Keeping the Pounds Off!

Screwing with the Virgin: Soap Box Sunday 2-26-12

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 03:08:00 +0000

You really do have smut on your minds, don't you? Seriously, what did you think this post was going to be about?

It is about something that has in its time, been considered more valuable than rubies, more sought after than gold and more useful than a second husband - I am writing about olive oil - or more specifically, Extra Virgin Olive Oil. There is a good chance that the EVOO in your pantry right now is bogus!

First, a quick lesson in the food of the Roman Gods: Olive oil has several grades from Extra Virgin to Olive Pomace. Extra virgin is made from the first pressing of the olives; pressed without chemical or mechanical means. By the time you get down to Olive Pomace you have oil made from olive crud and solvents to ooze out every bit of rancid waste from the pulp of the olive.

One thing more: something I and perhaps you have hitherto assumed and taken for granted as true: a bottle of olive oil - of any size and grade, labeled as 100% OLIVE oil is all olive oil.

Go, go right now to your pantry. pull out your bottle or can of olive oil. Does it read 100% Virgin, Extra Virgin or Olive Oil. Does it read Italian Olive oil?

FALSE! LIES! SACRE BLEU!

If you purchased your olive oil in the United States, either on sale or from a warehouse store and especially if it is in a large container, chances are even IF it is a name brand of olive oil; that oil will be a mix of olive oil, soybean oil, other oils and added coloring to make it appear as extra virgin olive oil.

Aren't there laws and regulations in place to protect us from such practices? Yes. Is anyone guarding the hen house? NO! And that ladies and gentlemen, is the reason for my getting on the soapbox today.

I try very hard to keep things out of my body that do not belong there. Soy is a big no-no in my life. Soy causes me to be dangerous to the unsuspecting public when gas erupts from my body. Soy does not cross these lips and reach my hips except in teenie, tiny quantities. At least, that is what I thought. After all, reading labels is easy: if the word soy appears: caveat emptor. For this is not only a matter of keeping the pounds off, it is keeping the health good and the gas in check! When the label does not accurately and honestly list what is in the product how am I (are we) to protect ourselves from what lies within?

Author Tom Mueller, (blog: http://www.extravirginity.com/) has written a book exposing the (his words) 'sublime and scandalous world of olive oil.' It is an eye opener, a jaw dropper and it might make you throw up in your mouth a little. Afterwards you will want go back to the pantry and toss out the big half gallon jugs of olive rot bought at that unbelievably low price at CostsoBJsSams. Who says you don't get what you pay for?

Tom Mueller helps us by listing the name brands that dilute their olive oil with not-olive-oil and sludge. He shares information on why the olive oils I had been purchasing do not have the health benefits expected. By the time it is in my pantry it has been heated, treated and if very often diluted.

And that is why today I rant. I feel violated.

Jane~

Quest Bars Have Arrived!

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 11:20:00 +0000

Last week when I blogged on whether bars make acceptable snacks, I received a comment from Downsizers concerning a brand called Quest High Protein Bars. Now I am pretty finicky so I scoured their website and then contacted them directly to make sure these bars did not have ANY soy, aspartame, sugar, wheat, milk fat or any ~~of the twenty-five~~ other things I could think of at that time. Assured that their bars would not trigger my barely-inner food addict and kill me immediately or at the very least cause me to need food-police intervention, I purchased two different assortments to test.

Today they arrived. My family will be testing these bars over the next few days and I will write a full post on our research results later in the week. It will take a few days. To try more flavors in less time I will be splitting each bar with two family members so that I can sample two or three a day without consuming more than 1 bar.

If the bars do not agree with me I will stop my part of the tasting and still give you the results of my family taste test.

Today I am off to a day with a large group of friends in various stages of keeping the pounds off. We are getting together at a beach in Cocoa. Most are there for the weekend but I have to work tomorrow so I am just going for the day. In figures that today is the one day this week when the temp will not go past the 60s. At least it will be sunny!

Talk to you all tomorrow. Have I got an Olive Oil story for you!

Jane~

There's Gold in Fridays

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:04:00 +0000

TGIF -Thank God It's Friday, (the saying or the restaurant), can also mean other things:

Thank God I'm Female
Take God in Faith
Too Great in Fat
Twisted Goats Invade Florida
That Goes In Fat
The Greek is Fage (as in yogurt)
This Gunk Isn't Fair

I've read 'never post something you want other people to read on Fridays because no one reads blogs on Fridays.' So since no one is reading, I can post anything I want. Today I will call it There's Gold in Fridays because you never know what Friday will bring - from Twisted Goats to Fage Greek yogurt.

Here are the Obesity/Weight Loss/Dieting headlines from this past week that make me say DUH! Hope you get a chuckle or two reading them.

Maybe now that joint pain is linked
to obesity, they can use obese people
in the ads and give the fit models
some time off.

OBESITY LINKED TO JOINT PAIN - DUH! No kidding. How about a headline reading "Obesity linked to eating too much."

WHY THE WEIGHT IS SO HARD TO SHIFT: GUIDELINES HAVE BEEN WRONG ALL ALONG -

DUH, tell us something we don't already know! If the guidelines were universally correct the battle against obesity would have been won a long time ago.

EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT DIETING IS WRONG -

DUH, I don't think so. I have an advanced degree in my own body and after maintaining a 220 lb weight loss this long, I have earned tenure. What the experts may know is wrong. If you want to know how to diet, talk to the people who are keeping the pounds off.

Now on to a serious note:

On Tuesday, February 28th, at 12 noon in San Francisco, California , there will be a discussion on food addiction featuring published author and fellow blogger Michael Prager. Michael is the author of Fat Boy, Thin Man. His website/blog is http://michaelprager.com/ . In addition to Michael, the panel includes:

Michael Prager, Author, Fat Boy Thin Man
Nicole Avena, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Florida
Eric Stice, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist, Oregon Research Institute
Dr. Vera Ingrid Tarman, MD., MSc., FCEP, CASAM, Medical Director, Renascent
Elissa Epel, Ph.D., Associate Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry
Robert H. Lustig, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics, in the Division of Endocrinology at UCSF.

The flyer reads:

Addiction is about brains, not just about behaviors. We all have the brain reward circuitry that makes food rewarding; it’s a survival mechanism. In a healthy brain, these rewards have feedback mechanisms for satiety or "‘enough." For some, the circuitry becomes dysfunctional such that the message becomes "more." Michael Prager, author of Fat Boy Thin Man, will begin the discussion telling his very personal story of recognizing and then seeking treatment for his food addiction. Leading researchers and clinicians will discuss many aspects of this important topic

MLF: Health and Medicine
Location: SF Club Office
Times: 11:30 a.m. check-in, 12:00-3:00 p.m. program
Cost: $25 standard, $15 members

http://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2012-02-28/food-addiction

Have a great Friday!

Jane~

Obnoxious? Don't Drink from the Well

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:40:00 +0000

Question: Is there anything more obnoxious that someone who has lost a great deal of weight (and is still far from done) picking on people who are today doing what the still overweight bully was doing only a short time before?

