Motivation

RANTING BURNS CALORIES!

This is an open, ongoing, support-encourage-motivational-RANTING thread. Feel free to skip to the end, or spend days reading through all of this ...

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I have decided that "Diet" is a 4-letter word.

I find myself muttering and uttering the word around my house these days with loathing and vehemence previously reserved only for comments directed toward liberal politicians. In fact, I seem to be talking to myself a lot more these days .... sort of a running, sarcastic commentary on all the foods I can't eat, or on various other related topics. I wonder if there is a link between calorie-deprivation and Tourettes Syndrome? Grrrrrrrrr.....

I am now on Day 8 of the dreaded D-word. This is already the longest period of time that I have ever successfully remained on a diet. And I seem to be growing grouchier and feistier each day..... at least when I am alone and no one is around to hear my running rants. (My wonderful DH has heard some of my more memorable rants on the subject of broccolli and reports that I am hysterically funny when I am hungry!) I am counting carbs. I am counting calories. I am counting fat grams. Sheesh ... now my math anxiety is about to kick-in!

Mini Rant #1 .... what masochist decided that the serving size of cereal was anything less than 2 cups? Have you ever measured out 2/3 a cup of cereal? Or even a full cup? And placed it in a bowl? Those few little flakes and pieces just sit forlornly at the bottom of the bowl, shivering and lonely, even when we dribble on a few meager droplets of skim milk! Sheesh. Well, I can tell you that there is simply no way that my oversized body is going to be happy with that tiny amount of cereal ... so I have been eating TWO servings for breakfast. SIGH. And while the side of the box says that I can supplement the cereal with some fruit, they probably don't mean eat 45 cherries with your cereal -- much less 1/2 a watermelon, huh?

Mini Rant #2 .... Things NOT to say to someone who has told you that they have just started on a diet:

1.Good, you sure needed it.
2. It's about time.
3. Really? It doesn't look like it.
4. Again? Haven't we heard this before?
5. Gosh, how much weight do you need to lose?
6. What do you weigh? I've always wondered.
7. I never need to diet, I have a fast metabolism.
8. Really? I can eat all I want and never gain weight.
9. Is THAT why you are so grouchy?
10. I sure hope you plan to exercise a lot more.

AAAUGGH! All of these responses are just the thing to make me even grouchier .... so just smile and say something encouraging and supportive, ok? I will let you know how it is going.

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=^..^=  Molly 

WELCOME TO MOLLY'S MOTIVATIONAL RANT / CHAT THREAD ... FEEL FREE TO SHARE YOUR RANTS, TOO!  YOU CAN EITHER READ FROM THE BEGINNING OR JUST JUMP ON IN ON THE LAST PAGE ... JOIN US! 

Hello shrinking caro!!  *waves across the pond!*

I think what we ALL need, to be successful with our new, healthier eating habits, is "stick-to-it-iveness!"  Hee hee hee .... Did I just make up another word?? Naahhh.... I don't think so. The ONLY way we can do this, I think, is to take things one meal at a time, one day at a time, and one pound at a time.  When we have a "bad" meal.... we need to re-commit ourselves so we don't have a "bad" day. When we have a "bad" day ... we need to set it aside, keep our eyes on the prize, and keep pressing onward.  We can do this!!! We CAN eat healthier!!! We CAN make better food choices!!! We can keep going.

Never give up. Never, ever, ever, give up!!!! This is the rallying cry for all my fellow ranters!!!! WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP!!!!

(Ok, you are now all suppose to cheer and scream and huddle together for a group hug ... then rush out onto a football field and beat the pants off the other team, got that!?)

Seriously, if anyone feels like they are "falling off the wagon" .... send me a PM!!! I check my email ALL the time, and I promise I will get back to you (if I can) and keep you encouraged, supported, and focused!

=^..^=  MOLLY

Itsy bitsy, teeny-tiny rantlet ...  Why can't hardboiled eggs be easier to remove from their shell? Sure, I eventually get them out ... but the eggs always look so .... rumpled.

 

=^..^= MOLLY

Shouldn't that be "Never give up, never surrender?"!  Um, maybe I've watched Galaxy Quest too many times"!

Caro

OK, so it's small, but here's my first official rant:

How come products that are terrible for you, like Twinkies and chips, still claim to have "Nutrition facts"?  Shouldn't it be "Lack-of" Nutrition facts, or something along those lines?  How can they have nutrition facts when they're devoid of nutrition?  Argh!  False advertising!

"never give up, never surrender"...that was my song for too long. I actually refused to give up food, still hoping to take off pounds. How ridiculous is THAT!!??!!

I've "surrendered" DIETING in favor of "eating healthy"

I've "given up" junk food, bingeing, sweets, fried foods...and the list goes on...and therefore have "given up" over 25 lbs!

