Cinnamon Almond Fudge

I'm feeling very lazy tonight so there won't be step by step pics because...well, I'm lazy.  Plus this is so easy, you don't really need them.  Need a little motivation?

Still interested?  Good.

Here's what you'll need.
1 bag of Hershey's Cinnamon Chips
1 can Eagle Borden Fat Free Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/4 cup Trader Joe's Cinnamon Almonds, crushed

In an 8x8 glass dish, line with parchment or wax paper.  (I'll put a super light mist of cooking spray on the sides so it pops out easily.)  Put the almonds in a blender or processor for a few quick pulses so they're just broken up.  You could also put them in a zip top bag and take the rolling pin to them.  Get a big ol' microwave safe bowl and dump the cinnamon chips in it.  (Like my fancy terms?)  Then pour the sweetened condensed milk on top of it except for about an ounce of it.  (Basically don't scrape the sides of the can.)  Put it in the microwave for 2 minutes.  Stir it and if the chips aren't melting, microwave for 20 seconds at a time NOT exceeding 3 minutes total.  If the chips are being stubborn, it's okay, they'll melt.

Pour the mixture into the glass dish, smooth out with a spatula and top with the crushed almonds.  Cover it with foil and give it a minimum of 2-3 hours to set up before cutting it into 36 pieces.  You might have a few scraps left.  How tragic.  I'm sure you'll find a way to dispose of them!

They were a BIG hit at The Mr.'s work.  I plan to make it again but using macadamia nuts.

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Trail Etiquette

Last night wasn't what many would consider the ideal conditions for walking on a trail but we did.  It was cold and rainy.  It keeps children and would be abductors at bay.  The weatherman said it was going to be the only sunny day this week and since he blew it 3 days in a row now, I'm pretty sure he just throws a dart at different pictures and whatever it lands on is what he says it will be.  "Snow in September...sounds good to me!"

I digress.

There's this ritual the Mr. and I go through every time we walk.  When we see others passing, my small town Mr. likes to smile and say hello.  I'd love to smile and say hello too but I can tell 80% of people do not want to acknowledge you on the trail, I accept this and move on.  My Mr., longing for a society circa 1950's where everyone still smiled at one another when passing on the street without thinking there was an ulterior motive, takes snubs personally.  He'll wait for them to get out of earshot and then say "is it so hard to say hello to another human being?"  I just smile and keep walking because I know this will continue at least 3-8 more times depending on how many people we pass.  You've got all kinds of people on hilly trails.  High school runners training after school, hardcore runners that don't care its pouring down rain, creepy guys walking by themselves with shifty eyes and you feel the need to note their height, hair color and clothing in case you need to give the description to the cops, couples spending time together like us or couples in the form of 2 women gossiping about this and that.  I leave those in training and hardcore runners alone.  They're there to work and they don't have time in between grunts and gasps for idle chit chat.  Creepy guy does not want to know you noticed him which is exactly why you say hello and if you're feeling particularly ballsy, give them the ol "I'm watching you" finger gestures ala De Niro in Meet the Parents to let them know you've spotted them and can id them if necessary.  Matter of fact, I leave everyone alone.  I don't make eye contact because the Mr is usually ahead of me when we pass others so I don't see them first and I'll only acknowledge if I hear them say hello.  I don't really know why.  I suppose it's because I used to be the Mr. but I know times have changed and people rarely want to say hello unless they're about 40+ or are forced to because you're making uncomfortable eye contact with them.  (Like my honey does)

I admire it.  I'd love to have a society where we could all look each other in the eye and smile when we pass on the street or a trail.  I don't see that happening.  Who knows, maybe it's just in our neck of the woods.  Hmm, no, I know it isn't because even when we vacation if you smile at someone, you get a look like they're going to call the police, threaten to cut you or they run the opposite way.

Do you smile and say hello to people you pass when you're walking/running/hiking?  What about on the street?


*Don't forget to enter the running goals sticker giveaway in the post below by Friday if you're interested!*

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About damn time!

