Week 12, Day 5

A dear friend of mine, Sheryl, is a very active person. Or at least she was until she fell off her bike recently. Now she is in terrible pain. Her plight is a reminder to stop taking for granted what we CAN do. I used to be fit and stupidly gave it up because of stress, asthma, and laziness. With Adam running for the first time in his life just this past week and now learning of Sheryl's new challenges, I'm more determined than ever to continue working on increasing my fitness level and being HAPPY to do it instead of viewing it as a chore. As a bonus, the weight will come off. And it will honor those I care so deeply about. Will you join me in HAPPY exercise? C'mon--we CAN do it!

With that in mind, I went for a walk at Target tonight. I'm still getting used to my new Shape Up shoes, so I can't go quite as far as I did before. But I am noticing my calves have the beginnings of a better shape to them already.

I've also felt really good about what I've eaten today. However, I'm so much NOT a domestic person. I made some oatmeal today and didn't measure correctly. Instead of a big bowl of oatmeal, I ended up with enough to feed two or three people. So I had oats for breakfast AND lunch.

I like whole steel-cut oats. They're much heartier and filling. I put pumpkin pie spice in and a bit of syrup for sweetness. Mmm....yummy! However, I was also appalled. The Mrs. Butterworth's pancake syrup is actually mostly high fructose corn syrup, a completely engineered product masquerading as food. So while at Target tonight I picked up some real maple syrup and threw away the Mrs. Butterworth's stuff when I got home. Another step foward in my quest to remove non-food "food" from my life.

For dinner tonight I was feeling like something different. So Adam and I went to Olive Garden. Now you have to understand this -- I've spent years enjoying every morsel of Olive Garden pastas, breadsticks, and salad. Tonight, however, we had nothing but the unlimited soup and salad. They brought breadsticks, but we didn't touch them. Bleached flour, too much salt. Not good. I had a bowl of chicken and gnocchi soup with roasted chicken and spinach that was marvelous, though. And we ordered the salad with dressing on the side instead of coming to us drenched in dressing. According to the online nutrition information for Olive Garden, the dressing increases the calorie count by roughly 200 percent! We've gotten so used to not using dressing that we each used only about a tablespoon each for the whole meal. The bowl was refilled twice, and the second time the kitchen sent it out with dressing on the salad, and we sent it back. One thing they teach on the Biggest Loser is that it's okay to ask for food to be prepared the way you want it, and it's okay to send it back if it's not right. We both came away absolutely stuffed and loved every minute of dinner.

Today's Tip:
Yesterday I talked a bit about stair climbing for fitness, but I wanted to expand on it just a bit today. Anyone with access to a flight of stairs can get a good workout. And it's simple enough that even a beginner or someone with limited fitness can do it (even me!). At first, it may only be a few steps, but with stairs it's so easy to build up to greater levels. Virgil Aponte, a certified health and fitness instructor, shares these ideas in his most recent newsletter:

1) Regular Walking: simply walking up stairs as
you would normally do. To adjust the intensity
here you simply walk faster or slower.
I usually change this from round to round.

2) Hands Behind the Head: Another way to
increase the difficulty of stair climbing is
to place your hands behind your head.
This variation will make walking up the
stairs more difficult by challenging your
balance and increasing the work demands
of your legs.

Week 12, Day 4

It's been a busy day interviewing, writing, planning, etc. And all that has made it a fairly productive one. I made a new logo for A New Suit, too. Please take a moment and let me know what you think of it!

Now it's time to settle in, watch a movie, and do some exercising. It feels so much better to exercise while a movie is on rather than just sit and stare at the screen, waiting for the story to unfold. It does, however, make me antsy at the theater when I can't get up and stair climb or do weight work on my arms! Oh well. DVDs at home are great for so many reasons...

