I love reading. For about a year or so, however, I wasn't doing much of it. I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas last year (I think I mentioned this awhile back) and my love of reading has been reignited! In addition to my usual fiction, I've been downloading a lot of weight loss and self-help related books. Some of these I may have mentioned before.
Here is a sampling (asterisked titles are books I have just downloaded and haven't finished or even started yet):
Weight Loss
99 Weight Loss Tips (That Helped Me Lose 30 Pounds in 12 Weeks) by Marcus Zjukov
Umm...this one was obviously self-published. There are a lot of common sense tips here, but a lot of crazy shit too like "fall in love with Diet Coke" and "don't stop smoking". There were a few others that made me raise my eyebrows. Also, there are some serious, serious grammatical and syntax errors that made me want to beat my head against the wall. But, in all fairness, I'm not entirely sure the author's first language is English....
This is not a book I'd recommend, by the way. Despite the cheap price. Save your money.
344 Pounds: How I lost 125 Pounds by Counting Calories by Shawn Weeks
This one was a pretty good little memoir by the guy who runs a blog by the same name: 344 Pounds, which has become one big ad for the aforementioned book.
*Designated Fat Girl by Jennifer Joyner
I haven't started this one yet, but it looks like a good memoir
Diets Don't Work: How I Lost 120 Pounds Without Dieting by Vernoica Morgan
Pretty good, but it's been a few months since I read it
*Eating the Moment: 141 Mindful Practices to Overcome Overeating by Pavel Somov
Haven't gotten too far into this one yet. I think it will require a lot more of my focus and attention than I've been able to give it so far. But looks promising!
From Fat to Fit: How I Lost 100 Lbs by Alyssa Reyans
This one was good. She also includes some recipes.
Obese From the Heart: A Fat Psychiatrist Discloses by Sara L. Stein, M.D.
I liked this book a lot. This woman has been there and really delves into all the reasons why we get fat and stay there. Definitely worth a reread in the near future.
*Ravenous: A Food Lover's Journey From Obsession to Freedom by Dayna Macy
I've read the first couple of chapters. She picks a food, then really delves into it. Cheese - her past experiences with it, then she travels to a factory where it's made...Sausage - experiences, factory where it's made...and so on. I'm having a hard time focusing on it.
*Stranger Here: How Weight-Loss Surgery Transformed My Body and Messed With My Head by Jen Larsen
I'm really looking forward to reading this one, even though I'm not considering weight loss surgery at this time. I've read several reviews and an exerpt.
*Weight Loss For People Who Feel Too Much by Colette Baron-Reid
I like what I've read so far. She definitely hits the nail on the head with feelings and weight. A lot of "work" involved here that I just haven't psyched myself up for yet.
Self-Help
*The 52-Week Life Passion Project by Barbie Davenport
I haven't gotten past week one on this, because I started it when school was still in session and then got sidetracked. Involves a very brief reading and an "assignment" each week for 52 weeks. Really looking forward to getting back to it!
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Ruben
Potentially life changing. It really had me rethinking a lot of things in my life. I'd like to reread it.
*Madly In Love With Me: The Daring Adventure of Becoming Your Own Best Friend by Christine Arylo
I really, really, really want to get sucked into this book. I just don't know that I'm there yet. There being the place where I can fall madly in love with myself. ;) I've started it, but haven't picked it back up in awhile.
*Spirit Junkie by Gabrielle Bernstein
Yeah. I got nothin'. The cover looks cool, though! However, I just noticed the one on Amazon is not the same as the one I have on my downloaded version.
Disclaimer: I do not earn any money or anything when you click the above links. These are just books I have either purchased and plan to read or books I have already read.
Thanks for reading!
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Friday, July 5, 2013
Day Three!
So a couple of things tonight. I decided to restart Weight Watchers meetings, which I will be attending early tomorrow morning. That said, I decided it would be better to post my food tracker thingy on Saturdays, so here it is (even though it's still technically Friday)!
Also, today was a really good day! I had a delicious salad for lunch and made barbeque chicken & veggie quesadillas for dinner. I also took pictures, so I will be posting those tomorrow. I'm still 5 points under with 31 weekly points in tact.
So, I've stuck with it for 3 days, no binging, no out of control thoughts even, really. I also managed to make it through the whole day today without any soda. Totally crazy!
Also, today was a really good day! I had a delicious salad for lunch and made barbeque chicken & veggie quesadillas for dinner. I also took pictures, so I will be posting those tomorrow. I'm still 5 points under with 31 weekly points in tact.