In case you didn't read my weigh in post over the weekend, I was granted a 3 pound loss.  I am FINALLY able to say I have lost over 190 lbs and change that damn avatar!!  It feels like I have been working toward this forever!  Of course I am praying this is just to start of some awesome streak.  (It could happen right?  RIGHT!? Answer me!  Sorry)

I've got 2 major milestones coming up in the next 10 lbs.  In 4 pounds I will be out of the 3's, which feels like it has been like pulling teeth to achieve.  The second is in 9 lbs I will have lost 200 pounds.  A milestone I wish I didn't have to reach but will be glad to finally have under my belt.

So here's to getting this week off to a good start!

What recent weight loss accomplishment are you proud of?

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Just Wanted to Say...

Have a great weekend!

(Oh yeah and I lost 3 lbs this week)  :-)

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Can you be a "fit foodie?"

Isn't it funny how when you hear the word "foodie" you think of someone who loves food but you don't really think of a fat person?  At least I don't.  Many people who see fat people assume that of course they love food or they wouldn't be that way and that once they start losing weight they won't ever get to be a true foodie because they'll have to deprive themselves to get and keep the weight off.  I think there's nothing further from the truth.

I consider myself a foodie more now than I did 188 lbs ago.  I would say in the past I was more of a food addict though I really hate to use that term.  At close to 500 lbs, I didn't eat the way many people assume people that fat people eat.  I didn't dump a bucket of food in a trough and chow down from morning to night.  I had normal meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I bought cereal because I thought it tasted good (hello Lucky Charms and Crunchberries!) and not for the fiber content.  We had Lean Pockets and veggies and fruit and some kind of fruit bar.  For dinner, restaurant sized dinners but nothing ridiculous and a snack later in the evenings.  These things may have been in a normal calorie range but very low in fiber and high in sodium.  On the weekends basically from Friday night to Sunday afternoon was spent eating out because we'd been "good" calorie wise throughout the week.  We basically ate the way many people do now that have little time or desire to cook.  While we could've eaten the way we did then during the week and maintained our weight, we blew it on the weekends because our relationship with food was so screwed up.  You were supposed to eat until full and our definition of full now is so different from what it was then.  Full equalled stuffed back then.  We used to split a box of spaghetti...thats 4 servings each!  But that's what they give in the restaurants so it must be okay, right?  Wrong!  Eating out for 5 meals during the weekend didn't help because those things are loaded with sodium and we considered it a free for all because we "watched it" during the week.  Ugh!

Now, we have a different relationship with food.  I measure EVERYTHING.  It's automatic for me.  Condiments, pasta before I cook it, meat before I cook it, all of it.  There are still times I look at what I prepared and think "there's no way I'll be full after that" but am always amazed that I am.  Sometimes I'm ashamed at what I used to eat and thankful I know the difference.  I still eat cupcakes and pizza and donuts.  What kind of life would it be to never indulge in those things?  But I don't settle for getting those things from anywhere.  It has to be a high quality place.  If we're trying new things, we split them.  If it's bad, we throw it away because putting something inspiring in my body is more important than being in the clean plate club.  When I see or make up yummy recipes that I post here, I do it with not just nutrition but taste in mind as much as possible.  I'm not going to deny myself something that is delicious even if it's not the most nutritious.  I just don't keep it in the house.  I take a serving and either freeze it or send it to work.  This has to last me the rest of my life and I refuse to go on some fad diet that I would grow to resent and not be able to stick with.  Been there, done that more times than I care to recall.

As this journey continues, my love affair with food has thankfully changed for the better.  I am always looking for ways to make recipes healthier or make something that will make my hubby sink back in his chair or proclaim "that was awesome!"  I may not be a fit foodie yet but I'm getting there and my relationship with food is the healthiest it's ever been!

Do you consider yourself a foodie, a food addict or something in between?

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Running out of topics

For subscribers, you're probably seeing this going "what happened to the other blog post?"  I was informed the term I was using was also used on eating disordered websites.  I'd never heard it used in that way and I wasn't going to post the alternative term suggested because I'd never heard it.  Honestly, I'm in no mood to deal with a potential hot topic so I yanked it.