Answer: Yes, two obnoxious weight loss bullies who ban together to call other obese people gluttons, pigs and stupid morons.

No, I have not been attacked. I see it out there and I read it elsewhere. If someone wants to be The Obnoxious, that is their business. If I don't like what they write, I don't have to read it. They don't bother me and I do not join their bullying. I thank God my life is not endless existence in middle-school. I do not have to join in their bullying or laugh with them at the expense of others.

I can (and should) only speak on my part, my experience and my actions, so here it is:

It is heartbreaking to watch people fall into the same behaviors over and over again but I don't need to send them hate mail or call them out like they are Goody Proctor and this is the Salem witch trials. I am grateful my well being does not hinge on belittling a sick person.

At the same time, when someone in the midst of their own unhealthy weight shares dessert recipes, buffet descriptions, excessive food photos and candy give-aways - I am gone. I need to maintain my recovery from food addiction and not worry about winning a candy bar contest. I think they are misguided but I am not going to laugh at them or about them like they are a freak show. I am not going to encourage you to witness their train wreck. I just don't go there anymore.

I become silent on their blog and perhaps even choose to lose the link. I support and encourage those I follow through any setbacks providing they are honest. What I cannot do is drink the Kool-aid of someone who puts their ego before their honesty. The more I feel someone talking the talk is also walking the walk, the more I want to encourage them. I stop commenting/following when I see people are lying not just to themselves (we all do that sometimes) but lying to everyone else as well. I don't have time for other people's junk. Do you know what I mean? I have to hope they accept they have a problem - but I am not going to brand them with a scarlet letter as though they are weight criminals.

Keeping the pounds off means I have to be honest day in and day out - even when I want to lie and say anything but the truth; I have to be honest for my own physical, emotional and spiritual health. But the truth is not a weapon to hurt others. I do not need to make other people cry. I do not need to proclaim 'my truth' as gospel and make you agree with me. I don't have to make you look at other individuals so you will not look too closely at me.

Look for what helps you maintain the pounds you have lost. Read those who encourage your progress on this journey. Don't totally discount The Obnoxious. You can learn something very valuable from The Obnoxious. You can learn what not to do. If someone obnoxious thinks your journey is fodder for their minions to chew on and spit back at you, take it as a reminder of what YOU do NOT want to become when you have succeeded. Spitting spreads an obnoxious disease.

Jane~

2020: Medicinal Chocolate

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

From the Orlando Sentinel
February, 2012

Food Addicts: we have eaten more than our share!

We are to blame! Our gluttony and compulsive eating behavior have finally caught up with the world. In eight years this planet will be suffering from a chocolate shortage that will threaten humanity with suffering the likes of which we have never seen. And I do mean suffering, because if women with PMS cannot get their chocolate fix the world will be a very dangerous place.

Think about it: Cleopatra tasted chocolate. She knew how good it was. When Rome took away her chocolate and all she had left was Marc Anthony, she killed herself and changed the face of the world. The Incas? They disappeared when their chocolate crop failed. You don't believe me? You can check my facts on Stickiwikipedia: the website for cheeky facts on sugary sweet subjects.

But seriously, what does this chocolate shortage mean for the rest of the world? I don't know. But I know that I am someone who contributed to the problem and now I must be an adult part of the solution and give back what I have so generously given to myself. But I ate all that chocolate a long time ago. I could give up my daughter Rory's Easter basket. After all, she is twenty three. Oh wait, we stopped giving her an Easter basket when she was in college. She doesn't get one anyway. No wonder I didn't ~~steal, pilfer~~, bite into any of her chocolate bunnies over the past few years.

The only chocolate I eat today is pure cocoa powder, which contains no milk fat and no sugar. It may seem like a small thing to give up, but it is all I have. I will give it up my cocoa for Lent this year if it means some little ankle biter will get a chocolate bunny eight years from now because of my sacrifice.

Before chocolate reaches the critical shortage level and rationing or black market kisses become the rule, I hope congress will pass a mandate to regulate chocolate as a medicinal product. Otherwise normally law abiding women may bow to pressure and go to Switzerland or Belgium for illegal chocolate bars.

If ever we needed to make sure we have a woman as president it is four years from now. This way she will have four years to pass the Presidential Chocolate Protection Act for Women and Children. Menstruating women will be guaranteed access to a block of chocolate each month, or at least, a chocolate patch. Each child will get a chocolate bunny with hollow ears. Possession of Cadbury's crackberry creme eggs will be federal crime due to the highly addictive nature of the product.

As we all want to be keeping the pounds off eight years from now, what will you do to save the world from a chocolate shortage in 2020?

Jane~

Beige

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

My first photo collage.
What a pain to make!

My food were breads, potatoes, pastas, scrambled eggs, corn, pastry, breaded and fried, doughy, canned . . . Most of my food was beige. I gained more weight than I lost. I was always hungry or thinking about food. My stomach had all kinds of pains and noises. I needed antacids. My bowels were sluggish.

Small begrudging changes led to more changes and these led to voluntary decisions to truly change my food. This led to major weight loss, less obsession with food and positive changes in my life.

Don't get me wrong - life isn't a perfect bed of roses and it never will be. It doesn't have to be. It can just be life now because when I am out from the crutch of beige foods, I can deal with what comes at me more than I never could while chowing down on a pasta bread bowl.

I am making this for dinner this week!

If most of your food is beige there is a good chance you are not eating healthy enough or satisfying enough in your body to maintain the long term success you want. Do you want to loose 50+ pounds just for one season or do you want it to last?

Get away from the beige foods and add color to your food palate. It is a great step toward keeping the pounds off season after season.

What colors are on your plate today?

Jane~

Are Bars a Good Snack?

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

No, not candy bars -

get your mind off the food porn!

Before I go on to the bars I want to discuss let me update you on the post I wrote the other day about the Mars company changing the size of their candy bars. Mars says they are phasing out king-sized candy bars. By 2013, their candy will not be packaged to contain more than 250 calories. I haven't eaten a candy bar in a couple of years so I needed to do some non-caloric research on this to better appreciate what is currently on the market. My husband and I drove to Wal-mart and stood on a long check out line where I could look at all the individually wrapped bars lying in wait for the impulse buyers.

By King size they must mean
King Henry the Eighth!

Holy Crap Fatman! The friggin bars were all - ALL - four servings per bar. I thought they would be be two servings per bar, maybe three. No, were FOUR servings per bar. As I fingered one of the bars and felt the individual servings inside a single wrap, I thought to myself I want not want to have just one serving. I would want two. Would I want to stop at two? I will not have to know: I stop at none. No candy bars were purchased or consumed in preparation for this post.

Alright, enough about candy bars. Let's discuss something without sugar.

It has been years (seven? eight?) since I had a South Beach Bar. I don't miss them now but all those years ago they were a daily part of my diet. It gave me a sweet something to look forward to each day (sometimes twice a day). I won't quote any of the nutritional particulars because they have reformulated the product since then and I do not want to use any of the current stats. Current stats would not be accurate to when I was eating it.

