Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Making Yourself a Priority

It’s funny - this post is late for exactly the reason that I am going to talk about… making weight loss a priority.  This morning I had to do so much stuff - go to kindergarten orientation (AAK!), bring in some dry cleaning for a suit that I am going to lend out to a friend, pick up a prescription for a neighbor who can’t drive, as well as basically cart my son to and from school, make lunch, do some work, and wait for the air conditioning guy.  Yeah, hello - was I making myself a priority today?  Of course not!  Did I get to walk this morning?  Of course not!  Will I have time to do it later?  Most likely not!  Why?  Because I am a people pleaser… if someone asks me to take on more work I will do it even if I don’t have time, if people ask me to run an errand for them because I “work from home” and seemingly have all the time in the world, I will do it - even at the expense of screwing up my exercise routine, or skipping lunch and therefore propelling me to McDonald’s because I am so hungry. 

That is why it is important to learn how saying no can actually help you lose weight. You have to make yourself a priority in your own life.  A common personality trait among overweight women is that they are people pleaser’s. People pleaser’s tend to gain weight because they have trouble saying no. Whenever they area asked to do anything, they say yes, without regard to their own personal needs and wants.  People pleaser’s gain weight by putting their own health and fitness aside to do things for others (especially if they have kids!) People pleaser’s consistently sacrifice their own happiness to see others happy.

The problem with people pleaser’s is that even when they are determined to lose weight they will put exercise and their dietary needs aside without a second thought to please others. People pleaser’s would rather eat dessert to make a friend happy than turn it down and risk hurting the friend’s feelings.  The people pleaser in all of us will also take on one project after another, regardless of how busy they are. Saying yes to ever favor asked, every job that needs to be done and volunteer project becomes automatic and it can become a stressful situation when your to-do list is a mile long.

The good news is that people pleaser’s can lose weight with some simple changes:

Learn to say no

Prioritize things in your, making fitness and health a top priority

Explain your goal to friends and family and ask for their support

Schedule daily exercise. Write it down and keep the appointment.

Be able to step back and let other people pitch in

Minimize stress by eating right, exercising and not over-scheduling yourself

Making yourself a priority, especially if you are used to being the caretaker or volunteer extraordinaire, can be a big adjustment for people who take on too much.  If taking care of others had made you gain weight you need to make the choice to put yourself first.  Saying no may take some practice, but it is necessary for people pleaser’s to lose weight.  You’ll reduce your stress level and have more time to take care of your health and fitness needs.

Monday, May 05, 2008

My Biggest Loser Weekend

So about a week ago I broke down and bought the Biggest Loser Cookbook - yes I did!  As many of you know I don’t cook.  I mean never.  I hate cooking.  Sure, I heat up, I pop in, and I occasionally “bake” but I never really cook.  So, for me to buy a cookbook takes a lot of prodding.  I had bought my Deceptively Delicious cookbook awhile back and I do use that one, just not as much as I would like.  So I decided to try this cookbook this weekend. 

First of all, the cookbook has a little more than just recipes.  There are actual sections to read and learn about how the Biggest Loser Diet actually works and how all the contestants lost the weight and so forth.  So, that was interesting.  But as I got into the recipes I realized how really easy they were.  I tried two things this weekend - the Napoleon Turkey Sandwich and the Spicy Meatballs with Fiery Chili Sauce.  I wish I had thought to take pictures because let me tell you, I made a big ole freaking mess.  Again, I stress that I am NOT a chef and barely know how to hard boil eggs if needed. 

Let me just say, after all was said and done, both recipes kicked ass.  I kid you not - I ENJOYED them!  Both were wicked easy to make and didn’t have an ingredients that was hard to find which is my complaint about most of the cookbooks out there that use crazy ingredients that cost a heck of a lot of money.  Most of these recipes, including the ones that I made had just things like red pepper flakes, chili sauce, parsley… you know, NORMAL things. 

The meatballs in particular were wicked good (I will post the recipe in the forum in a little bit), and you get a lot of them for the calories.  You are basically making 8 one inch meatballs per serving for only 206 calories - not bad!  You add a big salad on the side and you have a very filling meal for under 300 calories!  Yeah, I added crutons and shredded low-fat cheese to my salad.  But still 300 calories is not bad at all! 

My only complaint about the cookbook is that some of the things I simply will not try… more actually than I would try but I am super picky about what I eat.  I do not have a great palate and let me tell you, seafood, eggplant, and anything that says picante are not really foods that I would even try.  But there were about 30 recipes out of the 105 that I would… so that is pretty good!!  I have to say, I’m not a touter of any cookbook, but I would really recommend this one.  If you want to buy it yourself it is available through our Amazon store I believe, and if it isn’t then we’ll put it there for you Tonight on the agenda?  Cajun “squash your waistline” fries… LOL - oh boy, I can’t wait to see how this one turns out! 

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

The Love of Oatmeal

Do you remember when you were a kid and your mother would grab that big ass box of Quaker Oats - you know the one that you never really knew how long it had been there?  As you watched her heat up water on the stove and screw off the top of the old fashioned oatmeal container you would dread what was coming.  That was then… and boy have things changed!  Instant oatmeal came about, and finally we tossed those large jugs of oats out and started making breakfast more convenient.  However, with instant oatmeal came high calories and lots of sugar.  But man, was it good!  My personal favorite was the Maple and Brown Sugar… I could eat 3 packages at once!  And at 150 calories per package it sure added up.  Not to mention the 31 grams of carbs which is SO not good for someone looking to watch their carb intake as well.  So, lo and behold I had given up my oatmeal passion, especially when I went on Weight Watchers.  Until I found this…

Ah, the lower sugar instant oatmeal!  But is it really lower in calories as well?  I did a little comparison - Here are the details:
Take the Apples and Cinnamon (my other personal favorite):
110 calories
1.5 grams of fat
22 Carbs
3 grams of protein

That equates to 2 points per package in Weight Watchers terms as compared to the 3 points in regular Instant Oatmeal - Maple and Brown Sugar.  Sure that might not sound like a lot but I don’t know anyone who can eat just one package!  So, if you just eat 2 packages of the lower sugar instant oatmeal you are saving 2 points per breakfast and still getting what you love!  Add a banana to that and you have a VERY filling breakfast for 6 points.  I kid you not, you stay full for a long time with that breakfast. 

It might be interesting to know that the Weight Control Instant Oatmeal is almost exactly the same number of calories and fat grams that the regular version has, so I’m unsure of how much weight you are controlling by eating that.  So go with the lower sugar version and you can have a GREAT breakfast! 

Side note:  You only have about 12 more days to enter the Lipton Contest.  We have ONLY 6 entries right now so your chances of winning are pretty good!  Remember, register as a member, send your complete address to and then leave a comment on the contest link HERE and if you want a sample let me know.  USA and Canada residents only, and you CAN enter the contest without reviewing the product, but you do need to write up a blurb about the contest on your blog.  Non-blog readers are eligible too!  So come on - get those entries in and let everyone know about this great contest!!