OK. I WENT



I take a LOT more stuff with me than Nicole Ritchie.

 And I took my daughter with me!  I signed her up for a month membership at the gym so we can make this a kick off month for good habits before she goes back to school. 

She is going to try low carb with me - though she doesn't seem to have the basics down yet.  After she ate her sandwich of meat between lettuce leaves instead of bread she asked if Wheat Thins were allowed! Those of us who love and could live on bread do understand it takes a while to make that shift.

I realized after my last post that it really isn't the gym per se that is the issue.  I like the gym, I like to get exercise.  The problem is getting up super early and schlepping all my clothes and make-up and towel and breakfast with me - then working out, showering and dressing in the locker room and zipping out the door to get to work.  That is the part I avoid.

After work is not my favorite time to exercise.  Aside from the crowds, I am anxious to get done and home in a timely manner because if I don't make it, there is no dinner. And if dinner isn't on the table by 6:30 or so - Tom roams through the kitchen eating everything in sight and then the dinner I eventually make is picked at.  Plus - not my high energy time of day.  Though, Ally and I may try one of the 7pm Zumba classes.

So - there you have it.  Like working out, don't like having to drag stuff to get ready for work at gym.  Promise to do it at least 3 times a week anyway.

HOW FAST IT GOES AWAY

I  let my gym membership go about a month after I started the new job - so 2 months ago now.  I loved the gym but it was $100. a month, about 12 miles the opposite direction from my job and in heavy commute traffic.  I know that the only time I would have gone was on the weekends.

Of course I had high hopes for going on walks and using my little hand weights to keep my fitness level up.  I thought I would just put music on and dance like Kirsty Ally said she did.  I researched the possibility of buying my favorite aerobic machine to have at home - at $5000. Tom put the kibosh on that idea.  So nothing has happened.  A few bike rides, that's about it.

And oh do I feel it.  I am all soft and jiggly and I have put in inch on around my hips and waist. I get out of breath just walking.  It is bad.

My employer has a bunch of exercise equipment in his garage that he keeps saying he is going to bring into our warehouse for all of us to use.  We have made some preparations - but I don't know when it might really happen - so I joined a gym.  It is a month to month thing so I can cancel easily.  Lots of equipment, pretty good parking, it's kind of smelly but it's right on the way to or from work. And cheap.

I joined 5 days ago - I haven't gone yet.

GEE, THANKS FOR THE HELPFUL NEW STUDY

The folks that are getting everyone confused about what medical tests they should or shouldn't have and how ofter are making recommendations about weight loss.  They suggest that doctors:

should screen all adult patients for obesity during office visits and either refer obese patients to comprehensive weight-management programs or offer them one, says the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in new recommendations announced Monday.

Wow.  Ground breaking.  And do these folks actually believe that weight is not under discussion already during these visits?  Do they think obese people have not already looked into and probably tried some of these programs?

They go on to say:

studies show that comprehensive programs can lead to a loss of about 6% of obese patients' starting weight, or roughly 9 to 15 pounds, the panel says. That amount of weight loss may reduce their risk factors for heart disease, the panel says in its recommendations, published online in the Annals of Internal Medicine.  If you're obese and you "lose 5% of your weight, you're doing your body a favor."

Really?  If I lose 15 of the 140 pounds I should lose then my weight loss program is a grand success? 

They say:

After reviewing 58 weight-loss studies, the task force found that there is adequate scientific evidence to show that moderate to high-intensity comprehensive behavioral weight-loss programs with 12 to 26 sessions in the first year can help people lose weight.

The best programs often include both group and individual sessions and focus on setting weight-loss goals, improving diet and physical activity, and helping patients monitor food intake and exercise.

"These types of programs really focus on changing your lifestyle," Grossman says. Physicians can refer patients to registered dietitians, exercise physiologists, personal trainers and others who direct weight-loss programs, he says. "Some commercial and non-profit weight-management programs offer many of these features."

Is my very expensive insurance going to help pay for these programs, trainers and dieticians?  No.  Didn't think so. 

I know that my weight issues are laregly psychological and some people, maybe a lot of people, just don't understand the rules of healthy eating and living.  Some people I have seen on TV shows appear to never eat a vegetable, don't have a clue how to eat a balanced diet and never exercise - so I know these guidelines have an audience.

But in reality, all the fat people I know and most of the skinny ones, have been there done that with the diets and diet programs.  Instead of pointing out the obvious, how about getting insurance companies who are blaming their high costs on obesity to kick in some coverage for gyms and pay per session weight management programs?  

WEIGH IN

Just a quick post while I am waiting for my breakfast to warm up. I am also defrosting chicken to marinate for a Chinese Chicken Salad dinner tonight. Multi-tasking has been getting a bad rap lately, but what would we women do without that ability?  It may not all be perfect, but we get a lot done.

I updated my ticker because I am now down 7 pounds.  Pretty good considering my exercise is still spotty and I had 3 vodka tonics with dinner Friday night.  It was a good time but it occurred to me afterwards that I should have ordered scotch and water and avoided the extra calories!

I have one more week until Maggie comes to visit and then a couple of events that will make staying on plan a challenge, but that is ok.  Not stressing about it. 

PRETTY MUCH PLAIN VANILLA - YUM

A couple of years ago  frozen yogurt places started popping up all over the place.  At the time I just didn't "bite."  I'm not sure why.  Way back in the '80's before Tom and I were married we frequently went out after dinner for fro yo.  Then it just went away for a long time.

This last week though,  I wanted a little something and I was tired of the Atkins bars stashed in the drawer of my desk.  I went into the yogurt place near work - Yogurtland - and found they had a no sugar added option in French Vanilla (my favorite flavor) and so I eyeballed a fist size and added some chopped almonds.  It was 6 ounces total and it was good.

 When I got back to work I went on their website and was delighted to see that 4 oz was just 80 calories - so I think the yogurt was probably 5 oz and the nuts 1 oz.  That adds up to less than one of my Atkins bars! 

However,  there was only one no-sugar added flavor available and  they change the flavors frequently; so I can't count on there being a friendly flavor everytime, so I will have to be willing to walk away!

Could you?  Do you FroYo?

SOME EMOTIONAL EATING

If ever there was a time for some emotional eating it was this weekend.  I took to the bottle instead.  Just kidding -  I only had 2 drinks and I used diet tonic.  Plus lots of lime so it was almost a serving of fruit.

I had to put my sweet old dog to sleep on Saturday morning, so it was a tearful weekend and I treated myself with a couple of cocktails and a 6 oz New York Steak.  I had popcorn and mango for lunch.  It was a strange day.

On Sunday my husband wanted to get out of the house - he was missing her tippy taps across the floor -  I had a hamburger for lunch at a local spot with a nice patio.  I don't happen to like cheese on my burger, just mustard and tomato and the bun was "whole wheat." I am sure it wasn't the healthiest choice in the world, but it tasted like a treat and now I have had my red meat for the month.

I still haven't bought a new scale and the digital one suggests I am down another pound.  Not too much damage done.  Except to our hearts.

CAN THIS SCALE BE TRUSTED?

I mentioned that I am using a scale I won at a party and now I am pretty sure it is not to be trusted. Much as I would like to believe that my weight went up 5 pounds and then down 10 in the same week - I don't think that is really what happened! 

The scale is one of those electronic kinds with sensors to measure various stuff and keep track of multiple users.  I am the only user and I never programed it to do anything but weigh me.  Maybe it is trying to burst out of the confines of my simple needs and give me information of a different sort than my weekly weight?

Rather than go through the ups and downs of another week lik this one, I may just head over to CVS and buy an old fashioned scale without a battery and or a brain.