Let them eat cake!

Just a funny thing I saw on the web. A magazine asked celebrities what their favorite cake was. Everyone has a favorite cake, right? (Mine is Flourless Chocolate with Vanilla Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce) Well, apparently not Eddie Murphy. He shocked me when he responded (and this is loosley quoted) "I can't do cake, not even a bite! I want to keep my middle trim, and I am getting a bit long in the tooth, etc." NOT EVEN A BITE? Now, that is discipline. I certainly couldn't do that, nor would I want to. The discipline is what struck me though. I wish for my trigger foods, I could just write them off like that. Cake, fortunately, is not one of them. So, I can eat just one bite of cake. I never thought Eddie Murphy would be the one to enlighten me in this way, though! Funny...

Be Mindful

Well, now I am forty. I have to say I feel no different. I do feel kind of embarrassed to tell people how old I am. My only saving grace is that I don't look 40, so I get a kick out of their reaction. I have been exercising regularly, but still hover about 5 lbs. over what I would like. I want to stress to all of you that see my picture and think, she doesn't need to lose weight, this: It does not matter how much you actually have to lose. It matters how you feel about yourself. How you feel in your skin. Each day you make choices which are healthy or not. Those choices translate into how you feel about yourself. I know when I make healthy choices I feel FABULOUS. So why do I continually make unhealthy choices? Many people, I am sure, ask this question daily. I have a few suggestions that I use that help me to make healthy choices. First one is "Just show up" to the healthy action. Like exercise. I tell myself I am just going to get dressed and start. I don't have to do a lot. Not more than 20 minutes. Most times, though, I do more. I tell myself just eat healthy at this meal. That works too. But all these decisions take a determination on my part to be MINDFUL. Mindful of what I eat and how that makes me feel. Mindful of how wonderful exercise makes me feel (after it is over, of course).

So, I have been hearing a lot about Acai berry and a detox-cleansing combo. It has been on tons of pop ups, stating that you have to follow this one rule to get rid of belly fat. It has been on Oprah and Rachel Ray (Dr. Oz?) Anyone know what this is and does it really work. People are swearing by it, but I am tired of trying yet another fix that doesn't work.

That's it for now.

Shopping Continued

So, Shopping! I love it, but do it all too often. Problem is I don't like to spend too much money. Let's just say it would be hard for me, although I have done it, to spend $50 or more on any one peice of clothing. I think it is absurd. However, I love designer clothes and being in fashion, so this creates the next obstacle on the road to looking good. Thus, I am regulary checking Ebay for deals. Usually, they have women's clothing lots for sale. Sometimes the clothes are all new with tags, sometimes a mix of used and new. A designer lot new with tags can go for several hundred dollars, but you'll get 20 or 30 pcs., well below retail. I just got a great lot. All the clothes were used, but in excellent condition. To me, one wash, and they were never anyone else's. (Anyone beg to differ on that?) Anyway, I got about 17 pairs of pants, a wool coat, and the rest were tops ( I think 35 pcs. total) for $71.00 (including shipping). Even if you don't like all the stuff in the lot, 17 pairs of pants to try on! Heaven! They were mostly Gap, Abercrombie, BCBG, The Limited. I can't wait to get the package. I will let you know how it turned out. So, go ahead and try it yourself. Just type in women's clothing lot and your size and see what you get. Lots of fun, and you don't have to leave homw (again, a problem if you like to shop too much).

So, getting back to last night. When I have control at dinner (my witching hour, when cravings kick in to say the least), I feel proud and literally give myself a pat on the back. The moment I wake up, the first thing I think of was "Was I good last night-did I eat or drink too much?) Then I either pat myself on the back or beat myself up and tell myself I am a loser. That I don't love my kids enough or I would take the ultimate care of myself to lenghten my life so I can be here for them as long as possible.

My goal is to eat meals without sampling my cooking 20 times until I am full, and then eat dinner anyway! If I could just eat the meals intended, and not finish the cold ground beef and spaghetti off my kids plate (why, why, why, when I am not even hungry). I find I really have to focus to just make the meal, sit down and eat it, and not put one morsel of food in my mouth until it is time. I have to put my mind to it, or mindless eating will take over! It can be done, but with much effort, and I am certainly not there yet.

