This Says It All

I had never heard this saying before, but at one of the WW meetings I worked this past weekend someone shared it.

"To little to save,
To much to dump,
Helps to make,
TB happy, jolly, and plump!!"

Seems I've been doing the BLT (bites, licks, tastes) thing with the kids food lately and "forgetting" to count them.

I Had Forgotten

Yesterday, I mentioned that Jim Carey is gaining weight for a new movie. The comments got me thinking about the foods I rarely eat now compared to those I used to eat everyday, all day.

PIZZA!! In college, this was a staple snack in the evening. After I had consumed enough calories for a week in less than a day, I would go on to order a $2.99 pizza from one of the national chains. Who could pass up a $3.00 pizza delivered fresh to your room? Unfortunately, to get the $3.00 pizza, you had to order something else because they would not deliver less than a $5.00 order...so breadsticks with garlic sauce it was. I could not even tell you and I don't care to think about how many of these value snacks I consumed.

Seems that carbs would be the key to quick weight gain. Good luck Jim Carey!! Hope you care get it back off too.

This morning, I did something unthinkable. I set my alarm for 5:05am!! Luckily, Big Ben decided wake me up about that time. I had my clothes laid out and I actually hauled my lazy butt out of bed and went for a walk. I purchased some Nordic walking sticks recently and decided that today was the day. I have to say, the I was glad no one was around to watch since I felt rather uncoordinated for the first mile, but look out after that! I shall set my alarm again for Thursday, as I know I'll be riding the elliptical either late tonight or early tomorrow to catch the Biggest Loser.

Have a great Tuesday, off to the thrift stores to find a costume for the girls. Tomorrow, is dress like your favorite storybook character. It's national library week!

How Long Would It Take...

for you to gain 50 pounds!!

I've been hearing that Jim Carey is gaining 40-50 pounds for the role of Curly in a new "Three Stooges" movie. I have to wonder what he is eating to do so? I saw an interview recently with Jenny McCarthy and she said that she is having a hard time not eating as much as he is. Have to wonder again what he is eating? Is there a healthy vs. a not-healthy way to gain weight? What food would help you gain weight the fastest?

I put on about the same amount of weight that I lost within about a four year period known as the "college years." I know how to put on weight, but could I do it purposefully, not sure and I don't want to find out.

I love Jim Carey and totally get his kind of humor, but isn't there an actor that has the extra 50 pounds already and could pull the character off just as well?

Anyway, my advice for packing on 50 pounds quickly. Eat a huge breakfast. This was a huge key to my weight gain. I worked early in the morning in the cafeteria and ate enough for the entire day before the crack of dawn. Eggs, hashbrown patties, bacon, sausage, omelets, and then I'd probably grab some cold cereal just so I cold say I drank some milk, and don't forget the piece of fruit on the way out just to feel good about yourself.

Breakfast can be a great way to lose and GAIN weight.

Next, I know I always had a midmorning snack of Taco Bell, just because it was on the way to my next class and "everyone else was doing it" so why not? Having music classes over the lunch hour, I always missed an official lunch and had more snacks about 3:00 followed by dinner at 5:00. Don't forget the study munchies and I'm sure I consumed plenty to gain 50 pounds in a year.

Not sure how much time Jim Carey has to gain the weight, but maybe he should consider going to a college campus for a while.

The Pedometer

This morning while catching up on my BL, I was surprised by the nutritional quiz that involved the editor from Good Housekeeping Mag. The question that intrigued me was the one about people who wear pedometers. It was a multiple choice question that asked how many more steps on average people who wear pedometers walk daily. After five days of wearing my pedometer again, I have to say that their answer of 2000 steps seems a bit low to me. I have checked my pedometer nightly this week and Monday and Tuesday I was at about 7000 steps at 9:00pm. What did I do? Of course, I took my wallet out of my pocket, threw my tennies on, told my wife the exact route I was planning on walking and headed out to get at least 3000 more steps. Why has it taken me so long to realize that my pedometer is a definite motivator. Today was Earth Day and the girls had a Earth Day walk at school in which the whole school grabbed garbage bags and headed towards a nearby park. It was a great walk that helped push my total over 15000 today.

