Intial Thoughts On Eating Well

For me, I am not calling this HUGE change "dieting"...it is more about changing my life...forever. Relearning and teaching myself HOW to eat. I suppose I skipped those lessons a long time ago.




Day Three Thoughts...it has been a whole lot easier to make adjustments. I am not feeling deprived at all. I am eating more food than ever because of "what" I am eating. I eat on a schedule and have stopped eating after 7pm...that is the deadline for me.





I am eating breakfast and finding that it makes ALL the difference in the world. I am enjoying that special time with myself.




Here was my breakfast for Sunday. An egg beaters "southwestern" scramble with some added cherry tomatoes, and one slice of fat free cheese, 4 chunks of pineapple, and a container of Activia yogurt. Instead of salt...I am using several Mrs. Dash shakers.



Planning is really important for me. I am not making obsessive lists, but having the right food in the house allows me to make proper choices. I even pack small, healthy snacks to take with me when we go some where. I would hate to be in a position where my sugar level begins to drop and I can not get something healthy.



Water, water, and more water. I haven't had a sugar filled/sodium laden soda in 4 days. I will not be drinking diet soda either.



The sugar withdrawal is now over and I am finding my energy is going through the roof.



The headaches have stopped.



My feet are not as swollen as they were...probably 70% resolved. This makes me happier than anything and reaffirms that I am making the best decision of my life...for my life.

~~~~~~~
Day Three Weight Loss= 260.0 (1.4 pounds lost) and feeling better than I thought I would.

Lunch...6in. Subway Jared Turkey Sandwich on 9 grain whole wheat...loaded with veggies and honey mustard only...no salt and spices...no cheese. No chips...no soda.



Dinner Plans...Grilled Boneless Chicken Breast, Steamed Broccoli with lemon, and whole wheat pasta salad with red onions, wilted spinach, EVOO, balsamic vinegar, spices, and green peppers.



I am also using our salad plates as my dinner plate as you can see from the size of the fork. It is fooling to the eye and I am not feeling deprived...at all.



Thanks to everyone for encouraging me and giving advice. It really is so wonderful to have this sacred place to come and release all the fear I have inside. ALSO: I want you to call me out and harass me when you feel I might be slipping or that I need a boot in the butt.

Just an FYI on a blog I found

I stumbled upon this blog...and I want to pass it along to all of you. She blogs about healthy eating and life after losing 168 POUNDS!!!!!

She is a recovering carbaholic and there is a wonderful list of other blogs (some of which would be really helpful to us all) on her left side bar.

Check it out.

Funky Friday

This has been a strange week for me. I have not been feeling up to par. I feel exhausted. Not sure why but I do have a Dr's appointment for a (another) check up. The root canal is over but the problem is still there so I go back to the dentist in a few days.

I have been eating so so. Not all that healthy but at least not a lot. Neither is good. I just feel nauseous. Maybe the meds?

My water intake is normal but I need to really drink more of it.

Because I have been so tired, I have not walked at all this week. I have been in the garden. Better that nothing I guess.

I have lost one pound. More hair loss? I should be happy but I am not. I would rather feel good.
Wish me luck as I get over another hump. And I will! Pinky Promise! <><

Stop the Ignorance!

I was ignoring all the signs that I desperately needed to get healthy. I was blaming it all on what was going on around me, so that I could selfishly keep on eating and feeding my body crap. I would convince myself that my reasons were valid...until I couldn't do it anymore.

I really do want to live...I want to be happy and I need to be healthy. How can I tell my daughter to keep on going and that life is worth living, if I am silently killing myself instead. Sounds like a hypocrite to me and I am not fond of being hypocritical. How can I help others, if I fail to help myself?

I guess that is why I haven't posted in a while...because if I ignored it, then it wasn't really there...right?

Ignorance is bliss. But I want more than ignorance. I choose life.

I know "what" I need to do...I know "how" to do it. After spending the day staring at my toes that were starting to turn blue because my feet were swelling so much, I made the decision to "get real" with myself and stopping hiding behind my friend called ignorance.

