Showing posts with label blogging fatfighters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging fatfighters. Show all posts
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Main Blog Updated: Oh, let's just call yesterday's post the E2E Midweek Update #11, Shall We?(with some more pics, so are you sick of seeing my face yet?)...and a "hug and thanks" to Casey for the Yerba Mate and lil gifts...
Oh, let's just call yesterday's post the E2E Midweek Update #11, Shall We?(with some more pics, so are you sick of seeing my face yet?)...and a "hug and thanks" to Casey for the Yerba Mate and lil gifts...
Photo captions/descriptions on other blog, click link above:
Monday, March 5, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
New Blog Updated: Day 1 Son of Double Dare You: My minimum/optimum water intakes, what I should weigh on Dec 8 with each eating "goal weight maintenance", and investing in pantiliners....
Please update your links/follows to reflect the new blog:
Day 1 Son of Double Dare You: My minimum/optimum water intakes, what I should weigh on Dec 8 with each eating "goal weight maintenance", and investing in pantiliners....
Thursday, November 4, 2010
New Blog Updated: Day 11 DDDY Challenge: The revenge of salt and, oh, the crappy sleeping is back I see, plus links to interesting posts from yesterday
Please update your links/follows:
Day 11 DDDY Challenge: The revenge of salt and, oh, the crappy sleeping is back I see, plus links to interesting posts from yesterday
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
New Blog Updated: Kirstie Alley Loses 50 Pounds. Big Yawn... What's REALLY Interesting? Regular Janes Who do it!
Read the new entry at the new blog:
Kirstie Alley Loses 50 Pounds. Big Yawn... What's REALLY Interesting? Regular Janes Who do it!
Please update your links and follow. Happy, trimming Tuesday!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
New Blog Updated: Motivation Mojo: Looking to those who've done it already...and "Refuse to Regain"!
Read the new entry at the new blog:
Motivation Mojo: Looking to those who've done it already...and "Refuse to Regain"!
Please update your links/follows. Thanks.
Have a slimming Saturday!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
New Blog Updated: Allan, Intuitive Eating, The Pleasure Principle, Gluttony, and How It All Ends Up!
Please read it at the new blog:
Allan, Intuitive Eating, The Pleasure Principle, Gluttony, and How It All Ends Up!
And please update your links/follows.
Thanks...and be well!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Until My Meds Get Checked/Tweaked, "Skaking" things up here & Do You Do MediFast Alternatives, like WonderSlim?
Wow. I've been absent again. I missed the SUMMER SLIMMIN' check-in. I've been carbing it up at family gatherings (one day chicken and rice with sugar-topped plantains, the other a lo mein and steamed dumplings feast, and a pizza backslide last night).
I have been feeling off. My face feels a bit "masky", and since we changed my regimen a month ago, I think my previous thyroid med status has now sequed to the new one (lower dosage) and it's NOT helping. I have felt like sleeping more, and I've craved carbs (and been indulging, though until yesterday, not bingeing), and my attention is hard to focus. The scale is up. Yeah, something's off. I have an appot to see doc in August, so I gotta do something until then to not lose all traction.
I will say that despite feeling groggier and carb-happy, I only big-time overate twice in the last week plus. And even though I wanted to binge last night, it was a minor binge (and weighted in less than day before). I did NOT eat enough to gain 4 pounds, and the scale showed me up to 263.8. I know the carbs and sodium mix is mostly to blame.
Yesterday, it was pizza. Damn the Dominos 2x Tuesday. I had not been shopping (due to feeling lethargic) and so there was NOTHING in the house to give hubby. So, I fell into the order-crap hole and got the 2 pizzas for one price. I ate 3.5 slices and a salad and stopped. I wanted more. I wanted the whole fricken pizza. But I took the slices, bagged them, froze them. I wasn't gonna throw them out, as hubby can take them for lunch (as he did today, two slices).
I haven't had an all-out, stuff until I hurt binge in a while. In fact, even when I wanted to eat MORE at the family functions, I didn't. I avoided cakes and sugary snacks for the most part. I didn't have more than one mojito (and that has sugar), and ended up having half of it. I took my own beveraged. I ate something before showing up.
Even the late night eating (the other night I overate), I ordered HALF of what I would when I binged.
I like to think the sense of calmness on most days is progress. Even with the regain.
So, I'm not stressing overly.
I am taking a different tack until I can see the doc (it's too coincidental that I feel off when we're trying a new combo, which I researched after and found was LESS strong than the original one, though should be better absorbed.)
I have watched with good cheer and interest, Lyn of Escape From Obesity's progress on MediFast. (She has a coupon code for those wanting to use the plan. See her blog post on the MediFast winners.)
I can't do that--first, saw too many reviews of the horrible taste of the stuff and, second, too much soy. I am not euthyroid, and I don't want to take in THAT much soy every day and then have to worry about rejiggering my medication all the time. Nothing worse than unstable thyroid levels when you're hypothyroid. Sucks bigtime. And makes losing weight virtually impossible for me when I"m out of my limited "happy range."
And I wondered about all the folks who have seen our Lyn do so well and want to try something like Medifast, but without soy or with LESS soy. Who worry about soy or are just sensitive or allergic to it. What are their/my options?
So, I did googling. hahah.
Then, I ordered stuff from Diet Direct. Stuff related to WONDERSLIM (though I'm not doing the plan.) I heard about Wonderslim from two sources within one week: 3FatChicks.com's forum and Impatient Dieter. And I saw that soy sensitive folks have used it as an alternative to MediFast (though MediFast seems to work better, it tastes worse and is more expenseive). Trade-offs for people to research.
