Update WLJ

I updated the Weight Loss Journal with the latest photo. The scale read 155.5, which means I have 10lbs to lose to reach my goal. Yay! Hoping I can do that by the end of next month, or at the very least, by Thanksgiving. Onward and downward.

"Bath" is a Four-Letter Word

It was time for my little Chi to have a bath because he was stinky and I do not like that dog smell. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

"Bath" is a four-letter word.

How come you never do this to the cats?

If I was a Rottweiler you wouldn't be doing this.

I don't need a blow dryer - just let me roll around in the dirt.

Can I have a treat now?

Unsolicited Weight Loss Advice

As I mentioned before, I enjoy reading weight loss success stories and advice. Even if the advice tips aren't something I would do, I still enjoy reading about what has worked for others. Most of the advice that I've found helpful has centered on changing my habits and attitudes. So today I thought I would share with you some unsolicited advice that I've found to be helpful if you're on a weight loss journey.

Don't diet
With the possible exception of a supervised medical weight loss program, honestly, don't try the latest diet unless you're willing to do it for the rest of your life. Find a weight loss approach that you can adopt as a permanent lifestyle change not a temporary fix.

Exercise
Our bodies were made to move, so get moving.

Don't be afraid to ask for help

Whether you ask your doctor, a family member, a friend, or God, having another person to encourage you will be a great motivator.

Don't compare yourself to others
Is your friend or co-worker losing weight faster than you are? Are there more fit and trim people at the gym? So what. You're not competing in a race; you're on a journey to better health. Your road to better health will have different bumps, detours, and straightaways.

Look forward not backward
Were you 50lbs lighter in college? Did you overindulge in your previous meal? The past is the past. It's done. It's over with. Forgive yourself, learn from your mistakes and move on. Get right back on plan starting with the next meal. Keep your end goal in focus.

Motivate yourself continually
Other people or ideas may inspire you, but only you can motivate yourself. Having a goal weight or a dress size in mind is a good motivator. However, I'm also talking about the little things like a star on the calendar every time you lose 5lbs, or monthly pictures or measurements of your progress. Whatever. You will need lots of little motivators to help you along the way, because I guarantee that you will encounter setbacks.

Good luck with your journey!

Courage

Do you have the courage to repost this on your blog or on Facebook? Courtney did. Spread the word to end the R-word.

BFD - September '11

I know, Fall isn't here yet but it's still apple season in my book. Since it's not OK to serve apple pie for breakfast (ahem), I decided on apple turnovers to welcome fall and melon smoothies to say good-bye to summer.

Apple Turnovers
Melon Smoothie (or Melon Slushie)
Crispy Hash Browns

I love apple pie and since apple turnovers are basically like mini apple pies, I knew I couldn't go wrong. In preparing the apples, I did not add honey or lemon juice. I sauteed the apple chunks in a pat of butter and cinnamon sugar. It took less than 10 minutes to get them tender. I then put them in a covered bowl and put them in the refrigerator until I needed them. Since I didn't use puff pastry I guess I can't complain that they weren't tender and flaky. They were still good, just not what I wanted. Next time I'll splurge and get puff pastry.

OK, let's be honest: the melon smoothie sounds gross because no one thinks of putting melons in a smoothie. At least I don't. And truth be told, I didn't exactly make a smoothie. I used the ingredients from this recipe to make a melon slushie. Bear with me. I have a Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt/Ice Cream maker. I thought it would be a good idea to puree the melon with the sugar and lime juice and then pour the puree into the ice cream maker to make a slushie. And you know what? It was a darn good idea. It was cool and refreshing. I think a frozen watermelon puree would be good also.

For the potatoes, I decided that it was time to make some good old fashioned pan-fried hash browns. I love pan-fried hash browns, I really do. It's just that they are a pain to make. I think what I need is a large electric skillet just for these hash browns. All in all, a little disappointment mixed with a pleasant surprise.

