Do it or Diet?

In the last few weeks I have had quite a few people ask me how my "diet" is going.  I smile and answer, but inside I want to cringe.  The word diet is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me!

Let's just break it down.  Diet.  Does that mean that you will die if you try it?  That's what it sounds like, doesn't it?  And who's stupid idea was it to give the endeavor such a negative name anyway.  Hey!  I want to try something that begins with the word DIE!  Sign me up!!  

Let's start with Dictionary.com and see what they have to say about the word:

noun

1.

food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effects on health: Milk is a wholesome article of diet.

2.

a particular selection of food, esp. as designed or prescribed to improve a person's physical condition or to prevent or treat a disease: a diet low in sugar.

3.

such a selection or a limitation on the amount a person eats for reducing weight: No pie for me, I'm on a diet.

4.

the foods eaten, as by a particular person or group: The native diet consists of fish and fruit.

5.

food or feed habitually eaten or provided: The rabbits were fed a diet of carrots and lettuce.

6.

anything that is habitually provided or partaken of: Television has given us a steady diet of game shows and soap operas.

Okay, see, here we go again. . . you can't have that.  That food is bad.  Food is not good or bad.  Food is food.  It is the connections that WE put on it that make it good or bad.

Let's try another word.  I like lifestyle.  What does Mr. Dictionary.com have to say about that?

ifestyle  (ˈlaɪfˌstaɪl)
— n
1.	a set of attitudes, habits, or possessions associated with a particular person or group
2.	such attitudes, etc, regarded as fashionable or desirable
3.	( NZ )
	a. a luxurious semirural manner of living
	b. ( as modifier ): a lifestyle property

By reading those two definitions, I would much rather be on a lifestyle plan than a diet.  Wouldn't you?

People are making billions of dollars off that one stupid word ~ Diet.  That word is being used like a weapon to make all of us feel bad about ourselves and what we eat.  In order to "fix" the problem, we are offered all sorts of plans, pills and now even surgeries gaurenteed to cure us.  

I'm confused.  Is Diet a condition or a disease?   I think it is a word that should be struck from the language and never be allowed back in. 

I'm on a new lifestyle plan.  My plan is taking me on all sorts of new adventures?  Hop on the train and come along.!

We are leaving the Diets in the dust!!

 

Best Smoothie EVER!

It used to be that I woke up every morning and wandered downstairs, drawn by the wonderful aroma of the coffee that wonderful hubby had made and left for me.  If he hadn't made some, then I got the added benefit of grinding the beans and making the pot myself.  There was no better smell in the morning than freshly ground coffee beans.

Those days are gone now.  There has been no freshly brewed coffee in this house for months now.  Now I have a new morning routine.  Smoothies!

Smoothies rock!  There is no better description for them.   The sound of the coffee grinder has been replaced by the whirring of the blender and I couldn't be happier.

Making smoothies is an art form; did you know that?  I am forever adding things to my new morning beverage and every time I do, I get to declare "Best smoothie ever!"  Because, at that moment, that morning, it is. 

The recipe started with something very basic ~ yogurt, banana, frozen fruit (you pick), and a bit of OJ.  The first improvement added was the flax seed.  Gotta love that flax seed!  Then came these wonderful little powders that a dear friend of mine gave me.  They have lots and lots of wonderful added nutrients in them and really help kick off my morning!  My latest little addition, are goji berries, they are these wonderful little berries that are packed full of nutrients, and they are also supposed to help you feel good!

I look forward now to my morning smoothie much more than I ever did to my first cup of coffee.  It's always just a bit different and just a bit more wonderful than the day before!

Defeating the Downfall

Since it's Sunday, let's get the housekeeping out of the way first:

Me:  Stayed the same - no gain/no loss! - Not really a yea, but at least I didn't gain!

Amazing Hubby:  +1.5 lbs.  He may not fly away with the first big wind now!

'Charming' Boy:  +1.5 lbs.  Not too bad, he's perfectly wonderful the way he is!

The fact that the scale did not move this week just reinforces the plan that has been brewing in my little brain.  I need to do something about my exercise situation, and do something NOW!

I made a joke about a personal trainer, you know, someone to be mean to me and help to keep me on track.  However, the more I thought about it, the less funny it became.  This may be a plan worth investigating.

