Victory!

I've been reading a bit about Victory Logs and think starting might be quite beneficial to my weight loss efforts. Similar to the non-scale-victories (NSV's)we talk about, a Victory Log can help us acknowledge and celebrate the daily victories that aren't directly related to the numbers on the scale.

So, looking back to yesterday, here are a few of my victorious moments:

*30-minute walk in the morning before work, followed by another
*30-minute treadmill workout in the afternoon, followed by
*about 15 minutes of a Pilates dvd, something I've never tried before!
*resisting the take-out pizza my family enjoyed
*saying no to Beren's offer of beer or wine while we soaked in the hot tub under the moonlight..the company and atmosphere was quite enough

So, how about you? What are some of your recent Victorious Moments?

And..oh..by the way, I weighed in at Jenny Craig this morning...I've lost 3 more pounds!!! That's almost 7 so far and I am psyched!!

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

Tempted by the Fruit..Pie, That Is!

The world is filled with temptation, so many opportunities for one to lose their way, fall off the wagon, go down the wrong path. We all have our vices, whether it be booze, drugs, sex, gambling, etc. etc. For some of us, like me, it's food. And unlike other "sins," food is a necessary evil. We can't live without it, we can't avoid it, can't give it up completely. It's everywhere. So we've got to learn willpower, and moderation and self-control. Those are the facts, like 'em or not.

For the past 24 hours I have been paying close attention to the moments when I've been tempted, when I could have gone off my eating plan and succumbed to something that was bad for me. So many opportunities to be naughty, so many times I could have given in to temptation.

From the moment I woke up and found Beren making breakfast in the kitchen - bacon & hashed browns and white toast smothered in butter.

Uh, how about a light wholegrain English muffin with an egg and a bit of hot sauce instead?


Lunchtime at Subway - a big huge Italian sub with chips on the side? Nope..a 6" veggie sub on whole wheat will do quite nicely.


Afternoon vegging in front of the television: want a beer, babe? Or how about some buttery popcorn? Dinner: Want a pile of pasta with your chicken? Another glass of wine? Blue Cheese dressing on that salad? And, ooh, look at that! Lily has decided to make a cherry pie for the season finale of True Blood! Surely one slice won't hurt!



This was truly the hardest one of all. I love pie, especially cherry. I watched her prepare it, smelled it baking in the oven, sat by while she and her sisters ate warm slices topped with vanilla ice cream. And I resisted. I did not touch the pie. I thought to myself, "Is that really going to enhance this experience so much? Isn't sitting here enjoying a show with my daughters enough?" I guzzled water. I waited for the craving to pass. I had a great time with the kids. And then I took one last look at that cherry goodness sitting on the counter...and I went to bed. Had some romantic time with my man. Got a good night's sleep. Woke up this morning feeling fabulous instead of guilty. Yay, me!



But of course the temptations don't end, today is another day, Scarlett. I was seriously considering skipping my morning walk, making all kinds of excuses to do so. Dead i-pod battery, missing sneakers, blah..blah...And then, I saw this:



How could I resist that face? So off we went, only a quick 20 minute jaunt around the neighborhood but enough to get our blood going and breathe some fresh air. Loki's happy, I'm happy, and our Monday is off to a great start!

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

Rapunzel Wants a Cracker

We all have those trigger foods, right? You know, the things you think you'll only have a bite of and before you know it you've gorged to the point of a food coma. For some (many?) folks it's sweets...cookies, cake, chocolate anything. Eh, all of that is tasty and I certainly wouldn't turn down a nice chunk of dark chocolate but that's not what does me in. For me, it's the cheese/carb combination. Give me a slab of Brie and a hunk of French bread and I am in absolute heaven. Barring that, a wedge of cheddar with a sleeve of good crackers will do nicely. Add a glass or two of chardonnay and I'm a goner. Diet? What diet? Oh, this little snack won't hurt a thing! And, besides, I'll start again fresh tomorrow! No harm, right? Sigh..there's just no reasoning with a woman under the influence of a carb/alcohol buzz.

