Side note… what is about a turtleneck that makes people look old? oh wait…. that’s just me, I am getting old. :~P

Topics in this video include…

• Am I doing enough exercise to jump start weight loss?
• How much exercise should someone get in a day?
• Did I lose weight before starting to exercise?
• Just an inspirational comment. :~)

Links mentioned or that you may find interesting…

• My post… Beginner Treadmill Workout (with a detour)
• My post… Where are you on your exercise journey?
• The Truth About Exercise and Weight Loss
• Weighing in: Diet vs. exercise for losing pounds
• How much physical activity do you need? Physical Activity Guidelines
• It’s never too late to start exercising: new studies show that exercise at any age improves mobility, balance, strength, and even brain function.

OK, this is VERY weird for me. As I’m writing this I’m recording a video while reviewing a new camera phone. Nokia sent me one of their phones as a trial so I can record a "Day in the Life" video of myself while I review the video phone. I’ll post more about that later, but I started the recording today and I plan on doing clips up until tomorrow morning. It’s weird but fun as you guys know how much I like to talk. ;~P Honestly, I feel like I’m doing my own reality show, it’s kind of crazy. LOL

Anyway, let’s get to these thoughts!

• First, I have to mention this as I was unaware. I just saw this article about Adderall and how teen are using it for weight loss. Apparently it’s a drug for ADD and one of the side effects is decreased appetite. PLEASE is you have a teenager or college age child (or if you are one yourself) make sure to educate yourself about this drug. I found this site that talks about the side effects, one of them being DEATH! It’s scary that we, as young women would go to such extremes and I’m not going to lie, 10 years ago, if this was available I would probably be considering it. How do we stop this cycle and get these girls to focus on health instead of dangerously thin as the goal??
• I don’t know the answer but one company that’s trying to help is Dove. They contacted me recently and asked if I would spread the word about their campaign for real beauty. Of course I said OF COURSE! :~) So please click here to check out their site where you can download free self-esteem building tools for girls, moms and mentors like, True You and Mirror, Mirror booklets, Interactive exercises and Workshop Facilitator Guide DVD.
• Now I’ll shift the focus to a healthy article. I found this one about color in your diet. I love the idea of eating by color and trying to include the most colorful foods in your diet. Last year I got this book, called Eating by Color: For Maximum Health. It’s beautiful and a total inspiration for all us crazy home cooks. :~P
• Now it’s time for a laugh. Someone left me this link on a comment (I swear I can’t find it now, please let me know who you are, I feel like I’m going crazy) and it is the most hysterical thing I ever saw. Being a "closet inventor" I laughed aloud because I, myself had some pretty bad ideas but this takes the CAKE! Seriously you have to click here and watch it.
• GreenLiteBites updates this week…. First I made some "healthy" nachos using soy crisps, it’s more of an idea then a recipe. I continued my Thanksgiving Prep series finalizing the perfect Creamy Mashed Potato Recipe (the husbands words, not mine!) and I took my hand at an oatmeal contest with Trail Blazin’ Quick Oats! Oh! and the toddler and I recorded a video for a contest we can’t enter. Long story. :~) This week I’m planning on a sweet potato idea for Thanksgiving and tonight I’m finalizing my Red Rice recipe.
• Speaking of GreenLiteBites you have to check out my new T-Shirt Model! Christy was nice enough to not only buy the GreenLiteBites shirt but she model it on her site. So sweet of her! Thanks so much Christy, you truely are a friend. :~)
• Speaking of T-shirts I’m happy to pre-announce 3 new toddler shirt designs inspired by none other then… dun dun dun…. the toddler! :~P You have to check out the "It’s all just chicken to me" shirt and my two egg cracker ideas. I just ordered mine! Can’t wait to get them. I’ll try to do a video or at least take some photos when we do. So CUTE! Thanks to the designer for all the help and visual inspiration! :~)
• Things in the works…. well for one, this day in the life video using the Nokia phone, an article in prevention I want to mention, I recorded 2 Ask Roni Sessions yesturday, a new scale review and giveaway, more coupons to give to you guys, and…. Ummmmm… hmpf? I think that’s all. Well, besides the fact that it’s Thanksgiving in a WEEK! So I’ll be preparing for that.

