Weight Loss

It Started with a Whoopie Pie…

06/22/2011
It Started with a Whoopie Pie…

Actually, it started with a no-good, awful, very bad mood a week ago Friday. And the mood, which I can only imagine had something to do with hormonal imbalances, led me to one of my mother’s recipes a week ago Saturday. We’d found the recipe weeks earlier and tacked it to the refrigerator with the intention of trying it at some point. But when Saturday afternoon rolled around and the no-good, awful, very bad mood had not subsided, I knew I needed some serious comfort food to help fight the battle. Out came the Crisco—yes, you use Crisco in this recipe–the sugar, the cocoa powder, the white flour, the sour milk, more sugar…. and I began assembling and baking what would turn out to be just like my mom’s Whoopie Pies. I have to admit the process at least distracted me from the mood for a while. And then...

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A New Routine

05/09/2011

I feel like I had been living, breathing and sleeping St. Anthony’s Tri training for the past six months. I didn’t realize how much until I didn’t have to do it anymore. I rarely slept past 6:00 am on a Saturday or Sunday, because training needed to get done. My days revolved around work and working out. In the last couple of months before the race, I was too afraid not to get to the gym or out on the road, for fear I wouldn’t be ready. Don’t get me wrong. I had my off days, but even when I was “off,” I was worrying that I wasn’t training enough for this race. There was so much to do to prepare for it, from fundraising to getting comfortable running without my iPod. In the end, it was awesome, but I am happy it’s behind me. Last week, I did...

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A Fresh Start

12/28/2010
A Fresh Start

Rotten cold over. Check Holiday feasting and revelry done. Check 2010-2011 Winter Blizzard over. Check (and let’s hope there’s not another one!) Resolutions for 2011 firmly in place? Well that’s what we’re doing here. I’ve committed to Team in Training and an Olympic Distance Triathlon for May 1. Training was going well until Rotten Cold took over. Now it’s been a couple of weeks. Ack! Tomorrow means back to the gym. I got all kinds of cool outdoor running gear for Christmas but old man Winter has put outdoor training on hold for at least a week. Maybe it will rain next weekend. In the meantime, I can break in the new sneaks on the treadmill. The Diet! I’ve stopped and started so many times this year with a new healthy eating regimen, I’ve lost count. What I haven’t lost count of are the pounds I’ve managed to find...

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LARA Bars – How Did I Not Know?

12/09/2010
LARA Bars – How Did I Not Know?

A couple of months ago, I discovered LARA bars. Rather, I read about them on another bloggy site and then found them in Sam’s Club and thought, “Let’s give these a try.” At Sam’s Club, they had a variety pack of LARA Bars in Apple Pie, Cherry Pie and Cashew Cookie flavors. It was risky. 18 LARA Bars for, oh, I don’t know, 16 bucks? If we didn’t like them, that would have been kind of a waste of money. But alas, they were yummy and the hubs and I both like them, so they get eaten. But here’s the cool part. I thought LARA bars only came in those flavors. Until….. a few weeks ago when I went to visit the sister in Virginia. I ate my Apple Pie and Cherry Pie bars on the way down, and didn’t have any left to go home with. They are...

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Recovering From The Halloween Candy Hangover

11/02/2010
Recovering From The Halloween Candy Hangover

I went a little overboard with the Halloween candy this past weekend. I’m sure many of you can relate. The problem is my indulgences went a little beyond candy too. From a food perspective, I wasn’t kind to myself this weekend. Or I was a little too kind. Take your pick. Either way, the scale reflected my poor eating habits, and I felt kinda crummy too. What I can’t seem to get through my thick head is that when I’m eating well, I feel good. When I’m eating poorly, like these last couple of days, I feel lousy. Heart palpitations come back. My stomach gets distressed. I get headachy. I feel bloated and well, fat. What fun is that after all of this hard work? And then the emotional part. I feel guilty for having indulged and frustrated that I just don’t seem to have a stop valve where,...