Now I have to think of something else to write and given my literal as well as figurative pain's in the neck I'm dealing with this morning, I realize I'm just not that interesting and running out of topics.  I'm torn between writing boring crap like this just to post or only posting when I feel I have something to say that's worthwhile.  I check a decent amount of blogs daily (on the blogosphere, not necessarily part of a weight loss website.  I'm talking Blogger, Wordpress, self-hosted, etc) and some people feel they need to post daily to keep traffic up, some only post a few times a week, others post less frequently and some abandon their blogs and have a post every few months in a desperate attempt to keep their blogs alive.  I don't want to post stuff that bores people but I also don't want to cater to an audience when this is my blog, my thoughts, my experiences.  Some would say I shouldn't have pulled the original post down if I didn't want to cater but honestly, I just don't have it in me this morning to deal with misconceptions of what I was trying to say.

In thinking of what keeps me interested as a reader of other people's blogs, I know that I check them daily to see if there's a new post (except weekends).  I get excited to see a new post and there are some people I can count on posting daily.  There are others who are so interesting that I wish they'd post everyday but the few times a week they do keeps me coming back.  Those who post with no regularity are kind of mentally put on 'probation' if they're not holding my interest.  Then if I find they don't post often like they were when I started following them or I can't relate with them anymore, I stop bothering.  I don't know if that's how others are, it's just how I am.

Does blogging consistency keep you following a blog?  If so how often do you like to see blog posts from your favorite bloggers?  What makes you give up on a blog as a reader?

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Love/Hate

I am sooo sore today!  We did another of the Supreme 90 Day workouts...I think it was like Tri's, Shoulders and Back or something and while I'm glad that we're "reshaping our bodies because that's what it's all about" but holy crap cakes!  As we were doing our last circuit last night, I said to the Mr, "I love hate working out."  He laughed and agreed.

Because for as much as I hate it when it's hard, I feel so accomplished and good about spending my time that way that every drop of sweat, aching muscle, sore joints and aggravating challenges are somehow worth it.

What workout do you love/hate?

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Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Fudge

The best part about having a hubby who has a ton of co-workers is I know I can create or try a new recipe, take one serving and send the rest to work so there's no temptation for us.  Believe me when I tell you that there would be a lot of temptation if this fudge was in the house!  I was craving that sweet and salty combo and I wondered if I could make a good fudge out of the things I had on my baking shelf.  I decided on trying to make a dark chocolate peanut butter fudge with pretzels.  Yeah.  I grabbed my bag of Hershey's Dark Chocolate Chips, my can of Borden Eagle fat free sweetened condensed milk, Reese's Peanut Butter Chips and a small bag of pretzels.

From experience I knew this fudge begins to set in seconds so I measured out 1/2 cup of the peanut butter chips and 3 ounces of pretzels.  I crushed them in a baggie so they were in pieces.

I put the dark chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and added the milk.  You don't scrape the milk out of the can, you pour until the stream gets really thin, leaving about an ounce or slightly more clinging to the sides of the can.

Put the ambrosia in the making in the microwave for 2 minutes.  While that's heating up, I cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of an 8x8 glass pan and gave a quick, barely there spray of cooking spray.

New, new plan

Okay, so if you read my weekend post that wasn't supposed to happen, I weighed in.  I know, I know but in the end, just like a teenager being told they can't see the bad boy, it only wanted to make me see it more.  I became obsessed with it so we're just going to have to accept that the scale will be part of our lives once a week.  I can't change up a plan and not know how it's affecting me.  So back to once a week weighing in.

Speaking of the plan (increased calories/top of the hour activity), it only warranted me a one pound loss and it was losing a pound that was a rouge gain so I'm not overjoyed or touting the whole "a pound is a pound" crap.  So after 2 weeks of the calorie increase, we're going the opposite direction.  We'll cut about 200-300 calories.  For me that's basically cutting out a morning snack and a little more.  I can't give away one more week with a possible gain.  So we tried that approach since our workouts were so much more intense and cutting calories hadn't worked for us in the past.  But we'll try this approach and hope something comes out of it.  I hate having to constantly re-tweak this program but most of the past 2 years has been spent trying to find what works for as long as it'll work, which has seriously been like 2 weeks and then nothing for 4. It is so irritating that you don't have control over your own body especially when you're doing everything right or implementing everything you have studied or know to try and your body rebels against you for no reason.   It's beyond frustrating.  Most people would've given up by now or proclaimed their weight had settled there but I'm NOT going to settle for just over 300 lbs.  I WILL have a 2 as my start number on my weight and eventually a 1 so get used to it body.  I'm NOT quitting no matter how much you resist me.  This week has a lot of hard exercise ahead...so bring it on!