So, I've stuck with it for 3 days, no binging, no out of control thoughts even, really. I also managed to make it through the whole day today without any soda. Totally crazy!
Weekly Food Journal
Here's my first weekly food journal! Of course, this week only consists of two days. Even so, I found this immensely helpful!
Wednesday, I did pretty good. Lunch could have been healthier. Thursday, being the 4th of July, I was faced with some big temptations. I went to a state park with a bunch of friends and we had a cookout. I ended up having both a hamburger AND a hot dog, as well as potato salad and 3 brownie bites.
Then my sister and I stopped by Wendy's last in the evening and got dinner. So, that was another hamburger. I mean, seriously.
However, old me would have gotten a full on combo meal with fries and a big burger in addition to the Wendy's frosty cone and iced tea. The Wendy's Frosty cone is only 8 PP, which surprised me. I thought it would be upwards of 10! Old me also would have eaten the entire tray of brownie bites (plus a few of the cookies that were hanging around), instead of stopping at 3. Also, there were chips and I passed those over completely.
So, I did go over my points yesterday, but I had earned 9 activity points and dipped into my 49 weekly points.
I also learned some things...like potato salad is crazy high in Points Plus. Which should probably be obvious since it is basically a vat of mayonnaise with some potatoes thrown in for good measure. So, in the future, I will take a smaller portion, if any. I fully intended to just eat the hamburger, but the hot dog started calling my name shortly thereafter. So, in the future, I will find a way to make myself busy and distract myself from the siren's call of the hot dog. Another self-tip for future picnics and BBQs...bring a healthy salad, some fruit, and or some other vegetable side dish to fill up on, possibly foregoing the potato salad all together!
So here's a screen capture of my spreadsheet tracker for the past two days. It's not very fancy, as I am only literate in the very very basics of Excel!
Wednesday, I did pretty good. Lunch could have been healthier. Thursday, being the 4th of July, I was faced with some big temptations. I went to a state park with a bunch of friends and we had a cookout. I ended up having both a hamburger AND a hot dog, as well as potato salad and 3 brownie bites.
Then my sister and I stopped by Wendy's last in the evening and got dinner. So, that was another hamburger. I mean, seriously.
However, old me would have gotten a full on combo meal with fries and a big burger in addition to the Wendy's frosty cone and iced tea. The Wendy's Frosty cone is only 8 PP, which surprised me. I thought it would be upwards of 10! Old me also would have eaten the entire tray of brownie bites (plus a few of the cookies that were hanging around), instead of stopping at 3. Also, there were chips and I passed those over completely.
So, I did go over my points yesterday, but I had earned 9 activity points and dipped into my 49 weekly points.
I also learned some things...like potato salad is crazy high in Points Plus. Which should probably be obvious since it is basically a vat of mayonnaise with some potatoes thrown in for good measure. So, in the future, I will take a smaller portion, if any. I fully intended to just eat the hamburger, but the hot dog started calling my name shortly thereafter. So, in the future, I will find a way to make myself busy and distract myself from the siren's call of the hot dog. Another self-tip for future picnics and BBQs...bring a healthy salad, some fruit, and or some other vegetable side dish to fill up on, possibly foregoing the potato salad all together!
So here's a screen capture of my spreadsheet tracker for the past two days. It's not very fancy, as I am only literate in the very very basics of Excel!
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Post-Vacation Ramblings
Hi to anyone who might actually be reading this little blog of mine! A warning in advance, this will be very rambly!
I just back from Florida where I visited the Mouse and hit the beach with my parents, sister, and almost 3 year old niece. We had a great time.
While I was there, I realized that I am capable of far more physically than I thought. I walked tons and swam. I didn't swim as much as I might have in the past just because when you are well over 300 pounds, you don't feel comfortable in a bathing suit. No...it's more like you don't feel ENTITLED to wear a bathing suit. So, I was pretty active, but I would also feel that activity in the morning pretty hard. I was so sore...especially my feet.
Well, I knew it was time to get back ontrack when I got home. I knew, because all that activity was a great jumping off point to keeping up the activity back home AND because I can literally feel my body disintegrating. I'm tired of that.
I was going through our photos yesterday and my sister, niece, and I had one taken with Mickey and Minnie. I'm still picking my jaw up off the floor at how HUGE I am. I'm seriously just HUGE. I knew I was really big, but something about seeing it documented in a photograph is quite the wake up call. My initial instinct was to delete it, but then I started thinking, I need to see that. Maybe I should make it the wallpaper on my computer screen. A constant reminder of what I am doing and what needs to be done.
