Progress is Subjective

I caved once this week to several pieces of pizza.

...and again to Chinese food...

...and again to Chinese food...

...and again to Halloween candy...

I worked out like a crazy person.

I squashed The Food Monster more than once.

I ate ridiculous amounts of vegetables.

I lost three pounds.

I gained two pounds.

Overall, I lost. For that I am thankful. That's all I can muster up after one, rather lengthy week. Hope the goals of others have not been overly derailed over this "holiday" weekend!

The Food Monster

I know plenty about healthy eating. Most people who are overweight do, especially if they have tried to shed the pounds before. Knowing what to do, and doing it, are obviously very different.

Today, I idiotically let something I'll refer to as The Food Monster emerge.

The food monster emerges when I do things such as:

* failing to eat breakfast

* picking at leftovers all day, instead of eating a meal

* exercising, and not eating pre or post workout

* drinking a large coffee, and no water

Today I was guilty of all of the above. Suddenly, at 5:10 p.m., while dinner was just starting to simmer, The Food Monster reared its ugly head. Dinner was a chicken and veggie (with TONS of delicious veggies, courtesy of an earlier run to Trader Joe's) stew. When The Food Monster emerged, my delicious, healthy dinner still had a good hour left to simmer. Grrr...

I decided, like a responsible person, that I should probably eat a little something to avoid scarfing down 1500 calories worth of stew an hour later. I had a bowl of yogurt, with granola and raspberries. Then I picked at some lunch meat. Then some random veggies. None of this was terribly damaging. The Food Monster, however, was running through my head suggesting to eat pounds of artery, and waistline, damaging food!

Thank goodness I have Food Monster-proofed my kitchen. This is a "banned items" list created because of The Food Monster, and its constant presence. The list is obviously void of things such as ice cream and chips, but I've had to soul search and establish exactly what I'm likely to binge on.

* macaroni and cheese, even the theoretically healthy Fiber Gourmet variety

* blue cheese

* breads, other than the reduced calorie sort

* takeout leftovers, even if they are not mine

* Morningstar Farms buffalo wings

* individually portioned yogurt or pudding, gone in two spoonfulls when The Food Monster attacks

* nuts, any sort

* peanut butter

I'm guessing that many people have banned items. Mine extend beyond food and end in Simply Lemonade, a substance over which I have no control. I'm grateful that today's attack of The Food Monster was semi-controlled. Thank goodness I was not in the car, where Whoppers and Frappucinos are just too tempting.

Happy Halloween

Oh Halloween, an escapist's dream holiday! For many it's the candy, for many it's the booze, for an unfortunate bunch, a combination of both.

I have no solutions for booze-induced weight gain, other than all-together avoidance or sugar free mixers. However, for those of you intimidated by the enormous amounts of candy the kiddies are bringing home this evening, CHECK THIS WONDERFUL LIST OUT!

Obviously, nearly any company lists nutritional content on its website these days. Any oddball variations of Halloween staples can probably be found online, but I think this is a great way to start. Hell, who says these nutritional tidbits need only apply to parents, grooming their child's loot for old favorites? Judging from the increasing size of trick-or-treaters, and the likelihood of one in three children eventually developing Type II Diabetes, why not monitor, just a little closer, what's going into the mouthes of our favorite short people? With Detroit being labeled one of the nation's unhealthiest cities, one of the most obese cities, and one of the most sedentary cities, let's get those kids under wraps. My life, as an overweight adult, followed my life as an overweight child.

Here's to you, and a happy, healthy, Halloween!

The Pitfalls of Parties

Last weekend was heavy duty. I hosted a family event where the wine and food were bountiful and unhealthy! I managed to steer clear of the worst foods, but low-cal alcohol and I have never been friends! The wine was delicious.

Had I preceded, or followed, the weekend with any time to myself, I might have fared better. My lunches and dinner on-the-go did me no favors.

However, I did not gain weight, for which I am grateful. This week I have vowed that my Tuesday weigh-in will not be disappointing and I will have shed some pounds! To start my week off correctly, I had for dinner fake boneless chicken wings. No Morningstar product here, just delicious, do-it-yourself healthy wings! I paired them With my current favorite starchy veg, a garlic-y roasted red skin potato diced with heavily peppered cauliflower, and a side of garlic and balsamic green beans. Once the chicken was prepped, I tossed it in the over and finished everything else before the "wings" were even done. Delicious...and I am not won over easily.

Comfort food, as the temperature is dropping and night falls earlier and earlier, is not easy to make healthy variations of. Currently, I'm adding roasted cauliflower to EVERYTHING. It's delicious, and is taking place of several fat laden, calorically dense, carbtastic things I would normally be chowing down on. HOORAY for cauliflower!

...and if I can throw a cash, and artery, saving suggestion in the mix...

