Finger gesture - Weigh in

What is up with these 2 oz weigh in's?  I know there were some high impact exercises this week but not that bad!  (Says the woman dreading walking at the fair today with this sore body and can't wait to take ibuprofen!)  So I don't count 2 oz losses which means a zero for today.

I'm happy with what I've lost this month which is 6 lbs. but the 8 lb losses per month that were so constant during the first 100 lbs are eluding me.  I know some would be tempted to say "you weigh less than you did then" and I'd have to remind them yes, but I'm still over 300 lbs!  Whatever.  I've got an exercise schedule to make out this weekend so I'll do that tomorrow and try to plan intelligently.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

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Fairly sure it’ll be interesting

After close to 10 years of avoiding the local fairs, we’re biting the bullet (and an occasional deep fried whatever the rage is) and going to one tomorrow.  I spied a few fairs in our area and decided we should go for it.  It’s high cal day and we’re going to split whatever we want to try and agree if we don’t like it, we throw it away.  I know there is an elephant ear in my future, I haven’t had one in years and they were always my favorite.  I’m hoping I can find a kiddie size one because the hubby doesn’t care for them and I don’t like funnel cakes so those will be all us.  But the beauty about eating in moderation means I don’t have to eat the whole thing just because it’s there!  How novel!  I also know there will be much more walking than we typically get on Saturdays so I’m hoping between that and water being the beverage of choice, we won’t feel the effects too much.
I don’t know that we’re able to fit/ride all of the carnival rides just yet but I’m thinking we could maybe do something like the tilt a whirl and I don’t know maybe the Round Up?  I know there are people bigger than us who don’t care what the weight limits are but I don’t care to end up on YouTube or the 11 o’ clock news!  I know next year we’ll be in a much better position to not have to worry about it.  (Man I can’t wait for that day!)  I don’t anticipate we’ll be there too long since it’s going to be hot and humid as a mofo out there and I am NOT a fan!  55 days til Fall but who’s counting?
Are you a fair goer?  What are your favorite treats that you can only get at a fair?  Favorite rides?

Memphis: Take 2

I'm an Elvis fan and was so excited when we finally made our first trip there last April.  I was happy with my weight loss progress at that time but I remember that I couldn't go to Arcade Restaurant because they're primarily all booths or some close counter chairs. I am excited to be able to put that on the roster for one breakfast this time since I'm pretty confident in my booth fitting abilities now.  (People who don't fit into booths know what a big deal that is)  We're going to try to split things as much as possible except the Lacy Special at The Little Tea Shop, that is just too good but we're learning from last time and trying to plan our meals out as much as possible.  We're staying at a condo essentially so we're bringing healthy cereal and grabbing some eggs to cook in the mornings so we know that at least one meal per day will be healthy.  (And no, I'm not going to Memphis and skipping BBQ or soul food.  I don't get it where I am so we're doing as much as we can between splitting, water only to drink (except for 1 sweet tea at BB Kings) and taking advantage of the fitness center to trying to minimize damage)

So food is pretty much covered, now it's the attractions I need help with.  We've done Graceland (but we're doing it again because we're going when they're dudded up for Christmas), Sun Studios, The Peabody Ducks, Beale St and the Gibson Guitar factory.  So we've hit the major things.  Those things that no longer allow me to hear the song Walkin' in Memphis without tearing up.  *ween!*

Other than the things listed above, anyone have any suggestions on other worthwhile sights?  I know Mud Island will be closed so that's not an option.  I'd like to do a carriage ride but that doesn't take long.  So you travelers or locals out there, what other attractions are worth hitting up in Memphis?


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What Happened?

I like to look at other weight loss blogs and when I do, I like to peruse their blogrolls.  You never know where you'll get inspiration. Some are up my alley and others I don't connect with and that's fine, I just move along as we all should if someone's approach isn't our cup of tea.  I'm noticing a disturbing trend on a lot of pages though.  In clicking links I would see months or years pass with no posts or the link was dead. I initially didn't think much about it until I saw more of those than active ones on many blog sites and I began to freak out a bit.  They were trucking along, feeling on top of the world and then what happened?  Were they out living life?  Did blogging get to be too much for them? Or were they going through a rough patch and feeling less than inspiring so they were hiding rather than admit it wasn't going to plan?  Did they gain weight?  Heck for the ones who haven't posted in years, did they die? 

