Bloated

Ugh... I've got to figure out how to lose weight and still eat delicious food.

I need your help!

We recently purchased one of those talking scales.  When I stepped on it the scale said "One person at a time, please".

Gulp.

But I'm at a loss right now and could really use some help from my friends here in the blogosphere.

I'm looking for rapid weight loss suggestions which do NOT include exercise or dramatically changing my diet. 

That's right... I want to lose 10 lbs (plus or minus) in a very short amount of time (like yesterday), and do not want to exercise or dramatically change my diet. 

I've read that exercise alone doesn't make you lose weight, so that's all I need to know about exercise.  Plus I know from past experience it can make you sweat.  I'm not really 'into' sweating. 

Now, I am willing to change my diet a little bit, but not dramatically.  So no Atkins, Weight Watchers, or NutriSystems.  That's just too much!

I'm considering a few options, but since I have no experience with them, I'm not sure which is best:

• wiring my jaw shut.  This is probably the least invasive, but knowing me, I'd probably find a delicious, highly caloric milkshake to which I'd become addicted and end up losing no weight at all.  Plus, cosmos can also be sucked threw a straw.  Not daintily, but it can be done.
• medically induced coma.  This one is tricky in that, by virtue of being in a coma, it precludes me from working for the length of the coma.  Since I'm a realtor, there's no paid medical leave or vacation.  When I don't work, I don't get paid.  And for it to do me any good, I'm thinking the coma would need to be at least a solid 2 weeks.  Maybe 3.
• stomach stapling surgery.  This one is pretty invasive too, being that it requires surgery and recovery.  Plus I know there is the potential to stretch your stomach back out after the surgery, so this is probably my least favorite option at this time.  Oh, and I hate hospitals too.
• Weight loss pills (both FDA and non-FDA approved).  I'm not sure of the efficasy of weight loss pills or appetite suppressants since I really don't over-eat out of hunger.  I over-eat out of loving the taste of delicious food, so suppressing my hunger may not work.
• cleanses.  I had a colleague years ago who would do various cleanses to detoxify his body and lose weight.  But he was like 26 years old, and when you're that young, almost anything you do to lose weight works.  I'm not sure I can drink gallons liquids unless they taste like a cosmo, OR unless there's an iron-clad guarantee.

So, if any of you dear readers has any insight on these options, or any other options I have considered, please DO speak up.  I'm all ears!

Weight

I'm back on my healthy eating plan and yet again attempting to lose weight. 

Pray for me.

Weight

Back on the wagon

I've written several times about the Fit For Life eating program I've been on since Jan 2015.  Its helped me lose weight AND feel more energetic, but I decided to give myself permission to go off the plan between Thanksgiving and New Years so I could enjoy all the traditional holiday foods and treats.  And enjoy I did!

But its a new year so on Jan 4 I jumped back on the wagon.  It actually felt good to go back on my plan since I definitely notice a difference in my energy level.  I haven't stepped on the scale but I imagine I gained a few pounds.  I'm not worried though, as I know those extra pounds will gradually disappear with my adherence to my plan.

Friday fragments

Today's Friday fragments is brought to you by the letter W:

1. Walter - his nickname is "Little One", although he is now taller and longer than Marvin.  Walter turned 1 year old on Mon.  After doing a little reading on when to transition from puppy food to adult food I made the decision to start it last week.  I began by mixing a sprinkle of adult food in with his puppy food.  Over a week's time I gradually adjusted the blend of puppy food and adult food so that on the last day it was just a sprinkle of puppy food.  Now both Marvin & Walter both eat the same food which is more convenient for us.  But its also a reminder that our "Little One" is growing up.  
2. Weight loss - its been several weeks since I've written anything on this topic, mostly because I've still not reached my goal weight.  For over a month now I've been at or near the same weight, which has been disappointing.  Spouse says that's because its the weight I'm supposed to be, but I believe its because I've been 'cheating' just enough to stay at the same weight.  I'm going to a wedding tomorrow night, but after that I'm going to eat clean and hopefully lose the last 4 lbs to meet my goal weight.  
3. Weeds - early this spring Spouse & I spent an hour or so pulling weeds and grass from the beds that line our front porch and the sidewalk to the street.  It was enough at the time, but with the full onset of summer the weeds and grass came back with a vengence.  In addition to the beds that line our front porch and the sidewalk to the street, the beds along the driveway, side of the garage, and the side entrance to the house were starting to look like Jurassic Park.  I decided this was just too much work for 2 lazy, 50+ year old men (1 with bad knees) so I hired a teenager to do it for us.  He said he was saving money to go to wrestling camp, so I asked him how much the camp cost.  Rather than paying him the agreed upon amount, I paid him the cost of the camp.  He was absolutely thrilled and so was I.  Surely that money meant more to him that it did to me.
4. Wedding - tomorrow Spouse & I are going to our very 1st beach wedding.  My good friend Joey is getting married on the beach and then having the reception in a hotel.  Planning a beach wedding in late July is rather risky.  It could be super hot, super humid, or even worse - stormy.  Lucky for them the forecast is great so it should be lovely.  I'm looking forward to my 1st beach wedding!

