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Aug 16, 2010

My Lunch With Healthy Choice & Tara Gidus

August 16, 2010 By

As part of the Healthy Choice Better for BlogHer Challenge, I had the opportunity to have lunch with representatives of Healthy Choice and the Diet Diva, Tara Gidus, while at BlogHer.

During lunch, we got a sneak peak at all of the new Healthy Choice meals that will be hitting the grocery very soon. Just like their Cafe Steamers, these new entrees are designed to be steam cooked, locking in the flavor and nutrition of each ingredient. They pulled a few of the entrees out of their boxes, and you could see how brightly colored the vegetables were. It screamed FRESH!

While we ate our Hilton-provided box lunches, they passed around boxes of the new entrees, and suddenly my turkey sandwich and chips didn’t look so appetizing. I mean, which would you rather have – turkey on wheat and some generic salty chips, or Garlic Herb Shrimp, with big pieces of dark green asparagus and whole grain pasta. I started to wonder if the microwave in the corner of the room was functional, because I wanted to ditch the boxed lunch and warm up a Healthy Choice meal.

After lunch we each were given a private consultation with Tara. We had filled out health surveys ahead of time so she could customize her advice for each of us, and I wondered what advice she would have for me. I mean, she’s a dietitian and I’m a registered nurse – we’re essentially professional colleagues who both understand the challenges of staying healthy and the consequences of ignoring our health.

But my talk with Tara still provided me with useful information and insight. (After all, I spend all night worrying about the health of others – it’s too easy to overlook my own health.) She started by applauding my efforts so far, both in diet and in fitness. Losing nearly 30 pounds in a year and a half IS a big accomplishment, and a trend I want to continue. We then got down to the business of studying where I could make improvements.

Tara focused on my insane third shift schedule. Because I work while most people sleep, my scheduled meal times need a little adjusting. Tara pointed out that it’s best to eat something – even something small – within one hour of waking up, and then schedule my eating so that I’m never going longer than 2-4 hours without food. That way my hunger is kept at bay, preventing me from binging in a hungry frenzy or letting my blood sugar fall too low so that my energy levels drop and I get shaky.

Here’s my schedule: I wake around 4:30pm. I then usually eat dinner with my family between 5:30-6:30pm. Around 10 or 11pm, I usually have a small snack. Then I eat “lunch” at 1:30am. My other break is scheduled at 4am, when I usually have another small snack, and then I eat a little more when I get home at 8am, right before I go to bed for the day.

The emphasis here is on feeling satisfied. She pointed out that each meal should be just enough food to get you through until you eat again, not enough to create a “full” feeling. I believe her exact words were “Eat until satisfied, not until full.” Eating small, frequent meals and snacks keeps your body from reaching those extreme peaks and troughs with blood sugar and instead creates a more stable system, giving you more energy and helping your metabolism work better.

My goal, of course, is to continue losing weight. I’m no longer in the “obese” BMI range, but I still have a long way to go before exiting the “overweight” BMI range. Still, thanks to the Healthy Choice Better for BlogHer challenge as well as my own determination, I’ve finally broken through my plateau, and I plan to continue eating Healthy Choice meals to help me reach that goal. They’re simple to make for someone like me with no time to spare and each meal is so full of flavor – I’m loving how easy this is!

And the results so far? I’m going to brag a little and say I looked pretty good at BlogHer:

Size 10, baby!
(Although none of my other clothing is size 10 yet. Still.)

Full disclosure: I’m participating in Healthy Choice’s Better for BlogHer challenge, and as a participant I have been provided compensation as well as coupons for many Healthy Choice meals. All opinions I express about Healthy Choice are my own and are genuine. Also, the scale doesn’t lie, even when I wish it would.

Filed Under: success Tagged With: ,


Jul 27, 2010

I’m On A Roll

July 27, 2010 By

It’s been a big week of win around here, it seems. First, I ran for 20 minutes straight, which was a huge accomplishment.

Then, I survived six days alone with my children and only ate fast food for a grand total of once. ONCE. Six days, 18 meals and only one of them involved food ordered at a drive thru. And it wasn’t for lack of begging from my daughters. Remembering that I want to lose weight, have more energy and be healthier helped me avoid the grease traps.

As part of the Better for BlogHer challenge, I was asked to replace just one meal a day with a Healthy Choice entree. This has been amazingly easy, and has given me the chance to experiment with different Healthy Choice entrees. I’m usually a creature of habit and stick to 1-2 favorites that I eat over and over. But when the meals are provided for me, I’m willing to be a little more adventurous.

