Archive for the ‘Dieting’ Category

Busy with Resolutions?

Thursday, December 27th, 2007

I’ve been keeping myself busy to make up for the financial loss of the holiday season. I’ve gotten a lot of posting done, a lot of design work and even some personal things as well. I hope to be able to bring in the New Year with friends and family and not have to worry about any actual WORK until the 2nd or so. I’m heading up to New York this weekend and unfortunately got a phone call tonight that set me in a tail spin. My aunt was in a pretty bad car accident, her car is more than likely totaled. I did get in touch with her tonight though, she says that she’s fine, but she’s also a stubborn Irish woman so who knows if that’s actually the case. I know she’s a little sore from the accident but she’s assured me, a few times, that she’s absolutely fine with just a few bumps and bruises. I found out from my sister, she called me from work and told me I need to get back up to NY to see her, I’m thinking something is very wrong but a second phone call to verify information told me that I can wait until Saturday.

I went to the DMV yesterday to get my ID changed over, I’m officially a Delaware resident. I was apprehensive about surrendering my NY ID because I was unsure of the wait time for a new ID card. In NY you go through the motions and then you wait a few days and it shows up in the mail. In DE, however, the card is instantly given to you so I don’t have to worry about not having proper identification on me when I’m traveling this weekend. My next big task is to get a car and some insurance down here and the rest is cake. So that’s one goal for the year.

Another goal is heading back to school. I’ve decided on DeVry and luckily with my situation I’m eligable for full financial aid from 2-3 different resources. I just need to make sure to get all of the paperwork in around the first of the year. It’s only going to be an associates but it’ll carry over for when I’m going for my bachelors (maybe masters) somewhere down the road. So on top of an 8 hour work day, I’m adding a 3-4 hour school day. Then the other 12 hours can basically be spent relaxing and sleeping. Not too shabby – I know I can handle it.

On top of the first two goals, quitting smoking is certainly on the list this year. With a lack of health insurance and increasing lung issues, it’s time to stop beating the dead horse and moving on. I picked up “The Easy Way To Stop Smoking” because I’m a reader and figured a book could tell me more than those damn “Cold Turkey” techniques. I have to say that I can understand why so many people have read this book over the last 20 years. I completed it in about 3 hours and I’m confident that once I begin his methods I’ll succeed in quitting for good. Cold turkey and the patches and that horrible gum – none of it is worth it to me. You quit when YOU are ready to quit and you consider yourself a “Non Smoker” the second you extinguish your last cigarette. I’ll pick a day and then go from there. As of right now there’s a little too much stress in the air for me to pull this off completely. I know you’re sitting there like “Ha! Talk about another excuse” but that’s just how it is for me. I’ve got the little monster in my brain that won’t shut up and I’m going to have to slowly learn how to stop listening to him, that’s all.

And then of course there’s the weight-loss resolution that everyone has. The difference is I’m already ON a diet plan (and doing quite well, thank you) so it’s basically just keeping the concentration, continuing with my small-portion meals during the day and going on from there. Even Sean is going to get in on it with me, who knows – maybe by this summer we’ll spend more time at the beach than in the back yard – heh.

In any event, I hope everyone has a Happy New Year, I won’t be around until Tuesday afternoon so hopefully everyone has a fun weekend. Be safe!

The Daily Do

Wednesday, August 15th, 2007

A little while ago, Sean and I went out to do some shopping. We headed over to Dollar Tree to look for baskets because no one can beat $1. We then stopped in EBGames and I picked up a new game for the Wii and I bought him a docking system for his xbox360 controller. Turns out, it was the wrong one so we wound up taking it back and exchanging it. Either way he’s happy. A quick trip to AC Moore to look for other odds and ends, then wondering around Walmart for a little bit so I can look in the vitamins section and now we’re home.

