tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29336464355992962552024-02-19T23:53:32.557-08:00Lighten Up With MargaretMargaret Pizzi of Mentor is a contestant in The News-Herald's Lighten Up in 2013.Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-60685156693862169712013-07-11T13:21:00.001-07:002013-07-11T13:21:17.076-07:00lost track of time<div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><div>I've been so crazy with things that i hadn't realized that I hadn't blogged for a while. </div><div><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">My diet has been up and down but I still am able to control the binge eating going into my second month! When I'm all stressed out WATCH OUT , and boy have I been stressed for 4-5 months now! You would not believe how gray I've gotten too. </div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">I'm finding the days that I <span style="text-decoration: underline;">DON'T</span> do well is when I don't plan ahead. For example I was busy yesterday and didn't get to eat until the cafeteria in the building was closed. I was too busy to go to a neighboring building so lunch was chips, M&Ms, diet Coke and a bagel and cream cheese! It would be nice if there were healthier options in the vending machine. Or I don't get lunch and I'm so starving i get fast food on the way home because I'm too hungry to wait. Yeah I could get a salad but it's kinda hard to eat when driving! </div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">When I've done well I've planned ahead and packed my lunch. Snacks of nuts or sugar free gum were always on hand on my car and purse. I'd munch of veggies throughout the day so i didn't get too hungry. Guess the key right now is to take the time to plan and not be so lazy.</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">I'll be touching base soon and hope to have a glowing report. See ya later!<img src="http://mail.yimg.com/ok/u/assets/img/emoticons/emo22.gif" alt="*:-h wave" style="font-size: 12pt;"></div></div>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-87732546185321810032013-06-25T08:45:00.001-07:002013-06-25T08:45:35.486-07:00BACK TO "NORMALish"<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><font color="#0000bf">Well finally back to normal-"ish" and able to do some light exercise. Had a rough few weeks after an altercation with a big, deep pothole! The pothole WON unfortunately :-( and jarred & aggravated my arthritic, degenerative spine and damaged my car to a total of just over $2200!!! Yeah some of those potholes can be car killers!</font><div><font color="#0000bf"><br></font></div><div><font color="#0000bf">The only exercise I have been able to handle has been making it to work and taking the kids to a couple baseball games. Totally wiped out afterwards. <span style="font-size: 10pt;">Today is the first day I haven't taken any pain medication or muscle relaxants but I'm having to look down a lot at work and it's getting aggravated but I think Tylenol should be adequate.</span></font></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><font color="#0000bf"><br></font></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><font color="#0000bf">SO no massive weight loss because of the lack of activity and I was too "down" to diet but I'm proud to say I have control over binge eating so I've lost a bit of the weight I gained last month with all the previous drama going on.</font></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><font color="#0000bf"><br></font></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><font color="#0000bf">Very hopeful that I can lose a bunch by the time the contest ends! </font></span></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-47954059997470701312013-06-10T09:24:00.001-07:002013-06-10T09:24:10.820-07:00moving forward<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;">well I was just going to give up! I totally blew it last month with all the emotional eating. I didn't eat massive amounts of food just the wrong foods. Starchy and sugary carbs make me blow up like a balloon! I did better on the weekend and am concentrating on getting through the rest of the day being "good". A major source of stress and drama is gone from my home now and so things will get better. Plus the SUN is coming out! Well not much today though. The weather really affects my mood and my level of pain. maybe I should moved to Arizona!!<div><br></div><div>I will check in later in the week. I've found that I do SOOOO much better if I blog regularly!</div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-91291328602167836452013-05-29T07:12:00.001-07:002013-05-29T07:12:05.007-07:00secret weapon<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><font face="arial" size="2">Ok Ladies.You can understand this secret weapon to lose a few pounds...</font><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;">fighting a weakness with another weakness...SHOPPING!</span><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I found a really awesome summer top and bought it just a size too small! I tried it on and I can wear it but it's a little too snug so really isn't flattering unless I lose a few pounds. I tried it on again this morning and I plan on trying it on whenever I get the urge to binge! </span></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;">I can't wait to be able to wear it! I cringe at the thought of wasting money if I can't wear it THIS summer so </span><font face="arial" size="2">I have to get going right away because summer doesn't last very long! I feel the appetite suppressant effects working already LOL. </font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2">If this plan works I'll have to find something really special to be ready to fit into by fall!</font></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-29546552420340268332013-05-28T15:57:00.001-07:002013-05-28T15:57:37.263-07:00struggling AGAIN<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;">I'm certainly not a weight loss inspiration for anyone that's for sure. I'm really struggling right now because of stress eating! I'm under so much stress and pain right now and the only way I'm coping is eating starchy, fattening comfort food of the kind that makes me gain weight no matter how little I eat! I thought I had a handle on it but it keeps fighting back and I'm getting so discouraged and even had several episodes of binge eating. I probably gained this month!!!