I am not doing "the program". I simply feel too draggy and demotivated by that dragginess to want to shop/cook/plan, etc. I want simple stuff here that is high-protein, low-to-medium carb, easy to fix, so I don't have to think about food some days (or several days in a row). So, that's my rationale--just holding on and maybe make some progress until we fix me up medication-wise.
BUT..you can use the Diet Direct WONDERSLIM stuff for your "cheaper and tastier alternative to Medifast" regimen if you choose. Others have done it (check 3FatChicks forum to see). You can read up on both plans and see how to work it. In truth, if you have the patience and bucks, you can order stuff from both and see which flavors you can handle before you choose a plan.
For those following Impatient Dieter--who used a regimen of 7 Wonderslim shakes of 100 calories each and two lean/green meals a day of 250 calories each with full fat dressing to lose an astounding amount of weight FAST--and who were curious to try that regimen, I'll happily post reviews of the drinks and meal equivalents for you.
WonderSlim has some soy items, so you do need to read ingredients and decide how much you think you can handle. The shakes and drinks are not soy-based. They are whey-based. You can read nutritional info on their products here: WONDERSLIM
From what I understand, MediFast has more fiber and probably a higher nutritional profile than WonderSlim. It has fewer carbs in its entress. (WonderSlim offers some pasta dish options). WonderSlim's oatmeal is supposed to taste LIKE OATMEAL, unlike the MF weird one. The shakes are supposed to be tastier and without aftertaste like MF. BUT..the WS stuff uses in many cases aspartame. So, some folks don't do that.
So, I do recommend you compare ingredients and carbs, etc, and also if you do WS, to get a fiber supplement. Not a biggie, really. Everyone should review ingredients in what they eat, anyway.
QUICKIE REVIEW: I had the protein WS Hot Cakes for breakfast with two eggs with cheddar and some Almond Breeze. (All stuff I still had at home and easy to prepare). (I'll revise this post with a pic when I upload and rescale. I'm feeling draggy, remember?)
Lots of protein!
The hot cakes would not be confused with regular pancakes, but I found them pleasant--nicely vanilla-ey and with some sugar-free syrup and cinnamon sprinkled on top, satisfying. (One packet makes 3 very small hot cakes. Cute, too.) Don't overcook. Easy to prepare. Add 1/4 cup water to one packet, stir, let stand for 1 minute (it thickens and becomes frothy), scoop onto pan that's been preheated low-medium heat. I spritzed Pam for the "greasing". I added a tiny dollop of Smart Balance over each pancake (like a pea sized drop) for some healthy fat.
SparkPeople's Nutrition Tracker lists my breakfast as 491 cals, 27g carbs, 35g protein.
It's now 4 hours since I ate--yeah, yeah, I'm not eating every 2 hours, that's up to you if you do the whole plan, which I'm NOT doing--and I"m not remotely hungry, but plan to eat anyway to keep me from GETTING to the point of hunger.
This is not CLEAN EATING. You see that, right? :) It's not "wholesome" eating.
MediFast and WonderSlim are what I call Frankenfood Diets (although others define it differently)--foods that are not what nature makes or near-natural. Processed, reconfigured, "isolated" this, added vitamins, removed THAT, preservatives, all sorts of stuff in there that's hard to pronounce. If you prefer to stay close to nature--as I generally do, but man, I'm zapped right now and justt balk at the idea of toting bags full of produce and proteins home and chopping and cooking... aaaaaarrrgggghhh-- this is not for you.
If you can get tired of flavors easily, this is not for you. Shakes and drinks have limited flavors , there's lots of chocolate , sure. Most of the entrees seem to be similar in spice structure. But your lean meal can be whatever you want that fits the parameters, so make that one happy for your mouth. Lyn has great recipes. See her site for that. Make the most of your REAL FOOD. (I have some frozen asparagus, some fresh Spinach and zucchini, but no meat or poultry at home right now. Dang.)
I plan to add stuff I have in my pantry to use them up, like my nice FiberGourmet high-fiber, lower-carb version of pasta. I like the fiber in that and the texture. I have many soups that I can easily heat up (most are veggie-based). I have frozen Diet-To-Go suppers that can fill in a pinch (though not low-carb, they're vegetarian and lowfat).
I didn't want to ditch the challenge, though exercising is really hard--and I have been tempted to cancel Pilates, but dammit, I refuse to give in THAT much!
If anyone has tried a MediFast alternative (for folks who can't afford/don't like taste of/can't do all soy), please post a link to any post you've done so others can see the resources you have. I don't mean SPAM or PR. I mean YOU use it and it works well for you.
If you've used WonderSlim, do you blog about it? Please comment and link.
If you've done Medifast and found a way to construct your own using more accessible ingredients from your supermarket/health food store--post and link.
So, right now, I was up 4 lbs from last weigh-in, then today down a bit, but still up 3 lbs. Let's see what next weigh-in brings.
On the plus side my natural hair journey has yielded nice results. Here is hair on Saturday on way to one of those carby family gatherings:
Happy week to you all.
WONDERSLIM / DIET DIRECT NOTE: If you spend more than $79, shipping is free. Spend 99 bucks, get 10% automatically off. I got my stuff IN FIVE DAYS via FedEx, and would have gotten it sooner, but I ordered on a Saturday night.
Legal Note: I did not get any free products (other than usual few samples added to orders). I bought these products on my own dime and my review is my own. I am NOT at this time an affiliate. I am considering becoming one, and it depends on if I enjoy the products.
ETA: Okay, as of Thursday afternoon, I am an affiliate. Just updating.
GHHCDSV15446258
ETA: Okay, so I just changed my mind and emailed them to remove me as an affiliate. I feel dumb. hah.