OK, gotta run, have a BILLION things to do today!

Sent in a cooler with dry ice (how cool is that stuff?!?), I received 6 products! Here’s a mini review of each…

FrozFruit® Superfruit® Pomegranate Cherry
80 calories, 0g of fat, 0g of fiber, 1.5 WWP

These were in my top 2 of the products I received. I’m obsessed with pomegranate right now, so this immediately peaked my interest. I liked them. The texture was awesome, the chunks of cherries were cool and it had a great flavor. Of course it did! It’s pomegranate!

FrozFruit® No Sugar Added Chunky Strawberry
35 calories, 0g of fat, 3g of fiber, 0 WWP

Umm yeah, 0 points?!?! Need I say more? ;~P I don’t but I will. These were yummy! The flavor was good but they do have a bit of that sugar free aftertaste and their texture is a bit off. You know what I’m talking about, right? They just seem real "solid". But if you let them sit at room temp for just a bit, perfect!

No Sugar Added Reduced Fat Ice Cream Bunny Tracks®
1/2 cup 150 calories, 8g of fat, 3g of fiber, 3 WWP

Have you guys every heard of moose tracks ice cream? If you haven’t, consider yourself lucky. That freakin’ ice cream was responsible for at least 10 of the 60lbs I gained in college. But I digress. :~) This ice cream is good, and I love the moose track knock off with bunnies and peanut butter. It’s not the lowest point ice cream you can get but the flavor is fun and the texture is perfect. The husband has almost single handedly finished it off. His quote… "Ask them to send you more of THAT."

Sweet Freedom® Ice Cream Bar Black Raspberry
90 calories, 7g of fat, 2g of fat, 2 WWP

This is my other favorite. Seriously, I WILL be buying these again. The black raspberry ice cream is creamy and delicious. The chocolate coating YUMMY and together, a perfect combination!

100 Calorie Butter Pecan Ice Cream Bars
100 calories, 7g of fat, 2g of fat, 1 WWP

I can’t really give these a fair review as I don’t like Butter Pecan. I took a bite and it tasted like… well…. butter pecan. So if you like that sort of thing I’m sure you’ll like these too. ;~P

Personals® Light Ice Cream Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
100 calories, 2.5g of fat, 3g of fat, 1.5 WWP

I LOVE the idea of portioned ice cream cups as sometimes I suffer from excessive taste-itis while scooping from a large container. Seriously, I think I eat more scooping then I actually put in my bowl! So I love the idea of pulling out one of these portioned cups. Now…. the taste? Well, at first bite I didn’t like the cheesecake ice cream. It seemed overly sweet to me. Then I got a bite with a bit of raspberry swirl and a chocolate flake. Oh My Word! Delicious! You just need to get the swirl with the ice cream and then it’s golden. WARNING: Apparently a “personal” container is for 2! There are 2 servings in each, that makes them 3.5 WWP per container. Not too “personal” if you ask me! ;~P

I told you, that was a LOT of ice cream wasn’t it? I’m just happy I’ll have a house full of guests next week to help me knock it off! I’d give it away to you guys, but shipping ice cream seems overly complicated. So poor me, I’m stuck with it. Guess I HAVE to scoop out some Bunny Tracks! ;~P I mean SOMEONE has to eat it. LOL

Has anyone else tried any of the new Blue Bunny products? Please share, especially if it’s a different flavor!

I swear "journey" must be the word used most on my blog. Sometimes I think it’s cheesy but when you really think about it, everything we do in life is a journey, a process. You don’t just wake up one day with a new skill, a new habit or even a new perspective. Every day you learn and grow in the direction you decide to point yourself in. That’s right, YOU decide.

I used to point myself in the lazy, unhappy direction. I had a poor body image. I let other people influence how I felt about myself and I started down a path towards unhealthiness because of it. That was a journey too. I didn’t just wake up one day lazy and fat. It took some time to get me there.