Spice girl

I have to say, I'm pretty happy with kicking my food rut to the curb.  I was able to come up with some awesome new dishes that you will of course get the recipes for with nutritional info.  I hope to do the same this week though I don't know if I could do quite as many but I'd love to do at least 2 new ones.  I had to get more Italian seasoning since I was almost out.  I also got some dried orange peel since I think that would've been a nice touch to an Asian dish I did last week.  Of course the place I saw it was totally out of it (like it had been discontinued).  So as I'm walking out this employee is like "are you finding everything okay?"  I said yes to be nice and then I said "actually I couldn't find the orange peel back in the spice section, do you guys still carry it?"  She froze.  It was like the female lizard in Rango that would stop mid-sentence and not say a word for a full minute and then resume her conversation when she snapped out of it.  She says no they don't then she says "let me go ask Joe, he's a vegetarian, he would know!" HA!  Yep, cuz you know those vegetarians, they know all of the secret spice places that have to do with fruits and veggies!  Turns out Joe gave some suggestions but none really panned out so there goes your vegetarian theory.

What is the most exotic or out of the ordinary spice in your kitchen?  What dish do you use it for the most?

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Yes Please! - Weigh In

I'm down 2 1/2 lbs this week so I have 10 lbs until I kiss the 3's goodbye...FOR-EVAH!  Very happy about that and hoping to knock off a goodly amount for the last weigh in of the month next week.  I love 5 weigh in months.  It feels like I get a little extra gift.  For now, I'm right on target for the zipline goal which I'm very thankful for.  Again, I don't ever do number oriented goals but I'd really love to hit this one so I can go screaming over the Kaanapali valley or Akaka Falls!  WOOT!

Hope everyone has a great weekend.  Stay cool if you're in the heat wave.  It's off to the farmers market for us! 

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Old School Lessons

I'mma bust out some old school knowledge on y'all that you Gen X'ers have known for years.  You are what you eat.  Have some sunshine on a stick.  It's okay to hanker fer a hunka cheese.  Oh yeah, you know what I'm talkin' about, it's...

We've been taught the basics of good eating for years. Of course there are so many different camps of food thought so if the thought of meat or cheese offends you, picture your favorite faux version and play along.

Hanker Fer A Hunk-a Cheese

Sunshine on a Stick

You Are What You Eat

Nutritious Dishes

Even Timer needed some time off so here are some other old school Saturday morning PSA's!

Make a Saturdae

Don't Drown Your Food

Nutty Gritty (?)

How fun was that for a Friday "dork off from what you should be doing" session? 

Did you remember many of these?  Do you think bringing back similar PSA's would help kids learn better eating habits?


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I Bit the Bullet...Tofu Style

I don't remember where I first saw Shirataki Tofu Noodles but the idea of practically zero calorie pasta was appealing.  However, when I picked them up at Whole Foods and saw them stewing in some foreign juice, I'll admit, I freaked.  But I wanted to try this mystery noodle despite not seeing the most glowing reviews on Amazon.  We bought them about 3 weeks ago and they've gotten tossed from one side of the deli drawer to the other. 

Open fridge..."You do not exist."  *toss* 
Open the fridge..."I don't see you."...*toss* 
Open fridge..."Are you expired yet?  No? "...*toss* 
Open fridge..."Sigh...I just blogged about being in a food rut, I suppose I'd better use you."  *grab*

Food Rut

I recently found myself in a food rut.  I just don't get it.  I poke around a ton of food blogs from decadent to vegan to everything in between always looking for ideas and yet I found myself in a food rut.  I will see something and think it looks okay but not necessarily good enough for me to buy everything I need to try it or it has so many ingredients that it's a turn off for my lazy rump.  I find I've only tried a few whether out of laziness or intimidation. 

I would sit there looking at my freezer full of fish, chicken, turkey, faux turkey, lean ground beef and just go...blank.  I reverted to old favorites but was kind of tired of those.  So yesterday I scoured some more food blogs to see if I could get an idea for today's menu.  I ended up changing what I had planned for dinner last night and made an awesome chicken dish that I did myself.  Apparently I just needed to look at other recipes to get my creative juices flowing and remember some ingredients I already had on hand.  (Hello almond meal that I bought "just in case" but totally forgot about!)

How do you deal with food ruts?  Suggest some of your favorite food blogs you follow of any genre or if you have a favorite quick recipe, feel free to share it in the comments or link it if it's online.

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Up and down and all around

It amazes me how I can go from utter bliss one week when seeing my new drivers license pic to going to utter tears and cries of vanity laden sadness because in a candid shot not only can I see a jawline (positive!) but jowls trying to peek out and say hi.  My friend said it was a line but not jowls.  All I know is right now it's unflattering if in the right (or I guess wrong) light.  (It's not always there)  This could mean one of two things:  1) I'm in the midst of still having 140 lbs to lose until being at a healthy BMI and my face is in transition or 2) I'm going to look like a Shar Pei and a Bulldog had a fling.  I'm not interested in going under the knife for that issue and I'm taking care of my skin (I love you Olay) but man I can't wait for these shrinking chipmunk cheeks to go away and hopefully not look like Droopy dog at my goal weight.