I have been feeling off. My face feels a bit "masky", and since we changed my regimen a month ago, I think my previous thyroid med status has now sequed to the new one (lower dosage) and it's NOT helping. I have felt like sleeping more, and I've craved carbs (and been indulging, though until yesterday, not bingeing), and my attention is hard to focus. The scale is up. Yeah, something's off. I have an appot to see doc in August, so I gotta do something until then to not lose all traction.
I will say that despite feeling groggier and carb-happy, I only big-time overate twice in the last week plus. And even though I wanted to binge last night, it was a minor binge (and weighted in less than day before). I did NOT eat enough to gain 4 pounds, and the scale showed me up to 263.8. I know the carbs and sodium mix is mostly to blame.
Yesterday, it was pizza. Damn the Dominos 2x Tuesday. I had not been shopping (due to feeling lethargic) and so there was NOTHING in the house to give hubby. So, I fell into the order-crap hole and got the 2 pizzas for one price. I ate 3.5 slices and a salad and stopped. I wanted more. I wanted the whole fricken pizza. But I took the slices, bagged them, froze them. I wasn't gonna throw them out, as hubby can take them for lunch (as he did today, two slices).
I haven't had an all-out, stuff until I hurt binge in a while. In fact, even when I wanted to eat MORE at the family functions, I didn't. I avoided cakes and sugary snacks for the most part. I didn't have more than one mojito (and that has sugar), and ended up having half of it. I took my own beveraged. I ate something before showing up.
Even the late night eating (the other night I overate), I ordered HALF of what I would when I binged.
I like to think the sense of calmness on most days is progress. Even with the regain.
So, I'm not stressing overly.
I am taking a different tack until I can see the doc (it's too coincidental that I feel off when we're trying a new combo, which I researched after and found was LESS strong than the original one, though should be better absorbed.)
I have watched with good cheer and interest, Lyn of Escape From Obesity's progress on MediFast. (She has a coupon code for those wanting to use the plan. See her blog post on the MediFast winners.)
I can't do that--first, saw too many reviews of the horrible taste of the stuff and, second, too much soy. I am not euthyroid, and I don't want to take in THAT much soy every day and then have to worry about rejiggering my medication all the time. Nothing worse than unstable thyroid levels when you're hypothyroid. Sucks bigtime. And makes losing weight virtually impossible for me when I"m out of my limited "happy range."
And I wondered about all the folks who have seen our Lyn do so well and want to try something like Medifast, but without soy or with LESS soy. Who worry about soy or are just sensitive or allergic to it. What are their/my options?
So, I did googling. hahah.
Then, I ordered stuff from Diet Direct. Stuff related to WONDERSLIM (though I'm not doing the plan.) I heard about Wonderslim from two sources within one week: 3FatChicks.com's forum and Impatient Dieter. And I saw that soy sensitive folks have used it as an alternative to MediFast (though MediFast seems to work better, it tastes worse and is more expenseive). Trade-offs for people to research.
I am not doing "the program". I simply feel too draggy and demotivated by that dragginess to want to shop/cook/plan, etc. I want simple stuff here that is high-protein, low-to-medium carb, easy to fix, so I don't have to think about food some days (or several days in a row). So, that's my rationale--just holding on and maybe make some progress until we fix me up medication-wise.
BUT..you can use the Diet Direct WONDERSLIM stuff for your "cheaper and tastier alternative to Medifast" regimen if you choose. Others have done it (check 3FatChicks forum to see). You can read up on both plans and see how to work it. In truth, if you have the patience and bucks, you can order stuff from both and see which flavors you can handle before you choose a plan.
For those following Impatient Dieter--who used a regimen of 7 Wonderslim shakes of 100 calories each and two lean/green meals a day of 250 calories each with full fat dressing to lose an astounding amount of weight FAST--and who were curious to try that regimen, I'll happily post reviews of the drinks and meal equivalents for you.
WonderSlim has some soy items, so you do need to read ingredients and decide how much you think you can handle. The shakes and drinks are not soy-based. They are whey-based. You can read nutritional info on their products here: WONDERSLIM
From what I understand, MediFast has more fiber and probably a higher nutritional profile than WonderSlim. It has fewer carbs in its entress. (WonderSlim offers some pasta dish options). WonderSlim's oatmeal is supposed to taste LIKE OATMEAL, unlike the MF weird one. The shakes are supposed to be tastier and without aftertaste like MF. BUT..the WS stuff uses in many cases aspartame. So, some folks don't do that.
So, I do recommend you compare ingredients and carbs, etc, and also if you do WS, to get a fiber supplement. Not a biggie, really. Everyone should review ingredients in what they eat, anyway.
QUICKIE REVIEW: I had the protein WS Hot Cakes for breakfast with two eggs with cheddar and some Almond Breeze. (All stuff I still had at home and easy to prepare). (I'll revise this post with a pic when I upload and rescale. I'm feeling draggy, remember?)
Lots of protein!
The hot cakes would not be confused with regular pancakes, but I found them pleasant--nicely vanilla-ey and with some sugar-free syrup and cinnamon sprinkled on top, satisfying. (One packet makes 3 very small hot cakes. Cute, too.) Don't overcook. Easy to prepare. Add 1/4 cup water to one packet, stir, let stand for 1 minute (it thickens and becomes frothy), scoop onto pan that's been preheated low-medium heat. I spritzed Pam for the "greasing". I added a tiny dollop of Smart Balance over each pancake (like a pea sized drop) for some healthy fat.
SparkPeople's Nutrition Tracker lists my breakfast as 491 cals, 27g carbs, 35g protein.
It's now 4 hours since I ate--yeah, yeah, I'm not eating every 2 hours, that's up to you if you do the whole plan, which I'm NOT doing--and I"m not remotely hungry, but plan to eat anyway to keep me from GETTING to the point of hunger.
