Guilty Food Pleasures, What’s Yours?

Our last day was a bust. Cold, rainy and windy. Not how you want to end a week at the beach but we can’t complain. With 3 gorgeous days to frolic in the ocean, a golf day for Dad, 3 beautiful morning runs for Mom and lots of boardwalk strolls we lived it up at the shore.

Today I’m feeling a little bleh from all the junk I ate but I have no regrets. I’m only at the beach once a year and there’s just few things I enjoy here and only here. Jelly rings being one of them. Every year we hit the candy store and each pick one thing. I get 5 raspberry jelly rings. I didn’t think to take a photo of them but they look like this…

I remember my Mom eating them when I was little and now they are my special treat too.

I love them so much but right now? Ugh. They are sitting in my stomach like a stone.

What’s your guilty food pleasure on vacation or otherwise? Is there something you like to eat even though you don’t feel too great afterwards?

Inquiring minds and my bloated stomach need to know. ;)

Thanks Nuts.com for the photo!

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Rhyming Miz. What’s my workout is**.

Crass? yes. Truth? YES.*

My workouts? Not sporadic.

About that Im EMPHATIC.

It’s not so much *what* I do–

it’s consistent training. Good food, too.

Im really NOT all that fit.

Im nonetoosad.  I *own* it.

My weights time? Short!

Im the fast moving sort.

I plan, hoist, 30 seconds between sets

I *never* chat. No friends Ive met.

I breakdown my  body parts.

(This works cuz there’s no fits&starts.)

Chest. Back. Legs. Bi’s. Tri’s too.

OH! And shoulders there’s a place for you!

But *more* than that I see my day

as one BIG chance to move & play.

I take the stairs. I skip some rope.

No workout time? I do not mope!

I skip. I run. Hold my core tight!

Remind myself that it’s alright.

Somedays I workout traditionally.

More often than not it’s creative for me!

Im doing NOW what I can for *life*

And be a mother, friend, employee and wife.

*This image was sent my way by many people after seeing this video. I have no idea where it originated. If you know–let me know below so I may credit…

**This is in response to the five millions of you who cannot watch videos at work & requested a transcription.

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What’s your language of encouragement?

Once upon a time.

In Chapel Hill a land far far away.

I owned a personal training studio.

Blurry, I know. The early 90s were a blurry time.

There were myriad benefits to owning the studio, but one of the biggest was Ren Man & I could go in at the *crack* of dawn and lift together.

Not only did these sessions create muscle—the strengthened our marital bonds, too. 

They also provided me with a life-insight which has served me tremendously the past 18 (!) years.

But Im getting ahead of myself.

Ren Man and I would lift together & I served as his spotter *and* cheerleader.

Two more! Come on. You have two more reps in  you!!! Id scream let him know.

And, 90% of the time, he’d eek out those reps impressing even himself with his strength.

When Ren Man and I lifted together we quickly found I needed a spotter—-not a cheerleader.

Two more! He’d encourage when I went to rack the weights.  I’d stop anyway.

Ten more pounds! He’d suggest as I lay down to bench press. Id ignore him & lift the weight I’d planned.

Ill *stop* smiling if you cheer.me.on!

 It was during those interactions I realized how different our language of encouragement is.

When cheered on I tend to stop sooner than I otherwise might (hence the play on a  MISFIT moniker for this blog)

Ren Man? When cheered on/encouraged he was motivated to do more than he thought he could.

Around this time I also started helping a friend whose goal was to lose 100 pounds.

Each day we’d chat I’d ask about her workouts & eating plan.

I soon noticed our daily calls tapered to once a week and then far more sporadic than that.

When I asked why she explained my “nagging” made her feel pressured and like a failure if she didnt measure up.

Cue life-insight moment part two.

Both of these scenarios helped me realize how vastly different all of our Languages of Encouragement are.

I do not respond well to “cheering-on” as I feel I know my limitations better than someone else.

I do respond well to “checking ins” with regards to my goals as I hear it as the fact the other person they CARES.

