The other evening, Robert and I were able to attend a one hour Q&A with Alton Brown this week. He was promoting his new book (Good Eats, the Early Years), and rather than give a prepared talk, he just took questions from the audience. Pretty far into it, someone asked him how he'd manage to transform himself. If you're familiar with Alton Brown, and you haven't seen him recently, you may be surprised to know he's lost nearly 50 pounds since March. He looks great.
He said, "I realized there was this hole in my head, and when I filled it with crap, my waist got bigger". Of course that got a laugh, but he went on to say he really decided he needed to treat his love a food like an addiction, and as with all addictions, "moderation" doesn't cut it. You don't give a heroin addict just a little bit, he said. The key to success for him, however, was in his food log that he started before embarking on any diet change. He wrote everything down, and a normal day would include cake and cookies, and that was before lunch. But as he wrote EVERYTHING down, he'd see things like:
"Entire sleeve of Girl Scout Cookies. Glass of Milk."
"Half a carton of ice cream. Glass of Milk."
"4 cupcakes. Glass of Milk."
So, he did what anyone might do. He stopped drinking milk.
What he realized was that everything tastes best with a glass of milk. And when he stopped drinking the milk, the other things weren't as enjoyable as they used to be. It's a trigger food for all the other bad stuff. Before too long, he was able to limit himself to having sweets only once a week. After a month or so, he realized he didn't need the sweets at all. So, he's off sweets, when before, they were huge in his diet.
I was really interested by all this. The things I got from this were (1) Know your trigger foods and (2) you can really change some habits, especially eating, by extinguishing it over time. I was thinking of this tonight, as I came home from the gym, and feeling that some of the things I've been doing have been getting a bit easier. I've also had a bit more energy in the gym, and a bit more enthusiasm for things.
I'm not sure I've really made any real changes in my fabric or if I've really changed any of my habits for good yet. But I can feel that I'm closer to it than it was, and that feels like a good thing. There's a lot left ahead of me, but I'm still on track to get better.
Thanks for reading!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Ups and Downs, and a few points to make.
Well, I had a wonderful weekend with my folks, and I was sad to see it end. And, yes, there was a lot of food. I did okay. Robert says I did very well. I dunno. What I do know is, all in all, I weighed in this morning, and I did have a net loss:
This week: -0.6 lbs.
Total weight: -8.9 lbs.
A few points of note from the last few days of my life:
1) I weighed myself before going to NH. If I'd called it then, I would have lost more than 2 lbs. last week. I was almost at 11 lbs on Thursday morning. So, I really did gain about 1 and a half lbs back this weekend.
2) There were lots of temptation, but what I was good at was portion control. A taste of a few things, but no seconds of anything. I ate very well at breakfast and lunch, and dinners were a bit more full. I did, however, refuse, much to my mother's chagrin, to have a birthday cake this weekend, but there were some cookies, and there was some gingerbread, and I tasted each.
3) Misty and I went to the Power Pilates class again on Saturday. We did much better, and the recovery time was much more reasonable this time! :-)
4) I had to go pants shopping, because I'm definitely DOWN A SIZE since this started. It felt great... and I'm glad I have some new clothes that look good. I didn't get a ton -- just a few pairs, on extreme sale at the outlets, but it will help out for a while.
5) I've now had a few people (who know I'm dieting) tell me that they can start to see some of the weight loss, especially in my face. Makes me feel good!
I'm 8 weeks into it, and feeling like I'm gaining some good ability to get to a 10 pound loss in the next 2 weeks, and staying focused.
Thanks for reading!
This week: -0.6 lbs.
Total weight: -8.9 lbs.
A few points of note from the last few days of my life:
1) I weighed myself before going to NH. If I'd called it then, I would have lost more than 2 lbs. last week. I was almost at 11 lbs on Thursday morning. So, I really did gain about 1 and a half lbs back this weekend.
2) There were lots of temptation, but what I was good at was portion control. A taste of a few things, but no seconds of anything. I ate very well at breakfast and lunch, and dinners were a bit more full. I did, however, refuse, much to my mother's chagrin, to have a birthday cake this weekend, but there were some cookies, and there was some gingerbread, and I tasted each.
3) Misty and I went to the Power Pilates class again on Saturday. We did much better, and the recovery time was much more reasonable this time! :-)
4) I had to go pants shopping, because I'm definitely DOWN A SIZE since this started. It felt great... and I'm glad I have some new clothes that look good. I didn't get a ton -- just a few pairs, on extreme sale at the outlets, but it will help out for a while.
