Success Along the Weigh

Happiest of Friday's to you all!  It's the last day of the month, can you believe it? Let's dive straight into... 9 Things to Cut Out of Your Life to Be Healthy    (None of these have to do with cutting out a food group) 5 Ways to Jump-Start a Whole-House Decluttering Effort   (I need to get a jump on this) The 16 Best Exercises For Arm Day   (L Stand would be if you'd like to rearrange your face for free) Anatomy of an Egg   (In case you were wondering if that white gel thing was a dead chicken) How to Quit Being Indecisive About Life Decisions   (Mmm hmm) 21 Low-Impact Workouts That Are More Effective Than You Think   (Get to it!) This Is What Nutrition Experts Really Think About Dairy   (I'll never give up mah dairy) How To Stop Sweating The Small Stuff For Good   (Must implement ASAP) This Mansion Has Sat Virtually Untouched For 50 Years   (Beautiful home!) Three's Company 40th Anniversary Cast Reun...

( via ) I was reading this article last night and it talked about how we tend to focus on long term goals instead of short term ones.  They talked about how health or any goals we have can fail based on a concept called "delay discounting" and the further off the reward the more we tend to discount it.  Or sometimes it seems so unattainable that it ends up losing its value.  But if you make the reward more immediate it might be easier to make choices that ultimately end up getting us toward our goals. Like instead of skipping workouts you have to remind yourself why doing them makes you feel good today .  Does it give you stress relief?  Start your day off right?  Make you feel like a beast to conquer that hard exercise or give your all?  Does it give you that much deserved 'me time?' I read this at a point I felt like I was at the bottom of a pit with Nate Fisher shoveling dirt on my grave.  I have an avalanche of crap that needs to be d...

When I saw we were going to Toronto, The Mr immediately said "FINALLY we get to see where Forever Knight was filmed!"  I had totally forgotten about that. For those of you who are drawing a blank on it, it was based off of this Rick Springfield TV movie called Nick Knight  in 1989.   (affiliate link)   I was glad to see Rick because he was my first concert and I loved the premise of a vampire cop trying to become human again.  In 1992, they made it into a late night series called Forever Knight    (affiliate link)  and it ran basically the entire time the Mr and I dated.  On Sundays, they would play it late at night and I would talk him into staying until it was over at like 1am on a school night.  So seeing these places were very sentimental to us. The top picture is "Nick's Loft"  The lower left is Natalie's Medical Examiner office and the lower right is the outside of the police station in seasons 2 and 3. ...

Happy Monday guys! We took a nice little trip Wednesday night... We were there to see this amazing show... I will review the show eventually but let me say if Patricia Ward Kelly comes anywhere near your city or close enough for a weekend trip, GO!  I have recently fallen totally in love with Gene Kelly and this was just completely amazing.  Even the Mr who really knew nothing about him came out a fan.  As I said, I'll cover more in another post but wow.  So glad to have seen this show and so much for your money as well. We made a pit stop in Niagara on the Lake and here's a gift from Vader for you. I hope you didn't already have one.  ;-) It was grocery restock weekend so there went 2 1/2 hours of our evening yesterday.  We got started with our workouts when we typically finish them and the Mr came up a few minutes early to start cutting my veggies.  Then I came up and he's like "what is that noise?"  Tornado warning on t...

It's Friday and that's worth celebrating with some links to help you dork off at work!  So let's get right to... 9 Things to Cut Out of Your Life to Be Healthy   (This has nothing to do with gluten, sugar or dairy) What's the Least Amount of Exercise You Can Do and Still Be Healthy?   (No excuses!) How to Securely Dispose of an SSD   (It's not as easy as the old hard drives) Six Stretches to Help Your Stiff Back Feel and Move Better   (I will do anything because my back constantly feels like crapola!) 10 Lifestyle Changes That Will Always Pay Off   (A few I still need to master) 6 Delicious Ways to Make Sweet Potato Oatmeal   (Yum!) Here's How to Network Like an Extrovert if You're Shy   (I totally clam up) Potatoes Are Not the Enemy; Here Are 9 Healthy Ways to Eat Them   (You could not pay me enough to cut potatoes from my diet) 7 Reasons to Do Moderate-Intensity Exercise More Often    (Point taken) 12...

