Week 11–Let's blame the World Series for this dieting setback--The "Frying-In-My-Own-Fat" Weight-Loss Challenge Update

[This article was first published as Week 11–Let's Blame the World Series for this Dieting Setback on Technorati.]

I blame the World Series. Specifically Game 6.

It was bound to happen. A major setback for  the Texas Rangers in their World Series bid and for me in my Week 11 of this Frying-In-My-Own-Fat Weight-Loss Challenge.
In addition to a come-from-behind-win in extra innings by the Cardinals, Texas Ranger Mike Napoli also injured his ankle in Game Six. And in a twisted show of solidarity, my ankle took a turn for the worst shortly after 6 a.m. that following morning.
Game Six pretty much sealed and doomed the Rangers. The Rangers couldn't overcome that loss, and the Cardinals won the series in Game 7.

And for my Week 11, Game 6 doomed me as well. I really don't have much to show for weight loss. In fact, I don't believe I have any. I blame the sprain.

I wish I could say I was doing something fascinating or interesting when I received my injury. You know, something like sprinting after a dress code violator while on hall duty or tackling a test cheater. I wish I could say there was something Napoli-like about this thing.

But sadly, all I can say is that I inadvertently slid while walking on my driveway in the darkness of the morning and found myself prone and teary eyed and wondering if Napoli's sprain hurt as much as this.
Yes, my injury was more a classic rendition of "I've-fallen-and-can't-get up."

It's a good thing I had my cell phone on me because I had to use it to call my husband to come out of the house and help me get up and hobble back in. Otherwise, I'd still be crawling military-style toward my front door.

Sad, but true. So this ankle thing benched me from exercising for the remainder of Week 11 and pretty much for all of upcoming Week 12.

As if all of that wasn't bad enough, I read about a study conducted by a group of Australian researchers that concluded, "Obese people may regain weight after dieting due to hormonal changes, a University of Melbourne and Austin Health study has shown."

That triggered a bunch of headlines like this one… "Not your fault! Hormones linked to weight regain."

According to that article, "Any dieter knows that it's hard to keep off weight you've lost. Now a study finds that even a year after dieters shed a good chunk of weight quickly, their hormones were still insisting, "Eat! Eat! Eat!""

So you see, it's not my fault.

Blame it on those hormones.

Or the World Series.

Either way, I think I deserve a walk to home plate, and I'm not talking about the in-field kind either.

Pounds, Panera & the Godfather-- Week 10: Small weight loss bolstered by other breakthroughs

[This article was first published as Week 10–Small weight loss bolstered by other breakthroughs on Technorati.]

Now don't get all in a dither, but this week's weight loss was pretty paltry--only a half a pound.
A lesser person probably would have been epically discouraged, and I probably would have except I believe I've made some rather monumental breakthroughs–and not the kind involving clothing seams either.

For the first time in a very, very long time I went out for lunch and didn't eat everything on my plate. OK, so I ate my little piece of whole grain baguette (all 140 calories) that came with my Panera Pick Two order. But the rest--the salad and soup--I didn't. I just ate until I was full.
Confession time: I did purchase a very scrumptious looking 99 cent bakery item–The Double Fudge Brownie with Icing, though. (Now about this time a bunch of you skinny minnies are probably slapping yourselves upside your little tee tiny heads.)
But wait… I brought the treat home, checked on line  and discovered that tasty brownie weighed in at 470 calories, containing about as much as my lunch. So, instead of eating the entire thing, I cut off a small piece and saved the rest for my husband.
Now I realize all of that isn't the stuff that makes fodder for such shows as the Biggest Loser, but let's face it, Anna Kournikova, Dolvett Quince or Bob Harper aren't going to come knocking at my door to give me a thumbs up or yell encouragement as I battle myself in my own  weight loss challenge. I'm on my own here.
I knew it was going to be slow going especially since I am old(er). I read with interest an article entitled, "You can be a big 'Loser' at any age--here's how." Do we really need anyone to tell us the 50-plus blue team is at a disadvantage?
According to this article, those of us in our 40s and 50s need to load up on some omega-3 fatty acids for their "anti-inflammatory benefits" and "help with depression."
I don't think I need Bob Harper to tell me that my 99 cent double fudge brownie with icing doesn't contain any of those nifty omega-3 fatty acids.
And I'm fairly certain we probably need those nifty omega-3 fatty acids to  "help with the depression" which surely will ensue from either (1) not being able to eat that brownie or (2) the overwhelming guilt from eating that brownie.
I really don't know why I bother reading these fitness/weight loss articles. One of the suggestions was to reduce our calorie intake by 100 calories a day. OK, so that's reasonable.
But then there was this little suggestion: "If your family is having spaghetti and meatballs, have meatballs and spinach instead."
Spinach? Really?
All I could think of was how different Marlon Brando would have looked in the "Godfather" eating meatballs and spinach. And somehow that famous line wouldn't be so famous, if Clemenza had said, "Leave the gun and take the spinach."
I think the mere suggestion would have been enough for the Corleone family to go to the mattresses.