AMAZING!!

Shrinking Caro, Welcome! "Never give up, never surrender" (to my bad, old eating habits and self-destructive patterns) is my motto, too. (BTW, I adored Galaxy Quest especially since I remember the original Star Trek...having a chuckle at yourself and your generation can be a good thing!) I slipped last week while visiting family and, while I don't think I overdid the calories, I didn't log what I ate. Then, I came home and ate even more! I decided to simply start afresh on Monday and I feel on top of things again. As Krismasself noted, sticking with healthy eating pays off over time.

Molly, this rant thread was such a great idea. I am comforted that I am not the only one suffering mis-steps on my journey to better health...and most of the rants are so funny I have to laugh out loud, which is good for the blood pressure!

Today's rant - I pulled a hip flexor in Pilates!!! In Pilates, for Pete's sake...where I'm supposed to be getting stronger, longer and leaner! Aging is not for the faint of heart. (deep sigh)

Thanks for "listening"!

JJ :-)

stayonpiste - I hear ya!  And thanks for the welcome!  A Pilates injury does seem harsh!  My rant is "how do you really know you're doing it correctly?"!  I've been three times now, fourth class tonight, and in the back of my mind is this little voice saying "you do realise you're just lying on the floor, right?", or whatever!  Mind you, the next day I know I was working some interesting muscles!

My other rant - people not telling you they can see you've lost weight in case they offend you.  I've worked hard here people, so you could at least acknowledge it!  I know, this is worthy of its own thread - I know there are lots of fors and againsts and that my own approval is enough (bleurgh) but I had to say it!  It's my rant, after all, she says selfishly.

Caro

Okay- I just spent about 30 minutes quickly reading over this Thread at work (don't tell my boss!!!!) and it is absolutley great!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Molly-- There is an easy way to get a hard boiled egg out of the shell.  first and for most-- soak the eggs in ice water as soon as they are done boiling.  then put some papertowl or something down on the counter.  Lay the egg down on the counter (so that it is wider than it is tall)-- it may help to kinda drop the egg down or place on counter firmly to crack the shell a little.  Place your open hand (palm down) on the egg and firmly press and roll the egg either forward or backward.  It will crack and losen the shell and you should be able to just pull off in 2-3 large pieces.  If this doesn't work then Sorry.... my many years of making tuna salad and deviled eggs have failed me.  Let me know if this doesn't work :)

Molly - egg-peeling, amheint gave you one tip I was going to give ... the ice-water plunge helps a lot. Also, fresher eggs are harder to peel. An egg that's been in the fridge a couple of days will be much easier to peel after boiling.

Thank you Shrinking Caro!  I have been ranting "on the inside" about that very thing for the past month.  In my first two months, I lost 15 pounds an 17.5  total inches.  Someone HAS to notice, right!  I mean, I notice!  And that is saying something.  My DH was the only one who said anything to me and secretly I feel that it is just because he knows how hard I have been working.  My two best friends haven't even said anything.  The one who lives on Maui was in town and hasn't seen me since two days before I started my better eating plan.  She is usually very in tune to details, but said nothing.  Uggg!  Now this is not to take away the fact that I am proud of myself and find approval with in myself, but I just wish someone would say SOMETHING and acknowledge the change.  I promise I won't be offended. :)

My DH-to-be, said early on "I didn't say anything as you gained, so don't expect me to say it as you lose" and I was offended until I realized that if he kept complimenting me, I'd begin to think "I'm Great!" and would begin to falter, again! Now he says things like "I enjoy seeing your glow when you come in from a walk!" WOW, that's what I want to hear!

A few friends have mentioned noticing, but if I'm "fishing for compliments", it only speaks of my EGO, not my accomplishments.

Ooooo .... thanks for the egg-peeling tips!  I tried the drop-it-on-the-counter approach just now and it bounced off the counter and landed with a nice THUD on an inquisitive kitten named Megan. She fled in terror, not at all used to being dive-bombed with lean protein while prowling about the kitchen floor. I decided that the "5 second rule" applied (since the inside was still untouched by kitten paws or the floor) ..... what a hoot!  Megan was last seen skittering UNDER the couch!

stayonpiste ... Ouch... ouch..... ouch .... for pulling a muscle on a Pilates ball. (A flexor is a muscle, right? And not some cast member of "Galaxy Quest?") I thought those things looked dangerous. When I was in high school (impressively chubby and un-athletic even back then) some friends convinced me to go snow skiing with them.... so off we went to the ski rental place to try on skis. I managed to trip over my own two feet while TRYING ON skis, and breaking my leg in the process. Then my silly friends would NOT let me tell everyone that I "broke my leg skiing!" Sheesh. Silly high school girls. My current friends would surely let me lie!!!