<div><br></div><div>So I made two major decisions to resolve a couple of the issues that I CAN take control over that have been causing major stress in my life. It was really hard but I feel a little better now. If I can change the things that I can control maybe I can regain control over my eating :-)<br><div><br></div><div>I'm not going to give up. I just have to find a way to deal with stress without using food! </div></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-69504881783612303192013-05-27T15:54:00.001-07:002013-05-27T15:54:53.696-07:00Happy Memorial Day<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;">Happy Memorial Day to everyone. Salute to all our men and women in uniform. </td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-42875267912042423482013-05-18T19:44:00.001-07:002013-05-18T19:44:16.345-07:00struggling<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;">Well it's been a bad week. My neck and back flared up badly (I have degenerative disc disease) and I've barely been moving and I've gotten depressed and so eating "bad" stuff. Again this morning I was in so much pain that I was going to skip another water fitness class. Instead I forced myself to go. My effort was far from 100% and I really struggled at times but I'm glad I went. The Y has a whirlpool with some great jets that helped some with the spasms. <br><br>I managed to do a little bit of yard work despite my discomfort too. It was only about 20 minutes but it was better than sitting on the couch feeling sorry for myself. I did a few hikes in the neighborhood with the kids too. Again it wasn't much but I managed to get in short bursts of activity throughout the day. I was very surprised just now to find that my efforts amounted to 5.6 miles!<br><br>SO....I ended up having a very productive day! I'm pretty miserable now and I'm definitely going to have to crank up my heated mattress pad (wonderful to have a toasty bed when you're hurting!) but I'm feeling much better about myself. I think I've learned a good lesson, some activity is better than none and it makes me feel better about myself. <br><br>Also one of my grandson's had his opening day at baseball and hit a bases loaded triple! Go Dev! That makes me feel good too!!!!!<br></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-57162610569428933382013-05-10T10:45:00.001-07:002013-05-10T10:45:02.033-07:00back on track...hopefully<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><font face="arial" size="2">On the way home from work last night suddenly Lack of Motivation took control of my steering wheel turning my car to the exit ramp to go home! It took several seconds for Determination to wrestle back control and I arrived safely at the Y. To drive the message home to the reluctant parts of me I exercised longer and pushed myself...take that!! Of course my body objected to that and retaliated so I ended up having to use my TENs unit night last night for my back and hip </font><img src="http://mail.yimg.com/nq/mc/1_0_0/mesg/tsmileys2/17.gif"><span style="font-size: small;">.</span></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;">I ended the day at 1600 calories but my carbs were 104 and mostly NOT the good kind and fat 80gms.</div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br></div><div><font face="arial" size="2">All seems to be well today with the nutrition though. I've taken charge of my starchy carb cravings limiting them only whole wheat. My fat cravings were satisfied with an ounce of white cheddar and I'm managing the sweet cravings with chewing sugar-free gum and a sipping a diet rootbeer! I'm short on fruit & veggies so far but I'll make up for it tonight.</font></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;">I'm still tired and achy and unmotivated but I just realized when I had all my energy the previous weeks I was drinking a lot of water and green tea and skipping the diet Coke. I'm also getting headaches and body aches. I'm definitely not drinking enough and when I do it's the wrong stuff this week. I think I had 3-4 cans of pop yesterday! I'm going to go make myself some green or white tea and drink water and stay away from the chemicals in the pop and I'll see if things improve.</div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-84116935885665007432013-05-09T12:31:00.001-07:002013-05-09T12:31:09.803-07:00slow going<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><font face="arial" size="2">Making 2 steps forward and one step back on this healthy lifestyle trek this month. </font><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">I've been going along great, getting in at the least 3-5 miles per day usually but have kinda crashed the last day or two.</span><div><font face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2">Saturday I burnt a ton on calories on FIVE hours of yard work. Sunday I hiked for about 1 & 1/2 hours at Girdled Rd Reservation with some of the Lighten Up group then later followed up with a walk with the kids to get in 8.8 miles! </font><div><font face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2">Monday I worked around the house, ran errands etc and I even worked out at the Y after a really tough 45 minute water fitness class. </font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2">Tuesday I spent the day walking cemeteries doing my genealogy research. You really get a workout walking on the uneven ground in some of these old cemeteries and then un-burying headstones! Even though I was exhausted afterwards my grandson Devin and I went to dinner at Cabanas after his karate (he got his black belt certificate!). Dev loves the children's chicken finger dinner. I got the chicken with pasta this time...yummy and just enough so that I was satisfied but not too full to GO WORK OUT! I did 40 minutes on the treadmill at 3.5 mph.