It ain't fittin'

Believe it or not, my intentional weight loss does have a negative side effect:  my clothes don't fit anymore.  Poor me!  I know.

But seriously, having lost more than 30 lbs means that none of my jeans fit anymore.  I finally broke down a few weeks ago and bought a new pair of jeans so I could stop wearing the big ones with 2-3 inches of the waist cinched up with a belt.

All the pants I wear to work are also too big.  I typically wear khaki-style pants, and have them in light and dark khaki, navy, olive and grey.  Fortunately I saved the ones that were a size smaller in the guest room closet.  I was elated to try them on and find that they fit me just fine.  I would have hated to go out and spend money to replace the pants with a smaller size.

But when I got my shorts out I wasn't so lucky.  I tried on all 17 pairs of shorts I wore last summer and only 7 of them are okay.  Even those 7 are a little too big and will have to be cinched with a belt, but they weren't as large on me as the other 10 pairs.  My test was this:  if I buttoned them and could slide them over my hips, they were out.  Sadly, 3 of the 10 pairs were brand new last summer, and all of my plaid shorts are too big to wear.  Now I have no more plaid shorts. 

So last night Spouse & I stopped in at the Old Navy Outlet Store and I was able to replace 2 colors I'd bought brand new last summer with my current size, plus found a pair of navy shorts with pale pink flamingos embroidered on them to replace 1 of the plaid.  Oddly I found no plaid shorts.

My friend Thad will disapprove.  He believes that Old Navy is for "young people" and says that I am NOT young.  Sometimes he sees me and jokingly says I'm wearing "age-inappropiate apparel".  But Old Navy clothes appeal to me, and they're very reasonably priced (especially with all the crazy sales our Outlet Store is always running), and I don't like the stuffy-looking clothes intended for men my age.  So I often buy things at Old Navy and its companion stores The Gap and Banana Republic, all of which have Outlet Stores here.

Weight loss update

Its been a while since I've mentioned my continued efforts toward weight loss using the Fit for Life eating plan.  Despite going off the plan twice last week (Tim & Randy's wedding and Mother's Day) I did not gain any weight.  I didn't lose any last week, but I didn't gain any either which I feel to be a victory.  My total weight loss to date is 32 lbs in a little over 4 months.  I have 8 lbs to lose to reach my goal weight.

My Fit for Life eating plan involves eating vegetables with either a carb or a protein (but not both) at lunch and at dinner everyday.  If you grab a calculator and do the math, that means I eat a LOT of vegetables.  So I'm always looking for ways to season and flavor them so they don't taste the same.

Recently I made myself a Green Pizza.  Using a pre-made personal size pizza crust, I spread on some Trader Joe's green curry sauce, steamed broccoli florets, salt and pepper, and topped it with some low-fat mozzarella and stuck it in the convection oven for about 5 minutes.  Here's what it looked like:

Green Pizza

Oh my god was it good!!!  Kudos to Trader Joe's for all their delicious jarred sauces.

I've also made a different version of pizza using buffalo wing sauce, steamed carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli and mozzarella.  That was good too.  And of course I've made the traditional veggie pizza with marinara sauce, Italian herbs, steamed carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli, kalamata olives and mozzarella - also very good.