When you hit a plateau that lasts for months, how do you usually handle it?

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Oh...I wasn't supposed to weigh in today, was I?

I know I said I wasn't going to weigh in.  Then we implemented the new plan continuing with the slight calorie raise for 2 weeks and walking every hour for 3 minutes this week.  I burned 6225 calories this week...2025 over my calorie burn.  I had to know what the deal was scale wise.

Magic number?  I BARELY eeked out a pound.  Which puts me almost at what I was the first Saturday of the month.  Better than nothing I suppose but nothing to really celebrate since it basically puts this month at a draw.

The Mr and I talked and now we're going to go the oppose way, we'll begin lowering calories.  Now this may seem like a no brainer to most people but we've tried that before and it did nothing.  Then we'd up calories and lose.  That was before we started doing this new HIIT training so raising seemed to be logical over lowering. I've tried that...doesn't seem to work so we'll go the other way and see if that does something.  It's the only thing we can do right now. We'll be doing a more detailed analysis at some point during our overly busy weekend (I hope).

Sorry if I let anyone down by weighing in but I had to know.  Actually once I declared I broke up with the scale, like a crazed stalkery girlfriend, I became obsessed with it and was weighing in every day.  I might typically sneak a peek once during the week but this was that freaky "I'm by the scale, might as well step on it" thing and so did the Mr.  So we're breaking up with our break up of the scale.  Once a week like we've done for 3 years.  I'm not going to quit what works.  It'd be nice if the measuring tape would cooperate too but it's been spitting at me for months.  Fingers crossed this works.  I'll be honest, I don't think I'll be doing treadmill EVERY hour because my hips and joints hurt so bad I had to stop my workout Thursday because I couldn't walk.  So I will do some kind of on my feet busy work at the top of the hour with treadmill thrown in here and there.  I can't risk an injury or not being able to workout because of that extra.  (By the way, I DID row in place of the workout I had to quit so I didn't quit and do nothing.  Lest you think I was a wuss!)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

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Who knew...Who Nu!

I'm sure that you have probably caught a glimpse of the new "nutritional" cookies with the slogan "now delicious is nutritious too!...Who Nu!"  I did a search on their site to see if they were in my area and they were only in a health food store on the other side of town.  So when we came across them by accident at a local grocery store, of course we had to try them.  They claim to have as much fiber as a bowl of oatmeal, vitamin C as a cup of blueberries, vitamin A as an 8 oz glass of tomato juice, calcium and vitamin D as an 8 oz glass of milk, iron as a cup of spinach, vitamin E as 2 cups of carrot juice and B12 as a cup of cottage cheese and fruit.  *Whew*  That's a pretty hefty claim!

We got the soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies.  Three cookies are one serving.  I'll admit, they were a little on the small side...two bites maximum.  I would've liked three but if you're just looking to get that taste of chocolate chip cookies then this could satisfy that craving.  We didn't expect much.  We were pleasantly surprised.  We don't buy cookies so I am only going from memory but these taste like Chewy Chips Ahoy.  If there is something they're missing, I don't taste it.  They tasted really good with buttercream frosting when we made impromptu whoopie pies with them.  Oh, we didn't?  That was just a daydream?  Oops!

Would we buy these again?  Sure.  Like I said we don't buy cookies to keep in the house but we weren't tempted by them so I think I could have them in the house on occasion without going gonzo on them.  They also have an Oreo-esque version, a golden creme sandwich (which is our next try) and a crispy version of the chocolate chip cookie.  I've seen a healthier version of the Oreo cake balls made with the chocolate sandwich cookies.  I can't vouch for those yet but I have to imagine if you're looking for a slightly healthier version of those bad boys, this would be the way to go.  If you see them and you already keep stuff like that in the house, give 'em a go.  You can always take the rest into co-workers so they can try them too.