In keeping the pounds off I try to stay away from processed foods. Yes, I use fat free cheeses that contain a few suspicious ingredients and I still use Splenda and Truvia. I am not Mother Earth but I am still far and away better off than I was back in the bar days.

I enjoy the occasional Lara bar - the basic bars without added sugar and additives and not the newer bars that contain sugar or chocolate chips. The bars are made with dates and nuts and a fruit essence and perhaps coconut oil. They are mostly delicious. They are not big but I take 10 minutes to eat my bar, breaking it into 10 small pieces and not putting the next bite into my mouth until the preceding bite - every little morsel, is completely gone. I don't eat them often, maybe twice a month for two months and then none for three months. They are not a problem food for me.

I think as long as they do not lead me to seek more food or sweeter flavors they are a comfortable occasional snack. As good practice, I read the ingredients label on each bar, every time I buy it. I do not want to be unpleasantly surprised.

So the question is: In keeping your pounds off, are bars a good snack?

Jane~

SoapBox Sundays #3 - Read This, Not That

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 05:46:00 +0000

One of the most imporant things I do for my success is eat a healthy breakfast. Remember: Fast food often leads to fast fat. This post continues my irk over the segment on NBC Today's show two days ago on the subject of making healthier choices at the many fast food restaurants that are joining the breakfast market. The author of the book series, EatThis/NotThat, David Zinzenko, who makes regular appearances on NBC's Today, gave the fat and calorie totals for the worse thing you could order at each fast food establishment and then gave a suggestion for an alternative, healthier breakfast choice. WHY can't people in media suggest not even going to the food places that are known dens of pleasure for unhealthy appetites? Are all media people tied in some way to corporate giants who make it impossible for them to issue the most basic of warnings: GET OUT!!?

For example: The Big Breakfast at McDonalds consists of a large biscuit, scrambled eggs, sausage, pancakes, butter spread, pancake syrup and hash browns. According to Zinczenko, this breakfast is 1400 calories and 64 grams of fat and includes an entire day's allotment of sodium. Zinczenko pointed out that this is the equivalent of eating 16 Eggo Blueberry pancakes. To be fair, McDonalds disputes this total. They report the Big Breakfast (large size) with hotcakes is 1150 calories with 60 grams of fat, 20 grams of which are saturated. No matter how you add it up - this is a big FAT breakfast that could categorically-calorically feed a family of four and still clog some arteries.

The alternative Zinczenko suggested is the egg Mcmuffin and an order of hash browns. This still has more than one third of the calories of a Big Breakfast; it has 450 calories and 21 grams of fat, 6.5 grams are saturated fat.

My question: Are fried potatoes ever a healthy choice?
My point: When the healthier choice is fried potatoes: leave and eat somewhere else.

cause people keep going back!

I don't eat in McDonalds (personal decision made in 2006), but I cannot fight all '60 billion served' customers at once. So I accept people are going to go there to eat there simply because it is convenient. In researching facts for this post I went to the interactive McDonald's food/nutrition web page and computed what would be the better alternatives for breakfast at McDonald's.

You can order the Fruit and Oatmeal with the apples but without the brown sugar, sugar-added dried fruit, and light cream. Then is is a healthy 200 calories with 2.5 gms of fat, no saturated fat and it has four grams of fiber. That is a healthy breakfast. Need more? Order the scrambled eggs separately or the fresh fruit and nuts for adding to the cereal, this comes with a small portion of low fat yogurt. YES, you can order food prepared without the cream and added dried fruit. You just have to ask.

it is all beige!

Next up is Burger King (BK). The BK Ultimate Breakfast consists of scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage, biscuit, and three fluffy pancakes with syrup. Oh my God: it is 1300 calories, 72 grams of fat, 26 grams sat fat - over a days worth of saturated fat, plus 2500 mg sodium.

What does Mr Eat This recommend? I think he said the double bacon croissant (440 calories) with hash browns - though he didn't say what size hash browns. At BK hash browns run S-M-L at 250-500-670 calories each. Even if you assume the smallest was his choice, that makes this 'better' breakfast choice have a total of 690 calories with 30 grams of fat, 13.5 grams saturated fat and 1880 mg sodium.

On the interactive Burger King Menu site (I find only the best research tools for my readers!), I determined if you are trapped on a mountain and it is snowing and you cannot roll your body down the hill to a farmer's market and must eat at the Burger King or die, your better choice would be to remember that the BK motto is still "special orders don't upset us". Order the ham, egg, and cheese biscuit but double the ham and hold the biscuit and cheese. Total damage is only 160 Calories, 8 grams of fat and 2.5 grams of saturated fat - but let me warn you: the sodium is still a whopper-ing 1060 mg.

He discussed Dunkin Donuts and their Coffee Cake muffin - 650 calories and 27 gms of fat, 9 grams saturated fat and 56 grams sugar. Eat this/Not that suggests eating a doughnut or the cheese danish for 330 calories with 17 grams fat, 8 grams saturated fat, and 17 grams sugar.

I like the coffee so I make it at home

I have a different idea. If you cannot manage to skip the coffee at DD and there is n drive thru to help you avoid the food porn in the shop and you MUST go inside and eat: buy the Cinnamon raisin bagel twist. It has 350 calories but only 3.5 grams of fat, .5 grams saturated fat and 19 grams of sugar. But it also has 5 grams of fiber. David Zinczenko should take note that his choices of doughnut or cheese danish have only 1 gram of fiber, if that. Not to mention both of those choices are made of entirely fake foods. Whenever you can, choose items that are higher in fiber. Fiber will help lower the impact on your blood sugar. Fiber will keep you satiated longer.

Now he also mentioned Wendy's Breakfast Panini. The Wendy website only shows one panini choice. It has 540 calories and 35 grams of fat, 18 grams are saturated fat. 860 mgs of sodium. On the show Friday, Zinczenko said it had 46 grams of fat and I do not see that on the Wendys' website, nor is it as interactive as the other sites.

Pick you your angina here

All I can say about breakfast at Wendy's is order the fresh fruit cup and make it will hold you over until you travel so place with more nutritionally sound food choices.

If you want to be keeping the pounds off, educate yourself on the basic nutritional facts of life. Don't just believe what someone else says or writes. Consider if they have any product endorsements or commerical conflicts of interests that run contrary to your best interests. Do your own research and compare it with others.

Again, please remember: Fast Food often leads to Fast Fat!

Jane~

Does Size Matter?

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Mars candy is making smaller bars. No, not miniature size - they already have that. They are going to stop making their 'king size' bars ~~that feed seven~~, okay are two servings each and replacing them with single portion sizes of no more than 250 calories each.

