Push Things Forward

Keep on truckin!

Having had an eating disorder, sometimes I have to keep myself in check. It’s been a long time… a long, LONG time since I’ve participated in any “disorderly” behavior, but it’s one of those things that’s always in the back of your mind, I think. A lot of people who are overweight/underweight have eating disorders and don’t even know it. Binge eating, emotional eating, purging, starvation, exercise addiction… all are considered eating disorders. Sometimes, when I find myself obsessing or worrying about my committment, I check to make sure I’m not allowing those old messages of insecurity and general bullshit get the better of me. It’s all crap anyway.

I know I don’t get all personal on here often. I’d like to consider myself more “inspiration” than “pity party”. I just don’t do pity party, you know? I kick ass, I take names, I say who, I say when, I say how much! Sorry, Pretty Woman moment. But, ocassionally, I think it’s important to remind myself and others, that I’m not invincible. I work out, I eat right, but I have my pint of Cookie Dough times. I have my “the gym can bite me” moments. I have them, just like everyone else. Lately, it feels moreso.

I see my close friends who say they were inspired by my success dropping pound after pound… some of them reaching their goal already and I think to myself, "When is it going to be ME?!" Now, that’s not to say I’m not thrilled for them. I am so ecstatic for my friends! Hell, I’m excited for any one who’s made these kinds of changes for their lives. I’m so incredibly proud. Just sometimes I wish I could just get there already. I have to remind myself to be patient, that slowly is good, that I didn’t put on 150 extra pounds in a day and I sure as hell can’t take it off that fast.

I’ve been busting ass since January 6, 2003. I’ve lost 89 pounds and I have 60 more to go. It gets daunting sometimes. I mean, losing 150 lbs is a major undertaking. Who am I kidding, losing 30 lbs is a major undertaking. Losing any weight and making giant committments to changing your life is a huge deal. I have to remind myself that what I’ve done is a big fucking deal. And you should, too.

I know sometimes it gets frustrating. You want to hurry up, you want to be at goal already, you get jealous when you see others start after you and meet goal before you. It doesn’t mean you’re not working it. It doesn’t mean you’re not as committed. It just means you have to stick with it. Every day, every hour, just stick with it. If you fall head first in a vat of Haagen Daz, wipe your chin and move on. Go forward and sign-up on https://www.chaturbaterooms.com/. Persevere. Go the distance. Kick ass.

Picnic Makeover : Prevention Magazine

We have a holiday weekend coming up on us. You know what that means… Barbecue. GAH! Oh barbecue how you tempt me so with your barbecue sauce and cole slaw and beer and fourth of July goodness. I was reading an article over at Prevention.com called Picnic Makeover which I thought had some really great ideas/tips for alternatives to high calorie high fat stuff that is usually found at these outdoor holiday events. One that caught my eye was the Cajun Grilled Shrimp. Their suggestion is “Coat with Italian dressing plus Cajun seasoning. Grill 2 minutes per side.” Simple right?

It can be something you can customize too. I love customization! Woo! For us Weight Watchers people, use Fat Free Italian dressing, or for the low carb dieter’s, use A Low Carb dressing. Substitute chunks of chicken or steak or swordfish for shrimp if you want. The possibilities are endless! And did I mention easy? Ohh yeah you like it easy don’t you…

Check out the article for other cool live sex show ideas, like “Honey-Mustard Slaw” and “Chocolate Banana Parfaits”. But don’t ask about the Sizzle Sauce. It sounds perverted if you ask me.

C2 : Low Carb Coke?

In the interest of science, I decided to try the new lower-carb, lower-sugar version of Coca-Cola called C2. I should probably preface this by saying I am a diehard Diet Coke drinker. Not to say I never drank regular Coke. I did for a long, long time, but in the last 3 or so years, I’ve been a Diet Cokehead. Diet Coke is the way, the truth and the light. It is the beginning and the end. It is my beverage of choice. But, again, in the interest of science…

At first sip, the overwhelming sweetness of original Coke hit me like an underpaid pimp. I totally wasn’t expecting that. I don’t really know what I was expecting, but I definitely wasn’t expecting it to taste so much like original. Though, it’s definitely not original Coke. The smacks with an aftertaste that is reminiscent of Coke II… or maybe just Coke-flavored asshole. This pleased me not.