5) I've now had a few people (who know I'm dieting) tell me that they can start to see some of the weight loss, especially in my face. Makes me feel good!
I'm 8 weeks into it, and feeling like I'm gaining some good ability to get to a 10 pound loss in the next 2 weeks, and staying focused.
Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
The next challenge... comfort foods meant to make me happy. In droves.
Well, I'm coming up on two important milestones this weekend.
The first is that Thursday is my birthday, which means that the countdown to 40 is now at one year... Feeling okay about it!
The second is that my parents are coming to visit for a visit to our NH place for a few days... and my mom is very excited to do a lot of cooking for us. Pot Roast, sweet potatoes, meat loaf, stuffed french toast, desserts, etc.
Now, my mother is aware I'm dieting. She's also aware that the kinds of food she makes and the amount of food she makes isn't what we normally would eat -- richer, fatter, more calories, etc. But this is how she likes to spend her time, and what she likes to do, and it makes her happy, and I want her to be happy. So, what that means for me is tasting/trying a number of things, with minimal portions, and keeping balanced for the other meals of the day.
Oh, and she's a fantastic cook, so those minimal portions are going to be a challenge.
Wish me luck!
In other news, eating this week has been okay. Lower on points than I should be, but also, with the big weekend coming up, and lots of temptation, I'm trying to just approach the week with saving a bit more on the calories. I know that's not what I'm supposed to do, but I'm just figuring the week will be a little bit of a crap shoot.
I'll be in NH until Monday night, so next week's weigh in will be on Tuesday.
Thanks for reading!
The first is that Thursday is my birthday, which means that the countdown to 40 is now at one year... Feeling okay about it!
The second is that my parents are coming to visit for a visit to our NH place for a few days... and my mom is very excited to do a lot of cooking for us. Pot Roast, sweet potatoes, meat loaf, stuffed french toast, desserts, etc.
Now, my mother is aware I'm dieting. She's also aware that the kinds of food she makes and the amount of food she makes isn't what we normally would eat -- richer, fatter, more calories, etc. But this is how she likes to spend her time, and what she likes to do, and it makes her happy, and I want her to be happy. So, what that means for me is tasting/trying a number of things, with minimal portions, and keeping balanced for the other meals of the day.
Oh, and she's a fantastic cook, so those minimal portions are going to be a challenge.
Wish me luck!
In other news, eating this week has been okay. Lower on points than I should be, but also, with the big weekend coming up, and lots of temptation, I'm trying to just approach the week with saving a bit more on the calories. I know that's not what I'm supposed to do, but I'm just figuring the week will be a little bit of a crap shoot.
I'll be in NH until Monday night, so next week's weigh in will be on Tuesday.
Thanks for reading!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Hurts so bad, it must be good.... right?
This past Saturday, my friend, Misty and I decided to drop into a class at a gym near the NH place called "Power Pilates". I didn't know what to expect, but was interested in checking it out. I've taken plenty of mat-based pilates classes over the past couple of years, some with props (ring, stability ball, etc) and some just with the mat. But I hadn't taken anything with the word "power" in it.
Before the class, the instructor, noticing we were new, came over to introduce herself, understand our baseline, and tell us what we needed to know about the class.
She explained a few things. This class is an intense class, using weights and pilates techniques. The goal is to work several (all?) of the muscle groups, and work them to the point of fatigue. It's meant to help slim the body rapidly. She likes to get the heart rate up early, and keep it there. The class is designed to target 400 calorie loss. She said we will be sore, and some women end up so completely sore, it's a challenge to get off the toilet. Um, okay.
I've never taken a 400 calorie loss pilates class before. This scared me.
The class was good. It was intense. Ten minutes into it, I wasn't sure I'd make it the full hour. We'd gotten our weights (I took 3 lbs. comfortable that I was being a total wimp, and Misty took 5 lb weights, god bless her) and was really surprised by how many reps we did with each exercise. That fatigue thing? Yup. Got there. Those 3 lb weights? May as well have been 20 lbs, by the time I was 20 minutes into it.
After about 35 minutes, I knew it was tough, but I also knew I'd make it. An exercise or two, I gave up on the last rep or so, but mainly did everything. The things that required flexibility, I was good at. The things that required strength, not so much. (yes, 3 lbs. I get the lame-ness.)
One unusal distraction? The workout was entirely coordinated with the alternating fast and slow songs on a Genesis Greatest Hits album. A nice change from all the electronified (not a real word) pop music that's often in classes. Helped with the high energy, and, except for one song that completely reminded me of an old boyfriend and a heartache from 20 years ago, it was nice to revisit some old favorites.