It was in then I realized I needed to ask all the people in my life (loved ones to clients) to define for me their Language of Encouragement.

I now knew if I didnt stop to ask  what words *they* needed to feel encouraged/supported I’d fall back upon using *my* language.  Actions and words which may not resonate with them.

(looks up from her travels down memory lane to see if anyone is still here)

I know Ive given you more info about me than you’d ever hoped to hear—but the realization above changed my life for the better.

I now know precisely what I need from others to feel supported and encouraged (and yes. 18 years later Im still a misfit).

I now know, when someone asks me for help, I need to ask what their Language of Encouragement is before I can assist.

Now you.

Have you made the time to define your Language of Encouragement? Have you shared this language with others in your life?

If youve never considered this concept before: what actions/words result in  your feeling supported? What well meaning words can cause you to feel discouraged?

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What’s on your laundry tag?

What would your label read?

I’m very prideful about the fact I ask for what I need.

Specifically, clearly & in the moment.

Long day of work & Im feeling insecure about my writing?

“Tell me I rock & my words are amazing!”

All gussied up for a (his) work event? Feeling a little awkwardtastic?

“Tell me I look bad-ass and yet still completely like myself.”

Working 24/7 & bringing home the (turkey)bacon in the form of…tinybacons?

“Tell me it is not at all about the money.  Remind me it’s about the people we help while we’re here.”*

The problem I encounter is my *asking* for what I need may be good, but the  longass circuitous way I go about it is not.

I tend to lose Ren Man as I ramble.

All of this clicked for me recently as I searched for the laundry tag in a piece of his clothing.

I could keep asking for what I needed—but we both might be better served if I  consolidated it into fewer words.

Ala this Einstein quote:

If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.

If I couldnt ‘laundry tag’ my emotional needs (& needed to ramble) perhaps I didnt understand them well enough either.

Maybe *I* should invest time distilling them down to their basic essence—for me.

I did.

And this is what I came up with:

Lots of laughterBeing acknowledged & heardAlone time to recharge

I wont lie to you.

My process was a long and ugly one. 

It was challenging to come up with my basic emotional needs in a terse fashion AND  have few enough to fit on a hang-tag.

The struggle, however, is forced me to prioritize my needs. 

I began with something which resembled a laundry list & eliminated till I had the three above.

What did I learn from this exercise? (thanks for asking!)

I need to be more clear and concise—in all facets of my life.   This exercise was a reminder if I dont know exactly what I want and need no one else will either.  I can grow frustrated with people not giving me what I want, yet it hadnt occurred to me I wasn’t telling them in words they could understand.  Non-verbose ones.
Be bold and ballsy.  It’s easy with this exercise to think “well Id want that and Id put it on my tag—but it’s not happening.  It wont ever happen.  Ill leave it off.”  You may be right, but not asking for what you need guarantees you wont receive it.It’s kind of a mini-vision board.   Ive started visualizing my ‘tag’ hanging on the insides of my clothing (I crazy that way).  To this end I’m consistently sending the world cues as to what I want & need *and* it can flow back to me.Dont settle for what is offered...when you’ve not asked for what you desire!  In this exercise we’re talking emotional needs, but this concept is applicable throughout our  lives. Yes you may ask and not receive just dont settle for only what’s offered to you.Remember to read other people’s labels.  Beyond the fact it’s important not to be so consumed by identifying your needs you forget others’—-when we are empathic we feel connected.  When Ive worked with women’s groups I consistently hear lamented the lack of feeling connected.  (OK so I wanna add that to my label now, too.  Feeling connected.)

I learned a great deal about myself from this exercise.

I forced myself to identify & choose what’s really important to me emotionally (when eliminating ‘needs’ I weighed two with regards to their importance to me, eliminated the lesser and moved on) and found I’d been rambling a lot more than I’d been working to meet needs.

If you created a self-care laundry tag—what would it say?

Is this list something you know immediately or do you, as I did, need to work the ‘process of elimination’ to figure it out?

