Weight Loss Challenge Nears Goal If Sleep Doesn't Interfere

[This article was first published as Weight Loss Challenge Nears Goal If Sleep Doesn't Interfere on Technorati.]

Since my last fitness challenge update was put in another spot on technorati, some of you may have thought I had given up and jumped onto the bandwagon instead of walking beside it.

Fear not. I'm still at it although weight loss has slowed to a snail's pace with just under a half a pound duly recorded this week. The good news is that I am just 1.5 pounds shy of my original weight loss goal since I started my "Frying-in-my own-fat" Weight Loss Challenge on Aug. 15. Even better news is that I think I'm going to try and lose an additional 5 pounds after I knock off that last 1.5 pounds.

Of course that means I'm going to have to pump it up a notch and be more vigilant. Sadly, Howard the Shelter cat is not helping at all with this endeavor preferring to steal and play with the tape measure, and more or less scoffing at my weight loss attempts.

Despite searching for new articles for weight loss inspiration this week, I find only the same old stuff being rewritten, restudied and regurgitated. According to  recent article, a supposedly "new" study shows a connection between interrupted and lack of sleep to obesity. Both are problems for me, and both ideas we've covered before here.

Apparently an irregular, restricted sleep schedule continued over a year period can amount to more than a 12 pound weight gain.

One of the articles quotes Orfeu Buxton, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who headed the research, as saying, “Getting adequate sleep is what we’re calling one of the three pillars of health: sleep, diet, and exercise go well together, and they interact. If you don’t get enough sleep, it’s hard to get enough exercise. If you’re not getting enough sleep, people eat more food. That causes them to gain weight and make inappropriate food choices — sugary treats and snacks.”

Another "new study" from the American Journal of Preventative Medicine tells us that the secret to weight loss is not through fad diets. According to the article, the secret to weight loss is  "a combination of more exercise, eating less fatty foods and joining a weight loss program. What doesn't work? Popular fad diets, liquid diets, and weight loss pills."

Ya, think?

I think Howard the Shelter cat could have arrived at that result. Apparently, though, those brides-to-be aren't heeding any of the logical weight loss advice with the latest Bridal Hunger Games thing. Instead, they are spending hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of dollars, and using feeding tubes, 800 calorie diets, shots, cleansing juices and such.

Don't these people think someone is going to notice when they mushroom back out to their pre-hunger game size?

I'm not saying that I am completely above this  smoke-and-mirrors approach to weight loss. I'm just waiting for the right one. If anyone ever finds a way to carry around a permanent PhotoShop filter, well then, count me in.

In the meantime, I've got my green tea, 100 calorie packet of dark chocolate almonds and exercise to see me through to my goal.

Fitness Challenge Update: Diet Takes A Spring Break

[This article was first published as Diet Takes A Spring Break on Technorati.}

 

If being a yearbook adviser were a diet or an exercise program, I would be one Skinny Minnie.

Unfortunately, it is not.

While spring break is going full throttle even at destinations in Mexico deemed unsafe by the Texas Department of Public Safety, I find myself drowning in all things yearbook 24/7 because we must turn in all 272 pages now in order to have the yearbook back before the kiddos break for the summer.

Am I having fun over my spring break? No siree, Missy.  Unfortunately, my diet did.

So while spring breakers actually find themselves aligned with dead poets shouting,"Carpe Diem!" I find myself hunched over a computer and muttering phrases not fit for print.  When I should be beefing up my exercise programs because I am "off work," I am online submitting pages.

I've been so stressed with this yearbook thing that I ate my entire box of emergency chocolates that one of my BFFs gave me two weeks ago. ("I think you're going to need them," she foreshadowed.)  And that little box wasn't the cheap stuff either, but my most favorite chocolate–Hotel Chocolate. An entire little box of Caramel Chocolate Batons disappeared faster than you can shout, "I hate yearbook!"

Somehow I don't think that's what the helpful guy meant when he posted a comment a few weeks ago suggesting that I eat smaller and more frequent meals. Somehow I don't think eating a box of caramel chocolate batons fit into that little suggestion.