The truth sucks...but it can also be a freeing experience and I feel that it will be the same for me. I am putting these demons to rest not only for myself, but for my daughters. The skeletons are coming out of the closet and no longer will I be held to their agenda. they will adhere to mine.

I will stop smoking too, but it will not be right now...I can only handle but so many changes at once. But that day is quickly approaching.

I am contracting with this blog to only eat healthy foods...whole, simplistic foods with high nutritional value.

I will not eat processed crap loaded with sugar, fat, and salt.

I will not drink soda. I will chose water and on occasion, a glass of wine.

I will not succumb to the eating habits of others. If I can not eat somewhere that I can make proper choices...then we will not eat there.

I will not say..."just one will not hurt."

I will walk for at least 10 minutes everyday for the next week.

I will feed my soul as well, with uplifting and happy things. I will do this daily.

I will take my Flax Seed Oil and Fish Oil Supplements twice daily, as well as a woman's daily vitamin.

I will use this forum for all that it's worth and I will lean on my Blog Sister's as I fight this war.

I will be brutally honest and by doing so I will admit my weight as of this morning...

My weight today is 261.4 (I have a nice digital scale that I will not become obsessed with). I am 5'4.

I am morbidly obese and this will be the LAST time I will ever have to say this.

Today is my new beginning.

Realization

I have realized that the only time I work out regularly is if I do it first thing in the morning, otherwise the tasks of my day get in the way. Before I had a major toothache and oral surgery I was in a great habit of walking at 5:00 am. Since I've recovered it's dark at 5:00 am, so I haven't been walking. Curves opens at 5:45. My one and only goal this week is to get to Curves at least twice this week when they open!

I didn't do very good at accomplishing any of my goals last week. I only worked out twice and I ate and ate and ate some more. Fortunately I was only up one pound and I was happy with that!

I still have recipes I want to share, I will try my best to get those posted.

Just Shoot Me!!

The week itself actually went well. I went to yoga class two days, and pilates class one day...first goal met. I also drank so much water that I thought I was going to pee myself a couple of times before I could get to the facilities!!! Second goal met.

Then, the weekend came around...

Cool Breeze took me out to lunch Friday. I ate a delicious tex-mex chopped salad. Yummy AND healthy. For a variety of reasons, we did not grill the beautiful london broil that I had marinated for dinner Friday night. Instead, we had Snow White bring home a pizza when she left work. I ate three slices.

Saturday brought the Blog Sister meet-up at an amazing Italian restaurant. They serve everything family style. On HUGE platters. You have to order two of everything for the table to share: salads, appetizers, pastas, entrees AND desserts. Let's just say that I ate enough for five. I wanted to get my money's worth, right?? Let's not even discuss the four bottles of wine....

Needless to say, I did not even bother to get on the scales this morning. I DID go to my yoga class, but will need to add more classes this week to compensate for the dreadful weekend!!!

Goals for the week: Minimum of four classes, extra water, just say "no" to carbs!!! I'm going for the green...

BOOYAH!! Look out fat. You're going DOWN!

Lessons from Fitness Magazine

I have a stack of magazines that I haven't had time to read. I am subscribed to them until the year 2020 thanks to Magazine Drives by various schools and nieces and nephews going to said schools.

One of the magazines that I subscribe to is Fitness. The intention was to help keep me motivated. The problem? In order to stay motivated, apparently you have to be motivated to start with;)

Anyway back to the story - Yesterday was such a glorious morning. Cool. Sunny. So I decided to sit on the patio and catch up on some reading. I picked up Fitness April 2009 issue.

My plan was to get all kinds of useful tips on weight loss and exercise to share with you guys.

So here is what I got:

1. Eat less
2. Exercise more

Ok, so maybe I got a little more than that. But I didn't write the post yesterday and now I can't remember. And I already 'shared' the magazine with my neighbor so I can't thumb through it to refresh my memory.

Have I inspired you? Are you looking forward to next month's issue?

Derailed

Toward the end of last week, I was hormonal. I was mean. I was lazy. And I was hungry.

So the diet train completely derailed. I'm talking Pizza Hut lunch buffet, chocolate chess pie, an extra scoop of Nestle Quik in my chocolate milk, and to top it off - a Sonic Blast, with extra M&Ms!