So, since I know this is a danger area for me you'd think I'd keep the little devils out of the house, right? Ummm..not so much. You see, I live with a Man who enjoys the crunchy stuff and since he doesn't have a weight issue (damn him) I find myself loading the grocery cart with Triscuits and cheddar on a regular basis. Taking a long hard look at the situation yesterday while I was preparing an afternoon snack for us both, I reminded myself that I do have options. I can have the chardonnay (in moderation, my dear) but not the bread. The cheese is allowed, but how about a triangle of Laughing Cow instead of the full fat stuff. And, wow, celery crunches nicely and provides a nice little vehicle to get aforementioned cheese into my mouth. Or, how about a bit of cheddar with a nice crispy apple? Not exactly the same as the crackers but we all have choices and at least these won't end up on my backside!

Right on Target!

Waking up in a luxurious hotel room on the beach is sooo much nicer when you don't have any guilt feelings about what you did the night before, don't you agree? *wink*

You see, I'm tagging along with Beren on his monthly business meeting, includes lovely accommodations and and dinner on his expense account. Nice, huh? Well, since he is not an ad exec from the 1960's ala Mad Men (don't I wish!) we have to wine & dine within reason so the choices are limited. Outback. Chili's. Ale House. You get the drift. He leaves it up to me so I did my homework ahead of time. Despite my knowledge that Outback is not exactly low-cal and the menu is laden with temptation, I chose it anyway. They have 2-for-1 cocktails, what can I say?!

So, armed with my Sparkpeople food journal, already logged, I went down under and prayed for strength to resist the bloomin' onion and sweet bread. I'm pleased as punch to report that I was Perfectly On Program, darlings! Not a bite of badness passed my lips! I was quite content with my 2 glasses of vino, grilled salmon & steamed veggies & tons & tons of aqua. It was a lovely meal, especially rounded out by a before-bed snack at the hotel room - a handful of cocoa-dusted almonds took care of my sweet tooth and allowed me to drift into dreamland, guilt free.

I'm a happy girl this morning and though I don't have a scale here to confirm, I do think my tummy might be just a tiny bit flatter!

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

Oh, Yes I Can-Can!

Forgive the silly play on words but I am dancing for joy this morning after sneaking a peek at the scale - 2 pounds down since Monday, my friends! I am so happy to see the numbers drop for a change, just the motivation I need to Keep on Going!

Also, allow me to gloat just a tiny bit, won't you? Last night we met friends at the aforementioned Mexican restaurant, cozied up to the bar where the barmaid promptly presented us with a huge basket of chips & salsa which I immediately passed to Beren, far away from my reach. Then we were offered a giant margarita, on special; again, I passed. I did enjoy 3 glasses of wine and ate a bite of Beren's spareribs but otherwise I was Perfect! Not one sip of margarita, not a tiny bite of chips! I woke up feeling proud of myself and anxious to step on the scale instead of remorseful and dreadful.

So, there you go, my little NSV for the day! Now, let's keep the scale moving in the right direction, shall we? I've already planned tonight's dinner and tossed it into the crockpot so it'll be ready & waiting for me after work, just a little bean soup that's not really a recipe, just went to my pantry and gathered up a few cans of beans, added some water, onion & spices to the slow cooker and voila! My family will be adding some brown rice to their bowls but I'm not quite ready for that yet.

Off to work, hope you all have a Beauty-full day!

Bloomin' Ridiculous!

I am tagging along on a little business trip with Beren, just an hour or so up the road from My Town. This is a monthly must-do meeting for him, a luxurious 24-hour escape for me. It's wonderful to lie around the pool, take a walk on the beach, lounge in the hotel room, basically pretend to be a lady-of-leisure!

Anyway, part of the experience is dinner out the night we arrive. Now, let me remind you that Beren and I don't often dine out. It's just too expensive, dollar and calorie-wise, and hey, I'm a damn good cook in my own right! So, we tend to eat at home most of the time, allowing restaurant meals to be an occasional treat. Last night was one of those occasions. While examining my options, I thought it best to stick to a chain restaurant rather than local fare, figuring I could look up the POINTS values more easily. Add that to the fact that we had a gift card and the decision was made: Outback Steakhouse. Whoa...not such a good choice after all! Unable to find any info on the WW site, a quick google led me to this website which provided what I hope is accurate information. My options were so limited, I couldn't believe how high the POINTS were for these menu items! I finally settled on:

Caesar Salad (dressing on the side) 6 POINTS
5 Grilled Shrimp on the Barbie 2 POINTS
2 glasses of wine 3.5 POINTS

Total Meal 11.5 POINTS

Not bad, would have preferred a bit more substance for dinner but it was the best I could do and felt satisfied. Besides, it's all about the dining experience, right? Sitting across the table from someone you love being served and not having to clean up the dishes afterward!