I never buy cookies to keep in the house because I don't need the temptation.  But when something is free, I can justify trying one and then sending the rest to the Mr's work for the dingoes to attack.  That's just what we did when our local grocery store was running a promotion to get these for free. The cookie marketing people seem to think that if they put the word "thin" on the package that people will think they're getting something they can either manage or are better for them that the regular version.  I'd like to think people don't buy that but we all know someone out there is falling for it.  Let's see what the numbers say... Four cookies for 150 calories sounds like a pretty good trade off to most people because you can have more for the same calories.  Wellll, not quite.  I mean, they're 'thins' so you're getting less.  If you have two cookies, it tastes like what one cookie would taste like and the nutritio...

Last Thursday, I found that The Rock has a YouTube channel.  The Mr has always wondered what kind of workouts he does, so I subscribed to it since he posts them from time to time. We watched that video and were inspired at his intensity.  We watched another one from a different channel (NSFW-language) and while he goofs around a bit in them, his determination is jaw dropping.  Obviously you don't get to look like Dwayne Johnson without extreme commitment.  But one thing he kept doing in the second video was when he would get distracted goofing around or whatever, he'd give an angry look and yell "focus!" and go back to business.  They're all strung together so it can get a little annoying after a while but it shed a lot of light on what we think our problem may be. The next day, we did old school Power 90.  We've done this workout probably 100 times and sometimes it kicks our butt, sometimes it doesn't.  We tended to lean strongly toward the l...

I was flipping through the Vermont Country Store catalog last night and of course since nostalgia is their thing, it got me, well, nostalgic.  So I thought I'd do a bit of a quiz with you based on back in the day stuff. What kind of cologne did your dad wear?  My dad wore Brut and Old Spice and on occasion, English Leather. Did your grandma do a once a week trip to the hairdresser?  Both of mine did.  My paternal grandma would also wear the rain bonnet to keep hers intact. You know what soap on a rope is?  I'm pretty sure my dad got some every year from me for Christmas until I was 8. What could you rely on getting in your Easter basket as a kid?   One of my grandma's always made sure I had one of those big ass peanut butter eggs with a little flower on the top the size of an adult fist.  I could rely on those horrible Whopper eggs as fillers being thrown in and I'd throw them out. What telephone did you like to play with as a kid? ...

Happy Monday everyone!  We both FINALLY got one in the loss column on the scale just in time for a side trip.  As long as I'm back to pre-holiday weight.  I figured since we're going to have an off schedule later this week maybe I'd cook at home for Saturday's high cal day.  The Mr was craving a grilled ham and cheese so I said I'd make that if we could split some small sides from a BBQ place that does sides well but not so much on the meats.  They came through for us so I didn't have to cook everything .   After that we made a Sur La Table run since I had some channel related items I needed to pick up.  (You realize how crappy your own pans look on camera.)  So I got a few 9x13 pans and a couple of sweet whisks.  Yes, sad that whisks and pans make me so happy but there you have it.  Sur La Table is my spirit store.  We went to this mall where they had 4 plus size clothes stores all in a row and I swear man, there is nothing wo...

