Push Ups

I've started doing push ups. I used to do 50 of them every morning, and man, did I ever have some beautiful arms! Very defined, but not overly muscular, slender, tan - I loved my arms. I used to even have people comment on my wonderful, strong arms. Now... not so much. The fabulous is now flabulous - my arms are jiggly and saggy and, well, just plain yuk. But all that is changing.

With the help of my children, I am keeping track of my progress by using a sticker chart. I really don't need the stickers, but my kids love them they are reminding me every morning to do my push ups. I can't let them down, so dutifully I drop to the floor and do my allotted amount. I started with 15. After the first day, my entire rib cage area felt like I had been beaten with a bat. I've been doing some crunches, too, and my lower stomach was BURNING!! But I felt good - not hurting, just pleasantly sore. This morning I upped it to 18. Now that almost killed me, but I persevered and did them. By next week I'm hoping to be up to 20.

What surprised me is how inadequate I felt. "Only 15 push ups!" I moaned on Monday. "I'm pathetic!" My friend TT answered "MAN push ups???" Now I have lived in the south for 11 years now, but I am by no means a southern belle. My feminist side growled like a bear when I heard her say "Man push ups." I mean, really - push ups are only done one way, or they're not push ups. And women can do them just as well as a man. So yes, TT, I did MAN push ups. She assured me there was no way she could do even 10 - maybe not even 10"girl" push ups (I'm growling again!). Other people - even one of my guy friends!! - said they couldn't do 10. So I started feeling better about the 15. But when I write it - 18 push ups - it sounds so weenie. But I'm working hard and doing my best, and as long as that is true, I am happy. Maybe 6 months from now when my arms are remarkable again I'll post a picture!

The Well-Intentioned Saboteur

Warnings are often given to the dieter: watch out for those who will try to sabotage your diet! I always thought that was a bit silly - who would deliberately try to screw up a good, healthy thing? Then I realized - it's not deliberate, but it is sabotage for sure.

My husband is a sweet, wonderful, kind, and considerate man (okay, okay, it's the same guy in a previous post I threatened to rip his head off and shove flowers down his neck. That was a bad day...). Seriously, despite a few faults - and don't we all have a faults? - the C-man is a terrific husband. He often does nice things for me, which I love and appreciate. But sometimes... those nice little gestures are sabotage city!

Yesterday I was in the shower getting ready for church, thinking about the fellowship dinner that would follow the service. I was making plans to skip the 50 different pasta and potato salads and go right for the green salads. I came out of the shower and smelled it. Bacon. Oh my. But it's okay, the kids can have some bacon and I'll shut the bedroom door and get dressed. A good plan, eh? Too bad my husband greeted me with my very own plate of bacon and a fried egg along with buttered toast. Sigh. See, here it is - the sabotage. And yet, unintentional. So sweet, so kind and thoughtful, and yet... gulp... oh the fat and calories! But I ate it. I ate every bite. I know, I know, I've read the articles that say, "Tell your husband, 'Thank you, sweetie, I really appreciate your kindness, but I am going to stick to my diet and pass on this plate of food!'" Clearly this article was written by a single woman who keeps wondering why she's not married. I could have said something along those lines - I could have hurt C-man's feelings, felt guilty about it, then eaten twice as much as the guilt overcame me causing me to go an emotional roller coaster of an eating binge. Well, maybe it wouldn't have been that dramatic! But you see where I am going with this - when the C-man goes out of his way to do something nice for me, I respond by being gracious and accepting because I love him.

So where did I go wrong? I could have done a few things differently and still been gracious and kind. I could have eaten half of everything. I could have eaten only the egg then shared the bacon with the children - they would have loved it! And yes, I could have been mature and honest and told C-man that the plate of food he had just cooked was doing nothing for my self-control so please take it away! But again, I just can't help but show appreciation when he does something nice for me. Spineless? You betcha. Happily married? Oh, yeah.

So what can you do when that well-intentioned saboteur crosses your path? Try to identify the problem before it arrives - C-man hardly ever gets up before I do and therefore hardly ever cooks breakfast for me, so this caught be a bit unaware. But I know for next time to eat half the food, or skip the bacon - I have a plan. If your husband, mother, friend, co-worker repeatedly offers you food, dessert, drinks, etc., come up with your own plan to jump that hurdle. Handle it with humor, with grace, with a few good avoidance techniques - whatever works for you and your situation. But be as prepared as possible and when someone throws one at you unexpectedly - do your best and remember: tomorrow is another day.