At the end of the class, the instructor came over to thank us for coming, and reinforcing the need for us both to stretch, and told us again that we'll be sore.
And she was right. 2 days later, and EVERYTHING HURTS. Quads, hamstrings, upper and lower abs, obliques, glutes, delts, triceps, biceps, whatever the muscle is between my shoulder blades, and even my neck. EVERYTHING. It's really crazy. I'd heard people talk about doing Jillian Michael's 30-day shred and saying that everything was sore for days, but I didn't understand what they meant. I now understand.
So, the question is, does all this soreness mean that it's a good class, or a bad class? I think it is probably good, but I'm not sure... But I think it's worth giving a shot one more time. Though I can't spend 3 days recovering from it... that doesn't seem well balanced, does it?
The gym makes it easy to try this out, and that will help me give it another shot. They have a 10-visit card that I purchased. They don't expire, which is good -- I don't have the pressure of trying to use it all within a short period of time (or the guilt of wasting the money by not using it within a short period of time).
It's nice to get an alternative exercise outing into the mix, so I'm hopeful that, well, that which doesn't kill me, will make me stronger. Wish me luck. (running off to download Genesis' greatest hits...)
Thanks for reading!
Before the class, the instructor, noticing we were new, came over to introduce herself, understand our baseline, and tell us what we needed to know about the class.
She explained a few things. This class is an intense class, using weights and pilates techniques. The goal is to work several (all?) of the muscle groups, and work them to the point of fatigue. It's meant to help slim the body rapidly. She likes to get the heart rate up early, and keep it there. The class is designed to target 400 calorie loss. She said we will be sore, and some women end up so completely sore, it's a challenge to get off the toilet. Um, okay.
I've never taken a 400 calorie loss pilates class before. This scared me.
The class was good. It was intense. Ten minutes into it, I wasn't sure I'd make it the full hour. We'd gotten our weights (I took 3 lbs. comfortable that I was being a total wimp, and Misty took 5 lb weights, god bless her) and was really surprised by how many reps we did with each exercise. That fatigue thing? Yup. Got there. Those 3 lb weights? May as well have been 20 lbs, by the time I was 20 minutes into it.
After about 35 minutes, I knew it was tough, but I also knew I'd make it. An exercise or two, I gave up on the last rep or so, but mainly did everything. The things that required flexibility, I was good at. The things that required strength, not so much. (yes, 3 lbs. I get the lame-ness.)
One unusal distraction? The workout was entirely coordinated with the alternating fast and slow songs on a Genesis Greatest Hits album. A nice change from all the electronified (not a real word) pop music that's often in classes. Helped with the high energy, and, except for one song that completely reminded me of an old boyfriend and a heartache from 20 years ago, it was nice to revisit some old favorites.
At the end of the class, the instructor came over to thank us for coming, and reinforcing the need for us both to stretch, and told us again that we'll be sore.
And she was right. 2 days later, and EVERYTHING HURTS. Quads, hamstrings, upper and lower abs, obliques, glutes, delts, triceps, biceps, whatever the muscle is between my shoulder blades, and even my neck. EVERYTHING. It's really crazy. I'd heard people talk about doing Jillian Michael's 30-day shred and saying that everything was sore for days, but I didn't understand what they meant. I now understand.
So, the question is, does all this soreness mean that it's a good class, or a bad class? I think it is probably good, but I'm not sure... But I think it's worth giving a shot one more time. Though I can't spend 3 days recovering from it... that doesn't seem well balanced, does it?
The gym makes it easy to try this out, and that will help me give it another shot. They have a 10-visit card that I purchased. They don't expire, which is good -- I don't have the pressure of trying to use it all within a short period of time (or the guilt of wasting the money by not using it within a short period of time).
It's nice to get an alternative exercise outing into the mix, so I'm hopeful that, well, that which doesn't kill me, will make me stronger. Wish me luck. (running off to download Genesis' greatest hits...)
Thanks for reading!
Survived vacation... now to face the music (the scales?)
Hello! I've been out of touch... I hope you're still with me! And I want to say hello to my new readers! Thank you for your support - the comments mean a lot to me, and are helpful!
As you recall, I was going to be a bit off line because of my vacation to Washington State (which was great!) and I'd hoped to catch up on the blog this weekend, but the internet connection in NH was out. So, here we are, on weigh in day.
When last I posted, I was concerned about how vacation might derail me. I think I may have gained a pound while away (not terrible), so I was anticipating a slip today in my posts.
Results:
This weigh in: - 0.8 lbs.