And yes, I know, I am pathetic.

Still, I did manage to lose a half a pound, but I don't think those caramel chocolate batons had a chance yet to settle on my hips.

I guess we'll find out next week.

New diet pill promises 10% weight loss

[This article first published as New Diet Pill Promises 10 Percent Weight Loss on Technorati.]

According to a recent article, there's a new diet pill on the horizon--the first to receive tentative approval in more than a decade--that promises a 10 percent weight loss.

Still, there is concern about the drug's side effects. Apparently, the problem is not in creating weight loss drugs, but in creating weight loss drugs without side effects.

According to another news story, the "biggest problem in creating a weight-loss drug is that there appears to be no safe way to turn off one of the human body's most fundamental functions."

Tell me about it. They're talking about that thing that makes our bodies store fat the nano-second we cut back on food. You know, that thing that screams, "I'm starving! Save the fat, save the fat, save the fat!"

Yeah, that thing. Oh, how I hate that thing.

I sure wish losing weight were as simple as popping a pill, but there ain't no easy road to weight loss. No siree, Missy. I struggled like the rest of the fatsos this week increasing my workout intensity and watching my food intake, but not so much as to make that thing scream, "Save the fat, save the fat, save the fat!"

Apparently, I successfully outsmarted that darn tootin' thing as I am proud to report that my scale showed me 1.6 pounds lighter this week.

I suppose if losing weight were easy, 35 percent of the population wouldn't be fat, and we all would be running around looking like Heidi Klum or Brad Pitt.

If only.

Maybe one day someone will find a magic pill that will easily transform us back to that better, smaller version of ourselves. In the meantime, can't you just hear the Project Runway host saying, "One minute your thin and the next minute your fat!"

Thanks, Heidi.

In Search of Team Skinny

[This article was first published as In Search of Team Skinny on Technorati.]

Usually I am not fond of the word "contagious," but according to a new study, losing weight can be contagious.

"This is the first study to show that in these team-based campaigns, who's on your team really matters," lead author Tricia Leahey, Ph.D., of The Miriam Hospital and Alpert Medical School said in news reports. "Being surrounded by others with similar health goals all working to achieve the same thing may have really helped people with their weight loss efforts."

Apparently, weight loss outcomes "were clearly determined by which team an individual was on." 

Clearly, I need to sign up with Team Skinny because this week I was on Team Failure.

Despite my high hopes from the previous weeks, this week found me eating left over Valentine's Day chocolate… and brownies… and extra servings of this and that.

I even went to the movies (a rare treat for me) and got some of that movie popcorn… yep, with the butter… and the salt… and, oh yeah, a hefty portion of guilt. And if my little Fitness Pal calorie counter is correct, I just discovered that small bag of movie popcorn contained 420 calories which is more than I eat for lunch.

So because I'm on Team Failure, I opted not to weigh myself for this update. I figured it would just depress me and send me further into my Emergency Chocolate drawer.

Instead, I've decided to start anew this week with a better resolve and attitude… and if you find Team Skinny, tell them I'm ready for a change.

Challenge Update: Start Looking For A Sugar Daddy

[This article was first published as Start Looking For A Sugar Daddy on Technorati.]

Sometimes I think it's just best to ignore some of the stuff that seeps out of California especially San Francisco.

This is probably one of those times, but the buzz coming from over there about this sugar business (The Toxic Truth About Sugar) made more noise across the globe than a roomful of 6 year olds on a sugar rush after a Halloween party.

From the UK to France to Canada to Pakistan, news reports talked about the recommendation by three California researchers that sugar should be regulated. The three advocate controlling sugar sales to anyone under 17 years old and taxing the rest of us for our sugar habit.

If the sugar police had their way, having a Sugar Daddy would take on an entirely new meaning.

Understandably the Sugar Association found this latest report "non-scientific and irresponsible. Others just called the report "idiotic."

If I completely gave up sugar, I'd probably shed my extra poundage pretty speedy quick for my "Frying In My Own Fat" Weight Loss Challenge, but that will never happen. No siree, Missy.