But the good news - I did not purchase the container of Nutella and scarf it down like there was no tomorrow. Even though I really, really wanted to.

I did not purchase the dozen cupcakes and scarf them down like there was no tomorrow. Even though I really, really wanted to.

Now for the real good news, once Aunt Flo made her appearance, the hormones shifted and I am back on track.

I have sucked down water like a parched camel.

I have exercised for 3 hours this week and plan on doing a long bike ride tomorrow.

I have made better food choices.

And I only gained 1 pound during the derailment.

Friday Fat Fairy

I blew it this week! I did not even
weigh in this morning. And now I'm
mad at myself! It all started Monday
with the macaroni and cheese. And
went straight down hill from there.
I wont even go into the guilt factor
but I'll get back on track!

Feelin' GOOD!

Well, week two is a distant memory. Here are my "fat stats" for the week:

Exercise = 3 hours
M,W,F - Yoga

I didn't go to as many classes this past week, but I worked harder in the classes I DID attend. I'm pushing myself to try the more challenging moves, and to not settle for the easier options. I also splashed around in the pool one evening, and tried to stay busier around the house....instead of sitting on my posterior!!

Water and food intake were about the same. I went out to eat one night, and put half of my meal in a to-go box before I started eating. I tend to pick at my food even after I'm finished, so I figured...out of sight, out of mind...and belly!!

My goals for the coming week are to attend at least three exercise classes (and to find a way to work a pilates class into the mix), to eat more fresh veggies, and to not drink as much wine. We will continue to work on getting the garage enclosure straight, so I'm also hoping to spend less time on the sofa watching the boob-tube!

One of my friends said something this week that I thought was hilarious. It will be my mantra for a while....."If you can't TONE it, TAN it"!!!! Words to live by!!

Heading out to the pool now....;)

Accountability

Last week I made the following goals... Walk 3 times, go to Curves 3 times, stay wheat free and post a couple recipes. Three out of four is not too bad.

I accomplished each of my goals except staying wheat free and my stomach paid a little. Gah, it's just so hard!

I'm going to stick with the same exercise goal this week. It was hard enough that I had to work at it, but not too hard that I couldn't do it! Again I'd like to go wheat free this week, we'll see how that goes. I have a couple soup recipes I'd like to share too. Same goals this week as last week.

I weighed in the same this week as last week. I can live with that!

Question?

Does dancing while cleaning count as exercise? 'Cuz I'm sweatin' like a pig!

Friday Fat Fandango

The Noe Noe Girl Friday Fat Fandango!

This week.
Exercise ~ walked 20 minutes twice a day.
Also climbed 2 flights of stairs twice a day!

Eating- I have done well this week! No meat.
(only because I have been too lazy to cook it.)
My family is almost ready to disown me!
Veggies, Fruits and Cheese!

Lots of water for me this week. I have cut down
on my beer intake. I started on multi vitamins
just in case I am not getting all the nutrients I
need from my beer and lime. I also have been
adding lots of fiber to my diet.
Keeping things moving along helps with weight
loss and also makes me feel better.

My doctor adjusted my thyroid medicine a few
weeks back and I seem to feel better and
I feel like some of my energy is back.
Now if I could just get some of my hair back!
All in due time I guess!

I have had a few carbs but sparingly. Only one small
bag of Doritos and a few Ritz crackers. I love
the garden vegetable flavor! I even broke them
in half as I was eating them to make it seem
like I had more.

I weighed in this morning with 2 pounds
more pounds gone! I put on a size 10
Capri without having to lay down! Never
thought I would see the day! So that
is a total of 7 pounds lost!

I still have this gut that keeps following
me around. I guess I am going to have
to break down and do some type of sit up
to deal with that thing.
But right now I just feel like dancing!

Corn Flake Chicken

I just spent the last 20 minutes searching my computer for this recipe because I know I've sent it to people before, but for the life of me I can't find it. I don't want to be in the habit of linking my blog here, but I made (with pictures) this Corn Flake Chicken and posted about it back in March. I don't want to use bad blog etiquette, but I really want to share this recipe with you. It is really yummy and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Is everyone having a good week? I seem to be on track with the exercise, which I'm please about, but the food and especially the wine intake seem to be a little on the "I really don't need any more of this, but I'm going to anyway" side of things! It's only Thursday, maybe I can have some control over the next couple of days!

