Happy Birthday!!

LOOK at this cake - gorgeous, chocolate and not mine - it was my husband's birthday and he's way older than me...(Happy Birthday, sweetie!) Of course I've had a piece every night for three nights; if it had had buttercream icing, I probably would have had it for breakfast too! People ask me all the time if I ever cheat, and of course I do! I'm just like everyone else - I try hard, my intentions are good, I always have a plan, and I always have the right stuff around; but if there is cake (icing), a really hard cheese, or the perfect margarita, I'm all over it, and all of these are LOADED with fat and/or sugar, and very high in calories. However, that's not really the problem; the problem is that we put our favorite things on a pedestal (the cake plate, chip bowl, blender!)) that gets way more attention than it should, and it's hard to hold back on your portions when you've made it so special. For myself, I don't have these things around during the week to tempt me; I am very strict with this and it works, but only during the week. But, as we start a new month, I have a new plan for the weekend - my 5-bite rule that I've forgotten about. Five bites is the perfect serving size - not too big so that I'm mad at myself the next day, or too many calories, but just enough. Not sure what plan I have for the margaritas - maybe a bigger lime or a thinner straw!! Have a good week, and a great month! Melissa

It's a choice!

I saw a lady driving a pink SUV with horns on the front of it - I know, I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't seen it! You'd never see me in that, but however she came by it, she was driving it, so she must have been okay with it. That's a choice she made, and probably one she's going to be stuck with for awhile. We all get to make choices - how we wear our hair,(and what color it is!), what kind of dog jumps on you when you walk in the door, or even do you watch American Idol or ice skating- some you're stuck with for awhile, others, thankfully, can be switched instantly. You have a choice to get up early and go work out, or rollover and go back to sleep (that decision has to be made instantly or you're back asleep in no time!). You can choose a doughnut or oatmeal, a turkey sandwich or a cheeseburger, a light beer or a chocolate martini. Monday starts a new month, and you can make decisions every day for 31 days that lead to a healthier lifestyle. It takes 21 days to change a habit, and you get to pick what you want to change to get the results you want. Nothing will change if you choose not to do anything; think about it over the weekend - come April 1st, do you want to look like a pink thing?? Have a great weekend! Melissa

How much time do YOU need?

I work out almost every day until I have burned 400 calories - for me, this is about 40 minutes. I can no longer run, so outside of walking, I do all of my working out indoors on machines, and 40 minutes is the most I can stand. Good thing, because it takes burning 400 calories a day for me to maintain my weight and still drink wine, have desserts occassionally, and go out to eat. I can't go crazy, but I get to have what I want - as long as I'm working out. The two go together; to control your weight, you have to watch what you eat and know what your limits are, AND you have to work out. And I mean WORK - that's why they call it "working out"! You want to increase your metabolism enough to burn off the extra calories you consume - you do this by working out, and the harder you work out, the longer your potential is to burn those extra calories. Of course, if you don't EAT the extra calories, the ones that are burned are the ones stored as FAT - which makes you LOSE weight! Figure out what's it going to take for you to maintain a balance that fits your lifestyle, and you'll know what you can get away with (another glass of wine!) - Melissa

Don't eat it!

My son started picking on me the other night about the contents in my refrigerator - specifically, a jar of fat-free mayonnaise that was a few months past its expiration date. I didn't think this was any big deal, but guess what - you're only supposed to keep mayo 30 days past the date on the jar! There is a great website (http://www.shelflifeadvice.com/) that will answer any question you have; they name specific brands and tell you the ingredients that will give you trouble. Even things like ketchup, salsa, mustard, ect. can't be kept for the rest of your life, so give your refrigerator a makeover - your stomach will thank you! Melissa

My Makeover!

So how do I look now?? I know I'm the last person to learn how to cut and paste, but this is going to be fun! A friend of my son's came over last night, and they helped me with this - now if I can just remember what to do!

Seriously , this is all I've done today, except for working out. Thank goodness I got it in early!I know it's hard to get up early to work out, but it's worth it. You're metabolism starts working for you the minute you begin increasing your heart rate, so right away you are burning calories; you have a sense of accomplishment that helps to increase your productivity for the rest of the day, AND your endorphins (your "feel good" hormones) kick in, improving your mood and your attitude. You'll just have a better day!

Yeah, it's Friday!

Man, what a long week! I am looking forward to a restful weekend of ice dancing - everyone in my family hates ice skating but me, so I'll probably be watching most of it by myself in another room! I get it though - if the men ever want to be taken seriously by male viewers, they are going to have to heighten the athletic factor and lessen the glamour...although I would have LOVED to have owned some of their jeweled shirts - absolutely gorgeous!!