Why? Because I enjoy sugar. I must have milk and sugar in my morning coffee. So that probably makes me a sugar addict and a diary addict and, oh yeah, a coffee addict…and a…

"Hi, my name is Carol and I'm addicted to sugar and milk and coffee… and chocolate and food… and …"

Jeepers creepers, my list is endless… Still, despite my apparent sugar addiction, I'm down almost another pound this week.

Like I said, we probably should just ignore most of that stuff that seeps across the border from California. I do have one thing left to say, though:

I'll give up my sugar packets when you can pry them from my cold, dead fingers.

Will Power and Outsourcing Self Control Key Factors in Keeping Diet Resolutions

(This article was first published as Will Power and Outsourcing Self Control Key Factors in Keeping Diet Resolutions on Technorati.)

Let's just say that my "Post-holiday, Back-on-the-Fat-No-More" bandwagon was rather disappointing.

OK, so it was more than rather disappointing. The  disappointment was epic. Epic because I did all the things I needed to do and was supposed to do. Things like watch calories, eat tee-tiny portions and exercise five times this week. I get tired just thinking about it.

I even went to that special Fat Yoga class I signed up for. OK, so maybe it's called something like "Yoga for Weight Loss and Weight Management," but since I'm not a big fan of euphemisms, I call it my "Fat Yoga" class to distinguish it from the other classes I attend like the "Hotter-than-the-Dickens Yoga"  (my Monday night hot yoga class,) or the "I'm-staring-at-my-toes-because-I-can't-do-that-pose Yoga" class (my Wednesday night Power Yoga class) or the "I've-fallen-and-can't-get-up yoga class" for the other Thursday night Power Yoga Plus class.

Jeepers.

Despite my best efforts, my weight remained unchanged this week, but my resolve to finish out this "Frying In My Own Fat" Weight Loss Challenge remains strong especially after reading this New York Times article.

According to the article, people fail to keep their New Year's resolutions (or any resolution for that matter) because they simply run out of willpower. Will Power apparently is a "real form of mental energy, powered by glucose in the bloodstream, which is used up as you exert self-control."

And, sadly, once Mr. Will Power is gone, well chaos ensues, and you fall off whatever fat-no-more bandwagon you were on and  become part of that 36 percent who break their resolutions by the end of January or that 56 percent who cave in by July.

The article gave a bunch of tips on how to stay the course. One was to outsource your self-control by holding yourself accountable to friends or publicly pre-committing to your resolution. (Sort of like what I've been doing here.) I've always said public humiliation is a great motivator. There are even APPs to help you with that.

So apparently I'm just going to have to try harder and watch my internal Will Power meter because I am not giving up on this fat-no-more thing.

No siree, Missy. I'm determined not to be a resolution failure statistic.

Maybe Week 2 of my Fat Yoga class will wring out a pound or two this upcoming week, and Mr. Will Power will remain strong.

How's that for a bit of outsourcing self-control? And I didn't have to go off-shore to do it either.

Weight Loss Challenge Update–Another Year, Another Ton of Food

[This article was first published as Another Year, Another Ton of Food on Technorati.}


Christmas break finally ended, and with it, my hiatus from "My Frying In My Own Fat" Weight Loss Challenge.

I suppressed an anxiety/panic attack and finally stepped on my scale that had been leaning against my closet wall mocking me.

On the count of three, can we all do the dance of joy?

No, I did not lose any weight. But I did not gain any either despite the holiday noshing which included such delightful and delicious things like cheese cake, apple pie, holiday chocolate, freshly baked rolls and second helpings. (I get giddy and dizzy just thinking about it).

Finally, I got it.

Finally, I realized that if I ate so much of this, I couldn't have any of that. Or, if I ate this, I better not touch that. Or, if I exercised here, I could eat that over there.
And since I finally had a  better understanding about portions, I knew what a normal plate should look like.