One Pot Black Bean and Turkey Chili

Before you read this recipe I have to warn you that I'm one of those cooks that rarely measures anything. I apologize in advance if that drives any of you crazy. I definitely cook by instinct more than by measuring!

This is a recipe I made up and I make it all in one large pot, like a pot you'd make soup in. Who wants to wash more than one pan?! Using the lean ground turkey or chopped chicken breasts leaves no need to drain, which I really like!

1 to 1 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey
1 pkg. chili seasoning + 1/2 pack hot chili seasoning
2 regular size (or one large) can crushed tomatoes
1 regular size can tomato sauce
1 can black beans
diced onion (to your taste)
you might need a little water depending on how thick or thin you like your chili

Spray Pam into a large pan and/or use a small amount of EVOO. Saute onions a few minutes, add ground turkey. When it's about halfway cooked stir in 1/4-1/2 the chili seasoning pack (you might want to add a little water at this point). Meanwhile drain and rinse the black beans. When the turkey is fully cooked add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, black beans and the rest of the chili seasoning packs. Stir. Heat to simmering. Serve when ready!

You could substitute cooked chopped chicken instead of the ground turkey. You can add more beans if you'd like. You can also add all different kinds of chopped veggies to this. I've used carrots and spinach. I almost always add sliced black olives and corn to my bowl. If we have avocado I'll chop some of that and put on top. You could add fat free sour cream and/or fat free cheese.

It's one pot chili have fun with it! If you make this let us know how you liked it and what, if anything you did differently.

This Just In.....

Police: 500-pound inmate hid gun in his flab
Three separate body searches failed to locate 9mm pistol, officials say

Houston Police Department / AP
George Vera, 25, is charged with possession of a firearm in a correctional facility.

An obese inmate in Texas has been charged after officials learned he had a gun hidden in his rolls of fat.

George Vera, 25, was charged with possession of a firearm in a correctional facility after he told a guard at the Harris County Jail about the unloaded 9mm pistol.

The Houston Chronicle reported Thursday that Vera was originally arrested on charges of selling illegal copies of compact discs.

The 500-pound man was searched during his arrest and again at a city jail and the county jail, but officers never found the weapon.

Vera admitted having the gun during a shower break at the county jail.

I just knew that fat roll would come in handy for something;)

BHE's Week #1

Exercise = 5 hours

M,W, F - Yoga Class
T, Th - Pilates Class

Eating = Smaller portions. Fewer carbs. More veggies.

Water = The more I exercise, the more water I drink. YAY!

Attitude = Still frustrated that the actual pounds are not coming off, but happy to notice the beginnings of some muscle tone!

Goals for Next Week = Keep it up! Slow and steady wins the race, right?

Checking In

imom Gets on the Scale!

I didn't set any goals for last week except cutting the wheat out of my diet, yet again. I did a pretty good job of it. For carbs I stuck with potatoes, mostly sweet potatoes which are a favorite of mine and rice. I also had corn tortillas a couple times.

I made a big pot black bean and turkey chili, which I'll post the recipe to later today or tomorrow, it's very low cal, low fat and yummy!

I didn't do any exercise last week. My tooth is healing nicely, but I came down with a bad cold that I'm fighting. My exercise goal for this week is to get back to it. I would like to walk 3 days and go to Curves 3 days! I also plan to keep the wheat out of my diet this week.

As far as this blog goes I'd like to post a couple recipes this week, or maybe just show what a typical non-wheat eating day looks for me, or both!

Man I ramble don't I?!

Oh and the really good news this week is this morning when I was putting on my jeans I noticed they felt loose. I haven't been on the scale in a few weeks, but when I got on I was down 7 lbs from last time! I'm pretty happy with that. That's a total of 12 lbs since sometime in May! I can live with that.

Accountability of a Loser

The Noe Noe Girl Story.

