Worth Reading...cause Calories Do Count!

In Defence of the Calories

He takes on several of the "arguments" against counting calories for weight loss.

excerpt:

Anti-Calorie argument #3: Fat people eat no more than skinny people

For years this was simply assumed based on observation, anecdote and poor science. We’ve all seen and heard the lamentations of those who “barely eat” and can’t lose an ounce while their skinny friend eats baconators for breakfast and never gains. Studies appeared to substantiate our observations when subjects were asked to record their food intake…that is until they actually decided to see for themselves and monitor them more closely. And guess what? Overweight people are prone to underreporting food intake – to the tune of up to 47% in some studies!

So for someone claiming to eat 2000 calories was actually consuming almost 3000 calories. At the risk of sounding obvious – that’s a pretty big difference.

Again this plays into the “it’s not your fault” warmth and fuzziness that Gary Taubes and others are so fond of. To quote my friend and colleague Leigh Peele – you WANT it to be your “fault”. It doesn’t mean dwell on it, beat yourself up over it… it means you are in control and can do something about it.

Checking In, Weigh-In, A CBS "toxic Sugar" video link, and a prayer request. :)

Man, amazing how time flies. It's been nearly two weeks since I checked in.

Okay, so weigh-in: 177.6 

That's a little over 3 lbs less than last Sunday, and that's back near to my lowest weight on this journey. That's good.

Here's the bad: the reason.  I've eaten a lot less (roughly 1000 cals) in the last 4 days. I've been on high anxiety and stressing. Hubby got laid off. So, yeah,  stress is high.

Normally, I'd dive into food for comfort. But, as anyone whose family income got shut down, you start economizing right off, and that means no eating out, take-out (or as minimal as possible). I'm using up what's in the house and drinking my whey protein when I don't feel like cooking. I spent two sleepless nights, and finally crashed and rested last night.

So, for the praying bloggers, I'd welcome prayers for , well, good employment for us, and fast. I don't want to drain savings. Thanks.

In clsoing, I wanted to pass along this link for a CBS 60 Minutes segment by Sanjay Gupta on sugar. If you misssed it back when they aired it, watch it. Worth seeing.

I'm convinced we need an anti-sugar-eating campaign like the no-smoking and no-drugs one. It won't eliminate it, and I wouldn't expect a total elimination. But if we can get people aware to LESSEN consumption and to demand hidden sugars be eliminated (bread doesn't NEED sugar, right) by not buying stuff with unnecessary included sugars, we'd all be better off. I mean, if we save sugar for rarer treats--a celebratory tarte or special hand-made truffle now and then--no one dies from that. But daily sugar ingestion in the sort of quantities and with hyperpalatable foods we have in modern life--the combo that really sets us up for overeating-- that is just deadly.

I began minimizing sugar intake when I first saw BITTER TRUTH (the video with Dr. Lustig that went viral a couple years back). I spent months and months when I didn't touch a thing with sugar. I got lax, allowed some real sugar treats in a few times a week along with my non-sugary ones. It was good to refresh myself with that video, to remind me to be vigilant. :)

Ditch the sugar, friends.

And be well...

A Passel of Pictures, A Pound That Prickles, A Pack of Paragraphs To Prime the Artistic Pump...and a Book for the Calorie Curious..

Just a various-items type of update, cause this is a transitional week for me, trying to do a lot of things at once while finding the balance. I'm not handling transitioning great, but I intend to get my footing!

I do feel like smiling and laughing again. Father's Day weekend pics are PROOF!

My hubby (with halo) and me.
I really love what the wind did to my hair here.
I wonder how I'd replicate this retro look?
Hair combs? French braid? I like it, though.

Windy-curly smile. Jungle Red lips.

Love the stone with my  dress and hair
My signature colors: red, black, white.