The Season 8 Biggest Loser contestants traveled to LA today to prepare for the finale. I can't believe it's almost over! It's so easy to really care about these people when I've struggled right along with them week after week. And soon it will be time to say goodbye. Sad. But at the same time, I'm really eager to see how they all turned out! It's so encouraging to see them thin and healthy -- makes me feel like I can make it all the way, too.

Food today....a couple of sandwiches and some raspberry iced tea. I'll maybe have some yogurt later on before bed. I'm still bloated from the soup yesterday, so it was easy to not eat a whole lot today.

Exercising ... not a lot yet. Some at the store when I went out to get a new scarf and gloves. And then whatever I get in while the movie is on. Not a particularly great day for fitness, but part of that is because I slept late today. Tomorrow I have to get Adam to work by 9 o'clock, so I'll be up early and will have more time to get in a bike ride and maybe some better walking at the store. I'm also going to start trying to put in more stair climbing here at home. No sense having a 2-story apartment if I'm not going to take advantage of the great workout stairs can provide. I figure between the stairs, the recumbent bike, and the hand weights, I've got the materials for a pretty good workout right here at home. That's important since I don't have the money for a gym membership. Really, not matter what someone's income level is, there's no excuse for not getting a workout in. There's no law that says ANY of it has to be done at a gym!

Today's Tip:
The Internet is a wonderful thing and a great tool for those of us who want to eat better. I had gotten an email from Sonic yesterday telling about their new holiday milkshake -- peppermint and Andes mints in a concoction they call a Holiday Mint Blast. I gotta tell you, these things are just about the best, yummiest treats on the face of the earth. Tempting in ways that words can't describe!

But rather than give in, telling myself, "Well, a small one wouldn't be so bad," I went to the Sonic website and checked out their nutrition information. A SMALL one of these minty wonders has 700 calories in it! My lord. That's just wrong on so many levels. That many calories, yet very little of it has any nutrition and nearly none of it can be really classified as food. (In Sonic's defense, they do have healthy choices -- their grilled chicken salad is yummy and only had 248 calories, and they have a nutrition calculator that you can use to figure out how many calories and the nutritional information info of a meal before you go.)

Most name-brand restaurants have their nutrition information online now. Start checking them out -- you'll be surprised, and it will be a great encouragement to stay home and eat real food that will actually do your body some good. As for the tempting "treats", one look at the caloric content, and your desires will be much more likely to remain under control!

Week 12, Day 3

Cheap chicken noodle soup may be mmmm...good, but I think I made a mistake in eating some tonight. Not only is it 17 degrees and snowing outside (perfect soup weather), but now, because I ate salty, crappy canned soup, I am swollen up like a Thanksgiving Day parade balloon. So much for "comfort food". Something inside me tells me it wasn't even really "food".

The good thing is that I'm drinking tons of water, partially because the salt made me so darned thirsty and partially because I want to flush all this sodium out of my system as soon as possible. Drinking all the water has my stomach bloated, so I can't possibly eat anything. That would be silver lining to this sodium poisoned cloud.

I've been writing all day, so I haven't done any exercising yet, but after I get done here, I will spend a half hour on my bike and a half hour working on my arms. Little Man keeps getting bigger each day, so I need to make sure I keep working on my arms to keep up. Seems funny...it's like I am losing weight, and he's finding it. :)

My cousin told me yesterday that she's coming for a visit in March. We haven't seen each other in about 15 years. I want to be able to go and do plenty with her while she's here, so I've got about 4 months to get myself in far better shape. Plus, I want to make sure there are plenty of pictures taken of the two of us, so I want to look my best. I'd hate to look back on the pictures in coming years and feel bad about myself. Maybe that's vain, but it's honest. And it's great motivation to keep working! Anything that keeps me moving forward can't be all bad, right?