Notice, I said "normal plate," not "normal person" because I was somewhat shocked when I heard a radio report over my break that

the average woman weighs about 165 pounds.
In another news report, I also heard that the average American eats about a ton of food a year. Suddenly, those two slices of cheese cake don't seem so bad after all.
Unless of course, I start inching toward inhaling the national average of 2,700 calories a day.

All of that news was enough to make me fork over an extra $40 and sign up for a special 5-week yoga for weight loss and management class at my favorite yoga studio.

I was a bit disheartened when I discovered that there were actually some Skinny Minnies signed up for the class. And, we're not talking about regular Skinny Minnies, but those perfect Skinny Minnies who can actually do all those crazy yoga poses and always look fab-u-lous doing them while I'm either falling over or studying my toes.

Despite that little setback, Chris (my No. 1 favorite yoga instructor and studio owner) told us to come to the new class with an open mind and good attitude.

Oh, I'll come with an open mind all right.

And an attitude.

I just can't promise what kind of attitude that will be.

At this point, the yogis of the world are probably gasping and muttering mantras about letting go of judgements and competition.

Don't get me wrong, I'm willing to let go…just as soon as I let go of another 10 pounds.

Let the games begin!

Week 17--Treat Your Holiday Calories Like Your Credit Card

[This article was first published as Treat Holiday Calories Like Your Credit Card on Technorati.]

Not only did I manage to wear my "skinny" jeans again this week proving to the naysayers that it wasn't all some fluke, I also managed to shed another pound this week.

And that, my dears, was no small feat since during my ornament exchange with two of my BFFs, I left with not just some cute ornaments but a wide array of chocolate. And not just any chocolate, no siree, Missy, but my favorite chocolate from Hotel Chocolate. If I could check into the Hotel Chocolate, I don't know that I would ever come back out again.


Now my other BFF, Jennifer, fancies herself a Godiva girl. She has one of those frequent buyer cards. The Godiva people always ask me if I want to join and get my own card, so I can get my free piece of chocolate for those times my friend opts not to share with me.

Really? If I signed up, I might as well just roll a cot into their store. I don't think I would ever leave. 

It's that self-control thing I constantly wrestle with.

I also learned this week that I am not alone in my stinkin' thinkin' about chocolate. You see, anytime I have Hotel Chocolate in my pantry, I start trying to ration it out, but then I rationalize that I'm going to eat it all anyway so does it really matter if I divide up the calories throughout the week or just inhale all gazillion calories at one time and get it over with. Hmmmmm?

I learned  my yoga pal, Becky, thinks the same way (and I thought I was alone).
But sadly, apparently it does matter. According to Judith J. Wurtman, we need to approach the holidays, "Like putting charges on your credit card, you can decide that you are able to 'afford' the calories at the party, feast or open house, or you can choose to stop eating because you have already consumed more than your caloric limit. But don't fool yourself that if you decide not to notice how much you are eating and drinking, your scale won't notice either."

I'm pretty sure eating all that chocolate at once puts me over my measly caloric limit just like I'm fairly certain shopping at Neiman Marcus or Barneys will max out my credit card.
Another website provided a bit more hope for those in the gorging camp. Although most health folks claim we gain anywhere between three and seven pounds over the holidays, one site says it's more like one pound. One. As in Uno. Kind of like the one pound I lost.

But I'm thinking they don't have a pantry with a wide assortment of Hotel Chocolate or a Godiva frequent buyer card or my yoga pal's big bag of M&Ms.

I think the pound I lost would be found along with quite a few of his friends.

Week 16–Taking a Breather in Skinny Jeans

[This article was first published as Week 16–Taking a Breather in Skinny Jeans on Technorati.]

Bet some of you thought I abandoned this weight loss challenge with the holidays here.

No siree, Missy. I'm here for the long haul.

I did step on the scale and noticed no weight loss. I was prepared for that little bit of disappointment, though, because I wasn't exactly good this week. Still, I wasn't horribly bad either. Stuff like chocolate, a smidge of pie and some other assorted things sort of put me on Santa's bad dieter list.