Now I set my sights on a different goal. I point myself in a happy, healthy direction. I accept myself and everyday I do something just for me. Just as I didn’t wake up one morning fat and unhappy, I didn’t just wake up running marathons (a goal of mine) and doing push-ups (every chance I get I will link to that video - just preparing you!) :~)

So after showing you my exercise journey yesterday and then seeing Ellen’s comment I had to turn this into a question of the week!

I would like to know about people’s exercise routines. How did you get started exercising in a structured way? Did you focus on aerobic exercise or strength training or a combination? How did you find time in your life to devote to this activity? If you are not a “morning person,” were you able to transform and become one so you could exercise in the morning? (Ok, that’s a pretty darn specific question). How did your approach to fitness and exercise change as you got into more of a routine? Essentially, I’d love to hear people’s stories on their exercise “journey.”

I know that a great recommendation for exercise is to start by incorporating things into your life throughout the day — a walk at lunch, family play time in the park after dinner, hikes on the weekend, etc., and I do enjoy those things. However, I also really love the way I feel after a hard-core workout and am trying to figure out strategies to be more consistent with my habits and keep things fresh.

I am a lot like Ellen. I LOVE doing the active stuff in my daily life. That’s really how I started. That’s how I "pointed myself in the direction" of being more active. Then it snowballed. My need for more activity grew and grew. I started to like the way I felt, the way I looked when I was more active. So I sought more and more ways I could incorporate exercise into my life. I won’t re-hash the whole journey as I just did in this post and I think you guys have a pretty good idea of my specific exercise journey.

So now it’s your turn….

Where are you on your exercise journey? How did you get there? Have you even started?

Inquiring minds NEED to know! :~)

Oh! and to answer Ellen’s specific question…. I was NOT able to transform myself into a morning person! :~P

1. If you look at my oldest archives (2005-2006) I never mention the "E" word as I wasn’t really exercising. However you can see it old comments that people were curious.
2. Then October 10, 2006 I recognize the need for more structured workouts. That’s over 6 months after I reached my goal weight.
3. December 31, 2006 I finally answered the workout question. Didn’t I have anything better to do on New Year’s Eve??? :~P
4. By July of the next year I was "Thinking About… IT". Is it bad that I crack my self up? ;~P LOL
5. Within 2 months I was calling myself a Gym Rat!
6. By November 2007 I was starting to really notice changes in my body from working out and I talk about my stamina increasing.
7. In March the Running started and I shocked myself with my nre love of long workouts.
8. Unbelievable, by April of this year people were asking me about Exercise Motivation. ME?!?
9. June I ran my first ever 5k race!
10. In August I proclaim my love for Weight Training and dispel some myths.
11. And of course, most of you know about my recent relay run and pull up brag.

I didn’t plan on sharing all of this with you but when I sat down to write up a simple treadmill routine my trainer had me do the other day I was inspired. Not by the workout itself as much as my mindset while doing it.

Let me explain.

The trainer plops me on the machine and tells me what to do. Then he walks away. At first I was like… "NOOO Don’t leave me. I’m going to be bored. There’s no way I can finish this alone. Especially without my iPod!" Then I realized that was "Old Roni" talking. I could SO do this. I’ve done it and I’m doing it! Then I start thinking (you guys probably hate it when that happens ;~P) Thinking about how far I’ve come and how much I used to LOATHE getting on this stupid gerbil wheel. How a year and half ago I’d be lucky to walk for 5 minutes before wanting to kill myself out of boredom.

Now look at me. For Pete’s sake, who have I become?!? Some crazed workout obsessed women that almost had a cow because she had to move her gym date to meet with a client. (I’m serious, that just happened and I’m pissed). LOL

In all seriousness, I want to shake everyone who wants to lose weight and get fit and tell them it IS POSSIBLE! You just need to do the work and make it a priority. For me it was a slow progression. I think that’s key. You can’t expect to be MizFit overnight! It takes hard work and dedication (I’m sure she’ll tell you the same ;~P). It takes doing what you can, when you can and recognizing that perfection isn’t worth it. But being good to your body and your soul is.