Shopping!

Today I did not get on the scale. Too scared. I was pretty well behaved yesterday, didn't overeat, but ate some fattening things. Point is I did not feel out of control and that is good. More in a minute, having some technical difficulties, need to do a test.

Spell Check!

Sorry, I promise to spell check next post! I am just always rushing to squeeze in a post. More on the whole time issue next time!

December 1: No Self Control!

Well, I did pretty well over the Thanksgiving Holiday. I consider doing well eating what I want, but in moderation. You see (take note), when you allow yourself to eat what you want (just in perhaps smaller portions), you don't tend to overeat or self sabatogue. So, I did great. Then when I got home, I knew I had to cool it, and all of a sudden, I was in the binge mode. I don't binge and purge, just eat a ton, then feel really bad about it. So, that is where I am at right now, 110 lbs!

Enough about that. Tips for you: Did you know that if you eat spicy foods, you can raise your metabolism by as much as 23%? I eat spicy foods all the time, but because I like them. I am hoping the that the metabolism thing is really true, though. It is a great perk for foods I already like.

THE LATEST: I was reading a question and answer type article and the question was why did this person weigh more at night than in the morning (sometimes up to 10 lbs she said!). The answer seemed obvious to me: You have a day's worth of food and drink in you. In the morning after "evacuating" as she called it, you have the least amount of waste, water, food, etc. The person writing in thought she might be retaining too much water, but the expert didn't seem to think that was it, as weighing differerenly throughtout the day is normal. Any thoughts out there?

November 23: Some tips for you

Hey. I am trying to figure out some kind of format for this blog. I think I will start everyday with my weight for the day. Let me explain: I weigh myself everyday. I think this is good and bad. Good, because I know if I am leaning higher or lower, and need to perhaps adjust some habits. Bad, because it is obsessive behavior. Anyway, yesterday was 108.2 and today was 107.2 lbs. (keep in mind my scale is about 2 lbs. less than it should be). Anyway, it was shocking because I felt like I ate way too much the night before, and to wake up to 107.2 was good.



I don't want this blog to be all about me and my phobias, fears, obsessions...I want to relay info to you. Things that i find interested in relation to health, fitness, aging, etc. So, on that note, may I recommend the book The Perricon Prescription ( I think that is how you spell it). It is by a doctor, and he gives all kind of advice and recommendations on how to be wrinkle free. Among them is to eat salmon at least 5 times a week. I thought he was nuts, but find that is not that hard for me because I like salmon and can eat it different ways (smoked, terriyaki, cajun). He also recommends supplements. I take L-Glutamine (supposed to work against the negative effects of alcohol and make you crave it less!), L-Carnitine (found in the Nivea Anti-cellulite creams and pills sold with it), Alpha-Lipoic acid, and Chromium Polynictinate (not chromium picolinate he insists). I have heard of the chromium and L-carnitine for help with fat burning, better absorbtion, but he says it helps with wrinkles too, so great! Anyway, he has lots of interesting theories, so it is a good read. I have also tried the face cream ingredients he recommends (alpha-lipoic acid, vitamin c ester, and DMAE (which he touts as a miracle ingredient). Anyway, I don't know if I have seen much difference, but then again, I don't take the pills 3 x daily with meals (probably twice a day) and sometimes I forget to put on the face cream. I still have hope though, so I use it. Also, I have tried the Garnier Nutrisse anti-puff eye roller gel and have to say, I don't think it works. And I have tried very hard to apply day and night as directed, and still, not impressed. I have these dark cirles and puffy eyes. Any ideas out there (I've even tried cucumber slices-tea bags are next!)

Looking forward to hearing from you. I don't know how you get people to discover your blog, but hopefully someone will. I am going to visit Skinny Jeans, a blog I really like, and see if I can get some ideas on blog traffic.

Thanks! Vicki