Archive from October, 2009
Oct 30, 2009

Contest: Eating Healthy Pays Off!

Its weird how my tastes keep changing. I mean, 2 years ago, you couldn’t get me close to a plate of kabobs. Now, I’m in love with them. I actually had them 3 days last week and once so far this week.

Hubby and I chop up a sweet onion, a green pepper and 10-12 ounces of top sirloin (very lean) then slip everything onto 3 skewers and plop them on the Foreman Grill for just a few minutes and voila! dinner is served.

The first time we had them, I made some brown rice to go with. I can’t stand rice but it seemed like the thing to eat with meat and veggies. I added some steamed corn to the rice so I could tolerate eating it (I have a natural gag reflex to rice when I eat it, don’t know why). But I was STUFFED after eating all that food. So the next night, no rice and it was perfect.

It’s just funny how my tastes have changed over the course of this weight loss plan. Watermelon used to be a waste of my time—too watery. Now, it’s like nectar from the gods.

So what is it that’s changed my tastes? Is it that my body is getting used to the new food? Is it perhaps because my body is craving healthy food now that its actually getting some? Or is it just because I can’t eat the fatty foods like I used to so I might as well be happy with what I’m allowed to eat? Who knows, but the benefits are wonderful. I feel so much better eating healthy. My body feels good and my mind feels good—like I’m making smart decisions.

So I thought I’d start a contest to find out what you guys eat that’s healthy and yummy that you would have never eaten before you started your weight loss plan.

I was given a set of Measure Up bowls to give away on my blog from Heather at Measure Up Bowls. The bowls have ring indent markings on the inside if the bowls to show you where the 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, 3/4 cup, etc. marks are. So when you’re pouring your morning cereal or afternoon snack or bowl of soup, you don’t have to worry if you’re putting to much in the bowl, you’ll just pour until you fill to your desired portion size. How genius is that!?!?

No more “guesstimating” on your portions. I was reading a blog post the other day from Jinxxxygirl and she showed a picture two bowls of cereal sitting on the counter. The one on the left was the serving size suggested on the box. The bowl on the right was the actual amount of cereal she’d been pouring into her bowl every morning. It ends up that she was eating 3 times the serving size and thought she was doing good. She thought she was a little over her servings each morning so she added another point or two but had no idea she’d actually tripled the amount she should be eating.

It’s things like this that trip us up on our weight loss efforts. We think we’re doing good, but if we don’t measure, we don’t know. With these Measure Up bowls, you don’t have to worry about getting out the scale or the measuring cups, you just pour to the line that you want and enjoy.

(By the way, if you have a sec, you should check out Heather’s weight loss story on the Measure Up website, here.)

So to enter the contest, leave me a comment telling me about the healthy food you eat now that you would have never eaten before you started on your weight loss plan. You can increase your chances of winning by Tweeting about the contest. Just use the hash tag #measureupgiveaway. I’ll choose one comment or tweet at random and the winner will get a set of Measure Up bowls—one “Small Bowl” and one “Classic “Bowl”. The Classic has 1/2, 1, 1-1/2 and 2 cups premeasured portions on the inside of the bowl and the Small has 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 cup premeasured portions on the inside of the bowl. Together, it’s a $29.99 value. Yours for the taking.

I’ll draw one winner at random on November 15th.

(Don’t forget, if you want to tweet about it you have to use the #measureupgiveaway hashtag.)

If you want to follow me, my Twitter account is @mag_maker.

Good luck!

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Oct 27, 2009

Tuesday ramblings…

So here it is Tuesday and I still haven’t made it to the gym. Hubby and I promised each other we’d go to the gym every night this week. What are we waiting for??!! Its almost like if we both don’t say anything about it then we really don’t have to go. It’s our little secret right? Ugh!

Like a few months ago a lady at work and I decided we’d start walking in the mornings again. We both need to walk and we live only a block away from each other so it was perfect. We both walked one morning and we never brought it up again. It’s like, if you don’t say anything, then it’s okay, right? Ugh!! Ugh!!

And I’m having the darnedest time eating 5 fruits and veggies a day. The most I can get in is two. What’s up with that??

At WW last weekend, our leader posted the “quote for the week” and I loved it:

————-
To eat is a necessity
•••
To eat intelligent is an art.
——————-

Boy, that’s the truth isn’t it? We have to eat. But how we eat what we eat is the magical part. Its where science becomes art.