I did have a monumental break-through. I (like most women) have "fat" clothes, "regular" clothes and "clothes I'll wear when I lose weight" or "skinny" clothes. In fact, tucked away in the back of the bottom drawer of my dresser was a shopping bag with a pair of blue jeans I purchased in March of 2009.  The bag still contained the receipt and the blue jeans still had the tags on them.

Those blue jeans never fit me. I bought them at an outlet store without trying them on because I purchased the same pair there a few months before and loved them. Silly me, I assumed they would fit exactly the same, but apparently there's quite a variation in sizing. I couldn't even zip up this pair, but since I couldn't return them, every few months when I was feeling hopeful,  I would open up the bag, take them out and try them on.

It became my regular shot of disappointment. I should have just tacked a wide load sign on my backside. 

But lately I've noticed my clothes are fitting rather looser, so I peaked into that bag again, took the blue jeans out and tried them on.

This time I zipped them up.

And, more importantly, I could even breathe.

Week 14–How Black Friday Put Me Back On Track

[This article was first published as Week 14–How Black Friday Put Me Back On Track on Technorati.]

Like most Americans, I allowed myself license to fall off the diet bandwagon and consumed mass quantities of food over Thanksgiving. 

And just like Turkey, Texas, I pretty much rejected any ideas of substituting tofu for my turkey. No siree, Missy. No tofu here.

And although I fell from grace on Thanksgiving, Black Friday provided a redemption of sorts, setting me back on the righteous diet track. Let me explain. 

Black Friday found me at the mall as a willing participant in helping with that  7 percent increase in spending over last year's post-turkey day shopping spree.

So there I was enticed into a Betsey Johnson store by a pink 40 percent off everything sign. Within minutes, I was standing with a few gift items in line behind a woman who was one and half times the size of me. 

She was bemoaning to the sales woman (who was probably 60 percent younger than me and 60 percent smaller than me) as to why designer Betsey Johnson didn't make clothes for "larger" sized women.

I wanted to say, "Oh, you mean FAT women," but I stopped myself and resisted the sudden urge to randomly poll shoppers asking, "Does anyone remotely think squeezing a plus-size woman into one of Betsey's dresses is a good idea? Anyone? Anyone at all?"

And that fellow shoppers didn't even begin to address the age factor. While I tend to agree you are only as old as you feel, I also believe that age does have certain limitations. While I would love to be able to fit into my daughter's clothes, I really don't think wearing them would be a good idea.

It was sort of like that moment a few weeks ago when my youngest daughter called to tell me that Modest Mouse was finally coming to Texas. And I said, "Oh, I wish I could go, but I guess I'm too old…"

Which was followed by a moment of silence instead of an invitation to the concert.

I get it. I really do. Sometimes I forget I'm part of that 50-plus set.

Which is why I will never see Modest Mouse or wear one of those funky, fabulous Betsey Johnson dresses. 

Still, the thought that one day I could fit into one of those funky, fabulous Betsey Johnson dresses if I stay the course on my Frying-In-My-Own-Fat Weight Loss Challenge put me right back on track.

Who knows, maybe I'll even actually buy one of those fabulously, funky Betsey Johnson dresses. You know, I could wear it around the house while belting out my repertoire of my favorite Modest Mouse tunes.

So Betsey, stay the course. Don't design for the larger crowd. Be my inspiration, and I promise I'll hop back on the scale next week a pound lighter and singing "Fire it up!"

And who knows, maybe next Black Friday I'll try on one of those funky, fabulous dresses. 

Week 13 Update: When Your Fat Fanny Becomes A National Security Issue

[This article was first published as Week 13–When Your Fat Fanny Becomes A National Security Issue on Technorati.]

I started up yoga again after a two and half week exercise hiatus caused by my sprained ankle.

Make no mistake though, the pain remains fairly unabated. I just figured I could exercise and have pain, or I could lounge on the couch and have pain.

I can't tell you how much I would have preferred the latter, but since I was having to adjust my food intake to compensate for my lack of mobility, my food options were resembling my shoe options--slim to none.

 So I opted to go back to yoga instead. As long as I stayed clear of those one legged poses and stuff like that dancer pose, I was fine. (OK, so maybe I never could do those twisty things, but at least I have an excuse now.)