I want to exercise, I know it's important, but when it actually comes down to doing it, something goes awry.  Mornings come way too early, and when evening comes around, there is so much to do and I'm tired.

Do I sound whiny?  That sounded sort of whiny as I was reading it in my head.  I hate to whine, almost as I hate exercising!

Seriously though, I have been doing a bit of research and one of the things that is discussed is that while cardio (walking) is wonderful, it is not all that a Person with Diabetes needs.  Apparently I also need strength and stretching as well.  When it comes to that sort of thing, I am totally clueless.  Do they make pink, purple or red weights?

So, I'm thinking that a Health Club may be an option.  If I could find one that works with PWD's that would be a huge bonus!!  Then all I would need would be some big strapping dude named Bruno to be evil to me and make me stay on track!!

I have a 5K to get ready for!  I am so excited about that, I can hardly stand it!  I hope lots of you will be able to join us! 

TEAM FREEDOM!!

Date: 10/16/2010
Location: Celery Flats
Registration Opens: 8AM
Start Time: 9AM 

 

 

Join Team Freedom!!

The team is formed and ready for members!

The three of us are really excited for this event!  We are really hoping that a lot of you sign up as a part of the team and come out to walk with us!

The link is up, so all you have to do is click on it and it will take you directly to our own team page so you can register to walk and/or donate.  We set a goal of $2500 for the team to raise.  All the money goes to the fight against Diabetes!

Come walk and spend the morning with us in Portage, we are looking forward to seeing everyone.  If you can not walk, donate, or send well wishes along to those of us that will be walking that day!  

Willpower

My willpower seems to be in short supply lately.  I'm not quite sure why, but I'm having motivational issues.

I'm thinking a cattle prod may be the answer, but it sounds sort of painful.

My other thought is joining a gym and finding a personal trainer.  Maybe if I hire someone to be mean to me I'll be a little more motivated to exercise.  I thought getting up in the morning was the answer.  Unfortuntaly, the snooze button on the alarm clock is fully functional, so the getting up in the morning part is not working so well.

Maybe I could find some really buff dude named Bruno who yells a lot and is really scary!  Then I'd be too afraid to mess up.  Of course, if I'm paying him, I could just not show up and cancel my membership, so that may not be a good plan either.

Maybe I need to reevaluate my goals and make a new plan.  That may help!  Okay, tomorrow, plan day!
 

Am I a Priority?

It's that time of year when schedules get shuffled around and some re-prioritizing needs to take place.  The calendar is filling up with appointments, school activities and other odds and ends that go along with back to school and fall.

I was sitting here laying out a schedule for things around the house for the next few months and suddenly I noticed something.  I was nowhere on the schedule.  Hubby's job schedule (both of them) was there.  The Boy's school and band schedule was front and center.  I had added in the various things my mom needs done and the things happening at my own job that need to get done.

But where was I?  Why was I not anywhere on the schedule?  Sure I was there as a mom taxi.  I was there as far as needing to make sure that on weekend work days, I'm on hand to make sure that Hubby has food ready on his lunch break.  But left off the schedule was things I am supposed to be doing:

• Exercise
• Quiet time (meditation/relaxation)
• Meal planning

I have been feeling off lately, and I'm beginning to think that I may be onto something here.  I have, once again, shuffled myself to the bottom of the deck and forgotten that I deserve a place on the priority list as well.

I don't want to be a martyr.  I don't want my son to think that a 'moms' place is serving everyone else to the determent of herself.  Besides, look where being a martyr has gotten me; fat, crabby, and miserable.

I guess backsliding is to be expected on a journey of this sort every once in awhile.  I just have to remember to stop the slide as soon as I realize where I am going.

I am working hard to lose the weight and keep my blood sugars in line.  I deserve the time that I need to make that happen.  I am at least as important as the rest of the members of my family.

Now, I just have to continue to chant that to myself a few thousand times a day until I actually believe it!

Vending Machines

The Boy was the one who took his Grandma to the Doctor's office yesterday.  It was a long wait in the waiting room, and as all 16 year old boys will do, he got hungry.