I'm thinking that 2000 steps on average just by wearing a pedometer is pretty close to what I do. I can easily get to 7000-8000, but its the last 2000 that I have to work for. I am so much more conscious of that fact when I wear the pedometer too.

The Grocery Store

I love shopping with the boys. We often stop to smell the roses. We often stop and squeeze the melons. We ride down the cookie aisle and look, but don't touch. We throw at least 3 containers of yogurt in the cart and Daddy restocks them when Alex is checking out the chips. Our favorite part of shopping...well, Alex would probably say it is when he gets to put his quarter in the gumball machine after he is such a great helper. Daddy would say, it's the aroma of the freshly baked donuts! Haven't had one in a LONG time, even at church I pass them up because I know I couldn't stop at 7 donut holes. Poor girl!

The donuts are definitely the highlight as I sit here drooling on my keyboard. Alex picks out the 3 donuts he would pick because of course he is 3 and that's how many he would eat while I stare with mouth wide open at all of them. Today, as we were gazing gluttonously at the sea of scrumptiousness I believe we saved at least 3 people from buying donuts unnecessarily ;)

Have a great Tuesday and we are longing for our next trip to the grocery store to smell the roses!

When Are You Too Old...

to eat the same number of donut holes as your age?

Yesterday at church, it was "Be good and you can have a donut hole" Sunday. We usually have refreshments once a month to encourage people to stay in church and meet and greet each other. It usually turns into the kids behaving the best they can so they can have donuts after church, which is fine by me. But, when do I start telling my 7 yr. old that 7 donut holes is just too much. I mean, do I go up and have 35 donut holes! I do limit her to 4 and of course I hear the: "It's not fair!" because Caryn is 4 and gets 4 and Alex is 3 and gets 3, so on and so forth. She'll get over it.

We had a great week at home last week and are looking forward to summer home as a family. My food choices were good as I was in control all week planning the kids snacks and not having the regular snack binge of the after school time. Exercise was great too. The weather was Spring-like and I took a few great walks.

I purchased another pedometer this weekend as my last one had been resetting all the time. I figured that I could get a new one at WW since I get a discount plus there's a sale going on too. Unfortunately, my step total was pretty low over the weekend, but it always has been pretty low over the weekend.

Looking forward to better choices once again this week.

Already, the little guy is looking in the frig!!

TGIF!

It's the end of family week. Be back Monday.

Anchors Aweigh

I haven't worn my "Make the Better Choice" bracelet all winter because it was bothering my wrist. Finally, the winter is over and my hands, wrists, arms, etc. are no longer dry so I dug the ol' bracelet out. This past week at WW meetings, having an anchor was discussed. I haven't relied on anchors heavily during my weight loss journey, but I do rely on a few things to keep me anchored.

My bracelet is one anchor, another anchor that helped along the way was my five pounds stickers from WW. I still have them will probably keep them with my weigh-in book forever. My goal was always to get another star...never looked beyond that and I think I need to get back to that. I need to earn two stars!

Another anchor that reminds me that exercise pays off is my Biggest Loser key chain. I have my 10% charm along with my 25, 50, 75 charms and my goal and lifetime charms staring me in the face while I exercise. I keeps me motivated to finish a workout.

I wish I had more anchors that actually worked. I purchased a "Hungry" magnet and put it prominently on the refrigerator, we'll see how that goes.

My weekend was not too bad. Grazed a little too much at the candy on Saturday, but Easter was a successful day. Looking forward to a week with the family.

They're Gone!!

I am not one to throw out foods that I like. With that said, I am not one to let food sit in the house for long either. I can't believe that we have had 100 candy bars to sell since late January and they just got finished up this week. To me, that is impressive. 100 candy bars lasting longer than 100 days!

Unfortunately, I cannot speak so highly of the sugar cookies my 3 yr. old and I made this morning. I haven't had a cookie for a while and they tasted so good. Nothing too special, just a mix that needed butter and an egg added to them, but you would have thought I had never seen a cookie before. Luckily, my 3 yr. old enjoyed them too and had about 6 gone before I noticed. Of course I scolded him for taking cookies without asking, but what about me? Why was there no one to scold me for eating 6 cookies. Don't want to be outdone by a 3 yr. old, so of course I kept eating them. I cannot tell you how many I ate, but I do know that they are gone. I'm not sure if I sure smile or frown after saying that.

