Jan 4, 2008 | Diet, General, Goals, Life |
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, Life, Photos, Travel, Writing |
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!
Dec 20, 2007 | Travel, Writing |
I'm gone until the New Year. Here's wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Let's hope for great writing in 2008, and the strength and perseverance needed to get that elusive contract. 🙂
See y'all on the flip side!
Dec 14, 2007 | General, Travel |
I will be aboard a ship heading for the Caribbean. I have to ask myself why, after 3 years of living in Hawaii, I'm going on a tropical vacation instead of doing something I've never done before.
I've been to warm places in the winter. I've lived the island lifestyle. So why go back to the tropics just a little over a year since I left them?
I dunno. Seemed like the thing to do at the time. 🙂
This will only be my second cruise, and I'm ambivalent. The first one was okay, nothing spectacular. You're onboard a floating hotel with a couple-thousand other people. You eat, sleep, drink, and breathe the unique atmosphere that a cruise experience provides. This isn't authentic travel, like driving across a foreign country alone or backpacking through Europe. This is luxury travel, no matter whether you have the cheapest room in the belly of the ship or the penthouse. You are taken care of, catered to. I'm not sure I enjoy that non-stop for a week. (Weird huh?)
So I'm trying it again, just to see how I feel this time. I thought about swearing off cruising the last time, but that wasn't fair. This is the second chance, though I doubt the cruise industry will miss me if I decide I prefer a different mode of travel, one that allows me to explore a country rather than float into and out of it without experiencing the authenticity of the place.
Are there any vacation experiences you prefer? If you've cruised, do you like it or are you ambivalent like me? (Oh, I will enjoy myself — last time, we tried to do too much; this time we're vegging by the pool with books and umbrella drinks, which should help a lot.) What's the one must-have item you take with you when you travel?
Dec 6, 2007 | General, Goals |
Yesterday, I did something you are never supposed to do. I bought a dress that's too small because I loved it and I intend to get into it. It's not way too small, but I have a few pounds to go if I want to wear it.
How could I pass up a Calvin Klein formal gown on markdown at Ross? I couldn't. I've gained nearly 20 pounds since moving to Alabama. This does not make me happy, as you can imagine. Too much good Southern cooking, and not enough exercise. In Hawaii, I could walk to the track. Year round. There's no track close to my house now, but that isn't a good enough excuse.
So now I'm motivated to get into this dress by the National conference. I want to sashay through the hotel in this gown. I want to feel like a million bucks in a gorgeous designer dress.
I know it's wrong to buy clothes that don't fit in the hopes they will. Typically, I don't. But, well, it's Calvin Klein. It almost fits. It's gorgeous.
Have you ever bought clothes that don't fit because you just couldn't pass them up? Because you wanted the motivation? Did you succeed in getting into them?