Homemade Tortilla Chips and Hummus

Crunchy and salty - what a combo. I love anything that's crunchy and salty, but alas, most food that falls into that category is not the wisest choice for someone trying to slim down. I recently decided to try to make my own tortillas and hummus so I could have healthy, yummy snack that's also - you guessed it - crunchy and salty. I am pleased to say my attempt turned out delicious, satisfying, and delightfully healthy.

Hummus is one of my favorite foods - I make it from time to time but find it hard to control my portions, since I love it so much. This time I've decided to package it in smaller containers and eat it as a meal instead of a snack - I can have more and it's still a good, healthy meal. If you look around the Internet you can find all kinds of recipes. Many people like their hummus with roasted red peppers or calamata olives - go with what you like, but keep in mind the olives add quite a bit of salt. To make it a la Chef Kim, take a can of chick peas (AKA garbanzo beans) and drain. Throw them in a food processor or blender with several cloves of garlic (I like a LOT of garlic - the flavor is pretty strong, so add a little then taste. Add a little more, and taste...). Squirt in a bit of lemon juice and voila - hummus! Easy, right? Sometimes I add a little olive oil, too, if I'm looking for a creamier blend. Again, it's all about going with what you like.

To make the tortilla chips, you can either buy the soft tortillas or make them from scratch. As tempted as I was to make them from scratch, I had to opt for the store bought ones. There's just so much I can do! There are a few from which to choose - corn, flour, whole wheat, low carb... watch the low carb ones, though - they have artificial sweetener in them. Don't even get me started on artificial sweetener! I chose the whole wheat ones in the hopes they would keep me fuller longer. Take the tortillas and cut them with a pizza cutter into 6-8 wedges. Lay them on a cookie sheet and brush lightly with olive oil (I used an olive oil spray and it worked really well). Sprinkle on a touch of salt (I love sea salt) and bake in the oven at 350. Keep a close eye on them as they tend to burn pretty quickly, but they take about 6 minutes. I ate some while they were still warm and they were amazingly good. I'm getting excited about making some homemade pico de gallo - another one of my good-for-you faves.

Hope you enjoy!

The Curse of the Community Snacks

We've all seen it - the temptation of the community bowl. Sometimes filled with snack mix, other times candy, a well-intentioned box of doughnuts on a Friday morning... Ugh! So what's a girl to do???? I know, I know - the simple answer is to just say no! Nancy Reagan made it sound so simple! Just Say No!! Honestly, I think it's easier to say no to drugs than it is to pass up a cupcake! Of course, I've always feared jail...

But I digress. I'm offering some solutions below, at the request of a reader. And by the way, Reader, I am praying for you!

• Fill the community bowl with veggies. This can get costly, especially if you're the only one buying the veggies. This also can be problematic if the bowl sits out all day - who wants warm, limp celery at 4:00pm? But perhaps a few veggies here and there, perhaps a fruit bowl? And maybe it would catch on!
• Start an office-wide Get Healthy program. We've done the pay 'n weigh, where each person pays a small amount of money every week (we've done anywhere from $1-$5). A weigh-in where one person weighs another to ensure honesty and the person who has lost the highest per cent (yes, it's two words) doesn't have to pay the money. At the end of the month the biggest loser takes home the pot of money. We have varied our contests from time to time. One time we did a point system, where every 30 minutes of exercise was one point, and every pound lost was one point. You started each week owing $10, and subtracted $1 for every point you earned. By the end of the week, the goal was to owe nothing. You could come up with your own contest if you wanted - some people find them highly motivating, others don't.
• Distract your mouth. I have a friend who has TMJ and cannot chew gum anymore, so she can't follow my gum chewing advice from the previous post. Maybe she could carry a water bottle and drink it every time she passes the community snacks? Or how about having some Jello to satisfy the sweet tooth? Have a sucker or some hard candy? Maybe Tic Tacs? What about brushing your teeth? Many people won't eat after brushing their teeth either because of the taste or because of not wanting to brush all over again.