Now, Beren on the other hand made very different choices! Here's what his meal consisted of:

1/4 of a Bloomin Onion (not including dip!) 14 POINTS
3 Slices of Bread (approx) 6 POINTS
1 Tablespoon Butter (approx) 2 POINTS
Caesar Salad (dressing on the side) 6 POINTS
5 Grilled Shrimp on the Barbie 2 POINTS
2 Pints Fosters Beer 6 POINTS

Total Meal 36 POINTS

But that's not all, folks! We then took his daughters out for ice cream, I had a glass of water and he ate a waffle cone with a large scoop of ice cream, don't know the exact value but I'm guestimating about 7 POINTS. So, for dinner My Man ate 43 freakin' POINTS, 2 days' worth of food for me, and he still manages to look like this (yeah, that's about as pin-up as he gets):



What the hell is wrong with this picture?? I hate men and their metabolism..grrrr..



Anyway, on a positive note, I left the restaurant proud as hell of myself for sitting there with a huge Bloomin' Onion and a loaf of bread in front of me, and I didn't touch a bite! Whoo-hoo! I think that deserves a reward, don't you? How about a nice long walk on the beach followed by a poolside lunch with a friend? Yep, that'll do it.

Signing off for now, your faux lady-of-leisure,

The Measure of a Woman

I figured it would be a good idea to track my measurements as well as weight because we all know that the scale doesn't tell the whole story.

So this morning I grabbed Bambi's measuring tape from her sewing kit and bit the bullet. As of today, having already lost 4 pounds, my measurements are:

Bust: 40D
Waist: 35.5"
Hips: 41.5"
Thigh: 24"
Dress Size: 10/12

*gulp* I knew my bust size having been "professionally" measured for a bra recently but I did not realize my hips & waist were so large; I'm larger in the waist than Beren! (I do not intend to share that little detail with him, ok?) I was surprised that my thighs weren't bigger, not that 24" is tiny (that's what my waist used to be!), but from the way they feel when they rub together I expected an even higher number!

So, there you go. Not pleased but it can only get better from here, and knowledge is power, right?

In other news, I was having a particularly blue day yesterday, emotions all over the map, sad & weepy. I met my Dad and Kali at a sports bar to discuss our upcoming weekend (more about that later), had a glass of wine but did not order any food. I had already eaten something before I left so I wasn't really hungry and, honestly, my Dad's chicken wings did nothing for me. Huh. I wasn't even tempted to order their peel & eat shrimp which were on special, nor the buffalo shrimp that Kali had. Interesting. One would think that, being the emotional eater than I am, I'd dive into some deep fried comfort food, yet I didn't. One small Non-Scale-Victory for me!

Off to work then plan on a bike ride tonight, let's see if I can get those thigh measurements a bit lower!

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

Just Say No to the Dough!

I've mentioned it before, I am much more successful in my weight loss efforts if I refrain from eating "white stuff." This means white bread, rice, pasta, sugar, etc. etc. I don't do "low-carb," per se, just avoid simple carbs whenever possible, seeking the healthier complex carbs. This means whole grain bread, and on the rare occasion I have real pasta it's the whole wheat variety.

When I'm dining at home this is really not a problem, I made sure my fridge and pantry are stocked with Sandwich Thins, multigrain English muffins, and Shirataki Noodles. Dining out, however, is a bit more of a challenge, especially when it's Italian fare!

Last night, for example, we went to a family dinner at a restaurant know for it's awesome sandwiches and pizza, Primanti Bros. *groan* Perusing the menu, I was really nervous, not wanting to give into the pizza and other higher fat choices but didn't want to feel deprived, either. Fortunately I discovered a Cajun Chicken salad which was amazing! Huge bowl of greens with spicy chicken and hot peppers, flavor-packed and very filling. I was quite satisfied and barely noticed the hot, cheesy pizza in front of me.

At the end of the evening I was able to leave the restaurant feeling proud of myself, knowing that I made a really smart choice. Yay, me!

Have a beauty-full day, Happy Father's Day to all the daddies out there!