I’ve been poking around the natural health stuff for a while now. I’ve been taking supplements with my diet that are working out pretty well for me. My energy levels are through the roof these days, which is more than likely the reason behind my accomplishing so much in the past few days. I’m right on track with all of my monthly goals, I’m at the 50% mark for my financial goals which works out great for me considering it’s literally the half way point of the month. I like when things balance out really well and I think the MSM Supreme is doing the trick. It’s a dietary supplement but I’ve been using it for pain management considering how bad my back has been these days. It’s working out really well for me so I’m not complaining, and I’m also not spending a butt-load of money on pain killers that my addictive personality would pounce on. Another one I’m taking is Lithium Orotate, it helps my frequent migraines but based on research it also helps those with depression and bi-polar disorders. Asprin wasn’t helping me anymore, not even Aleve and I was popping at least 6 of those a day just to concentrate.

Anyhoo, I’m about a half hour behind on some work that needs to be completed by midnight. I need to get my booty in gear on that.

Total Body TransFIRMation System

Wednesday, July 25th, 2007

As some of you may, or may not, know – I’ve been working very hard since April to drop the weight I’ve put on since high school. Now, I admit that I was always a larger girl but when I lost my daily activity and was only really going to work and standing at a register, I wasn’t getting enough exercise to really maintain what I was in school. Now that I’m working from home and don’t really leave the office unless it’s for the sake of doing things around the house, I found myself putting on even more unwanted weight. When I moved down here in January I was about 240. By April I’d shot up to 260. Now after a few months of working on it I’m back down in the 240 range and hopefully I’ll be able to reach my goal of 180 over the course of the next year – if that.

I’ve searched the net for many different forms of weight loss. From pills and food combinations that just don’t work to weight loss videos that don’t motivate me to do much of anything. Today I came across a website named getfirmtoday.com, which is the Total Body TransFIRMation System. I did some searching around their website and came to find that women have lost over 100 pounds on this system and considering it’s my goal to lose 80 (in total) I continued looking into more information with this system.

The FIRM CardioWeight System claims to work because it combines fat-burning cardio and body-sculpting weights to burn up to three times more fat than aerobics alone. They claim that this exercise will melt the fat and reshape your body for results that you can see in 10 work outs or less. The thing for me is, all weight-loss plans will work in the first 10 workouts, that’s why I don’t typically buy into slogans like that. Anyone who’s done their research should know that you’re going to lose weight just by getting off your butt. Anyone who hasn’t worked out in years, maybe even months, is going to see results within 10 work outs because your body has now been jump started. The problem is after those 10 workouts where your body starts to slow down when it comes to reprocessing how it works, then the weight naturally will come off slower than it did previously. In theory, all weight-loss systems work, it’s the amount of time that they work for you that’s the kicker.

The FIRM CardioWeight System is a series of total body workouts that combine cardio with weight training to sculpt your muscles and tone your body. By using the adjustable CardioWeight‚Ñ¢ hand weights, you gradually increase resistance as you become stronger and leaner. They also say that with this program you will be more confident in yourself as well. Their system includes a few DVD’s. The first is CardioWeight, followed by Cardio Overdrive, Hard Core Fusion, Hi-Def Sculpt and a bonus Cardio Party DVD.

Looking further into their program I came across one of their videos.


I know that an important aspect to losing weight is keeping your body active. For now until I’ve lost a bit more and there is less strain on my back, naturally I’ll continue with my daily walks around the complex. After I drop a few more pounds and am more comfortable with working out on a much higher level, I think I may consider getting involved with Total Body TransFIRMation System.

What’s for dinner?

Saturday, July 7th, 2007

I’m having trouble figuring out what I’d like for dinner tonight. I don’t feel like barbecuing and we don’t have any chop meat in the house either to even make burgers. The chicken is frozen as well so based on that alone I think it’s going to be a take-out night.

I’m in the mood for tacos, Sean doesn’t like tacos and while he said he could just go somewhere else for himself, it’s annoying taking two trips. I’m in the mood for a quesadilla because I had one at Friendly’s the other night but I’m not a big fan of the ones that they make at Taco Bell and I know nothing of the two Spanish restaurants in the area to give me any idea of how they rank amongst the locals. You have to remember that I came from Long Island, there was Spanish style cooking on every other corner.