Now, you can say that this is their way of getting consumers to pay the king-size price for less product, therefore keeping their earnings on par with the current rate. Or you could say that consumers accustomed to eating the king-sized bar will start buying two at a time, adding to Mars' bottom line. You might also think changing the bar sizes will do nothing to help the growing obesity rate. On this last, I think I must disagree. I see something positive happening here. Let's take this bite by bite.

First there are the regular eaters. There are actually people in this country who buy a king size bar and can't eat the whole thing. They might save 1/2 for another day or share half with others. I don't understand 'sharing candy' very well. I usually hid my treats or bought enough so you could have your own and leave me to mine. Anyway, the normies buy a bar and eat it. The size of the bar will not cause them to buy two.

Confirmed overeaters and food addicts will buy the amount they are driven to buy - no matter what the size. As an addict and overeater, when I was actively eating candy, I was comforted by the idea that I was eating one single bar - even if it was king size. Once I read the label, I knew better, but I still bought the single big bar with the idea that I was only having one. So, while the food addict and overeater can buy additional bars, there is also the possibility they will just get the one, sometimes.

So far this change in sizes is a wash for the current generation of consumers who now actively spend money and make purchases. There will be no change for normies and perhaps a slight change in what the active food addicts will consume.

I am thinking about children. The kids currently too young to buy their own candy, too young to be eating candy, kids not yet born. They are the future target market for candy bars. If king-sized bars are not on the market and the kids do not grow up accustomed to the king sizes, this next generation will adapt to a different idea of accepted portions.

You cannot un-ring a bell. But if you change the size of the bell, you change the way it sounds and how far away it will be heard. Changing the size of the candy bars can make the next ring of the bell reverberate less through our children's waistlines.

Thank you ABC News for reporting the story the other night during my evening TV watching and thank you very much to Diane of Fit to the Finish for posting an opinion on her Facebook page, inspiring me rethink what I was going to say in a comment and instead formulate it into this post. I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to Diane's book coming on the market in April and available for pre-order through Amazon.

Jane~

Eat This, Not That - NOT

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:15:00 +0000

It is not a game
if you can die

I just watched a segment on NBC's Today show with the author of Eat this/Not that., David Zinczenko. The suggestions for "Eat This" were so egregious the segment should have been saved for April Fools Day.

When his first book came out I thought he had some good ideas for options but I also thought he was too involved in keeping people where they were. There was too much corporate elbow rubbing going on. If the food choices are so unhealthy at an establishment that you need a book to navigate the menu to save your life, perhaps it would make more sense to get up and leave for a place with healthier food?

All roads that lead to fast food places also lead away from them.

~I said that

I will be sharing my full review of the fast food breakfast choices he listed, on this week's SoapBox Sunday post. I will add a link here once that posts on Sunday. In the meantime, please do not go to Burger King and eat their Double Bacon Croissant with hash browns (the Eat This choice), and call it the "healthy choice" in your day.

Jane~

The Power of the Affirmation

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:59:00 +0000

The practice of engaging in affirmations allows us to begin replacing some of our stale, worn out, negative mind chatter with more positive ideas and concepts.

~ Shakti Gawain

Some people think little sayings are just cheesy and hokey and hold no value to others. They whine when people say things like:

One day at a Time
Let it go
Don't sweat the small stuff
Don't burn your bridges
Let a smile be your umbrella
Easy does it

and my favorite:

Together, we get better

Seriously, affirmations bothered me for awhile, too. I hated hearing 'one day at a time' when I wanted what I wanted and I wanted it NOW. I bashed you over the head with a burning bridge if you whispered that little ditty to me when I was in the middle of torching someone over a resentment I let seethe for too long.

Then I started seeing these affirmations in a different light. They started working their effect. When I let stuff go it didn't haunt me. When I had a smiling attitude all kinds of crap failed to land on me or if it did, the crap didn't stick. When I paused and took things easy instead of insisting that it was my way or the highway, life's road really was smoother to travel.

One day at a time isn't something to placate me or hypnotize me past the next craving. It really is a mantra to keep me focused on what is before me. This makes sense since the scenes in my mind for next week may never be. But it I do not practice something better than trying to control the world, negatives playing in my head will be way I picture them today, especially if I use food to keep me going. The positive replaces the negative with each repeated phrase. No longer do I need to feel stupid, worthless, unloved, careless, useless or any of the negative phrases used in my mind or by others.

Some people get real obnoxious when they hear others repeat the positive affirmations when their own tapes are stuck in negative playback. Some people are going to get obnoxious no matter what. I cannot control what they say or what they think. If they think that others should not say it because it does not make sense to them, that is their opinion and their problem. Other people do not have to like or agree with me and I do not have to agree with them.

It is not my lot in life to use my words to make them happy. I am keeping the pounds off, one day at a time, so let it go. Don't sweat the small stuff as you keep those bridges save from burning behind you, smile and take things easy - actually, while WE smile and take things easy, because together we DO get better.

Jane~

The Eat and Run

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Setting the scene: I work out on a treadmill with a TV and DVD player. I cannot bear to be on the 'mill without something to watch. On a cruise ship I can look out at the watch while listening to my iPod music but at home the treadmill faces a wall - boring. I have a large collection of DVDs and I enjoy changing up what I am watching whenever I want.

I like the movie Julie/Julia (or is it Julia/Julie?). It is about Julia Child and Julie Powell: their lives and their food. A lot of food. You do not watch this movie on an empty stomach. I do not watch this movie when I am unbalanced or unsettled. The butter scenes alone can drive me to distraction, so I have to be in a good space to enjoy it as entertainment and not as porn. I don't usually 'watch' the movie. When I play it, it is usually background noise for when I am working. I can look up when I want to and look away when I don't.

This week I made a new game out of this movie and I call it "Eat and Run." Every time someone on the screen is eating food, I have to go from walking on the treadmill to running and I have to run until that scene is over, even if they are no longer putting food into their mouths.

Let me tell you, there is a lot of eating going on in this movie. I was huffing and puffing through some of the scenes that went on a little long. I did the first half of the movie on Monday, did a 5K walk outdoors yesterday and will be doing the second half of the movie later today. I hope they eat a little less in the second half. My feet do not like me today.

To keep on keeping the pounds off I need to change things up a bit and not get into the same exercise rut day in and day out. Not knowing when I am going to need to start running means my mind has to stay alert to the scenes and my body has to be constantly ready. Sometimes eating scenes follow each other with only seconds in between. It definitely made for a different experience. This kind of eating on the run is good for the body. I m thinking of trying this with a Guy Fieri show. Come to think of it, that would probably kill me. . . .

What could you do to get your body psyched during an otherwise mundane workout?

Jane~

My Funny Valentine

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:02:00 +0000

Just a note before the story: If you are eating dark chocolate, let's be honest and say you are having it because you want a piece of chocolate, not because 'it's good for me.' When it comes to dark chocolate, do the research, including who paid for which study and what was actually tested. You can get what is "good" for you from other plant products, without sugar, other fats and sodium. The studies do not suggest the only way to get healthy is to eat dark chocolate. We only think chocolate is as necessary as the air we breath.