Speaking of excuses,  I saw where  Congress decided to push a less than nutritional school lunch fare safeguarding pizza and french fries and allowing two tablespoons of tomato paste to continue to count as a vegetable.

Even some retired generals and admirals from a group called Mission: Readiness have weighed in, calling the lack of nutrition in school lunches a national security issue. Apparently one in four kids are  too fat to join the military.

“This is a tragedy for the country,” said retired four-star Air Force General Richard E. Hawley, who is a member of Mission: Readiness. “We are taking a step backward apparently in response to pressure from groups who see it in their interest to serve junk food in our schools.”

Hawley said America’s obesity epidemic is a threat to national security.

It's a good thing my age disqualifies me for military service. Otherwise, my fat fanny could be a national security issue, too. Because despite being another 1.4 pounds lighter this week, I'm still too fat for military service.

Slowly, but surely though, my weight is coming off, but I'm not eating pizza and french fries or counting tomato paste as a vegetable either.

Is Anyone Really Out There? Week 12 Update--There Ain't No Cheese With This Whine

[This article was first published as Week 12 Update–There Ain't No Cheese With This Whine on Technorati.]

Let's just hang it all out there today. This is an old-fashion, full-blown, 5-alarm whinefest, and I'm not talking about the red-stuff-in-a-crystal-glass-kind either. No siree, Missy.

And since I'm still trying to lose weight, there ain't gonna be any cheese with this whine either. 

When I decided to be Ninja teacher at the start of the school year and fly  under the radar who knew just how invisible I would become?

I figured that perhaps if I kept my big fat mouth shut I'd stay out of trouble, and, if my big fat mouth stayed shut most of the time, as an added bonus, I might lose some weight, too. Toss in the whole "I'm Frying In My Own Fat Weight Loss Challenge" thing, and I figured it was a win/win of sorts.

Instead, this Ninja thing forced me to wonder rather Pink Floyd-like "Is anyone really out there?"

I thought by blogging about my weight loss struggles, there might be a word or two of encouragement from others. I thought perhaps readers might even offer up a tip or two. Or Dr. Oz would offer up some help. OK, so maybe not Dr. Oz, but you get it.

Something.

Anything.

But in the past 13 weeks I have been at this and despite being retweeted by a fair number, I've received only one brief note of encouragement.

One.

As in uno.

As in one more than none.

Does that mean that people retweet with abandon, but never actually read the stuff they toss down the Internet?

Or perhaps it's this Ninja thing. See how invisible I have become? 

At least I managed to become a half pound more invisible this past week, bringing my total weight loss to 10 pounds. And yes, I realize that I probably could have lost that half a pound just by sneezing. And, yes, I worry about gaining weight over the holiday season.

But I have other, more pressing worries. I became even more disheartened this week. As I entered Week Two of being sidelined by my sprained ankle and unable to exercise, I still had people come up to me and ask how I injured myself. Questions from people, you know, who claimed to read these things.

Which, again makes me ponder, "Is anyone really out there?"

If you are, do you think that perhaps you could bring some cheese for this whine?

Frying In My Own Fat Weight Loss Challenge Update Week 11–New Calorie Counting App on the Horizon

[This article was first published as Week 11–New Calorie Counting App on the Horizon on Technorati.]

Unfortunately all of Week 11 of the Frying in My Own Fat Weight Loss Challenge was spent recuperating from what I now refer to as my "Mike Napoli World Series Incident."

Napoli, as you may recall, injured his ankle in Game 6 of the World Series. I injured my ankle after Game 6. The similarities of our lives pretty much stops there.
So this week left me sidelined with my foot propped up, a bag of ice and the new owner of one very unfashionable black boot. All of that meant, no exercise. No exercise translates into eating less. Eating less translates into grumpy.

And all of the above translates into no weight loss. But at least, there was no weight gain either.

With this extra couch potato time, I spent more time reading and searching for tips on losing weight or new stuff related to losing weight. It seems there's a new app on the horizon for counting calories called PlateMate.