I usually eat the Cafe Steamers because I like simplicity. Pop it in the microwave and wait – no cutting slits in the top, no stirring halfway thru. My two favorites by far are the Balsamic Garlic Chicken and the Lemon Garlic Chicken & Shrimp. (Hmmm…apparently I like garlic.) But I decided to try some of the complete meals, which also come with a dessert. I now have two new favorites to add to my list: Fire Roasted Tomato Chicken and the Spicy Shrimp Diavolo. I never expect a frozen meal to have a lot of spark when it comes to spicy, but I’m pleased to say that the Spicy Shrimp Diavolo is actually SPICY. Yum! And while I was a little unsure of the fruit desserts, I’ve found them to be just as delicious and the perfect ending to a meal.

But here’s where the final part of my good week comes in. Combine running, avoiding temptation and replacing one meal a day with a Healthy Choice meal, and I finally have an achievement that I’ve been waiting on for months now:

The scale finally caved, and I broke through 187.

Well. It’s about time.

I’m hoping to see the 170’s by BlogHer. I haven’t seen them since my wedding in 2003, and I know I can do it.

Full disclosure: As I’ve mentioned before, Healthy Choice provided me with free entree coupons as well as compensation for the Better for BlogHer challenge, but my opinions are still my own and are 100% honest. And looking above, numbers don’t lie. OK, I suppose they could lie, but these aren’t. More importantly, my hips won’t lie when you see them in a fabulous dress at BlogHer.

Filed Under: success, weigh-in Tagged With: ,


Jul 9, 2010

Mind Over Matter

July 9, 2010 By

So I’ve been fairly successful so far with the Couch to 5K training program. Each week has been progressively harder, but I’ve managed to glide through most of it with little difficulty. OK, the 3 minute run intervals in week 3 were a little tough, but I recovered quickly and didn’t feel beat up at the end of my run.

But then came week 4.

The plan for week 4 is to run for 3 minutes, walk for 1.5 minutes, then run for 5 minutes, walk for 2.5 minutes, and then repeat all of that one more time. That equals a total run time of 16 minutes. Now, before this week, the total run time was 9 minutes. Adding 7 minutes to the run time seemed like an awfully big jump to me, not to mention running for 5 minutes seems like forever.

From the second I completed the last day of week 3, I agonized over how I was going to handle week 4. I got stuck on this week last year, unable to force my body to comply with a 5 minute run. How in the world was I going to do this without blowing out a lung? Or a spleen?

Today was the big day. And wouldn’t you know it – the hottest day of the year so far. At 8:30am, it was already 79 degrees and muggy. But I refused to back down, putting on my running shoes, grabbing my iPhone and heading for the sidewalk. I was going to do this.

The first 3 minute run was hard, but then again, the first run interval is always hard on me. My knees use that first interval as their attempt to stop me by aching and stiffening up. It’s not until the second interval that a pleasant numbness sets in through my legs and I forget about any knee pain. It felt like 3 minutes were taking forever – I was surprised how far I was traveling. At the end of that interval, I slowed to a walk and caught my breath, glancing down at my iPhone to see how little time I had to recover before starting the first 5 minute run.

I wasn’t ready for the 5 minute run, but started on cue anyway. I focused on my breathing and keeping my pace slow, refusing to look at how much time I had left. After what seemed like forever, I gave in to glance at my iPhone, sure that I was nearly done with this interval. 2:39 remaining! I’m never going to make it! I thought. The sun was beating down on me and I could feel the heat radiating all around me.

Somehow I did make it, slowing to a walk again and gasping for air. The second 3 minute interval wasn’t bad, as I was focused on how I could get through the final interval without passing out on the sidewalk. I could see the headlines: Fat girl collapses while running in small suburban neighborhood during heat wave – health officials respond with “well, duh!”

I started the final 5 minute run determined that nothing was going to stop me. It’s all in your head, I told myself, mind over matter. If I believed I could do it, then I’d do it. But then my breathing pattern got out of whack, and I was gasping for air. My knees started screaming at me again, and a small pain started in my side. I tried to distract myself with anything just to keep plodding along at my slow jogging pace. Look at the trees! Count the houses! Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming, just keep swimming…

Unable to resist, I looked at my iPhone: 1:45 left to go, and I was out of distractions. At that point I chose a new tactic, mentally yelling at myself, You will not f*cking quit! You will not be a quitter! over and over.

After all, I’ve quit so many things in my life. When something got tough, I just quit. It was easier to drown my depression in a Big Mac than to face my issues. Sitting on the couch watching TV never made me sweat or feel sore. A Snickers bar wouldn’t tease me or call me a nerd. Got humiliated – yet again – by a boy I was crushing on at school? No prob – my friends Ben & Jerry were there to console me. Couldn’t keep up with others in a dance? Fake an injury and quietly excuse myself to the sidelines.

There are a lot of things I’m good at. Most of them involve my brain and not my muscles. Those things require little to no effort, and so I’ve never had to quit them. It’s probably a good thing that I was born smart or I likely would have quit at school as well.