I felt better--mood, energy--but not 100%. I'll get there. (God, please.)  I wore a dress that had been sitting in my closet for months. It fit a little loose, but was comfy and girly. These are genuine smiles, so I'm hoping the remnants of the blues just fade away:

 I stepped on the scale today after the weekend of eating a bit more: 181.6

Hm.

Well, like I said, wobbly transition. Exercise has been....laughably minimal.

I downloaded THIS BOOK to my Kindle. I figure it will remind me to keep on top of calories, as maintenance requires it. And ease off the sugar-free chocolate. The preview for it was very interesting, and I like science-ey stuff.

The writing: Well, I sat down and wrote nine paragraphs. Okay, so some were only one-liners. But hey, I wrote. Yay, me.

Doesn't sound like much, does it? But nine paragraphs raise a story question, introduce a character with a special trait, add a deviation from the norm, and maybe make you want to read more, even if it's preliminary, warm-the-brain-up crap after 5 years of writing pretty much bupkis.

Behold the rough crap:

Luisa was used to seeing what others missed. Hurrying to the office on an early summer morning, she couldn’t help but notice them.

The beautiful ones faced eastward, every single one.

Whether dressed in suits and ties or shorts and tees, whether masculine or feminine or that intriguing androgyny that smiled from the space between, all sat or leaned or stood in postures of expectation. This one stood bowing a bit forward on muscular feet, and the only thing that kept him from tumbling into the gutter was a tanned hand balanced lightly on a parking meter. That one with sat with a Cuban pastry untouched on a paper plate in front of her, head tilted to the right, utterly white hair a frothy cascade against the black of her black jacket. Another sat with elbows on bare knees, an expression less patient than his comrades. And that one there, he (or perhaps she) paused in sipping her  (or his) latte, lips parted, as if already caught by some wonderful matter only they-- these assorted staring beauties --could see.

They did not read newspapers or novels or the faces of passersby hurrying to work, as Luisa had been. They did not type or swipe on gleaming gadgets du jour.

They stood out, even among the usual mix of attractive residents and workers. They drew attention, and didn't care. They ignored everything other than what they look at that way…east. 

Luisa stopped walking--fine, so she was late already, a few more minutes didn't matter-- and followed their gazes.

Nothing struck her as stare-worthy in the regular sights from the parking garage to her office: inviting eateries and freshly-opened shops catering to the younger, urban, vigorously trendy crowd that had moved in over the last couple years. Nouveau or vegan or organic or fusion whatnot.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

But there they were, those exquisite creatures with their unwavering attention to--what?

Yes, my rusty brain is being asked to create. It's not easy going from nil movement to acceleration creatively; but it was actually, I dunno, let's say I felt this sense of, "Oh, that's right, this can feel good and tingly!"

The paragraphs may or may not be relevant. It may simply be an 'oiling the machinery' exercise. But it still felt good to overcome inertia and WRITE SOMETHING. My intention is to go back to one of my two preferred fantasy manuscripts and enter those worlds again. But this might end up a story. Ya never know.

Okay, that's it for the update. Be well, folks. Let me know if you get the book! (Or if you're writing fiction, too.)

Oh, and you may note that I changed the blog's name and subtitle. It's no longer Two Years to Happy Weight After....

Day 3 Double Dog Dare Challenge: scale, water, calories, and whatever else

WI:  251.2

(Starting weight was 252.4, yesterday was 251.8)

I didn't have my late night snack, so I was under the 1760 allotted calories yesterday. 1646 total for Tuesday.

I'm real happy with that. It's normally crazy hard for me to stay under 1800, and under 1700 is RARE, and I mean RARE for me in the last 3 years of blogging for weight loss. So, yes, this is nice. I always do have a hard time with water, so having this challenge prod me to guzzle, guzzle, guzzle is helpful. (I hate the constant bathroom runs, though. Yikes!)

I went to bed late (4:30 AM) and just got up about 40 mins ago and have not had BKFST. I'm off to take care of that. But I wanted to open this entry to log my day's intake.

Hope the other "challengers" are doing super!

