HAPPY 12TH ANNIVERSARY, HONEY! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD AND GRANDPAW FITCH!!! WE WISH YOU THE VERY BEST!!
I walked into Kroger yesterday. I was headed for the fruit I've been meaning to buy for the last week or so. A lovely, colorful endcap catches my attention. 10 for $10.00 That ALWAYS catches my attention. Especially since Kroger does not make you buy all 10 to get the item for $1.00. Walgrenn's DOES-be careful! I look to see what goodies are on the 10 for 10 shelf. I find Clif Bars. Hmmm...your usual organic, all-natural, blah, blah , blah.....bar. Only $1.00. Will fit nicely in my lunchbag. And will tame the hungries. I pick up a few. You can't go wrong with something called "White Chocolate Macadamia Nut and Chocolate Brownie. You just can't. And I was soooooooo right. No ingredients I can't pronounce. Just organic, all-natural YUM! Went back and bought 10 more today.
Also on sale-Kashi cereal. For $2.99!!! That's a steal for cereal even if it isn't Kashi!! Bought four flavors. Opened the Autumn Wheat first. AND I'M NOT JUST MAKING THIS UP-YUM! It's good!!! I'll let you know how I like the other flavors when I get to them. If they are anything like the Autumn Wheat, I'm in business! And I opened the Autumn Wheat first because it was the one I thought I would like the least!
I also bought steel cut oats to try a crock pot recipe our friend gave us. I know they are completely healthy and good for you. Totally whole grain. I'm going to try and start eating them in the morning every once in a while...heck, maybe even in the evening! (Oatmeal-it's not just for breakfast anymore)! I hope I like it! The crock pot recipe calls for heavby cream...I wonder if I can just use milk. I'll keep you posted!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Janet Plan.....
Okay, so maybe I need to do a little more than three small changes a day to lose a pound a week. What I'm doing is not quite working(translation-I got on the scale this morning and saw a small gain)!
Funny story-A few years back I was half-heartedly following Weight Watchers and I headed up to the center to weigh in. At that time they had two "types of plans" you could follow-the traditional plan or the core plan. Sometimes one plan didn't work for someone and they would suggest switching to the other plan. Well, I stepped on the scale and I saw the receptionist's face droop(I knew the scale was up about three pounds from the previous Saturday). She ever so sweetly said to me, "Which plan are you following, dear?" Knowing I hadn't really been watching what I ate for the last week I responded, "Uh...the Janet plan." After a chuckle out of her it was another Dr. Phil moment when she asked me, "Now, how's that working for ya'?"
That's okay, though...I was hoping my plan would work, but at least I have realized it doesn't before time gets away from me. I can still have the Hollywood body I desire with some hard work! Let me talk about how I feel. I feel really good! I'm not discouraged in the least. Instead of looking at this as a setback, I'm looking at this as a challenge. And I'm not just saying that because I think that's what people would want to hear-I really do feel this way! I believe I'm on the right track and the train WILL get there sooner or later! And in only two weeks I feel as if I've learned a ton and I'm excited to LEARN LEARN LEARN more about fat, cholesterol, sodium, hidden chemicals in foods, excercise, blood sugar levels and stress, cortisol, the adrenal gland and diabetes! These are just a few of the topics I want to delve into. Is delve a word? Anyway, I did some good things today which I will blog about tomorrow. Keep the faith! (That one's for you, mom!)
Funny story-A few years back I was half-heartedly following Weight Watchers and I headed up to the center to weigh in. At that time they had two "types of plans" you could follow-the traditional plan or the core plan. Sometimes one plan didn't work for someone and they would suggest switching to the other plan. Well, I stepped on the scale and I saw the receptionist's face droop(I knew the scale was up about three pounds from the previous Saturday). She ever so sweetly said to me, "Which plan are you following, dear?" Knowing I hadn't really been watching what I ate for the last week I responded, "Uh...the Janet plan." After a chuckle out of her it was another Dr. Phil moment when she asked me, "Now, how's that working for ya'?"