Really? - Weigh In

I lost 2 ounces this week.  Thanks alot jackhole.  I'm not one of those people who is big time bloated the week of their curse, I can usually count on a solid pound or two.  (That kind of stopped with the whole changing then changing back of the BC pills.  Why I ever went off the first round of knew ones was a big mistake.)  I guess if you want to get technical the 2 ounces takes me from 312 to 311.8 and while I round down, I don't consider that a loss so I have a hard time counting it.

I was also hoping chugging lemon water in the mornings would help because (TMI time) I was more regular this week than I have been in like 2-3 weeks.  Another anomoly of the body that decides to screw up your whole streak of 3 weeks of 2 lb losses in a row despite eating the recommended calories and exercising the recommended calorie burn.  If my body is still adjusting back to the first full month of BC pills then I will call this a freak thing and move on.  If my body is going to attempt to make this a habit, I am not going to be a happy girl. 

I want this more than anything.  Please cross your fingers for something good next week.  I do not want to miss out in the zipline weight limit in May. My average weekly weight loss just went up from 1.66 lbs per week to 1.75 and while that doesn't seem like a lot, all it takes is a few more weigh in's like that to kill the dream.  Send some good juju my way if you feel so inclined.

That's so much to everyone for your support!  Have an awesome weekend!

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Tennis Anyone?

Holy God am I sore!  We were granted a day under 90 with less humidity and that was our cue to break out the racquets and tennis balls and head to the only city park that will contain the madness that is our "tennis" game.  We really can't even call it tennis.  We call it "one ball pick up" or "one ball chase" because the chances of us volleying back and forth is about 1 in 15 attempts.  We have no control over our returns though my serve is pretty accurate.  It makes me giggle to think my mom tried to force me to do tennis my freshman year because I showed an interest in tennis.  She was mistaken.  I had an interest in tennis stud at the time, Boris Becker.  He was the shiz when I was entering the big house so of course mom thought this could be something I could do or more to the point she could attend.  Sorry mom, I'm no joiner!  Hopes dashed.  :-)

I should probably not engage in running or outdoor sports when Aunt Flo is settling in for her visit.  I found myself getting irritated with his antics.  When the ball bounces back, he likes to catch it on the racquet.  That's fine but last night he discovered he could roll it onto the racquet and then chuck it into the air and serve it.  It was cute the first time.  Then I realize everytime he does it, it goes rogue and my butt has to chase it to the other side of the court.  I finally told him to give it a rest because he took to lollygagging and my heart rate was going too low for my liking waiting for Houdini to do his tricks.  Another lovely aspect of this sport is I have to wear sucker pants (Spanx) so that I don't go thundersmacking all over the courts.  When it's "that time" there is nothing worse than taking your already crampy abdomen and putting it into a super tight sausage casing.  Oh yeah, did you catch I said courts.  We take up what would be 3 courts if this was set up correctly.  It's this fenced in court area, no net (we'd never hit it over), no real markings except a big center line and if there were other people there, there is no way we could play because we would be constantly assaulting them with our balls.  I go rogue sometimes and whip it over the fence into the racquetball court.  Lest you think he's the better player, he does it too, just not last night. 

When all was said and done, I burned 875 calories which was good but the joints took a beating.  I forgot how much they usually hurt afterward.  So today is a welcome rest day.  The Mr is my co-worker today as he's working from home which will be the case every Friday until someone screws it up.  (I can almost bet I'll know who)

Tomorrow we're going to a farmers market and maybe an antique store or two that are having sidewalk sales.

Have you done anything outdoors this week?  Any plans for the weekend?

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The joke is no longer funny

I have made a lifetime of jokes at my own expense.  When you're the "funny fat girl" you easily resort to making a joke at your expense before someone else has the chance.  Most of the time it's not even that they even would but you feel quite literally like the elephant in the room and that myriad of emotions from shame, embarrassment and feeling like you have to apologize for who you are all take over.  I've come up with some good ones over the years.  Tubbalicious is my personal favorite.  About a year into my lifestyle change (God I hate that term) I decided that while my personal zingers made me laugh that there had to be part of me that was taking it to heart.  There had to be a piece of me listening and feeling as fat as I said I was (and let's face it I was (am) but I don't need to remind myself of that and excuse myself for merely existing.  Despite what society may think of me on first glance, I know I'm a pretty awesome person with many talents that many people wouldn't bother to get to know.  I was going to start treating myself that way.