This is not CLEAN EATING. You see that, right? :) It's not "wholesome" eating.
MediFast and WonderSlim are what I call Frankenfood Diets (although others define it differently)--foods that are not what nature makes or near-natural. Processed, reconfigured, "isolated" this, added vitamins, removed THAT, preservatives, all sorts of stuff in there that's hard to pronounce. If you prefer to stay close to nature--as I generally do, but man, I'm zapped right now and justt balk at the idea of toting bags full of produce and proteins home and chopping and cooking... aaaaaarrrgggghhh-- this is not for you.
If you can get tired of flavors easily, this is not for you. Shakes and drinks have limited flavors , there's lots of chocolate , sure. Most of the entrees seem to be similar in spice structure. But your lean meal can be whatever you want that fits the parameters, so make that one happy for your mouth. Lyn has great recipes. See her site for that. Make the most of your REAL FOOD. (I have some frozen asparagus, some fresh Spinach and zucchini, but no meat or poultry at home right now. Dang.)
I plan to add stuff I have in my pantry to use them up, like my nice FiberGourmet high-fiber, lower-carb version of pasta. I like the fiber in that and the texture. I have many soups that I can easily heat up (most are veggie-based). I have frozen Diet-To-Go suppers that can fill in a pinch (though not low-carb, they're vegetarian and lowfat).
I didn't want to ditch the challenge, though exercising is really hard--and I have been tempted to cancel Pilates, but dammit, I refuse to give in THAT much!
If anyone has tried a MediFast alternative (for folks who can't afford/don't like taste of/can't do all soy), please post a link to any post you've done so others can see the resources you have. I don't mean SPAM or PR. I mean YOU use it and it works well for you.
If you've used WonderSlim, do you blog about it? Please comment and link.
If you've done Medifast and found a way to construct your own using more accessible ingredients from your supermarket/health food store--post and link.
So, right now, I was up 4 lbs from last weigh-in, then today down a bit, but still up 3 lbs. Let's see what next weigh-in brings.
On the plus side my natural hair journey has yielded nice results. Here is hair on Saturday on way to one of those carby family gatherings:
Happy week to you all.
WONDERSLIM / DIET DIRECT NOTE: If you spend more than $79, shipping is free. Spend 99 bucks, get 10% automatically off. I got my stuff IN FIVE DAYS via FedEx, and would have gotten it sooner, but I ordered on a Saturday night.
Legal Note: I did not get any free products (other than usual few samples added to orders). I bought these products on my own dime and my review is my own. I am NOT at this time an affiliate. I am considering becoming one, and it depends on if I enjoy the products.
ETA: Okay, as of Thursday afternoon, I am an affiliate. Just updating.
GHHCDSV15446258
ETA: Okay, so I just changed my mind and emailed them to remove me as an affiliate. I feel dumb. hah.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Fat to Fit Thursday: Assorted Stuff and...Oh, I'm just gonna link you to my Fat Girl Does Pilates post with pics!
On the personal side: The scale has been slowly inching downward. :) Barring some insanity on my part (sodium-related or caloric) during this holiday weekend, my weigh-in should be happy on Sunday (ie 2 to 3 lbs off).
On the health info front: I'm reading the new Dietary Guidelines For Americans for 2010 (see previous post for links). Earlier I did my Pilates (though it was a particularly hard session due to my rotator cuff acting up and my finding it a hard time to imprint. Happens rarely, but occasionally, usually cause whatever weirdness is going on in my middle-aged body, I just can't seem to properly engage my abs. We worked with what we had. hahaha).
On the fitness front: If you haven't seen a morbidly obese gal in Pilates action, go here. It's a long post with lots of pics and some explanations (from me, not an expert, but trained by one). Let it help you get over your fear of the Pilates apparti and system. If I can do it, almost surely you can. It took a lot of guts for me to post pics of me in snug workout wear huffing, puffing, sweating, and showing off my huge belly, so be nice if you comment, eh?
Blog Hop!
On the health info front: I'm reading the new Dietary Guidelines For Americans for 2010 (see previous post for links). Earlier I did my Pilates (though it was a particularly hard session due to my rotator cuff acting up and my finding it a hard time to imprint. Happens rarely, but occasionally, usually cause whatever weirdness is going on in my middle-aged body, I just can't seem to properly engage my abs. We worked with what we had. hahaha).
On the fitness front: If you haven't seen a morbidly obese gal in Pilates action, go here. It's a long post with lots of pics and some explanations (from me, not an expert, but trained by one). Let it help you get over your fear of the Pilates apparti and system. If I can do it, almost surely you can. It took a lot of guts for me to post pics of me in snug workout wear huffing, puffing, sweating, and showing off my huge belly, so be nice if you comment, eh?
Blog Hop!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
A Decluttering Trip down Weigh-In Memory Lane
As part of my summer makeover , I want to slim down NOT just body-wise, but also neuroses-wise, spendthrift-wise, and clutter-wise. This afternoon, with my newfound energy, I continued some of the living room decluttering that began Friday. It's really, really bad at my place. We live a huge space, yes, but we fill it. Both hubby and I are packrats, though mine is definitely a more pathological thing. :P So, at the bottom of one pile, I found calendars from 2007. Yeah. They'd been dumped there January 1 of 2008. Two and a half-years ago.
But it was a nice discovery. The Jan 1 weigh-in for 2007 was 289 lbs. That's 24 more pounds than I am now.
The ending weight for 2007 wasn't logged on 12/31. My last weigh-in logged for that year was on December 22nd, and it was 274.8. So, in 2007, the year I started this blog in May at a weight of 289.0 (the very same weight in which I began the year), I ended 14+ pounds lighter than I started that year. Blogging helped.