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Today Was One of Those Days… and I Didn’t Cave

10/19/2010
Today Was One of Those Days… and I Didn’t Cave

Today was just one of those days. Got up late and had to rush. Work was tough. Non-stop phone calls, not my favorite thing. They make me nervous. Bills to pay. Aggravation, and just a lot on my plate. My knee-jerk reaction to stressful situations is to eat, and not the good stuff. But today I resisted. I stayed on track all day long. I stayed in points. I was conscious of my fruits and veggies, sort of. It wasn’t a perfect day but it was going pretty well. I felt in control. Of my food intake anyway. Then I came home. After an aggravating day. Not knowing what I wanted to eat for dinner. Knowing I really didn’t want something healthy. And we had a flood in the basement. We’re still not sure what was leaking or what overflowed, but the source of the water seems to have...

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I Am Stuck

10/15/2010

I am stuck. I am suffering from blogger’s block (different from writer’s block, since I now write for a living and that would be detrimental to my paycheck). But writing about me and my  ever-so-exciting fitness adventures has been escaping me. (Sarcasm, since I’m feeling kind of bored and frustrated in this space). I keep starting blog posts, and they end up in my drafts folders, abandoned because I just can’t seem to get my thoughts in order to get past the second paragraph. ok, on to the third paragraph… Maybe the reason I am having trouble writing about fitness  is because I’m blocked here too. I am suffering from weight loss block. I’ve gone back to Weight Watchers, had a couple good weeks (okay, one), and I’ve again hit a plateau that frustrates me right into a bag of Hershey’s Kisses or a pan of brownies. (Gee, do...

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Rainy Days and Comfort Food

10/01/2010
Rainy Days and Comfort Food

It’s been rainy and dreary here for the last couple of days, and I have to admit, this weather doesn’t do me any good from a food perspective. Gray skies, wind and rain make me long for comfort food. I think this kind of weather has that effect on a lot of people. And while I know the ground needs the rain, I certainly don’t need the calories that come with comfort food. Last night, my kids (both grown and capable of helping me cook) and I were discussing Sunday’s dinner. By the end of the conversation, we were going all out on the comfort food scale: Linguini with clam sauce, spaghetti with meatballs and four-cheese macaroni and cheese. For a little protein, my son decided we should throw breaded chicken cutlets and grilled steak to the mix. Carb heaven! See anything missing here? Veggies maybe? I’m sure we...

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Is It Yogurt? Or Dessert In Disguise?

08/19/2010
Is It Yogurt? Or Dessert In Disguise?

Today, as a snack, I tried a new flavor from Yoplait’s Light Yogurt line: Black Forest Cake. I’m beginning to wonder if these little treats should really be classified as yogurt. To be honest, this one was disappointing. It tasted like cherry yogurt. Not that I mind cherry yogurt, mind you, but I was expecting something a little more chocolatey considering the name. Maybe instead of cherry pieces, they could have filled the container with chocolate cake pieces. Now that would be like Black Forest Cake, and probably couldn’t be classified as yogurt in that case. I know Greek yogurt is better for you, but I can’t wrap my tastebuds around it, even with strawberries or honey. And I’m not a fan of plain yogurt. But yogurts with names like Raspberry Cheesecake, Red Velvet Cake and Apple Turnover (Yoplait), how can you go wrong? Weight Watchers has also come...

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Recovering from Vacation Eating

08/09/2010
Recovering from Vacation Eating

Last week was a vacation week of sorts for me. It started as a bona fide vacation. We went away for a couple of days for a family reunion. And then my sister was in town for the rest of the week, which had me visiting her around my work schedule. I have to admit, it was not a good food week. Not a great exercise week either. What rattled me most was how easy it was to slip out of good habits and back into bad habits so quickly and easily, all because it was a vacation week. Added to the family vacation was the departure of one of my co-workers this week. Between the two events, there were lunches out, dinners out, fast food and drinking. Now, it’s not like this is the first time I’ve gone out for meals since I started eating healthier two years...

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