BREAKFAST:

WS Hot cakes and sugar free syrup
Papaya , 1/2 cup
Coffee
Water, 4 glasses

calories for bkfst:  258

Snack: (Note: Interestingly, despite a small breakfast, I had to force myself, cause I wasn't hungry; but was about to do errands and didn't want to have temptation while driving. So, made myself drink my protein shake.)

Protein shake
Water, 3 glasses

calories for snack: 100

LUNCH: (soooo hungry...it caught up to me. Craved rotisserie chicken, so got some)

2 rotisserie chicken breasts
3/4 cup white rice
1.5 cups lettuce
3 thick tomato slices
2 teaspoons EVOO with some salt on salad
1/3 cup peas & carrots

2 teeny tiny Seckel Pears (omigosh, so delicious)
Water -- 3 glasses

lunch calories:824

Total so far: 1182 (carbs 94, fat 26,  protein 134; water 10 glasses)

DINNER:

2 small boiled eggs made into egg salad with--
1 tbsp lite mayo, 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
On 1 slice double fiber whole grain bread
1/2 cup cucumber slices
35 red seedless grapes (so good, I'm going carb happy tonight!)
1 miniscule seckel pear
multivitamin, plus supplements with magnesium/calcium/Vitamin C
water, 2 glasses

dinner calories : 374

Total Calories for Day:   1556
Total Glasses of Water:   12

Yummy Big Breakfast The Day After Organic Co-op Pick-Up & Learning To Eat Less, bit by bit, cause I'm a Diet Marathoner, not a Sprinter

I woke up feeling no hunger, so I did email and some dishwashing (the dinner soakers) and listened to radio (a program about showing love to gay teens to prevent suicides, etc, another on the stuff going on in France).

Finally got hungry around 3pm. For some reason, the hunger came on fast, so I did a quickie breakfast, one of my faves: veggie omelette. I had really fresh spinach and scallions and baby bella mushrooms, and a few days' old cubanelle pepper, and a half an heirloom tomato leftover from Tuesday's breakfast. In they went to the pan with some garlic powder and pepper anda  pinch of sea salt. I added lowfat cheese on top. I cut up a beautiful papaya and sprinkled TrueLime on it (it really makes the flavor pop, more than even the liquid, real, organic limes). I had half a small organic grapefruit. Fresh coffee (this time George Howell's Terroir in the Select Custom Blend, which has this crazy good dark chocolate vibe in it). I sipped a bit of a protein fruit drink to bring the protein closer to 30 grams (what I aim for at breakfast, as I found that keeps the hunger at bay longest. Over 30 is not considered good, or so I read--and that may be unscientific and erroneous, so let me know if that's so-- so I do tally as I add ingredients.

Soooo good. The papaya is not just nice for one's digestion (due to papain), for those of use who are prone to congestion/phlegm/goo in the bronchii and nasal passages/sinusitis, it's a good thing. AND...it's good for those with high BP due to the potassium. It's my fave breakfast fruit. I try to have one ripening on the table at all times (ie, one ripe to eat, one waiting to ripen, eat half of first, refrigerate, eat that next day, then the other one is ready to go, buy new one, etc). It's a Superfood, and it's alkaline rich,  so I'm glad I love the stuff.

Some folks suggest eating it alone, on an empty tummy, for maximum benefit.

Due to insulin resistance, I won't eat any carb alone (not fruit, not bread, not pasta). I'll only eat fruit if I can team with protein and a bit of fat. :D That worked to get my sugar down sans meds, and I'll stick to that.

For about 500 calories, I got a very filling, anti-oxidant packed, satisfying, mouth-happy-making breakfast. Lots of protein. Anti-nose-goo goodness. :D

And today the scale was 252.0. So, another widdle-bitty downtick. I'll take it.

