I Made It!

Finally, I made the 75 pounds lost mark! I was down 3.2 pounds this week! These plateaus are sure stranger as time goes on, but thank goodness they ARE plateaus! Now to celebrate! No time to post more today. I hope to be back later next week though! See you then!

Anyone for Breakfast?

Here's a little quiz for you. Which cereal is healthier? Which of these is a good choice? Which is a bad choice? I've saved a few empty boxes of several cereals that have recently been in our house. Remember, we have a ten year old that lives with us. He eats 99% of these cereals and I have them once in a while for the other 1% of the mix.

Honey Nut Chex: The box says it is "Gluten Free" and whole grain but it has honey and nuts, so it must be too sweet and higher in fat because of the nuts, right?

1. The serving size is 3/4 cup
2. Calories are 120
3. Fat is 1g
4. Sugars are 9g
5. Fiber is 1g.

Corn Chex: This is also "Gluten Free" and is "with Whole Grain Guaranteed". It is CORN though. That can't be good, can it?

1. The serving size is 1 whole cup
2. Calories are 120
3. Fat is only a half (.5)g
4. Sugars are 3g
5. Fiber 2g

Not bad!


Life Cinnamon: "Made with Whole Grain". This stuff tastes good without adding milk!

1. The serving size is 3/4 cup
2. Calories are 120
3. Fat is 1.5g
4. Sugars are 8g
5. Fiber 2g

It is also "Heart healthy" and "an excellent source of B-Vitamins" according to the package.

Mom's Best Naturals - Honey Grahams: Now this should be super healthy! It is in the specialty isle with all the health foods and is a lot more expensive than the others. It too, has whole grains and is made with "all natural ingredients".

1. The serving size is 3/4 cup
2. Calories are 130
3. Fat is 3g
4. Sugars are 10g
5. Fiber 1g

Wait a minute?!? The health food is the most in calories, fat, sugars and lower in fiber than most of the others? What's up with that???

It gets more interesting when you read the ingredients. The health food cereal has corn meal as its first ingredient. The other three list different whole grains as their first ingredients.

By the way, the Honey Nut Chex, and the Mom's Honey Grahams both listed two types of sugars in the first five ingredients. The Corn Chex and Life cereals listed one sugar as the third ingredient. (I only went through the first five ingredients for this)

When looking at all the ingredients:

• The Life cereal listed ONE source of sugar in its ingredients.
• The Corn Chex cereal listed TWO sources of sugar.
• The Honey Nut Chex listed FOUR sources of sugar.
• The Mom's Honey Grahams lists SIX sources of sugar.

The FDA doesn't make manufacturers list all their sugars together. The more types of sugars you can put in a product the lower down the list they appear. The Corn Chex would be lowest in sugar because they actually use less overall sugar than the others. Clear as mud? Of course not! It seems the more of a challenge it is to figure these labels out the more we are kept in the dark. I hate having to do my homework, but I need to, in order to put the best foods in MY mouth for ME!

By the way, good old oatmeal is a tad higher in calories and fat. It has 150 calories per serving and 2.5g fat. It wins in the sugar category with only 1g of sugar, and in the fiber category with 4g of fiber. One more note about oatmeal is interesting when comparing it to these other cereals. The total list of ingredients in Life Cinnamon cereal was a whopping 27! Mom's Best had 18 ingredients (so much for "all natural" meaning simple), Honey Nut Chex had 12, and Corn Chex had only 8! But, oatmeal has ONE ingredient.

The moral of this story is that you really can't judge a book by its cover much less a cereal box by where it is located in the store, or what it says in bold print on the box. You have to read the ingredients too. Everyone needs to decide what is best for themselves. I look at calories and fat first and always prefer simpler foods with fewer ingredients.

Please pass the oatmeal!

(note: all these figures were without adding milk)

Book Review: Water With Lemon

I just finished "Water with Lemon" last night. The book is written in a fictional way with the main character, Karen, coming to terms with her life, marriage, and her battle with weight loss.

The eight habits that are introduced in the book are great common sense ways to incorporate in your weight fighting lifestyle.

Overall, it was a fast read. It was hard for me to combine the thought process of fictional story with non-fictional facts.

I liked some of the ideas to help with weight loss in this book. Although I got tired of reading "water with lemon" that was almost on every page of the book! I exaggerate, but it sure was mentioned a LOT! hahaha

I will take away some of the ideas from the book, like making large batches of meals and freezing some to make your own 'fast food' meals easier. I might slice up a lemon and put it in a container in the fridge. Then when I get water, I will put a slice in the bottom of the glass before adding the water. It sounds refreshing!

I went to the web site that is mentioned in the book. There I found the "Lickety-Split" cookbook. I thought this was an old ancient book that the character, Fowler, had found. It isn't. It is a full blown cookbook that the author made to go with the book. I didn't like that the prices for this cookbook are, what I consider, very high.