I have a few great days in a row and then, BAM! My cookiefeast is over and I shall be fine. Hoping for a reasonable weekend celebrating Easter in moderation both Saturday and Sunday. I've been told by someone in the know that the Easter Bunny will only be leaving one piece of candy for each person in the house, but I'll believe it when I see it.

What Would You Have Done Differently?

I was listening to the radio this morning as I do every morning and the morning show had Archbishop Timothy Dolan on as a guest. The Archbishop will be leaving Milwaukee after Easter to become the Archbishop of New York. The question that really struck me was: What would you have done differently in your time here in Milwaukee? The Archbishop thought for a moment stating that he had every intention of staying in Milwaukee for a long time, but things happen for a reason. In not quite these words, he stated that he wished he would not left so many things unfinished. Phone calls to be returned, letters and emails yet to be responded to, visits to the hospitals, nursing homes, etc.

We all have such long lists of things to accomplish. How do you put a priority on your tasks? What is the most important to you? Right now, I do try to put a priority on remaining healthy: exercising, making better food choices, etc. so that I can accomplish all the other things on my list.

What would I do differently? I would have started this journey long ago and made sure that everyone around me knew how important it is for all of us to practice healthy living.

Wiping the Slate Clean

Today is my favorite day of the year. Opening Day! The Brewers are not at home yet, but this is the day for their first game that really counts. All the slates are wiped clean and all the teams have the same chance to make the playoffs. I spent way to long yesterday watching baseball. It was an awesome day and today will be much the same. Unfortunately, I really didn't enjoy myself yesterday. I felt bored, like I was wasting my time. I love baseball, but for some reason, I felt like I could have and should have accomplished so much more yesterday. Today, I shall make simple goals for myself and only plop my fat baseball watching butt on the coach after I accomplish these goals. I will go shopping for birthday/Easter gifts, VOTE, do two loads of laundry, ride the elliptical for 1/2 hour, play ball/go for a walk with the boys and then pick up the girls from school. Only after these chores will I sit down and enjoy the first Brewer game of the year.

Foodwise, still not making the best choices. My week of fish would have worked so much better had I not snacked so much.

Enough Fabric to Cover a Fat TB

Have you seen the XXXXXL piece of fabric that I would have hid under a few years ago? I love Carrie Underwood, but really? What are you trying to hide?

Everything is going fine here, just getting ready for the Easter Holiday.

Bag Half Full or Half Empty

On Wednesday, my wife took a peek in the cabinet and noticed that the bag of licorice she had bought for my 3 year old was half empty. Alex has been having problems staying dry once again and this week, we tried licorice when he went to the bathroom. It has definitely worked. He has not wet at all this week and the licorice has been a great motivator.

When I checked on the contents of the bag later on Wednesday, I was actually surprised by how much was left. For one thing, it seemed like he was eating licorice constantly and for another thing, this Daddy LOVES licorice!! Unfortunately a little too much. The half full bag of Wednesday turned into the, "Oh fudge(I used stronger words), better go to the grocery store before my wife sees the empty bag," Thursday. Needless to say the bag was no longer half empty.

I'm had a good week of eating and I think the key to my eating fish for lunch and dinner has not spurred a huge weight loss, but it has affected my portion control. I am once again eating properly portioned meals instead of eating too much at meals.

Have a great weekend and I gotta go hide the licorice from myself!!

Fish

My internet connection played a wicked April Fool's joke on me yesterday. Couldn't log on all day! I've eaten fish for lunch and dinner each day since Monday evening. Fish and veggies, but I have had snacks of yogurt and oatmeal so I've not surviving on fish alone. I'm amazed at how good fish tastes and why I don't chose it more often. It's really simple to prepare. Plus, I read last night that Tilapia does not need to be flipped. Wow! I'm been trying to flip my fish after a few minutes and every time it has fallen apart. I shall try not flipping it for lunch today. Seasonings go a long way to making fish taste good too. I'm been using some plain old seasoning salt, but yesterday bought some citrus/dill seasoning that really added a punch to my fish.

Today, I'll focus more on limiting my extra intake. It's all been good, yogurt, fruits, veggies, but probably a little too much.