That's okay, though...I was hoping my plan would work, but at least I have realized it doesn't before time gets away from me. I can still have the Hollywood body I desire with some hard work! Let me talk about how I feel. I feel really good! I'm not discouraged in the least. Instead of looking at this as a setback, I'm looking at this as a challenge. And I'm not just saying that because I think that's what people would want to hear-I really do feel this way! I believe I'm on the right track and the train WILL get there sooner or later! And in only two weeks I feel as if I've learned a ton and I'm excited to LEARN LEARN LEARN more about fat, cholesterol, sodium, hidden chemicals in foods, excercise, blood sugar levels and stress, cortisol, the adrenal gland and diabetes! These are just a few of the topics I want to delve into. Is delve a word? Anyway, I did some good things today which I will blog about tomorrow. Keep the faith! (That one's for you, mom!)
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
I should have had a V-8... (Or...maybe not)
SMALL STEPS FOR FEBRUARY 9TH
So there it sits in the back of my fridge...a six pack (well, now a three-pack) of tiny, little V-8 juice cans, compliments of my father-in-law from this past December. I see it every day...I ignore it every day. He'll be back in the Spring...it will still be good then, right?? I must hand it to him...he chokes down, uh, I mean, he drinks one of those little buggers every day for as long as I've known him. That's alot of V-8. What a great habit to have! Well, I need something to write about in the blog, so...here goes....
I normally would have ignored those three cans til they somehow disappeared.
INSTEAD, I drank one down with a little lemon juice in it. Hey...it's two serving of veggies, right? Oooh...if I just LIKED it, it would be SOOOO much easier! But I'm going to see if I can acquire a taste for it...
Normally I would have sat on the couch watching the morning news shows.
INSTEAD, I hung out with my pal, Jillian...you know...Jillian Michaels...from the Biggest Loser. She's got a segment on Excercise TV. It was called "Armed and Dangerous!" Look out Florence Police Department!
I normally would have not paid attention to food labels other than the calories, fat, fiber, etc.
INSTEAD I started looking at the label for the ingredients after my friend, Jane, sent me some very interesting information about what food companies add to food when they remove the fat. (Yesterday's blog-February 9th) I found quite a few of the items in my fridge, freezer, and cabinets that had some of the additives she told me about. YUCK!
So there it sits in the back of my fridge...a six pack (well, now a three-pack) of tiny, little V-8 juice cans, compliments of my father-in-law from this past December. I see it every day...I ignore it every day. He'll be back in the Spring...it will still be good then, right?? I must hand it to him...he chokes down, uh, I mean, he drinks one of those little buggers every day for as long as I've known him. That's alot of V-8. What a great habit to have! Well, I need something to write about in the blog, so...here goes....
I normally would have ignored those three cans til they somehow disappeared.
INSTEAD, I drank one down with a little lemon juice in it. Hey...it's two serving of veggies, right? Oooh...if I just LIKED it, it would be SOOOO much easier! But I'm going to see if I can acquire a taste for it...
Normally I would have sat on the couch watching the morning news shows.
INSTEAD, I hung out with my pal, Jillian...you know...Jillian Michaels...from the Biggest Loser. She's got a segment on Excercise TV. It was called "Armed and Dangerous!" Look out Florence Police Department!
I normally would have not paid attention to food labels other than the calories, fat, fiber, etc.
INSTEAD I started looking at the label for the ingredients after my friend, Jane, sent me some very interesting information about what food companies add to food when they remove the fat. (Yesterday's blog-February 9th) I found quite a few of the items in my fridge, freezer, and cabinets that had some of the additives she told me about. YUCK!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Some good tips from good friends....
One of my friends and fellow pet sitters saw my blog about sending hubs out for fat--free half & half. She sat down and wrote me a wonderful email. She wanted to warn me to watch out for fat-free foods and included the ingredients of Land O Lakes Fate-Free half & Half to illustrate this to me:
Land O Lakes Fat Free Half & Half
Made by Morningstar Foods Inc.
Ingredients
Nonfat Milk, Corn Syrup, Cream (Adds a Trivial Amount of Fat)Artificial Color (an Ingredient Not Normally Found in Half & Half)Sodium Citrate, Dipotassium Phosphate, Mono & Diglycerides (Adds a Trivial Amount of Fat)Carrageenan, Vitamin A Palmitate.
That's alot of crap that I'm putting into my system that does not need to be there. YUCK! She also went on to say this:
Something I have learned - if you can't read the ingredients, don't eat it!
