The Diet Naked Blog

Still alive and back in the suburbs

I returned from New York last night after midnight to my suburban bed.  My four days in New York were a whirlwind of working and late-night dinners.  I tried to make decent choices and to leave food on my plate.  However, I did indulge in dessert on several occasions.  You might have, too, if faced with Creme Brulee' in a fancy restaurant . . . with your company paying for your dinners!

I did enjoy walking quite a bit around the city.  I really love to walk and the city sidewalks are so full of energy and people and beauty.  I loved the architecture, the brisk, chilly air, the yellow cabs everywhere.  I hardly slept the whole time . . . it is the city that never sleeps, after all.

I met some of the people from ClubMom who were responsible for the Amazing Shrinking Mom blog, so that was fun.  When explaining my blog to a roomful of fellow employees, I told them that Kirstie Alley had Jenny Craig and I had ClubMom.  And that's really the truth.  As I explained to a woman in the office later, I owe my 55 pound weight loss to my blog at ClubMom (now transferred here, of course).  She looked me up and down and said, "I never would have imagined that you were once heavy." 

Hooray, hooray!  I look normal!   (Even though I feel chubby due to those extra desserts.) 

Oh, happily, though, my new iPod shuffle was waiting for me when I returned home.  The price dropped from $89 to $49 for shuffles and I had a $40 gift card for Amazon . . . so, including taxes, I paid only $13 for it.  It's so cute and tiny and purple.  I think it will be so great to have some upbeat music in my ear when I resume outdoor walks (soon . . . as spring is rushing forward . . . the crocuses were in full bloom when I returned home).

I'm going to switch the Official Weigh-In day to Tuesdays, so expect a weight update then.

New York, New York!

Hey, I'm in New York!  And I haven't eaten everything I have seen!   For a more general account of my adventures today, you can check out my other blog.

Meanwhile, here are some photos (since my other blog refuses to accept photos):

Times Square!

And here we are, on a bus tour:

Finally, the Empire State Building. 

Mindless Eating

I just finished reading Brian Wansink's book, Mindless Eating.  He has a really great website with a ton of information, freebies and tools to use.  Check it out.  I know I will. 

I love finding out that things like the size of packages and plates--even the variety of available foods--influence almost everybody's eating consumption.  The book is full of strategies to lose weight without making gargantuan changes . . . personally, I'm going to get out my old-fashioned smaller dinner plates and do away with my habit of eating at my desk. 

I heartily recommend this book.  I wish I had read it two years ago.

Oh, and be sure to check out his blog--it's the "ExpertBlog Prevention.com" blog listed to the right. 

Official Thursday Weigh-In

Today:  173.8. 

How about you?

Next week, I'm going to be out town . . . so there will be no official weigh-in.  However, after that, I'm moving my weigh-in day to Tuesday. 

(Tomorrow, I'm going to tell you all about my impending travels.  I know you can't wait to hear all about it.  Ha.)

Walking

On a whim today, I took my 5 (and almost a half!) year old daughter with me to walk.  I've been longing to walk outdoors but it's been tough to figure out when to fit that into my schedule.  When a window of opportunity opened right before lunchtime, off we went.

Near my house is a 3.5 mile route that circles a golf course.  It begins with a long, gradual descent and then after some flat ground, winds back up through a series of steep switchbacks.  As you walk, you can see the Puget Sound and, on a clear day like today, the snow-covered Olympic mountains.  The temperature was a comfortable 48 degrees.

I've walked this route before, but never with a five-year old.  She enjoys the robust health of a child who eats when she's hungry, stops when she's full and runs around like a puppy most of the day.  I had high hopes for her endurance.

We began and she said, "Oh, I'm so tired!"

Then, as we're descending the long hill, "Can we race?"

I promised to race her along the flat areas, so she ran while I chased her along the flatter, middle part of the route.  She ran  for a long time, never even breathing hard. 

Then she said, "I'm tired," and plopped down on the sunlit ground . . . for about thirty seconds. 

Midway up the switchbacks, she asked me to carry her.  I refused and instead, held her hand.  She pulled herself along with my hand.  My elbow felt like a bowling ball was attached to my fingers. 

Then, when we reached the crest, she said she would NEVER walk this long walk again.  By then, we'd finished all but a mile, I'd guess.

I carried her on my back for awhile, but as it turns out, carrying an extra forty pounds around hurts my lower back.  (Imagine that!  And I used to carry around 55 more pounds all the time.) 

Our walk took a little more than an hour.  I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh air, the sunshine, the hilarity of a five-year old's conversation.

She, however, says she'll never do that again.  (I bet she will, though.)

The Winners

The winner of the Brita water filter and Nalgene water bottle are (thanks to the Randomizer):

JanB;

Nik; and

Lynne.

Send me your mailing address (to Melodee-at-gmail-dot-com) and I will feel guilty about not sending the items to you immediately and then--when you least expect it--you'll receive a box in the mail!

Congratulations to the winners!

A Letter

Dear Five Pounds,

Look, I know exactly how much you weigh:  I've purchased my share of five pound bags of sugar over my chubby lifetime.  You're not really that big, you know, not compared to my 5-year old daughter. 

Yet, Five Pounds, when you appear on the scale, you ruin my day.  You change the way I look at myself.  My jeans fit tighter.  I remind myself all day that I have gained weight.  I'm moodier when you're around, down on myself, critical of my lapse of control.

My friends can't tell when you're here, Five Pounds.  The same pants zip up.  My taste in novels and jokes and television shows remains the same.  But with Five Pounds clinging to me, discouragement settles over me like a gloomy fog.

You're only Five Pounds.  You're less then three percent of my body weight.  So why do you have so much power over me?

If you disappeared instead of appeared, I would be dancing a celebratory jig.  Five Pounds . . . you mean too much to me.  It's unhealthy and a little obsessive.  I loathe your arrival and cheer your departure.   

Five Pounds, please go and don't come back.  (We can no longer be friends.)   

I mean it.  (And take your  snacks with you.)

And the winners are . . .

. . . going to be announced tomorrow. 

I promise.

(Winners  of a Brita faucet filter and a cool Nalgene water bottle . . .)

Official Thursday Weigh-In

I am ridiculous.

I still weigh 175.

Also?  I'm changing my weigh-in day because on Thursdays I now work 10 hours, starting at 8 a.m. and ending at midnight (with two breaks in the day). 

I'll let you know when I figure that out.

Do you want to be a winner? Leave a comment!

Do you drink water?  From bottles?  Well, perhaps the impact of all those water bottles in our landfills concerns you.  (I recycle my plastic bottles, but I know not everyone can.)

That's why Brita and Nalgene have teamed up to create the FilterForGood pledge.  You can check out their website here.   The "Biggest Loser" television show has partnered with FilterForGood and uses the Brita filters on the show. 

Why am I telling you this?  Because I have three Brita Faucet Filtration Systems and green Nalgene bottles to give away to three readers of this blog. 

All you have to do is leave a comment here.  I will randomly pick three winners.  Deadline:  Saturday morning.