Weighty Matters

Moving to a New Location

spacecitypaula — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:19:17 +0000

While it’s been fun having the blog on wordpress.com, I’ve decided that I’m taking this blog and several others that I maintain and merge them into one Big Blog at www.dontbeapicklebump.com.

The great thing is that I’m still using WordPress but will also have added flexibilty and control over the presentation of my writing and pictures. So come visit me and check out the new digs. There’s still some construction going on, but it’s all good!

Sustainability

spacecitypaula — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 03:21:16 +0000

I think the gardening has officially gone to my brain. One thing that I’ve been thinking about lately is sustainability…. in my life overall and the impact I have in my daily life in terms of trash, etc. I grew up on an acreage and we raised our own food when I was growing up. We had a good acre’s worth of gardens and raised our own chickens, ducks and turkeys. We also raised pigs for a while. I grew up in a house where not a lot was wasted and Christmas sometimes came from the thrift store. I’ve changed some habits – I’ve begun recycling stuff; I have a plate, bowl, cup and flatware in my desk at the office so 1) I’m not always eating out of plastic bowls, and 2) I’m not putting more plastic into the garbage bin and throwing away a bunch of paper plates or styrofoam cups. The magazine I picked up last night, Experience Life, is put out by Lifetime Fitness and I really like the approach. They look at fitness, but the editors definitely realize that if you don’t integrate it into your life, fitness is not going to be sustainable. They take a whole body and soul approach. I also like the fact that the editors actually talk to the people who did the studies instead of just quoting them and I like that they treat me, the reader, as if I have a brain. And the magazine walks the walk and talks the talk – they give you the option of either a traditional paper magazine subscription ($19.95) or subscribing to the digital edition for $12. I’m pretty impressed, even though I haven’t finished reading yet.

Million Pound Challenge Update

spacecitypaula — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:31:00 +0000

42990 lifted. Not as far as I wanted to be. but I’ll take it. Gardening has been whupping my butt the last few weeks.

I’m up to 32,790 lbs lifted. I would be further along but the week after I started this whole little project, I managed to get an infection in one of my fingers and it took a while to get it all cleared up. But I’m on like donkey kong baby and at least when I lifted on Monday evening, I wasn’t as sore as I was when I first started back at it at the beginning of the year.

My Frustration with The Biggest Loser

spacecitypaula — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 01:50:43 +0000

If you couldn’t tell from my last post, I was really frustrated after watching the Biggest Loser on Tuesday. Two things I really noticed this time were product placement and the perpetuation of the myth that it’s all about the scale. Let’s tackle the product placement first.

I’ll admit that I haven’t been a regular watcher of Biggest Loser over the past few seasons, however I was really irritated by Jillian and Bob obviously plugging Cheerios and Fiber One. The Brita ad over the sink is kind of annoying and I can live with the 24 Hour fitness logo splashed across the Gym wall, but I was irritated that Jillian made Kristin throw away a perfectly good bowl of oatmeal so that she could eat the sponsored cereal, especially since they are doing the thing with the food banks around the US. It was a waste of food and oatmeal is a perfectly acceptable choice for breakfast.

You can mix up a bowl of oatmeal in 5 minutes and spice it up with a few nuts, some cinnamon, a banana, or a few raisins, and a splash of skim milk. Add a couple eggs or egg whites on the side with some salsa and you have a great breakfast that keeps you fuller a lot longer than a bowl of cheerios. It has healthy fats, carbs, and protein for you to start your day with.

I think the thing that really got my panties in a bunch is Jillian’s comment about “losing inches is just some bullshit that trainers feed their clients.” Anyone who has recomped their body knows that it’s not always the scale that is the best indicator. I lost a significant number of inches when I first started lifting but my weight maybe changed 10-15 lbs. I laid in a lot of muscle and lost a lot of fat, but you couldn’t tell it from my scale measurements. It was only when I took progress pictures that I realized that while it’s useful, the scale is not a great tool, nor is it the only tool to indicate weight loss. The tape measure and pictures are also good indicators.

Anyone who is has a trainer who is relying on one method to track their weightloss ought to fire that trainer.

Question of the Day

spacecitypaula — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:00:39 +0000

On The Biggest Loser tonight Jillian said something that made me stop. She said that it’s bullshit when trainers tell people they’ve lost inches and not pounds. Yet when I first started on my journey, that is what happened to me. I’d stay very steady in terms of my weight and lose weight occassionally, but inches would down steadily. I don’t think the friends who were there with me and saw the pictures were blowing smoke. And I could see changes in the pictures.

So what that change all in my head?? Was I blowing smoke up my own ass?? Is it bullshit???