Going in search of sustenance he found the small pharmacy attached to the office and went to check out the snack situation.   Since it was a pharmacy in a Doctor's office, The Boy was not holding out much hope for sweets, but he was surprised.  There was not one healthy option on the entire snack rack!

He mentioned it to me tonight because he had been thinking about it and it struck him as weird that there were not more healthy snack options available.  I have to agree, it is a bit odd that snack foods offered at a Doctor's office (or inside a Doctor's office) would not at least have a healthy option.

It was suggested that perhaps the reason that only junk was available was to ensure repeat business.  Now there is a thought!  If you make sure that your patients eat crappy food that makes them ill, then they will continue to need your services!

That is seriously wrong!  No wonder we are so screwed up as a nation where food it concerned.  The places where we go to get healthy are promoting ill health!

I am in the middle of reading a very interesting book right now that will undoubtedly be showing up in future entries.  Written by one of our countries leading nutritionists it discusses the role of protein  the various advantages and disadvantages of a plant based vs. animal based protein diet.

There are so many interesting things that are wrong with our perceptions of food in our country, it is no wonder that so many people are overweight and obese.  How can there be such amazement that the numbers of of adolescents with Type II Diabetes are skyrocketing  when our schools are serving lunches where french fries are considered a vegetable?

Things need to change, we need to change them.  I don't want my child or grandchildren to suffer like I have because of the way that our society at large (excuse the pun) has taught them to eat.

Think about it, you are sitting in a hospital waiting room while someone you love is having heart surgery; stomach growling, you go to the vending machine for a snack.  Your choices are:  potato chips, snickers, peanut butter cups, m&ms, honey buns, or other sugary snacks.  Who is going to be the next one on the operating table?

The Price of Stupidity

There was chaos yesterday when my baby (my car, the one I pushed on Saturday) was pronounced DOA.  So, we had to find a new vehicle.  And as the Phoenix rising from the ashes, I ended up with a car I have wanted since I was a small child.  A little yellow Volksy!

With all the rushing around, food did not hit the radar until almost 10:00 PM.  Not cool for the resident person with Diabetes!  Sleep did not come easily last night as I was not feeling well at all!

Today, because there hadn't been enough drama lately, my mother had a bit of a medical issue today that had to be taken care of immediately.  With all of that, lunch did not come until almost 4PM.

Again, bad food planning for the PWD.  By the time I was able to eat, I was so hungry I ate just about everything I could get my hands on!  Most of it was not on plan, but I could not seem to stop myself!

Then, there was cake for hubby's birthday.  I don't know where my brain was.  I decided to have a slice.

Right now, I'm wishing that I would just die.  I swear I can feel all the bad stuff and sugar coursing through my veins making me feel jittery and nervous.  My head hurts and my stomach feels like it is going to explode.

Perhaps, I needed a lesson like this to remind me why I have been towing my new line so carefully lately.  I'm not imagining it.  I have found a wonderful formula that works:

Eat on plan and follow new lifestyle guidelines = feel wonderful and happy

 Eat badly, skip meals, and eat sugary crap = feel like death

 Feeling Crappy is no good!

Home from the Doctor!

The six months of hard work and sacrifice has paid off!  I had my Doctor's appointment to day and I think it was the best one I ever had!

Blood pressure:  112/86 - Kicking!  Best BP I've had in YEARS!!!
Cholesterol:  Good to go - for once!
A1C:  5.6 - Rock on!!


Weight lost:  54 lbs!  The nurse was so surprised, she made me get back on the scale so she could double check!!

This was awesome!  I did not hear "Shape up or Die"  once!  As a matter of fact, she was so happy with me, she  was almost speechless.

I am so much healthier today than I was six months ago.

Today was a good day!  Happy Birthday Hubby!!

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Today's weigh in has been postponed until tomorrow's Doctor's appointment.  Why get on the scales an extra day if I don't have to?

I have my fingers and toes crossed for a happy appointment tomorrow.  I am getting terribly sick of the "Change it or Die" speech.  It gets a little old after awhile.

Tomorrow I get my day in the sun.  No more Change it or Die speech for me.  I expect to hear "Nice job girl, keep it up!"  Of course, if I had a cholesterol number under 200 that would just be icing on the cake.

Now I just sound like some old fart; hoping for a good blood level at the Doctor!  When did my life come to this?  This is sort of sad.