Oh, I found something so amazingly yummy that I HAVE to share with you guys. Audrey, from WW, first told me about these weeks ago, but I just this week tried them. They’re my new favorite thing of all times.

French Twists… I love the tag line underneath the product name “Layers of Sweet Puffed Pastry”. It really should say “Layers of Sweet Heaven”.

They’re light and flaky and a bit crispy but in the lightest way possible. The container I got was a plastic tub (about the size of an extra large margarine tub) and each twist was about 3 inches long.

Two twists was only 60 calories, 2 grams of fat and 4 grams of sugar. But the best part is that the type of sugar that’s in the ingredients is good for you sugar. Check out the ingredients: High protein wheat flour [whole grain goodness], soy oil [healthy oil], palm oil [a natural appetite suppressant] beet sugar [great for your body], cinnamon [great for your blood sugar] and salt [probably to offset the sweetness of the beet sugar]. That’s it! Totally healthy for you and it sure doesn’t taste like it.

I wish there was some way you could taste the picture on the screen. They are truly amazing! Here’s their website if you wanna try and find where they sell them in your area. I bought mine at Publix.

Enjoy.

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Oct 26, 2009

Helping to find a cure for breast cancer…

I participated in the Susan G. Komen Central Florida Race for the Cure yesterday morning and boy did it kick my butt!

I’ve been wanting to run in the Race for the Cure 5K for quite a while now, since before I did my first 5K. And it was everything I’d hoped it would be.

I didn’t do the competitive run, I just did the fun run, but I timed myself. My time was about the same as my first 5K was. Weird. Because that was 8 1/2 months ago and I’ve run another 5K and a 10K since then and I really thought I’d be able to run a faster time. I really pushed hard, too.

After the 2 mile mark, I had to start speed walking because my left knee started hurting again. Darn knee! It’ll usually start hurting after a couple of miles of running. But I speed walked for about 3/4 of a mile then I started running again. Pushed through the pain. Once I hit the 3-mile mark, I kicked it in gear and ran full out.

I thought I was going to die before I made it across the finish line. My heart rate went all the way up to 198. Ugh! I know, NOT good!! But I just wanted to push as hard as I could. I was totally inspired by the event and by the courageous women running with me.

They had these “back signs” that you could get (letter size pieces of colorful paper) that you could write down someone’s name on who either died from (in memory of) breast cancer or who has survived it (in celebration of) and pin them to your back while you raced. And the whole time I was running, I kept reading the back signs of the runners who passed me. Most of them would have a woman’s name but some said in memory of “my mom”, “my wife”, “my sister” and some said in celebration of “my mom”, “my wife”, and “my sister”. Whenever I saw these, they just lifted me up and encouraged me to keep pushing. Running in a 5K and being completely exhausted and spent is NOTHING compared to what they each had to go through or are still going through.

So when my heart rate got up that high, I just pierced my eyes on the back signs and kept pushing.

Through the whole race, I kept hearing what sounded like someone following me, like their sneakers were scuffing on the pavement behind me. But whenever I’d look back, there was no one there. Kept bugging me. I thought there’d be someone there but then I thought maybe they got around me before I could see them or something. Then just before the finish line I figured out what it was. It was my back sign. It was scuffing up against my back.

I had written down my husband’s aunt’s name on my back sign. She died almost 20 years ago of breast cancer. She was one of those who knew there was something wrong and didn’t want to go to the doctor for fear that there really would be something wrong. So it was way too far along to do anything about it by the time she went to the doctor.

Merle Odom was her name.

So about the time I realized that it was my back sign making me think there was someone behind me, it dawned on me that there was someone behind me—Merle. She was running right behind me in the race, I know she was. Then I knew I’d be able to finish and finish strong. And I did!

So what that my finishing time was a bit worse than my first 5K over 8 months ago. So what that my average heart rate was 178 beats per minute. So what that I just about passed out as I crossed the finish line. I did it! And I finished strong knowing that what I was doing was helping us get one step closer to the cure to breast cancer.

I think I’ll run in the Race for the Cure every year from now on. It’s really the least I can do, right?