Ok, I TOTALLY took a detour from the point of this post. Sorry. You guys probably think I’m nuts. Who am I kidding, I am. :~)

Finally here’s the workout! This is for the beginners out there. All the "Old Roni’s" who think they can’t do it. The ones who can’t last more the 5 minutes on the treadmill without getting bored.

The idea is to change it up every minute by increasing the incline and speed and then stepping back down. For me, the fact that every minute I’m changing something seems to help. Although it has you looking at the screen all the time which can make it seem slow. I guess it depends on the type of person you are. :~) I like to be "doing something".

By the end of this you’ll get a nice 25 minute walk in. Try to lose yourself in it. Reflect on your day, jam out to your favorite tunes, watch a little TV. Whatever it takes! You deserve 25 minutes to do something nice for yourself, don’t you?

Note: I’m not a trainer, a doctor or a even a nurse. If you kill yourself by doing this routine it’s on you. ;~P Maybe that’ll teach you not to listen to crazy people on the internet.

It’s not that big of a deal. I’m just a bit mad at myself for continuing to eat when I wasn’t hungry. I was eating for the pure taste of it. Soft pretzels, Cracker Jacks, french fries, all those empty carbs seem to feed themselves. Do you know what I mean?

Again, not beating myself up. Just wondering why that still happens sometimes. Sunday, things started to look better. Even though I indulged yet again in tons of ice cream (I had some shipped to me for reviews - I hope to get them up this week.) I did totally disconnect from the internet and organized my life a bit. Don’t get me wrong, I’m NO WHERE NEAR organized but I’m a heck of a lot closer!

Today I kicked butt at the gym. I’m loving my sessions with the trainer. He’s kicking my butt and I really look forward to our twice a week workouts. Especially considering my running has suffered these last few weeks. I’m considering a few events to get me excited about it again. I think it’s the cold weather that’s really doing the damage. I just don’t like running in the cold.

Other then that, life is as usual. B-U-S-Y. I’m trying hard to find a schedule and get into a groove. After reading this article about sleep and cancer risks, I’m REALLY going to make an effort to get to bed earlier, which means getting everything done earlier, which, right now, sounds impossible! But I know it just takes a bit of persistence to get a new schedule down. Just like with my "diet", it’s not about perfection, it’s about doing my best and TRYING.

I’m about to *try* and sign off, even though I can still be working. I’m off to have my quick snack and then it’s bed for me. I’ll leave you with my food journal and one of the funniest emails I’ve gotten in a long time. Seriously, this one CRACKED me up and if you are in your 30’s it will make you laugh out.

Table provided by Roni’s Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Just for laughs and those over 30!

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears
With their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning. Uphill… barefoot…BOTH ways yadda, yadda, yadda

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up,
there was no way in hell I was going to lay A bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it And how easy they’ve got it!
But now that… I’m over the ripe old age of thirty, I can’t help but look around and notice the youth of today.

You’ve got it so easy! I mean, compared to my
Childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!
And I hate to say it but you kids today you
Don’t know how good you’ve got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn’t have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, We had to go to the damn library and Look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!! There was no email!! We had to actually write Somebody a letter, with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

There were no MP3′ s or Napsters! You wanted to
Steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ’d usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up!

We didn’t have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that’s it!

And we didn’t have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, Your mom, your boss, your Bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you Just didn’t know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn’t have any fancy Sony Playstation video
Games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games Like ‘Space Invaders’ and ‘asteroids’. Your guy was a little square! You Actually had to use your I magination!! And there were no multiple levels or Screens, it was just one screen Forever!

And you could never win. The game just kept getting
Harder and harder and Faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

You had to use a Little book called a TV Guide to find out what was
On! You were screwed when it Came to channel surfing! You had to get off Your ass and walk over to the TV to change the Channel and there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons
On Saturday Morning. Do you Hear what I’m saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK For cartoons, you spoiled Little rat-bastards!

And we didn’t have microwaves, if we wanted to heat
Something up we had to use the stove … Imagine that!
That’s exactly what I’m talking about! You kids
Today have got it too easy. You’re spoiled.