Upside; I do have a rocking new haircut and tomorrow is hubby's birthday!

The Upside of Disaster

Okay, I'm probably being melodramatic, it wasn't necessarily a disaster; but it seemed so at the time.  This morning on the way to work, the car died.

There I was, tooling down the road, anticipating showing off my new rocking haircut at work, when my dashboard lit up like a Christmas Tree!  The engine died and I had no hope of getting it started again.  I was able to get it into the ramp to a rest area, but it coasted to a stop at the very beginning of the entrance ramp.

There I was, in the pouring rain, no cell phone, dressed for work, with a dead vehicle.  Great! 

First order of business was to move the car.  I pushed that stupid car the rest of the way up the ramp into the rest area. (It seemed like a 1/2 mile, but when hubby and friend went up tonight to retrieve said vehicle, they said it was about a 1/4 mile.) Do you think any of the truck drivers that were watching me offered to help?  No, of course not!  As I was pushing the car, in my dress clothes and shoes, I was secretly hoping that they got stopped by the State police and were over their weight limit.  (I know it was mean, but it was really wet out there!)  

One very nice young man finally did help me push the car around the last bend and into a parking place.  He explained to me that if his mama saw him standing there while a lady was pushing a car by herself, she would kick him from here to Sunday!  He was an awesome young man and I hope his mother knows what an amazing boy she raised!

Some very nice young woman loaned me a cell so I was able to call work and they called my mother to come and pick me up (Hubby was working).  So, all was well.

What is the upside?  Six months ago, if I would have attempted what I did this morning, I would have dropped over with a coronary!  Seriously!  

I pushed a car 1/4 of a mile today!  I can push a car  1/4 mile!  I was a bit winded, but I was not sore, I did not want to keel over and die! (I did want to strangle the truck drivers!)

Team Freedom

I have been wracking my brain trying to come up with a team name for the Diabetes walk in October.  I wanted to use Team Dtour, but that is not an option due to copyrights and all that.

However, today, one of the team members from the Dtour plan sent a suggestion to me for a team name that I think is absolutely amazing!  I am throwing it out to see what other people think.

Team Freedom

(Freedom from guilt, fear, excess weight and all the risk factors that are associated with it.)

I thought it was an amazing idea.  It works on so many levels; and I think it is very fitting for the journey that the walk will represent.

I am hoping that a lot of people will join us that day.  We will be posting more details as we have them.

As soon as I get some feedback from folks on the name, I will get the team set up and let everyone know.

I am really excited about this walk, especially since it is a Diabetes walk.  That is really meaningful to me. 

Ladies this one is for you (Sorry Guys!)

Yesterday was the much anticipated and more than a little dreaded unmentionable shopping trip.  While it is exciting to go shopping having lost so much weight, it is a bit nerve wracking not knowing what size you are.

Not only that, I don't want to purchase a bunch of stuff (not that we have the funds to allow a full on spree, anyway) as I am not planning on being my current size for much longer.  Which makes shopping all the more difficult.

My mother went with me (thank goodness for mothers!) and we started at a store where we were pretty sure we could have a good bra fitting.  We did tell this sweet young thing that I had just lost a bunch of weight before we even started.

So, we are in the dressing room and the sweet young lady who was helping us pulled out her tape measure and measured for the band.  She gave me the number and I just stood there for a moment in shock.  "Can you remeasure that?"  I asked her.  "I think there was a mistake."

She gave me an odd look and remeasured; coming up with the same measurement as the first time.  "Are you sure your looking at that tape measure correctly?"  I asked.  When this poor young lady began to look very insulted, my mother piped up.

"She just lost 50 pounds and is having a hard time understanding the number you are telling her."  My mother was all but laughing hysterically.  Apparently, my shock and confusion was really funny.  I'm sure it was, I was just too confused to realize what was going on!

This young woman suddenly became animated and her voice approached sonic tones.  "Really!  Congratulations!  Wow!  That's wonderful!  What size were you before."   When I informed her that the number she just gave me was a full six (6) inches smaller than the bra that I had walked into the store in!  She laughed and forgave me for doubting her.

After the bra fiasco, I decided to try on a pair of slacks (glutton for punishment?).  I put on a pair of slacks that was a full 4 sizes down from what I had on.  No wonder everything is falling off!