If you can wrap your head around the story parts of this book and keep it separate from the diet plan, I think you might enjoy it. It is a predictable and easy plot to follow. I am sure the plans, the habits mentioned, would help out some to tackle their weight loss methods.

I will take away from this book some 'food for thought' and possibly incorporate it into my regime. I won't spend the money on their web site, for any of the companion books or DVD's though! I will subscribe to her newsletter to see if it is a helpful thing. If it is more a sales gimmick, I will not keep using the newsletter though!

I still like sparkpeople.com the most. It has been a good fit for me and my style of making healthy changes in my life. Everyone should read or look at all types of different things to find what fits or what works best for them, personally. Everyone of us is unique. Our plans of attack should be unique too!

I hope you enjoyed this book review. I am working on another one already! Be kind to yourself today. We are all so lucky to have another day to live!

Dagnabit!

Well piffle! I gained this week. I am not sure why. I am up 1.8 pounds though. I looked at what I have been doing this past week and nothing jumps out at me yet as a direct cause for the gain.

Oh well. This has happened before and I am not going to let it get to me! I am still happy about where I am at and excited about where I might be going!

In the past I've gone up a tad and then dropped a huge amount. Maybe this is one of those types of plateaus? They say the body does not give up metabolism changes easily. It hangs on to every fat cell it can, keeping them nice and plump!

The only things I can think of that might affect me is that I have been making it a point to eat breakfast. I have added a tablespoon of sugar a day to my diet. I have also added a pat of butter a day. I honestly would like to think that this would not pile the pounds on so easily! This week has been different, exercise wise too. Next week I will be back on a more normal routine as there are no meetings or appointments going on that might slow things down for the week.

NEVER GIVE UP!!! That is the motto for this week. See you back here soon! I have more book reviews coming and maybe some recipes.

I still feel great! So no sad frowny faces today! Have a GREAT weekend everyone!!!

Walking is too much fun!

I've been walking that trail I found, instead of going to the gym. The weather is so cool out and I just couldn't resist walking instead of going inside a building! Tomorrow I will go to the pool though, as I need to do some stretching and pool workouts that don't jar the joints as much.

This morning I did a hair over three and a half miles!!! I ran a little bit too, so it was quite the workout. I've felt invigorated all day. This is just a smidgen over 5K, so I think I can start considering entering a race someday. I don't want to do it to win, but I want the tee shirt! hahahaha! I might even do something like the Run for the Cure. I wonder if I would look good in pink? I wonder if I could get sponsors? There is a lot to think about and hope for, next year. I think this is added motivation for me to continue on this new life I am leading!

I had such a treat today! I have needed a pair of in-between jeans. I am right between fitting into the skinny jeans I have in the closet and drowning in any of the larger sizes. Today I took all those baggy saggy fat jeans to the thrift shop and bought myself a pair of perfectly fitted jeans. I also found a gorgeous two piece light sweater set for spring. I can almost wear it now, but would feel better if I were still smaller in the hips and waist before wearing this new set. Oh, I forgot to mention that I had a 20% off coupon to use in exchange for the donated jeans. My purchases today were less than ten bucks.
I tried everything on at home and then started looking in my winter closet for a light weight long sleeved shirt to wear for the rest of the day. I found my old Halloween witchy tee shirt and put it on. The last time I wore it was over a year ago and it was too tight on me then. It hangs on me now! It is comfy though, and I will keep it to wear around the house when I want to wear comfy stuff. (I still think it is SO cool that this shirt just hangs on me though!!!)

I love being skinny(er)! Even if I am still overweight, I don't care what others say, I FEEL skinny!

Fish tonight and weigh-in tomorrow. I hope I've reached that big goal weight that is just a hair's breath away!!! If not, I will try again next week!

See ya next time!

LOOKIE What I Found in my Back Yard!!!

They have closed down some railroad tracks near my house. I now have a new route to add to my walking. It is fun to not always be on asphalt! I even saw a fawn! This is sooooo cool!

I found out that walking on this type of terrain is a real workout too! My knee didn't hurt but I was huffing and puffing as if I were running! As soon as I was back on the streets, my knee was twinging again. I will be utilizing this trail a lot more on future walks!

I hope your weekend is going well. We started the morning off with a moment of silence to recognize the day. We are so lucky. Those folks that passed away on 9-11 didn't have the choice to improve their lives and to finish living them to their potentials. We have no excuse to abuse ourselves. Let's keep getting healthy and remember just how fortunate we are.

Almost There!

Less than a half pound to go and I will have lost a total of 75 pounds! I thought I had reached that today at weigh in but when I went back and redid the math, I found out I was wrong. lol I was NOT upset about this though because I had lost two pounds since last Saturday!
I hope to write something more witty later this week. It has been a busy day. One little thing I want to mention though, is that I just found out there will be a new walking trail so close to my house that I can use it often! I am very excited about this!