You guys wouldn’t have lasted Five minutes back in 1980!

Regards,
The over 30 Crowd

Vitalicious has graciously donated 3 cases of VitaTops just for my readers! That’s right… THREE just for US! So cool, right?

There’s only one catch…

You need to click here and fill out the form to join their email list. That’s it! Vitalicious will then send me the list of sign ups and the toddler and I will do our traditional picking of numbers. I need to find my hat. :~P We’ll pick the winners on Sunday November 23, so sign up before then!

Just a reminder as I’m talking VitaTops. Don’t forget about the Roni’s Favorites pack and if you order anything from Vitalicious use the promotion code RonisWeigh for 10% off!

Oh! and unfortunately, the VitaTops can only be shipped to US residents. Sorry all my Canadian and International friends. :~(

I believe that when I say I “can’t” do something that on some level I am really saying that i “won’t” do it (because of fear.) so my question is how do we get out of our own way and do what we know we can do?! I love the quote about we are more afraid of success than we are of failure!

I never thought about my own history in the terms Anna put it. "Old Roni" (before getting pregnant) would always say things like…

"I can’t lose weight."
"I can’t run."
"I can’t go to the gym."
"I can’t DO A PULL UP!" (sorry HAD to throw that one in there.) :~P

But the truth is exactly what Anna said. It wasn’t that I couldn’t. It was that I wasn’t.

WOW, does that make any sense?

I knew why I was fat. I knew I ate too much. I knew I was lazy. I complained about my body. I had a poor self image. I’d hide in baggy clothes, wishing, hoping, PRAYING that one day I would wake up and just be thin. Where was the magic pill, Damn IT!

Now don’t get your panties in a twist I know how all that sounds. I’m not saying my thought process was good, or right. I’m just telling you how it was to be in Roni’s head circa 1988-2004.

The funny thing is…

I COULD lose weight
I COULD run.
I COULD go to the gym.
I COULD DO A PULL UP!

IF I just tried.

I had no medical reason why I couldn’t do those things. I just wasn’t doing them. Plain and simple.

Why? Why didn’t I just do the work to "succeed"? Or as Anna so eloquently put it, why was I "in my own way"?

“Old Roni” always defined succeeding as being "thin". Having the body of some airbrushed model. If I didn’t wake up the day after I started a diet, thinner, lighter, weighing less, then I must have failed. Right?!? So why keep trying. After all, I was attempting the impossible, wasn’t I?

At that time, I didn’t realize that trying WAS the success. After reading Anna’s comment and doing a bit of (online) soul searching. I found this quote, not sure who said it first but it’s GENIUS!

You don’t try TO succeed. WHEN you try, you succeed.

How TRUE!

So, just by trying to be healthy I was successful! It all makes sense to me now. That’s a great way to describe my mindset while losing. I really stopped focusing on trying to be thin. I just wanted to learn what I could do be a healthier person for my child. I accepted myself, made small changes and did my best. That change in perspective was all the difference!

Thanks Anna for bringing me down this road. I don’t know if I even came close to addressing your original question but your comment sparked this whole post and I’m so happy I found that quote.

Hope you are all enjoying the weekend! :~)

Seriously, it is. You were conscious all day. Journaling and being aware of what you were eating. Some healthy eggs before the gym. A nice bowl of oatmeal when you got home. Then a great controlled snack. Yeah, so, you nibbled on some chocolate before heading to the restaurant, no big deal (it wasn’t REAL chocolate anyway ;~).

Dinner was fun. You made good choices sharing entries with the husband and toddler. A bit overboard on the fried rice and noodles. And yeah, you probably didn’t need that dessert. But hey! You did split it!

Again…. It’s O…..K……

It really is. You know this is what it’s all about. You KNOW It’s about balance.

Oh! and good job on walking from the restaurant to the store instead of driving. Even though you had to argue with the husband about it. You’re teaching the toddler not to be so lazy and nothing beats a nice stroll after dinner. Hopefully the husband will come with you next time. :~)

Remember tomorrow you will be OK too! Yes, you will be out of your element at the football game all day. Yes, you may get frustrated at the husband and the toddler, as it will be a long day, probably exhausting day. Just make the best choices you can and you’ll be fine. It’s O….K….

