in tomorrow morning. I hope everyone has a great week!

Happy Father's Day!

I wasn't home much today or this evening and I have plans to be gone all day tomorrow. I just wanted to stop in and wish all of the Dad's out there a Happy Father's Day! Dad, if you're reading this, Happy Father's Day to you. I love you! Happy Father's Day also to my friend Ben who is a single dad to two young kids. I hope you have a great day!

New Weight Loss Drug - Alli

I've been emailed a few times today already about the new weight loss drug called Alli (not really new, but a new name in lower dose form for the drug Xenical) that anyone can get without a prescription. I did some research for it on the web and I personally think it's a bad idea and do not promote any kind of diet pills. Supplements like vitamins or calcium, stuff like that are fine, but I think everyone should stay away from the fat burners and such when it comes to weight loss. If what you're doing isn't working so well for you, then maybe you need to tweak it a bit or even try something else. Of course that's just my opinion. If you'd like to read more on Alli to see what it's all about, check out what Jimmy Moore had to say about it back in February on his blog. I think he's right on about it. The side effects alone are more than enough to make anyone run (to the bathroom... several times a day). Even if it were some kind of miracle pill (we all know those don't exist), I wouldn't rush right out and buy it. Anyone here remember Fen-Phen? Here's another story that just came out in the last hour on FOXNews.com if you need even more info about Alli. Bottom line... Alli is not your friend. Find a better way, because you can achieve weight loss without diet pills. The only way to lose weight is through diet and exercise. Don't harm yourself in the process.

Girls Day Out

I spent the day with my mom shopping (Rick was out playing golf in the hot sun). We haven't gone shopping together in at least 2 years. We use to go once a week after we left our Weight Watcher meeting. It was fun to just hang out again. Since we live in opposite directions now, we met close to where we were going to do some of our shopping. I left my car there and let her drive. First we went and walked through a health food store that we use to like to go to (we didn't end up seeing anything we wanted to buy). From there we went to Chick-Fil-A and had a grilled chicken salad (4 points without dressing in case you want to know). We stopped into a shoe store that my mom wanted to look at, then we drove to the Fairfield Commons Mall and walked the entire thing (I'm calling that my exercise). LOL! I haven't been there in a really long time. I use to live in Xenia when I was married, so that was the closest mall to me. Now I live closer to the Dayton Mall, so I just go there when I have to (I actually don't like going to the mall very often). I do like going into Bath and Body Works and Brookstone (to play with all the fun little gadgets they have). After we left the mall, we walked through Walmart and then parted ways so we could both get home and make dinner. Like I said.... fun day. :)

I bought a huge pack of chicken a few days ago, so I've been making chicken recipes. LOL! Tonight I made a sort of chicken cordon bleu recipe, but I left the breading off of the outside (I was feeling lazy). I took a couple of chicken breasts and smashed them out so that they were thin. Then I placed a piece of light string cheese down on 2 pieces of thin ham, sprinkled a tiny bit of real bacon bits next to the cheese, and rolled the ham up. I placed the ham on the flattened chicken breast, and rolled it all up, tucking the ends in. I sprinkled the tops with Italian seasoning and baked at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes. Even though I'm not really counting points right now, I figured it up to be about 7-8 points depending on what size chicken breast you use. It was very filling though. I didn't even have anything with it other than water. That was almost 6 hours ago and I'm just now starting to get hungry (but I'm going to bed soon so I'm not going to eat anything). Rick really liked it. He kept making comments while he was eating it like "this is really good, you should put this on your site" LOL! Since it was so simple and I was just throwing it together for dinner, I never really thought to make it a recipe. Maybe I will in case others don't want to put the breading on theirs either (and they want to add some bacon bits). :) Ok, I'm heading to bed. Have a great weekend!

Portion-Control Tools

I was down 2.2 pounds at my meeting this morning. Woohoo! Still haven't wanted any junk or sweets of any kind. I'm hoping for an even bigger loss next week. We'll see. :)

Akus posted this over at the message board on my website. I think it's useful info that should be passed on. :) Thanks Akus!