</font></div></div><div><font face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2">After that I crashed. Bought a pint of Java Chip Frappuccino ice cream and ate 1/3 of the pint! My mini vacation was over yesterday and I had to return to work but got breakfast on the way in. I managed a very light lunch to make up for it but finished the ice cream last night and some veggie chips as dinner. NOT so healthy and I just couldn't get motivated to work out at all. </font><img src="http://mail.yimg.com/nq/mc/1_0_0/mesg/tsmileys2/34.gif"></div><div><font face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2">Today I ate 2 breakfast burritos for breakfast and a tuna melt and Terra veggie chips for lunch. NOT good. That's 1340 calories already!!! Good thing I had a late lunch! I plan to eat a very light dinner and make myself work out extra hard at the Y. That's the plan and I'm stickin' to it!!! Tomorrow I WILL get back on track.</font></div><div><br></div><div><font face="arial" size="2">The key for me is to get back on track as soon as possible otherwise I tend to wander into all the "bad" food territories and get lost for a while. If I don't check in to say I found my way back within the next couple days call in a search party. I will probably be found in the dessert section!</font></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-68567519163823976362013-04-29T13:23:00.001-07:002013-04-29T13:23:52.824-07:00made the cutoff!<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><font face="arial" size="2" color="#c00000">Well all my hard work and motivation paid off these last few weeks and I lost my 5% with a little over a pound to spare!</font><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><font color="#c00000"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#c00000">To avoid falling off my "straight and narrow" diet plan I decided to loosen up a little bit and prove to myself that I can make better choices in the long term eating "real" food, just for the weekend. Sometimes in the past, deprivation of favorite "not-so-healthy" foods has led me to binge eat. I gave myself a free pass to have anything I wanted then back to my diet today.</font></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><font color="#c00000"><br></font></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><font color="#c00000">My grandson Devin has been taking Taekwondo lessons since just after he turned 5yo, and now 3 yrs later, earned his 1st Degree Black Belt Saturday afternoon. Of course this was a major event so we all celebrated at one of his favorite restaurants. Since it was a "free pass" day and I haven't had a good burger and fries in a long time I ordered a burger and fries with the sauce on the side in case I wanted a tiny bit and no condiments. I only ate half my burger and had the rest for dinner. I bought Devin an awesome celebratory cake and had only a small slice. Later the kids were passing around chips and it took only a couple chips until I was satisfied.</font></span></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><font color="#c00000"><br></font></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><font color="#c00000">Yesterday we went out for MY celebratory dinner and I ordered steak and ribs. Ya know, sometimes I just want to eat like everyone else is eating. There was actually little fat on the meat and I discarded what little there was. Well I could only eat a portion of my meal and ate a light dinner later. </font></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><font color="#c00000"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#c00000">I ended both days with calories in the 1900s. Add in the exercise I did and I should be OK. What could have been a binge weekend ended up being a maintenance weekend. It was nice to know I could "let loose" and not lose total control. I think a key was that I drank a whole bunch of water so I wouldn't over indulge much and ate slowly so I was really getting a taste of what I was eating. It takes a lot more fries to cure a fry craving if you're just shoveling them down and not savoring the indulgence. It's also interesting that I'm a self-proclaimed Cheetos addict and could previously almost polish off a whole bag. Since I gave myself permission to eat them this weekend I didn't even want them. I'm thinking that maybe every Sunday, as long as I'm "good" all week I can allow myself a small portion of a "forbidden" food. </font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#c00000"><br></font></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13px;"><font color="#c00000">Today I had leftover ribs and half a potato for lunch and a roll. The rest of the steak may go on a salad for dinner tonight. I don't know, this food seems way too heavy for me now. I'm looking forward to getting back to what may be my new definition of "real" food tomorrow. Bring on the KALE!!!!</font></span></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-52712785768170423002013-04-12T09:19:00.001-07:002013-04-12T09:19:58.725-07:00finally consistent progress<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" height="100%" width="100%" border="0" background="cid:758866189@mc.mail.yahoo.com" style='font-family:'Arial Narrow', Arial, sans-serif;font-size:10pt;color:rgb(0, 64, 127);background-color:rgb(210, 234, 255);width:100%;'><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><div id="yiv1878939995"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" id="yiv1878939995bodyDrftID" class="yiv1878939995"><tbody><tr><td id="yiv1878939995drftMsgContent" style="font:inherit;font-family:arial;font-size:10pt;"><font color="#0000ff">Well I analyzed my nutrition and activity logs for the past 10 days and I'm doing pretty well. <br><br>Only a couple days I got lazy and unmotivated and walked about 2 miles. Three days I made it 4 miles and 2 days I got in a little over 5 miles! So overall I'm averaging about 3 1/2 miles a day and I'll try to improve on those numbers for the next week.