Hear me? IT"S OooooKAAAAAY!

Now shut the computer down, relax and GET SOME SLEEP! Go ahead. It’ll be fine. All the emails will still be there tomrrow night.

Topics in this video include…

• Fear of Dogs (yes you read that right!)
• Post Tummy Tuck Anxiety / Blogging advice
• Reader Map
• Losing Hair while losing weight
• Wendie Plan

Links mentioned in the video or that you may find interesting…

• How to Overcome a Fear of Dogs
• How can i overcome my fear of dogs (Phobia)?
• Older video with blogging advice - Ask Roni _v07s3 - Blogging, Active Loved Ones and Binge Eating
• BlogToLose
• Old Map of WeightWatchen community
• Help! My Hair is Falling Out? How Much Is OK?
• Wendie Plan

It feels like forever since doing a Thursday Thoughts post. I’m going to hop right into the random goodness! ;~)

• First, you guys are going to TOTALLY think I’m making this up but believe me, I’m not that clever. A few weeks ago as a joke Charlie sent me this link about age and memory after I made a comment that I can’t seem to remember anything anymore. Well… wait for it… wait for it… I FORGOT to include it in my last Thursday Thoughts post. LOL Is that ironic or what? Wait… did I use ironic right? Maybe it’s just a coincidence. Whatever, I think it’s funny. LOL
• Now for a giggle. A few weeks ago (can you tell I’m still trying to catch up) I asked everyone on twitter if they had any advice for me regarding "the cat" digging in my plants. I received a bunch of great advice and actually haven’t had a problem since (although she did kill my aloe plant. :~( Anyway, along with the great advice I received this link that cracks me up every time I watch it. What is so funny about throwing a cat of it’s guard?? It just cracks me up!
• What do you see when you look at Halle Berry? I’ll admit it, in my younger days I wish I looked like Halle. I wish I had her body, her physique, her confidence in a swimsuit. Little did I know she also struggles with body image. Revealing recently that her body image role model is Kate Winslet! WHO (is someone else I also admire) struggled with body image issues herself! Saying recently "…once a fat kid, always a fat kid." Let’s think about this people, really. Even the women we see as being the most gorgeous, thinnest, confident women in the world struggle with body image. We as "normal" folk either hate or want to look like the actresses and models we see in magazines and on TV. While the actresses and models are struggling themselves. If anything this should be eye opening. Love who YOU are. Don’t compare, don’t be jealous, don’t envy. It’s not worth it. Life is way to short.
• So let’s focus on health for a minute, instead of losing weight. Most of us are infatuated with being thinner that we forget that it has to be about getting healthier. One way I focus on healthy is by trying new and fun produce. Last year I did a pomegranate produce pick. It was the first time I tried the interesting fruit and now I’m hooked. As well, I should be, it good for me! If you are scared to try this intimating produce, check out the video the toddler and I did showing just how easy it is to clean it. We recorded this before I was made aware of the POM Fresh Fun contest! Darn it! I entered anyway but if I knew before hand I would have at least showered for the video! LOL
• Since I already made the transition to GreenLiteBite links, I have to add I barely did anything on the food front this week. Besides my healthy lite Thanksgiving Stuffing recipe and this weeks video where the toddler and I make dinner, nothing else post worthy has been going on in my kitchen. Well, that’s not entirely true, I’m almost done finalizing a new oatmeal recipe for a Quaker contest they extended to us bloggers AND tonight I’ll be experimenting with red rice for a friend (does anyone have a good red rice recipe they want to share as I research?!? I never made it before.)
• While I’m talking about GreenLiteBites I should also mention I added a new product to the store. A few people mentioned that the aprons where a little dry just having a logo on them so I designed a new kids apron using our friend the Mr. Broccoli. I also added a dark shirt with the famous broccoli on it. Yesterday I met with the designer and I have 3 more ideas in the works! I can’t wait to share them with you when they are done. Let’s just say the next few will be in honor of the toddler!
• Let’s see… other then that, I think I can honestly say, nothing else is really going on (unless I’m forgetting something, which is probably the case.) My plan is to spend the next week or 2 organizing myself, my house and getting ready for Thanksgiving. I may have 13 people over for dinner! YIKES! It’ll be the first time I’m hosting a Turkey Day at my house! Monday I will be launching a new giveaway. I’ve made no significant progress on my cookbook since losing my last version (NOT thinking about it) and right now, my stomach is growling. I think it’s time to hit the kitchen for an early lunch. Which reminds me, I have two product reviews in the works as well! Ok, so maybe my “nothing else really going on” statement was a bit premature. :~)