I find it interesting that I haven't had such a hard time anymore staying under not just 2000 cals--which I was finding a struggle, nearly impossible, in the decade plus--but that I'm now settling into a more comfortable "under 1850" pattern. This is good, and I hope I can find the inner resolve and dietary changes to maintain this. To keep my weight in the "low overweight" range --since I'm not even aiming for "thin" or "just normal"--I'd have to eat consistently UNDER 1800--unless I plan to start marathoning. (Don't hold your collective breaths on that. My knees and R ankle shudder at the idea.)

All the talk about "lifestyle change" is not bullshit (pardon my Etruscan). It's the Lord's truth. You have to start eating the way you'll always eat, because the reason for yo-yoing is that we eat in "diet mode" and then the "I"m done and off diet mode" and guess what? Off diet mode means "stuff I used to eat I'll eat again." Which means you get to the size you were...again.

I have had a very, very slow weight-loss trajectory. But I haven't regained what I started losing in 2004. I may have only lost about 10 lbs a year, but the pounds have stayed off (with small bobbles).

If it takes me two years (as this blog's Header states as the overarching goal), then that's a FIVE TIMES MORE a year loss than I've done so far. It may seem really slow to a lot of folks, but it's REALLY FAST rate to me. Mrs. 10 lbs a year (more or less).

I've already lost more than 10 lbs this year. I'd love to end the year with a total loss of 20+ pounds. That would double the average rate of my previous loss.

But most importantly, I want to learn to happily, full-tummy-fillingly learn to live on 1700 calories (more if I find my inner athlete). That's how it has to go down. And as I get older, I'll probably need to eat 1600, then 1500. That's just how the math goes. You age, you need less food unless you're Jack LaLanne maybe.

I tell myself even now: This is how it is. Forever. You have to find a way to make satisfying meals that are around 500 calories or fewer. You need to find nutrition optimizing combos and snacks. You have to learn to say no a lot to urges and cravings. You sometimes have to go to bed hungry.

I don't fool myself that this will be easy. I'm still struggling some days not to go over 2000...cause my brain and body still want to eat MORE MORE MORE. But I do find a certain calmness I didn't have last year, the year before, the year before that. Maybe it's just that I'm really sloooooooow to adapt to new habits. And it just takes me a long time to switch grooves.

It took me a while to be able to eat fewer than 2500.

It took me a while to be able to eat fewer than 2200.

It's taken me some months to be able to have consecutive days under 2000.

I'm not gonna win any weight-loss sprints. I'm a tortoise, not a hare.

That's okay. I just want to win my race and I'm only running against...me.

Hope Thursday finds you healthier and happier than yesterday and further along in your race--whether you walk, jog, or sprint....
~

Did Jillian Michaels Get the Math--and Kettle Bell Workout--Wrong?

This article says she did, and especially the "lose five pounds a week" math:

Now let's take a look at Michaels' weight-loss claims using the example of a middle-aged woman who weighs 190 pounds. Since there are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat, to fulfill Michaels' promise of losing 5 pounds a week, this woman needs a weekly deficit of 17,500 calories.

Part of this massive caloric deficit can result from dietary restriction — but not too much or it could cause her metabolism to slow down and she would experience intense hunger. A minimum intake for our hypothetical woman is around 1,400 calories a day, which is about 500 less than her typical weight-maintenance diet. Over the course of a week, she could lose 1 pound this way. So just 4 pounds — or 14,000 calories — left to account for.

Kettle bells can be a tremendous calorie-burner in the hands of an experienced user. But since Michaels' DVD is targeted at overweight and out-of-shape women, I think a generous estimation of how many calories our hypothetical woman can burn is about 600 an hour. Considering that she would burn roughly 100 calories sitting on the couch, the actual extra calories burned from doing Michaels' workout is 500 per hour.

Dividing that into the remaining weekly deficit of 14,000 calories, we find that our poor woman needs to use Michaels' kettle bell DVD for 28 hours each week. That's four hours of kettle bells a day — every single day.