Today's Tip:
If you're trying to lose weight, let your family know and ask them to get you weight loss-related gifts for Christmas. Some ideas are here on the left column <---, but you can make your own list and let them know. Maybe new digital scales for your bathroom, or a food scale so you can weigh your portions. Or how about hand weights or resistance bands? Your friends and family don't have to spend a lot in order to help you reach your goals! Please mention the links on this site - if they order anything from Amazon and enter the site from here, I get a small portion of the total spent, which will be use to help my son get to college. It's not easy being a single mom, and every bit helps!

Week 12, Day 2

Cold weather makes me want to go hibernate like some big fat, sleepy bear. It's been so nice and comfortable so far this Fall, but today it turned cold. Energy, I need energy, not hibernation!!! I'll never make my weight loss goals if I stay so sluggish. Ugh!!

I did my blog entry last night while the first hour the Biggest Loser show was on. But during the second hour there was a marathon the contestants had to do. I'm nowhere near ready for anything like that myself, and frankly, at this point I can't see that far ahead to even dream of it. But I did do my part toward making it a possibility. While they were all running and struggling, I was on my bike pedaling my heart out. It's the longest I've been on my bike, and it was hard. But it made me feel just a bit closer to achieving success like these folks have. It was cool, too, because when the contestants were struggling, there were former contestants and friends and such who would come alongside them and encourage them to keep going to the finish line. And it was like they were talking to me, too, as I worked on my bike.

I loved last night's Biggest Loser show. Don't forget to vote! Danny and Rudy are for sure in the final three, but Liz and Amanda are duking it out for the third spot. We viewers are the ones who will decide with our votes at the NBC website. I don't usually get wrapped up in reality TV audience votes. But these two are really special people, easy to care about. :)

Um, let's see....today I've eaten a chicken and vegetable thing from Manchu Wok (only 400 calories) and a cookie (shhh!), walked around the mall a bit, worked on my arm exercises, and I'll be on the bike later on. I feel a bit hungry right now, so I'll drink another bottle of water and go see what looks good. More and more we've gotten good food in the house so that we don't have to worry about it in terms of "good" or "bad". Yayee!

Today's Tip:
I saw this posted on a friend's Facebook wall today:

"Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice." Wayne Dyer

And that's the thing to remember when the going gets tough -- and weight loss IS tough. We can stay miserable, or we can make the RIGHT choices and we can get up off our butts and spend a few more minutes working on our future. We CAN do this!

Huzzah!

Week 12, Day 1

Biggest Loser was awesome tonight. I wrote down one quote that struck me as particularly inspiring: "I have control of my destiny, and it's going to be way different." (Liz Young -- the 49 year old grandma on the show, the one who is "me".) That's the choice for overweight people, isn't it? We DO have control, and we can either choose to continue with the way things have been and deal with those consequences, or we can choose a future that's way different. As for me and my house, we have chosen to make things "way different". Thank you, Liz!

The holidays didn't take a terrible toll on me. I didn't lose weight, but I didn't gain either. And I cheated a bit through the week, so I'm glad I worked extra and I'm glad I had the determination to not completely go back to my old ways. So here I sit, still at a 22 pound loss.

Not much in the way of exercise yet, but Adam and I are going out after the show. Plus, I'm doing arm lifts during the show. As for food, I've had yogurt for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and a bowl of beets for dinner.

Today's Tip:
Things I gathered from tonight's show. 1) It's NOT too late. 2) Face the fear and work through it. 3) Don't let a day go by without working on this. 4) Do it for yourself. 5) Once you have succeeded (and you WILL), don't EVER go back to the way you were.

Week 11, Day 7

I did leg lifts and arm exercises while watching Heroes tonight. And I did some extra walking at the store earlier today. It's amazing how easy it is to forget you're exercising when you're in the middle of doing something else, too.