Eating lots of vegetables doesn't have to be boring!

Red letter day

So yesterday was a pretty terrific day.

I went shopping for some new jeans.  I can't remember how long its been since I bought new jeans, and with my recent weight loss (21 lbs so far thanks to Fit for Life) all my old jeans are just too big.  Add to that the fact that several pairs were ill-fitting to begin with.  It was definitely time for a new pair of jeans that fit.

I stopped in at the Old Navy outlet store and went to the jeans wall.  I was confronted with 5 different fits:  slim, straight, boot cut, regular, and loose.  

I don't wear boots and I don't want loose fitting jeans, so just for the hell of it I grabbed a pair of jeans in slim, straight, and regular cuts in my regular/most recent size and headed to the dressing room.

To my surprise, all 3 were too big - even the slim cut!  So I tried all 3 cuts in the next size down and to my utter shock - the slim cut fit the best!!

This was so shocking to me because I don't think anyone's referred to me using the word "slim" EVER!  Even as a kid I was chubby.  My mom used to special order my pants and jeans from Sears in order to get the 'chubby kid' ones.  I doubt anyone would look at me today and think "slim" either, but the proof is sewn right into the waistband.

Mind you, these are 'slim' cut jeans - NOT skinny jeans.  I am a 51 year old man with enough sense to know that 51 year old men should not be wearing skinny jeans. 

I washed my new 'slim' jeans yesterday afternoon and decided to wear them to work today.  As I was getting dressed this morning and feeling good about my 'slim' fit jeans, I decided to try on a belt I bought last summer on sale that just barely closed then.  I put it on today and it fit terrifically!

Its the little things in life, people.

Weight loss

While its certainly no secret that I do enjoy my cocktails, unfortunately I have not had any since Jan 4. 

You see, I started my Fit for Life eating plan on Jan 4, and while the plan doesn't specifically prohibit alcohol, I know that it contains a lot of calories.  So I have voluntarily given up cocktails since the beginning of the year.

How's the slimming regimen going, you ask?  Well, I've lost 18 lbs so far.  I lost 5 lbs the 1st week and 5 lbs the 2nd week, so that was great!  The other 8 lbs have come off very slowly, but I knew that was to be expected.  Doctors actually say that 2 lbs per week weight loss is safe and sustainable.

Spouse and Steven & Thad are also on various weight loss plans.  We have all experienced weeks when we've only lost 1 or 2 lbs.  This can be very frustrating, especially if you've been "good" and not cheated on your plan.  But I try to remain positive.  I tell myself that if I consistently lose 2 lbs per week, in a year's time I will have lost 104 lbs!!  That knowledge really does help me.

I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to avoid alcohol.  Maybe I will allow myself just 1 Cosmo per week (on karaoke night) and see if that actually affects my weight loss at all.

Friday fragments

Two weeks in a row now I find that a post comprised of several small topics works for me, so here goes another Friday fragments.

The other day I needed to call our car insurance agency, Progressive.  After my purpose was accomplished and the call was ending, I said to the customer service rep "Say hi to Flo for me!" Apparently I'm not the 1st one to think of this, as the rep responded "Oh, I will" without missing a beat.

On Mon I had my week 2 weigh-in and was encouraged to see that I had lost 5 lbs again.  That makes 10 lbs in 2 weeks.  This Fit for Life is really working for me.  Yes, I sometimes feel deprived when I want to eat a big, juicy burger with fries, but that's what got me in this situation to begin with.  I still eat most of what I like, but not together.  I'll eat a burger without the bun or fries with salad or a veggie.

Spouse & I have been watching American Horror Story Freak Show and this week was the finale.  It was not what I was expecting, but I liked it.  The series was very interesting, albeit gory at times, so now I think we're going to go back to the earlier series (Asylum and Coven) and watch them.  Anyone else like American Horror Story?

I've been letting the top of my hair grow out for the last 2 month, and only getting the sides and back cut.  I'm doing this because I want a new, modern hairstyle called an Undercut.  There is the slicked back version which is better suited for guys like Brad Pitt with straighter hair...

...and there is a more casual, non-slicked back version that is better suited for guys like me with wavy hair...