As much as I hate unmentionable shopping, it turned out to be a very motivational day.  I know I've lost weight, the signs are all there, my body looks slimmer, the scales is moving steadily downward every week, and my clothes are literally falling off! 

But there is just something about putting on clothing that is 4 sizes smaller than the last pair you purchased that drives the point home in a very real way.

If anyone had noticed, my motivation was beginning to wain last week.  But ever since weigh in on Sunday, I have been the most motivated girl in the world.

Another 50 pounds you say?  BRING IT ON!!!

The Dizzying Diet Section

Anyone who knows me will tell you that no shopping trip with me is complete until I have stopped at a bookstore.  It's a lifelong addiction that those around me have learned to tolerate and indulge (it keeps me calm and happy).

My thought today, was to find a book on nutrition.  (I finished and submitted my application to college today and thought I'd get a bit of a head start.)  I headed off to the health/diet/cookbook area.  Something struck me before I had even begun my search, does anyone know how many diet books there are?

I couldn't believe it!  There were no less than 4 entire bookcases full of diet books!  That didn't even include the cookbooks, that were really diet books in disguise.  Then I started looking at some of the titles, are these people nuts?  Here's a couple of examples: 

"The Cheater's Diet: The Sneaky Secrets to Losing Up to 20 Pounds in 8 Weeks, Eating (and Drinking) Everything You Love"

Really?  I tried that!  If I spent 8 weeks eating and drinking everything I love, I'd gain 20 pounds!  Is this author serious?  That's like saying - do whatever you want and you can still lose weight?  Are they high?

How about this one:

"The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease, and Add Years to Your Life"

This one is one of my favorites!  First they make up words:  Fexitarian?  What is that?  Then the book talks about being a vegetarian but eating meat!  I think someone is seriously confused!

"The Hormone Diet"

Now it's the fault of our Hormones!  It isn't our fault at all!  If we can magically control our Hormones we can lose weight!

Okay, I know that I am following a diet of my own the Dtour Diet.  But honestly, some of these diet plans on the market are just horrible.  They are preying on our emotions and insecurities and promising things that are impossible!  They are setting us up for failure.

I spent my time in that isle vacillating between laughter and anger.  As I stood there, I watched numerous people (mostly women)  come up and study the shelves as if they held the answer to a prayer.  It sort of hurt my heart.

I know I'm making jokes, but really, this is a serious matter.  How many of us have tried every fad diet on the market and lost weight, only to gain it and more back within weeks?  Fad diets don't work.  The only thing that will work is will, determination and a commitment to change our lifestyle.

And exercise.  I forgot about the exercise.  I try to forget the exercise.  I'm still working on it.  I'm trying!!

"Bottom" of the closet

You know that outfit in your closet?  That one that you 'outgrew' awhile ago, but could never bear to give up?  Oh, come on!  We all have them!  

I put that outfit on on Monday and wore it to work.  Yea me, right?  It is, for the most part.  The downside is, putting on that outfit means that nothing else in my closet fits.  I discovered that I am down 4, count them, 4 sizes!  I wondered why my clothing was slipping off!

So tomorrow, I am off to go buy some 'unmentionables'.  I should be really excited and happy; so why am I nervous to the point of nausea?

I know I'm being weird and silly, but I have come to dread and loathe clothing shopping, especially for 'unmentionables'.  Those are the worst!  They never fit right!

I am taking a deep breath tomorrow and jumping in.  Okay, I'm wading in, as funds do not allow for jumping at this point!  A bit of toe splashing and wading will be fine to start with, right?

Monday - and no blues!

I spent the day riding the high from yesterday's weigh in!  I received so many congratulations from friends and family, I have been overwhelmed.  Excited and happy, but overwhelmed.

Then, about 9:00 tonight, I heard the little voice in my head.  "Okay you made it to the half way point, what are you going to do now?"  It wasn't Myron, the voice was too pleasant.

So now it's time to take the high, and the energy and the euphoria from my achievement and channel it into my weak area.  Exercise.

Exercise is still a hit or miss thing with me.  While I am much, much more active now than I was 6 months ago, I still feel that I have a long way to go.  I have a walk coming up in October, after all.  A walk that is very important to me.  The Diabetes walk.