There’s a place down here called Moe’s, Karen has told me on a few occasions that she hears they’re pretty good, I think I’m actually going to take the chance and try them out. Their menu looks pretty good, I just hope it tastes the same

Weightloss Resources: MyFitnessPal.com

Monday, July 2nd, 2007

I’ve been doing rather well with sticking to my diet thanks to my trusty calorie counter. I mentioned a few times that I was looking for a good one and I’m rather happy that I was able to come across one that works really well for me. I can just punch in all of the numbers I need in order to keep track of everything I’ve been doing. With the ability to keep track of calories, carbs and many other aspects of your diet, this free service gives you an idiot proof way of successfully losing weight and keeping it off. I’d kept food journals for years but none of them really ever worked for me until I joined up on myfitnesspal.com.

The site is not only easy to use, but it’s fast. They believe that the easier it is to track your diet, the more likely you are to stick to it. They can work with any diet you happen to be on from Atkins to South Beach, even The Zone and many others. They have free message boards to provide you with motivation and 24/7 support. You aren’t the only one on a diet, everyone in the world has been on a diet during some point in time or they’re still on it today. Talk to the people who understand what you’re going through, that’s what they’re here for.

Another thing that I absolutely love about this site is they are completely free. They’ll never ask you for a credit card, a check, a money order, or even a Paypal agreement. You will never pay a dime and you’ll still be tapped into resources that many sites require that you pay for. Why should you spend more anymore money on dieting than you already have? Go with something that will benefit you and any other person who signs up to it. You truly won’t regret it.

Resources: Calorie Counter

Monday, June 25th, 2007

Anyone on a diet knows how hard it is to find free resources to make your weight loss easier. With all of the high-priced programs out there, the last thing you want to do is spend even more money just to find out quick information about your progress, free of charge. One of the links that I’ve had on my resources list for quite some time is a free calorie counter that helps you figure out just what you’re doing throughout the day – without having to calculate points or figure out some huge math equation just so you know what you ate today. I don’t care how someone figured out that 15 mini pretzels is 1 point on weight watchers, I also don’t care to decode all of the mumbo-jumbo that had them come to this conclusion. Naturally I’m going to look for other resources that will work just fine for me, thankfully myfitnesspal.com is a 100% free no credit card required resource to help you move a long a bit further.

Dropping the weight … the healthy way.

Thursday, June 21st, 2007

PPPFor quite some time now I’ve been reading into a lot of information in regards to Lap Band Surgery. There are quite a few resources like Weight Loss Surgery Florida which offer valuable information about the subject. They list everything from the cost to the procedure itself. They also list information about recovery and not to expect 100% results within the first few days. Since they shrink your stomach you really have to buckle down with portion control. You do not lose any weight just by having the surgery, some people don’t really understand that. The reason the weight is lost is because you basically can only fit a 1/4 cup worth of food in your stomach at one time. This is why you eat multiple meals a day and very little meals at that.

Portion control is rather hard to do, something I fully admit to. I’ve been struggling with my portion consumption since day one of my diet. I’ve figured out a few ‘tricks of the trade’ though. Instead of eating off the standard sized dinner plate, I use smaller plates this way it looks as though I’m eating more food when in actuality I’m eating the right amount. Instead of loading the plate with pasta, I’m taking small scoops and counter-acting with veggies to avoid the excess starches. Small things like this have aided in my so-far 15lb weight loss. That’s about 5 pounds a month for the last 3 months. Based on doctors opinions (yes, I’ve spoken to a few) that’s rather healthy. Losing anywhere from 1-3 pounds a week (depending on your starting weight) is very healthy for you. Naturally those of us whom are larger are going to drop a lot more weight, quicker, because our bodies have stored so much fat over the years that is now being released from our systems.

Now, this isn’t the kind of information you can find on the site I listed above. The resource above is strictly about the lap band surgery. If you’re interested in learning more about this topic you can visit MyLapBandSurgery.com or call their toll-free number (1.866.309.0036).