Anyway, on a completely different note, I was almost as excited when I went to the store today and found Bagel Thins from Thomas - yeah!! I am always looking for ways to cut my starchy carbohydrates, and these are perfect. If you're not a whole wheat fan, they have plain white; both have 4 grams of fiber and protein, and only 110 calories for a whole one - BOTH sides!! I just love it that I feel like I'm eating a real bagel. As you can see, it doesn't always take an opulent event to excite me; plain and simple goes a long way. Have a nice weekend - Melissa

It's worth the extra time...

Okay, today I screwed up something simple - hard boiled eggs. Don't you hate cracking one open and the yolk is that waxy bright yellow? I gave it to the dogs - like everything else, they ate it like we don't ever feed them, and at least it'll make their coats shiny. I knew something was wrong when I couldn't peel the damn thing - or three...but at least now I know what to do: add another two minutes! We should do that with everything - adding two minutes can change your life. Like that last five pounds - you just can't peel them off. If you ease up toward the end, you'll never be done. Add an extra two minutes of a high intensity workout to your routine, and you increase your calorie burning; wait two minutes between your salad and main dish, and you'll eat less; give yourself an extra couple of minutes to get somewhere, and get a couple extra minutes of sleep - less stress and more sleep will help you lose weight. You'll be cooked perfectly in no time! Melissa

about last night...

I made that fish recipe with the teriyaki glaze and it was awful! I wasn't going to tell you, but I wouldn't want you to make it and then be mad at me. Like I said, there are a million more recipes, so I'll try another. Part of the problem is me - I'm always messing with a recipe, either making it more spicy, less fattening, adding extra vegetables (I'm famous for that!), so I can't really blame the recipe for not turning out. Funny enough, most of the time I do that it works out okay, but not last night. We didn't even have a glass of wine with it, which always makes things taste better (heehee!). Mondays are hard enough without a yucky dinner - oh well, I was wanting to cut back anyway! On that note, while there are many ways to cut back a little, having a light dinner is one of the best. By the end of the day your body doesn't need a lot of calories - it doesn't take much energy to watch The Bachelor (who do you think he's going to pick??). You'll store less fat and sleep better if your body doesn't have to stay up late digesting your dinner. The saying "eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch, and a pauper for dinner" is true - you want to have a lot of energy to start your day, and less to end it. Hope you're having a good week - Melissa

Oops!

Okay, the holidays last from Thanksgiving to Valentines...so here we are again, Monday morning hitting the treadmill, and fish with steamed vegetables for dinner. Oh well, it was worth it - I got my husband a valentine CAKE instead of a card - his favorite, red velvet, and of course, cream cheese ICING - it was so delicious, and cute too - I scored some major points! Hope you all had a great day, Valentine's or not - after all, there was still the Olympics and the All-Star game to keep you company. Anyway, back to the fish...I love the Food Network - I'm not that great of a cook, particularly when it comes to fish, and they always have something - with instructions, so pretty hard to screw up (like roasted fish with an orange and teriyaki glaze - it's not red velvet cake, but it sounds pretty good, huh?). Guys, it's easy; just go online and punch something in - if you don't like the first one, there are hundreds more. Try something new and surprise yourself! Melissa

A Snow Day!

Wow - it's so beautiful outside! The kids are out with their sleds behind our house and our dogs are going nuts barking at them. We have this one little fat dog and he's up to his waist in snow - so funny! So of course, if they got a day off, I did too! I slept until 9:00, and now it's almost noon and I'm still in my pj's drinking coffee. I'm not even going to work out today! I could - I have a treadmill that overlooks all this beautiful snow that's in front of a really nice flat screen, but I just want to be lazy. How many times are we ever going to have a record snowfall in Dallas, and it just be so picture perfect out there - probably not again for a long time! So, very contrary to my personality, schedule, habits and whatever else, I'm going to enjoy the day - tomorrow I'll be nice and rested, maybe a little bored and ready to hit the gym - or maybe not! If I get lucky, it will snow again! Enjoy YOUR day too! Melissa

No pain, no gain...

Say you read my blog yesterday, and say you explored the Abs Diet Online idea. Then, this morning you tried one of the exercises they suggested, and now you say your sore. Well, if it's a new exercise for you, or exercise is new to you, then you WILL be sore - a little. Being a little sore tells you that you haven't been working the muscles required to do this exercise, or you haven't been working them hard enough; only by pushing your muscles to do something they have to work at will they get stronger. If you tried something new, and you weren't sore, then the exercise was too easy for you; you have to put effort into your workout if you want to get results. This said, you also want to make sure not to work your muscles TOO hard - a little soreness should be a "feel good" soreness, similar to when you've had a hard day at work; yeah, you're tired, but you did a good job, you're going to get some rest, and then you want to get right back out there. If you are too sore, you either pushed yourself too hard or didn't do the exercise right - or the exercise isn't right for you for some reason (say, a bad back...). Back off if this happens and let your muscles rest - if you try it again and the same thing happens, either don't do that exercise or get a professional to show you a way to do it so that it will benefit you. There are plenty of exercises out there, so don't force something that causes you real pain - the last thing you want to do is put yourself out of commission for three weeks. A lean, muscular body is worth a little pain for sure, but just don't overdo it! Hope you're having a good week - Melissa

It's FREE!