Nutritional Info:  3 Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies-  150 calories, Total Fat 5g, Sat Fat 2g, Sodium 100mg, Total Carbs 24g, Fiber 3g, Sugars 11g and Protein 2g.  There are also a buttload of vitamins too but my fingers would fall off trying to type them all out.

(This review is not paid for.  WhoNu has no clue who I am.  I'm just a cookie eater giving my opinion!)

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The Great Sleep Experiment

I am a night owl.  Always have been and I thought I always would be.  More and more you hear how sleep is an important component of weight loss.  On average, I get about 6 hours.  My routine was to go to bed after the Golden Girls on the Hallmark Channel...at 1am.  Then I would get up at 7am when the Mr was done with his morning routine in the bathroom.  On rare occasion I might sneak in a nap if I had a bad night's sleep but usually I was just up 18 hours a day like I think many people are.  Along with the whole top o' the hour treadmill routine I've implemented this week (which sucks by the way but I do it.  The days are FLYING by and it feels like "wasn't I just down here?"), we decided to do a bit of a sleep study.  A friend of ours had a Fitbit Wireless Personal Trainer she didn't use and was offering it up for free.  I was the first person to respond to her offer so she sent it out to us.  The Mr wanted one but we already had the HRM's so we couldn't really justify the expense.  It's really cute and compact though.

It's not much bigger than a quarter.  One of the benefits is you can wear it with this sleeve as you sleep to check how many times you wake up each night and your sleep efficiency.  So we started going up about 11:15pm every night and I've been asleep by between 11:20-11:40pm.  The first night it took me about 7 minutes to get to sleep and I move a bit from 1-3am and got my best sleep from 4-6am.  That trend continued.  Here's a peek at Monday night's sleep pattern:

So I am getting at least an extra hour of sleep every night if not more. I find it odd that with more sleep, I seem to feel exhausted. I'm sure I'll adjust to that but I need to take sleep more seriously and consider it just as important a component of weight loss as exercise and eating right.  So thank you to my friend who sent the Fitbit to us, it's giving us incentive to change our ways to improve our overall well being.  I suppose you can never have too many gadgets.  *grin*

How many hours of sleep do you usually get each night?  Do you think sleep is an important part of weight loss?

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Magic Baking Powder

Okay, maybe not *magic* but it's gonna feel that way once I get to baking!  This time of year brings out the baking beast in me.  A weekend trip to the grocery and a crafts store had me leaving with more melting chocolate, piping bags and tips, spice cake mixes, extracts, sprinkles and all kinds of things that the hubby's co-workers will either love me or hate me for baking.  I always try to keep an eye on my sodium.  It can be the difference between buying an item or not.  People probably assume I have high blood pressure or some heart condition but I don't.  I don't WANT them and I pick and choose where I want my sodium and baking goods aren't it.  I was highly irritated to see that baking powder had sodium in it...to the tune of about 480mg of sodium per teaspoon!  TEAspoon!  Many baking recipes call for 1-2 teaspoons of baking powder so that can be an extra 480-960mg of sodium in one pithy not even fun to eat on its own ingredient! It's one of those things that feels like it should be a freebie.  So I was off to find out if such a magical creature existed.  I thought I'd heard of it but wasn't sure if it was powder or soda I'd read about.  Enter Hain...

I was so happy to see Hain Sodium Free Baking Powder!  (affiliate link)  It's also gluten free.  I guess this stuff is hard to find so I'm glad I saved myself a futile trip all over town.  (You can look on their product locator to see what stores around you carry it...which happened to be zero in my area)  So I ordered it and while I'm not jazzed about paying close to the same price as the product in shipping, I know this stuff will last me quite a while and help me cut out some of the sodium that so plagues everything these days.  I'm so grateful for this alternative because in the battle again inflated sodium amounts in baked goods, this is a pretty good weapon to have in the arsenal!

Do you like to bake? Do you try to find ways to lighten or make a recipe healthier when possible?