Interpersonal relationships and physical activity, though? The first I’m no good with but continue to try at (with plenty of escapes to food or other comforts to combat anxiety and defeat), and the other I’ve failed at repeatedly. I’m not athletic. I always came in last for every activity during Field Day in elementary school. I tripped over my patrol flag in 5th grade and broke my arm. I never made it on any sports team in high school. I’m best left at a desk by myself with a computer.

But I finished that run. My beautiful and tortured mind won out and got me through to the 5 minute mark, despite the heat, despite my burning lungs, despite the hefty frame I forced my muscles to move. As I walked back home, I felt lightheaded and dizzy, my head just as numb as my body. I knew I should be proud of that moment, and I was, although my mind used its rare moment of triumph to remind me that I barely survived 5 minutes, whereas other people can run hours.

I’m not letting that dark little voice get the best of me. Some part of me awakened today and fought past the negativity generated by a lifetime of being told I’m not good enough and will never be good enough. I don’t want to quit this time.

I ran for 5 minutes straight today. Twice. 16 minutes total.

And I’m going to do it again.

Filed Under: c25k, motivation Tagged With:


Jul 1, 2010

Trying Again

July 1, 2010 By

Hmmm, OK, so I don’t seem to be doing a very good job with this whole keeping track of my weight loss stuff. However, a few things have changed, and I’m ready to keep myself accountable again. And – as every good recovering addict says – and this time, I mean it!

First off, I’m running again. OK, running isn’t exactly accurate. More like walking with periods of jogging so slow that a speed walker could lap me. I decided to start over with the Couch to 5K program, thanks to a little iPhone app that makes it ten thousand times more pleasant by giving me cues while also letting me listen to my own music. My stats so far –

June 14: Week 1, Day 1 of Couch to 5K (C25K from here on out)
June 15: Week 1, Day 2 of c25k
June 18: Week 1, Day 3 of c25k
June 22: Week 2, Day 1 of c25k
June 23: Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred DVD (evil…more on that later)
June 28: Week 2, Day 2 of c25k
June 30: Week 2, Day 3 of c25k

I’m finding I like running more than I did last year. I think it’s because I’m running outdoors, which I’ll admit is more challenging, but also just more interesting as well.

I’m also tapping into all kinds of social media to hold myself accountable. My iPhone app has a “publish to Facebook & Twitter” option. And I signed up at DailyMile. I understand my friends may not be all that interested in knowing that I finished week 2 of c25k, but if it helps me keep going, they’ll have to deal with my constant updates!

As for the 30 Day Shred – while it produced amazing results for me last year, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Shred and my knees are not compatible. Running I can handle, as it is a simple forward motion, but the lateral moves in the Shred leave my knees sore for days, making the next run so much harder. I love ya, Jillian, and I’ll always be a Shredhead, but I have to move on to more knee-friendly ways to get in shape.

The final topic for today: my weight. Go on, take a guess. If you said 187, you and my scale have a psychic connection! Or you’re a frequent reader. Or my scale needs new batteries. Either way, I’m still the same weight, and no running or eating vegetables seems to change that. It’ll come, it’ll come…and maybe I’ll convince myself of that someday, too.

Next week is a harder week – I go from running 1.5 minute intervals to having to accomplish a 3 minute interval. I remember this was hard to do last year, and I have no idea how my body will react this year. Maybe it’ll be the kick I need to finally dip below 187?

Filed Under: c25k, weigh-in Tagged With:


Feb 4, 2010

And The Numbers Keep Going Down

February 4, 2010 By

189.2 last week.

This week? 187.0. Another 2.2 lbs gone!

For those keeping track, that’s 6.3 pounds gone in less than a month. And it means I’m rockin’ the Loser Moms weight-loss challenge.

I was going to complain that working the night shift is my greatest challenge to losing weight, but I’m starting to think that it might be helping in some ways. When I was at home 24/7, I also had 24/7 access to my fridge and the contents within. It was so easy to grab a snack, and then another, and then finish my daughter’s snack…

Now, three nights a week I work for 12.5 hours, and during those hours I’m lucky to get a chance to sit down and eat one meal, and otherwise only grab a few snacks here and there. I pack my own lower-calorie snacks to avoid the expense and calories of the vending machines. The day I work, I sleep for part of the afternoon, meaning I often skip a meal so my midnight “lunch” isn’t my fourth meal of the day. When I’m done with work, I sleep most of the next day, thereby skipping breakfast and lunch. I try to keep track of how many meals I’m eating each day, but sometimes one gets missed. And if it’s a busy night at work? So much for that meal I planned on – I’m lucky if I can drink a cup of soup or shove a granola bar in my mouth.

So maybe night shift is helping my weight loss. It’s still killing any ability to workout regularly each week, but if it’s preventing me from overeating, I guess that’s not a horrible thing.

Here’s to not screwing it all up by overeating at Blissdom this weekend!

Filed Under: weigh-in Tagged With: ,