I put the top back on it and left it in my fridge until I was desperate… so, like, a day. I was out of Diet Coke, I’d been watered so much I was going to sprout roots pretty soon and the only Crystal Light flavor left was pink lemonade, which is saved for really desperate circumstances, like Anthrax and nuclear war. So C2, it was. I will say, the 2nd go-round wasn’t as bad as the first. I kind of got used to it after a while. I was so thirsty, I started to ignore the ass-taste and focused strictly on the cool, refreshing bit of the hype.

Survey says? Feh. I don’t really see the point. I mean, if you’re going to drink sugar soda, then for the love of all that is good and decent, just drink a damn Coke, would you? Cripes! I mean, please. Just drink it. Otherwise, quit being such a pussy and drink Diet Coke. You’ll get used to it, I promise. You may think it’s foul, but give it a week and you’ll be jonesing, I swear.

I give C2 two and half donuts. I’d rather have the calories than the asshole aftertaste.

Wow! is an Accurate Word for It

Wow Bar

Finally, someone has come out with a lowfat candy bar that actually tastes like something I want to eat. I recently came in contact with Jan of AwesomeBrands.com, whose banner I saw running on Dotti’s Weight Loss Zone. I dropped him and email and after a couple jasmine live conversations, he sent me a box loaded with goodies for me to try, taste and review. As a thank you, I whipped up that handy little banner on the bottom left there.

I didn’t know what to expect from the items received, but honestly, they were ALL really good. I’ll be reviewing everything in the coming weeks, but I wanted to get my favorite out there first: The Wow Bar. WOW! No, seriously. WOW.

If you like Butterfingers, you’ll probably love the Wow bar. It’s got the same consistency and almost the same taste. The chocolate coating is super chocolatey and the candy crunch is satisfying. It’s about 2/3 the size of an actual Butterfinger, but I never felt shorted. You know that “stuck in the teeth” thing that Butterfinger has? This one does, too! I will say that the consistency after chewing for a bit does get a little chewy, but it’s a small price to pay and the flavor isn’t affected.

The best part? Are you ready? TWO POINTS. Two. Only two. In fact, I believe everything in his store is only 2 points a serving. And while I feel like I should feel guilty for scarfing down this candy bar, I don’t. It’s 2 points. And it FEELS like a candy bar, not like a “diet snack”. This isn’t a candy bar disguised as an energy bar, which a lot of energy bars are—fancy candy bars. This is what it is—candy, plain n’ simple.

Nutritional breakdown:

Serving is 1 bar. Cal:120, Fat: 3.5g, Fiber: 2g, Carbs: 20g, Sugar: 15g, Cholesterol: 15mg, Sodium: 45mg, Protein: 2g

I give the WOW bar 4.5 donuts. Excellent taste, speedy shipping, awesome customer service!

Dogs And Cats Living Together: Low Carb vs Low Fat

Being a Weight Watchers girl, I am forever Points conscious. I will admit that when all these Low Carb lifestyle products came out I was a tad annoyed, that all the attention seemed to be going towards that rather than products coming out that were low in fat and calories. I felt the inventory of low fat low calorie foods was dwindling and I feared that companies would stop paying attention to those of us who didn’t follow a low carb life.

I know now that it was hasty to jump to the conclusion that low carb would become the way and us low fatters would be left behind in the option department. I forgot the cardinal rule of leading a healthy life, reading labels. I saw the “Low Carb” taunting me on the shiny new blue labels and I was instantly scoffing at it, assuming it was loaded with fat. Once I gathered my senses and started reading the labels on these items I started to realize that we could all survive harmoniously together, in a low carb, low fat and low calorie world.

A lot of the new low carb products coming out now are providing food with not only low carb counts, but sometimes little or no fat. I was joyous at the discovery that Smart Ones now offers low carb frozen meals and they are actually a lot of times, lower in Points than some of the regular meals! Yay for 3 Point dinners! [Note: You can get coupons for Smart Ones meals on their site here] I tried out a few recently and while, I am not a big frozen dinner girl, I am renovating my kitchen and don’t have many preparation amenities, like a stove. Heh. I am happy to report that they are not awful. I was happy with what I got out of it.

I have always been a big advocate of the “do what works best for you and makes you feel good” philosophy. I don’t go around pronouncing that everyone should count Points like I do. I know many people who have had great success doing other eating plans. But I do plan on being more inviting of the different food options available out there. Read labels and try new things… you never know what you could discover.