Downward the Weight Goes

spacecitypaula — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 13:02:04 +0000

The decision to eat 2-3 servings of whole grain, 5 servings of fruit and 5 servings of veggies seems to be a good one for me. I’m down 5 lbs for the month and the weight is not flucuating as much as it was. It appears to be a more steady trend. I’ll see if I can get a pretty little graph from Open Office here in a bit to illustrate what I mean. If I just look at the numbers, I seem to be bouncing around a bit more.

So for now, this goal continues as is, even though at times all those good things seem like a pain in the rear end to eat because it’s a lot of food!

Getting Back on the Wagon Baby Step 1

spacecitypaula — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:06:36 +0000

I have to admit, I’ve been struggling with staying on the wagon. I know what to do, but I just can’t quite get fully there. So I’m taking babysteps to get back up on the exercise and diet wagon.

The first step is getting out of the fast food habit I developed over the course of the hurricane and it’s aftermath. So I’m focusing on making sure I prep my own food. While I’m not counting every single calorie that goes into my mouth (babysteps remember!), I am making sure that I focus on the following things every day when I prep my food:

Eating 2-3 servings of whole grain/legumes/dried beans. Seriously you get lots of fiber and can add some protein to your diet by doing this. Not to mention that it fills you up and keeps things moving from all the fiber.
Eating 5 servings of fruit. This one was eaiser to achieve than I thought. A banana added to my oatmeal; berries in my plain yogurt; an apple, orange or tangerine here and there to help curb my hunger. The sugar from the fruit definitely helps curb my sweet tooth.
Eating 5 Servings of veggies – and I’m not talking about huge bowls of salad (there’s only so much salad a girl can take!). I’m talking sweet potatoes, corn, turnips, beets, peas, green beans and broccoli just to name a few. I try and eat at least two servings of veggies with my main meals. Although I am finding that a small salad before I fix my main dinner is a good way to stop me from gnoshing while I cook.

The best thing is that by eating this way I can eat more volume without packing in a ton of calories and I feel fuller longer.

Jer-Bear is my new Hero

spacecitypaula — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:57:56 +0000

Jerry from the Team of Jerry and Estella on The Biggest Loser is my new hero. He’s completely changed his life since leaving the Biggest Loser ranch. While I am not the biggest fan of the Biggest Loser, I did get hooked into this season of it (I tried watching last season but the people were just ICK). The people this season are more compelling and supportive of each other.

Last night’s weigh in was just brutal. Even Allison cried. I honestly thought Joelle was on her way home. However, it was Jerry and Daniel who fell below the yellow line. Both of these guys needed to be at the ranch. I couldn’t even imagine how tough it was to choose Jerry to go home, but I liked Ron’s reasoning. Ron said that Daniel has never been thin his whole life and he doesn’t have the support at home, where Jerry has been thin and he’s got the support of his family. Jerry was just so gracious and cool about the decision. And he was supportive of Daniel.

I think one of the most telling things is that Joelle felt horrible about the fact that it happened the way it did. She knew she didn’t deserve to be there. Hopefully that idea will motivate her to do better so that if she does get voted off early on, it’s at least on terms that she can live with.

But back to Jerry. Jerry has done so well since he came home and he’s lost 84 lbs. He didn’t even look the same! And it was great to see how active he was with his grandchildren and family.

Eating Yourself Blind – It’s Not Worth It.

spacecitypaula — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:38:27 +0000

My friend Susan introduced me to the term “eating yourself blind”. It’s when you eat to the point that you’re full and then keep on eating. I’ve done a bit of that over the holidays – the last time being New Year’s Eve. I remember sitting there on the side of the bed that night and thinking “Why on earth am I doing this??? I feel like an overstuffed potato and I really hate how miserable I feel.” And I woke up feeling just as miserable.

It’s part of the mind games of weight loss and lifestyle change. You can’t change the things you aren’t aware of and there seems to be more and more I become aware of as I journey down this road. Its as if the lightbulb goes off and something says “Oh this is how “normal” people eat. They don’t stuff themselves. They eat until they are full, but not to the point of being uncomfortable.”

Sad as this may sound, but at the tender age of 41, I’ve reconnected my stomach to my brain and the rest of my body it seems. I’m much more conscious the past few days of how I feel when I eat and after I eat. I’ve strived not to be that overstuffed potato that I felt like at the start of the new year.

A Million Pounds for a Good Cause

spacecitypaula — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:39:14 +0000

A friend of mine here in Houston, Susan, is on the board of a new charity called A Simple Thread. I like the idea of what A Simple Thread is doing. They put together kits and take them out to homeless people who really need the little things in life – a toothbrush, a bit of laundry detergent, a coloring book and crayons for a kids who with their parents, snacks. Susan says the most amazing thing she’s seen while working with A Simple Thread is the homeless people sharing what they receive with other homeless people.

So starting January 5, I’ll be working toward a goal of 1,000,ooo lbs of weight lifted to raise money for the organization. I’m enlisting my friends and family to donate for the cause. And I’ll be posting updates on the Million Pound Challenge on a page on this site.