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Sedentary Blues

So I think I mentioned last week that if I didn't lose weight (or gained) that my first instinct would be to cut way back on calories.  That instinct kicked in.  The Mr and I had a serious bitchfest about this weight loss stall that has seemed to plague 2011...the year we've done the most kick ass workouts.   But I have decided to say screw it, I will continue with higher calorie ranges over the next 2 weeks because I owe myself that.  I owe myself to try what I said I was going to do and know for sure.  It goes against everything my head is screaming at me to do but I need to follow my head on this one.

In the midst of the bitchfest in which I said all kinds of crazy crap in desperation, one of the more sane things to fall out of the cupcake hole was that we are WAY too sedentary for most of the day.  We may kick ass for the hour we do "formal" exercise but our jobs are requiring us to be total sloths and we're sloths after dinner too so that's all about to change.  Starting today, at the top of the hour, I go down and do at least 3 minutes on the treadmill for a total of an extra 24 minutes of activity during the day.  Then after dinner we'll go for a walk around the neighborhood or at the park.  This is a lot of extra stuff to get used to but if we ever want to make our current uber workout work for us then we have to do this.  The Mr has a mandatory walk to his car  in his football field sized parking lot so he gets that little extra over me.  This may not sound like much to some people but you've gotta start somewhere.  Here goes nothing.

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"It's not me, it's you" - Weigh In

Dear Scale,

I'm going to say this one time, so listen good.  I don't know why you have decided to betray me.  I don't think one extra day of eating poorly in addition to my period (which I NEVER gain weight on) is a reason to throw a 2  pound gain at me.  I know the Mr isn't hormonal and he got the same.  I don't know if you think it's funny to see that look of hope and then utter disappointment/rage/self esteem chipping demeanor but I'm not havin' it.

I'm taking a break.  We're taking a break.  I'm tired of allowing you to make me feel less than.  I'm tired of giving you the power to determine whether I have a good day or a bad one.  I'm tired of letting you determine whether all of the effort I have given all week has been worth it or not.  I'm tired of suddenly feeling the need to step on you a few times a week to 'see where I am' and the Mr does it too and it's not healthy.  But that's just how you want it, isn't it?  So we're breaking up for 2 weeks.  It's not me, it's you.  So put that in your juice box and suck it.

Sincerely,
The Mrs (and the Mr even if he doesn't like it)

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Pod People

I decided it was time to have our Bod Pod progress test done.  We got it done last November (Thanksgiving weekend no less!)  We were going to do it a year later but given my recent dissatisfaction with my numbers I thought this will either make me a very happy girl or make me fling myself off of a bridge.  "Oh why not, let’s do it tonight!" I belted out 2 weeks ago.  So we did.

Out skips a little boy who could be no more than 20...with a sparkle in his eye and his wide smile, he led us into the room.  We told him we’d done it before.  He said they had you get into these wetsuit looking things and I said laughed and said “good luck!”  We had on our swimsuits and/or compression shorts so we’re ready to go.  I had my hair pulled back in a ponytail and was ready for my gross cap that I had to share with 100 other people to tuck my hair and keep it close to my head for an accurate reading.  Oh, what’s that Jimmy?  You don’t have a cap so our readings will likely be inaccurate on the plus side?  Awesome.  How much are we paying again?  When he’s inputting our info, he’s like you can put your age in if you want and the Mr was like seriously?  He told him and he did the same thing to me like we were the oldest people on the face of the Earth, should be ashamed of our ages and he desperately wanted to ask us questions like “were you on the Titanic?” or “were you in World War 1?” or “what was it like when the law passed and women could finally vote?” but was too polite and held back.  Turd.  The Mr got in the pod and Jimmy and I discussed HIIT training, how far we drove to get to the place and other small talk for the 120 seconds the Mr was in there.  Then it was my turn to channel my inner Lady Gaga and get in the egg like pod.  I got in, all I could feel was how loose my hair was and I couldn’t believe they didn’t have all of the appropriate equipment for the test. 