What are some of your tips and tricks???? Post a comment below and share!! You can also click here to go to Low Cost, Low Carb, a great blog with some great advice. If you need a laugh, how about clicking here to visit my friend's weigh loss blog - it's hilarious! Let's all pitch in to help each other try new things to tackle our troubles and kick the community snacks to the curb!!

Battling Our Blunders

Isn't it funny how good friends can connect even when miles apart? I was just talking with my mom about identifying weak spots in our eating habits and I decided to come write a blog about it. Before I blogged, I read my friend's blog on organization in the household, and here's her blog - all about identifying weak spots. Click here to read it - it's really good!

At any rate, my friend is talking about time management, and I'm talking about waist management. One of the biggest helps I have found is to identify trouble before it arrives. Sit down and decide where you are failing - for me, it's dinner time. I have all the resolve in the world until I get into the kitchen and am surrounded by food. It's just too easy for me to grab a snack out of the fridge, taste dinner while I'm cooking, have a glass of wine to unwind in the kitchen... My solution: gum. I chew gum while cooking. I haven't been able to do this for many, many years - I have an allergy to aspartame (NutraSweet) and ALL gum contains it. Yes, even Juicy Fruit and Big Red have aspartame. But I found a great little health store that carries gum in several flavors that is all natural - no artificial sweeteners!! Yay for me!! So away I chew. I pop a piece into my mouth before I get out of the car at home so I am ready for the attack of the munchies before I even walk through the front door.

Another area of weakness for me: when someone else prepares the meal. If someone prepares a meal and I decide I am only going to eat salad, all hope goes out the window the minute I am sitting in front of all the good food. My plan to foil the flavors: tell someone my plan! This afternoon before we got ready for lunch I told my mom I was going to eat yogurt and fruit only. When it came time for lunch, even though I was dying for a hot dog, my mom hadn't cooked one for me - why would she? And even if she had, I would have had to face her with the hot dog on my plate - openly failing in front of someone else is good motivation for me. One warning: please do not ask your spouse or your friend to help monitor your eating and then get upset when they do. Many of my women friends have admitted to asking for help from their husband then getting mad when he makes a comment about that second serving of potatoes. That's not fair and your support system will quickly fade away.

So what is your weakness? Where do you fail? Be honest! Sit down and go over your day - you already know where you're going wrong, don't you? Come up with a plan of attack - if it's eating out at lunch, leave all credit/debit cards and cash at home. No money = no fast food. Finishing you children's plates the trouble? Serve them much smaller portions - you're less likely to have food leftover and it will help them not overeat at the same time. Or tell them when they are done they need to clear their plates, scraping all food into the trash. Less food and less work for you! Double bonus! An office birthday party? Tell everyone you'll cover the phones while they're eating cake. There are solutions - we just need to come up with the plan and stick to it. That's the hard part! But we can do it - one day at a time - one battle at a time will slowly win the war.

Vacation Trials and Triumphs

Vacation - a time to relax, have fun, and live a little. We leave work behind and enjoy our time off in many ways. So why do we always use vacation as an excuse to eat gargantuan amounts of horrible food?

"I'm on vacation! I can let loose a little bit!" we cry. "It's our vacation! I can have dessert on vacation!" we say adamantly. Then, we return. Back to our homes, back to our jobs, back to our clothes - which are the same size as when we left. Are we? It's amazing how much damage can be done in such a short period of time. I have decided I will NEVER go on a cruise. Why? Because I know me, and I know that I will be glued to the buffet, my eyes glazed over, drool on one side of my mouth, a little gravy dribbling down the other side. I do not have the self control required to walk away from a cruise unscathed. In fact, I'm pretty sure I would cause the boat to list to one side after the first midnight serving of fried stuff. After a few days, they would have to move me to the hull to act as ballast.