Exercise~not as much walking as I normally do. But if gardening and cleaning count for anything I am still on track! Not to mention all the sweating I have done!
I have a tooth issue going on- so hence a root canal is on my calendar.

Because of the tooth issue~ I have not felt like eating. A good thing.
But what I have had this week has been lots of veggies. Fresh from our garden. Peppers,squash, tomatoes and tomatoes and tomatoes! Lots of local cantaloupes and nectarines. Butter beans and string beans too.

I have been able to cut back on my carbs. I only had bread (for a tomato sandwich) twice this week. I am not a big meat eater so I have not had any meat this week except if you call fish meat. I had that once. Here comes the killer- it was fried catfish ~a favorite of mine. Maybe I should add a carb or twenty???

But with all the sweating and antibiotics this week, I have been able to get plenty of water drinking in! Another good thing! I have been slack on my beer intake. (that's the good fattening stuff! but not so much if you add lime-right?) Yeah I know- NOT!

I weighed in this morning with another two pounds gone! I double checked due to my recent eye exam and my new bi-focals have not come in yet! It is true!

So a total of 5 pounds of something lost in the last 60 days. Still not sure how much of this is hair loss but none the less ~ I feel some what skinny today!

I'll leave you with these words ~
The tragedy in life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal.
The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.
Benjamin Mays

Accountability Friday

Incredible Woody Edition

Well, let's see if I have met my objectives.

Exercise - My aim was 4 day of 45 minutes each. I did not reach my day goal but I did reach my time goal. I rode my bicycle for 150 minutes and did Wii Fit for 30 minutes. While good, I'm not sure that counts as far as meeting my goal.

Food Choices - I did pretty good this week. Grilled meats, salads, and smoothies for an afternoon snack. I did break down and make my Mom's recipe for Chicken and Wine Sauce which is pretty calorie laden. But I made a few changes - EVOO instead of butter, Healthy Request cream of chicken instead of regular - so while probably not good, it was better.

Water - Ummm, not so much. I probably drank half of my goal. Need to work on that next week.

But I did one thing without even really realizing that I was doing it. Vol Fan has been working really, really late so supper has been really, really late. Initially, I thought it was going to be a bad thing but eating later has kept me from craving that late night snack!!

So all in all, a pretty good week.

And I'm down 7.2 pounds since July 1. Yippee!!

PS - I just got back from the doctor's office. Good news on my blood work. I now officially do not have high cholesterol - I am under 200, barely but under. My HDL (the good cholesterol) is up. My LDL (the bad cholesterol) is down by almost 40 points! Hooray!! Now for those damn triglycerides.....

Hello, I'm Noe Noe Girl and

the last few years have not been good to me as far as my weight goes. A lot of things happened to me all at once, so I cannot pin point the exact cause of my weight gain. I just know I have gone from a size 8 to a size 12! It started with menopause. Then I quit smoking cigarettes. Then I had a horrible psoriasis out break that almost caused me to have a nervous break down. Then my thyroid went to shit. And to top things off I have been on radiation shots for almost a year for it. I wont go into how beautiful my hair looks these days or what's left of it! I am also a carb addict. Period. And I do not do well with out them for very long.

But I am getting better and I will not be out done by any of this!


Even though this weight gain is depressing for me at times...I know for a fact that it is not what happens to you...it is how you deal with it. And I will deal with this. Sometimes encouragement that you are not alone helps.


I am 52 years old. I will never be 110 pounds again. I just want to be healthy and feel good. Like I did 2 years ago. I have a few more months of treatment left and the Dr says my energy level and hair should return.


So with all that said and whining behind me...my goal is to reduce ~ not quit my carb intake. (that could be the last straw for me right now!) I will drink more water. And continue my twice a day walk at work. My last visit to the Dr (2 weeks ago) I had lost 3 pounds! I have to wonder if all that was the hair I have lost! At this rate I may reach my goal by 2050! Wish me luck and thanks for any support!

Motivational Thought for the Day

"Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson


Let's go get 'em ladies!!!!