Hey guys -just in time for our post-Superbowl resolutions, Men's Health is offering a free month to try out their ABS Diet online. This is the perfect opportunity to explore an online program because 1) it's online, so fits YOUR schedule; you don't have to drive anywhere on a certain day of the week at a certain time; it's available 24 hours a day; 2) it designs a workout program for YOU, shows you how to do the exercises and allows for variations in the workout based on your ability to do them, why you're doing the exercises and what you're supposed to be working; 3) it gives you diet recommendations based on input you have given them, along with recipes and nutritional information, AND has a daily menu (could they make it any easier??), AND they follow up with you! There is a scorecard rating your progress, an opportunity to go back and repeat days, and a chance to modify your program either by stepping it up or slowing it down; 5) you can "talk" to someone anytime - as often as you want! It's online, so no one knows if you have one question, or twenty, and you don't have to feel "funny" about asking about something. You can journal, read other people's stories for motivation, or join an online group - or not. Yes, I think this is a great idea, and yes, I'm doing it too! Good luck - Melissa

It's Over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For me, the holidays run from Thanksgiving through to the Superbowl; after New Year's there are still all the rest of the bowl games, the playoff games, and then, of course, the Superbowl. All season I attempt to make things that are delicious, yet lowfat and healthy - I'm reasonably successful although I haven't found any great lowfat cake icing that tastes anywhere near ANY of the real stuff, so that's where I usually drop the ball. But by the time the Superbowl comes, it's time to throw in the towel - just go for all the stuff everyone thinks of as real football food (sausage balls, queso with VELVEETA!!, real tortilla chips, and all the rest); it's been a long season, so we might as well go for it. All day long, we're fixing stuff, and honestly, all day long, we're eating stuff. So, congratulations to the Saints, and thank you for ending the holidays on such a high note! But for me, it's back to my unending search for lowfat, healthy substitutions of all things real - at least until the NBA All-Star festivities next weekend!! Oh well, getting to cheat some here and there is what we live for - that's really why we cut back, and more willingly, the rest of the time (and truthfully,the cheating wouldn't be as much fun if we ate like that all the time). I've already planned my menu for next year when the Cowboys are in the Superbowl!! Have a good week! Melissa

Go for it!

I was in Denver this week for my dad's 85th birthday - we made a pie, watched western movies, played some gin, AND we walked a mile. That might not seem like a big deal to most of us, but he has Parkinson's, and walking any distance is getting more difficult for him. This is a guy who was a ski instructor until he was 75, backpacked every summer, and still hunts and fishes with some help from my brothers, so has always been physically active. It's all harder and slower, but he has a great attitude and a willing mind, and together they help to keep him moving. He hadn't been able to walk a mile since before Christmas and he was so excited; in fact, I think he was as excited as he was when he did his first 10K - maybe even more excited that when he caught his first big fish (well, probably not...); but he talked about it all day long, and I'm sure it motivated him to go out and try it again the following day. If I lived closer to him, I would have been there with him. Anyway, point of all this is we aren't all going to be like we were - faster, stronger, younger, thinner, whatever, but we can still have a good time, an active life, and a great attitude. You never know when it's going to be your day and you'll go out there and have a day like 10 years ago, or even 10 weeks ago. It's what's inside that exhilarates you - that feeling you did the best you can do, you're back, or even, wow, I didn't know I could do that! There's nothing stopping you - if the fish aren't biting, go bake a pie! Have a nice weekend - Melissa

Your Shopping List

Go right now into your Hungry-girl.com website and download her 2010 Supermarket List - it's fantastic, thorough, and easy to use. It's hard for us to always know the new foods out there, which of those new foods are actually good for you, and what brand to get, so she's done it for you. Between this list and a book from Men's Health titled "Eat This, Not That", you have two great resources to help you improve your diet and change your eating habits immediately; you don't have to sacrifice flavor, eating out with friends, or enjoying your favorite foods, because it's all in here - but in a healthy form that benefits you in every way. Get the biggest basket you can find and load it up - and don't be afraid to try something new! Enjoy your day - Melissa