MILESTONE: Achieved Weight Watchers 5% loss goal!
Yes, so, I didn't gain overall in the 2 week period, and even thought the weight loss was just under a pound, It did help me get to the first Weight Watchers goal -- lose 5% of body weight. Not terrible in just 7 weeks!
While I was away, I did okay with eating. On the pluses, I had good breakfasts and lunches. The negatives were that the dinners were a bit more rich than I had been used to (we ate out two of the four nights) and I probably snacked a little more than I had been doing, though nothing extreme. The travel days (airplane peanuts, snacks in the airport, etc) were more challenging, but not dreadful. In terms of exercise, had one good session at Mary's gym (thanks, Mary!) and we went for a long walk one evening, and another smaller one our last morning. And of course, plenty of 6.5lb. (though certainly 7 lbs by the time we left!) "weight" lifting, holding my new nephew for several hours a day... :-)
Since we came back super late on Wednesday, I haven't been to our gym yet, but I did go to a gym up in NH with my friend, Misty, this weekend. I'm going to post about that separately. Oh, and I'll also post about this coming weekend... the toughest challenge yet: My parents are coming to visit, and my mom will be cooking a ton. My mom is an excellent cook, and loves to cook... gotta stay focused!
Thanks for being here for my first big milestone, and Thanks for reading!
As you recall, I was going to be a bit off line because of my vacation to Washington State (which was great!) and I'd hoped to catch up on the blog this weekend, but the internet connection in NH was out. So, here we are, on weigh in day.
When last I posted, I was concerned about how vacation might derail me. I think I may have gained a pound while away (not terrible), so I was anticipating a slip today in my posts.
Results:
This weigh in: - 0.8 lbs.
MILESTONE: Achieved Weight Watchers 5% loss goal!
Yes, so, I didn't gain overall in the 2 week period, and even thought the weight loss was just under a pound, It did help me get to the first Weight Watchers goal -- lose 5% of body weight. Not terrible in just 7 weeks!
While I was away, I did okay with eating. On the pluses, I had good breakfasts and lunches. The negatives were that the dinners were a bit more rich than I had been used to (we ate out two of the four nights) and I probably snacked a little more than I had been doing, though nothing extreme. The travel days (airplane peanuts, snacks in the airport, etc) were more challenging, but not dreadful. In terms of exercise, had one good session at Mary's gym (thanks, Mary!) and we went for a long walk one evening, and another smaller one our last morning. And of course, plenty of 6.5lb. (though certainly 7 lbs by the time we left!) "weight" lifting, holding my new nephew for several hours a day... :-)
Since we came back super late on Wednesday, I haven't been to our gym yet, but I did go to a gym up in NH with my friend, Misty, this weekend. I'm going to post about that separately. Oh, and I'll also post about this coming weekend... the toughest challenge yet: My parents are coming to visit, and my mom will be cooking a ton. My mom is an excellent cook, and loves to cook... gotta stay focused!
Thanks for being here for my first big milestone, and Thanks for reading!
Friday, September 25, 2009
I did it! (mini-goal achievement!)
Well, I made it to my mini-goal of going to the gym 8 times in one month, and earning 100 fitness reward points.
I actually went 9 times! And, given that, in the month of September, I was really only in town for 20 evenings (i don't go to the gym in the mornings), I think 9 out of 20 is pretty fricken great!
I had a good week eating-wise. Much more regular in my points, and, despite the new television shows (which provide a great opportunity to sit and snack) I still did very well. Very few "indulgences" this week, except for a cocktail tonight at one of our favorite places tonight - I couldn't resist trying "homemade limecello". Limoncello, sure, but LIMEcello? Yessir!
We're headed out of town for 5 days, going to visit family, and I will get to do plenty of weight-lifting, about 6 pounds at a time -- picking up my new little nephew, Luke! Mary, my sister-in-law, has offered to have me go with her to her gym, so that will help stay on track. And Mary and Joe are sensible eaters, and so it's not like the food we'll encounter on vacation will be too overwhelming. I've saved all my extra points, and earned several activity points, so I don't have to worry too much about my eating, and can splurge a couple of meals, too.
I won't be weighing in again until next Thursday... I hope to at least stay flat!
Thanks for reading!
I actually went 9 times! And, given that, in the month of September, I was really only in town for 20 evenings (i don't go to the gym in the mornings), I think 9 out of 20 is pretty fricken great!
I had a good week eating-wise. Much more regular in my points, and, despite the new television shows (which provide a great opportunity to sit and snack) I still did very well. Very few "indulgences" this week, except for a cocktail tonight at one of our favorite places tonight - I couldn't resist trying "homemade limecello". Limoncello, sure, but LIMEcello? Yessir!