If any of you would like to donate to the Susan G. Koman fight to find a cure for breast cancer, here’s a link to my fund-raising page. I’m trying to raise $150 to help find a cure. Just click on the “Donate to Cara!” link under my picture to donate online. You can also print out a donation form and mail in your check. Thank you for anything you can give. <3

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Oct 24, 2009

From great disappointment to great victory (I hope)…

Weighed in this morning. Very disappointing. I gain one whole pound.

In the grander scheme of things, gaining one pound isn’t really that big of a deal. But I tell you, when I saw that “+ 1.0″ I wanted to cry! I teared up a bit but quickly calmed myself down.

I know why I gained. That’s the part that makes me want to cry.

I’ve been doing it, every day, for the last year and a half—2 years, 5 months, 12 days—896 days for crying out loud! Why am I NOT at goal by now?!

I sat down the other night and did some horrible math! I mean, the math was correct, but the amount was horrible.

I added all of my losses each week, from Oct 2008 to Oct 2009, and figured out that I’ve lost a total of 46.8 pounds.

Good huh?

Some would say great!

Here’s the kicker…

I then added up all of my gains from each week, during the same date range, and I’ve gained 49 pounds!

I’ve spent the last 365 days—every day—counting my points, exercising (off and on), sacrificing (and indulging), paying close attention to everything that goes in my mouth, and I’ve gained a total of 2.2 pounds over the past year.

Why??!!

I know what to do. I know how to lose weight. Am I just choosing not to?

What the heck!!!???

Look at my weigh in stickers from last year and today as proof positive.

Do you realize if I’d have lost those 47 pounds and kept them off, I’d be 123 pounds right now? Well, okay, so that’s WAY to skinny for me. So I could have stopped losing weigh 10-15 pounds ago. Wouldn’t that be just darn sweet?!

I want to cry.

But instead…

Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to beat this. I’m going to win this war against the scale (I know, bad analogy). I’ve got a 2-part plan.

#1, I just went and dusted off my Weeks 1-10 books from WW (the one’s from 2 1/2 years ago, I can’t for the life of me find the 2009 books, I think I lost them in the move). I’m going to sit down and read through them—cover to cover—every page. Then I’m going to write down, in my cute little food journal notebook (the one that I didn’t write in at all this past week) the basic things I need to do, like the 8 Good Health Guidelines. (We talked about 4 of them in the WW meeting this morning.) So I can focus on exactly what I need to do, every day, and see it in writing in my food journal, every day.

#2, I’m going to move more this week. There were a couple of girls in class who encouraged me to join them at the gym or at a dance class this week. I’m going to email them for starts to see what they’re doing, and when, to see if I can join them. I’m going to go with my husband to the gym this coming week, too? I’m thinking 3 evenings this week would be good to start. Then whatever else I can squeeze in.

Those 2 basic things are a LOT! I know. But I know it works. I know, because those two things helped me lose the 100 pounds that I’ve lost so far. So I know they can help me lose the last 20-25 pounds I have left.

Care to join me? Click the link to read the 8 Good Health Guidelines and move more with me this week. We can do it, right?

Leave me a comment if you want to commit to these 2 things this week. Then we can encourage each other along. Tell me what’s going to be the hardest thing for you. For me, it’s going to be exercising and getting 3-5 servings of fruits and veggies in every day.

Oh, by the way, I’m running in the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure 5K tomorrow morning. The last 5K I was in, I couldn’t finish running, I had to walk. We’ll see how this one goes. It’ll be a lot cooler this time, so we’ll see. Race starts at around 7am, it’s supposed to be in the upper 60s then. Wish me luck!

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Oct 23, 2009

Thinking about giving away something on my blog…

Well folks, I’m not doing too good—again. Again???

I’ve been having a hard time this week focusing in on my goals. I haven’t splurged. I’ve stayed on points. I’ve even kept my cravings at bay, but I haven’t exercised, not one lick!

I got so mad this morning because my weight is pretty much exactly what it was last week and I couldn’t figure out why. I’m drinking my water. I’m eating my points. I’m eating well balanced meals. Plenty of fiber and protein. Veggies. Dairy. Oil. Etc., etc.

But no exercise.

I just can’t get motivated to go to the gym or to do a noon-day workout. I can’t even get inspired to take the dogs for a walk.

What is up with me???

On a slightly different note, I’ve been thinking about doing a contest on my blog. I have been given a few products to give away on my blog if I want to. And I want to. But what do you guys think? Do you hate blog contests? Do you love ‘em?

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