I had a pretty great weekend last weekend and even with the great things, I was feeling kind of frustrated that some parts of my body are just taking forever to catch up with the top of my body.  I whipped out a good one at an opportune time while watching a nature show.  "The rhino is the second largest land mammal" the show said.  "With me being the first" I retorted.  I laughed and the Mr said "Oh stop!"  (His standard answer)  Then I realized I didn't like the way that sounded.  What was once such a commonplace thing to say, now sounded foreign and wrong.  It sounded like a person desperate to be validated that they weren't what they just joked they were.  182 lbs later, I KNOW I'm not that person.  I know I'm doing all I can to change my life and health and those things no longer apply.  They might apply according to others who don't know me but they can suck it.  I refuse to talk to myself in a way I wouldn't talk to my husband or mother.  I instituted that policy 2 years ago and I'm not going back there. 

How about you?  Do you make jokes at your own expense?  How do you think it makes others feel to hear you put yourself down?

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Poll: Your Grocery Habits

The Mr and I were laughing about this encounter we had with his late father right after we were first married.  He was an everyday shopper.  On the way home, it was picking up this and that.  I was raised to go every other week and that's how we've always done it.  We lived in the same neighborhood for a few months before they moved and we ran into him at the grocery.  We had a huge cart full of stuff when we passed Dad with his load, no more than his hands could carry.  He looked at our cart in horror and was like "what's with all of that!?"  We said we go every 2 weeks (refreshing produce weekly as needed) and he thought we were freaks.  I said "picking up something you forgot?"  he said no that he was there every day.  We looked at him like he was a freak.  We had a good laugh remembering that.  15 years later we still go every other week with a produce refresher on the "off" weekend.

When do you go to the grocery store?  Every day?  Every week?  Every other week?  When the smell from the fridge forces you out of the house?

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Re-tweak

I talked with the Mr this weekend about the possibility of doing separate workouts since the harder ones seemed to be working for him but not for me.  He said that he didn't credit the weight loss to the type of workout but rather the fact that he actually tracked his food and measuring instead of "intuitive eating."  So the schedule lightens up this week anyway and I posted the re-tooled schedule on the workout tab.

You've seen my schedules over the past months, you know I don't wuss out when it comes to working out.  Right now both of us agree that we can't seem to handle the extra high impact stuff right now.  We'll be burning the same amount of calories just doing it with something that isn't going to make us not be able to walk the next day.  That's the thing about this journey, you have to be willing to listen to your body and push it just far enough to get results but not so far that you are flirting with injury.  Last week was flirting with injury.  We're excited about it and know that listening to our bodies will ultimately pay off.  I'll update the workout section when I figure out what we're going to do.  I'm thinking rowing might be able to get put back into the mix which is exciting since I had to do away with it when the thumb was feeling its worst.  I'm ready to row baby dolls!

Let's make it a kick ass week!

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Goodbye teeny boppers - Weigh In

Down a pound today which gets me out of the teens.  I'll admit I was a little bummed because I did harder workouts this week (Tae Bo and Turbo Fire) and was hoping to keep up the 2 lb per week streak but I will take what I can get.  I feel like I've been in the teens forever so I am happy to say goodbye to them regardless of what loss got me there. 

I've been kind of reviewing how I felt this week as compared to the past 3 weeks when I was consistently losing 2 lbs and I'll be honest, both of our bodies took what feels like an unnecessary beating.  This week has been full of aches and pains and strains and that's not good.  It makes me wonder if I need to re-evaluate how often I do really intense workouts right now.  So I'm going to look back over the 3 weeks and see what was working for me and have a discussion with the Mr.  Because the 3 weeks I was losing, the scale wasn't treating him as kindly.  It made up to him today by giving him a 4 spot so obviously this weeks intensity helped him.  I really don't want to not workout together but if his body needs one thing to lose and mine needs another, we may have to consider it.  :-(  I do know he felt beat up this week too so we'll see.  I also noted I felt "off".  I had trouble reaching the lower end of my calorie range and given how much more stress I was putting on my body, that isn't the best.  So all kinds of things to consider for next week.

One thing I know for sure...I'm NOT hiking in humid weather again like we did last night.  That SUCKED!  Thanks so much to everyone who left sweet comments on yesterday's entry.  I knew there was a reason I loved you guys!

Have a great weekend all!  You ROCK!