We're headed out of town for 5 days, going to visit family, and I will get to do plenty of weight-lifting, about 6 pounds at a time -- picking up my new little nephew, Luke! Mary, my sister-in-law, has offered to have me go with her to her gym, so that will help stay on track. And Mary and Joe are sensible eaters, and so it's not like the food we'll encounter on vacation will be too overwhelming. I've saved all my extra points, and earned several activity points, so I don't have to worry too much about my eating, and can splurge a couple of meals, too.
I won't be weighing in again until next Thursday... I hope to at least stay flat!
Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
One great meal, in many ways.
I wanted to mention something that went well last week.
I went out to dinner with some great friends on Friday night. 6 of us went to a fantastic, Tuscan-style Italian restaurant outside of Boston. (Tomasso's Trattoria in Southborough, for you local folks).
I knew this was going to be a challenge. This is a place that serves a number of courses, and the food is supposed to be excellent. But I had a lot of things going for me:
1) This restaurant is known for extremely fresh and local produce, organic proteins, etc. That led me to believe that the food I'd be eating would be more of healthier preparation, so I wasn't going to have food weighed down with extra sauces, etc.
2) With multiple courses, it also means the portion sizes are smaller. I'd have a good opportunity to get a good variety of tastes and foods, but not have huge portions to wade through.
3) Eating more slowly is always a good thing, and Tuscan-style eating lends itself to slower eating.
4) The menu was posted online, so I could review some of the choices plan ahead. (We also got to the restaurant a bit early, and took advantage of that time, too).
5) I knew that I wanted to drink red wine, and just committed before hand that drinking red wine meant eating NO bread. (I stuck to this)
So, my dinner was fantastic. This is what I had:
Appetizer course: Grilled watermelon (about a cup or a cup and a half), about 2 tablespoons of very smooth goat cheese and mint.
Entree: I had a "pasta course" size (half the entree size) of fresh pasta - about 5 pieces of pasta with fresh sauce - very hearty - of heirloom tomatoes. No cheese. Had a side of about a cup of roasted zucchini (some olive oil on the bottom, was able to eat it without getting too much of the oil.
Dessert: A "children's order" of gelato.
Wine - probably the equivalent of 3 glasses of wine, I'm guessing.
My best guess on points: 15. I'd had 8 prior in the day, so I really only went into my extra 35 points by 3. Not bad!
All in all, these are great choices. I think I did really well, and still managed to enjoy a great dinner with friends and not worry about my diet getting in the way. Or worry about worrying about my diet get in the way.
Thanks for reading!
I went out to dinner with some great friends on Friday night. 6 of us went to a fantastic, Tuscan-style Italian restaurant outside of Boston. (Tomasso's Trattoria in Southborough, for you local folks).
I knew this was going to be a challenge. This is a place that serves a number of courses, and the food is supposed to be excellent. But I had a lot of things going for me:
1) This restaurant is known for extremely fresh and local produce, organic proteins, etc. That led me to believe that the food I'd be eating would be more of healthier preparation, so I wasn't going to have food weighed down with extra sauces, etc.
2) With multiple courses, it also means the portion sizes are smaller. I'd have a good opportunity to get a good variety of tastes and foods, but not have huge portions to wade through.
3) Eating more slowly is always a good thing, and Tuscan-style eating lends itself to slower eating.
4) The menu was posted online, so I could review some of the choices plan ahead. (We also got to the restaurant a bit early, and took advantage of that time, too).
5) I knew that I wanted to drink red wine, and just committed before hand that drinking red wine meant eating NO bread. (I stuck to this)
So, my dinner was fantastic. This is what I had:
Appetizer course: Grilled watermelon (about a cup or a cup and a half), about 2 tablespoons of very smooth goat cheese and mint.
Entree: I had a "pasta course" size (half the entree size) of fresh pasta - about 5 pieces of pasta with fresh sauce - very hearty - of heirloom tomatoes. No cheese. Had a side of about a cup of roasted zucchini (some olive oil on the bottom, was able to eat it without getting too much of the oil.
Dessert: A "children's order" of gelato.
Wine - probably the equivalent of 3 glasses of wine, I'm guessing.
My best guess on points: 15. I'd had 8 prior in the day, so I really only went into my extra 35 points by 3. Not bad!
All in all, these are great choices. I think I did really well, and still managed to enjoy a great dinner with friends and not worry about my diet getting in the way. Or worry about worrying about my diet get in the way.
Thanks for reading!
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