Personally, I wish all my friends would greet me with "Oh my gosh, you look amazingly FABULOUS" .... but that never seems to happen.  They are all being pretty encouraging and assure me that the 28.2 pounds I've lost so far "really shows" ... apparently they notice it in my face and my upper tummy. (Mini rant ... can I say how much I hate having an UPPER tummy and a LOWER tummy? It's like some sort of twisted 2-for-1 deal .... apparently I have so much flab my body has split it into two adjacent areas of flab .... like twins or something!)

I seem to have caught a cold, and I suspect it is from the Fitness Center since I can't imagine that I caught it while wandering around the Whole Foods produce department and I haven't BEEN anywhere else! AAArrrgggh.  I've been eating sugar free popsicles for my sore throat (my tongue is now purple, thank you), and drinking low sodium chicken bouillon because my husband insists that there is some medicinal property affixed to even powdered fake chicken particles.  The only bright spot is that it did allow me to have a tablespoon of local honey in my decaf tea last night .... in case there was an allergy-element to my symptoms. (Though I am leaning toward a self-diagnosis of cold!)  I am getting lots of rest and drinking lots of liquid and taking vitamin C.... (sigh)

Yay! It's Wednesday! Did anyone else notice that?

=^..^= MOLLY

Molly, there just might be something to the fake chicken bouillon because when I was congested a few weeks ago even bouillon helped clear my head a little.

Hmmmm.... I wonder how much low sodium chicken bouillon I am supposed to drink???

 

=^..^=  MOLLY

I'm cracking up here thinking about Molly's purple tongue. I always check my tongue after a blue Tootsie Pop just to see how blue it got...just like I did when I was a kid and ate something red. People are funny, aren't we?

I agree about the boiled eggs..."no-longer-completely-fresh" eggs are much easier to peel. I also use a teaspoon to remove the shell after I've rolled it gently on the counter.

Re: Pilates...my trainer said to skip it for a while until I'm stronger...so it's back onto the yoga mat for me. Ommmmmmm

Molly, I hope you feel better soon!

JJ :-)

"... can I say how much I hate having an UPPER tummy and a LOWER tummy? It's like some sort of twisted 2-for-1 deal .... apparently I have so much flab my body has split it into two adjacent areas of flab .... like twins or something!)" 

Molly, I am so with you on this...I think I may have even posted a little rantlet about it before.  My tummies are going to drive me crazy, I swear!  Why can't I just have one?  Is that too much to ask? 

i know!!!  add boobs to the two tummys and i feel like a frickin snow man !!  lol

 

Rena:)

Y'all are just waaaaay too funny this morning .... I laughed so hard it started a coughing jag... aaauugh! cough cough cough cough. This constant coughing HAS to burn calories -- the muscles in my chest, back and side are SORE! 

* Looks up "hacking up a lung" on the exercise log. *

I apparently took the "feed a cold" axiom to heart yesterday and went over my calories by about 320.... must have been the spicy hot beef jerky... which really did seem to help my cough and chest congestion. Oh well, at least it was lean protein along with what is probably an astonishing amount of salt.   This still gives me a deficit for the day of about 700 calories, and my DH keeps insisting that it's good for me (once in a while) to have a cheat day.

Somehow, I think cheat days should be more fun. I hardly made it out of bed yesterday, and today is definitely a cough-my-head-off-stay-on-the-couch day, again. cough cough cough

=^..^= MOLLY

I went grocery shopping with my wonderful DH tonight.

MY half of the cart had mushrooms, onions, spinach, tomatoes, cabbage, zero calorie sparkling water, zero calorie salad dressing, dill pickles, and low fat pasta sauce.

HIS half of the cart had muffins, Snickers, two different cakes, frozen Taquitos, Fritos, ice cream and a frozen breakfast bowl (that was 700 calories!)

(Need I mention he is skinny?)

Sometimes, life just isn't fair!

=^..^= MOLLY

My rant for the day parallels Molly's.  I'm staying with my parents for a few days while I have my floors replaced, and I had NO idea how good I have it.  I live alone, which has lots of negatives, but a positive I never realized was that it's MUCH easier to diet. 

My brother and I went grocery shopping together last night so I would have food while I stayed with them (why my 22-year old brother continues to live at home rent-free is a rant that is inappropriate for this thread...).

My half of the cart: eggbeaters, mushrooms, spinach, apples, sugar free pudding, lite soy milk, fiber one cereal, brown rice, 99% fat free chicken breast, soy nuts, and fresh salmon.

His half of the cart: Cookie dough, ice cream, whipped cream, lots and lots of beer, chips, at least 3 different kinds of dip (salsa, french onion, cheese...), pizza bagels, frozen burritos, 3 bags of halloween candy, bacon and chocolate milk.

If I didn't love the skinny jerk so much, I'd hate him!