When we were done I found that I lost 6% body fat since then but am still according to the print out 50% fat.  Awesome.  But Jimmy assured me the number was lower because of my hair. We went out and bought a swim cap so we could use it and I emailed the center and told them the situation and asked if we could be retested for free since we drove so far to get it done.  They agreed.  So last night was the night.  Send in golden haired surfer boy, Johnny.  The kind of guy that you could easily bang but couldn't carry on a conversation without the words "dude" and "stoked" every 3 words.  There I am in my one piece that now only enhances my deflated funbags and compression shorts borrowed from the Mr so my hoo ha doesn't escape and blind you and the coup de grace?  The black Speedo swim cap I have my mane tucked into that makes me look like a walking penis.  Try not to fall in love with me Johnny...dude.

What I realized too late was I would be on the first day of the "great uterus expansion of 2011" (aka-period)  I was all excited to get retested so I went first.  My excitement was short lived when I saw my body fat went UP 3%!!!!  Obviously I didn't gain 3% body fat in 2 weeks.  (I mean jeez, I know I went overboard with burger and 2 pieces of pizza but cut me some slack, Jack!)  The Mr's reading stayed the same.  The only difference was I was now a year older from the last test (I should've used the old age) and I was a crampin' menstrual fool.  When I got home, I found that you should fast for the best results (I had just chugged 36 oz of water 90 minutes prior) and your period can inflate your body fat by 2%!  So yeah, I'm sticking with the first reading.  We'll do the next test just before our trip to Hawaii in April to hopefully see more results!

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Relishing the Little Things

As I finished up my Power 90 Original and 'act a fool' dances to get my calorie burn over 1,000, I glanced at the workout calendar.  It's a picture of Waipio Valley on Big Island.  That got me thinking about our trip in the Spring and the things we would pass on our way to Waipio.  We have to go through our favorite town of Waimea which is a cowboy town and so unlike Hawaii with it's rolling hills, cows, cowboys and the like.  The people there are amazing and so friendly.

Ever since 2002, when the series Girl Meets Hawaii with Samantha Brown was on, I have wanted to go to the Hawaiian Style Cafe just because of the loco moco they serve.  (One of our favorite heart attack inducing dishes)  It was this episode (sorry, unavailable now) of the show that made me want to go there.  The segment is about 1 minute in.  Notice anything as you watch it?  If you said no, you're probably skinny or a reasonable facsimile thereof.  If you said there are all tight booths and counter seating, then welcome my morbidly obese brethren.  Besides us always seeming to hit the area after it closes, it became clear that my girth would not be welcome in those tiny booths.  I also didn't care to be the really fat chick walking in and ordering her uber loco moco to go so I could find a park to eat it in like a dirty secret.  That's what we were going to do the last time we were there in 2008 but we got there too late.  I swore one day I would go in and eat inside like a normal person.

As I thought about the journey through Waimea to get to Waipio as I looked at the calendar, I thought this might actually be the year I can!  The thought so overwhelmed me that I began to cry.  I pray I'm right.  I can fit pretty much in any booth now but these look really tight.  I know I still have about 7-8 months to do it and get even more breathing room but with the lack of progress lately despite working my heiney to the bone, it feels slightly out of reach.  I'm going to take a picture of that.  Me sitting in that booth, enjoying my loco moco.  I may need to be Crisco'd out when I'm done but dammit, I WILL sit in the booth at that eatery that has eluded me for 9, well by that time, 10 years!  I will also do the tour of Ono Certified Farms in the same episode because I thought I wasn't physically fit enough to walk it and didn't want to embarrass myself.  I am DOING this and I will finally have something to be proud of even if others take it for granted.

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My attempt at cupcake pops

I had occasion to try something I'd been wanting to do for a long time...cupcake pops.  If you follow the Bakerella blog, then you likely have seen these little pops of goodness.  I eyed the recipe many times over but it seemed like a lot of work.  I bought all of the ingredients and prayed for the motivation to actually make them.  We were having company on Saturday night and would see my family Sunday afternoon so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to give them a whirl.

First you bake a cake.  For some reason that escapes me, I chose red velvet.  Don't do that.  Choose ANY other flavor or else you will look like Dexter's kill room assistant.  I subbed applesauce for oil and baked to the box directions in a 13x9 glass dish.  After that, you let it cool completely and break it into chunks in a big bowl.

Okay, I should've used a slightly bigger bowl but I made it work.  I got out my pastry cutter, blew off the dust and broke the cake down into big crumbs.