I will add that blogging (no matter how inconsistently or how often I took extended weeks-long breaks) has kept me accountable to some degree. I have not gotten to 289 again. This never happened in my pre-blogging days. I always regained what I lost and then some. I'd lost up to 30+ pounds in the past and started regaining sometimes the very same year.
Blogging has given me some strength to hang on (last year during a more maintenance type of phase), and to lose, so that I'm a tick away from having lost 35 pounds from my highest weight in 2004, and am 25 pounds down from my starting-blog weight. Three years and one month after starting this blog, I have not gotten back up or beyond my high weight.
If you ever thought about starting a blog to help you lose weight, I recommend it. I'm not at goal, not after three years, but I am doing better than I have before, because there's always this little presence in my head: the community of fatfighters whom I follow and who follow me. We are a support group. And when I drop out of sight cause life gets weird or I get depressed, I still want to come on and lurk and see how you guys are doing, even if I'm not doing so well. And eventually, wanting to hang with you again BRINGS ME BACK.
It's worth it. It is.
Do it.
And the more accountable you are--probably the better it will be for you. Put your numbers out there. Tell us when you fall. Tell us what helped you get back up. Help someone else back up. Put up a body shot. Be honest. Be angry. Be yourself.
So that even when you have a hard time losing, you can just HANG ON until you can lose (and win) again.
Glad I found those calendars. I feel better about today just seeing a bit of yesterday...
Happy Sunday (again)....
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Fat to Fit Blog Hop Thursday: Journaling In Better Nutrition...can get tricky!
As my regular readers know, I got back to Sparking, which include using the SparkPeople Nutrition Tracker (a lovely online tool for food journaling). I have found it really useful, not just to track food, but to track holes in my nutrition, since it tells you as you enter your meals how you are stacking up not just in carbs/proteins/fats, but in assorted nutrients (and you can customize).
As a middle-aged, post-menopausal woman, I wanna know that I'm getting enough calcium and vitamin D. And I wouldn't have realized I'm chronically deficient in zinc, folate, B-12, and potassium had I not sparked. (I can't eat shellfish/seafood, and I won't eat organ meats, and I limit my nuts/seeds for caloric reasons, so I tend to have issues with areas where those are the major suppliers of particular nutrients.)
Thanks to Sparking that journal, I have been able to target my supplement intake to what I need, not just shove some in my mouth "just in case." I love doing the report after supper and seeing where I need to boost nutrients--and am most happy when I meet goals in most categories. But knowing where the holes are lets me know if I need a B-complex or just a B-12 dot, if I need to have more romaine or spinach, if I should add a beef dish, if I need to pop a Citrical-D max. I do find that I have to take zinc. Period. I have almost never ever made my zinc nutrient RDA, so, yeah, I take liquid ionic zinc. It tastes truly hideous, but I do it, cause I suspect at the bottom of my chronic skin and thinning hair issues may be this chronic zinc deficiency.
Because I was low on potassium yesterday (I usually am, and most Americans usually are), I had some banana with dinner and coconut water with lunch on Wednesday. This morning, I added a banana-skim-milk-raw-cocoa-powder smoothie to breakfast to get magnesium/calcium/D/potassium (all nutrients that a lot of people fall short of, including me if I'm not careful with meal planning).
So, what is the tricky part in the subject header?
Well, no nutrition tracker that I've ever used is comprehensive for all users. If you buy stuff ready-made, you better have the ability to deconstruct that chicken salad or beef stew or whatever it is you bought to get the components (unless someone posts a generic you just go with).
Today, breakfast is a delivery meal from Diet-To-Go that I'm using to get me through the first few weeks of the Summer Slimmin' Challenge. (See badge on top of my sidebar for info). While the Diet-To-Go site has some nutritional info, it doesn't give it for the major nutrients (just the "top label" ones, fat, sodium, carbs, protein, calories). It doesn't give me the nutrients in my Eggs Florentine with soy sausage and asparagus, which, given there's spinach, milk, and eggs in there, should be nice. I know it's high protein (44 grams) and low-carb (6, and hence me having the banana, heh, cause I didn't have toast), but not how much of vitamins, minerals, etc.
That diminishes the usefulness of my journaling (in terms of health), although I still will know the calories and major categories that most dieters care about.
Still, I want to know that I had enough folate or B-12 or magnesium. It matters to me.
So, the convenience of diet delivery meals makes for inconvenient food tracking. Hey, Diet-to-Go! Make it easy for Sparkers who use your food. Give us the lowdown. BETTER YET: Contact SparkPeople, you Diet-To-Go administrators, and give them your meal titles/info and side dishes and the comprehensive nutrient breakdown, so that these can be added to the food database there. Who knows? You might get a lot more subscribers through that huge online community (of millions of fatfighters!)
Anyway, visit other blogging fatfighters/health-seekers in the Fat to Fit Blog Hop:
Go ye and hydrate, move, laugh, and lose!
Happy fatfighting this Thursday!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
SUMMER SLIMMIN' Challenge begins....oh, 44 minutes ago. :D
Okay, here we go...
Two months of focusing on some or all of specific healthy-habit activities: food journaling, eating lots of produce, exercising regularly, hydrating purposefully, preparing healthful low-cal meals, weighing-in weekly, posting for accountability, and bloggy supporting of fellow challenge-partakers.
You can join in at any point withing the two months. Click the icon on my sidebar for this challenge (with the Korean manwha bathing beauty in beachy frolics).
Since it starts on a Sunday, weigh-ins will be Sundays starting 6/13.
(Anime--or L'Arc-en-ciel-- fans will appreciate that link.)
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Fatwings: How my arms look now...