Portion-Control Tools

These items will help you portion your food into 1/2-cup to 3/4-cup servings:

* Snack-size baggies hold about 1 cup fully packed, and about 3/4 cup loosely packed. This is a good size for portioning crackers, nuts, pretzels, baked chips, dried fruit, turkey jerky, and cereal.
* Foil cupcake liners hold about 1/3 cup -- perfect for portioning baked goods and snack items.
* Mini foil pie pans are perfect for portioning side dishes and entrees.
* Large muffin cups (those that have about 6 cups per pan) will hold about 3/4 cup. That's just the right size for baking individual portions of entrees like quiche, shepherd's pie, chili cornbread casserole, etc.
* A ladle holds about 1/2 cup of liquid, great for portioning things like stew, chili, pasta and pasta sauce, and steamed rice.

Practically Portioned Food Products

Here are some items that come in reasonable portions:

* Small cereal boxes (they usually come in a variety pack) hold about 3/4 cup of cereal.
* Snack or power bars are individually wrapped portions -- usually about 2 1/2 ounces. Look for higher-fiber, lower-sugar varieties.
* Pita bread (preferably the whole-grain variety) is a great way to portion your sandwiches. If you fill half of each pocket with raw vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers) you can't get into too much trouble with the fillers, such as chicken salad, roasted turkey, avocado and cheese, and lean ham.
* A small can of water-packed tuna (6 ounces) will keep your fish serving to about 3/4 cup (drained), totaling only 180 calories.
* A 14.5-ounce can of ready-to-heat-and-serve soup makes 2 servings (1 cup each). If you choose a soup that is broth- or tomato-based and has no more than 5 grams of fat per cup, you'll consume only about 250 calories -- even if you eat the entire can yourself.
* Individually wrapped light ice-cream bars keep your dessert serving to around 1/2 cup, depending on the brand.
* Individual portions of light entrees can be found in the frozen food section of your supermarket. You can even find higher-fiber vegetarian options these days. At Whole Foods Markets, for example, you'll find things like Bean & Cheese Taquitos (Whole Foods brand) and Tofu Lasagna (Amy's brand).
* Individual microwave popcorn bags (look for the "light" version) keep your popcorn serving moderate.
* 100% juice in individual bottles, boxes or pouches will keep your juice serving to 8 ounces.

I Am Not A Snack Machine...

I am not a snack machine (this is my new mantra). Therefore I will not put cookies, candy, ice cream, cheese crackers, or any other snacky junk food into my mouth. I have been eating healthy for an entire 3 days now (I don't believe I've ever gone this long without snacking or even really thinking about sweets or other junk). I'm going into day #4 stronger than ever! I just feel so much better over all. Everyday it seems to get a little easier and I feel like I already have more energy. Even my portions have gotten smaller. I'm just not as hungry as I was when I was stuffing my face with mostly junky carbs.

Goodbye to all of my evil little friends who made me do midnight runs to Super Walmart only to get home, scarf you down and wish I had brought home one of your evil buddies. Goodbye to midnight snacking all together with your evil little ways of making me sit up for hours popping Tums. I bid you all a farewell!

With that said and out of my system... :)

I tried a new recipe tonight for orange chicken. I honestly didn't know if I'd like an orange flavor with my chicken since I've never tried it before, but it was good. I could taste the orange the most with my first bite, but after that, it wasn't so strong. Here's how I made it....

Diet Soda Orange Chicken
Using a fork, punch holes into 3-4 chicken breasts (depending on size). Place the chicken into a large zip-lock bag. Pour in 1/4 cup of lite soy sauce (reduced sodium) and 12 ounces of Diet Sunkist (or any other diet orange soda). Squeeze the bottom of the bag a bit to get the soy sauce and soda mixed up well. Try to get as much air out of the bag as you can and zip it up. Place the bag into the refrigerator for a few hours (I imagine the flavor would get a little stronger the longer you let it marinade). After marinading, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the chicken breasts into a 9x9 glass baking dish and pour some of the marinade over it so that it comes about half way up the side of the chicken breasts (discard any remaining marinade). Bake for 30-40 minutes (or until the chicken is no longer pink in the middle). This chicken is sooo moist! The points would be 1 per cooked ounce. Enjoy!