Please tell me you, too, have pretty much given up on reading the real laundry tags & just cram everything in at once.

**Ive received a number of emails recently asking how I can relate to your weight struggles if Im not currently fitness-struggling. 

I have a post about this in drafts coming soon. I do struggle on a daily basis with this money = worth notion.  In my experience struggling is universal.  The specifics of our struggles are almost secondary.

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The Top 10 Workout Songs For November. What’s Yours?

I USED to be able to keep up it music. I knew artists, albums, words. I had a wall of cassette tapes circa 1987…

Which was replaced with a tower fo CDs in college…

WHICH I stayed up all night and ripped when I got my first iPod…

WHICH looks ancient now!

Moral of the story… I’M OLD!

I admit it. I can’t keep up. I run my own business, have 2 kids, a house that needs to be cleaned, meals that need to be cooked and, umm yea, I have to sleep!

Honestly, I’ve been listening to 95% of the same music for the last 10 years. Sure, now and then I download a new tune but half of them are older ones I’m just learning about.

It’s sad.

Well, I think it’s sad, but only because I miss discovering new music. So when Chris from RunHundred asked if I’d like a few new song suggestions, I hopped on the idea. He’s going to shoot a new top 10 every month to share on the site. This months….

This month’s top 10 list has a little of what you’d expect—and a little you might not.  Flo Rida, who’s no stranger to this list, shows up in two tracks this month.  Enrique Iglesias continues his transition from balladeer to club rocker.  And Kelly Clarkson, after faltering with the first single off her new album, bounced back ferociously with the second.

As for surprises, they’re mostly entries from folks relatively new on the dance scene.  Highlights include songs from Tim Berg (who remixed his own track under his Avicii moniker), Skrillex (whose collaboration with Kaskade is the first dubstep track ever the make the Top 10), and Wolfgang Gartner (who’s made the chart with a little help fromWill.I.Am).

Here’s the full list, according to votes placed at Run Hundred–the web’s most popular blog for workout songs.

To find more workout songs–and hear next month’s contenders–folks can check out Run Hundred’s free database of music for working out.  Visitors can browse the song selections there by genre, tempo, and era—to find the music that best fits with their particular workout routine.

I’d love your reviews in the comments? Do you listen to any of these during your workouts? Have any new song suggestions yourself?
Images are not mine. They are from here and here

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What’s the point of compression sleeves?

For those of you who may not know, this is a compression sleeve:

(Im lobbying for a TATTOO-pattern Misfit Sleeve!)

I already knew I loved me some Zensah compression apparel.

I love my Zensah compression skirt & sports bra:

I adore my PINK Zensah compression tank-top:

I’m painfully aware (literally & metaphorically) I’m not a hardcore runner—-yet I’d become uber-curious about the compression sleeves.

REALLY CURIOUS.

Are the sleeves even intended for the soft-of-core lollopers like I am?  Does one run IN them? Don them AFTER the run? Whats the difference between the sleeves and the socks?

And, as with all my questions these days, I clicked over to Facebook and asked my Peeps.

I was confident everyone out there would have the knowledge & insights I lacked.

To my surprise and delight I wasn’t alone in my perplexednessment.

To my surprise and delight** Zensah offered to answer all of my (& your) questions.

I am a misfit. I adore the mere look of the sleeves & am SMITTEN by the color selection.  That said, bottom line it for us: WHATS THE POINT?

The point of compression socks is to improve blood circulation and overall leg health.   By wearing graduated compression socks for sport, you attain these 2 benefits in addition to maximizing your recovery time.   Compression helps reduce muscle vibrations which can cause micro-tears and inflammation in the muscles.  It can also help prevent shin splints.

To my chagrin, Im just starting back AND a short distancer right now.  Besides the fashion statement I adore—is there a need for the sleeves for me?

I don’t think someone can be too much a novice to use compression.  It’s a matter of trying them out and seeing when they feel best for you. You can wear compression before, during, and after runs. If you are looking for muscle stabilization or prevention of any muscle pains, compression can help during a run.  If you are looking solely for a recovery tool, then it is best to wear after a run.