Happy Friday and Happy St. Paddy's Day!  Erin Go Braghless and all that stuff.  Are you wearing green?  Do people still pinch offenders or has the PC world officially shut that down? Let's jump right into me lucky charms of... Warm-Ups, Cool-Downs, What Works, What Doesn’t   (Interesting research) 5 Tips for a Perfect Push-up   (You may have been doing them wrong all along) 9 Things That Make It Harder to Lose Weight in Your 20's, 30's and 40's   (Any of these apply?) 10 Resistance Band Exercises to Build Total-Body Strength   (Using these for strength training on the road) 11 "Healthy" Foods Nutritionists Never Eat   (A few surprises) 12 Foods That Help You Fall (and Stay) Asleep!   (Apparently potassium is the key) 22 New Lunges to Supercharge Leg Day   (If my leg days get any more supercharged, I'm going to be crippled!) 13 Best Daily Habits For Losing Weight   (Now ya know) Internet destroys fitness model...

One of my favorite songs is by The Revivalists called Wish I Knew You.  I liked the song but when I saw the video, I fell in love with it even more.  (Try not to bawl like I did!) One of the lines of the chorus is "wish I knew you when I was young."  Well, the Mr and I have known each other when we were young...17 and 19.  We were lucky enough to go to my Senior prom together and sometimes because we've known each other for so long, it's hard to see each other as adults.  Even with the lines on our faces, we still see the baby faces we used to be. Last night we had one of those conversations.  You know, the ones that keeps you up way later than you should've been?  Like, it's 1am right now and I'm just typing this and my proofreader just laid down in bed so if there are a ton of typos, it's on me.  We had one of those conversations that snaked it's way starting in one place and ending somewhere completely different.  He was talking abo...

I know people getting slammed by Stella are griping about having to shovel out of the current snowstorm but snow people like myself are quite jealous.  The only time this season we had to snowshoe was our Christmas week in Vermont and that was last year so you know, we've had NOTHING this winter season in my neck of the woods.  Many days, I find myself checking out the trails at Trapp Family Lodge where we snow shoed in Vermont. One day in early January, I actually sat there for 20 minutes watching this little girl gleefully play by herself in the snow.  It made me so happy, I actually screenshot it... A couple of times she flopped down and made snow angels, snow balls that she tossed in the air and then took her little spoon sled    (affiliate link)  she's throwing around and attempted to sled a 12 inch "hill" by the yurt on the right.  I sat there watching her with tears in my eyes so happy at that freedom she had.  I prayed that...

As vacation season starts to gear up, it gets me thinking of travel gadgets and stuff I probably have no use for but eh, it's fun to browse.  It didn't help the new Magellan's travel catalog arrived tempting me with goodies.  Here are some things that caught my eye. Luggage Cup Holder - Freehand Travel Drink-Caddy  (affiliate link)  Okay, I never, ever get drinks in the airport because our flights tend to be long haul and I'm trying to keep my record for not having used an airplane bathroom in over a decade in tact.  But if I did imbibe in an 8-24oz beverage, this seems like it would be pretty awesome!  5 star reviews on Amazon too. Toothette® Oral Care Swabs with Dentifrice  (affiliate link)  Actually, I've used something close to this and thought they didn't make anything like them anymore. When you're on a long haul flight, especially a red eye, these are a great way to not knock the flight attendants over with dragon breath...

This weekend was a whirlwind.  Dang man, it's over already?  But then again, you feel that way when they take an hour from you. We did a little road trippin' and on the way back we decided to pitstop by an historic district that has recently been invaded by the hipster swarm.  On the back of some gastropub or beard wax place or skinny jean emporium, was a pretty cool chalkboard that people filled in. Sorry to whomever wants to meet Bob Ross because the only way that's happening is if they go see the happy little trees in heaven. The other one had some cool ones too... My favorites were "heal the Earth", "help heal a soul in need" and "save the bees."  "Not be a scrub" was a pretty close contender as well. We passed by a restaurant and I must say this was rather nice to see. Not just for the sake of unity but the fact that not only did they list size but it was at the top, made me feel like there was hope for ...

