THE HOLY F'N MECCA OF CAKEDOM

I’m taking this week off a.k.a. I’m not facing the scale. I didn’t start out with that intention, but it just worked out that way.

I am really enjoying the Core Plan, and it works. The food is filling and is quite similar to how (and what) I prepared before joining Weight Watchers. The main difference, of course, is that I am supposed to stop eating when I am satisfied. I get that concept and I have no trouble following this guideline.

Unfortunately, I have found myself with some kind of “strap on the feed bag and chow down” switch this week. I’m always very good with breakfast and lunch, but when I finally get home after a hard and stressful day, I just want to douse the shit in my head with food. It doesn’t even have to be good food.

How dumb is that?

Realizing that you have a problem is the first step to recovery, or so I’ve heard.

Also, I am apparently still swayed by what others say as far as my food consumption goes. Read on:

This week at work, someone was having a birthday. Now, my rule since February 1, 2007 has been that if I didn’t make it or bring it, I don’t eat it. Plain and simple.

So, at said birthday celebration in the break room, there was cake - Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup ice cream cake. Oh, yes. The Holy F’n Mecca of Cakedom.

I was prepared with a light cheese stick in hand and said “no” to the cake. That was, until a woman said, “You know, Janet, you don’t have to be so virtuous.”

Um, what?!?!

She went on to say that my statement that I would not like a piece of lard-cake really said that others should not have one either.

Say what? I never said that, I merely said that I did not want a piece of cake. Shut your pie hole.

So, what did I do? Did I assert myself and repeat that I did not want a piece of that cake (300+ calories, 15 grams of fat)? No. I ate my cheese stick AND had a piece of that disgusting cake. It totally coated my mouth with its transfat fakeness, and made me sick to my stomach.

Lesson learned - the hard way.

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So, I’ve also had a monster headache for the last couple of weeks – I think it could be a sinus headache from allergy symptoms. I’m not very good at taking my allergy meds. Note to self: I should add that to my daily checklist right next to my multivitamin. Anyway, because I have not exercised, I have not lost any weight this week; therefore I will not face the scale monster. I have too much respect for my feeble little mind to give it anything else to worry about this week.

Now, next week, I’m back with a vengeance, kicking ass and taking names.

PEACE.

A Woman of Taste in a Tasteless World

I’m nearing the end of my first week on the Core Plan, and I thought I would share a few observations.

The Core Plan is very different from the Flex Plan. On the Core Plan, I am free to eat from an exceptionally healthy and wholesome list of foods, and I eat those foods to satisfaction.

One thing I noticed on the Flex Plan was that I found myself clinging to so-called “volume eating”, whereby I would stuff my face with low points foods, just for the sheer sake of overeating. I was not dealing with any old habits with regard to binge/emotional/compulsive eating, and I was not focusing on portion control. I was obsessed with the measurement and weight of my food as it related to its points value, and I never once asked myself if I really wanted to eat the amount of food on my plate. This forced obsession with points-counting skewed what should have been the normal hunger-satiety cycle. I did manage to stay away from empty calories (100-calorie packs and other assorted “mini-junk”), but as you near goal, your allotted points for the day greatly diminish, and you are forced to find creative ways just to fit in your daily healthy guidelines. On the Core Plan, your healthy guidelines are included in the plan. Amen!

The downside of the Core Plan is that food is presented in its simplest form, and the taste factor leaves a lot to be desired. Let’s face it: fat-free, plain yogurt is just disgusting. It’s wretched and vile. We are free to add fresh fruit and even artificial sweetener to the yogurt, but I choose not to consume artificial sweetener now that I am on Core. This is really tough, because my taste buds were wildly oversexed on the Flex Plan. I ate all manner of tasty little creations (all within my points), but I was not doing much to fuel my body for the long haul. I would end up hungry and craving more in no time – a binge-eater’s downfall, for certain.

On the Core Plan, I am now fueling my body with fiber-rich whole grains, seafood, lean meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, fat-free dairy, etc. This is how we are meant to eat. It is only in the last few decades that processed foods have made their way into mainstream consumption, and it is in the last few decades that humans have busted out all over into what is now an obesity epidemic.

I look at it this way: if my grandparents didn’t eat it, I won’t either.

I cook more. Lots more. I do not eat out. Another new motto: If I didn’t make it, I don’t eat it. That pretty much takes food-on-the-run out of the equation. I am not able to control the quality of the food that other people prepare, or the manner in which it is prepared.

Notice a theme here? Yes, it is PREPARATION.

You have to be prepared on the Core Plan. You have to think ahead. You have to consciously decide what you will fuel your body with and prepare. I believe that this awareness is what contributes to my success. Mindless eating is a dangerous state of being in my world, which found me overweight and on the verge of a heart attack and certain early death.

I’ve made myself the following promise for the long term: I will no longer kill myself with food. Food is not a pacifier or a crutch. It is not love and it is not an antidepressant. Food is fuel for the body.