FitDay

While I was reading about the Kimkins plan yesterday, I came across a link for the FitDay website. I'd heard of FitDay before, but never really checked it out because I really wasn't that interested in it. Last night I decided to sign up for an account (it's free) and input the food I eat just to see exactly how my day breaks down as far as calories, fat, fiber, carbs, protein, etc go. Wow! I was completely surprised to see just how many carbs and junk I was eating each day. I mean, I've always known I wasn't the healthiest eater since I'm not a big fruits and veggies lover, but this was a bit of an eye opener for me. I've just been eating whatever I wanted as long as I stayed within my points each day. That isn't working out so well for me. I know everyone loses weight at a different pace, but I know I should be losing faster (comparing to when I lost my weight before). I've decided to make a few changes to how I spend my points each day. I'm going to pretty much be switching to Core, but for awhile I want to limit my sweets and not use any flex points just to see how it goes. Get back to the basics a bit and cut down on my carbs. When I get bored or decide I've had enough, then I'll switch back to Flex. I just really want to try to eat healthier. No more excuses for it just because "I have the points and I can spend them how I want to". That's not working for me and it's just not a healthy way to eat. I did really good today. I ate healthy, drank lots of water (much more than I usually do), didn't eat any junk or sweets at all, and I just really feel better over all. I feel better about myself and I feel like I have more energy. I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing. Would any of you care to join me and eat a little healthier (I'm sure we all have something we can change about how we're eating). Even if you just cut out one thing that you normally eat that isn't healthy, that's a good start. TTYL!

The Kimkin's Plan

I was wondering.... has anyone read the article in the June 12th issue of Woman's World magazine about the Kimkins plan? If so, I'm curious as to what your opinion is. The article peaked my interest, so I spent a few hours this afternoon looking up information about it. The Kimkins plan is supposed to be an alternative to Atkins. Most of it made sense to me like the part about cutting carbs can help stablalize blood sugar and slash hunger and cravings, but these people claim to be losing A LOT of weight! 220 pounds in 11 months for the person who came up with it; 100 pounds in 5 months for another woman; 55 pounds in 3 months for another. I also found a blog today where a guy says he's lost 13 pounds in just 4 days (though I have to admit his blog was fun to read. I might start reading it more often. LOL!). I did some reading on it today and to me it sounds like Atkins, but just lower fat and fewer calories (the article stated that people on Atkins could consume over 3,000 calories a day if they weren't careful). From what I can tell, here's what you get each day....

As much lean protein as you want, no fatty meat (from the Kimkins food list)
No more than 20 carbs
No more than 3 cups of veggies (also from a food list)
No low carb products like sugar free candy, energy bars, frozen meals, etc)



Though I'm not sure I could live a low carb lifestyle (like I said, I'm a carb junky), I did have fun reading about it on the web today. I even found some fun blogs, like this one called Eating Low where a woman named Amy has her own little cooking segment from her kitchen. I probably spent close to an hour just watching her videos. LOL! Kind of a cool idea (no, I won't be doing that) LOL! Ok, I'm out for awhile. Let me know if you've read this article or have any knowledge or comments on the Kimkins plan. TTYL!

The Good and The Bad

The Good...
Getting to a meeting this morning wasn't easy, but I was determined. I showed up at the meeting I had planned on weighing at, but when I got there, I was the only car in the parking lot. I was like "what's going on?" I use to attend this meeting at one time, and it was still listed on the Weight Watchers website as a meeting place. I walked up to the door and it said they (they, meaning the church) had temporarily relocated to a school a couple miles down the street (there was no mention of the WW meeting). So... I hop back into my car, find the school, and there's no meeting. I was like dang it! I was already hungry at this point, but I wasn't going to go home and eat and just forget it. I went home, got on the WW website and looked up meetings. The closest one was 35 miles away at 10:45 (there were other meetings closer, but I wasn't going to wait until 6 PM). I printed up the driving directions and headed out the door. It was a bit of a drive, but I'm glad I went. I was down 1.4 pounds so I'm pretty happy. Especially after eating on vacation. Now that I've been back on track for a few days, I'm going to stay on track. I feel so much better when I know I'm eating better and doing a good job.

