The Diet Naked Blog

Looking ahead

You know, being fit really is better than being fat.  Wearing smaller jeans is better than wearing bigger jeans.  Being able to run down the street without having a cardiac event is good. 

All of these things are better than overeating . . . and yet, I overeat--or just eat poorly--instead of being fit.  I overeat instead of wearing smaller jeans.  I overeat instead of running down the street.

And as I have said before and will say again, I am going to get it together.  I am going to make eating well and exercising daily a priority.  But not until after next week. 

Next week looks like this:

1)  Work Monday through Thursday a total of 30 hours.
2)  Take care of house and kids.  Prepare house for my absence (in other words, clean out fridge and wash all dirty laundry.  Consider mopping kitchen floor.)
3)  Pack clothes which disguise unfortunate weight gain.  Ha ha ha ha ha.  I did buy several new bras.  Believe me, if you saw me, you'd thank me.
4)  Pay bills, clean off desk, write sporadic blog entries.
5)  On Friday, arrive at airport at 6 a.m. (ouch, that hurts), fly to San Jose, California.  Meet friends at airport, pick up rental car, drive to conference.
6)  Participate in conference Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday.
7)  Fly home.  Resume life.  Resist total collapse.

Now, here's the good diet-related news.  The food at the conference includes  many healthy choices.  The surrounding area invites long walks under majestic Redwood trees.  So, I can kick-start my diet lifestyle change when I arrive.  It's always easier to eat healthy when people are watching your plate (or if you imagine they are watching your plate), right?  Even before then, I am going to be watchful and sensible.  I am.  I will.  Really.

Anyway, that's how life looks here.  How's life look where you live?

Checking in

Howdy.

I'm just barely paying attention to my diet.  Well, that's not even true.  I'm half-heartedly eating healthy (for instance, a huge salad for dinner but yesterday?  more than one donut) . . . I am scatter-brained and stressed out and working all the time.  And when I'm not working, I'm trying to catch up on laundry and cleaning and errands and . . . everything.

I contemplated shutting down this blog.  But I think that's just my stress-level speaking.  I'm focusing on a writers conference I'm heading to in a few weeks and I can't really focus on anything else.  This blog feels like a weight, which could be good if that weight is an anchor and keeps me from floating away. 

But I am here, still.  At least when I eat a donut I eat it with full awareness that I should not eat it.  That's something, right?

Reality Check

I was washing dishes, thinking.  I thought about my dad.  He died when he was 47 years old from malignant melanoma--that's skin cancer. 

The only time I can remember that he was skinny was after the chemotherapy he endured to cure Hodgkin's disease.  He threw up a lot and said that the cure was just about worse than the disease.  He went on to live less than twenty more years.  During those years he occasionally struggled to lose a few pounds and get into shape. 

But mostly, he was somewhat overweight.  He didn't take very good care of his body.

I didn't care about his weight.  I bet he wouldn't care about his weight either, given the reality that life is so short.

However, on the other hand, you never know how much time you have on this earth--and if I live to be 102, as my grandmother did, I would like to be as fit as possible as long as possible. 

I have to balance obsession with the size of my jeans with concern over my own health. 

I'll let you know if I find a magic wand to accomplish that task.

(Yes, I know I didn't post a weight.  Stepping on the scale this morning was a disappointment and I don't want to talk about it.  Let us never speak of it again.)

Lifestyle Change

When I embarked on this weight loss journey almost three years ago, I was desperate.  I was afraid that nothing would ever work, that I was destined for fatness and that somehow I'd have to learn to live with two chins.  I chose a diet that I could live with forever.  For.  Ever.  It included popcorn at the movies and a square of dark chocolate every day.

And then I lost fifty-five pounds or so.  It wasn't that difficult, either.  It was like magic, really.  Oh, nostalgia!

I was kind of smug because finally, I had made a Lifestyle Change, that elusive permanent solution to weight problems.

The only problem was that just as I'd incorporated that Lifestyle Change, my lifestyle changed!  Instead of crawling out of bed at 6:00 a.m. for a morning walk with a walking buddy, I began working until midnight and dozing until far past dawn.  Instead of a part-time job, I started working forty-hours a week--not counting all the "non-work" that is involved in taking care of four kids, a house, three cats and one husband.  Oh, and speaking of husbands--instead of having a husband working three minutes away who was available to run errands and sometimes help me during the day, he took a new job and began working eleven hour days in another town. 

Pretty much everything that constituted my lifestyle changed.  And I have yet to fully adapt to those changes.

I am making jerky attempts to find my groove.  Working out with the DVDs in my living room has been a surprisingly fun thing to do.  And now the days are longer and I think I might be able to fit in a semi-regular evening walk (depending on my husband's crazy schedule).  I am trying to eat in moderation and not freak out if a cookie jumps into my mouth.

And I'm no longer smug.  I'm humbled my by failure, by my reactions to the stresses I encountered in 2008.  Instead of prancing along a high-wire without a safety net, I'm more like someone who lost her balance who now precariously clings to the high-wire with arms and legs wrapped around it, inching along on my belly, hoping to avoid splatting on the pavement below.