Not surprising, Spouse is not a fan of this style.  He says its for hipsters and younger guys, but I reminded him that Brad Pitt has this cut and he's only 11 days younger than me.

Diet update

I really don't like to use the word 'diet' because I think of a diet as a temporary measure that yields temporary results.  Once you stop the diet, the weight usually comes back. I'm trying to make my Fit for Life routine more of a lifestyle; something that becomes a part of my everyday life.

So, last Mon I started following Fit for Life, which works on the theory that proper food combining aids in quicker digestion, more energy, and weight loss.  I did really well the 1st week and lost 5 lbs.

The 1st week was kind of rough, I'll be honest.  I had some serious cravings for sweets but I stuck to it and didn't cheat.  From my experience 20+ years ago, the 1st week was the hardest and then the following weeks got easier.  I'm really hoping to keep this 'lifestyle' going indefinitely.

Weekend recap

As a real estate agent, I typically work on Saturdays, and sometimes on Sundays too.  Now that we have another agent on our team we are rotating so that each agent gets a weekend off each month.  This means they aren't scheduled for sales duty (responding to phone and internet inquiries) but may still need to show property to visiting potential buyers.

This weekend was my weekend off, I had no visiting buyers in town, and Spouse & I had no plans that would take us out of town.  So it felt almost odd that I was home with Spouse all weekend.

Click to enlarge

We decided to make good use of this time off together and took down and packed up our Christmas tree and all our Christmas decorations.  It was less laborious than usual since Spouse & I worked together on this.  Just removing and packing up the tree ornaments is a big job since we like our tree to be heavy with ornaments.  I've never counted them but I'm guessing there are 300-400 ornaments on our tree.  And unlike some people who can barely wait until Christmas to take down their tree, we usually leave ours up through mid-Jan.  We only did it this weekend because we both had the time.  Our tree and decorations are so pretty I just don't get tired of seeing them.  In fact, its always a little melancholy for the 1st few days after taking them down.

Sat night we had dinner with Steven & Thad at Miltonian Pizzeria & Wing House.  Spouse & I shared our favorite: the buffalo chicken pizza.  Sun night we had dinner at Steven & Thad's house, as Steven made pot roast, herb roasted potatoes and corn and we brought biscuits and a coconut cream pie for dessert.  Both meals were sort of our "swan song", as all 4 of us were planning to go on diets starting today.

Spouse & I are following Weight Watchers because Spouse feels it is the best way to lose weight.  He lost about 80 lbs about 2 years ago, although he has not kept all of it off.  We aren't going to the meetings but will follow the point system.  To make it easier to calculate the point value of most foods (rather than having to look up everything in a book) he discovered you can take the calorie count and divide it by 40 to quickly get the point value.

Also in preparation for our diets starting today, yesterday Spouse & I organized the frozen food in our chest freezer in the garage.  This helped us not to buy duplicates of things we already had when we went to the grocery store yesterday.  And while in the organizing mood, we bought a plastic shelving unit to put next to the freezer to store extra can foods and such.  We often 'stock up' when we are able to shop at a Trader Joe's, since we love their food but don't have a store near us.  The shopping bags of Trader Joe's foods were quickly organized onto the new shelving unit.

It was a fun weekend that included productivity, time with friends, good food, and preparations for a healthier new year.

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.  Shall we get started?

I recently switched over to the 'new' Blogger interface, which probably came out a year ago.  I really like how you don't need to select the size your photos will display before uploading them.  Instead, you just upload them and then you can experiment with what size you want them to be.  Genius!!

A friend sent me this and I wondered if Ikea will be stocking this soon?  Me thinks their demographic would 'appreciate' the styling.

Our weather has been wacky again recently.  40 degrees one day, 65 degrees the next day, then back to 40 again.  It makes it hard to know how to dress for work!

I lost 2 more lbs last week, for a total of 19 lbs since New Years Day.

I saw this one on Facebook.

These dear old folks warmed my heart!