Speaking of Scales and Diets

I use a kitchen food scale to weigh my food. It's nothing fancy; it weighs to the nearest eighth of an ounce or full gram (stop smirking). Since I'm terrible at gauging portion sizes, the food scale has proved to be invaluable to me. However, I don't want to give the impression that I got the food scale specifically for my weight loss program. I've had this scale for years albeit for a different diet.

Once upon a time, when my youngest son was a baby, he used to have atonic seizures (aka "drop seizures"). The first two antiepileptic meds did not control these seizures, so the pediatric neurologist suggested two options: (1) continue down the list of antiepileptic meds or (2) try the ketogenic diet. We opted to try the ketogenic diet because we reasoned that we could always go back to trying different meds. I won't go into a long description of the ketogenic diet; if you're interested, you can follow the link. However, I will say that in describing the diet, the words "restrictive" and "laborious" are too kind.

Truth be told, had we not seen its effects during our son's hospital stay, we would have quit. Even when we did see immediate positive results - and by 'positive results' I mean no seizures - I still wanted to quit within those first two weeks. Every component of every meal had to be weighed and the liquids had to be measured. In addition, while my son was adjusting to the reduced calories and reduced liquids, he was miserable and acted accordingly. It took about a month for him to fully adjust. And don't get me started about checking his urine for ketones using the Ketostix. I don't want to scare anyone who is considering this diet because it can be a Godsend for some. But I do want to make clear that it requires total commitment. My son was on the diet for two years before he was weaned off. Praise the Lord, he has been seizure free ever since. If I had to do it all over again I would. And if I had to continue the diet in order for him to be seizure free or to reduce the number of seizures, I would. But honestly, I'm glad it's over.

Rushing into Fall

I do this every year. The minute September 1st rolls around I immediately go into Fall mode. I don't fall into Fall, I run into Fall. Out come all of the crock pot recipes, pumpkin recipes, bread, coffee cake, muffin recipes...and summer's not even over with. In my mind, when September is here it's Fall, baby! And that means planning visits to pumpkin farms, apple orchards and all that good stuff.

Unfortunately, summer usually goes out with a bang around here: this week it's supposed to be in the high 90s/low 100s. So much for a cooling trend. I guess the Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice lattes will have to wait a while. Although it is getting a little cooler in the early morning and in the evening; maybe I could slip away to Starbuck's then.

This fall I'm actually going to plant some daffodil and tulip bulbs. I've wanted to do this for at least 10 years and I finally bought the bulbs at Costco a few weeks ago. I might decide to plant some fall blooming crocus, but if I do I better get on that ASAP.

What Was I Thinking?

Sometimes I get these brilliant ideas (not) and I get all excited until I actually have to follow through on these ideas. When it's time to follow through I inevitably think, What was I thinking? It's moments like this when I realize that sometimes my head is somewhere other than on my shoulders.

My latest brainstorm is to do the One Hundred Push Ups challenge. You see, walking is the only exercise that I've been doing and while that's not necessarily bad, I know that I should be working other muscle groups. I also don't want to commit the money to going to a gym because I'm trying to find inexpensive ways to improve my overall health and fitness. Is it because I'm too cheap? Yes and no. I'm doing this primarily because I don't want to have any excuses to fall back on. For example, if money suddenly became extremely tight and I had to drop Weight Watchers and a gym membership, where would that leave me? Counting calories and exercising at home are things that I can do in good times and bad times for the rest of my life. Besides, why go to a gym to lift weights when I can lift my body weight? Um, yeah.

Anyway, after getting this brilliant idea, I posted it on Facebook and invited my friends to join me. Some of them actually said they would do it. The fools. (Just kidding! LOVE you all!!!!!!!) Now I actually have to follow through. Yesterday was Day 1 of Week 1 and I survived. It's gonna be a long six weeks but even if I don't make it to 100 push ups, I know that I'm doing something good for my health and fitness. Wish me luck.

Minus 50 and Counting

Today, I finally reached the milestone of losing 50lbs. Yay!! Happy dance, happy dance! To celebrate this occasion, I've added a weight loss badge to this post. If you want one for your very own, you can go to Eclipsed No More and find them there. And now, I'm going to go celebrate with a cup of coffee.