The Bad...
I won't even mention all of the crap Rick brought home from work with him this morning. He works in a grocery warehouse and they were selling cases of stuff really cheap. Here I am, getting ready to head out the door to get weighed in, and he's lugging all of these boxes into the house. He brought home half a case of lucky charms cereal (about 6 boxes), a case of nutter butters (3 boxes in a case), a case of combos (I don't even want to know how many are in there), a case of olive oil (like I need an entire case!), and I think there was a case of something else (I probably blocked it out of my memory on purpose). I was pretty upset about it. He asked me last night if I wanted anything (he had a 2 page list of stuff for me to look at) and I said no. Just goes to show he either doesn't listen, or he doesn't care. I suppose I can use the olive oil to shove everything up his butt!!! LOL!!! He was going to stay home this morning and not weigh in (he actually said "I'm just going to stay here and have some Lucky Charms."). I told him to get his butt in the car. :) He mumbled and grumbled about it half the way there, but I just tuned him out (must be how he does it when I'm talking about not bringing junk food home). LOL! I see why he didn't want to weigh in. He was up like 4 pounds. On the way home I told him "well at least you got your weight recorded. Now you can start fresh and be down next week when you weigh in." I think it fell on deaf ears again, but we'll see. I've let him derail me in the past, but it's not happening this time. He's not leaving me here tonight with Combos, Lucky Charms and Nutter Butters while he's at work. I know myself too well. I'll eat it. He's going to have to put it somewhere out of the house (I'm a very good food detective. I can find anything no matter how well it's hidden, and I'm the type of person who would look until I found it). If he doesn't get rid of it, I'll feel no shame in walking it all to the dumpster after he leaves. I'll just leave it outside the dumpster in case anyone sees it and decides they want it (I live in an apartment, so I'm sure someone can use it for their kids). Hey Ben, do your kids eat Lucky Charms???? :)

Today's Dr. Phil Show

I don't normally watch Dr. Phil since he's on in the afternoon, but my mom called me this morning and told me to tape it, so I did (it's on in the mornings at her house). The topic was "How Weight Issues Consume A Persons Life". It originally aired back in Dec. '06.

The first woman they brought out was named Angelique who was 28 years old and weighed 500 pounds (she should weigh around 140 pounds). Her mom was raising her daughter because she couldn't take care of her and she can't work because she can't fit behind the steering wheel of a car to get there due to her weight. Dr. Phil asked her why she eats and she said "I eat because I love the taste, the textures, etc. I'm addicted to food." The more I watched, the more I felt like I could identify with her. Even though I don't weigh 500 pounds or consume the large quantities of food the she does, I related to her love for the food and the need to eat an entire box of something "because it's there and you feel like you really need it" and then feel bad about it afterwards.

Dr. Phil went on to show her that just by cutting a few things out of her daily diet, in 1 year how much weight she could lose. She said she eats 13 cheeseburgers per week. Dr. Phil broke it down like this...

3,500 calories = 1 Pound
13 Cheeseburgers per week = 8,350 calories
8,350 calories = 2.4 pounds per week
Total loss per year just by cutting out the cheeseburgers = approx. 125 pounds

Dr. Phil said we don't think about how this stuff adds up, or how it all comes together in the end. We just keep eating it. You don't even have to weigh 500 pounds to be dealing with this. How many people stop and grab a high calorie drink at Starbucks? Even if you only do it once a week, those add up. He went on to show Angelique how much sugar she consumes in 1 year (at this point they rolled out a grocery cart filled with 59 - 5 pound bags of sugar. That's a total of 295 pounds of sugar per year. He said she should be consuming only 15.64 pounds of sugar per year. She was also consuming 26 pounds of salt per year. She could lose 115 pounds a year if she just cut her sugar back to the 15.64 pounds and reduced her salt intake. Add that to what she could lose just by cutting out the cheeseburgers, and she could lose approx. 240 pounds.

After they talked to Angelique, the brought out another woman named DeeDee who had been on the show before. She weighed 750 pounds at the time and had to use oxygen tanks, 2 canes, 5 men, a special van with a lift, and a large wheelchair just to get there. Dr. Phil told her that her life expectancy had been shortened by 40 years due to her weight.