Hang in there, and don't EVER give up!
See you soon!

More than just a book review

How about TWO book reviews? (and more) After getting yesterday's post done, I decided to come back today and do more! First up is:

"The 17 Day Diet" by Dr. Mike Moreno

I am always a skeptic when it comes to these types of books. This book was no exception. Does it work? Yes. Is it magic? No. This is just another example of the latest fad diet out there. They've launched this book with a full media blitz on TV and the Internet. CBS News, ABC TV, Dr. Phil, The Doctors and more have had stories about it. There is a web site you can join up with. There is a workbook and a DVD you can buy, to go with the book. With promises of rapid weight loss and astounding results, it is easy to see the lure.

Save your money.

It is basically a low calorie diet (one day's suggested menu was under 1200 calories for the whole day). It is heavy on veggies, light on fruits, and low on carbs. You can eat a lot of proteins, as long as they are chicken, fish, and other lean meats. You don't have to actually count calories, which will appeal to many. It is divided up into three - 17 day chunks that change up your foods a little. (quote) "But you do have to accept that this won't be a pleasure diet. You've got to stop eating unhealthy crap." This is nothing new, but rather just a different way of stating the tried and true, 'calories in, calories out' that ultimately works for most people. They also have exercising in the program, so it really is not anything new and ground breaking.

The "maintenance" plan is: (quote) "....a program of eating that lets you enjoy your favorite foods on the weekends, while eating healthfully during the week."
Well duh! Doesn't this amount to cutting calories? And don't you think folks will read into this that they can do fast food all weekend and still lose weight?

So I would not spend the money to buy into this, even though it does work, it isn't anything new or special or magical. If you are looking for something to follow that is laid out for you, then this might be for you. Just be aware that it IS brand new and comes across as being the diet fad of the year...next year will bring a new and different plan with a catchy name. I am sure it will make money for the doctor and might help some folks out as well. Most of these fad diets will work to some extent, but they are not a new miracle cure for obesity.

Speaking of obesity...someone said to me this week, "You don't look obese anymore!" I suppose some folks would take that as a slam, but I took it as a full blown compliment! My mind's eye still sees a fat woman. It is only when I glimpse the hall mirror, in passing, that I see this stranger looking back at me! Who IS that woman???
Before the next book review, I wanted to mention something else to you. I've been enjoying my Dannon vanilla Greek yogurt a bit too much. I was having two or three a day, mostly after supper, as my dessert. Heck, I was buying this stuff by the CASE! I finally figured out why. It has 18 (that is EIGHTEEN) grams of sugar in it! That is TWO THIRDS more sugar than plain yogurt. (Plain has 6 grams of sugar) No wonder it tasted so good! Guess who isn't buying this any more? I still like Greek yogurt the best, but it will be Yoplait or Dannon PLAIN Greek, from now on. I will add the flavorings myself and not the sugars!!! I hate when I have to give up my indulgences!!! I hate being fat, more!

Book review #2:"The Skinny- What Every Skinny Woman Knows About Dieting

(And Won't Tell You!)"
by Patricia Marx and Susan Sistrom

What a fun book this was! Patricia Marx actually is a prolific writer, usually with a wicked sense of humor too! This book has a lot of funny material, interlaced with real truisms! Some of the chapters are:

• Making It Look Big
• Calories Per Minute
• The Best Way to Look Skinny
• What to Do if You Really, Really Need to Lose Five Pounds in Five Minutes
• Naked Eating
• Space Travel
• What to Do if You Accidentally Drink a Coke Instead of a Diet Coke
• No, Really, what to Do if you Accidentally Drink a coke Instead of a Diet Coke
• The Outside vs. the Inside of a Food
• Why You Should Never Tell Your Mother You're on a Diet

There are many, many more chapters.

In the "Calories Per Minute" (CPM) chapter, I took this excerpt: "The difference in calories per ounce is marginal, but the pistachios with shells are unquestionably the Skinny Choice. (The CPM for pistachios can be even lower than 80 because you are likely to get stuck on a particularly hard-to-crack nut or even break your nail and have to stop eating nuts for a while. If you are very lucky, you will slice open your finger on a shell and have to go to the hospital, where you will cause the CPM to go down even farther. We advise, therefore, to buy the pistachios nuts that must opened with power tools.)"

I would get this book and have it by your nightstand to read. The chapters are short and funny. You would go to bed with a smile on your face! Your partner will wonder what you're thinking, so share the book with him or her too.

That is it for today and for the rest of this week! I am still working out the kinks in my new routine and trying to decide the best plan of action. I see my doctor on Tuesday and will be asking him questions too.

Enjoy your day and have a safe and fun filled Labor Day weekend y'all!