<br><br>Had really bad diet days Sat & Sun but I at least stayed under 2000 calories. At least Saturday I did enough walking to burn 1000 calories! I'm averaging 1400 calories a day otherwise.<br><br>We went to Cabanas Island Restauran<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit;">t this week and I tried FISH on the low calorie menu! Cabanas's calorie controlled menu is very seafood heavy but of course it's an "Island Restaurant" and seafood can be very calorie friendly! I normally dislike seafood but the tilapia sounded very appealing to expand my healthy protein options. My tilapia was very tender and flavorful and I would recommend it for anyone who doesn't care much for fish. The veggies were perfect, not too crunchy nor too soft. My hubby ate my potatoes since I'm not eating starchy carbs opting instead for whole grains. He said they were quite tasty too. He's a fan of their burgers and fries. I hear the teriyaki tuna is popular so maybe I'll also try that some time. Who knows maybe I'll end up a regular fish eater?<br><br>So the plan for next week....walk...walk...walk and maybe try the gym again since I'm getting more fit. I need to take it slow with my bad back and neck but I do need to step it up to the next level to prepare for some exercise classes next month. I'll also plan on having NO days where I go over 1400 calories, maybe dropping to 1200 a couple times a week so my body doesn't get too comfy with the calorie reduction.</span></font></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-21757021004116742922013-04-04T12:16:00.001-07:002013-04-04T12:16:33.479-07:00Thanks to a sunny day<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><font color="#c00000">My motivation to exercise has come back with the sunshine <img src="http://mail.yimg.com/nq/mc/1_0_0/mesg/tsmileys2/14.gif"> these last couple days. I managed 5.3 miles yesterday and 2.5 miles so far today! </font><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-83823845235305786082013-04-03T11:52:00.001-07:002013-04-03T11:52:54.842-07:00kicking it up a notch!<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;">This has probably been my sickliest winter EVER. Just getting over the flu and decided I really needed to kick it up a notch and not to use feeling sick or tired or having my back flareups as an excuse 'cause the way this winter has been I may not feel better anytime soon.<div><br></div><div>I went walking at lunch. It's sunny and I definitely need the sun after this winter! It was soooo cold with a brisk wind. I wonder if you burn more calories if your body is trying to stay warm?? LOL. </div><div><br></div><div>Anyway I managed 2.6 miles! I even did my "ramping" that I used to do. My "ramping" is walking up the ramps in the parking garage at work. I started the ramps after walking about a mile and a half. By the top of the first ramp I was ready to quit! BUT I kept going. No excuses. So proud of myself. <span style="font-size: 10pt;">Went just as far as the 6th floor this time because that's where I parked my car. Maybe tomorrow I can make it all the way to the top. And NO I don't take the elevator back down! Need to tone those muscles walking back down too!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">My rule is now that if I want a diet Coke I have to go out to my car and get one! So I managed to drink green tea all day because I didn't feel like walking out to my car til my lunch break. Yesterday I drank green tea and ice water with lemon because I didn't feel like walking out to the car at all. This plan seems like it could be a good one if I stick to it to curb my diet Coke addiction.</span></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-83272436909933268052013-03-28T20:33:00.001-07:002013-03-28T20:33:48.968-07:00exercise!<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><font color="#ff0000">Just found the most intense exercise I've done in a long time! A killer exercise. Why a "killer" exercise? I thought I was going to have a heart attack and DIE by the time I was done with several games.</font><div><font color="#ff0000"><br></font></div><div><font color="#ff0000">I played lazer tag with my daughter and grandkids tonight after two games of bowling. All the running, zigging and zagging, ducking and diving etc, I'd love to know how many calories I burned just by all the laughing alone <img src="http://mail.yimg.com/nq/mc/1_0_0/mesg/tsmileys2/33.gif">.</font><div><font color="#ff0000"><br></font></div><div><font color="#ff0000">Who says exercise has to be boring (or age appropriate, LOL).? Thinking of making it a weekly event!</font></div></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-35664790726295828152013-03-20T16:10:00.001-07:002013-03-20T16:10:16.693-07:00Stress eating..yeah I know...AGAIN<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><font face="arial" size="2" color="#ff0000">So happy that I get a little bit of extra time before I have to hop on that scale because this stress eating is really NOT helping. I'm afraid to get on the scale but i think I've managed to get it under control enough to at least not be gaining! </font><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><font color="#ff0000"><br></font></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><font color="#ff0000">My stress hasn't improved since last week. My son & grandchildren haven't been able to get much help from last Monday's house fire for various reasons through no fault of his own but I've been working my butt off making calls (don't I wish) and at least now they have a few clothes! Hopefully my son can get out of the hospital by this weekend because after all the kids have been through not having their dad around makes it really harder for them and ME to cope.</font></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><font color="#ff0000"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#ff0000">I think my eating problems would improve if I could teach myself to concentrate on the positive, they all survived the fire, and come up with an alternate strategy when dealing with a lot of stress. </font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#ff0000"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#ff0000">I'm thinking maybe exercise would be an alternative but it's so hard to do when stress makes me so exhausted and when family needs me. I need to learn to give my needs priority. What good will I be to anyone if I'm fat & unhealthy and give myself a heart attack or a stroke from not dealing properly with stress?