Cooking, Cleaning, Grooming … it never ends.

Wednesday, June 6th, 2007

Kay and I went shopping tonight. We traveled up to Milford to Big Lots and I’m happy to say that I got myself the baskets I was looking for. I was surprised to find out that they’re only $2 each and the perfect size for everything I need to go in them. When I moved everything over to my new closet I had to factor in that I wasn’t going to have a dresser readily available to me so I knew once the shelves went up that I was going to need some baskets to get my underwear, bras and socks in the same room with my clothes. Right now I still have my clothes in Baby’s dresser which is in the office closet, it makes no sense for me to go across the hall just to get the important stuff – you know?

After Big Lots we took a quick drive over to Wal-Mart, I was happy to find that a lot of the things I needed were on sale so I was able to get everything I set out to get today. I know I’ve been spending quite a bit lately but that’s also based on the fact that it’s items I need on a day-to-day basis. I’m not sure what’s up with Wal-Mart lately but they haven’t had the canned chicken that I give to Bella in quite some time. A lot of items are on back order for them (according to the few employees we spoke to) so hopefully that will all be taken care of soon. For now I found another brand that’s still 2 for $4 so I’m not too concerned – she’s eating well either way.

We picked up a lot of veggies and meat for the week. We plan on doing a lot of barbecuing. There’s a farm right next to this Wal-Mart so there was an overabundance of fresh unshucked white corn, watermelon and other yummy foods. Tonight I’m going to do some turkey burgers for myself, beef burgers for Kay and Sean and maybe even a steak or two. I’m also going to steam some corn and carrots to throw on the side. Tomorrow I’m doing sausage and peppers and the following night will most likely be grilled chicken. So at least I’m going to be keeping myself busy and still sticking to my diet as well.

It’s going to be a fairly busy day for me. Right now it’s about 5am so I intend to get some sleep soon but when I wake up I’m going to be cleaning the kitchen, finishing up some work online and then I’m going to give Bella a bath because she desperately needs one. It’s been a few weeks since she’s had one, I’ve been rather busy lately, so her eyes are getting a little dirty and her paws could use a cleaning as well. I used to give her one every week so I never had to worry about her ears getting too bad or her eyes for that matter. Since it’s been almost a month she just looks really ratty. I’m going to soak her down, scrub the hell out of her and then once she air dries for a little while I’ll hit her with the hair dryer and fluff her up.

I’m sending her to the groomer next week, I know I was supposed to do that a few weeks ago but I wasn’t expecting to come up to a dog in pain either. Since she dug herself out of the room I had no choice but to post-pone her appointment and take care of her medical needs before the vanity ones – you know?

Walking along…

Wednesday, June 6th, 2007

I’m finding myself going longer distances without stopping. This is a really good feeling considering I’ve only lost a few pounds. I did another weigh-in tonight because I’m convinced that the scale hates me and it told me that the 3 pounds I thought I gained were gone and I’m down to 440. I’m seriously considering a new scale. There’s a different number every single day on that little bugger. I don’t like digital scales, I don’t even know why I have one. I think there’s going to be a future trip to Wal-mart so I can pick up one of the ‘older model’ scales with the swing arm that tell you the second you step on the bugger exactly how much you weigh.

I did some surfing through the new blog roll and there are quite a few blogs that stood out for me. I think I’m going to have a great time reading through all of these blogs over the next few days. I can’t wait, I may do a few more tonight.

Breaking

Sunday, June 3rd, 2007

The rain is starting to let up around here so I’m sending Baby out to get some dinner. I’m breaking my diet but it’s mainly because I don’t have enough energy to cook anything and although no one in the tri-state area knows anything about pizza, I’m still going to suck it up and have him go and get some. There’s a place up in Lewes or something that’s owned by a guy who used to have a place in Jersey so I wanted to assume that he knew a thing or two about pizza. Their sauce kind of sucks but the crust is OK, either way I’m not going to be shoving veggies in my face tonight, I don’t have the energy for it.