I avoid anything with Carrageenan in it. That is MSG. MSG is monosodium glutamate. There is a site called http://www.naturalnews.com/ that I read a lot, that has great info re: your food, toxins, drugs, etc. This is an excerpt from an article:
(NaturalNews) Monosodium glutamate, also known as MSG, is a common food additive. It`s toxic and physically addictive. Fast food companies and other food manufacturers use MSG as a "flavor enhancer," so consumers will become "hooked" on their products and keep dishing out money for more. When people consume unhealthy foods containing MSG, they often gain weight and feel sluggish, and some also experience "MSG symptom complex." The symptoms can include headaches, chest pain, heart palpitations, nausea, and other heath problems.
Although MSG is normally associated with Chinese food, processed meats, and salty snacks, it`s also frequently found in bouillon cubes, canned soups and vegetables, barbecue sauce, salad dressing, and virtually every other processed food you eat. "Monosodium glutamate," or "MSG," won`t likely be listed in a products` ingredient list. It`s often disguised as calcium caseinate, gelatin, hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed yeast, yeast extract, soy extracts, "spices," or "natural flavorings."
Here's more:
Now, let`s cut to the chase. YOU MUST READ LABELS!!! If is says, autolyzed yeast, yeast extract, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, hydrolyzed protein, or textureized vegetable protein, IT IS MSG.
If it says, maltodextrin, barley malt, whey protein, soy protein isolate (or words to that nature), IT IS MSG.
Gelatin (used in vitamin capsules) contains MSG.
Most smoke flavor or "flavorings" contain MSG.
Soy sauce, made from the fermentation of soy beans contains MSG and pure MSG powder can be added to cheaper brands of soy sauce to enhance its flavor.
Confirmed with Fearn Foods, the manufacturer of Spike, Spike contains MSG.
It is in vegetarian meat analogs, "hot dog analogs", soup broths, bouillon, and products using the words containing protein fortified, enzyme modified, rice syrup, brown rice syrup, citric acid, milk powder, dry milk solids, annatto, spice, carrageenan, guar gum, and lecithin (if from hydrolyzed soy products).
But wait, there`s more!
Candy, drinks, gum, packaged salads with citric acid, low fat milk, stevia (if coupled with maltodextrin), Accent, Lawry`s Seasoning Salt, Torula Yeast, Adobo salt, Chinese Seasonings, and believe it or not, internal feeding materials and some fluids administered intravenously in hospitals.
She also told me there was a really good Oprah show on January 21st about the movie Food, Inc. I'm definitely going to check it out!
WOW! I must say...I DID feel addicted to fast food..I can truly say that after a week of pushing through and passing it by in my car and NOT pulling in I have possibly KICKED the habit! As long as I have something in my car to grab I am okay! I wonder if the chemicals in the food had me craving it....possibly...
One of my wonderful clients gave me some great information that they had received from a nutritionist based here in Cincinnati, Sound Bites. The info they gave me was great and contained great articles on trans fat, fiber, and probiotics. I headed to the website listed on the articles and found even more great stuff including some cool weight loss tools that are very helpful. I calculated my BMI-EEK! It is 28.35-OH DEAR! The neatest thing I found on there was a "Calories Burned" calculator. You enter your weight, what you've done, and how long you've done it and it comes back with a number of calories that have been burned during that activity. I learned that a 15 minutes 2 mph dog walk(the dog like to stop and smell the roses) burns 68 calories! Not bad considering I do that 8-10 times per day! Now that explains how I shed 18 pounds without trying when I started this job!
So, in closing, I would say my SMALL STEPS FOR FEBRUARY 8th include:
Learning many things I did not know about the foods I choose, including the yucky stuff that is added to them to give them flavor....
Packing my lunch again and eating it in small portions...It kept me feeling good, steady, and pleasantly satisfied...I'm going to stop adding this one to the list because I think it may have just registered as a habit! Yeahhh! That only took a week-NOT BAD!
Contemplating trying to wean myself off of coffee-the fact I'm even CONTEMPLATING it is huge-(for me)!
Have a trememndous day, everyone!
Land O Lakes Fat Free Half & Half
Made by Morningstar Foods Inc.
Ingredients
Nonfat Milk, Corn Syrup, Cream (Adds a Trivial Amount of Fat)Artificial Color (an Ingredient Not Normally Found in Half & Half)Sodium Citrate, Dipotassium Phosphate, Mono & Diglycerides (Adds a Trivial Amount of Fat)Carrageenan, Vitamin A Palmitate.