Distance is not a factor. For example, when you are transitioning into minimalist running, although you may start with 1,2,3 milers your calves are still going to be sore because different muscles are being used. The compression socks/sleeves will help alleviate and recover from soreness much faster.  In this situation you should wear them even at short distances.

We make great colors so people like to show off their colorful legs at all levels of running

Ok, even if I covet a pair for the wrong reasons—they could work for me.  I like that.  Now, how do I know if I want the sleeves or the socks?

There are differing benefits to socks and sleeves.

Compression socks provide support starting at the toes.  Zensah Compression socks offer arch support and padding in the heal and toes which makes them very comfortable, too.  

The compression sleeves are a bit more  versatile. You can wear them with running socks that you are already comfortable with, you don’t have to wash them as often, you can wear them with open toed shoes for recovery. 

The Zensah Compression Sleeves are unique in that they have a physiological design imprinted onto the sleeve that imitates the taping that a physical trainer would do on your shins to prevent shin splints. They offer all the benefits of compression in addition to help preventing shin splints.

I know.

It’s a whole lot of information & an email I read & reread multiple times before I even attempted to blog about it.

Now I look to you—-and not the company who sells the compression—what are YOUR experiences with compression sleeves or socks?

When do you don the brightly colored items I adore?

Who do you believe they work best for?

Please to hit us all up in the comments below.

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What's Red All Over (Sometimes), But Always Good For You?

For the backyard gardner or farmers market forager, tomato season is one of the true joys of summer. They may not be around for long, but when they are  there is little you can put on your plate that so easily and simply (and healthily) packs so much flavor.

Some swear by the many, many interesting and wildly different heirloom varieties (in all sorts of colors and patterns). Others just as proudly show off the hybrids they grew in their backyards, passing out bags bursting with tomatoes to friends and neighbors when the bounty arrives. But either way, come August and September in most of the country those at the table are in for a delicious treat.

The tomato has long been a controversial fruit, er, vegetable, though. Did you know that on May 10, 1983 The U.S. Supreme Court officially declared the tomato a vegetable, based on the fact that they are generally served with dinner and not dessert? Botanists may argue the other way. Whichever side of the debate you fall on however, one thing is for sure: The tomato is a good for you food!

Tomatoes are not only extremely versatile and taste great; they also have many nutritional benefits. They are high lycopene. Lycopene is a phytochemical found in tomatoes (and fruit such as watermelon and pink grapefruit) that has potent antioxidant properties. Many studies have revealed evidence that lycopene may help decrease the risk of prostate cancer while working in concert with other nutrients.

Tomatoes are also high in vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, and fiber. One medium tomato is approximately 95% water and has 22 calories. One cup of fresh tomatoes provides over 57% of the daily value for vitamin C, 22% of the daily value for vitamin A, and almost 8% of the daily value for fiber.

Sometimes it's all we can do to wait to pop the deep red slices into our mouths as soon as the orbs are sliced. Others blanche and preserve their ruby treasures or boil them down into sauces so the late-summer treat can last months more.

But raw or cooked -- which is better? Fat­soluble nutrients such as lycopene become more concentrated when tomatoes are cooked. Vitamin C, on the other hand, is more abundant in raw tomatoes. You'll be happy to know that you should enjoy this anti-aging “fruit” both ways for optimal benefits.

Try this recipe I learned from a friend in Hawaii for a delicious tomato salad -- you'll find it at FlavorFirst.com.

--

Win a one-year membership to the Biggest Loser Club! Season 12 is just weeks away, but until the premiere we'll be giving away a year-long membership to the Biggest Loser Club, a customized interactive diet and fitness program, every week. To enter for your chance to win sign up for my monthly newsletter of tips, recipes, news and advice. Sign up here.

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What’s With the Nighttime Snacking?

Once the kids go to bed all I want to do is eat eat EAT.

Ugh.