Spouse has been driving me nuts with our portal electric space heater.  We turn the thermostat down before we go to bed and turn on an electric space heater to keep our bedroom warm and cozy.  Only, just recently Spouse has 'experimented' with moving the space heater around in the room.  The other night after I'd gotten into bed he put the heater right smack in the middle of the walkway.  When I got up in the dark to pee I walked right into it.  I was so mad I nearly turned around and peed on him!!

This cracked me up!! 

If you don't get it right away, look closer.

Have a great weekend Everyone!

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

Here is the painting I made for my client's home:
I saw this on facebook and it gave me a good laugh.I was absolutely amazed by the content of this video!! This is what research funding is for, to invent life-changing things like this.

A friend sent me this and I love it!

Remember the "Leave Brittney Alone!!" video that went viral in 2007? The 'star' of the video, Chris Crocker, has drastically changed his appearance since then. You won't believe what he looks like now! Check out the NEW Chris Crocker:Say whaaaaa??? Dayum, he looks hot! Check out this interview with Chris.

Here's another gem I saw on facebook:

As expected, my 2nd week's weight loss results were far less dramatic than the 1st week. I only lost 3 lbs last week, making my 2 week total 15 lbs. Now, I'm not complaining! I'm just sayin'.

OMG, if only Stephen Colbert would run for President!!

Here's another one that I would LOVE to have made into a t-shirt:

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Results

Last week I confessed that I had over-indulged over the holidays and needed to lose weight. I shared some of my tried and proven weight loss techniques, in the hopes that they may help some of you. If they have, please leave me a comment to let me know!

So now I want to report on my 1st week's weight loss results.

I lost 10 lbs.

I was pretty strict about staying on my diet and not cheating even though I often felt hungry. But I knew that was just a side effect of starting a diet. Its pretty common to feel like you're starving all the time during the 1st week of a diet while your body is adjusting to the smaller portions and lower level of carbs and sugar. Toward the end of the week that constantly starving feeling had subsided.

So I'm pretty happy with my 1st week's results and hope to do almost as well next week.

Battle of the bulge

As I mentioned in Monday's post, I am now on a weight loss plan.

The problem started sometime in Nov. As "the holidays" approached I began allowing myself to over-indulge in every kind of delicious and fattening recipe with the excuse that "its the holidays".

Apparently no one told my pants that holiday calories don't count, because my waistband is screaming!

I must say that I did enjoy over-indulging during the holidays. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast followed by several re-runs until the left-overs were gone. Then we had lots of yummy stuff in early Dec for our Christmas tree trimming party. Then there was all the food at my office! Several of my colleagues brought in cookies, several of our clients sent us boxes, baskets, and barrels of goodies, and even some of our vendors sent us platters of positively perfect confections. Then there were the multiple holiday parties, Spouse's mom's birthday party on Christmas eve, and the expected feast for Christmas dinner. Oh, and did I mention the decadent 4-cheese macaroni & cheese Spouse made for Steven & Thad's New Year's Eve party?

I've never met a mayonnaise-based dip I didn't like.
Needless to say, I ate a lot.

But now its time to "pay the piper", as they say, so Mon I started to diet. Not the old-fashioned fad diets like the grapefruit diet or South Beach diet. My form of dieting is really more of a sensible and healthy eating plan with inspirations from Weight Watchers and common sense.

To begin with, I'm cutting out snacking. Unlike Spouse I'm not much of a snacker to begin with, so this doesn't have a huge impact on me. But sometimes I'll come home from work and have a little something to eat because I'm not sure when we'll eat dinner. I'm not really "hungry" per se, its more of a preventative thing. No more.

Another successful technique is portion control. I serve myself the amount of food I imagine an elegant, 110 lb. woman would eat, and that's it. No seconds; no "Hungry-Man" portions.

If by chance I begin to feel full before I've finished my womanly portion, I stop eating immediately. Even if there are only 3 bites left on my plate, I stop eating as soon as I begin to feel full. I'm not a child so there is no need to strive to be in the 'clean plate club' anymore.

I also substitute some higher fat/higher calorie items with lower fat/lower calorie ones. For instance, I used to make sandwiches every day with Arnold Double Protein Multi Grain bread. The slices are large but the 'multi grain' aspect seemed like a healthy choice. That bread is 110 calories per slice. Now I eat Pepperidge Farm Light Style whole wheat bread at 45 calories per slice - less than 1/2 the calories!