She was back this time and walked out on stage with just the 2 canes. She now weighs 498 pounds and has lost over 250 pounds in 7 months. She's no longer on oxygen and can ride in the front seat of the car instead of the back "like cargo" she said. She said it hasn't been the easiest thing she's ever done. "You don't just pop a pill, go to sleep and wake up beautiful. It's a lot of hard work and we're all gaining in every manner (except for weight)." She said the biggest change is that she's now able to breathe on her own. She said "If I can get to 200 pounds, there's going to be a party... with no food involved." LOL!

Just by the mom losing weight, her kids (who use to take care of her and called her a burden) have also lost weight. Her son has lost 71 pounds, and her daughter has lost 55 pounds. They're both proud of her their mom now and they say she's no longer a burden since she can take care of herself.

The 3rd and last woman Dr. Phil brought out was a woman named Jennifer who lost 162 pounds in 3 years. She had a lot of loose skin. Her husband said he had never even seen her naked. She decided to get surgery because she felt worse than before she lost the weight. She wanted to wear things that skinny people wear (like a bathing suit) but she couldn't because of her loose skin. She had to have 2 surgeries, but after the surgery, she looked amazing. She said she feels like she's been reborn. The Doctors removed 13 inches of skin from her stomach, 12 inches from her back, 6 inches from her thighs and 8 inches from her arms. Total amount of skim removed along with some liposuction was 15 pounds. That's a lot!

I think today's show was good. It just shows that no matter how much weight we have to lose, it can be done with hard work and determination. I know the last thing I want is to be stuck inside due to my weight. I think I'll work on it now before it gets out of hand more than it already has.

I'm actually taping another show right now called "You On A Diet" (also a rerun that aired back in Dec). I'm guessing they'll be talking about the book (which I own, but haven't actually read). If the show is any good, I'll recap what they talked about in another blog.

Oh, and in case you're wondering how my weigh in went today... I didn't go. I was up all night sneezing myself to death and didn't feel well, so I looked up the meetings and will be weighing in tomorrow morning (you probably thought I was avoiding it didn't you? LOL!). I said I would face the scale and I will. I almost always do what I say I'm going to do (unless I forget or get too busy) but that won't be the case here.

I'm Back

I'm finally catching up with everything since getting back from Michigan. I came back to over 400 emails, so you can imagine that took some time to get through. LOL!

As you know (or don't know), Rick and I went to Michigan to golf last week. We played at The Grande Golf Club. It was REALLY hot! I didn't do too bad on the front 9 (not that I did great or anything. Actually Rick did great. Some of the best golf I've seen him play). Even though I was drinking plenty of water, I just got too overheated to continue playing. I felt really sick. So for the back 9 holes, I pretty much just watched Rick play and I took pictures. I did play a couple of par 3 holes on the back, but that was it. I wanted Rick to take my picture while I was playing, but he doesn't seem to know how to point and shoot a camera, so the few pictures he did take were either of my neck down or pictures of the ground. LOL! I put a video together of some of the pictures I took at the course (I left Rick out of these since I'm not posting any of me. This is just to show you what the course looked like). I promise this one isn't as long as the last video I posted. This one is only about 2 minutes long. :) Just click the picture to go to the video.


There really wasn't much to do or see in the town we stayed in. We pretty much just hung out the first day we were there, we went and looked at the golf course we were going to be playing the next day (they actually let us take a cart out and ride around the course. I wish I had my camera that evening because I would have had some really good pictures. We also saw a bunch of wild turkeys out on the course. Not something we see around here). We went swimming and sat in the hot tub after dinner. Then the next day we golfed and went to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. We slept in the next morning and then headed home. On the way home we stopped off at a Russel Stover store (we don't have those around here, thankfully). I got my dad a 3 pound box of chocolates and my mom some hard candy. Rick and I had some fudge. I didn't do too bad while I was gone as far as points go, but I didn't do great either. We ate at a buffet the first night, then we had pizza the next day. I'm still struggling to get back on track. I did good yesterday and then I was doing good today until I ate too many of those stupid 100 calorie packs from Hershey. Boo hiss!!!!!! Weigh in will be here in just 1 more day. I have no idea what the scale will say, but I've already decided to just go face whatever the verdict is. Well I'm off to bed. Goodnight!