Fortunately, I am not on a cruise - I am at my parents' house. I arrived feeling brave - I can do this! My father's cooking has helped - grilled salmon, fresh salads, and lots of fruit in the house. Their pool has also helped - a bit of swimming, a cool down after a brisk walk. Of course, there have also been a few hurdles - ribs in homemade sauce, a trip to an all-you-can-eat buffet. And let's not forget the trip to the urgent care center to get WMV's ear checked out - that level of stressed was eased by a can of salt 'n vinny Pringles. *Sigh* Overall, I think I may be able to walk away from this trip without completely blowing it. I would be thrilled to drop another half a pound, but will be happy just to break even. I'm trying to steel myself for a gain of a pound or two, but trying desperately to avoid it. I don't want to ruin my vacation with an obsession with food and weight, so I'm trying to be reasonable. They're cooking hot dogs tonight. My plan is to cut one in half and eat it with lots of sauerkraut (I'm drinking tons of water today to counteract the salty sauerkraut!) and mustard. I'll load up on salad, too, if my dad makes one. I'm hoping having a plan will help me walk away from the dinner table triumphant. *Gulp* Pray for me!!

Chillin' and Grillin'

Oh, how I love to grill! Nothing smells better than a charcoal grill being lit. It brings back memories of my family time at Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. A beautiful, wonderful park, we would spend the whole day - playing, hiking, watching the surf crash against the rocks, and of course - there was always the cook out. Even now that I am an adult, the grill is my favorite cooking apparatus. With the Fourth of July weekend upon us I thought I'd pass along some grilling wisdom to help us all get through an Independence Day weekend without losing control of our healthy eating plans!

One great way to enjoy the grill without feeling guilty: vegetable shish kabobs - check out the "chicken and veggies" post from June 16 to read a good marinate recipe and directions. If you add some chunks of meat to the kabob, that can be your whole meal, and it really helps cut back on the portion of meat you consume. But can you get your whole family on board with veggie kabobs?? Not in my house! Here's how to change some standard grill fare into healthier eating:

• Ground turkey. Check the label and make sure you buy all white meat - if you get the cheaper dark/white combo you're getting a lot more fat - not cheaper in the long run! Add a bunch of your favorite spices and form into patties - delicious! These are wonderful with avocado slices - keep the slices thin and you'll add some of that good, belly-slimming fat your body needs without adding too many fat grams. Not everyone enjoys a turkey burger as much as I do, so if your family is going to want a more traditional burger, go with ground round over ground chuck to get a lower fat beef, and mix with the ground turkey. You can add quite a bit of turkey without taking away from the taste of the beef burger. And of course, think small!! Not every burger needs to be two inches thick and bigger than a dinner plate! Buy smaller buns (whole wheat buns, too!) and fill up the rest of the plate with veggies.


• Chicken. I buy large amounts of chicken and after we bring everything off the grill I throw a heap of chicken on it. It cooks while you eat - if you use charcoal the grill stays hot for a long time - and then I have lots of grilled chicken for the following week. Very easy to bring lunch from home when you have chicken all cooked and ready to go! Don't forget to get the skinless kind!


• Fish. You can buy a fish grilling basket that keeps the fish from falling into the coals - it makes some amazing fish! You can also wrap it tightly in tin foil with lemon juice and spices and throw it on the gill that way - very moist and flavorful.


• Veggies - if you don't want to do the kabob, try whole or sliced veggies. Eggplant slices are hearty enough to stand up to the grill. Get some spray olive oil and lightly spray them so the spices stick and they don't dry out. Ditto for squash or zucchini. And how about some roasted peppers? Put the whole pepper right on the grill until it turns black. That's right - BLACK. Peel away the skin, slice, and put into a container with olive oil and spices. Great alone or on sandwiches or salads.


• Hot dogs. Don't do it. Seriously, just don't. The tofu dogs... well, you know how I feel about those. And the regular hot dogs are just too full of fat (not to mention floor sweepings) to make it worth the splurge. The salt content alone will make you retain water and the next morning if you are brave enough to step on the scale - ugh. So, if your family insists on hot dogs, DO NOT cook the whole package! Only cook one dog per person - there won't be one left for you to scarf down in the kitchen while you're "cleaning up." Oh, yes, I know that trick - I perfected it.

I hope some of these tips will help you celebrate Independence Day - YOUR Independence!! We can be free from junk food, free from unhealthy eating, free from feeling sluggish and fat and jiggly! I want independence from the fat racks - have you seen some of those clothes???? I want independence from my couch - give me energy to get my house clean, play with my kids, go out with some friends! And most of all I want independence from food - I want to learn to eat for bodily sustenance, not emotional! I'm getting it - slowly but surely, I really am. Want to join me?