Two fitness experts who are experts and certified in kettle ball training called Michael's kettle ball technique appalling. Yikes.

She's suing.

SparkPeople Email Quote, The Quest for Change, Dancing with Celia on Columbus Day as Hispanic History Month Nears End--Just to To Get the Week Going!

It was in my inbox. I liked it. I"m gonna quote it:

Are you trying to stick to a fitness plan, improve a relationship, eliminate fast food from your diet, or be a better parent? Whatever your goal, was there a time when you thought you couldn't do it? This is a natural reaction when things get tough. It's easier to find ways to justify your actions than to get over the hurdle. This week, eliminate the hurdles and barriers you've created. If you find yourself saying, "I can't" or "I don't have time," then re-analyze your goal. If you really want to achieve it, then make the time or take a different approach (get up earlier, stay organized, learn the skills). Find time for you and your goals.

I have officially just loaded up my Kindle with tomes on change (both motivational and from neuroscience), dieting, and spiritual discipline (as I think addresses the spirit matters even in, perhaps especially in, issues of teh body).

I want to keep firmly focused on the assorted goals. I plan to set some specific goals for each month (beyond my 4 and a half pound loss per month goal, sure).

And yeah, looks like I do need to get up earlier. For a vampire like me, that means going to bed earlier. So...I bought some Melatonin supplements. Hey, worth a shot. Took one and hope to get to be sleepy and in bed before 4 am. :)

Today was a good eating day. I stayed under 1700 (very good for me, so don't snicker). My treats were sugar free. I got raw foods in (fruits and veggies). Got protein (chicken, whey, cheese, salami) Hubby made a mistake with my take-out order (I specifically said GARDEN SALAD WITH CHICKEN) and he got the rice bowl with chicken. I scooped out the veggies and chicken and what was likely less than half a cup of rice (hard to assess given it's all mixed up), left the rest of rice for him.

Today, Monday, is Pilates day. It's also Columbus Day (as celebrated, but the real Columbus Day is the 12th). And it's almost the end of Hispanic Heritage month. (I'm Hispanic. Celebrate me! Er, okay, don't hafta. Maybe just go dance to some kickass Celia Cruz tune. That's fun and burns calories. Here's one. I love singing, "quimbara quimbara kumba quimbamba"... That'll wake up your blood!)

Okay, so have a good Columbus Day (hope you're off and can enjoy a fall day). Maybe it's a day to try something new (new, New World, discoveries, see, get it?)

Yeah, wonder what? Maybe a fruit I've never eaten. Yeah, maybe!

Off to read before bed.

later...

Face The Truth Fridays: Met Goal, Back on Track, and The Portion Thing...

702 days and 8 hours to go....

Ahhhh. It's nice to be back in the groove after the less-than-goal loss last week. I know that any loss is a good thing, but I'd prefer to stay on track with the 1 pound and a scosh. :)

Okay, so the weigh-in result:

252.6

So, I'm back on the correct loss rate/number to meet my ultimate goal, and I'm actually a bit over my rate/number so far, which is a nice little extra head start.

Total loss from high weight: 46.4

Total Loss of the 98 in 2 Years: 5.4

Loss to go: 92.6

At my worst, I remember looking down at the number to lose--139--and it seemed daunting. That's the size of a not-that-skinny averagish gal that I had to lose to be, NOT to be  skinny, just close to normal. Still overweight by medical charts, just not hugely so. Close to normal weight.

Now, less than 100.

That makes me feel good.

My next goal to continue at the original set goal rate is to lose 1 pound and a scosh by next Friday. But, I'd love to see a 2 lb loss and make the head start BIGGER.

Goal for next week: 251.4 minimum, 250.6 (ideal)

So, what Truth Am I Facing other than the number on the scale?

I can eat less and not freak out. I tested that this week while hubby was out of town. Instead of  my usual 1800 to 2000 cals, I had a 950 day, a 1500 cal day, and a 1700 cal day. Those days of lower caloric intake helped make up for the debacle that was Sunday. Make up for it  and then even move me ahead of goal.