Have an awesome Thursday!

A few people had specific questions, so I thought I’d take a stab at them individually and then let other maintainers chime in.

How do you transition into Maintenance?

This question can go in bunch of directions, but I’ll approach it from the "Technical" aspect of maintenance for someone following Weight Watchers.

Once you reach goal you have to find your specific maintenance point/calorie range. According to Weight Watchers you should increase your daily point range by 4 for one week and then assess your weight. For example if your weight loss point value is 20, then go up to 24 for one week. At the end if you still lost weight, increase by 4 again, to 28. If you gained then decrease by 2, down to 26. Do this until you find a level where you maintain your weight.

Sounds simple, right? HA!

I had more of a hard time with the mental aspects of the transition. For as long as I could remember I wanted to LOSE weight. That made sense to me. Staying the same was just a foreign concept. I had to learn how to eat and by going through the above process and weighing myself regularly I started to learn what my limits were. It was a long journey that took years to master, and I’m not even sure I did that yet!

What keeps you going after the compliments have stopped coming?

Great question because, for me, this was a huge hurtle. As my awesome Weight Watchers leader once told me…. No one pats you on the back and says "HEY! looks like you are maintaining nicely!" LOL

I’ll admit it the compliments are nice. They kept me going from week to week. I’ve always been a "pleaser". I like it when people are proud of me and I’m on of those people who just enjoys doing the best I can at something. So from week to week at the weigh ins, the weight loss celebration was something I looked forward to.

Now, I have kind of the opposite problem. People see me now, never knowing I had a weight problem. They don’t see the chubby girl who struggled with body image, and yo yo dieted for 15 years. I’ve talked about this before, it’s in some way depressing that I lost a peer group I felt such a part of for so long. I even feel like an outcast at my Weight Watchers meetings.

So what do I do? What keeps me going now? That’s easy. I’m reminded, dailyby the toddler, why I changed my life. I want to be the best person I can be, for him. That means accepting myself, eating the best I can, being active and living consciously. I want to be the best example of human being I can be for him. DO I make mistakes, yeah, sure I do. But part of being the best I can be is accepting the good with the bad. That’s called life and we all know the changes you make have to be for life.

What keeps you motivated to continue to be mindful of what you eat even though you’ve achieved your goal (or a significant chunk of your goal).

As I stated previously, for me eating consciously is an important part of my life. I want to eat for health and nutrition. I want to teach good habits to the toddler. That keeps me motivated.

How do you keep from going back to your old eating habits when you are finally thin? (and not reward yourself with food.)

I still use food as a reward. I try not to, but it happens. I try to disconnect the connection between food and celebration. Food and sorrow. Food and loneliness. Food and ‘insert any event/emotion here’. It’s hard but I try! and after 3 years it’s getting easier and easier.

I also have to add, celebrating with food now and then is inevitable. When I go out to eat with the husband on a date, we split a dessert. I bake a cake for the toddler’s birthday. I’m not throwing these traditions away because I want to watch my weight and be healthy. One thing I learned since starting this journey is just because I indulge now and then does NOT mean I’m returning to my old habits. It means I enjoyed a piece of cake. That’s it.

Your turn…

Any other maintainers want to take a stab at this weeks questions? Comment below or answer on your blog and leave us a link!