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Lapband Surgery

Saturday, June 2nd, 2007

Before I started on my diet I considered many different techniques to effective weight loss. I even considered lap band surgery until I realized how much is involved with it. Surfing through the internet you come across many things that can be a valuable resource for anyone. Unfortunately sometimes the most valuable information is never really well known because people name files and sites wrong so a google search won’t pick it up. I got lucky with this one though.

I came across Lap Band Surgeon Mexico which is a website that has many resources for this surgery. The thing I like about it is they tell you everything you need to know about finding a surgeon. They teach you how to go through their doctoral background, reading through testimonials, asking around, talking to previous clients and many other resources that most people may not look into when they go to get the surgery themselves. There‚Äôs even an FAQ to cover all of your questions. There‚Äôs a body mass index calculator but it just gives you an estimated answer, I‚Äôd assume. I plugged my statistics into it and I think it’s saying that 40% of me is fat which makes no sense considering all of the muscle I have in my arms and legs. I admit that my tummy is round but seriously now, 40%?

They personally do surgeries themselves but since they have the understanding that not everyone reading their site is going to truck it to Mexico, they offer you the resources you need in order to get yourself to a surgeon ‚Äì safely. There’s even a quick checklist of questions that you need to ask your doctor.

Anyone looking for valuable information about this subject, head over to mylapbandsurgery.com. You can even call them for more information. Their numbers are 866.309.0036 toll free for US callers only. Direct phone is 386.206.9358. I assume direct phone is connected to those living in Mexico. While I doubt you’d travel all the way to Mexico, you can at least use their site for Q∓A.

Still Sluggish.

Saturday, May 26th, 2007

I’ve been watching “What the !@#$ Do We Know?” it’s a documentary kind of a movie that’s the original basis of “The Secret” it’s a fairly interesting flick, I’ll say that much. I’m a little confused about it though, it bounced around quite a bit but that’s probably because all of these theories are based on quantum physics.

I just had dinner a little while ago, I broke my diet but I still did stick with portion control. As an Italian, I find it hard to avoid carbs. Pasta, Bread – I can’t just void it from my life. I know it’s better in moderation and I’m not exactly on a ‘set’ path as far as dieting is concerned. I know it’s the whole idea of just eating better (not forgetting to factor in portion control) and exercising regularly. I’m sticking to it, don’t get me wrong. I think I’m just having a bad week – that’s all. I’m sure I gained some weight back, I’ll just go back to working harder than I’ve been lately.

Not too bad.

Saturday, May 26th, 2007

I woke up rather late today but that’s because I didn’t get to sleep until about 5am. We wound up going to Milford last night, there’s a Big Lots there plus a 24-hour Wal-mart so we were basically shopping until about 1am before we took the half hour drive home. I went a little over budget yesterday but that’s mainly because I treated everyone to dinner last night. We went to Applebee’s after Big Lots and that ran about $50, so when I spent over $40 in Wal-Mart I knew I’d gone over. This is fine, however, because at least I’ve got the money to cover it anyway.

I’ve been rather productive today. I had my coffee and some quaker rice cakes so I only took in about 100 calories so far. I watered the flowers, cleaned out the bathroom, cleaned the bedroom. I made a quick snack for Baby and I so that we could put some real food in our stomachs as well. While I was outside I washed the cars as well, they were getting kind of dusty because of the trees in the area so I made it a point to get all of the dust off the windows especially – makes it difficult to drive if you don’t. Now I’m sitting here going through email so I can get started on my work day. I do intend to have the bedroom vacuumed and the kitchen straightened up.

We bought a lot of meat last night, we’re going to be barbecuing quite a bit this weekend considering it’s a holiday. Kay has a few extra days off so she’s going to paint her bathroom, bathe the dogs and then get some other things done around the house that she’s been putting off for a while. Baby will basically only have to barbecue but at least that will keep him entertained for a little while. It pushed 90F today and since the UV index is rather high I hope to have gotten some color with everything I was doing outside.