I think the recipe called for a can of frosting but I used half a can and really can't imagine using more than that.  I used sugar free vanilla frosting because with the sweetness of the dipping chocolate, I wanted to cut out where I could.

It's one of those things you have to eyeball to your preference.  Grab a big ol' spoon and stir it until combined and make sure it's not crumby.  Now it's time to roll them into balls.  Wash your hands big time because you're about to be seriously manhandling this food or if you're like me, you bust out the plastic gloves because I know if someone brought these to work, I wouldn't want to think about how much someone's hands had touched them and how many times they licked their fingers when they did it!  Roll the balls to about 1 1/2" or so.  (Mine ended up being more "or so")  Put the balls on a parchment or wax paper lined cookie sheet.

Yeah...so what?

It was a good and bad birthday weekend.  Good in the sense I got to spend time with people I actually like spending time with from some friends of ours we don't see often enough these days to family.  I got mostly money but my hubby and mom shopped off of my wish list which was nice.

The "bad" was that the one and half day planned food fest that lopped into a full on 2 day deal.  Ask me if I felt bad about it?  I don't.  It's been over a year since we've done that and given most of us agree I need to up my calories, I took care of that right quick!  Between the planned burger lunch we had with my family Sunday and then getting the pizza I had to pass on that I really wanted the night before, I decided I "deserved" it.  It wasn't that kind of thing though, it was truly that I looked at what I had planned for dinner and saw that I could still get the pizza and be within the calorie range I was going to be in anyway.  Yeah the sodium was going to be slightly higher but it was no biggie.  Oh...and there were cupcake pops.  We won't speak about those yet.  That post comes later in the week!

But we did a strength workout that I felt with major intensity the next day in my shoulders and back and then Labor Day came and we busted out a Powerstrike 5 workout and cut up all of our veggies and fruit for the week.  All was back to normal and I'm glad for it.  So I did a 2 high cal days in a row.  At least I got right back to it and will look to make the week average out to a little more than normal to see if it spurs on the weight loss.  I will say it made Labor Day a little harder because I felt like I wanted more crap and even *almost* rationalized it but caught it before it became an issue.  I'm okay with what I went over for the weekend, which was really just one meal and it wasn't some clusterfudge...given the hell month I have on tap for September...I'll need the extra!

Did you have a planned splurge over the holiday weekend?  A non-planned splurge or a little of both?

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It's Labor Day

I'm taking the day off...sue me.  ;-)

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*Gritting Teeth* - Weigh In

Really?  You couldn't throw me the 3 so I could hit 190 lbs lost?  I mean even the birthday gift of an entire pound was too much to ask?  Or even a half pound??  For those who would say "at least it's down."  No it's not.  I'm simply getting back into the number before I gained that freak pound a 2 weeks ago for no apparent reason.  Oh and the whole eating more thing?  I couldn't even do that right.  A mere 20 calorie bump above my average for last week!  What is it with the mental block of not being able to eat above a certain range when I know it may benefit me to do so??  I even made sure I stuck to as close to my calorie goal as possible, burning 4318 last week.  At this rate it will take me all month to lose 2 damn pounds.  Hell I only lost ONE pound last month so it could take me 2 months to lose 2 lbs.  I am so beyond frustrated it doesn't even register.  I don't know whether to try to up my calories or decrease them.  I've tried lowering them before with no success.  I'm trying to raise it but I seem to have a mental block from doing that.  Ugh.

With 2 birthday celebrations between today and tomorrow there should be no problems raising the calories over the weekend.  Now I just have to plan for the week.  I'm seriously so tired of trying to guess what my body needs and how to get there.  It makes me WANT to throw in the towel and say f*** it but I know nothing will come of that either.  I'll be in the corner with my piece of birthday cake, crying and curled up in the fetal position.

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You're invited!

It's my birfday yo!  Time to par-tay!  I'm talkin' Caroline violating Jake Ryan's house and Donger ending up on the lawn kind of celebration.

Okay, maybe not that big.  Man did 80's movies ruin my expectations for life!  Anyhoo...

Problem is I need to add some songs to my playlist.

Add the name of your favorite song to dance to in the comments!

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