I dread weighing in tomorrow. I have cheated a few times this week, so I don't think I lost any weight. Which I guess isn't so bad considering many people gained. I don't think I put on weight, but I'm fairly certain I haven't dropped any either. That's okay. As long as I get under 200 pounds by my birthday in March, I'll be okay with it all. And to keep me motivated, I've got another picture of Little Man to gaze at and remember how much fun he and I will have when I'm more fit. This one is from Thanksgiving Day. :) (And by the way, after looking at the holiday pics, I am determined that when I have lost 100 pounds or when my 50th birthday comes --whichever comes first, I will treat myself to a well-deserved first-time experience with hair dye.)

I got back into my rut today as far as eating is concerned. Cereal for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch. I tried some Greek yogurt for dinner. I heard Greek yogurt is supposed to be better for us than regular yogurt. Maybe it was an bad brand, so I may give it another try with a different brand. But the stuff I ate tonight was completely horrible. I had to eat some Yoplait just to get the nasty yucky taste out of my mouth. There's only so far I can go with this dieting. I like having some yogurt in the evenings and I don't think there's anything wrong with it. In fact, I feel good about eating that and appreciate the live cultures that help my picky innards stay healthy. But I just can't see the value of changing to something I completely hate only because someone says it's better for me. I'm making a lot of changes already, and I'm doing okay with all of them. This one I can't do. I will, however, try a different brand just in case.

Today's Tip:
You gotta check out Biggest Loser videos are on YouTube. Awesome interviews with the contestants and some great advice. Click here to directly to the official videos (not just someone snagging and posting them, but the real ones from NBC): Biggest Loser on YouTube.

Week 11, Day 6

Adam ran for the first time last night at a session of laser tag. No, really. He ran for the first time....ever. He was born with a rare orthopedic birth defect and had many, many surgeries over several years to correct the problems and save his left leg. It is still a couple inches shorter than the other, but the past 2 or 3 years especially he has made tremendous progress in his Pinocchio journey toward becoming a "real boy". And now my 20 year old little boy finally is able to run like any other guy.

He stated that his expectation is that someday in the not so distant future I will be able to run, too. I think it would be awesome to be able to go play laser tag! Toward that goal, Adam took me out today to buy me an early Christmas gift. I've been wearing my office shoes because without a job I can't really afford to spend dollars on walking shoes or athletic shoes. So Adam got me a pair I've been wanting so my workouts will be easier on my feet. Famous Footwear has Skechers brand shoes, and the new models are called Shape Ups. They are built to simulate walking on soft sand, so your legs work harder as you walk. If you're familiar with FitFlops brand that came out a few years ago, these are similar. But Shape Ups come in styles besides summertime flip-flops and Skechers' prices are more affordable.

I went out for my daily walk in my new shoes. Man, oh man! Thirty minutes in these shoes and I thought my lower legs were going to fall off! But these are by far the most comfortable shoes I have EVER worn. It seriously feels like walking on a pillow. There is absolutely no stress on my heels or my knees. So we'll see how they work over the long haul. Skechers claims, "Shape-ups will help you lose weight and improve your circulation, creating a healthier you!" If they're right and that's not just marketing-speak, then Adam just gave me one of the best possible gifts I'll receive this year. I'll keep you posted!

I've eaten well today. It's getting to take less and less thought and energy to figure out what to eat now. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast. I'm pretty well settled on Cascadian Farm organic Flax Right with pomegranate raspberry clusters. It's really, really yummy and amazingly filling. When it gets cold outside, I'll eat more hot cereal, probably oatmeal. We needed to run errands at the mall today, so I got lunch at Manchu Wok. The honey garlic chicken has only 430 calories in it, and I took half of it home for dinner. I'll have some yogurt later after Adam gets off work.

Today's Tip:
A couple of weeks ago I recommended the CalorieKing book for figuring out calories, cholesterol, etc. in food, both at home and when eating out. But today I discovered that they have a website, too, with a free database. I checked, and there is a mobile version of the website so you can access it from your cellphone when you're out shopping or dining. You can get to it at this link: http://www.calorieking.com/foods/ Be sure to bookmark it, both on your home computer and your cellphone!