New Lesson for New Resolution

My son had his PMR (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) appointment today. He goes every 3 months and during the day he sees a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a speech therapist, a physiatrist, an orthopedic surgeon, a nutritionist, and a pediatrician. Needless to say, it is a very long day.

I did learn something new today. V-8 Fusion *is* actually healthy. It has no added sugar and it is not made from the juice of the fruit and vegetables, but instead consists of the actual ground-up fruits and veggies. http://www.v8juice.com/

Another one of my goals this year is to donate regularly to the local food bank. However, one of my peeves about food banks is the mass amounts of simple carbs they give out. I understand the need for this since they give out mostly packaged foods, however, I would like to personally donate healthier foods, so maybe some of these V-8 juices can be included with my donations.

We also went to eat at Burger King. I had a veggie burger and a salad. The burger was actually quite good, but I wish BK would have offered it with whole grain buns. The veggie burger came topped with a tomato and a leaf of iceberg lettuce.
Speaking of iceberg lettuce, it has very little nutritional value. I learned this in college when I took human nutrition. More nutrient dense lettuce would be the leaf lettuce, especially the darker green varieties.
On the other hand, iceberg lettuce is a good filler, so it would work well with the Volumetrics diet.
And who said 3 years of nursing and psychology classes were wasted? Just wait until I tell you about the psychology of over-eating....but that is for another day.

Volumetrics

Recently I've seen a "Jenny Craig" advertisement advertising their new diet plan-Volumetrics. The name speaks for itself, but I still decided to do a Google search and here is what I found on WebMD: "The hook of Volumetrics is its focus on satiety, the feeling of fullness. Rolls says that people feel full because of the amount of food they eat -- not because of the number of calories or the grams of fat, protein, or carbs. So the trick is to fill up on foods that aren't full of calories. Rolls claims that in some cases, following Volumetrics will allow you to eat more -- not less -- than you do now, while still slimming down."

The diet plan creator's last name is "Rolls." How funny is that?

Here is the link to the complete article: http://www.webmd.com/diet/volumetrics-what-it-is

I did a 30-minute workout video this morning. I also went outdoors to practice agility with my dogs.

The Dreaded Scale

January 3rd, 9:00 a.m.
I'm going to go out and buy a scale to weigh myself. I need to be more goal oriented with this weight loss challenge, so I'm going to force myself to crawl on that scale to get the dreaded 3-digit number.

Be back in a bit....

Okay, I'm back and it is 5 days later. I have the scale and the news is not pretty. I went to the doctor this morning and was weighed by the professionals. I weigh a lot more than I originally thought....183 pounds. (It's even more on my new Wal-Mart scale). I was 170 pounds on my April visit. How could I have gained 13 pounds in 9 months when I've been eating less and exercising more? The nurse tried to pacify me by telling me that muscle weighs more than fat, but I'm not seeing much muscle so I don't think I'll be using that excuse. Then she (the nurse) tried calming me with the menopause/ weight gain spiel. I'm too depressed to explain this in much detail but basically menopausal women have less muscle mass as well as slower metabolisms. This, in short, is a recipe for weight gain.

So get this, she told me that I need to eat EVEN less and exercise EVEN more. What joy! Must this be so difficult? I guess the answer is YES.

I'm going to add an extra 30-minute exercise session into my daily work schedule so it's going to have to be something I can do in a small office.
I'm thinking of using a stair stepper, or exercise bands, or maybe both.

Rang in a New Year

Today I rang in the New Year by completing the "ENTIRE" Billy Blanks exercise video!!! It took me a week to work up to the entire 30-minutes, so I was quite proud of myself.

When my son calls and asks what I had been doing , I proudly announce " I did Billy Blanks."

FYI-I have 1 quick-witted son who waits for the opportunity for me to say something like this.

ANYWAY, my son (who I won't name) put great emphasis on the word "DID" and said, "So mom, you *DID* Billy Blanks?"

No, son. I meant that I completed the entire Billy Blanks workout video.
BUT, I suspect that if I actually *DID* Billy Blanks I would not be 50 years old and 170 pounds. Hello? Hello!

And on to my bloggish theme:

At 7:00 a.m. I ate 1 slice of white bread and drank 1 cup of coffee. Around 9:30 a.m. I ate a slice of whole-wheat chicken pizza. At 10:30 a.m. I ate a small piece of lean ham and drank a bottle of water.

I'm cooking black-eyed peas, corn bread and greens for dinner, so we'll see how that goes. In celebration of the holiday and in celebration of the completion of the entire Billy Blanks video I might allow myself a little dessert!

Happy New Year!
Marci

Chiquita Mama

I think I was 47 in this next photo. I don't normally dress like the Chiquita Banana girl, but I was at a Halloween costume party. The entire night a young, handsome gentleman continually kept asking me to dance. I wasn't much of a dancer, so I actually convinced myself that I was cute, a magnet to young, handsome men. However, at the end of the evening I discovered this young, handsome, talented dancer was actually a dance instructor looking for students. I must have looked like a good "dance student" prospect.

Ninguna manera, chiquita mama.

I probably weighed 155 pounds in this picture.

There was actually a banana on my head, but I don't see it in the picture. I probably ate it! Now that explains the weight gain from 150 to 170.

No más plátano.

Welcoming of the Jowls

I'm probably around 42 in this picture. Who knows? After 40 I quit keeping track of my age. When anyone asks my age I always do the math: 2008-1959=49....

UH OH!! Guess what? I Just did the math AND I'M NOT 50. I'm only 49!!! Let's try that 1 more time.... 2008-1959=49.

I'm not kidding. I have been telling people for months that I am 50, and I'm only 49! How cool is that? I am so unintentionally hilarious! So do I go back and re-inform everyone? I don't think so. Next birthday, I'm just going to repeat the *50* spiel.

Back to my weight: This looks like the 150# era, and also the beginning of facial jowls (I think the prim-and-proper pose I was sporting accented these. I'll remember to ditch this pose for future pics. A big smile seems to give those jowls a face lift).

Mini-Me

Now I'm jumping ahead more than 10 years. This next picture is at a family reunion in Atlanta, Georgia. I'm around 38 years old. I think this was my 135 # era. I like this era....not too skinny, not too heavy. As baby bear said, "just right!".

I remember those yellow shorts. I now could not get my left toe in them. Yes, this is the mini-me that I want to be.