So, I think I’ll stick with the Core Plan for a while, and give my taste buds the chance to settle down and accept the slow lane.

Summer Break

Ok, Sister, I get the hint. I have been very lazy about posting, but it mirrored what was happening in my life. I've been on a "Summer Break" of sorts. That is about to change, however!

I experienced a stubborn plateau after reaching the 175 pound mark, and I've been stuck for some time. It was a real plateau, but there may have been other forces at work as well.

I think I just got sick of the way I was forced to eat on the Flex Plan. I made healthy choices within my points range, but I was always RAVENOUS. Honestly, why does salmon, an exceptionally healthy food, get such a bad rap with points?!? If I chose to include the healthiest of food choices, I was hard-pressed to fit all of my healthy guidelines in and still be on program and within my points range. The whole thing was very frustrating.

I did some lurking on the WW Core Board, and found the information there to be very interesting. I will eat healthy, fat-free, whole foods to satisfaction. My healthy guidelines are included in the program without counting and weighing. Salmon is not the enemy!

I officially switched to the Core Plan on August 20, 2007. Is it easy? No. Am I satisfied? Yes! Am I hungry? NO! Will I break through my plateau and get the scale moving in a downward fashion once again? YOU BET YER ASS!

I do miss bread, and I still have the same issues of evening binge eating. I am not denying myself the bread - I just use my extra points allowance for the bread. Overcoming my binge/emotional eating habits will be the biggest challenge/reward of my weight loss journey. That behavior is what got me here (that being FAT) in the first place.

In spite of the scale-stall, I am very happy with how I look. I still have a long way to go (I'd like to lose another 35 pounds), but I find that I like my reflection in the mirror. I can see the real me, without the disgusting fat suit screwing up the view.

Yes, I'm a hot chica!

She won't KILL me, will she???

I do love photo slideshows. So in honor of my 50 pound loss, I put this one together. I'll eventually move this to the sidebar, but for now IT STAYS RIGHT HERE. At least until sister-darling gets off her butt and tells you about what she is doing to bust that plateau.

How's that for motivation, Janet?!

These pics also include a few of me, from childhood to morbid obesity. But the STAR of this show is JANET!

The slide show loads and starts immediately. Feel free to press play to restart, and pause to get a GOOD look!

Review: Product News! ~ Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers!

Yesterday I posted on Joy's Amazing Journey about an e-mail I got from Healthy Choice regarding their new product line, Cafe Steamers. That afternoon I picked up two of the dinners, the Grilled Whiskey Steak for me and the Grilled White Meat Chicken & Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo Sauce for Janet. I promised you a review once I taste-tested the dinner.

Once I took the dinner out of the box I realized how small all frozen dinners really are, even these. These Cafe Steamers, gram for gram, are the same size as an average Smart Ones and Lean Cuisine. It's the "all in one bowl that looks like a colander" that makes this particular meal seem smaller. But I loved the ease of cooking. No piercing, no cutting little film coverings, then peeling back after half the cooking time, stirring, then zapping for another 2 minutes. You take this baby outta the box, stick her in the microwave for a few minutes and you're done. Finis!

Just lift out the colander, dump the stuff into the bowl underneath, stir with the sauce that was in the bottom of the bowl that was steaming your food, and eat. And it was good! I mean really, really good.

On the plus side:

• WW points are given on the packaging.
• Dietary exchanges are also given (you'll know how many veggie servings you got).
• The veggies were perfectly cooked. And I mean PERFECTLY. The green beans were crisp and vibrant. The red-skinned potatos were tender, not rubbery like other frozen meals. The steak tips were tender and juicy.
• Half the sodium as many of the Smart Ones and Lean Cuisine that I've seen.

On the minus side:

• I haven't seen many "diet" or "healthy" meals with saturated fat lately. These dinners do have some saturated fat and cholesterol. Not much, but it's there.
• The portion size seemed small to me for some reason. With most meals having one serving of vegetables, that is half a cup of veggies. Not a whole lot. But to be fair, the portion size is equivalent to the Smart Ones, just under 300 grams in weight. And it may look smaller because of the unique packaging that steams everything in one dish.
• I paid $3.99 per meal at Shaw's Supermarket. That's more moola than what you shell out for Smart One's and Lean Cuisine. Is it worth it for perfectly steamed veggies and half the sodium??? Perhaps.

I'm not a real big convenience eater. I make it a point to eat clean, so I stay away from most processed foods. Even though I love the idea of a frozen dinner prepared in a unique way that keeps the foods appetising, I'm not sure this is enough to bring me to the dark side. For now, I'll stick to my tried and true diet that has gotten me this far (nearly 50 nasty pounds gone!) and still going strong. But it is nice knowing that if I ever get desperate enough for some steak and potatos I have some options that won't kill me at the scale.