I'm gonna show you my upper arms and me at 266 lbs in the sun. My batwings. Er, okay, fat wings. Hanging in the bright noonday light.
The thing is that I wish you could FEEL them. I have MUSCLE under all that blubber. Two years of Pilates and I have lots of muscle. But...fat covereth a multitude of muscle, it seems.
Heh.
Anyway, since I'm starting a challenge on Sunday--I'll post on that shortly so some of y'all who need a boost for the summer fatfight can join in--I wanted documentation of their size NOW. By next June, I want those babies to be smaller. (And I'm using MSM cream daily for a week plus now and taking Zinc supplementation hoping that helps with elasticity a bit.)
Here we go. A pic taken Monday, May 31, 2010.
I present the royal fatwings:
Dang, my boobies look big, too, huh?
Note the utter joy on my face. I am proof one can be fat and happy. I may suffer from bouts of depression, but when the blues take a hike, I'm a happy gal being photographed by a happy guy (whom I love madly and who loves me madly, hooray). Love is more potent than fat. :) And I hope you feel joyful even if you have huge fatwings like me.
Take a cue from Lisa and her own pics of her upper arms as they used to be at a weight very close to mine now: Be happy, dance, have joy, enjoy life, even if your body is a source of shame or frustration at times, refuse to give in to the negative self-views. Be full of cheer NOW, not when you're 40 or 100 or 200 lbs slimmer. You have to have fun with what you have now. You have to love the you that you are now. Don't hide away. Don't wait to be fully you. Don't wait for the miracle diet or miracle pill or miracle protein drink. Just glow now.
Okay, I showed you mine. Now, let me see YOUR fatwings or droopy thighs or hanging abdomen or whatever it is you'd like to see change a bit or a lot this summer. Take a shot. Post it. Document it. Then make it....history. But not shameful history. Just plain old...history.
And you know what? Post a pic even if you are NOT going to work on changing a dang thing, if you're fat and happy and sassy and not gonna diet or run a marathon or do anything but be zaftig self. That's fine, too.
Post a comment with a link if you have the cojones to show your fat to the world with a smile on your face.
Later...
The thing is that I wish you could FEEL them. I have MUSCLE under all that blubber. Two years of Pilates and I have lots of muscle. But...fat covereth a multitude of muscle, it seems.
Heh.
Anyway, since I'm starting a challenge on Sunday--I'll post on that shortly so some of y'all who need a boost for the summer fatfight can join in--I wanted documentation of their size NOW. By next June, I want those babies to be smaller. (And I'm using MSM cream daily for a week plus now and taking Zinc supplementation hoping that helps with elasticity a bit.)
Here we go. A pic taken Monday, May 31, 2010.
I present the royal fatwings:
Dang, my boobies look big, too, huh?
Note the utter joy on my face. I am proof one can be fat and happy. I may suffer from bouts of depression, but when the blues take a hike, I'm a happy gal being photographed by a happy guy (whom I love madly and who loves me madly, hooray). Love is more potent than fat. :) And I hope you feel joyful even if you have huge fatwings like me.
Take a cue from Lisa and her own pics of her upper arms as they used to be at a weight very close to mine now: Be happy, dance, have joy, enjoy life, even if your body is a source of shame or frustration at times, refuse to give in to the negative self-views. Be full of cheer NOW, not when you're 40 or 100 or 200 lbs slimmer. You have to have fun with what you have now. You have to love the you that you are now. Don't hide away. Don't wait to be fully you. Don't wait for the miracle diet or miracle pill or miracle protein drink. Just glow now.
Okay, I showed you mine. Now, let me see YOUR fatwings or droopy thighs or hanging abdomen or whatever it is you'd like to see change a bit or a lot this summer. Take a shot. Post it. Document it. Then make it....history. But not shameful history. Just plain old...history.
And you know what? Post a pic even if you are NOT going to work on changing a dang thing, if you're fat and happy and sassy and not gonna diet or run a marathon or do anything but be zaftig self. That's fine, too.
Post a comment with a link if you have the cojones to show your fat to the world with a smile on your face.
Later...
I'm 266 today, so I dropped by 266 blog
Maybe you wanna visit, too. :)
Just looking at her fabulous photo-pic journey (see her melt away to a trim 150 lbs) is a huge encouragement.
Just looking at her fabulous photo-pic journey (see her melt away to a trim 150 lbs) is a huge encouragement.
I'm not sure I'm doing the Blog Hop Thing Right, Hmmm...Lemme try to fix this....
I saw a blog hop sign-up on Fitcetera blog, and I added this blog and copied the code and put it in my sidebar (scroll down).
I think I did that wrong. Lucy of DIMINISHING LUCY left me a comment, and apparently, I "royally" screwed this up. I'm not all that bloggy-tech savvy, so I'll try to fix that now, but, really, I think I'm MORE confused after reading Lucy's directions. (So much for my 136 IQ).
Okay, here goes with the button:
The button's also on my sidebar now, replacing the actual blog hop list, which is what I'd put there before. The list:
I'll even backdate it to Thursday to keep things in order here.
Man, if this is still wrong, slap me hard. I will link to a FITNESS/DIET post next Thursday, not one explaining what a dumbass I am re blogging linky/html stuff. :) Normally, I'm so good about following rules. Sorry if I made a mess this time for ya, Lucy. I didn't even know you were involved. Ahem.
Now, for those wanting a challenge, please see previous post on the challenge that begins SUNDAY, yes SUNDAY, June 6 and runs through 8/6. Just two months of focusing on health and slimming: SUMMER SLIMMIN' CHALLENGE.
For those wanting to know a totally orgasmic reason to exercise: HERE Ya go.
Forgive my spazziness and I'll try to do you right NEXT THURSDAY. :)
Nitey all....