But I still struggle with diet soda. I like all the different flavors and real hunger pangs can be temporarily quelled with a zero calorie diet soda! But some studies suggest that despite the absence of calories, diet soda can cause people to gain weight. Then there's the reality of diet soda being made up of chemicals rather than natural ingredients, which makes me think about alternatives. Obviously water is the best thing to drink, but I quickly get bored with the lack of flavor. So an alternative I like is to pour 1/2 a glass of 100% fruit juice (NOT a fruit-flavored drink) and fill the other 1/2 of the glass with water. At first it seems like watered down juice, which it is, but at least it enables me to drink 1/2 a glass of water with some flavor, and I eventually get used to to the taste.

So this is my plan to eat less, eat better, and lose weight. Stay tuned for updates.

Weekend highlights

I had a relaxing Sat morning drinking coffee and watching HGTV while Spouse was at his personal trainer appointment. When he came home we had brunch (steak and cheese omelettes) and then went to a store to try to use a Christmas gift card. Only, I didn't see anything I really wanted, so I decided to hold onto the gift card for another time.

Then we went to the stained glass studio to check in with the artist about the back-ordered glass we've been waiting on for months. It still hadn't arrived so Spouse & I picked a different (in-stock) piece so they could finally get started on the big diamond-shaped window we commission 6 months ago. While there, we worked with the artist to design the 3 rectangle window inserts for the windows over the tub. We are very happy with the way the design came out, and they had all the glass we need in stock. So, hopefully it won't be too much longer before we can take down those temporary paper shades and install our stained glass window inserts.

For my birthday last month Spouse gave me an mp3 player. So Sat afternoon I read the directions and loaded it up with music I already had on the computer from the 1st mp3 player. I had one before that was very inexpensive and broke a month or two later. Despite it being cheap, I returned it and got my money back. My new mp3 player has more sorting/playback options and is much nicer.

Sat evening we met Steven & Thad at Ruby Tuesday for dinner. They are dieting too, so it was a good place for us to have dinner. The salad bar is the best!! Steven also had coupons for buy-one-get-one-free, so that was a nice bonus. Then went to their house to watch "500 Days of Summer". It was pretty good, but one thing really bothered me about the film. The male lead's young sister (probably 12 years old) was completely ridiculous providing her adult brother with sage relationship advice. There was absolutely no need for that character, and giving her wisdom far, far beyond her age was just unbelievable. However, at one point the screen split in 2 and on 1 side the story continued with the word 'Expectation' under it, while on the other side the story continued with the word 'Reality' under it. I found this clever and a very effective way to communicate what sometimes happens in people's heads early on in dating. After the movie we watched an episode of "Jersey Shore", which was incredibly bad on an unprecedentedly monumental scale. But we had fun hanging out with our friends.

Sun morning after breakfast I went to the gym (my 3rd work out this week). Spouse & I went to get his car washed since it was coated in road salt from Friday's snow, but their was a HUGE line at the car wash so we gave up. We did our grocery shopping for the week, and then came home and roasted chicken, steak, and veggies. We really like doing this 'cook on Sunday, heat up on weekdays' kind of thing! We have meals for every day this week, and then some. Despite the temperature just hovering around freezing, we decided to take Jordan for a walk around the neighborhood. The sun was out and we bundled up warmly so it wasn't too bad. Later we went to Bob's for chili and game night. However, our conversations were so interesting that we never played any games! We just talked until after 9:00. We had a good time.

I was looking forward to my weigh-in this morning. Typically when someone starts a diet they have a dramatic 1st week weigh-in. Steven's was 9 lbs and Spouse's was 10 lbs. Mine was very disappointing though. Despite depriving myself of all kinds of goodies this week, sticking to my healthy eating all week, AND working out 3 times, I only lost 2 lbs. Naturally it made we want to immediately order a large meatlovers pizza and eat the entire thing. By myself. But I didn't. Instead I tried to remind myself that my goal was to reduce my portion sizes, eat less processed foods, eat more fruits and veggies, and work out at least twice. So, looking at that, I was very successful. But my expectation was that by doing the above, I would also drop 6-8 lbs, which I did not. Although initially discouraged, I remain committed to my goal.