That's alot of crap that I'm putting into my system that does not need to be there. YUCK! She also went on to say this:
Something I have learned - if you can't read the ingredients, don't eat it!
I avoid anything with Carrageenan in it. That is MSG. MSG is monosodium glutamate. There is a site called http://www.naturalnews.com/ that I read a lot, that has great info re: your food, toxins, drugs, etc. This is an excerpt from an article:
(NaturalNews) Monosodium glutamate, also known as MSG, is a common food additive. It`s toxic and physically addictive. Fast food companies and other food manufacturers use MSG as a "flavor enhancer," so consumers will become "hooked" on their products and keep dishing out money for more. When people consume unhealthy foods containing MSG, they often gain weight and feel sluggish, and some also experience "MSG symptom complex." The symptoms can include headaches, chest pain, heart palpitations, nausea, and other heath problems.
Although MSG is normally associated with Chinese food, processed meats, and salty snacks, it`s also frequently found in bouillon cubes, canned soups and vegetables, barbecue sauce, salad dressing, and virtually every other processed food you eat. "Monosodium glutamate," or "MSG," won`t likely be listed in a products` ingredient list. It`s often disguised as calcium caseinate, gelatin, hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed yeast, yeast extract, soy extracts, "spices," or "natural flavorings."
Here's more:
Now, let`s cut to the chase. YOU MUST READ LABELS!!! If is says, autolyzed yeast, yeast extract, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, hydrolyzed protein, or textureized vegetable protein, IT IS MSG.
If it says, maltodextrin, barley malt, whey protein, soy protein isolate (or words to that nature), IT IS MSG.
Gelatin (used in vitamin capsules) contains MSG.
Most smoke flavor or "flavorings" contain MSG.
Soy sauce, made from the fermentation of soy beans contains MSG and pure MSG powder can be added to cheaper brands of soy sauce to enhance its flavor.
Confirmed with Fearn Foods, the manufacturer of Spike, Spike contains MSG.
It is in vegetarian meat analogs, "hot dog analogs", soup broths, bouillon, and products using the words containing protein fortified, enzyme modified, rice syrup, brown rice syrup, citric acid, milk powder, dry milk solids, annatto, spice, carrageenan, guar gum, and lecithin (if from hydrolyzed soy products).
But wait, there`s more!
Candy, drinks, gum, packaged salads with citric acid, low fat milk, stevia (if coupled with maltodextrin), Accent, Lawry`s Seasoning Salt, Torula Yeast, Adobo salt, Chinese Seasonings, and believe it or not, internal feeding materials and some fluids administered intravenously in hospitals.
She also told me there was a really good Oprah show on January 21st about the movie Food, Inc. I'm definitely going to check it out!
WOW! I must say...I DID feel addicted to fast food..I can truly say that after a week of pushing through and passing it by in my car and NOT pulling in I have possibly KICKED the habit! As long as I have something in my car to grab I am okay! I wonder if the chemicals in the food had me craving it....possibly...
One of my wonderful clients gave me some great information that they had received from a nutritionist based here in Cincinnati, Sound Bites. The info they gave me was great and contained great articles on trans fat, fiber, and probiotics. I headed to the website listed on the articles and found even more great stuff including some cool weight loss tools that are very helpful. I calculated my BMI-EEK! It is 28.35-OH DEAR! The neatest thing I found on there was a "Calories Burned" calculator. You enter your weight, what you've done, and how long you've done it and it comes back with a number of calories that have been burned during that activity. I learned that a 15 minutes 2 mph dog walk(the dog like to stop and smell the roses) burns 68 calories! Not bad considering I do that 8-10 times per day! Now that explains how I shed 18 pounds without trying when I started this job!
So, in closing, I would say my SMALL STEPS FOR FEBRUARY 8th include:
Learning many things I did not know about the foods I choose, including the yucky stuff that is added to them to give them flavor....
Packing my lunch again and eating it in small portions...It kept me feeling good, steady, and pleasantly satisfied...I'm going to stop adding this one to the list because I think it may have just registered as a habit! Yeahhh! That only took a week-NOT BAD!
Contemplating trying to wean myself off of coffee-the fact I'm even CONTEMPLATING it is huge-(for me)!