I think I did that wrong. Lucy of DIMINISHING LUCY left me a comment, and apparently, I "royally" screwed this up. I'm not all that bloggy-tech savvy, so I'll try to fix that now, but, really, I think I'm MORE confused after reading Lucy's directions. (So much for my 136 IQ).
Okay, here goes with the button:
The button's also on my sidebar now, replacing the actual blog hop list, which is what I'd put there before. The list:
I'll even backdate it to Thursday to keep things in order here.
Man, if this is still wrong, slap me hard. I will link to a FITNESS/DIET post next Thursday, not one explaining what a dumbass I am re blogging linky/html stuff. :) Normally, I'm so good about following rules. Sorry if I made a mess this time for ya, Lucy. I didn't even know you were involved. Ahem.
Now, for those wanting a challenge, please see previous post on the challenge that begins SUNDAY, yes SUNDAY, June 6 and runs through 8/6. Just two months of focusing on health and slimming: SUMMER SLIMMIN' CHALLENGE.
For those wanting to know a totally orgasmic reason to exercise: HERE Ya go.
Forgive my spazziness and I'll try to do you right NEXT THURSDAY. :)
Nitey all....
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Dieter Tolerance: Letting People Do It Their Way Without Neener-Boos
But one thing I wish we could have more of in this fatfighting microcosm online is tolerance for the way each person feels they need to journey toward a better weight and better health.
Not every body, every mind, every emotional situation is the same. Some people will never understand those of us who do emotional binge eating. I will never understand people who can tolerate liquid protein fasts or, egads, puke up meals. (I have a serious pukephobia. I'd lay in bed trying hard to not puke even as a kid with stomach flu. I hate the sensation of food and bile coming right back up my throat. How do bulimics do that???)
But I can UNDERSTAND that we got fat--and STAY fat-- for more reasons than just "ate too much". Ate too much is fundamental--more calories than our bodies can handle and we gain weight. That's the basic layer, the thick heavy poured-out root of the structure.
But physiologically, some people handle sweets and carbs better and others are absolutely sent off on highs and lows and binges by them. Some livers handle things better than other livers. Some of us have non-functional (or minimally-functional) thyroid glands, and others have normal or hyper ones. Some of us got put on appetite-increasing (but essential) medications, and maybe others got on needed (or elective) medications that revved up metabolism or reduced appetite. Some folks are tall and some short, some male, some female, some mushy and some muscular, so some can eat more than others even with activity rates factored in. Some of us have moral issues for or against eating meat --or how animal products are raised and butchered--and some of us have environmental concerns about pesticides or responsible farming and others don't. Some have tight budgets and some lavish ones. Some of us suffer from depressions that, rather than curtailing appetites (gee, why couldn't I have THAT version), have depressions that send us self-medicating with food to raise mood. Some of us had parents who took effort to make healthful, low-caloric meals. Some of us had moms and grandmoms who were food pushers. Some of us were abused and castoff, some of us were nurtured and valued. Some of us thrive on exercise, love it like some love a glazed donut; others hate to sweat and would rather have dental surgery than go to the gym. Some of us have terrible joint pain upon movement, so moderate to vigorous exercise can prove excruciating. Some of us have high-stress cranking out the cortisol, others have more leisurely lives. Some of us have to cook for various people in a household with various tastes, some only need to cater to a couple, or just to ourselves.
I was reading Lyn's excellent blog, and she's apparently getting grief about Medifast as a diet choice and its sustainability lifelong.
Well, I'll say this: I am leery of packaged foods diets a la Nutrisystem, MediFast, Jenny Craig, ONLY cause I really do think that natural food is generally better for us and fresh organic even moreso, and because I am concerned about hefty caloric restriction causing metabolic issues (which I suspect is at the heart of some gastric bypass folks regaining weight on much lower caloric levels than normal).
But ya know, we're different and we gotta try different things to learn how we handle stuff. And we gotta realize none of us is the expert about another person's life and body.
I would even try something like Medifast or Jenny Craig in order to LEARN about my body and self and nutrition, etc. I might not keep doing it or like it, but I think every diet can teach us something. Lyn has learned a lot on MediFast, and while the pics of MediFast food grosses me out, she's losing weight and feeling great and she realizes she does better on low carb. Period.
For people to start harping about sustainability isn't going to help. And what we fatfighters want is HELP, not the critical gallery. If Lyn had been doing, say, old Kimkins, with 500 to 800 calories and minimal fat and not enough nutrients, I'd say, "Hey, girl, you're damaging your body with starvation levels of calories and not enough nutrition. You're gonna go bald and have metabolic slowdown!"
But as long as she is well-nourished (and she is) and she's feeling health and emotional improvements, who the hell am I to neener-bo her?
No, I am too busy neener-booing myself. :)
What I need from you , what I really want, if you're willing, is the good word that's gonna be the wind at my back to move me along, even if just a little, towards my goals.
If you don't have that good word: move along. I don't need a downer.
Please, when you visit assorted blogs, even if you have misgivings about the ultimate success of A, B, or C diet or weight loss technique (and let's all laugh through our tears together at how ineffective just about all of them have been for most Americans so far in terms of sustainable losses), as long as the person is not anorexic, bulimic, or doing something patently nuts, let's give them a cheery "I wish you well; I'm rooting for you." And if you have a good, solid, positive tip in your own successful journey, go for it.
If a plan or technique fails for someone, it will be evident soon enough. That's life. But it's really kinda a bummer, not to mention not at all helpful, to be told "Oh, you can't keep that up. You're gonna fail."
How does that help? Hmm?
Let people try stuff. Let people ride their wind. And if they fail, then help them get back up.