Crush du Jour: Danny Dyer

Weight loss

Now that the 6-week food orgy know as "the holidays" (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years) is over, it seems everyone I know is on a diet. Including me.

Now, I don't believe in diets in a general sense. I've said/written it before and I'll say/write it again: Diets are temporary measures that yield temporary results. Most people who go on a diet lose weight, but gain it all back (and sometimes more) when they go back to their regular eating habits.

That is why I'm not really on a diet, per se. I am trying to change my eating habits so I can become more healthy and lose weight. Loosing weight is hard, but actually changing your eating habits is almost impossible!

I'm not a doctor or a weight loss expert, but I'm going to share some tips if you are interested in becoming more healthy, loosing weight, and changing your eating habits for good:

• Reduce your portion sizes. This is probably the easiest to do because it doesn't involve eating or not eating anything, it involves the amount. Serve yourself a typical portion, then put 1/3 of it back into the pot. Only eat 2/3 of what you typically would. Its and it works.
• Reduce your consumption of processed foods. Although the convenience of boxed, processed foods is alluring, they usually contain more sodium, chemicals, and calories than fresh foods. The convenience of boxed and microwavable (processed) foods isn't worth it.
• Increase your consumption of fresh vegetables and fruit. By nature these are generally lower in fat and calories than most foods, and contains lots of vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants your body needs. They also require less digestion so you don't feel tired like you do when your body spends hours digesting complex foods.
• Don't skip meals. Skipping meals causes your metabolism to switch into 'famine' mode and store fat. Eat at least 3 meals a day, and preferably 5 smaller meals a day. Going too long between meals increases your potential to gorge when you finally eat.
• Drink lots of water. Water is good for you regardless of whether or not you're trying to lose weight. It keeps you hydrated and helps flush wastes from your body.
• Don't eat after 8pm. Its best to be active after you eat to promote calorie burning. If you eat late at night your body doesn't have time to burn the calories you've eaten before you go to sleep.
• Stop eating as soon as you feel satisfied. Even if you only have 3 bites left on your plate, listening when your body says its satisfied prevent you from 'filling up' and will allow your stomach to shrink.
• Reduce or eliminate alcohol and soda consumption. Alcohol contains lots of (empty) calories and sodas contain lots of sugar and chemicals. Even diet soda contains artificial sweeteners and chemicals your body doesn't need. Consume less or eliminate completely.
• Exercise regularly. Whether you work out at a gym, in your home, or simply walk a few miles around your neighborhood, exercising regularly burns calories and helps suppress your appetite. It can also ease light depression.
• Stock your kitchen with the right foods. Don't self-sabotage by having ice cream, baked goods and chips in your kitchen. Shop with a purpose and fill your fridge and cupboards with fresh, natural, whole foods. Buy and enjoy healthy 'snacks' like nuts, dried fruit, and fat free pretzels as treats.
• Moderation. Its unreasonable to think you're never going to have ice cream or birthday cake ever again. Its okay to treat yourself once in a while, just do so in moderation. One scoop of ice cream or a 1/2 piece of cake will likely satisfy your sweet tooth without wrecking your diet.
• Replace good items with better ones. Pasta is fine in moderation, but whole wheat pasta is better for you. Peanut butter is a good source of protein, but low fat peanut butter is better for you.
• Make smarter choices. You will likely still want to eat out at restaurants occasionally so make smarter choices. This doesn't automatically mean salads, since salad dressings are often loaded with fat and calories. Look for baked, broiled, or grilled fish and chicken entrees, and substitute the fries with a vegetable.
• Don't give up. If you 'fall off the wagon' by over-indulging, don't think the day (or week) is ruined. Forgive yourself and get right back on the wagon! Sometimes an over-indulgence will not prevent you from losing weight.

These tips have all worked for me. I lost weight and felt more energetic and healthy. My biggest struggle is sticking to them for an extended period, or, changing my eating habits. But knowing I have shared my challenge with you all will help me be strong!

Here's to your health!