I have quaker products coming out of my ears from the chicago trip. Before I left they were nice enough to send a box of products for us to try. A few of the things I liked, a few I didn’t and some I haven’t even gotten a chance to eat yet!

This morning the toddler and I finally broke into a box of Quaker Oatmeal Squares. They sent two flavors, cinnamon (YAY!) and maple (Boo!). Can you tell I don’t like maple favored stuff? ;~) So we broke into the cinnamon.

Immediately the toddler and I liked it dry. Great crunch! Not too sweet with just a touch of cinnamon flavor. We poured a bowl and went to town. I really liked them. They are hearty and a serving is a full cup, something you don’t see too often in breakfast cereals, at least I don’t. In each cup there are 230 calories, 2.5g of fat, 5g of fiber and 6g of protien. For my Weight Watcher friends, the WWP are a bit on the higher end at 4 per cup, but it was quite a filling serving.

The ingredient list looks OK. Whole oat flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, sugar and maltodextrin are the first 5 ingredients. I’m surprised to see sugar and sweeteners up there as the cereal isn’t "hit you over the head" sweet.

As I said, the toddler was a fan. However, after the cereal was in the milk for more then 5 minutes the inevitable softening happened. And let me tell you the toddler "DOES NOT LIKE MUSHY CEREAL!" His words, not mine. The funny thing is I loved them as they got a little softer. The inside held up and I like the combination of textures that happened. So I ended up finishing his as well. :~)

For me this is a nice alternative to the Frosted Mini-Wheats that have become tradition for us in the morning. I welcomed the change and the two cereals have similar nutrition make-ups. I love getting some whole grains in us before we start the day.

So who wants my maple box? I’ll ship it to the first person who claims it in the comments!

Oh! and if you interested Quaker just shot me this link for coupons!

Well I just found out they are discontinuing the product line. Someone sent me an email letting me know and I wrote the company to verify.

This makes me sad and angry!

I know there’s a bottom line. I realize these companies need to make money but did they even try? Did they educate their consumers about the benefits of the healthier noodle? Do they care?

For God’s sake, It took me months, maybe even years to find them and I’m always hunting things down. Do you really mean to tell me if you had a choice you’d pick the deep fried option over the lighter choice? The one with less sodium, less calories and more fiber? How is this the right move for the company? Why don’t they pull the crap unhealthy $hit and replace it with the better option? No one says convenience foods can’t at least try to be a bit healthier. It’s not an all or nothing thing, people. Do we not see the problem with this?!? Don’t they want to make a healthier product?!?

Come ON people! (I’m not yelling at you, just venting) Don’t take the healthier options away!

If you agree with me and want to see this product stick around I suggest letting them know. I already sent an email. You now what response I was given when I asked if the the rumor about them pulling the product.

"Unfortunately, it is."

That was it. No explanation. Nothing. That ticked me off too. Here I am thanking them for an awesome product, going out of my way to advertise it for them because I think it’s a good option and all I get it 3 little words?

jerks.

Sorry, I’m in a weird mood tonight. I’m not sure why, I had a good day. I’m off to work on the question of the week and to possibly have a snack.

Table provided byRoni’s Food Journal Generator.

What is a Twitter Party you ask? Well…. It’s a group on bloggers/geeks twittering at the same time. Really, I’m not kidding, that’s what it is! LOL

I’m on a Panel with 5 other awesome women (check them on out of the post about the party). You can log on to twitter, follow us and and ask questions about blogging, working from home, social Media, anything really! I know you guys may want to ask weight loss related questions and that can be ok, but this party is more for my geek side. ;~)

If you want to participate follow me on twitter and check out the post on Resourceful Mommy’s website. We’ll be using the hash code #classy so if you want to follow the conversation via twitter just search for that here this this. For those that don’t know, that’s why you see the # being used. It "marks" the tweet as part of an event or topic. Kind of like how we do it for our food journal entries (#food).

Let me know if you have any questions and I hope to "tweet" you tonight! :~)

WARNING: If you follow me via facebook or twitter I may inundate you with messages tonight. Just consider yourself warned! ;~)