Have a trememndous day, everyone!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Hubs suggests blogging about scale maintainence...
Whoopsie! I noticed yesterday morning my scale was not set to zero...I seriously kept getting on the scale Saturday and Sunday in utter disbelief that I had GAINED! So I guess my obsession with the scale made me look more closely at it thatn I normally would have. I stepped off and it did not go back to zero. Screaming ensued. Joyful screaming for the fact I didn't gain four pounds...fearful screaming that I already blogged about gaining four pounds!! Hmmm...what to do?? Decided to do what works best in EVERY situation....BE HONEST!!!! Seriously, I think people appreciate you more when you're just downright HONEST. If there was something I wish I would have learned in my younger years is that NO ONE will be angry if you JUST TELL THE TRUTH. So that has been my mantra in my 40s....HONESTY REALLY IS THE BEST POLICY!!! So... the readjusted number is 171. And here we go again!
I headed out to church this morning looking for some inspiration and to thank God for all the good things in my life...even the fact that I have the ability to share my weight loss journey with others via the internet! That's pretty cool considering the internet didn't even really exist when I was in college! (FREAKY)! Well, when we walked in we realized it was the Children's service, where the adorable kiddies in our church perform the service. I was really hoping for a good sermon but we did not have one. So I searched for meaning in what the kids were doing. One of their gigs was called Heaven's Kitchen. It was cute. They all donned chef's hats and pretended they were on a cooking show. One of the lines of the songs they were singing really stuck with me...When you're cooking in Heaven's kitchen, don't forget the most important ingredient...praise! Okay...I get it...I will thank the Lord every day for all I have and even for giving me an opportunity to share my journey with others. So I will "cook with praise!" Thanks, kids!
Another cool thing I did this weekend was checked out a friend's (Sheila) sister's (Jennifer) website and blog:
http://www.eatwellmealplans.com/
Very interesting! It is a great site with healthy eating tips and interesting facts and I cannot wait to dive into it! There was a great article on sodium in her blog which is something I always forget to check when I am preparing a meal. Jennifer is a registered dietician and holds a degree in professional culinary arts. She has a lot of "street cred" and I will be following her site and her blog! Please check it out with me!!
And last but not least, I dusted off the old treadmill and took it for a spin: It felt good...uh...when I was done!
I headed out to church this morning looking for some inspiration and to thank God for all the good things in my life...even the fact that I have the ability to share my weight loss journey with others via the internet! That's pretty cool considering the internet didn't even really exist when I was in college! (FREAKY)! Well, when we walked in we realized it was the Children's service, where the adorable kiddies in our church perform the service. I was really hoping for a good sermon but we did not have one. So I searched for meaning in what the kids were doing. One of their gigs was called Heaven's Kitchen. It was cute. They all donned chef's hats and pretended they were on a cooking show. One of the lines of the songs they were singing really stuck with me...When you're cooking in Heaven's kitchen, don't forget the most important ingredient...praise! Okay...I get it...I will thank the Lord every day for all I have and even for giving me an opportunity to share my journey with others. So I will "cook with praise!" Thanks, kids!
Another cool thing I did this weekend was checked out a friend's (Sheila) sister's (Jennifer) website and blog:
http://www.eatwellmealplans.com/
Very interesting! It is a great site with healthy eating tips and interesting facts and I cannot wait to dive into it! There was a great article on sodium in her blog which is something I always forget to check when I am preparing a meal. Jennifer is a registered dietician and holds a degree in professional culinary arts. She has a lot of "street cred" and I will be following her site and her blog! Please check it out with me!!
And last but not least, I dusted off the old treadmill and took it for a spin: It felt good...uh...when I was done!
HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK, EVERYONE!!!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Totally grossed out, but I don't go back on my word!
I didn't have the guts to put a bathing suit on, but there is a funny story behind this yellow top. I bought it at the cool consignment store behind my house. It was, like, $3.00. It is a Large. Well, I got it home and I had to rub my body with baby oil to get into it-IT IS SOOOOO TIGHT! It shows every lump and bump there is! I couldn't believe it was a large and it didn't fit me...well, I came to find out it is a Junior Large! WHEW!! So it's almost as tight as my skin and it keeps the blog G-rated!
Back Fat-YUCK!
Belly fat-NO good for the heart!!
When did I get the "teacher fat?"
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