My Funny Valentine 2012

How many years did I send my husband mixed messages? I would say 'only get me a small box of chocolates so I don't eat too much' and then when he did what I asked I would pout that it wasn't bigger and want more. Then I would say: Don't buy me sugar! Don't buy my candy! You do this to me! Don't tempt me! Don't, don't don't! The next year he would go out the door Valentine's Day morning and I would be say "Don't bring me candy!" On television, the talk shows would feature all the different chocolate companies and their chocolate offerings that year and when Larry walked in the door that evening with beautiful flowers and something from a jewelry store, I would pout and be indignant "You didn't get me a chocolate heart??" And he would go back out for what was left on the shelves because it was easier to placate me then it was for him to just tell me I was an indecisive bitch.

One year he bought me two boxes of the sugar free chocolates I wanted ; one milk, one dark. Ick, sugar free chocolates - the next day I bought my own Russell Stover heart shaped box at half price so I could get 'the good stuff.' It got to where he would buy a box and hide it, since he never knew what I was going to want by 'the witching hour' each February 14th. All he wanted to do was make me happy and he didn't know how to say no to me when it came to food. This behavior (on both our parts) went on and on for the first twenty-three Valentines Day's we shared as a married couple.

For the past six Valentine's Days our world has been more peaceful. I don't have to ask and he doesn't have to guess. He no longer gives me love as food and I no longer seek that love in a heart shaped box. I cannot believe how much happier I am without chocolate covered candy-love.

On to 2012: Yesterday one of my husband's clients sent him a thank you in the form of four heart-shaped boxes of chocolates with a note to share it with his staff. He has one secretary. She took only one box. He now had three more boxes of chocolates (good stuff). At dinner last night he asked me what he should do with the three extra boxes We looked at each other and laughed, both remembering past years of chocolate tantrums and secure in the knowledge that this would not trigger another. He had no fear I would say "gimme!"and I knew anything in a heart shaped box would never equal the love I find in my husbands eyes.

I hope on this Happy Heart Day you are keeping the pounds off and loving your life more.

Jane~

Loving Larry since 1980

WAKE up Call

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0000

We do not (usually) meet in person

We do not watch each other's kids, pets, or plants

We do not visit each other in trying times

Yet, we call each other friends ~

We are the twenty-first century version of pen-pals. Sometimes there is depth in our 'friendships. Sometimes we are just voyeurs in each other's lives. In that way we are the same as face to face friends; not close with everyone but at times closer than we even realize.

I thank you for the times you save my sanity by sharing things with me even my face-to-face friends do not share. I thank you for the words of encouragement and thought provoking sharing. Even though we may never meet, I can call you my friend because I care enough to see how you are doing and want the best for you, as you take a precious moment out of your day to see if I am okay, too - and we do it without speaking contemptuously to other or hoping to beat the other in this game of life.

Sometimes that is all you need to start a beautiful friendship. I know I would not be keeping the pounds off if my life did not include sharing your journey, even if just a tiny bit.

Jane~

Soap Box Sunday #2

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:53:00 +0000

Last week I started the Soap Box Sunday Posts. Each week I will leave Sunday posting to speaking on issues that are affecting people, places and things in the world of weight loss, control and maintenance - or any topic that has irked me that week.

This week I do not have anything ~~to whine about~~ that is irking me our the world of keeping the pounds off. Rather than force Irk or get into anything that is old hat, I will simply wish everyone a happy day and leave with you a thought from today's entry from my I'm Keeping the Pounds Off daily tips on Facebook.

"I don’t need the backlash of Whoa that comes with eating inappropriately. The mental obsession and stress Whoa puts on my body will damage the healthy balance I achieve each day in doing the basic things right, eating healthy and sanely, getting enough sleep and accepting that I can enjoy my life today as is."

Today, I am going to enjoy my life as is. How about you?

Jane~

Breakfast or Dessert??

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

This week I visited a new blog by someone trying to lose pounds. She had a photo and description of her breakfast. I will not show her photo (I am not trying to bash anyone here) but her breakfast got me thinking - and not in a good way. It consisted of:

Cooked oat bran, (good)
1/2 a banana (fine)
1Tbsp. natural PB (tasty, adds a healthy fat)
1 Tbsp. yogurt (not sure if it was fat free or sugar free but it looked pretty thick and creamy)
2 tsp agave nectar (no matter what you call it, it is SUGAR)
1 Tbsp. toasted pecans (at least 9 halves shown in photo, way more than 1 Tbsp - wait, didn't you already have peanut butter on that cereal - too much fat
1 Tbsp. mini semisweet chocolate chips (Um, maybe a better description would be 1 big heaping Tbsp).

Oat bran, nuts, nut butter, dairy, sugar, chocolate chips and a banana . . . throw in an egg in and she might as well be eating a batch of cookies for breakfast.

I started thinking about some other breakfast 'entrees' which have become common in our country over the past 25+ years. Things like waffles with pie filling and whip cream (unless those are fresh berries on your waffle, you are scarfing down prepared pie filling) and stuffed French toast (filled with cream cheese and sugar - almost cheesecake!).

Then I started thinking about all the breakfast 'sides' which have become so common: chocolate filled croissants, giant muffins in a variety of sweet flavors, large cinnamon danish and of course all the coffee drinks and smoothies filled with cream, sugar and flavorings. No wonder breakfast used to be my favorite meal for eating out.

Dessert for breakfast! In getting pounds off (or keeping the pounds off), can you keep having dessert for breakfast?

Jane~

Binge Responsibly

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:55:00 +0000

The signs in casinos read: "Bet responsibly."The commercials and billboards for beer and cocktails proclaim "Drink Responsibly." How about eating? Do any of the advertisements suggest that we "Binge Responsibly?"

Can you 'Binge responsibly"?

What is a responsible binge? In my mind it was defined as

It starts and ends on the same day
I do not forgo any other activities or responsibilities that day
I am not too sick to work the next day
I do not cause my family concern. They do not see me
As long as I remember doing worse, 'this time is 'better.' '

I once felt that as long as I followed my diet and lost weight, I could 'binge responsibly' and get away with the occasional day off for good behavior. Getting away with it means not gaining weight before the next time I face the scale or face people. I often got away with it physically but not emotionally and certainly not comfortably. I had to develop a true commitment to honesty with myself. The bullshit had to stop. It did not matter if I admitted it to others or shared it with strangers - I had to stop BS-ing myself into thinking that it was in any way healthier to 'binge responsibly.'

In keeping the pounds off, is there any such thing as bullshitting responsibly?

Insurance for Pre-existing Conditions

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Repetition is the only form of permanence that nature can achieve

~George Santayana~

Every time I do something that reinforces healthy actions in my life against food addiction, I am taking out insurance, that on the day my life experiences a seismic shift, I will be able to rely on repetition to react in a healthy way. By repeating healthy behaviors and using tools that do not include a shovel and food, I can come through life-altering events, joyous or painful, without losing a food battle. I have to think this way because I have a pre-existing condition: Compulsive Overeating, and just because the symptoms have been arrested does not mean I am cured.