Hello, my name is Living on the Spit

and I have completely let myself go over the past 4 years and I want it to STOP! I am a carboholic and a stress eater. i love to cook and unfortunately I have this problem with butter. I live with a tall, thin man who can eat and eat and eat and NEVER gain an ounce...I cook like my Jewish grandmother who instilled deep inside my brain that good food is love. I was raised by parents who associated food with praise and that to be a good girl one must clean their plate.

Just for TODAY...I am stopping the soda once again...evil, it is. I am drinking water, water, water, and more water.

I will only have one glass of wine a day...unless it happens to be a Bloggers Weekend, then I will limit it to one bottle.

I started taking 1000 mg of fish oil and flax seed oil once a day. I will continue to do that daily.

I will eat more veggies and less crap...I will steam these veggies or broil them in EVOO and not smother them in butter.

I will begin walking every day for 15 minutes whether it is hot and humid or not.

I need to do this now or I will die.

Hi I'm imom and I'm fat!

My weight has had it's ups and downs, right now it's in an up phase. The older I get the more up it goes!

I have food issues. I have intolerance's to milk, including cheese, and wheat. During a good week I eat no milk or wheat products. During a bad week I eat only a little because I truly feel like crap when I over eat those food items.

While I do eat too much food, my main issue is that I HATE to exercise! I also love my red wine! And beer during the summer and at the Pub! A few weeks ago I started an exercise program and decided to start an exercise/diet blog to track my progress, then I got a toothache... A really bad toothache, and the exercise and the blog was put on the back burner. Two weeks ago I had oral surgery to have the tooth removed, the pain finally started subsiding on Sunday!

My exercise program involved "two a days" meaning I was walking 1.5 miles in one session and going to Curves for the other session. I will be getting back to that I soon as I can bend over without my incision area throbbing, which I hope will be very soon.

I'm hopeful that sharing with all of you will help keep me on track. I'm also excited to share all kinds of low cal recipes with you. I have a lot of them. Between my stints with Weight Watchers and my husband finding out how to manage his IBS I have many low fat, but delicious recipes!

Thanks for starting this blog Woody!

Hello, I'm Big Hair Envy, And...

I need a support group to lose this freakin' weight! Last winter, I hosted the Blogger Butt Smackdown. Unfortunately, I did not fully accomplish my goals. However, in May I got serious about getting my lazy butt to the gym. I have since taken over 60 yoga or pilates classes, and I am starting to see results. Only five pounds lost, but too many inches to count! YAY!

It's hard to admit, but once I turned 40 my body went to hell in a handbasket. My knees dropped, and my butt moved south to "back up" my knees! Did I mention the gut that appeared out of nowhere??? Well, I am going to fight it with everything I have!!!

The exercise classes will be easy to keep up, but I have a problem with food. And wine....I think I could give up food if I could keep the wine!!!

My goals are to continue to exercise regularly, to drink more water, and to cut back on the carbs. Any tips???

Hello, My Name Is...

Hello, my name is The Incredible Woody and I have two major problems with my weight.

First, I am a carboholic.

I love carbs in any form or fashion. I could eat them for every meal of every day for the rest of my life. Pasta, potatoes, bread, cakes, candy....Love them all. Sugar in any form or fashion.

It is an addiction. I have tried to kick it before and it caused terrible (and I mean TERRIBLE) symptoms of withdrawal. And I am weak. I don't deal with pain in good ways. So I have always gone back to my love.

Second, I am lazy.

I do not like to exercise. I would much rather sleep in. Or park my ass on the couch.

I need help. I need someone to hold me accountable, to push me along the way toward health.

So here is my plan:

• I will exercise 4 days per week for at least 45 minutes each session. It might be something formal like a class but it could just as easily be hula-hooping in my backyard. Yes, yes I know I need to be on my bike. I know I have a race coming up. So yes, biking is on the exercise agenda!
• I will make smarter decisions about my food. Grilled rather than fried. Small steps where I can.
• I will drink 32 ounces of water each day.

How have I started off on my first day of this plan?

• Exercise? Not so much. But there is still daylight left.
• Food decisions? Good. Dinner will be pizza but not the gooey-cheesy kind. It will be pesto, fresh spinach, cherry tomatoes, and grilled chicken.
• Water? Um, again not so much.

But tomorrow is another day, right?

What is your weight loss plan?