I also had to buy a new scale yesterday, because my old one decided to just completely stop working. I changed the batteries twice and nothing. So, I weighed myself on this new scale thinking I'd be back around 340. No. 350.2. I mean...really???
I feel so frustrated, because I know I make these commitments to myself and declare them here and then time and time again, I fail, only to gain back what I've lost and then some. 350.2. I never thought I would see that number. That is my highest weight ever. That's halfway between 300 and 400 pounds. And it makes me physically ill. How did this happen? How did I let this happen?
I went grocery shopping yesterday and did very well. I had a cart full of produce and chicken and some marinades to keep things changed up. I have to keep it simple for now. I was super proud of myself, as I didn't buy anything sugary (other than my all natural peanut butter with honey - there's a confession)...the only snacks I bought were fruit and little Babybel cheeses and the aforementioned peanut butter. Oh...I did get a bag of those baked Snackum things from Trader Joe's. They are kind of like Funyons. I already know that one serving is 4 PP.
I came home and portioned off the chicken and froze it, washed and chopped a GIANT thing of strawberries, and prepared a big bag of salad for lunches. I had a bunch of errands yesterday, but was still able to make Hawaiian chicken with broccoli. Of course, I didn't remember to take pictures. But all I did was marinate a couple of chicken breasts in Lawry's Hawaiian marinade along with a chunkily chopped onion, some garlic, and a can of pineapple in juice. I cooked it at 375 for about an hour, adding in a bag of prewashed and chopped broccoli at the end. I served it with some Jasmine rice and it was really very good. I think the Points Plus value was 12, including a serving of rice.
Right now, I'm trying to create a spreadsheet so I can post my food journals each Friday, so look for that tomorrow. It will only include W-F of this week. I'm also giving serious thought to going back to my Weight Watchers meetings. If I do that, it will happen either tomorrow or Saturday.
Thanks for reading!
I just back from Florida where I visited the Mouse and hit the beach with my parents, sister, and almost 3 year old niece. We had a great time.
While I was there, I realized that I am capable of far more physically than I thought. I walked tons and swam. I didn't swim as much as I might have in the past just because when you are well over 300 pounds, you don't feel comfortable in a bathing suit. No...it's more like you don't feel ENTITLED to wear a bathing suit. So, I was pretty active, but I would also feel that activity in the morning pretty hard. I was so sore...especially my feet.
Well, I knew it was time to get back ontrack when I got home. I knew, because all that activity was a great jumping off point to keeping up the activity back home AND because I can literally feel my body disintegrating. I'm tired of that.
I was going through our photos yesterday and my sister, niece, and I had one taken with Mickey and Minnie. I'm still picking my jaw up off the floor at how HUGE I am. I'm seriously just HUGE. I knew I was really big, but something about seeing it documented in a photograph is quite the wake up call. My initial instinct was to delete it, but then I started thinking, I need to see that. Maybe I should make it the wallpaper on my computer screen. A constant reminder of what I am doing and what needs to be done.
I also had to buy a new scale yesterday, because my old one decided to just completely stop working. I changed the batteries twice and nothing. So, I weighed myself on this new scale thinking I'd be back around 340. No. 350.2. I mean...really???
I feel so frustrated, because I know I make these commitments to myself and declare them here and then time and time again, I fail, only to gain back what I've lost and then some. 350.2. I never thought I would see that number. That is my highest weight ever. That's halfway between 300 and 400 pounds. And it makes me physically ill. How did this happen? How did I let this happen?
I went grocery shopping yesterday and did very well. I had a cart full of produce and chicken and some marinades to keep things changed up. I have to keep it simple for now. I was super proud of myself, as I didn't buy anything sugary (other than my all natural peanut butter with honey - there's a confession)...the only snacks I bought were fruit and little Babybel cheeses and the aforementioned peanut butter. Oh...I did get a bag of those baked Snackum things from Trader Joe's. They are kind of like Funyons. I already know that one serving is 4 PP.
I came home and portioned off the chicken and froze it, washed and chopped a GIANT thing of strawberries, and prepared a big bag of salad for lunches. I had a bunch of errands yesterday, but was still able to make Hawaiian chicken with broccoli. Of course, I didn't remember to take pictures. But all I did was marinate a couple of chicken breasts in Lawry's Hawaiian marinade along with a chunkily chopped onion, some garlic, and a can of pineapple in juice. I cooked it at 375 for about an hour, adding in a bag of prewashed and chopped broccoli at the end. I served it with some Jasmine rice and it was really very good. I think the Points Plus value was 12, including a serving of rice.