I can do this.  I lost 50 pounds, a feat I thought was impossible!  If I can do that, a little exercise shouldn't hurt anything, right?

The question is, how do I make it fun.  Remember, I am a perennial 10 year old.  It has to be fun!

 

Milestone Weigh In Day!

I got off the scale this morning and wanted to climb up on our roof and start shouting!  I didn't, because our roof is really high and steep and our local police department would have frowned upon it, but I wanted to in the worst way!

I HIT MY 50 LB. MARK TODAY!!!

I am now half way to my goal!  I never, never thought this day would come; especially just six months after this journey began!  I have a couple of other stats to share with you:

I have now lost:

50 pounds

18% of my starting body weight

11 inches off my waist

I can do this!  I can actually do this, I can finish this journey and make that once unattainable goal of 100 pounds!  I am going to do it with no drugs, no surgery, no supplements and no fad diets!  I am going to see this through until the end.  I know that I can do it!

My Mom asked me today if I ever thought I would get here.  I answered he honestly.  No.  At the beginning of this the numbers seemed so huge, so unattainable, that I figured I was defeated before I was even out of the gate.  Guess I was wrong.

I was raised in a family where quitting and giving up were never an option.  I may be down for awhile, but I am never, ever out!  I proved that to myself this morning.

If anyone thinks anything is unattainable, I am here to tell you that you are wrong.  You can do anything you set your mind to.  Small, reachable goals are the key.  Set a small goal at first.  I started with 10% of my body weight, that seemed pretty reasonable.  Once I hit that I set another.  I refused to look at the big picture, I still do.  I simply look at my next goal.   The 'Master Plan' is all mapped out, that was done quite awhile ago, one it was completed, there was no need to look at the entire Plan again, just the next achievable goal.  It helps me to stay motivated.

I have never been more motivated than today.  Today, I could conquer the world!  I'm going to settle for getting my application in to school.  That is the next goal; that and my Doctor's appointment.  I think it will be the first time I will not grumble as I climb onto the scale!!

Oh yeah, the rest of the weigh in results:
Amazing Hubby:  +1 ( yea hubby!)
Charming Son:  -.5 (yea Boy!!)

Face in the Mirror

I was rereading my blogs from the week this evening as I was getting ready to post tonight; and something stuck me; I've had sort of a bad attitude this week.  I apologize.  That is not the purpose of my blog or my journey, and it only blocks me from what I need to do.

I have spent the evening reevaluating some of the reasons I am doing this, the purpose of this journey.  (Don't tell hubby, he thinks I was watching the stupid movie he picked out!)   It has been said before, but it is important enough that I need to remind myself.  Ultimately, aside from losing weight, this journey is about learning to love an accept myself for who and what I am.

I have always tried to be the perfect daughter, and failed, the perfect wife (and never thought I quite measured up).  Even though my son loves me, I still think I fall far short in the parenting department.  This is not a pity party.  This is honestly how I feel and what I have always believed.

My solution?  To attempt to 'correct' the issues where I believe I fall short.  This is not for anyone else, just for me.

I have lost more than 46 pounds, that is quite a feat, more than I have ever lost before.  While my exercise is still a bit hit or miss, I am much less a couch potato than I had been in late February.  I have even applied to school so that I can finish my college education and branch out in a new direction, Dietetics!

If I can walk away from coffee, chocolate croissants, ice cream and  all the other foods I used to love, then finishing school should be a breeze!  I am strong enough to do this, I know, now, that i  can do this!

Katie, I'd like you to meet my friend, Katie.  She's a pretty cool person and has been doing some wonderful things to change her life and the lives of those around her.  Have a conversation, I think you may enjoy her!

New Recipe Night!

The Boy and I have been thinking about that wonderful Spinach Artichoke pizza we had at the California Pizza Kitchen in Ann Arbor.  We have been talking about it so much that tonight we decided to take action.  We searched out a recipe online for Spinach Artichoke pizza.

It was AWESOME!!!  It had the added bonus of having feta and provolone as well.  With two of my favorite cheeses involved, how could we possibly go wrong?  It is definitely a do over recipe in this household.