I continue to see the correlation between calming appetite and 2 factors: filling breakfasts and lots of sleep. I always did better eating on days after I slept soundly-- and a lot of hours-- and on days when I ate a solid, tummy filling first meal.


The most filling breakfast that is lower carb that I've found is having the following:

~1 serving of WonderSlim hot cakes with Nature's Hollow sugar free maple syrup with cinnamon (I totally believe the cinnamon is having that positive effect on blood glucose and keeping hunger calmed.) I usually add a teaspoon of some fat for satiety.


~1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of egg whites or Egg Beaters (or an egg and some egg whites) with veggies and cheese (usually low fat)


~2 to 4 cups of water and coffee to fill up the rest.


~I'll occasionally add a small bit of fruit or some coconut water for Potassium.

The calories run about 400. Not bad for me at all and sets me up well to resist a lunch binge.

I've been allowing a bit more carb at dinner to provide the calming effect for sleep. :)

Today, hubby's back (yay) and he went out on errands. We normally have Mexican on weekends, so I asked for a burrito with double shredded chicken breast.

I cut the burrito in half, Tupperwared the half I wasn't going to allow myself to eat, and served myself half the refried beans. I had a few sips of Coke Zero, fresh homemade coffee,  and some water. That's it.

Normally, a visit to Cheen Huaye would be...

*a bowl of tortilla soup

*a side salad with cilantro peanut dressing (insanely delicious)

*chips and salsa, and usually guacamole, too

*a burrito (all of it)--(or all of the tostadas, or the flautas, or the quesadilla, or the fajitas...)

*side of beans (all of it)

*sometimes rice (usually half, but sometimes all of it)

*a sugary drink made from tamarind (love the stuff, even if it's poison!)

*coffee, maybe dessert

Today: No chips or salsa or guacamole (though I'd have liked some on the burrito for healthy fats and Potassium, etc). No soup and salad. No rice. No sugary drink. No dessert.

I had the half chicken burrito with half of the side of beans. Water. Coffee. Yum.

It was really good and I got fiber, protein, and some veggies (it had lettuce, tomato, onions, and a light tomato sauce).

Getting a handle of portions has never been easy for me, so I knew I was better off ordering to-go than eating in, where the temptation to order and EAT more is pretty huge. Especially when those chips and that salsa are right in front of you on the table.

I can have the whole burrito, mind you. Just not at ONE meal. I saved half and if I wanna have it for dinner, there it is. Or lunch tomorrow.

I can eat stuff I want. Just not all that I want. Just not each and every item at once. Just smaller amounts.

Those "justs" are so hard.

But there it is: the truth. I gotta eat less at each sitting if I want my butt to be smaller at each meal.

What truth are you facing today--scalewise or otherwise...

Happy and Fit Friday to you all!

Allan, Intuitive Eating, The Pleasure Principle, Gluttony, and How It All Ends Up!

Okay, so Allan can be a button-pusher. :) Oh, you don't know who I am talking about? It's ALMOST GASTRIC BYPASS's blog owner and really talented scribe. (The guy has fiction chops. He surely do.)

He's pretty brutally frank, and that's not everyone's cuppa tea. I am an INTJ, and I like to analyze, and I often see all sorts of solutions to problems. I sometimes am paralyzed by my ability to OVERanalyze. I like my life introverted and tranquil as does my INTJ hubby. But, when engaged in a debate, I used to be so fierce (and often the winner) that I scared people. My bad. I've mellowed with menopause and age. I don't wanna debate anymore. I just want to enjoy my golden years as much as life, health, and Islamic Terrorists will allow. ; )

So, I wouldn't debate with Allan. :) He's a toughie. (And cute when he smiles, and scary when he doesn't.)