Here's how it works: You put food on your plate. Take a photo of it and send it off for analysis.

According to articles which appeared in the Boston Globe and the New York Times,  "PlateMate uses a more complex crowd-sourcing tool, involving sets of individuals — getting small payments to analyze photos on a website — who analyze parts of the food photo, with some identifying the food and others estimating portion sizes. The trick is to have five individuals estimating portion sizes on each plate and then averaging those guesses."

Supposedly, all of this gives a fairly accurate count of calories. Of course, one dietitian who was interviewed pointed out, “You can look at a photo of a quiche and have no idea what’s really in it. Is it made with regular cheese or low-fat? Skim milk or whole milk? You’ll only be getting a guesstimate of calories.”

She's got a point. Still, I'm looking forward to PlateMate which is suppose to be available sometime this year.

I'd love to be able to try it, but in addition to being stuck with a sore ankle and an very unfashionable black boot, I am also stuck with a dumb phone until my phone carrier decides to give me an upgrade.

I bet Mike Napoli doesn't have that problem either.

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.

[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.

Week 6: I May Be Frying In My Own Fat But I'm Thawing Out Some Frozen Dinners

[This article was first published as Week 6: I May Be Frying In My Own Fat But I'm Thawing Out Some Frozen Dinners on Technorati.]


I've never been a frozen food fan, but I finally succumbed to eating frozen meals for lunch because apparently I am too stupid to visually gauge portions.

I even went to the Mayo Clinic website and watched a nifty little slide show about portion control. "If your portion control is out of control, you may be supersizing your meals and yourself," the site says. But have no fear, it's easy to correct, they promise.

You can use "every day" objects such as baseballs, hockey pucks and dice to help you determine portion size. I'm not exactly sure how a hockey puck can be considered an "every day" object, but hey, I thought, I like hockey so I'm OK with that.

I was whipping through the slides until I got to Slide 11.

The one where they have four squares of cheese (yummy) and four dice. Jeepers, now I see my problem-o.
My portion dice don't look anything like those dice. Rather, they look a bit more like those fuzzy ones hanging off a rear view mirror. No wonder I have such trouble with this whole weight loss thing.
You can see why I've been spending some quality time in the frozen food aisle at the grocery store and why my weight loss report for the week shows no loss and no gain. At least I found some decent meals to take for lunch. Let's see how it goes this week because I must admit I'm getting a tad bit frustrated that after six weeks, all I have less to show for it is five pounds.

Week 4 of the "Frying In My Own Fat" Weight Loss Challenge–Better to Fry in Brown Fat Than White Fat

[This article was first published as Week 4–Better to Fry in Brown Fat Than White Fat on Technorati.]

I love that "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" song by the Smashing Pumpkins. The one that goes, "Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage."
Usually, I'm not fond of feeling like a rodent, but after reading about this little study, well, there could be some benefits there.

Apparently there is "energy-storing" white fat and "energy burning" brown fat. Who knew? We apparently want that "energy burning" brown fat. According to this study, our little furry mice friends transformed that bad white fat into that good brown fat when they were "given a more engaging place to live with greater opportunities for social stimulation."

The little furry guys who lived in the enriched environment also lost 50 percent more of their abdominal fat than the control critters.

So since my little weight loss endeavor didn't go as well as I had hoped this week with a zero (that's nadda, zilch, zippo) pound loss and only a one inch smaller waist to show for it, perhaps I need to take a closer look at that study. One writer even said it was "surprisingly simple." Apparently, I just need to be busier (is that even possible?), have more friends (so I now have to be less snarkier?), and more room to run around.

Really?

Now, if I can just get over this sudden craving for cheese, I'll probably be all right.

Carol: Four Weeks to Go & Thinking About a Guy I Don't Know

[This article was first published as Four Weeks To Go and Thinking About a Guy I Don't Know on Technorati.]