I’m really tired and I think that has a lot to do with it. Tonight I stayed with only the PopChips but let me tell you, my brain was running with all the possibilities in the pantry.

The cookies.
The chocolate.
The pretzels.
The graham crackers.

It all just sounds so appealing right now but instead of continuing to mindlessly munch I decided to challenge myself. Anyone want to join me?

Here’s today’s journal and in other news…

Uncle Sams cereal with frozen wild blueberriesAaack STILL want to write a review of this. I’m so behind. Long story – working on a recipe for The Laughing Cow. Will link to it when I can. bowl of sweet cherries with peach yogurt on topGot hungry a few hours after lunch. I decided to bulk up my regular yogurt cup by adding some fresh fruit. Dinner was amazing! I’m in grill mode and I LOVE it! It was our after karate treat. :)popChips with some black bean dipI just can’t NOT snack right now. I swear I’m doing it just to stay awake. Could have done better. Took my prenatal at lunch.

Disclosure: Got free samples of Uncle Sams and PopChips at FitBloggin.

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What's Designed by <b>Weight loss</b> With regard to Idiots Weightloss <b>...</b>

What’s Designed by Weight loss With regard to Idiots Weightloss routine? : Losing 8 Lbs . inside Days

Most people ponder value of physical exercise throughout weight loss program or even which can be the quickest fat burning plan for kids, aged, young adults plus more. Nicely, there are a few fat loss diet programs which can be ideal for everybody being that they are wholesome and also organic. They also don’t request you to starve yourself, avoid every thing or just take in drinking water merely.

The most valuable system weight reduction item are the types which guidance yourself on what you should consume and also things to avoid without having actually adding yourself on a hunger diet.

Something using depriving your system is the fact that, should you be blessed and find a way to lose weight and have time for your regular eating habits, the body just gathers up body fat as soon as possible to stop a new duplicate in the famine/drought it just went through.

There are some beneficial fat burning plan using selection strategies which will really inform you to eat Four times per day. A lot of people don’t even think they might shed weight while eating more than usual.

To understand the style, you need to know that the sole normal method to melt away your system extra fat is thru metabolic process.

This is the process that uses up most calories with your meals directly into energy to use systems. This procedure is made in a way that it will merely burn incoming calories and not fat deposits structure. You try to adjust your gram calorie foodstuff articles and it sensory faculties starvation.

The process changes alone to simply melt away the bottom degrees of calorie consumption you only altered for you to. Websites effect is always that probably none of your extra fat has used up out.

Brand-new diet programs that don’t perhaps require miss out on food as well as avoid carbohydrates, as well as estimate countless fat contents of each and every food selection.

Find More Weight Loss 4 Dummies Articles

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Q&A: whats fat loss 4 idiots?I Review Fat Loss 4 Idiots To Tell You If This Plan Can Really Help You Lose 9 Pounds In 11 DaysDoes Fat Loss 4 Idiots Work? Will It Help You Lose 9 Pounds In 11 Days?Whats a good cardio routine to use with a 70lb punching bag?Know More About Losing Weight Fast With Fat Loss 4 Idiots Review  

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Whats the best <b>weight loss</b> pill that i can buy? | LifeZoneHealth.Com

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What’s in your gun?

This is a conversation which started over on my Facebook page and one Ive still not been able to get out of my mind.

Actually, it started long before that (this is your cue to wriggle around & get comfy in your chair.  while this post shall be mercilessly brief there is lottsa navel-gazing coming your way).

I was snarfing sushi and talking BRAVO TV debating current affairs with a group of friends when the subject of nature versus nurture came up.

Some of us weighed in heavily on the notion of nurture being everything, while others firmly believed that nature predetermined everything from temperament to scholastic ability.

Me? Im an opinionated one and fall firmly into the camp (there’s a camp right?) which believes genetics loads the gun, but environment pulls the trigger.

It is a line I’ve pondered frequently as the Tornado gets older and faces the onslaught of potential negativity that peer groups & media may provide.

