Week 3

Week three and plugging along.  Another pound and a half down.  Two more to go and I will be within my healthy BMI range.  BMI = body mass index.  This is the indicator that tells you if you are fat....if your tight clothes, bulging belly and the mirror don't tell you. It's a ratio of height and weight.  There are many BMI calculators out there, all you have to do is Google it.  Here is one I like: http://www.webmd.com/diet/calc-bmi-plus.  This will give you all kinds of helpful information.  Knowledge is power :)  How's your BMI? 

City Creek

My wonderful in-laws, Don and Audrey Ward, are in town from Canada for a couple of weeks.  We don't get to see them much, so it's really nice to have them around for a little while.  Friday we took them downtown to the new City Creek Center and mall.  It could not have been a more beautiful afternoon.  Rachel and Layla came with us. 

 What's not to love about being pushed around in your stoller?

 She is soaking wet from running through the water that shoots up and her pants are falling off. I tried to get some video, but in the interest of saving her life (mom was shopping), I couldn't video and keep her from drowing in the other fountain at the same time.  LOL  She was a little too eager to dive right in to the fountain.

 Here is Peter's dad patiently waiting on us while we shopped.  It's a tough job.

 Peter's mom and dad at The Cheesecake Factory.  

Me and Peter at The Cheesecake Factory

Me, learning a lesson for leaving my cell phone with Peter.  This was my screen saver when I got it back.  Nice! 

Other reasons I love having Don and Audrey here:

1. Dinner ready when I come home from work.

2. Windows washed inside and out.

3. Lawn mowed

4. Laundry folded.

5. Validation that I'm not crazy. ;)

Can I keep them??

Week 2

A couple more pounds lost :)  But even better, fat percentage down and muslce percentage up!  How do you trim an elephant??  One pound at a time. :)  My P90X came today.....will start on May 1st.  Should I be excited, or scared?  LOL 

Decision Made...

P90X it is!  Bought it Friday, will start May 1st assuming I have it by then.  Looking forward to the challenge.  I've been feeling pretty good.  Sore from my workouts (which is good I suppose), and eating well.  I haven't been craving anything....and I'm hoping that lasts for a very long time.  Inevitably, the chocolate chip cookies will start calling my name.  At which time I have to remember:

"Nothing tastes as good as losing weight feels!"

This year I will turn FIFTY!  Good grief, how did this happen??  The best thing I can give myself for my 50th birthday is a lean, fit body, and the self control to maintain it.  THAT is my goal. 

P90X or Insanity???

That is the question!  I've been reading up on them both......what to do, what to do.   

Super Foods!

What is a Super Food you say? 

"A “super food” is a category of foods deemed high in essential vitamins and nutrients that are said to help maintain a healthy body. These foods have been proven to assist in weight loss, fight diseases, and aid the body’s organs to function properly. These foods all have one thing in common, they are all natural. I have preached the importance of decreasing your intake of processed food many times on this blog but this just goes to show, our bodies were not meant to function on that kind of food. Here is a list of “super foods” that should be staples in your diet. (These are not the only ones, these are simply a small list of a few of my favs – feel free to add!
                   (Dishin about Nutrition, January 12, 2011.)

Here's a couple of links to sites with a list of super foods to enjoy in your diet each day. My personal favorite?? Dark chocolate of course.  Strawberries dipped in it, even more. :) 

http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/10-everyday-super-foods

http://dishinaboutnutrition.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/super-foods-everyone-should-have-in-their-diet/

Week 1

"How long does getting thin take?" asked Pooh, anxiously.
– A.A. Milne

A lifetime!  At least for me.  In my lifetime I've probably lost over 150lbs. Unfortunately, I always seem to find them again.  I've never struggled with exercise because I love to be active.  But I also love to eat.  Who doesn't?  Self control in that area is ever elusive.  So, I keep trying.  Because I want to feel good.  And when I am carrying extra weight, I don't feel good....inside or out.  So here I go again! 

This week I lost 3.5lbs.  I don't want them back.  Ever.  Here's to NOT finding them.  :)  On my way!

Who Knew?