(Writer's note: I've been busy putting together the Education Buzz--Life's a Carnival which will appear here on Wednesday. So instead of posting my usual witty observations, I'm posting my update on my 3-day for the Cure training. Jeepers Creepers, it's in four weeks. If you haven't donated and want to still donate for the cure, my BFF Jennifer still needs a bit more in order to walk. Remember I need her for that whole camping thing. Otherwise, I'll be sleeping on the ground being eaten alive by bears. OK, so maybe bears is a teensy weensy bit of exaggeration.  How about eaten alive by coyotes? Armadillos? OK, chiggers then… So have a little pity and go here to donate to my BFF Jennifer, but before you do make sure you read the post below…] 

Lately I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about a guy I don't know. On Oct. 8, he walked the walk--you know the one, the 3-day for the Cure. 

In April, I read a column by Leonard Pitts about his decision to participate in the Susan G. Komen 60-mile walk for the cure. Inspired by his words, I decided instead of donating money for his walk, I would walk the walk as well and signed up for the 3-day for the Cure in Dallas on Nov. 5.

Ever since I began this undertaking, Mr. Pitts has floated in and out of my thoughts. Admittedly, sometimes those thoughts weren't very warm and fuzzy especially when my walking buddies and I braved 100-plus degree heat to train.

Other times I wondered/worried whether Mr. Pitts had trouble getting his donations. I shouldn't have worried so much about him. While my team  struggled to raise our $2,300 each, his readers donated more than $27,000. I can only chalk it up to the difference between a well-known, professional syndicated columnist and team of high school teachers.

Still, I am just as proud of the quarters raised by our high school students as I am of the outpouring of generosity of Mr. Pitts' readers. In some ways, I am even more proud of the fledgling Pink Panther Club formed just a month ago to increase breast cancer awareness at our school--all a result of our upcoming walk which in an odd way traces the start of its journey back to Mr. Pitts.

I always tell my journalism students that we often don't know how our words touch others or even if they do.

I checked on Mr. Pitts' recent columns to see what sort of update he had related to the 3-day for the Cure.  Again, he had a particularly poignant piece writing that  "…life is an understanding: We're all going to the same destination. The only difference is in what you choose to see along the way."

But I would have to add something to that observation because it's not just what you choose to see along the way, it's also who you touch along the way.

So because Mr. Pitts unknowingly touched my life, I will spend this weekend wondering and worrying how this stranger fared on his 60-mile walk.

Carol: 7 Weeks 2 Go--Sausage Fingers, Clown Feet & Miles to Go

[This article first  published as The Countdown is On: 7 Weeks to Go  on Technorati.]

Instead of counting up, it's time to count down. Seven weeks to go before the 3-day for the Cure Susan G. Komen 60-mile walk to fight breast cancer.

Saturday my team and I went on another training walk with a handful of women in our area. We walked 15 miles leaving at 6:15 a.m. and finishing about 11-ish.

Our hands swelled up like those little Vienna sausages.

My feet felt like clown feet.

Trust me, if a clown car had passed by, I wouldn't have hesitated to hop in and put on one of those red, squeaky clown noses and hitched a ride back to my van.

About Mile 11 I felt my skin scorching in the 90 degree-plus temperatures despite the SPF 60+ sunscreen I slathered on when Mr. Sun was still sleeping.

My team--Pink Me Out-- is hoping for cooler temperatures by the time the 3-day comes to Dallas in November.

Already other 3-days have been held throughout the country. Denver had its 3-day for the Cure in August with about 500 walkers raising more than $1.5 million to fight breast cancer. The next 3-day gets underway in Seattle next weekend on Sept. 24.

When I reviewed the weekly training schedule from Mr. Virtual Trainer for our 3-day walk, I just about passed out. It calls for two back-to-back "easy walking" training miles of 17 and 13 for next weekend.
 
Just when I think, "Yeah, right," I think about the soccer coach in Olympia, Washington, who battled breast cancer and will walk the walk in Seattle. Or, I look at the picture of cancer survivor Megan Hernandez as she finished the walk in Denver.

Remember, thankfully, cancer is not a battle I have had to fight. I am walking for others in my life. I have to remind myself that I walk simply because I can.

I figure if Megan can do it, well then, so can I.