Crush du Jour: Alberto Umana

Friday fragments

I had to turn on the word verification on comments, thanks to a repeated spammer. Hopefully this will be temporary, and a week of word verification will be enough to get my blog removed from their spam list. Then I'll turn it off again. Please bear with me on this.

Its official: "Project Runway" is finally coming back. Look for season 6 to start in June on Lifetime, the network for women and gay men. The legal feud is over and Lifetime won. More details can be found at David Dust, whose top-notch "Project Runway" recaps are sometimes better than the show itself! Despite the channel change I'm confident they'll 'make it work'.
But not to be left without a fashion-based reality show, Bravo will be replacing "Project Runway" with "The Fashion Show". They've already started running commercials for it, and the cast has already been chosen. They've probably already taped many of the episodes too, knowing the potential of losing PR.

Tim Gunn's role will be played by the far less elegant and often insane Isaac Mizrahi. Now, I like Ike, but if you think I'm being mean by calling him insane, just watch this video on "The Fashion Show" website. He says "...in my regular life I prefer to wear almost nothing, because I like to focus on what other people are wearing, you know? That's my job... my job." WTF??? I wonder what Ike's catchphrase is going to be. Maybe "I'd wear that." Picture it: Ike is milling around the workroom "mentoring" the designtestants. He looks at a mannequin dawned in a haute couture evening gown and exclaims "I'd wear that." Meanwhile, Heidi Klum's role will be played by Kelly Rowland. Record scratch. Huh? Isn't she the Destiny's Child whose mother is NOT a fashion designer? Obviously Kelly won't be able to say Heidi's famous "As you know in fashion, one day you're in, and the next day you're out" because its surely copywrited. So instead, maybe she'll say something like "As you know in fashion, one day you're a 'Survivor', and the next day its 'Game Over'. So 'Say My Name', bitches." Probably not.

And speaking of reality shows, did you notice that "Make Me a Supermodel" changed its formula this season?

In Season 1 the viewers' online and text votes determined who went home. In this season, the judges decide who goes home. Interesting... Also, last season each week's episode was taped within a few days of its airing because they didn't know who would be sent home. This year it is all taped in advance, like "Project Runway", "Survivor", etc.

But enough about TV. I do have a life, afterall.

Many bloggers I read have posted photos of their furry, 4-legged family members, which I always love to see. It occurred to me yesterday that I have never posted any photos of ours. Although I've written about ours, I've never posted any photos of them. I'm not one for taking lots of pictures, mostly because it seems I'm always having camera issues. So here you are:

Pouncer the Wondercat, whom I woke up from a nap with the flash of the camera. Pouncer is an 11-year old male who prefers me over Spouse, and loves to sit on my chest and stomach at night while we watch TV. Pouncer the Wondercat was named after Victoria's cat in the movie "Beaches". I loved the name Pouncer, loved the little song Victoria sang to him, and decided when I got a cat (some time in the future) I'd name him Pouncer the Wondercat.

Here is Jordan the dog, doing what she does best: relax and sleep. Jordan is a female lemon beagle, approximately 15 years old. We adopted her from a rescue league so we're not sure of her age. 12 years ago the rescue league folks said she was about 2, but the vet we took her to for an exam said she was older than 2. She prefers Spouse over me, despite the fact that I am the one who feeds and walks her most often. Bitch!

A reader called to my attention the comical timing of my Earth Hour post followed immediately by photos of Big Ella, my gas-guzzling, polluting, but absolutely gorgeous piece of drivable art. Honestly, it hadn't even dawned on me that these back-to-back posts might make me appear to be talking out of both sides of my mouth. But in my defense, I just want to say that Big Ella is not a daily driver. I do not drive her to work every day, so she is not guzzling gasoline or polluting the air on a consistent basis. She gets driven once a week, for about 10 miles. So I can still be an advocate for energy conservation, reduced need for fossil fuels, recycling, and increased availability of alternative fuels without being a hypocrite.

How many people have you heard lament over their ability to lose weight and inches, but not be able to get rid of excess tummy fat? Let's just say it has been heard around our house before. So this article caught my eye. It sounds like you can make your exercise more effective and drink your way to a slimmer stomach! Green tea, the magic elixir! You know I'm gonna try it.

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone.

Crush du Jour: Flavio Mendonca