Jan 4, 2008 | Life, Goals, General, Diet |
This is an easy one: lose weight. How many people set that goal every year? The majority of resolvers, I'll bet. I was watching TV the other day, something on HGTV no doubt, when Valerie Bertinelli popped up with her new Jenny Craig body. OMG. I was practically reaching for the phone, y'all!
Valerie looks awesome. She's 47 and she looks amazing. I want to be that thin again. I held off calling Jenny, but it's in the back of my mind should I fail on my own. Now, I know that losing weight is difficult, and programs like that really work because they portion out your meals and take all the planning away from you. But I've lost the weight on my own once before (and I've lost it on NutriSystem) and I know I can do it again.
I sound like a yo-yo dieter, don't I? I'm not, though. I've been overweight twice before and I've lost it both times. This is the third time in my 40 years I've let it creep up on me. Not exactly a yo-yo, but a pain in the butt nevertheless.
When I was 20, I needed a program. Lost 40lbs on NutriSystem and kept it off for 12 years. Then I did Body for Life with the hubby, which taught me how to eat and work out. Lost the 25 lbs I'd let creep back on. Now, I need to lose 30lbs. I gained this weight while not exercising and eating all this great Southern food. I knew it was happening, and I let it happen, and I'm not happy with myself about that.
So, I'm back to doing it myself by planning my meals, avoiding the bad stuff (except for one day a week), and exercising regularly. I know how to do this. If I decide I need Jenny, then it's because I'm not sticking to my plan well enough on my own. And that's a possibility, but I'd really rather do it myself. It's cheaper, first of all. It puts me in control, second.
Here are my diet tips if you're contemplating such a thing for yourself. I offer this as someone who's succeeded in the past. I'm not an expert, but this worked for me.
1. If it's man-made, don't eat it if you can help it. I make an exception for Kashi cereal. And, in this go-round, for Lean Cuisine. Avoid the center aisles of the grocery store like the plague. No chips, no sodas, no cookies, no rice cakes, no boxes of stuffing mix or macaroni and cheese.
2. Don't eat seconds.
3. Portion control. A portion of something is the size of your fist or your open palm.
4. Protein/carb balance. Don't eat tons of carbs (pasta, bread), and don't avoid meat (if you aren't a vegetarian, I mean). Get a balance at every meal. For example, a snack I like is a stick of cheese (protein) and a yogurt (carbs).
5. Small meals throughout the day. I like six over all (and this includes the cheese and yogurt snacks).
6. 20 to 30 minutes of exercise 6 days a week. Get your heart rate up and keep it up. Don't kill yourself, and don't think you're going to jog for an hour on the treadmill. And don't forget that working out with weights also keeps your heart rate moving. You will not get big man muscles if you use weights. Trust me. I've bench pressed 100 lbs at my best and never looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger. 🙂
Other small tips to consider — don't deny yourself. If you really, really want a slice of pizza, eat it. So long as you don't eat the whole thing, and so long as you don't stray every single day, you can reward yourself from time to time. I like one day a week to eat what I want without recriminations. Also, if you're a drinker like me (love my wine!), cut it back to two or three times a week instead of a glass a night. Most importantly, everything in moderation. 🙂
I'm not saying how much I weigh, but I'd like to lose 30lbs. I lost 3 before the cruise and gained it all back onboard. *sigh* Goal for next week: 2 lbs. I'll let you know…..
Jan 2, 2008 | Books, Writing, Travel, Photos, Life |
I forgot how much I enjoyed 80+ degree temps at Christmas. Alabama isn't bad in the winter, but it was in the 30s last night when we drove to my parents' house for dinner. Brrr! To think that just last week, I was wearing a bathing suit…..
Here's a pic of Nassau. Doesn't that look inviting? No one warned me about the Straw Market. In consequence, I wasn't prepared. I didn't take enough cash off the ship and only managed to buy two purses instead of the 5 or so I would have liked to buy.
Some people don't like the hassle of bargaining with merchants. Some people don't like the close quarters of the market. But I loved it. I have no problem saying no and no problem walking away. Therefore, I think my designer knockoffs were a bargain.
Next stop was St. Thomas on Christmas day. Isn't it gorgeous? Reminded me of a cross between Hawaii and the Amalfi coast in Italy. I would definitely love to spend some time in the USVI. It's much closer than Hawaii, and just as lovely.
Finally, here we are with the famous coconut monkey cups. Yes, they are tacky tourist tchotchke. They are over priced. But I teased my hubby one too many times about getting sloshed on coconut monkey drinks. So he went to the bar and bought two (with margaritas inside) just to shut me up, I think. 🙂
All in all, the cruise was fun. The difficulties I imagined in traveling with both sets of parents were just that — my imagination. Everyone got along fabulously. No one felt pressured to do anything they didn't want to do. We spent whole days doing nothing. When the ladies wanted to go shopping, we went. When the men wanted to lounge around doing nothing, they did it.
I think I will cruise again. I enjoyed being waited on, enjoyed lounging around reading books. I tried the casino, but wasn't hooked. After I lost $50 in the slots, I was cured of any desire to keep trying. I also went to an art auction, but I set my number on the table, face down, and put my sunglasses on top to keep me out of trouble. It worked, thank God. Not so much for others, though. Someone in the room spent eleven grand on four Peter Max prints. PRINTS, not oils, not one-of-a-kind paintings. Then there were the Rembrandt woodcuts for 15K. No one bought them.