My journey is not his in DEGREE (ie, I don't eat as few calories as he does and I will never lose at the rate he does. I'm older. Female. And my thyroid ran off to Argentina to tango with someone slimmer, apparently.) BUT...we know one simple, inescapable fact: we gotta eat less. Even if we choose not to move a lot more, we do better to move more. But we gotta eat less.

I"m assuming the big trend in talking about Intuitive Eating (gee, thanks, Oprah) is because a lot of us who are fat have disordered relationships with food. I get it. But sometimes, let's face it, it's just that we like to eat, food tastes good, food makes us feel all yummy and serotony in the brain. Pleasure is something we want as humans. Food is a basic and legal form of pleasure. (Sex is another, but that requires someone else's cooperation for us to overindulge, and there are all sorts of components that can make it complicated for many to do the whoopsie 3+ times a day in an equivalent way to how overeaters eat. With gusto. With abandon. With frequency. And sometimes in secrecy.)

I'm a Christian, and there is a longstanding historical legacy of teaching against overindulgence--be it sex, food, anger, acquisition, frivolity, etc. All those fasting and starving ascetics--and fasting has a favored place in many religions, though it's not as in favor these days, it seems--knew that it was dang hard to resist food (what, wine, women, song?). Yeah, better to sing than schtup and stuff indiscriminately. Overindulgence tends to lead to bad things.

Too much wine and you could say something so stupid you lose a pal or a spouse or you could run over an innocent bystander while driving.

Too much sex and you could end up with a lot of broken hearts or infected bodies in your wake. Not to mention a bad rep (at least in ye olde days) or in the midst of your own personal stoning. (Yeah, if you shtup someone else's spouse, here come da rocks! Even today in other countries!)

Too much song (ie funtime diversion) and you might end up with no money and too many mooching friends who'll ditch you when times get rough. And also too much sex and wine if your singing takes place on South Beach. Heh.

Too much food: you get fat. You don't fit in public spaces. You may have a harder time dating, finding a spouse. You pay more for clothes. You gotta buy 2 plane tickets. Your arteries start clogging. Your liver starts scarring up. Your joints wear down faster. You get sleep apnea and up your risks of cardiac arrest. You get diabetes early. You cause isssues for your fetuses.

Every vice has a price.

I don't drink too much(maybe two glasses of wine a month with the sisters). I've never smoked. I never got a speeding ticket. I never caused my parents worries (as my mom so often praised). I never cheated on my taxes. I never betrayed close friends in the usual, dramatic ways one hears of. I considered once becoming a nun and my husband even considered being a priest. (Thank God that he did NOT cause I like bumpsywumpsy with him a LOT!!!) I've been wholly monogamous, well, always, but especially since I met hubby in 1982. I never indulged in unsafe sex. I never took drugs that were not prescribed. (It's amazing how many people do not believe that I, a teen in the 70's, a 20-something in the 80's, did not TRY pot at least. Nope. I even refused to date guys who smoked...cigarettes.)

I did have an anger issue--which was made worse by the drugs used to treat my asthma and allergy issues over the years-- but being married to the calmest man in the universe helps a lot.

But...me and food. Yikes! There is my big vice. GLUTTONY!

It's a vice where you pretty much mostly hurt yourself, not others, so it seems pretty innocent.

But the ancient abbas and ammas knew something. It's a bad thing. It's a sign of being out of control. It's a sign of selfishness. It's a sign of greed (another one of those big sins).

If we tallied what we fat folks spent on food, and then considered how eating 1/3rd or 1/5th less comes out in terms of moolah--that's money that isn't being put toward better uses. Whether it's planning for retirement (so we don't mooch off other people), or investing in our children or families (be it education, health care, housing, etc), or assisting our fellow human beings-- those who NEED calories an ain't getting them. We could give them, literally, our excess calories in donating to hunger relief.

Gluttony means we use up more resources than is fair in a world where so many don't have a fair share.