</font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#ff0000"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#ff0000">I think it would be better for me to go working out at the gym or walking and letting things go for a short period of time rather than inhaling a bag of Cheetos while dealing with all the drama!</font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#ff0000"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#ff0000">Well, anyway sorry for the venting but I'm sure I'm not the only person that deals with life issues by grabbing those baaaadddd foods!</font></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-49554211423820197472013-03-11T15:07:00.000-07:002013-03-11T15:08:01.429-07:00Stress eating<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;">I don't know if anyone else has an issue with stress or emotional eating but it is REALLY a problem for me.<div><br></div><div>In the early hours the house my son was living in was destroyed by fire. By some major miracle everyone escaped but the kids are traumatized AGAIN, helping carry the little ones in the household to safety through smoke and flames. Last year their mother died. They have nothing now. </div><div><br></div><div>I have been binging all day and I'm hoping owning up to it will help. There's going to be a lot of really rough days going forward and I don't want the scale to climb with my anxiety. Stress is a way of life, we all have it and we need to learn healthy ways to deal with it. I'm still trying to figure it out. <span style="font-size: 10pt;">Then again, maybe all the housework and organizing I have to do through the week to make room in my home for an additional family will burn off a bunch of calories! </span></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-71971307957648007192013-03-05T07:34:00.000-08:002013-03-05T07:35:01.135-08:00FINALLY<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><font color="#0000ff">I did so well last year ending in 3rd place and I'm really disappointed in myself this year <img src="http://mail.yimg.com/nq/mc/1_0_0/mesg/tsmileys2/12.gif">.</font><div><font color="#0000ff"><br></font></div><div><font color="#0000ff">Nothing seems to be going right. I was sick most of Feb and March started out with a bang, literally. Friday on my way home from work I walked on a patch of ice and slipped backwards and hit with my head with a bang and knocked myself out! OUCH. <span style="font-size: 10pt;">My poor head, neck and back </span><img src="http://mail.yimg.com/nq/mc/1_0_0/mesg/tsmileys2/17.gif" style="font-size: 10pt;">.<span style="font-size: 10pt;"> As if I don't have enough problems with pain! So rather than go forward exercising this weekend I was laid up in agony. The only exercise I got was going to CSU Sunday to take Devin to see the WWE as part of his 8th birthday present. </span></font></div><div><font color="#0000ff"><br></font></div><div><font color="#0000ff">Today I'm finally feeling well enough to at least do some walking at lunch. It's chilly but the sidewalks are clear and it's nice and sunny outside <img src="http://mail.yimg.com/nq/mc/1_0_0/mesg/tsmileys2/14.gif" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> and I'm DEFINITELY craving sunshine! </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I also joined a wellness program through work and I get points for exercise and other activities. Those points earn wellness credits to save some money on my health insurance, a really great incentive!</span></font></div><div><font color="#0000ff"><br></font></div><div><font color="#0000ff">I expect to be able to give a great report by this time next week!!! NO EXCUSES, legitimate or not!</font></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-46586455834066877402013-02-28T20:48:00.001-08:002013-02-28T20:48:27.595-08:00TGIF<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><font face="arial" size="2">well it's Friday in 20 minutes and I can't wait til the weekend. Really need the rest and to get back on my track. Only lost 2 pounds this month but I guess that's ok since I was drinking gallons of syrupy cough medicine and living on chocolate ice cream for my sore throat. Steroids have finally kicked in and I'm not coughing so much and my lungs feel much better. Really have an activity intolerance because of this long illness though so it will take a while to get up to speed.</font><div><font face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2">My goal for the month will be to lose 10 pounds. Not a lot I know but I'm so run down it will take a while to get going. Don't want to hinder my recovery with extreme calorie reduction. If I do end up getting better faster and lose more than 10 I will be VERY happy with that!</font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2"><br></font></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-62601063386128311702013-02-21T08:44:00.001-08:002013-02-21T08:44:42.050-08:00great healthy find!<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><font color="#ff0000"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Yummy Yummy. By now some of us may be getting sick of their routine healthy breakfast</span><img src="http://mail.yimg.com/nq/mc/1_0_0/mesg/tsmileys2/39.gif"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. </span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">If anyone is going low carb, low glycemic or low fat I have an awesome bread that I just love for breakfast. Hadn't gotten it for a while and was getting tempted driving by McDs (love the breakfasts) on the way to work again so went and bought some. It's called Ezekiel Bread by Food for Life. This morning I had the Ezekiel 4:9 whole grain Cinnamon Raisin. It really tastes like a "cheat" food. It's an organic (freezer section), vegan, sprouted multi-grain bread: 2g fiber, 18g carb (5g sugar but only from the organic raisins), 3g protein, 0g fat (5 calories) and 80 calories a slice.