I guess I should get my ass in gear on some work. I’ve been slacking on my $20-$30 a day blogging goals so hopefully I can get back on track with that. Even then I could probably average about $750-$900 a month – not bad for a few minutes of work a day.

Sluggish

Thursday, May 24th, 2007

I woke up around 11 this morning after approximately 5 hours of sleep. Unfortunately Baby was having trouble breathing through his nose so it made it difficult for me to get any sleep with him honking away. My stomach is cramped up like no tomorrow and the only thing that the Midol is doing for me is putting me to sleep. This makes it very difficult for me to get any work done consider my eyes continue to close on me.

Bella is being extra clingy today for some reason and I honestly have no idea why. She won’t get off my lap and it’s making it difficult for me to getting things done as well. My arm is close to falling asleep because of the pressure she’s putting on it, part of me wonders if taking a nap would really be worth it. My entire body wants to go to sleep anyway, maybe I should listen to it?

I made lunch a little while ago, home made pizza. It turned out pretty good. I didn’t eat much of it because of how my stomach has been feeling but I enjoyed my portion. Food Lion has a 10 for $10 deal going on right now and I picked up some of those “Take & Bake” loafs of bread. You throw them in the oven at 400?Ǭ?F for about 12 minutes and they cook up almost as good as regular fresh baked French bread.

I haven’t gotten much work done today. I did get quite a bit of emails processed though it’s just the sake of actually working on the important things that’s got me on edge. I can’t keep my eyes open either so that certainly doesn’t help. There’s got to be something I can do that doesn’t require taking a nap.

Productivity at it’s finest.

Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007

I’ve gotten quite a bit done today. I’m ahead as far as my time frame for getting some work done is concerned. I’ve got the gardening done, Bella’s taken care of as well. She needed some trimming around her face because she was just over heated so I trimmed some hair out and got rid of a little bit of matting on her legs before I schedule another appointment for her for the groomer. Considering it’s going to be in the mid 80’s for a few days, I figured every little bit helps so hopefully the trim makes her a bit more comfortable.

I’ve gotten some work done, setup some accounts and I know I have a few more things to get done but I also know that I’m about two hours ahead instead of the 3 hours behind I was previously. That’s always a good thing, right?

Dieting today is fairly simple. I’ve only taken in about 300 calories so far so that’s good as far as sticking to my guns. My hip is bothering the hell out of me, so much so that it hurts to stand at this point let alone sit down. My stomach is killing me due to Aunt Flo and on top of that my ankle keeps popping when I walk, more so now than it ever has before considering how much damage I’ve done to it over the years. Maybe I’m just getting old and my body is telling me there’s a storm coming this way – I don’t know. It is all joint pain when it comes down to it so who knows what’s going on.

Guess I should get dinner started, I just finished cleaning up the kitchen and have a few little things to do here and there to prepare for the weekend. We’re working on getting Kay’s sister down here for a Memorial Day BBQ but who knows if that’s actually going to happen. Her sister is hard to get a hold of sometimes. Hopefully we’ll be able to get in touch with her before it’s too late.

I found it!

Monday, May 21st, 2007

I was finally able to find a calorie counter, strike that, I was able to find a free calorie counter. This makes dieting a lot easier for me. I don’t see myself joining programs like Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig or anything else that requires money that I don’t have just to get advice that’s readily available to anyone with a computer for free. There are many different kinds of diets, calorie counting, carbohydrate counting, no sugar, low sugar – blah blah blah. I’m sticking with calorie intake because I know how many calories I should eat during the day and then how many I need to burn off in order to lose 2-3lbs a week.

The site I found, myfitnesspal.com, is a completely free website that houses a calorie counter. They’ll teach you the nutritional contents of what you’re eating and how you can make better food choices. They’ll never ask you for a credit card, so don’t think that this is only some kind of a free trial. The site is here for you to bookmark and reference back to every time you’re trying to figure out the calorie count of your daily foods.