It was the perfect ending to the worst day.  Usually Friday the 13th doesn't bother me.  (After all, I'm not a Templar.)  But today was just one of those days that I should not have gotten out of bed.

So ending the day making pizza with the boys and watching Top Gun is the perfect cure!

Scales and Frustration

I admit it, I'm obsessing!  I know, I'm not supposed to be doing that, but I can't seem to help it today.  I go to see my doctor in a couple of weeks and I wanted to be half way to my goal (50 lbs) by the time I got there.  I seem to be a bit stalled, and it is making me crazy.

Yes, yes, I should be concentrating on how good I feel, and I do feel good.  My headaches have decreased, especially the migraines, I am still moving easily and all of my clothes are really loose and falling off.  All of that is good.

So why am I obsessing over the appointment?  Because, that's what I do.  I woke up in the middle of the night last night worrying about my cholesterol!  Oh my goodness, when did I become that person!!  Laying awake at night worrying about my cholesterol numbers?  This is crazy!

Okay, deep breath, maybe what I am really worried about is that my test numbers are not going to come back as good as I am hoping.  I know I shouldn't think about it or I'll raise my blood pressure and that would be a whole NEW problem that I don't want to deal with!!

Okay, enough whining.  I guess I have to stop slacking off on the exercise and get my booty moving.  For some reason, exercise is the problem for me and I really need to figure that part of it out.

Any one have any suggestions?

MSG - the scary additive

Sunday, when I was watching Gillian McKeith's You Are What You Eat, my favorite motivational program, there was a discussion about Monosodium glutamate (MSG).  Gillian was explaining what MSG is and does to people, I was mortified!

MSG is an additive and flavor enhancer that is used in many, many foods.  What it does, is tricks our brains into thinking that crappy food tastes like the most wonderful thing we have ever tasted.  Not only that, but it also makes our brains not listen to our stomachs when they tell us they are full, so we tend to eat way more than should or would have without this "harmless additive" in our food.

Now, I don't know about you, but I don't need any help in that department.  I have spent most of my life not listening to my stomach when it said I was full.  My intent was to see just how packed I could make it!  As you know from where I started, I was quite successful!

Okay we know what MSG does when when it is sprinkled on our food, but what, if any, are the side effects?

These reactions — known as MSG symptom complex — include:

• Headache
• Flushing
• Sweating
• Facial pressure or tightness
• Numbness, tingling or burning in face, neck and other areas
• Rapid, fluttering heartbeats (heart palpitations)
• Chest pain
• Nausea
• Weakness

Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.Mayo Clinic nutritionist

Raise your hand if any of these things sound like fun.  Yeah, none of them sound like a good time to me either.

Maybe this is the secret behind McDonald's fries and the Whopper!  Obviously it must be the reason that the woman from yesterday's video went bonkers over not getting chicken nuggets, they must use a ton of MSG on every box of nuggets you purchase!

What fast food does to us!

I have heard that food can make you crazy, but this video takes it to the extreme. Okay, here's the background. This woman arrived at McDonald's early in the morning and wanted chicken nuggets. This is her reaction when she discovered that chicken nuggets were not on the breakfast menu! (No audio with video)

Now if that isn't proof that fast food bad for you, I don't know what is! I have to admit, I've had a few times in the last few months when I felt like that when I drove past the Dairy Freeze. Those people have apparently been in serious jeapordy and never even knew it! Can't you see the headlines?

RAMPAGING MOM IN DESPERATE BID FOR SMALL TWIST INJURES 3

Alright, I know I'm going to extremes here, but really, do we need a McDonald's on every street corner? Does every town need a Burger King and a Wendy's? (What up with those square burgers anyway?)

The Boy went to Cedar Point with the Band on Saturday. On Sunday, he informed me that he was a bit upset with me. What had I done now?
"Well," my charming son explained, "I had a hot dog, fries and a full strength soda at the park for lunch yesterday."

"Okay . . ." says very confused mom.

"So, my stomach was upset the rest of the day!" my oh so darling son explained. "It's all that healthy food we've been eating. Junk food now tastes horrible and makes me sick!"

"Poor Baby."

Yeah, I know, I should have been more sympathetic; but inside I was all warm and happy that his body was now actually rejecting crappy food!! Yea Boy!!

Someday he'll appreciate it. . . right?