So much for my Lifestyle Change.  Funny how old habits lurk just under the surface!  (Ice cream still soothes me, even though I know I should know better.) 

Pom, Dei Fratelli, Aquafull and The Ultimate Metabolism Diet

I've had an empty POM juice bottle on my desk for a week as a reminder to tell you about this product.  While I'm at it, I thought I'd mention a couple other items as well. 

* * *
I received a case of POM Wonderful juice.  POM is 100% pomegranate juice.  It is all-natural and contains no added sugar.  One of my teenagers claimed it was "bitter" and then drank three or four bottles!  I drank a couple myself and became a POM fan.  The juice reminds me of cranberry juice--it's tart and delicious.  It turns out that 100% pomegranate juice is good for you, too--studies have shown benefits to your cardiovascular health, for instance.

Check out POM Wonderful for more information.

* * *
The Dei Fratelli company sent samples of their tomato products.  I used the low-sodium diced tomatoes the other day.  This product is all natural and low in sodium and delicious!  Do you realize how good tomatoes and tomato products are for you?  I hate raw tomatoes but use cooked tomato products in many different ways, from casseroles to soups to pastas.  You can see the wide variety of products right here and order them online (the prices are pretty reasonable, too)

* * *
The creator of Fullbar.com has come up with another product to manage hunger.  Aquafull is a dietary supplement you add to a 16 ounce water bottle.  It contains inulin and flavorings, so you end up with a flavored bottle of water that contains fiber--thus helping you feel full.  Each packet has less than twenty calories and four grams of fiber.  Flavors include Berry Bliss and Zesty Lemon Tea.  The idea is that you can drink water with Aquafull thirty minutes before you eat and then eat less and feel satisfied. 

* * *

Finally, the PR department at Hunter House Publishers sent The Ultimate Metabolism Diet by Scott Rigden, MD who is a "pioneer in the emerging field of functional medicine."  He explains that five known metabolic disorders can sabotage your weight-loss efforts and explains how to correct those problems so you can lose weight again.  This book contains a lot of information--and frankly, seems a little complicated at first glance.  If you'd like to win a free copy, leave a comment here.  I'll choose a winner by the end of the week.

* * *
I am aware that I never chose a winner for the Brita filter pitcher and water bottles.  Please forgive my oversight.  I will choose a winner for that at the end of the week also and get those items sent out!   Things are crazy around here. . . however, I began my morning with lunges and weight work for my arms, so in approximately six hours my arms will fall off.  And then I will weigh less!

Official Thursday Weigh In

I weighed 204,8 today which is a low since my high weight of 212.8 after Christmas.  Hooray!

I have three weeks until I head to my writing conference.  My goal is to be under 200 by then.  I can do it, right? 

Time to weigh in, if you wish.

How many diets have you done?

I started dieting as a young teenager.

I followed a diet in a teen magazine.  Lost 13 pounds.  Put it back on by eating potato chips.  (I weighed 123 at my lowest and thought if I could just get to 115 my life would be Perfect.)

I did Weight Watchers.  Once as a teenager, once as a new bride, multiple times in the last 10 years.

I did Prism.  I called it Prison and got kicked out for licking frosting.

I did the Weigh-Down Workshop.  Lost ten or fifteen pounds.  I can't remember.

I counted calories. 

I did the MacDougall plan (starch-based, no animal products, lots of corn and potatoes).

I did the low-glycemic index diet. 

There may be more, but I can't think of them now. 

How about you?  When did you first start dieting?  How many different plans have you followed?

Get me some Advil

Yesterday I finally shoved the "Biggest Loser" exercise DVD into the DVD player and exercised. 

Today, I am in considerable pain to due an excessive number of lunges.  Ouch. 

That is all.

Diet Bloggers Article

Check out this article, even though I'm not in it!  The writer sent me a link to it and said he checked out my blog (but did not write about it) . . . which makes me feel sort of rejected and not worthy to be unmentioned.  He "monitored my blog" for a few weeks, he said.  Yet . . . I do not make a starring appearance in the article?  Well!  I do declare!  (Doesn't that make me sound very refined and antebellum?)

No, really, I couldn't care less, but thought you might be interested in the finished product.  Enjoy!  (And Simon Owens, you're welcome for the link.)  

Photographs

If people would just put away their cameras, maybe I wouldn't be so conscious of how I look.  Seriously.  I might feel like I've done the best I can with what I have, including giving myself the occasional accidental curling iron burn in the pursuit of beauty and then BAM!  Someone has to take a photograph and show it to me in the viewfinder and . . . sad, sad, sad.  How many chins does one girl need?  (Correct Answer:  One.)

Anyway, I saw a friend (one who is fit because she runs every day!) and met new people over the weekend and just had to pretend that I am not mortified by my weight.  I really don't give it much thought--okay, a little thought--after I leave the house.  But the cameras make it difficult.

That is all I have to say about that right now.

* * *
I worked out this morning!  In fact, I did so many lunges (thank you, Biggest Loser work-out video) that when I walked through the Dollar Store later, I considered how embarrassing it would be for my legs to just give out.  I also did a Pilates ab work-out which reminded me that I have NO core strength.  Ouch.

How was your weekend?