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">If you haven't ever tried sprouted whole grain bread the dense, course texture is very different than refined flour breads </span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">but I really like it. They have other whole grain breads too that I like to spread peanut or almond butters on for breakfast too.<br><br>I haven't been tempted to get by breakfast burrito once this week :-). I'll post this on our blog too in case some people aren't on FB. Actually I had a sugar craving Sunday night and a slice of the cinnamon bread (no butter) took care of it .</span></font><div><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font color="#ff0000"><br></font></span></div><div><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font color="#ff0000">I buy mine at Giant Eagle but I think they have it at Heinen's too. Haven't found it at Kmart or Walmart or Sam's club</font><font color="#033d21">.</font></span></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-11838659154457712512013-02-21T08:38:00.000-08:002013-02-21T08:39:00.043-08:00Cabanas<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;">I need to write about Cabana's. My husband and went there Tuesday night for dinner. I hadn't eaten anything for lunch at work except some almonds and was worried if the food on the low cal menu was going to be enough to fill me up because I was famished! I got the Chicken Scalopini dinner. Wow. It definitely filled me up and "Food with an Attitude" woke up my taste buds with the lemony seasoning. My husband (NOT on a diet) ordered a burger and loved it. He said it was moist and flavorful. The fries were "perfect". He couldn't finish all of his meal and took the rest home for lunch the next day.<div><br></div><div>They have 3 chicken dishes on their special (under 600 calories?) menu and the rest is seafood or fish. I don't eat seafood and aren't a big fish fan but if the fish is as flavorful as the chicken dish I think I'll try it!<br><div><br></div><div><br><div><br></div><div><br></div></div></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-18348868566969165672013-02-19T11:10:00.001-08:002013-02-19T11:10:32.192-08:00walking<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;">Well I'm still a bit under the weather and didn't make it to water fitness last night but did take a little over a 2 mile walk outside yesterday. It was pretty nippy but it took such an effort I needed the cool air. Today the cold air is making me cough more so I will do some walking inside.<div><br></div><div>I wanted to make sure I share a couple of really good web sites.</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.mapmywalk.com">www.MapMyWalk.com</a> (for walking) and <a href="http://www.mapmyride.com">www.MapMyRide.com</a> (for biking)</div><div><br></div><div>I've used MapMyWalk a lot and MapMyRide just a few times! You can map custom routes from anywhere including your house and save them. Its better than regular mapping because you don't pick addresses but you set points along the way on the map to change directions on your walk, account for bends in the road, back tracking on a route etc.</div><div><br></div><div>I've saved routes for walking different routes in my neighborhood and for work lunch breaks based on how much time or energy I have and what my distance goal is. You can log the workouts too.</div><div><br></div><div>They do have other "MapMy" fitness sites but these are the only 2 I have used.</div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-89814744476377742252013-02-18T07:10:00.001-08:002013-02-18T07:10:26.384-08:00Maudlin Monday<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><font face="arial" size="2" color="#7f007f">Feeling drunk on cough syrup and sad. </font><span style="color: rgb(127, 0, 127); font-family: arial; font-size: small;">This month really hasn't worked out how I planned so far. </span><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#7f007f"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#7f007f">It's been a really rough month and I haven't exercised since last Monday. Wednesday was my next exercise day but it was our 30th anniversary on </font><font face="arial" size="2" color="#ff0000">Valentine's Day</font><img src="http://mail.yimg.com/nq/mc/1_0_0/mesg/tsmileys2/40.gif"><font face="arial" size="2" color="#7f007f"> and I had to work late to take Thursday off so I figured I'd just have to make it up. Thursday also was a diet-free day for our anniversary. We had a blast at the Blue Man Group and I even splurged and had a "blue mantini". If you have the opportunity I would see them. I guess you'd describe them as kinda a comedy, music, techno performance that is amazing.</font><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#7f007f"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#7f007f">Well the "makeup" exercising didn't happen since this cold/flu then hit the family. We've all been down for the count so I missed yet another exercise class. We've literally gone through BOTTLES of disgustingly sweet cough syrup. I rarely eat ice cream but it's one of the few things that's palatable and it helps the sore throat from all the coughing. Lots of hot tea with honey and lemon too. I think I've had more sugar in the last 4-5 days than I have in the last year! I did find some decent cough drops that are sugar free by Ricola. </font><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><font color="#7f007f"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#7f007f">One of the good things out of this is that I've hardly had any diet Coke since I've had so much hot herbal tea. I was really getting concerned that my diet Coke addiction was getting out of control again. I think part of my bad headache was from the withdrawal. </font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#7f007f">Today is better. </font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#7f007f"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#7f007f">I'll