Good Intentions

The day started promising.  Feeling almost completely cured of my nasty cold, I went to work today.  Yesterday, the hairdresser told me that she could not believe I had a 30 year old son, and bless her heart, said, "Ma'am, I just don't believe it, may I see your ID!"  So what if she was trying to sell me $24 dollars worth of product, I fell for it and giggled like I was 18.  Feeling sprightly for an almost 52 year old this morning, I decided to wear my slimming tunic top, what I consider to be skinny black pants, my very cool silver peace earrings, and my sandals from Sweden with the white leather flowers on top. 

Not only was I stylin', I was feeling in control.  Breakfast was a snap: two eggs lightly scrambled (no cheese, thank you), one piece of wheat toast with a smidgen of Promise spread, 1/2 cup of blueberries, and one tiny turkey sausage link for breakfast.  One half BLT on wheat with mustard and grapes for lunch.  Made it through the day without too many hungries and got home about 4:45pm.  It was such a lovely evening -- no humidity -- light breeze -- 80 degrees -- fluffy clouds.  A perfect evening for dinner out with my children and granddaughter, so we went over to Outback and had a nice dinner and then went to the pond and fed the ducks. 

Now I said in my previous post that I would borrow from my fourth 400 cal meal to add to my third meal, but .... I might have gone a little overboard.  To celebrate this most glorious day, we started out with crispy, crunchy, coconut shrimp dipped in an orange marmalade sauce.  I felt pretty much in control and decided to have just one.  After eyballing the last shrimp on the plate, I quickly told my son to go ahead and eat it because it was quite a distraction.  My son ordered a 1/2 order of chicken quesadillas, and having never tried it before, decided I would have the smallest wedge on the plate.  In addition I had one small piece of pumpernickle bread with butter, a bluecheese wedge salad (I know! I know!)  plus about 3/4 of a terriaki marinated steak with 1/2 loaded baked potato and 1/2 sweet potato.  Whew! 

But not all is lost.  Following our dinner we went to the park with Madimoo to burn off some calories.  I even went down the slide twice -- once by myself, and once with Madimoo.  (Yes, we both fit.)  And in case you don't believe this, I am posting pictures.  You can see that steak dinner at about the third roll down.  (I didn't wear my spani-panties.) 

Well, tomorow is another day.   This is just a little hiccup.  No worries.  I'll make it up tomorrow.  Promise.  Yep, that's the ticket.

Prevention's "400 Calorie Fix"

I ordered and received Prevention's book entitled 400 Calorie Fix.  I like anything that says I can eat bagels and ice cream.  They promote four 400-calorie meals a day, however, there is a quick slim section where you can eat three 400-calorie meals a day and lose up to 11 pounds in two weeks.  Thereafter you eat four 400-calorie meals a day until you reach your goal.  Filled with lots of pictures and great ideas for eating out, it truly looks like a plan a person can live with for the rest of their life.  For instance, for 400 calories, you can go to Red Lobster, order a whole lobster, baked potato with small pat of butter, and brocoli.  Not too bad, huh?  And if you decide on the four 400-calorie meals a day plan, you could add a cheddar biscuit and deduct those calories from your fourth meal.  There are freebies -- pretty much any and all salad stuff (except beans and cheese).   So add a salad to that lobster meal (take off the croutons) and bring your little spray bottle of zero calorie dressing.  

Because of the amount of weight I need to lose, I am starting with 1600 calories.  I eat out a lot, and usually just eat 3 meals a day, so I will probably borrow calories from my fourth meal to allow me a piece of bread, or an ice cream cone.

I am working on a list of all my favorite restaurants and meals that fit into this plan -- thanks to those handy, dandy, nutritional guides now available online!  I will share this soon.