It’s a line I’ve pondered frequently as Ive watched friends struggle with anxiety & depression and wondered exactly what the Tornado’s gun contains.

It’s a line, to the surprise and disagreement of many of my friends, I find to be both uplifting and inspiring.

As a parent I can’t help but worry about my daughter.

Will she be happy? Will she struggle? Will she experience the pain of bullying? Depression?

As a result I find great comfort in choosing to view our life together through the lens of she may be genetically predisposed for certain issues or ailments, but I can create an environment which may STOP this predisposure from becoming reality.

It gives me hope that:

By practicing (& not preaching) she will choose to live her life in a healthy fashion.By trying to be the best adult role-model I can she will choose to create a healthy & supportive adult-environment of her own.By teaching her even INACTION is a choice she will choose to create a life of purpose, intention and health.By sharing with her my genetic blueprint and showing her how I’ve managed to change facets of it she will realize our ‘gun,’ while loaded, can be semi-dismantled, managed and worked around.

Which brings me back my question to the others that day:

Do you read the quote as I do and choose to see it as empowering?

Or do you, as the majority of my friends did, find the line depressing and frustrating due to how little control we have over both the gun and our environment?

Please to (holster yer guns and) hit us all up in the comments.

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What's the Best Breakfast for <b>Weight Loss</b>? - iVillage

What's the Best Breakfast for Weight Loss? - iVillage iVillage.com Homepage Message Boards iVillage Connect Tool Newsletters Welcome! Sign In or Join Now iVillage Health Pregnancy & Parenting Entertainment Beauty & Style Food Home & Garden Love & Sex Horoscopes Search iVillage Look It Up Conditions Symptom Checker Tools Quizzes Ask The Experts Drugs & Supplements Real Stories Healthy Living Topics & Conditions Ask The Experts Videos Tools Community Love & Sex Topics & Conditions Ask The Experts Videos Tools Community Diet & Fitness Never Say Diet Topics & Conditions Ask The Experts Videos Tools Community Kid&rsquos;s Health Topics & Conditions Ask The Experts Videos Tools Community Boards Videos Conditions Healthy Living Love & Sex Diet & Fitness Kids' Health What's the Best Breakfast for Weight Loss? The breakfast of diet champions is a light and sensible one

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Jill Provost ON Jan 24, 2011 at 10:39AM

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Food Healthy Eating 14 Breakfast Foods to Fight Off a Cold Health Slideshow Which Is Worse? Battle of the Fast Food Breakfasts Health Slideshow Dramatic Celebrity Weight-Loss Stories

You may have heard that when it comes to the battle of the bulge, it’s best to start your day with a big breakfast. That way, you’ll have all day to burn off the calories. And, by filling yourself up first thing, you’ll be less likely to splurge on a mid-morning snack or gargantuan lunch.

Well, scratch that theory from your list of dieting to-dos. A new study published in the Nutrition Journal suggests that a big breakfast leads to eating more calories throughout the day, not less. The researchers asked 380 people to write down everything they ate for up to two weeks. When subjects indulged in a heartier breakfast than usual, they did not compensate by eating less later, as originally suspected. Instead, they ate the same amount of calories as usual. Eating a large breakfast, they found, increases the number of calories consumed and thus contributes to weight gain.

Of course, that’s not to say you should skip breakfast to lose weight. Instead, an easy way to cut calories and inches would be to eat a light and sensible breakfast, concludes the study’s lead author, Dr. Volker Schusdziarra, from the Else-Kröner-Fresenius Center of Nutritional Medicine in Munich.

Foods that were responsible for hiking up morning-meal calories included such lumberjack specials as sausage, eggs, yogurt, bread, breakfast cakes, butter, cheese and jam. That doesn’t mean you have to avoid these foods if you’re on a diet – though we don’t ever recommend eating sausage, breakfast cakes or butter -- only that you should be conscious of how quickly the calories can stack up when you do consume them. A bagel with low-fat cream cheese, for instance, will cost you nearly 500 calories. High in refined carbohydrates, it’s guaranteed to spike your blood sugar and leave you ravenous before lunchtime.