brave the cold for a walk at lunch break. I'm so congested I'm hoping it will help. It's sunny outside and it's supposed to go up to the 40's. After spending the entire weekend in bed I'm going to go to my water fitness class tonight. I may not have much energy but I'll do the best I can. </font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2" color="#7f007f"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="2"><font color="#7f007f">So what if this month really hasn't worked out how I planned so far on the scale but then this isn't a one month process so I can turn it around! </font></font><span style="color: rgb(127, 0, 127); font-family: arial; font-size: small;">I've found that overall I'm getting back some of the energy I'd lost now that I'm cutting out most processed foods and starchy carbs again. I'm losing that weighed down feeling that started creeping up on me when I started allowing more and more of them back into my diet. I guess when I look at it that way I have made progress this month!</span></div><div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-55642062538673501382013-02-11T07:59:00.001-08:002013-02-11T07:59:13.727-08:00Motivation Monday<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><font color="#ff0000">Been feeling under the weather and my diet has been taking a hit. Why are all the traditional "comfort" foods not diet friendly? <img src="http://mail.yimg.com/nq/mc/1_0_0/mesg/tsmileys2/33.gif"></font><div><font color="#ff0000"><br></font></div><div><font color="#ff0000">Well I'm calling today my "Motivation Monday". Gotta get back in the health and fitness groove. </font></div><div><font color="#ff0000"><br></font></div><div><b><font color="#ff0000">Goals for the week:</font></b></div><div><font color="#ff0000"><b>1-Count my calories</b>!!! It's hard to be in denial on what I'm actually eating if I see it spelled out!</font></div><div><font color="#ff0000"><br></font></div><div><font color="#ff0000"><b>2-Eat breakfast.</b> Since I've been waking up feeling "yucky" and so skipping breakfast I've really had trouble controlling my cravings the rest of the day.</font></div><div><font color="#ff0000"><br></font></div><div><font color="#ff0000"><b>3-Water, water, water</b>. So far I've only had water and NOT a diet Coke! Yeah I know it's still am but that's a record of late!<img src="http://mail.yimg.com/nq/mc/1_0_0/mesg/tsmileys2/08.gif" style="font-size: 10pt;"></font></div><div><font color="#ff0000"><br></font></div><div><font color="#ff0000"><b>4-Fitness Class.</b> I WILL make it to all <u>three</u> of my water fitness sessions this week</font></div><div><font color="#ff0000"><br></font></div><div><font color="#ff0000"><b>5-Walk!!!!! </b> I'm going to dust off my FitBit and wear it. Again interesting that I just realized that this week or so since I've not been wearing it my walking and exercise have decreased dramatically.</font></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-69574758804479309672013-01-31T07:37:00.001-08:002013-01-31T07:37:58.284-08:00water challange<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">I have had a difficult time drinking enough water FOREVER. It's a goal I have never been able to maintain for more than a day or two. I decided to share these tips I just I found on http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com, a blog I found through Pintrest.</font><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf"><b>23 Tips For Drinking More Water Each Day</b></font></div><div><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 15px 20px; padding: 0px; border: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Don't allow yourself a diet soda until you've had two to four glasses of water. Eventually you will find that you won't crave the soda as much.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Have a big glass of water at every transitional point of the day: when you first get up, just before leaving the house, when you sit down to work, etc.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Make it convenient – keep a big, insulated water bottle full on your desk and reach for it all day.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Down a full glass several times a day. Go over to your kitchen right now and fill up a glass. No sipping over time. Just drink it down right after you fill it up.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Track it. Make a chart and tick it off each time you drink a glass. Do a chart for 30 days and you will have made drinking water a part of your routine.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Have one glass every hour on the hour while at work or school. When the work/school day is done, your water quota is met.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Freeze peeled pieces of lemons, limes, and oranges and use them instead of ice cubes – it's refreshing and helps get in a serving or two of fruit.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">After each trip to the restroom, guzzle an eight-ounce glass to replenish your system.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Set a goal to drink X amount of water a day, then write it down along with your reasons WHY! Remembering your motivation will help you keep going when enthusiasm fades.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Every time you walk past a water fountain, take a sip or two. (This is actually advice my own doctor gave me recently after a nasty kidney stone incident!)</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Fizz it up! Get a home seltzer maker like a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KYT6CS/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001KYT6CS&linkCode=as2&tag=onegoodthingbyjillee-20" target="_blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none; text-decoration: initial;">Soda Stream</a> and make your own fizzy H2O! Add a dash of lemon or a splash of O.J. and you'll have a super refreshing drink!</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Fill up a large cup with crushed ice or ice cubes and snack on them (like candy!) throughout the day.