1600 Calories

Feeling more human today.  Was able to leave the tissues and cough drops at home and get a haircut.  The world looks a little brighter without bangs in my eyes.  Stuck to 1600 calories today.  Saw my Madimoo and she showed me what she learned in ballet class.  Bless her heart, she said, "Gammy, get up and show me some ballet."  So me and my lard got up and attempted to do the five positions, a demi plie and releve, and almost fell on my arse attempting a arabesque.  My darling granddaughter did not laugh.  She said, "And Again!"  Just like a ballerina would say it!  Well, that was my exercise today.  My arches are screeching.  Well, I hate to blog and run, but Chef Ramsey is calling my name.  Never miss Hell's Kitchen.  He makes me feel good about myself.

The "I Gotta a Cold" Diet

Not that I encourage anyone to go out there and start licking door handles at the mall .... but if you do so happen to catch a bug, I can recommend the following:  Water, orange juice, chicken noodle soup, one slice of wheat toast.  Repeat two more times.  Got on the scale this morning -- two pounds gone.  Now that it seems to be in my sinuses and I can't taste a thing, and factoring in a reduced appetite, I think I will take advantage of this.  No exercise today, unless you consider tissue to nose a bicep curl. 

The Perfect Scale

Ladies and Gentlemen: 

You gotta get this:  the Taylor 5751S scale.  It comes with instructions on how to program it for your height and physical exertion level, and it tells you how much you weigh, how much fat you have (just in case you didn't know) and how many calories you're eating to maintain that fat.  It is very precise in pounds and ounces, so feel free to weigh once you get up, and then again after you pee.  Sometimes you can pee an actual 6 ounces!   The little booklet says you can take the calorie number that comes up on the scale, then subtract 500 calories every day for a week and lose a pound or two.   Only downside?  There's none of that beeping like at the weigh-ins on Biggest Loser, and none of the dramatic numbers scrolling and flashing from 270 to 140 before it finally rests on 269.   The plus-side?  If you get on and off of the scale enough during the day, it might actually count as aerobic step exercise. 

In the beginning ....

It started with Michele Obama. Don't get me wrong, she's my girl, and all. Love those clothes. Love her even more for shopping at Target. She, in her capris and tennies, with those perfectly toned arms, working in the White House vegetable garden ... very sweet. But then she started talking about the national obsesity epidemic. And I cheered her on as she was talking about changing the menus in schools and getting kids to be more active, and I agreed with everything she said. Yes, America! Wake up, America! Let's get our kids fit and healthy! I have a 3-year old granddaughter after all. I want a better, and healthier, world for her.

And somewhere, in that far-far away place in the back of my mind, there was a little thought trying to make its way to the front of my brain ... "hey chickypoo, that means you too."

And as Lady Obama's message starting reaching into every nook and cranny of American communication -- TV, Internet, Newspapers, magazines, billboards, and finally, the workplace, I started to feel uncomfortable with myself. Not ready for anything Jillian-like, I wanted to take small steps. Cut back on portions little by little, move a little bit more. And so I traded in my regular bagel with cheese and bacon, hashbrowns and oj, for a non-fat cinnamon dolce latte and apple bran muffin, and asked for apple slices instead of fries. For dinner, I skipped on dessert, and tried to eat more salads. Instead of watching so much tv, I would go to the mall and walk around for an hour.

And I lost some weight ... 11 pounds ... in three months.

So yesterday I went out to dinner with my son, and the perky hostess with a blond ponytail, 5' 7" and 120 pounds, asked me, as her eyes moved downward and rested briefly on my stomach, "Would you be more comfortable in a booth, or table?"

I wanted to turn around and walk out. Or, yank on that ponytail. But I smiled, and answered, "table, please."

And as I sat eating my salad, with grilled chicken and low-fat balsamic viniagrette, I realized ... I've got to do more. I went home and searched on the Internet the salad that I had ordered. Even with the grilled chicken and low-fat dressing, it was about 700 calories. That apple bran muffin and non-fat latte was about 480 calories. My lunch normally contains about 600 to 700 calories. I usually have about 200 calories in snacks each day. I am eating about 2,000 calories. Not enough for weight loss. And I have to be honest with myself ... I'm not moving enough.

So here it is, day one really, of moving toward a life that's less snug, because somewhere in the near future, when I go to a restaurant, I would like some direct eye contact, and simply be led to a booth.