The best diet-friendly breakfast is one that has enough fiber and protein to fill you up and keep you full until your next meal, without a lot of sugar or saturated fat to weigh you down. Good choices include whole-wheat toast with a dab of peanut butter or an egg, low-sugar whole-grain cereal with fruit and low-fat milk, plain yogurt with flaxseed and fruit or egg whites scrambled with vegetables. Past research has found that people who eat eggs for breakfast lose 65 percent more weight than those who eat bagels for breakfast. Opt for egg whites if you’re watching your cholesterol.

If you do find yourself craving something before lunch, try a low-sodium vegetable juice, like V-8. It’s an easy way to add more veggies to your diet, and according to one study, it may even accelerate your weight loss.

What’s your favorite way to fill up at breakfast? Chime in below!

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What's Your Major Dietary Concern in 2011?

(Photo Credit: mary_thompson)

With the start of a New Year, you might be making fresh goals when it comes to your diet - or continuing with existing ones, so tell us, What's Your Major Dietary Concern in 2011? Personally, I'm trying to pay more attention to my sodium intake.

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What’s Your Take on Compulsive Eating? Real Disorder or Lack of Willpower?

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What's Your "What If..." Weight?

I heard Christmas music in Wal-Mart last week. And yesterday, there was a 20-foot Christmas tree near the front door.

Tis the season, my friends. The Season of Food.

I’ve come a long ways from my early days of weight loss and my “Thou shalt not eat __________” mentality. Adopting such a hard-core view was necessary at the time, but through the help of time and my weight-minded friends (particularly the WW 100+ board alums), I’ve learned a bit about discipline and balance since 2005. But food is still a challenge and always will be.

Walking hand-in-hand with that challenge is the way I view and live within my body. I’ve been feeling bulky lately, and when I walk, I don’t “glide along” quite like I used to. I feel more like a gorilla. That’s why I laughed out loud while packing my office yesterday and came across this cartoon:

I remembered I’d posted it on my original website, Lynn’s Weight-Loss Journey, so I went back and read the post that went with it. What I wrote still speaks to me nearly three years later.

When I was 16, I weighed 150 pounds. That was about 20 pounds more than would be considered normal for my age and height, but at a size 12/14, I was hardly ginormous. Yet that’s what I thought I was. Self-conscious, I avoided walking past certain boys in school because I was afraid they’d “moo” at me or call me fat. They did that to a lot of girls who I felt were my size.

My negative body image caused me to make a lot of poor choices when it came to sex and relationships. Although I had some nice boyfriends in high school, the kind who really did like me for who I was, I always felt there was a “catch,” that somehow they were lacking because they liked me.

When I was nearly 300 pounds, this cartoon’s sentiment was most certainly true for me. I always dreamed of “that day” when I’d be 150 again. All my problems would disappear, I’d have self-esteem to spare, and life would be the way I always knew it could be, all because I weighed 150 pounds again.

I’m well below 150 now and problems still arise and I often lack self-esteem, although I admit not to the extreme of nearly 170 pounds ago. My weight, while definitely an important factor in my overall wellbeing, cannot define my life. I am (and so are you) more than weight, and yet I still base a good deal of self-worth on the number on the scale, the size on a tag, and the width of my hips.

How to undo that? Talking with friends who understand weight loss and maintenance, journaling, meditating, and reminding myself daily that I’m OK just as I am right in this moment.

My question to you is this: What do you think your life will be like when you get to goal, or even when you lose 5, 10 or 20 pounds? How do you stay balanced? And has your definition of “normal” weight changed since you were younger?

View the original article here

White or Whole Wheat Bread - What's Your Preference {Poll Results}

There were 121 votes in our poll, White or Whole Wheat Bread - What's Your Preference. 54% of you selected, 100% whole wheat all the way!

sponsor

A distant 2nd choice was the "I do whole wheat but I don't check if it's 100%" option which 23% selected followed by 10% which selected I buy whole wheat sometimes but still buy white too. There are still some white bread fnas out there, and that got 6% of the votes along with "I don't eat bread." There were 4 votes for "other" which including baking your own bread - pretty cool!