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I guess I'm a "real" blogger now

I got my first contact yesterday telling me how rude I am.  I was diplomatic in my response but y'all know me (well the ones who do know me) I make it pretty well known in my About section that my style can be an acquired taste.  I don't mind that people don't like my take on things.  Thankfully, there are MILLIONS of blogs out there that people can read if they don't like mine.  Incidentally, they had a point, it's been changed to some degree but I don't appreciate the condescending tone...and they call ME rude!  Pssht!

For those who do think my story is worthy of following regardless of how I do things around my section of the blogsphere, I thank you.  I'm glad you think my story is relavant enough to stick around for even if you don't agree with what I have to say or how I run my blog.  That's the beauty of this world is the people who are meant to find each other and influence each other hopefully for the better, do.  For those who prefer to bring others down or tell them what they're doing is wrong because it's not how they would do it, I guess I'd have to just hope that they find something more constructive to do with their time. 

Incidentally, after this little virtual smackdown, I got a little package from a friend that made me smile and reminded me that there are people out there who do care and for them, I am eternally grateful!

I hope everyone has an awesome weekend!
Peace, Love and Hello Kitty,
The Mrs

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The Holding Pattern

The Mr and I were having some deep conversations this past weekend and one of the things that he had mentioned was that he has no real hobbies.  This came into play after I mentioned I wanted to pick up some new prop plates and it was time to go to some antique stores and he gave a pseudo enthusiastic "yay" and laughed.  I asked what he'd prefer to do and he said he had no idea.  He went on to say that the things he liked to do had gone by the wayside because of the economy.  His idea of a rad day was perusing computer or electronics stores and now that many of them have gone out of business or the one or two left have annoying salespeople that make it unappealing to be there.  Later that night (or maybe the next day, I forget) he was talking about we needed new hobbies because our summer has been kind of stale this year and we're recycling activities that were new to us last year but not now.

I agreed that we needed new hobbies and started naming off things that will be a part of lifestyle but everything I thought of that I wanted to do had some weight limits to them.  I just burst into tears and said "so we're still held back by this f***ing weight and in a holding pattern."  I am about 85 lbs from being able to ride a roller coaster based on the recommended weight at many amusement parks, I don't want to pay the "fat tax" on a higher weight limit kayak when we buy them so I probably have about 40-50 lbs for a regular kayak and of course the zipline goal is about 70 lbs away.  We feel this kind of staleness in what we can and can't do right now.  I mean we know losing 181 lbs and 165 lbs is a life-changer and its allowed us to do things we never thought we would (hot air balloon ride) or little things we missed (fitting into a booth or chairs with arms, feeling entitled to doing my photography in public instead of not feeling worthy of being there, hell even going out in public without being self conscious).  But when you're itching to get on with it and do other things you're yearning to do, the holding pattern feels like forever. 

If anyone has any suggestions on things we can do that have weight limits of 325 or less, throw 'em out there.  We're not coming up with anything original on our own and having a list to choose from might help!

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Choco-Nana "Custard"

I miss having full fat custard sometimes.  It's not that I deprive myself of it, it's just that sometimes, okay, most of the time a donut or cupcake sounds better when I want something sweet on my high cal day.  But when I want to cheat my tastebuds into some deliciousness and feel like I'm getting that sinful chocolate custard with some good for me side effects like fiber, healthy fats and protein then I make this baby:

To quote Ferris Bueller, "it is so choice."  If you'd like the printable recipe, click here.

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181 lbs lost! - Weigh In

Down 2 more lbs today bringing me to a total of 181 lbs lost! 
Not much more to say than YEEEEE HAAAAA!!!!!!!!

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What I've Been Reading This Week

It's Friday and a Friday before a holiday weekend.  You KNOW you want to dork off at work, so I'm going to share some of the links I've perused this week to help you waste some time and maybe get inspired or learn something along the way.

The Best Way to Satisfy Post Workout Hunger

http://www.fitsugar.com/Best-Thing-Eat-After-Working-Out-18077822

From Couch Potato to Fitness Guru

http://www.thatsfit.com/2011/02/28/from-couch-potato-to-fitness-guru-how-denise-lost-160-pounds/

Woman Sheds 300 lbs On Her Own
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/amazing-weight-loss-woman-sheds-300-pounds/story?id=13803154

30 Tips to Get Lean, Strong Legs Faster
http://www.shape.com/fitness/30-tips-to-get-lean-strong-legs-faster

Tone Up Anywhere

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/anywhere-workout

Take Five: 7 Five Ingredient Suppers
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/quick-recipes/dinner/five-ingredient-supper-recipes/

Have an awesome holiday weekend y'all!

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