No one wants to dwell in the negative. I don't want to think that I could get back under the influence of food for any reason. I don't want to contemplate that people I love can die or otherwise be gone from my life. I don't want to consider how I will bounce back from a severe accident or emotional upheaval. And what about positive things? Certainly no one wants to consider that an amazing, positive event could lead to stresses that lead back into food abuse, but positive things can be just as big a trigger as negative ones. I could win the Powerball Lottery, (as I surely will someday), and suddenly find myself able to go anywhere, do anything and buy whatever I want. How long do you think it would be before I 'forget' that I have a food problem? It wouldn't start with a binge but it could end with the biggest food fest of all time.

Otto the Auto Pilot

With repetition I have a fighting chance of surviving on auto pilot, using those repetitive actions and tools if and when my heart is breaking too much for me to care enough to do the right thing. There is no foolproof insurance but this is as close as I can get so I will take it.

I am keeping the pounds off because I am not repeating the actions that brought me up to 385 lbs. If I repeat those actions, nature will repeat the consequences. There is nothing in life that could be made better by me gaining weight. It will not make people love me more (well, not normal people). It will not resurrect the dead. It will not protect my children, my husband or my dog. It will not help anything except Lane Bryant's bottom line and boost the sales of a few food companies.

What kind of repetition is keeping you where you are and what repetition can bring you to where you want to be?

Jane~

Soap Box Sundays!

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:41:00 +0000

I was inadvertently given a great idea this week by fellow blogger, Mrs Munchberry of I'm Just Puffy. (Thank you Munchie!)

For now on (or until I get tired of it anyway), Sunday posts are going to be a subject that is ~~important to all of us in the world, important to all of you,~~ important to me, speaking against the useless, misleading, unhealthy or just plain WRONG people, places and things in the world of weight loss, control and maintenance.

The Paula Deen-mon

Ah hell, let's not limit my gentle tirades to just a few suds. I will rant against any topic that has irked me that week. Every Sunday I will stand up on my soapbox and rail from my pulpit against the insidiousness of deep fried butter in Catholic School lunches, the Paula Deen-mon diabetes cure, or the 8,000 Calorie Jersey Shore Diet.

STOP! DON'T Google any of those stories - I made them up. Or at least, I hope I did. God help us if they are true.

U walk me puleez now?

If I do not have a subject for the week I will just take the Sunday off from blogging and visit my real world, where floors wait to be washed and the dog waits to be walked because Mommy is busy on the Internet - again.

I am sure there will be weeks where I find nothing to ~~bitch~~ complain about, I am more sure there will be weeks where I will have more than one topic share with you because I like to ~~complain~~ share my thoughts. I hope you will keep coming back to Keeping the Pounds Off on Sundays and tell me what you think about the health/diet/nutrition/exercise/weight things that effect all of us in one way or another. And feel free to suggest topics for each week's Soapbox.

This week I am enjoying the bubble bath too much to get out and stand on my soap box for more than a paragraph or t~~wo, three, four~~ okay, five. Of course, I have to devote those ~~two~~ five paragraphs to Dr Oz for this week's 'Faturday' episode.

Before the good doctor turned from sound medical advice to whatever device would plump the ratings, I enjoyed his books and the sound information he gave during media appearances. Now there is too much push for ratings over sense. He should never have become a stand alone show. It has reduced his medical credibility and boosted his star quality - not a good combination when the health of many is involved.

Try as he might, Dr Oz does not truly understand addiction or the mind of a compulsive eater. To counter obesity with the idea that you can overeat one day a week and it will be okay is a harmful suggestion for the masses who do not have continued personal support. Perhaps when I reach that holy final number on the scale I might find it useful to have Faturday. I don't know because I am not there yet - and it could very well trigger the insanity of food addiction if I tried the actual foods I would desire, so I would have to be very careful to substitute with items that do not trigger that unhealthy part of my brain that demands food over all else. But as a tool while losing weight; to suggest that people who are currently overeating can suddenly stop, limit it to one day a week, and then change their one day a week choices into the healthier options he suggested, is simply the idea of someone who does not get the insidiousness of addiction. Yes, there will be people who can do exactly what he suggested and succeed over and over again, week after week. Very - few - people. But many people will waste a few more months on the journey spinning their wheels, trying to make this work. I know because I always looked for the way to have my weight loss and eat my cake, too.

Just the thought of it makes the addict in me want to have a 'Faturday'. I would love to eat some of the foods I no longer have. To deny that would make me a liar. I would love to try it. Oh wait, I have tried it. I have tried that experiment over and over again. When I could limit it to one day a week I didn't lose any weight before the next one. When I couldn't stop after I started, I just gained and gained. Either way, it was a failure as a weight loss device.

Dr Oz suggests changing the choices into items that do not trigger the addiction. He says on Faturday, if you crave salty, have goat cheese, a healthier choice than chips because it is a lower fat cheese. Umm, it tastes great with chips. How many people are going to really have it with celery once they get started? Of those, how many will be able to do this week after week without slipping back into what they really want to eat?

If you are someone who is spinning your wheels, losing the same pounds over and over again while you still have more to lose, do you think this method would work for you? Let me know if you try it and if it is working and what you consider 'working' to mean. If your definition is to eat what you want and gain an acceptable amount but then lose it and additional pounds and not have after effects from the 'Faturday' each week - I wish you luck and success.

I know his heart must be in the right place but this idea seems to be up the network's ass. -And there goes my chance of ever getting back on the show and having my plea for pro bono plastic surgery fulfilled. I guess I will have to find some other way to get the skin pounds off.

Jane~

Color Your World

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:09:00 +0000

not my accessories

Do colors affect your appetite? That’s what the experts say. They say blue and gray suppress the appetite by being soothing and reducing anxiety. I don’t buy it with blue. (think Blue Plate Special). They say intense deep reds increase blood pressure and appetite and that is why so many restaurants have red walls. Now I have to check out the wall colors in restaurants before I order? I can hear me now: "Your walls are painted a beautiful red, that means I am not really hungry, your walls just want me to think I am hungry, so I will skip the appetizer and have the small salad while I stare into the blue of my husband's eyes because blue is going to calm me and keep me from eating too much."

Not my kitchen

The experts in color and appetite say orange is both invigorating and soothing and that it brings more oxygen to the brain . . .but obviously not enough to know that the color is also stimulating our appetite. Think about that the next time you see those orange Cheetos, orange crackers or orange peanut butter cup wrappers. Come to think of it, why are peanut butter cup wrappers orange. Someone knew what they were doing.

They say yellow makes you happy and helps you concentrate. Remember the yellow lined paper in school? How about the yellow lights on the road? They also say that green is relaxing and calms you down. That is funny because I think green plates and bowls make me eat less. Dark, dull greens I mean. Cheery light greens do not seem to stop me from licking the plate clean.

Not mine, but I wish it was!