Aldi is a great place to pinch a penny. If you are looking for a health food store, this is not where you should be headed. Watch the sodium, stay clear of the ridiculously great deals on snack foods, and stock up on the Fit and Active line's vastly underpriced chicken stock, turkey breast tenderloins, and knock-off Lean Cuisine Panini's.

Slowly Plodding!

Working off one pound this week has both been rewarding and slightly frustrating! With car repairs being completed, I have been relying on mass transit and the generosity of friends and family. Walking to the bus has burned. The supermarket being far more than a hop-and-a-skip away has been a burden.

Without access to fresh, healthy foods, it's easy to plunk the pounds on. It is much closer to Taco Bell than Meijer in my neighborhood. It also does not require lugging my grocery bags onto the bus. I am eternally grateful that this car-less stint will be done within the week. I already knew that using the bus as an exclusive form of transportation would be challenging, even to the very sane.

On the route of the good ol' 450 Southbound is Westborn Market in Berkley. MENTAL NOTE to people on the fly, who are savvy about a dollar, and their cholesterol. Westborn Market has an excellent salad bar, right between their butter and oil laden prepared foods and bakery counters. It's less expensive (but honestly, a little less exciting) than the Whole Foods version of the same thing. It has tasty, moist chicken and crisp green veggies. I was able to throw together a dinner salad for four dollars. What a bargain! Here I was, a gal who though Taco Bell's $.89 chicken soft tacos were the only reasonable deal for a gal on a diet. Four dollars for a salad, made to my taste specifications, even I can handle.

Let's hear it for the salad bar, darlings.

...and well we're at it, how about a little love for my pals on the 450.

Motor City Mass Transit + Chub = SWEAT!

My car took a kerDUNK on Friday. I was hoping it was the rain making my rapidly-aging tires work less efficiently. On Saturday morning, when it was dry and sunny, I realized that this just was not so.

Because of a very busy schedule over the next week, this will force me to utilize mass transit until I can take my car in and have someone rake-me-over-the-coals to repair it. My car is paid off and seven years old - we have a bond. She agrees to keep on truckin', and I agreed to keep patchin' 'er up until the transmission goes. She's a great little car, but a cheap one.

My car needs to be repaired because mass transit kills me. Well, that's an exaggeration, but the last time I used it, I managed to injure myself. I was waiting for the 450 Smart Bus to deliver me to Wayne State, where I take night classes. I was looking up at a sign, making sure it was indeed a bus stop sign, and not the similarly shaped "no parking" sign, and fell over. I fell down, enormous backpack making it more difficult to get up, with my feet and arms flailing like an obese turtle. Then the bus came. I was flailing under the bus stop sign, flagging them down, so I appreciate that they at least stopped for me. I picked the wood chips off myself to the best of my ability, as I had fallen into landscaped flowerbeds, and boarded. Later that night I had to get a friend to pick the wood splinter out of my back for me.

So, when you see a chubby girl standing on the side of the road, or perhaps lying and flailing on the side of the road, waiting for a bus, just think, it could be me! We could be sitting side-by-side, talking about carbs, restaurant portions, and how to make a low-cal cocktail. I did not exercise any low-cal cocktail restraints this weekend. A night out with the family in Dearborn, and a car-related pity party, I'm sure equated to a thousand points in booze, not to mention the McDonald's drive through on the way home. If I were better at avoiding food while under-the-influence, my dieting would by MUCH more successful.

If nothing else, being car-less will force me to do some walking. Since I won't have my crowded backseat to throw things in, I'll be carrying far-more with me than normal, so this will, ideally, equal out to SWEATING, EXERCISE, and WEIGHT LOSS! HOOOOOORAY! Maybe mass transit won't kill me, after all.

Manners Are My Downfall

...and two days into my blogtastic life, a little setback.

I had half a bagel for breakfast, with a skim layer of reduced fat cream cheese. This is minor compared to my old daily habit, both halves and a mound of full-fat-screamingly-delicious-stick-to-your-teeth cream cheese. Sometimes I get nostalgic. New York Bagel, I miss our times together. I gaze at you, daily, on my way to work, as I am picking broccoli out of my teeth after eating one of these. This was meant to be my MEGA indulgence of the day.

I packed a lovely, vegetable packed, healthy lunch with a sensible sandwich.

After work, I went to a coworker's home. Her family is wonderful, traditional and Indian. The mother was a professional chef in India. She loves that I love Indian food.

I have tried explaining to this delightful, talented woman, that I am dieting. She smiles, chats my ear off about something inconsequential, and keeps heaping it on - food, that is. It's all delicious. If I don't eat what she puts on my plate, she finds something else I'm more likely to enjoy.

I should say no, but no matter what century we live in, life for immigrants sure as shit ain't easy. Feeding me seems to make her happy.

Damn all that ricey-deliciousness.

If I need an evening snack later, it's going to be celery sticks, sans dressing.