Now, that's not to say we shouldn't HAVE DISCUSSIONS in general about this stuff--what we see might be dangerous, fallacious, ill-advised. I do believe in informed consent re lap bands and gastric bypass. But as long as people know the pros and cons (of diets, of training equipment, of particular supplements or foods, etc), if they wanna go ahead, then let's give them the cheerleader's rah-rah. We should want EACH OF US TO SUCCEED. We should wish for it. Pray for it.
And we should want the dieting odds to be beaten to a bloody pulp in every case.
So, like so many others are doing for the summer, I'm taking on a summer slimming challenge. Do challenges help ultimately? I dunno. Maybe to refocus us on good habits for weight loss and to get support. But I know it's better to keep fighting and trying than to just look at the bad odds (98% of dieters fail) and say, "Oh, well, might as well order a double-meat pizza."
Here's to everyone trying to get healthier and slimmer. I want you to win, and I want to win, too.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Bloggy Inspiration for Breakfast and Action
Two bloggers inspired me today. One got me to make a yumsy breakfast rather than just settling for the easier (lazier) cheese toast, coffee and fruit. Another has me committed to stepping out the door.
First: Breakfast. I've been in a bit of a breakfast rut this week, just slapping cheese or ham and cheese between whole wheat bread with coffee and fruit and water. But I saw Poor Girl Eats Well recent blog on Mushroom Fajita omelette and thought: I WANT THAT NOW! :)
I didn't have all the ingredients on hand her recipe calls for, in fact, I've been in such a funk I've been out of eggs for a week and didn't bother to go shopping for some, but I found a carton of egg whites set to expire in ten days at the back of the fridge. Must have been there a couple months. I had 2% Kraft singles handy. I had portabella mushrooms I picked up at the lil ratty local farmer's market on the way back from Pilates Monday (the market is sad, but it's only one block away from the studio, and I was craving berries). I had half of one sweet onion and half a red pepper left from that Monday market drop-by. And a tomato. That would do nicely.
I sauteed the veggies in a couple teaspoons of EVOO in one small pan, coated another in PAM organic spray (olive oil version) and used that for the egg whites.
Squeezed some of the almost overripe tangerines I had left for fresh juice. Put two slices of whole wheat bread in the toaster oven. Made my fabulous Ethiopian gourmet coffee (freshly ground beans, filtered water).
A feast. Got four and a half fruits and veggies and a very filling meal for just over 500 calories. Were I in full, gung-ho diet mode, I'd have left out one slice of toast and had less juice. A lot of calories for one meal, some would say, but I find if I skip breakfast or eat a very small one, I tend to pig out crazy at lunch or binge at dinner. I always wake up ravenous. The only one in my family to do so. Hm.
The other inspiring blogger today was Lyn. I could have written about that detachment. About being numb eating and living in the head. I had been doing better, then got all funked down and began doing that again. Here's something she said in today's post:
After reading that, I decided to have my second cup of coffee, post to the blog, and get dressed and GO OUTSIDE somewhere. At this point, I don't care where. Whole foods to stock up on good stuff. A park. The bookstore to browse and watch people. To make a doctor's appointment. To buy shoes. Don't care. Just get up, shower, get prettied up, put on non-lounging clothes, and live outside the head for a while.
Thanks Poor Girl and Lyn.
First: Breakfast. I've been in a bit of a breakfast rut this week, just slapping cheese or ham and cheese between whole wheat bread with coffee and fruit and water. But I saw Poor Girl Eats Well recent blog on Mushroom Fajita omelette and thought: I WANT THAT NOW! :)
I didn't have all the ingredients on hand her recipe calls for, in fact, I've been in such a funk I've been out of eggs for a week and didn't bother to go shopping for some, but I found a carton of egg whites set to expire in ten days at the back of the fridge. Must have been there a couple months. I had 2% Kraft singles handy. I had portabella mushrooms I picked up at the lil ratty local farmer's market on the way back from Pilates Monday (the market is sad, but it's only one block away from the studio, and I was craving berries). I had half of one sweet onion and half a red pepper left from that Monday market drop-by. And a tomato. That would do nicely.
I sauteed the veggies in a couple teaspoons of EVOO in one small pan, coated another in PAM organic spray (olive oil version) and used that for the egg whites.
Squeezed some of the almost overripe tangerines I had left for fresh juice. Put two slices of whole wheat bread in the toaster oven. Made my fabulous Ethiopian gourmet coffee (freshly ground beans, filtered water).
A feast. Got four and a half fruits and veggies and a very filling meal for just over 500 calories. Were I in full, gung-ho diet mode, I'd have left out one slice of toast and had less juice. A lot of calories for one meal, some would say, but I find if I skip breakfast or eat a very small one, I tend to pig out crazy at lunch or binge at dinner. I always wake up ravenous. The only one in my family to do so. Hm.
The other inspiring blogger today was Lyn. I could have written about that detachment. About being numb eating and living in the head. I had been doing better, then got all funked down and began doing that again. Here's something she said in today's post:
I feel so very alive now. I see things that need to be done and I embrace the challenge instead of dreading the work. I see the sunshine outside and I want to be out there *in* it... not burying my face in a Big Mac Meal or a computer screen for hours on end. I feel like I have stepped back into the real world. I feel like I have awakened from a decade of detached slumber. I am awake, alive, and present.
After reading that, I decided to have my second cup of coffee, post to the blog, and get dressed and GO OUTSIDE somewhere. At this point, I don't care where. Whole foods to stock up on good stuff. A park. The bookstore to browse and watch people. To make a doctor's appointment. To buy shoes. Don't care. Just get up, shower, get prettied up, put on non-lounging clothes, and live outside the head for a while.
Thanks Poor Girl and Lyn.
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