Do the photos on this page make you happy - or hungry? Turquoise and aqua make me happy - very happy. Aqua and turquoise are my favorite colors (with orange/copper following in the #2 spot). Just looking at these photos I want to redo my kitchen again. I use to have a turquoise kitchen - two different kitchens in our marriage have been turquoise. I love the aqua and turquoise kitchens (but hate red accessories in such a room. I know designers think that those two colors go together but I think the red is very off putting with aqua and turquoise. The experts say Turquoise is a great color for your kitchen if you want to gain weight. I always thought those colors curtailed my appetite BUT during the years our kitchen was turquoise I gained over 150 pounds. Hmmmm, they might have something there. . . . .

I have these appliances -in red

Can re-coloring our eating world help us in keeping the pounds off?

Jane~

Weight Loss Results for Jan' 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:47:00 +0000

I have a goal for 2012 of losing the remaining 20 extra pounds, which once lost, will be is 8.333% of the total pounds off. I figured a goal of losing 2 pounds per pound it reasonable. The most important thing is to stay healthy and not regain any of the pounds already lost. I am very happy to say that I met the goal for January and lost the first 2 pounds. I was worried when I got back from the cruise five pound heavier that perhaps my body would lose the five pounds but not drop more. Four of the five pounds came right off within a day or two. The last pound held on for dear life, pissing me off to no end.

I am so stubborn I even refused to work out until all five pounds were gone because I needed to prove to myself (my insane self?) that it was truly water and glycogen and not fat. When the final pound came off I returned to official exercise (official means I put on my magical exercise shoes and work out clothes as opposed to taking a walk in clothes I wear everywhere else).

During the last week of January the pound came off and by Feb 1st I had lost an additional 2.2 pounds. The 2/10th of a pound was back on today, which is neither here nor there. I do not freak over ounces unless they pile together into multiple pounds.

Speaking of ounces: If I lost one ounce a day - just one ounce, I would lose an additional 20.7 pounds in 2012. Now, I am not going to sit around counting down an ounce to day, nor am I going to consider a week a disaster if my weight goes up 4 ounces. That would be insanity. If you want a very good idea of why that would be insanity, please read this article. It is by Renee Cloe, ACE Certified Personal Trainer. It gives a great explanation of why scales 'lie.'

I am very happy to be keeping an extra two pounds off. Now let's see if February will play nice.

Jane~

Booby-Trapped Mailbox

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:00:00 +0000

Chocolate is a WMF

Is there no place safe anymore? My daughter brought the mail in last evening with a warning. "There's chocolate in the mail!"

Sure enough, there is a bumpy envelope addressed to me, sent from the Ghirardelli Chocolate company. On the envelope it reads TASTING SAMPLES INSIDE. It might as well read "CONTAINS DEADLY BOMB! OPEN AT YOUR OWN RISK! It seems Ghirardelli is ~~pushing~~ showcasing two new intensely dark chocolates and sent two sample squares for me to experience. Hey, do they have any radioactive waste to send me? It will kill me faster and I will not have to suffer as long. Yes, I am over reacting. It wouldn't be worth writing about it and reading about it if I reacted normally, so just keep reading.

I'm just going out to check the mail

I eat chocolate - without milk fat, without sugar . . . . I use dark cocoa powder. I buy it and bring it home and use it sanely. I do not want chocolate coming to me uninvited. And please don't give me any of that 'dark chocolate is good for you' crap. Yes, dark chocolate is better than milk chocolate but that is like saying butter is better than margarine. Both contain stuff that is not good for the body. Oh, and with the dark chocolate, if you are a sugar addict it still has sugar. Like it or not, these are the facts.

The last time a food company mailed a product or catalog containing sugar to me it did not end pretty. I asked Swiss Colony to take me off their mailing list after a binge in 2006. In 2009 they sent me a catalog and I called them and ~~put the fear of Jane into them, read them the riot act,~~ politely explained that I was already on record as asking to be permanently taken off their mailing list. They ~~thought I was insane and probably put me on speaker phone for the whole customer service office to listen in~~ apologized. The following week they sent me a tin of chocolate covered almonds or something like that, as a peace offering.

I get it, even if they don't. They just don't get it. I wrote one more letter and returned the tin, unopened. I have not gotten a catalog from Swiss Colony since.

Ghirardelli has much better tasting chocolate that Swiss Colony but I did not let this WMF (Weapon of Mass Fat) destroy my peace today. I gave away the chocolate - immediately. I threw out the coupon that came with it. This was an advertising thing and I doubt they will be sending more bombs this way anytime soon, but if they do, I will be writing a letter that will cause of few tremors in the customer service office. Okay, probably not tremors. More likely giggles over the crazy lady who does not want to receive free chocolate in the mail. But that is how I am keeping the pounds off today. Free chocolate in the mail is never free.

How do you deal with the arrival of "freebies."

Jane~

Biological, Chronological, Diabolical and Logical

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:11:00 +0000

Do you think your binge eating or or daily overeating is caused by your relationships? Does a day with your mother-in-law cause you to eat a dozen doughnuts after two hours? Does a trip to see your sister always end with a scream fest and ice cream feast? Are there uncles and cousins attending the same event as you who make your skin crawl and your tongue water for cookies?

If babies could talk...

In keeping the pounds off and not using food inappropriately I had to face the harsh reality that I am the only one responsible for what I ingest. I am a competent adult but now I had to act like one and practice my ability to say 'no' to myself and to situations that used to lead me into all out battles with food. In the 9 years since I dropped the first pound and kept it off, I have developed some insights into the many families I have in my life. These insights have truly helped me win many food battles.

Biological: I was born with a biological family. These family members include parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, nieces, nephews and the two daughters I was blessed to give birth to despite my obesity.

June, 2007

Chronological: I married into another biological family and over time that family became my family . They are my chronological family: my husband and his parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews and the partners of my biological and chronological family members.

Diabolical: These people are members of the biological or chronological family who I am stuck with because 'they are family.' I may have once wanted to love them but I have come to realize they are not good for me and truly, do not love me either. It has nothing to do with what they eat, drink, or do for a living. Diabolical family members pull people down. They may use anger to control others or cut people down with biting comments and hurtful manipulation. Sometimes a diabolical family member is obvious to everyone. Some give the impression to others that they are just wonderful and show their true colors to just a few.

Logical: I also have a logical family. These are people in my life with whom I am very close, perhaps closer than I am with some biological and chronological family members. These are people with whom I share portions of my life that I may or may not share with other family members. My logical family shares my life and I have chosen to be a part of theirs. Biologically, we are not family but logically, we are family, by choice.

Jane is a Trekkie

If a logical family member were to become hurtful to my life it would be logical to no longer have them in that family of friends. I have finally learned to do this with the diabolical family members as well. Without being obnoxious or cruel or in any way stooping to the level of the diabolical, I can limit my exposure to their venom very effectively by not volunteering to be a part of their world. I am not 'friends' on facebook with my diabolical family. I do not seek their company and I do not falsely greet them like long lost friends when we occasionally must cross paths at larger family events.Most importantly, I do not use any family member or their actions as an excuse to harm my body with food - not anymore.