Kale chips.  You know, that green stuff in the Zuppa Tuscana at Olive Garden?  It's a green leafy vegetable, similar to spinach, and OH so good for you.  My daughter Brittany mentioned to me that she was eating it every day in the form of chips.  Whatever.  How weird is that? I kind of let that in one ear and out the other. Then one day while surfing I came across a food blog where the author mentioned how much she likes to eat kale.  Here it was again.  Only she ate it boiled.  Then I remembered that Britt had said something about eating kale.  So I called her, and I Googled it.  Who knew that there was this secret underworld society of kale chip munchers out there?  Who would believe that a green leafy plant like kale would get crispy in the oven and actually taste tood??  Well, I am here to tell you that it does!  It's kinda crazy, but it really does. Here's a link to a recipe I found.  I also sprinkled them with a little parmesan cheese for extra flavor. Use any of your favorite seasonings.  And then I tried potatoes!  They were awesome :)  Next I will do sweet potatoes.  The world is my oyster.  Or my kale.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/crispy-kale-chips-recipe/index.html.

Tracking

If there's anything I hate more than trying to lose weight, it's keeping track of what I eat.  What a pain!  Unfortunately, it's a necessary evil.  I don't think I have ever been successful without tracking.  Weight Watcher's online is probably the best tool I've ever used...but alas, it's not free.  So, I recommend this one: www.nutritiondata.com.  It doesn't have a lot of the fast food listings other sites may contain, but it has a great analysis of the food you eat to let you see how "complete" your day was and where you need to improve.  Sure, you might have to use the tools to add some of your own foods or recipes, but once you do it's there forever and you can easily add it to your tracking.   At the end of the day you can see how many carbs you had, how much fat, how much protein, calcium, vitamins, etc.  The challenge is to try to eat enough of the right foods to get all of the above from food instead of supplements (which may or may not be absorbed in to the body anyway). I try to get the highest "complete" number I can, staying within my calorie limit of course.  It's not easy!  And there's definitely not room for junk food.  If I eat the amounts of good food I need, I'm too full for anything else anyway.

Who is the Biggest Loser?

I have posted before about my life long struggle with weight loss.  It's my Achilles heel, my weakness, my challenge in life.  Fortunately for me, the genes in my family do not trend towards obesity, so it's not a great deal of weight I'm talking about....just enough to make me uncomfortable and keep me from being the best I can be.  I have always felt if I could overcome this one BIG weakness in my life, I could overcome anything.  It's not that I don't know how to eat properly or exercise.  I've done it before, many times, and lost weight and felt good, only to fall back in to bad habits and put it all back on over time. Weight Watchers, South Beach Diet, Low Carb, Low Fat, Body for Life, Vegetarian, phony HCG, you name it, I've tried it.   The same twenty pounds, over and over again. Sound familiar? It's not about vanity or trying to look a certain way to fit in.  It's about being healthy and feeling good about myself.  I know I can be better.  It's like my unfinished college degree used to be....something I had just never finished or taken control of.  A loose end.  Something that keeps me from feeling like I am doing the best I can.  Because I'm not, and I know it.

So, this week, I begin yet another stab at shedding these extra pounds, hoping that THIS time it will stick....that maybe THIS time I will be able to conquer food for good and stay in control.   My sister and I are entering a Biggest Loser style contest at the college where she works, with weekly weigh-ins and prizes.  It's 11 weeks (don't know why the random number), ending June 20th.  I intend to win.  I am hesitant to blog about it.  That means I am putting myself out there and showcasing my possible failure to the world (or at least the 5 or 6 people who actually read my blog...LOL).  I have seen other people do it...put their statistics and pictures out there for all to see (which I won't be doing)...and some did pretty well.  Others fell by the weigh side (pun intended).  Will I be just another failed attempt?  I don't know, but I have to give it a try! One never really fails until they stop trying, right?   And along the way I will post some progress, because I know there will be some.  It's not so much the losing the weight I struggle with, it's the keeping it off and sticking to it part that has my number.

So, for the next few weeks I hope you will indulge me, or just ignore me, whichever works best...as I share my progress, tips,links, and recipes.  I would welcome any you might have as well.  Wish me luck!!