Week 9 of the "Frying In My Own Fat" Weight Loss Challenge: Experts Appear Surprised by Weight Research

[This article was first published as Week 9: Experts Appear Surprised by Weight Research on Technorati.]

I don't know why researchers and health experts always seem so surprised when they "discover" this or that in their recent surveys about fatty this or skinny that. The latest surprise discovery was that three in 10 overweight or obese people don't view their weight as a health issue.

Maybe that's because some of those other studies showed that a lot of overweight people really don't view themselves as fat.

Then there was that sleep thing they connected to weight loss. Blah, blah, blah. Sure there are some scientific factors that weigh in here, but on a basic level, you don't need to be a rocket scientist or commission a study to figure out the more you are awake, the more time you have to eat.

If I were a gamblin' woman, I would wager that these experts' facial expressions must be something akin to a permanent rendition of Macaulay Culkin's "Home Alone" face.

Now, that's a face I can related to.  I feel that way every single time I step on that scale and those numbers refuse to move downward. 

This weight loss challenge has been quite a challenge lately.

Daunting actually.

I don't quite understand why it's so easy to put these extra pounds on, but so difficult to take them off. I found a recent article that provided a laundry list of stuff that can sabotage weight loss. The list was mainly a collection of common sense things.

Then, of course, another article discussed how mindless eating can cause weight gain, too.

Gee whillikers, another shocker there.

I'll tell you what sabotages weight loss… F-O-O-D.

Let's all practice our "Home Alone" face as we step onto the scale for Week 9 of the "I'm-Frying-In-My-Own-Fat" Weight Loss Challenge.


Can I have a thunder thigh roll, pah-leese?

Just as I suspected. Weight loss for this week:  one measly pound.

No shocker there.

[This article was first published as Week 8 Frying In My Own Fat Weight Loss Challenge: Trying to Weigh In As Normal on Technorati.]



According to a recent survey, 36.6 percent of Americans weigh in at a normal weight.

That's up in a good way--about 1 percent from a year ago.

But slow down, Missy, I don't think it's time to break out the milkshakes or Ben & Jerry's ice cream yet. These figures were based on telephone interviews, not actual weigh ins.

According to the article, the data was based on self-reported info of height and weight to determine a score of body mass index. So tell me, just how many people actually have their real weight on their driver's license? Hmmmm? Just wondering.

That also means that even though about a third of Americans are of "normal" weight, everyone else is either overweight or obese. Which also makes me wonder if two-thirds of the population are fatty-fatty-two-by-fours, perhaps that "normal" category is all relative. Sometimes I look fairly "normal" on certain days standing next to certain people in the grocery line if you know what I mean.

The pollsters aren't exactly sure what caused that 1 percent drop. Perhaps, we are finally beginning to get it and doing something about being fat.

I know I am slowly moving in that direction. Week 8 of my "Frying In My Own Fat" Weight Loss Challenge finds me almost another pound lighter, bringing my grand total loss eight pounds closer to normal.

Week 7 Frying In My Own Fat Weightloss Challenge–-Tackling Global Obesity One Pound at a Time

(This article was first published as Week 7: Tackling Global Obesity One Pound at a Time on Technorati.)

A few weeks ago, I read with interest an article about some sort of U.N. special summit that was supposed to tackle chronic diseases. 

In light of my "Frying In My Own Fat" Weight Loss Challenge, I was particularly interested in  British Chef Jamie Oliver's plea to world leaders about tackling obesity globally.

In a letter to the UN, Oliver wrote, “One in ten people in the world are obese. It’s affecting our kids – 42 million are overweight before they even reach school age, and most of those beautiful children will be suffering from the early stages of heart disease and diabetes by the time they reach adulthood… People still don’t realize that the problem is not just limited to rich  countries, that worldwide being obese or overweight now causes more deaths than under-nutrition. It’s convenient for everyone to think that it’s just America which has the biggest problem.” 

Of course, Oliver has been on this skinny-minny bandwagon for quite some time now. A few years back, he tried to introduced healthy lunches in some British schools. That worked about as well as me substituting tea for my morning coffee.

According to the news report, "children fought back by boycotting the cafeterias. Some parents even shoved hamburgers, pizza and french fries to hungry children through school yard fences."

Undeterred, Oliver continued championing healthier food in schools and was vindicated in later news reports when test scores rose and people attributed the increase in brain power to the decrease in junk food. 

Still, I can certainly understand that sort of frustration exhibited along that school yard fence. I sort of felt that way the other day when I peered at my teensy-weensy, t-tiny frozen lunch. (Remember, this past week I grappled with that entire portion control thing.)

Oh, what I would have given for someone to shove a pizza my way, or a hamburger, or a few french fries.  

But because I didn't have anyone doing that, I managed to shed 1.6 pounds bringing my grand total weight loss so far to 7 pounds since I began this  weight loss shebang six weeks ago. 

I think maybe even Jamie Oliver might be proud.