How are you keeping your food sane when faced with your diabolical family?

Jane~

Do you have the Weight Whammy?

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:43:00 +0000

It happened to me year after year. I couldn't understand it. Now I see it happening to many people in cyberspace and in my personal life. Finally, I think I understand it. I am not a doctor or in any way an expert in nutrition so remember that when you read this because this is only what I think, based on my personal experiences and sharing in the experiences of others. I am sharing this in the hope it will help someone else.

I've named this condition. I call it the Weight Whammy. Yes, I name conditions. It is one of my many God-given talents along with baton twirling, cake decorating and knowing how to frustrate my daughters at any given moment.

This is how the perfect storm called the Weight Whammy was created in your body (and the way it was created in my body year after year before I finally caught on.

December found us enjoying many of our favorite foods and desserts. The holidays were evident in our homes, at the office and everywhere you went. Food everywhere was enticing. Special foods. Celebratory foods. Comfort foods - whatever. We knew we were starting a fresh new lifestyle in January so we indulged and did not wallow in guilt or limit ourselves to just one every single time we ate. Okay, that is the fact of what happened. There is no beating yourself up over what cannot be changed.

January starts out fine. We're are freshly committed to whatever mode of weight loss we are following: food plan, exercise, weight loss guru, commercial diet programs, etc. We do not wavier at all in our attempts to keep to our commitments and pounds are falling off; dropping at a quick rate. Wow this is great We feel less bloated and more committed. It is a great start to what we know it going to be a successful year of getting the weight off.

Three weeks in, IT happens: weight loss slows down to a trickle or stops abruptly. We think 'Why do I refrain from cookies with my tea or pizza for dinner if I am not going to lose 5 pounds for my sacrifice?' We start to resent the plan we're following.. Will the scale be different next week? We stick with it another week, maybe two. Oh crap, I only lost a half a pound this week. It's not working. It's not working. . . . . its not worth it. . . . .

DON'T STOP! If you are not re-gaining then it is working. You have to understand what is happening in your body, in my opinion and based on my own, repeated experiences.

During the month of December (and maybe all the way back to Halloween), you ate more of what you wanted. More sugar? More white flour? More carbs? More fat? Whatever - it was more. Your body, perhaps use to the diet mentality you followed last year, saw the extra calories as manna from heaven and stored away as much as it could. This in turn caused you to retain water, water, glycogen, and whatever the hell else our bodies store along with the fat that it creates from our excess calories. Because your body was not accustomed to the types/quantities of food it was suddenly enjoying, it overreacted (with fear of future famine) to hold on to it.

Then January came and you began your commitment to losing weight and you stuck with it. Some people lose 12+ pounds the first week and more than five pounds the next. This is not all fat; in fact most of it is water, glycogen, and lean muscle (because muscle is always lost when we first restrict our food). For every pound of real weight loss we lose up to three pounds in non-fat fluids. But then there is a halt.

Once the body has depleted the bloat from the holidays and its stores of glycogen the weight loss naturally slows down - and people start to lose faith in efforts. They totally forgot the damage and stress they added to their bodies with that onslaught of food during the week or weeks before January 1st. This seems to happen to everyone who has that final 'fling' with food before they change their way of eating. It seems to happen with most 'diets.' It is happening everywhere you look on blogs and around the water cooler at work.

Don't lose faith. Lose your expectations. The weight loss will continue if you stay committed and continue to progress. Let's chuck the 'I have to lose 50 pounds by tomorrow' thinking and practice thinking 'I'll keep moving and keep following a healthy daily plan of eating.'

After the body adjusts to what it sees as the unexpected closing of the buffet, it will return to the process to letting go of excess fat as you eat healthy and exercise moderately. The pounds will come off if you stick it out through this weight loss drought. Lets drop the faith in the fork and hold on to faith in our efforts, in the higher power that sustains us (you decide what that is) and in yourself.

Jane~

Avalanche Survival and Weight Maintenance

noreply@blogger.com (Jane Cartelli) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:46:00 +0000

I was watching a news report on avalanche survival. Correction: There was a news report on avalanche survival on TV, playing in the background while I was busy doing three other things. I live in Florida, don't ski, do not climb mountains and won't get too close to the walk-in freezer. I have about as much chance of being caught in an avalanche as I do of waking up tomorrow: age twenty-one, blond and thin. I didn't think I needed to pay attention to that report.

That evening I was ~~playing couch potato~~ relaxing with a book and my mind started replaying key actions for surviving an avalanche. I suddenly realized not all avalanches involve mountains and snow. Sudden events can happen in life any day, any place. Severe illness (physical or mental), unemployment, assault, unexpected death of a loved one or a 'perfect storm' of life's many complications all happening at once, can duplicate the same conditions of being in an avalanche.

The powerful wall of snow hits. We find it hard to breathe. There is a crushing weight pressing painfully against our body. We feel cold, so cold; unable to find warmth, we shiver. We feel we cannot move - the effort only increases the weight against us. We feel isolated, perhaps unable to get others to hear our screams because we cannot get the air in our lungs to scream. We are cut off from the world and the world my not even know where we are.

Avalanches don't just happen in snow. They can happen answering the phone, crossing a street, answering a knock on the door, eating a meal. The keys to surviving an avalanche in our lives are no different than the things that will help us survive a wall of snow on a melting mountain.

Put your hands in front of your face to create a breathing space. Establishing a good airway is always the first thing in securing a rescue. In no-snow terms I translate this to mean not getting so entangled in what is engulfing me that I forget life's basic necessities. I still must breathe, eat, void, sleep. Breathing space is not overeating space. It is not suddenly okay for me to eat crap just to get through whatever is hitting me. I think this can be the hardest key to remember once the avalanche hits but it is the first and most important thing I need to do to survive because it is not enough to just barely make it - I want to emerge whole.

Attempt to move out of the way of the force but do not try to outrun it because you can't. I might be able to sidestep some of the stress rushing at me by seeking medical help, financial guidance, family support or spiritual counseling. If I simply try to outrun it, it will swallow me whole while I am swallowing a whole pizza. I have to take whatever steps are necessary to get me as far out of harm's way as possible. When escaping the onslaught I cannot hide in the refrigerator.

Wear an emergency beacon or make sure someone knows where you are. I could be knocked out, covered by tons of snow. Emergency beacons work by activating if you are covered in snow. It has an alarm with a GPS locator. In the everyday living of keeping the pounds off, I talk to several people regularly by phone, in person and on line. If I cannot be reached - they find me. They are my emergency beacons. They know if they have not heard from me for too long it could be a matter of life and death and they will not let me die. They will be my St Bernard and I will be theirs.

I am safe and secure today but if an avalanche hits me in the future, I have some comfort in knowing there are keys to avalanche survival that will help me to survive. What keys do you have in place if an avalanche slams through your door?

Jane~