Right now, I'm trying to create a spreadsheet so I can post my food journals each Friday, so look for that tomorrow. It will only include W-F of this week. I'm also giving serious thought to going back to my Weight Watchers meetings. If I do that, it will happen either tomorrow or Saturday.
Thanks for reading!
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Weigh In Update
What started out as a promising week came to screeching halt of disaster.
I'm not really sure what went wrong.
Perhaps it was the craving for chocolate chip cookies...the kind made from the refrigerated dough...
Perhaps it was taking it a step further than a craving and actually purchasing said dough, popping it in little globs onto a cookie sheet and baking them up.
Perhaps it was the stress of a doctor's appointment and some information I didn't want to hear.
Perhaps it was loneliness and feeling defeated by life.
In any event, shut the front door, I gained. Back up to 336.0 yesterday.
But throwing in the towel is not an option.
Today, I walked AND went and cleaned out the car (which had nothing..okay, everything...to do with the fact that my sister got sick in there on the way home from a night out Friday night.)
And perhaps I have shared too much...
I'm not really sure what went wrong.
Perhaps it was the craving for chocolate chip cookies...the kind made from the refrigerated dough...
Perhaps it was taking it a step further than a craving and actually purchasing said dough, popping it in little globs onto a cookie sheet and baking them up.
Perhaps it was the stress of a doctor's appointment and some information I didn't want to hear.
Perhaps it was loneliness and feeling defeated by life.
In any event, shut the front door, I gained. Back up to 336.0 yesterday.
But throwing in the towel is not an option.
Today, I walked AND went and cleaned out the car (which had nothing..okay, everything...to do with the fact that my sister got sick in there on the way home from a night out Friday night.)
And perhaps I have shared too much...
Agave Nectar Glazed Garlic Carrots
I am hopelessly forgetful when it comes to taking pictures of my food. This is something that needs to be remedied!
But in the meantime, I bring you...
Agave Nectar Glazed Garlic Carrots
1 lb baby carrots
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 tbsp trans-fat free margarine (I LOVE Earth Balance and Brummel & Brown)
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp cinnamon
Cook carrots to your liking. I generally boil or steam them. Once they are done, add remaining ingredients, stirring to ensure everything is evenly coating those little critters.
I've made these twice in the past two weeks.
But in the meantime, I bring you...
Agave Nectar Glazed Garlic Carrots
1 lb baby carrots
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 tbsp trans-fat free margarine (I LOVE Earth Balance and Brummel & Brown)
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp cinnamon
Cook carrots to your liking. I generally boil or steam them. Once they are done, add remaining ingredients, stirring to ensure everything is evenly coating those little critters.
I've made these twice in the past two weeks.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Renewal
Hey everyone! I've done pretty well the past couple of days and yesterday during one of my obsessive weigh-ins was happy to see I was back down, not only having lost anything I regained last week, but an additional .2 lbs!
Soooo....just thought I'd drop in and share that little tidbit. I'm slowly, slowly accepting that I am making changes to be healthier first and foremost AND that these are changes that I have to put into place for the rest of my life. There are going to be bad days (and weeks) but what matters is that I pick myself up, dust myself off and get back on that horse again. Time after time after time.
I've said this before, but it bears repeating...I want to LIVE my life, not just let it pass me by. There are so many things I want to do, see, and accomplish. And while the scale isn't moving as quickly as I like (even when I'm on track), there are still changes happening. My pants are looser. I'm not in so much pain. I have more energy. I'm I'm a generally better mood. These are all positives. All I have to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other and have my sights set on these small changes now adding up to big ones for my future.
Soooo....just thought I'd drop in and share that little tidbit. I'm slowly, slowly accepting that I am making changes to be healthier first and foremost AND that these are changes that I have to put into place for the rest of my life. There are going to be bad days (and weeks) but what matters is that I pick myself up, dust myself off and get back on that horse again. Time after time after time.
I've said this before, but it bears repeating...I want to LIVE my life, not just let it pass me by. There are so many things I want to do, see, and accomplish. And while the scale isn't moving as quickly as I like (even when I'm on track), there are still changes happening. My pants are looser. I'm not in so much pain. I have more energy. I'm I'm a generally better mood. These are all positives. All I have to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other and have my sights set on these small changes now adding up to big ones for my future.
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