For people of faith, eating is not just eating. Eating can be an act of spiritual discipline or an act of faith or a communal exercise in fellowship, even an act of generosity, an opportunity to say, "My spirit will overcome my flesh. I will let you have this food and I will go without due to my love for you."

It can also be an act of willful rebellion against God. It can be an act of total self-absorption. It can be choosing to live by bread alone, as it were. It can be an act of unfaithfulness. It can be a form of suicide (which the Roman Catholic church would say is a huge, huge NO NO.) It's a denigration of the temple...which is what the Apostle Paul calls the human body. The Lord's temple. His dwelling place. It must be treated with dignity, honor, and reverence.

Whether what we eat is low carb, high carb, in-between carb, whole, vegan, organic, etc, in the end, if we're obese or overweight, we eat too much of the stuff produced by the hard labor of farmers and cattlemen and chicken ranchers.

If we want to reduce our bodies, we have to reduce our intake. I don't see how you get around it.

All the people who over the decades said it was their glands and their bodies and they couldn't lose weight: Gastric banding and gastric bypass have shown, oh, yes you can. It's all about restricting intake.

I have glandular issues--how cliche is that. But it's true. Nevertheless, when I get below a certain level of calories, I go down.

I will never be Hollywood slim. I've never been Hollywood slim in my life, not even when I was 15 and normal weight (139) and active (biking, swimming as much as I could, playing softball, walking to school and back). It would require eating so little as to make life...too harsh.

But I do believe I can reach a reasonably healthful weight and eat, yeah, a lot less than the 3500+ calories daily that got me to 300 lbs.

So,, back to Allan: He put up a challenge to find out what certain blog-post-commenters had in common. I don't know what they have in common. But since they claimed not to have a "plan", my guess (aside from that they're, like me, FAT) is that they, in fact, know that it's not intuitive or whatever: It's calories in, burn out. My guess is that they know that to lose weight, they gotta EAT LESS AND MOVE MORE (or just eat a lot less).

My guess is that when they see the scale go up it's cause they took in too many calories, and when they want to take it off, they cut back on calories and maybe hit the jogging trail or gym.

My guess is that they know what the plan is or should be. Eat less. Period. Move more, ideally.

It's the same core plan for everyone who wants to lose weight.

How you make the calories work for you is what is pesonal. How you move is what is individual. I can't run, but I like dancing and Pilates. I can't eat seafood (dammit), but I like chicken breast and lean pork and I like beans and I love eggs for breakfast. I can work in things I like, and what I like is different than what you like. But most dieters end up finding the "added value" of veggies and some fruits for filling up with little caloric damage.

So that was my guess to Allan's Challenge: They say they don't have a plan, but they know what the plan must be--fewer calories in compared to calories out.

You can't get away from that.

Scaling Back at Starbucks...AGAIN!

710 days, 11 hours, 45 mins to go...

Well, I think I'm ready to move down to the TALL size today. :)

I have a post-exercise latte habit. Two times a week, after Pilates, I head to the Starbucks that's on the first floor of the center where my studio is. Since 2008, June, I was used to getting my sugar-free, 2% milk latte. I started with Cinnamon Dolce, moved to Vanilla, stuck there. Sometimes, I'd try skim milk (the "skinny" lattes), but I gotta be honest. They just don't cut it. 

I like skim milk with my cocoa. Not with my coffee. I grew up, as most Cuban kids do, drinking "cafe con leche" for breakfast, and that was with whole milk, espresso, and sugar.

I can do without sugar. I can do with less than whole milk. But I gotta have the espresso and the bit of milk fat. There, that's the truth. :D

Earlier this year, I scaled back to venti with NO extra syrup. (I used to ask for two extra pumps of vanilla sugar-free syrup.) Then I scaled back to a grande size to save some calories.

Now...I'm ready to scale down to the tall size.

I guess that's like 3 slurps. hahahah

Anyway, it hurts less in stages than in one fell swoop.

Today..."Gimme a tall, iced vanilla latte: sugar-free, 2%. Thanks."