I only read two books on board (though I took about 10), but they were both very good. I finally read J.R. Ward's Dark Lover. Yeah, I'm hooked, and I don't even like vampires that much. It's her characterization. Fabulous. I had some quibbles with the story, but not enough to make me stop. That's good writing, when you get mad at the characters but are too interested in their story to stop reading.
I also read Maria V. Snyder's Poison Study. Another winner. Great book, and now I have to buy the sequel in trade paperback because I can't wait for mass market. I took along a J.D. Robb, but didn't get to it. Hubby read it, and he was hooked, but ultimately didn't like it. Too much romance for him. Still, Nora had him turning those pages.
What did you do over the holidays? Get everything you wanted for Christmas? Make any new resolutions? I have to think about mine. I purposely didn't take a computer or Alphie on the cruise because I wanted time away from writing, so now I'm getting my brain back into gear and thinking about what I want to accomplish this year. If you've figured out your goals, please share!
Nov 26, 2007 | Writing, Life |
I'm not really blue about the company being gone. The holiday was great, we had a wonderful time, but I just can't work with people around. Maybe if they lived down the street instead of in another state. But since they come so far, and are here for about a week each time, I feel like I need to be available to go sightseeing and shopping and stuff.
The hubby was off from Thurs through Sun. We stayed home on Thanksgiving, naturally. Friday, we drove to Tennessee and went sightseeing at an old mill. We also headed up to Sewanee and enjoyed the beautiful grounds of the University of the South.
Saturday was this place. I bought an espresso machine. Saturday evening, we toured the Galaxy of Lights.
Sunday, we went to visit my parents and see how their house is coming along for the Christmas Tour. I'm tired just recounting all we did. This morning, my house is quiet. Oddly quiet, though I usually like it that way. But it takes me a little while to get used to it again.
I have to get my GH entry out the door this week and I don't feel like doing any of it today. But I have to. This is the danger zone, that period of time between when you work hard on a regular basis and when you take a break that's a little too long, a break that makes you start thinking maybe you really aren't cut out for this business. One rejection at a moment like this could set you back for weeks.
I've been there before, been vulnerable and listened to the demon of doubt when the Christmas Eve rejection came in the mail. I won't do it again, but it's easy to think I might on a gray, cold morning when the house is quiet and my mind hasn't yet settled down to business.
Do you have trouble getting into the groove again after time away? Or do you keep working even when the company is there?
Nov 22, 2007 | Life |
I don't feel Grinchy, but I couldn't resist the pic of the Grinch carving the roast beast. My turkey is in the oven, the pumpkin pie is made, and the dishes I've used so far are washed.
This year, for the first time in the many years we've been married, we're having both sets of parents together for Thanksgiving.
Not getting any writing done this week, which doesn't make me happy, but I'll just have to burn the midnight oil next week. Ah well.
And now I must get back to the holiday grind! Potatoes to cook, veggies to prepare, etc. Hope your Thanksgiving is grand. 🙂
**Edited to remove picture.
Nov 16, 2007 | Writing, Photos, Life, Hunks |
Does it get any better? I'm admittedly behind the times with television, but when I saw this guy on my favorite channel, HGTV, my brain just kind of stopped working. 🙂 Carter Oosterhouse, carpenter, model, and humanitarian, host of “Carter Can.”
Oh dear.
He has so got to be the inspiration for one of my heroes. Just not sure which one yet. 🙂
My personal hero, the hubby, was out of town this week. He returned yesterday. And I realized something while he was gone. I cannot be a hermit writer, much as I like to think I can. I love being home alone all day, working on my writing, but I really need that evening time with my honey.
Long days stretched in front of me with nothing but time to write? Nope, need the hubby to come home at the end of the day and make me think about something else. It's amazing how tangled up your life can get with one person, but we're like the roots of two plants that have grown together and entwined to such an extent that one can't survive without the other.
And that's what I love about romance novels. Love is the most wonderful, important, life-altering emotion in the universe. Amazing how romance gets bashed as “those little books” or “bodice rippers” or “easy, mindless trash.” Really? Love is mindless trash? Interesting thought.
Got any thoughts about love, romance novels, or fabulous hunks? Do share!
**Edited to remove picture
Nov 13, 2007 | Life |
Really, I don't know the number, but I'm sure I've learned quite a few things over my lifetime so far. This next one is one I thought I knew. Obviously, I did not.
Never, ever drink anything the party host calls Artillery Punch, especially if you aren't a hard liquor drinker in the first place. It will knock you on your *ss.
Now, I am a careful drinker. I'm old enough to know better than to a) mix a variety of beverages or b) to keep drinking long after the room has begun to swim. My preferred beverage is red wine and I know exactly when to stop.
But the host had this beautiful glass decanter filled with what looked like sangria. Even had fruit in it. I should have dumped the little cup after the first sip. No, I did not. I drank it. I drank three more over the course of about 3.5 hours. (We're talking a small plastic cup, like a whiskey tumbler.) I think that's a reasonable rate of consumption quite honestly.
Or it would have been if the punch had been normal. Yeah, I could tell it was heavily laced with booze. I should have watched the man mix it before I drank it. Because, later in the evening, he mixed more. It was whole bottles of booze, basically. I forget what gave it the pink color, but I don't think it was anything with Vitamin C in it.
Sunday, the headache from h*ll descended upon me. Not a migraine, so I couldn't shoot up for it. Just had to endure the awful pounding and the queasy stomach that arrived a bit later.
Life lesson # 339? I am too old for a hangover.
Learn any life lessons of your own lately?