Happy Friday everyone! Woo hoo for da weekend!  Let's get straight to... 4 Times You Should Avoid The Scale At All Costs   (While I would love to have the leisure of doing #1, I can't.  Grrr.) Adrienne's Dramatic Before and After Is a Total "Eff You" to the Scale   (Awesome and amazing!) Strength vs. Cardio — Here's How You Should Structure Your Workout  (Okay, are we the only people that do strength one day and cardio another.  We don't combine.) How to Stop Muscle Cramps in Their Tracks   (Good info if you suffer from them!) There's No Easy Way to 'Jumpstart Your Metabolism'  (Courtesy of the Mr) Why do I crave salt? How to curb salty cravings and what to eat instead   (I'm not a salty person but for those that are) The One Thing That's Missing From Your Fitness Goals   (Interesting) 4 Reasons To Eat More Calories (And Carbs) At Night   (Food for thought) 4 Keys to Fat Loss Beyond “Eat Less and Move More”...

The Mr and I came off of a disappointing bout with the scale last weekend.  He lost nothing and I gained a pound for no good reason.  He tracked and did everything right and I know that my water wasn't great and that I got a seriously brutal deep tissue massage the day before so inflammation was probably rampant.  But despite having reasons that a piece of machinery could spit in your face, it gets pretty daunting busting your ass 6 days a week, feeling sore every day in various spots, tracking your calories only to get a pound here, nothing there and a gain for fun. I know that I need to get off my butt more during the day.  I've said it a zillion times before but do I do it?  No.  Do I have the time to do it?  Yes.  Actually, I should be doing it now but you know, Deathtrap    (affiliate link)  is on and I'm entranced by Christopher Reeves' performance.  *sigh*  I think there's a part of me that is like "hey, remem...

Happy Wednesday y'all. How is the weather in your area because in ours it's pretty much been rain and wind so we haven't been able to get out and walk without the hazard of potentially blowing over.  I'm hoping it's supposed to be sunny today so we can do that as our cardio today.  We've got some plans tonight so whatever we do is going to have to be early. Last night we did a killer barre workout from Fitness Blender and the gams are not happy today but they needed to be worked.  Then when it was over, we did our PT and I swear my butt cheeks were going to shoot off.  I actually feared the Mr would be killed by my glute shrapnel from the clamshells I was doing after already putting them through the paces.   When we were done and totally spent on the muscle front, we had a big honkin' turkey burger and sweet potato with fig butter. We rented Moana    (affiliate link)  last night.  I was really looking forward to it and while I like...

I'm in the midst of planning a little getaway that popped up for us in two weeks.  I am so excited but then the dread set in a little bit.  We're a few months away from our big trip for the year and to say weight loss is slow is like the friggin' understatement of the year.  The thought of going to a town we've never been to even if only for 3 1/2 days and trying to eat healthy is just overwhelming.  I looked at several restaurants that looked like "oh, okay this can be a good choice for us" and then a few had calories listed and it was just terrifying.  The ones that looked like the healthiest choices were still anywhere from 800-1100 calories and that was for breakfast!  All I could think was how bloated I was going to be and how much working out we were going to have to do just to attempt to combat that and the fun started to get sucked out of it for me. I thought of all of the things we could bring with us to help.  Obviously breakfast is an ...

Happy Monday peeps! Can I just tell you that Friday my girl massaged the hell out of my neck, back and arse.  She was like "what did you do?  Your back is jacked!"  Don't I know it!  She spent 45 minutes just trying to undo the fresh hell inflicted upon my neck and upper back.  I think between lots of upper body strength training, poor sleeping positions and switching out pillows, my muscles waved the white flag.  It hurt for anything to even touch the back of my neck for two days but it was so worth it because I finally felt semi human again.  Then came the weekend. We grabbed lunch and then for some reason, the Mr got the itch to look at hot tubs and we spied this beauty... I call dibs on the seat on the right with all the jets!! I wonder how much it is... Um... Since when did HOT TUBS cost the same as a friggin' car!?!?  Dream on Mr. He got to see some stuff he liked so it was time I saw stuff I liked... "I'm a fox !"...