All polls (past and present), can be found on our polls page.

View the original article here

What's Your "What If..." Weight?

I heard Christmas music in Wal-Mart last week. And yesterday, there was a 20-foot Christmas tree near the front door.

Tis the season, my friends. The Season of Food.

I’ve come a long ways from my early days of weight loss and my “Thou shalt not eat __________” mentality. Adopting such a hard-core view was necessary at the time, but through the help of time and my weight-minded friends (particularly the WW 100+ board alums), I’ve learned a bit about discipline and balance since 2005. But food is still a challenge and always will be.

Walking hand-in-hand with that challenge is the way I view and live within my body. I’ve been feeling bulky lately, and when I walk, I don’t “glide along” quite like I used to. I feel more like a gorilla. That’s why I laughed out loud while packing my office yesterday and came across this cartoon:

I remembered I’d posted it on my original website, Lynn’s Weight-Loss Journey, so I went back and read the post that went with it. What I wrote still speaks to me nearly three years later.

When I was 16, I weighed 150 pounds. That was about 20 pounds more than would be considered normal for my age and height, but at a size 12/14, I was hardly ginormous. Yet that’s what I thought I was. Self-conscious, I avoided walking past certain boys in school because I was afraid they’d “moo” at me or call me fat. They did that to a lot of girls who I felt were my size.

My negative body image caused me to make a lot of poor choices when it came to sex and relationships. Although I had some nice boyfriends in high school, the kind who really did like me for who I was, I always felt there was a “catch,” that somehow they were lacking because they liked me.

When I was nearly 300 pounds, this cartoon’s sentiment was most certainly true for me. I always dreamed of “that day” when I’d be 150 again. All my problems would disappear, I’d have self-esteem to spare, and life would be the way I always knew it could be, all because I weighed 150 pounds again.

I’m well below 150 now and problems still arise and I often lack self-esteem, although I admit not to the extreme of nearly 170 pounds ago. My weight, while definitely an important factor in my overall wellbeing, cannot define my life. I am (and so are you) more than weight, and yet I still base a good deal of self-worth on the number on the scale, the size on a tag, and the width of my hips.

How to undo that? Talking with friends who understand weight loss and maintenance, journaling, meditating, and reminding myself daily that I’m OK just as I am right in this moment.

My question to you is this: What do you think your life will be like when you get to goal, or even when you lose 5, 10 or 20 pounds? How do you stay balanced? And has your definition of “normal” weight changed since you were younger?

View the original article here

White or Whole Wheat Bread - What's Your Preference {Poll Results}

There were 121 votes in our poll, White or Whole Wheat Bread - What's Your Preference. 54% of you selected, 100% whole wheat all the way!

sponsor

A distant 2nd choice was the "I do whole wheat but I don't check if it's 100%" option which 23% selected followed by 10% which selected I buy whole wheat sometimes but still buy white too. There are still some white bread fnas out there, and that got 6% of the votes along with "I don't eat bread." There were 4 votes for "other" which including baking your own bread - pretty cool!

All polls (past and present), can be found on our polls page.

View the original article here

White or Whole Wheat Bread - What's Your Preference {Poll}

(Photo Credit: little blue hen)

Are you eating whole wheat bread? Is it 100% whole wheat, or you don't really check to see if it is? Let us in on what you think about this whole wheat bread business by taking our poll, White or Whole Wheat Bread - What's Your Preference.

View the original article here

White or Whole Wheat Bread - What's Your Preference {Poll}

(Photo Credit: little blue hen)

Are you eating whole wheat bread? Is it 100% whole wheat, or you don't really check to see if it is? Let us in on what you think about this whole wheat bread business by taking our poll, White or Whole Wheat Bread - What's Your Preference.

View the original article here