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Make a bet with a co-worker to see who can drink more water in the course of a day.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">When drinking juice (apple, grape, or orange) fill half the glass with water or ice and make sure to consume all of it.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Bring a two-liter bottle of water to work and try to drink it all before you leave work. If you don't finish, drink it in traffic on the way home – it's like a race.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Keep a large cup full of ice at your desk and keep re-filling it with water. The key is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009R6D9FQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B009R6D9FQ&linkCode=as2&tag=onegoodthingbyjillee-20" target="_blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none; text-decoration: initial;">drinking with a straw</a> – you take bigger gulps and drink more at a time.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Here's a tip if you're trying to shed some pounds: Let ounces of water double grams of fat: when eating something containing 10 grams of fat, drink 20 ounces of water.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Drink two full glasses at each meal, one before and one after. Also, drink one glass before each snack so you don't eat as much.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Put reminders into your phone or calendar to drink at regular intervals. Surprisingly, this helps me a LOT! I know it sounds lame, but I just plain FORGET to drink water!</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Carry a small refillable water bottle at all times and drink during downtime; while waiting in a bank line, sitting on the train, etc.</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Not ALL your water has to be COLD…drink some of it HOT. Have a nice warm cup of tea instead. But be sure it's decaf since caffeine actually robs you of water (it's a diuretic).</font></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none; line-height: 1.714285714;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Always keep a bottle of water handy while watching TV, doing <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=laundry&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Alaundry" class="skimwords-link" target="_blank" data-skimwords-id="1907339" data-skimwords-word="laundry" data-group-id="0" data-skim-creative="10008" data-skim-product="0" title="Shopping Link Added by SkimWords" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none; text-decoration: initial;">laundry</a><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none; position: absolute;"></span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none; position: absolute;"></span>, making dinner, etc.</font></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: none;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#0000bf">Add drinking two glasses of water to your daily skincare regimen. Drink, cleanse, moisturize, then drink again.</font></li></ul></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933646435599296255.post-47773694188133811042013-01-30T13:35:00.001-08:002013-01-30T13:35:16.563-08:00Here we go again<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><font face="arial" size="2" color="#40007f">I'm a return participant for Lighten Up 2012. I came in 3rd place but put some weight back on and still have quite a few pounds to go so I'm back. I hope to learn from my mistakes since the contest ended and not put any weight back on after this Lighten Up is over! I can't win anything but being allowed to participate again is reward enough!</font><div style="font-size: 10pt;"><font color="#40007f"><br></font></div><div style="font-size: 10pt;"><font color="#40007f">My main nutritional goal for the month is to go back to keeping track of portions and calories. I think the first mistake I made after the contest was stopping using my food diary. I used MyFitnessPal but the health dept has hooked us up with Vitabot so I'll give it a try. I stopped using the food dairy as soon as I stepped off the scale for the last weigh in<img src="http://mail.yimg.com/nq/mc/1_0_0/mesg/tsmileys2/34.gif">. <span style="font-size: 10pt;"> I thought I'd learned enough. BAD choice. Since I've started using it again I've found that one of my very favorite "It has so much good stuff in it I can eat it 5 days a week" omelet is 930 calories. Yep. That's only for the omelet. My bag of salty snacks? Read carefully, that "reasonable" amount of calories on that little bag was for a portion of only 1/3 of the bag!!! I'm not saying that I'll never have that 930 calorie omelet again but if I do it will be saving half the omelet for another meal or modifying my diet for the rest of the day to make up for the calories. </span></font></div><div style="font-size: 10pt;"><font color="#40007f"><br></font></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><font face="arial" size="2" color="#40007f">My fitness goal for the month of February is to get back to more exercise so I'm back to using a pedometer. The walking really helped get me going and lots of times the pedometer helped me do a "just a little bit more" to make it an even mile or set of steps. I love the water fitness classes at the Y too. I'm back to 2-3 times a week. I have a bad neck and back and I feel so much stronger when I do it and it certainly helps with the pain especially using the whirlpool after class. I had so much energy last spring & summer the grandkids certainly benefited. I have literally hundreds and hundreds of pictures of all the activities we did and places we went! We had a blast. I even went on a vacation with my sisters and went hiking and zip-lining. I never would have had the energy before I started the program last year. It really changed my life. I've slowed down a little bit now but hope to get up to speed soon!</font></div></td></tr></table>Lighten Up in 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/05819864593251680274noreply@blogger.com0