This post is simply a chance to review my dieting history and to vent. I would appreciate it if a bunch of skinny people don't try to give me advice like: "it's a lifestyle change", "just eat healthier & exercise", or "just cut out carbs". I did that and after dieting all year (with frustration splurges) I'm exactly where I was this time last year.
At the age of 47, losing weight is a whole new ballgame! Most of us are just like Oprah (or I like to think so), we know every calorie, fat gram, sugar gram, carb gram, and fiber gram of every food there is. We have read every book, magazine, and web-site and know exactly what to do. We are successful and are in control of every other part of life, but this one.
My first attempt to lose weight was probably in high school. Being 5'8" and a size 9 was enormous for a cheerleader. We didn't do all that flying around like they do today, but we worked one-on-one and I had to hold people up by my-self. I was very fit and strong. In a single day I could go from cheer, to gymnastics, to softball, so by the time I got home I was starving and ate a big dinner.
In college, I packed on my "college 10+", so the summer after my freshman year, I got serious. I babysat during the day and taught gymnastics at night. My goal was 800 calories a day. If I got to 1000, I would make myself run extra bleachers at night. Melba toast, bullion cubes, boiled eggs, and cans of green beans were my staples. We were still in the era of counting calories, and aerobics was all the rage. I wouldn't allow myself to watch TV unless I was exercising. I lost all the weight I wanted and kept most of it off at school. One summer I worked at Richard Simmons Anatomy Aslyum and was exposed to vivid descriptions of what white bread does when it's added to water - turns to paper mache' - in your body. That can't be good.
The weight crept on over the years, so in the late 80's I was working at a radio station and was one of the first people to go on Nutri-System and share my results on the radio. No pressure there! It was easy because I was single and had no other food in the house (I tried that with 2 kids - not so easy). I would go across to LA Fitness after work everyday (to avoid traffic and so all the cute guys) and work hard for at least an hour. I was in the shape of my life.
After getting married and movie to Texas, I started to cook a little and the weight started to come on. This was the "fat-free craze" or the "fake food craze". Now at the time, IT wasn't a "diet" - IT was a "lifestyle of eating less fat", just like today is a "lifestyle of eating no sugar and healthy carbs." Call it what you want - it's still a diet! If you are not eating what you want, when you want it - it's a diet. What they didn't tell us was, when you take out the fat, you put in sugar. I could go without any fat for years!! No problem, I love sugar! I lost weight at first because of the lower calories, but the lack of protein & some fat brought my metabolism to a halt. They also didn't tell us that when you eat sugar, you want-more, and more, and more! This created a society of diabetics and slow metabolisms.
Over the next decade, I had babies, and went to Weight Watchers. Everyone will tell you, when everything else fails, go to Weight Watchers. You can eat what you want in smaller portions, and you "have to weigh in weekly" and that's the key. I always lost 18 pounds before I hit a plateau and quit going. I ate pretty unhealthily because healthy foods have more calories, than processed foods. Wheat bread is more points than skinny white, an apple is the same as a small 3 Musketeers. Which would you choose?
That brings us up to today. Eating healthy the past 3 years has kept me exactly where I am today. Sure, I have holiday splurges and some slip-up's, but I don't buy cookies and cakes (my weakness), I eat whole grain and lean protein, and my blood pressure and cholesterol are good, but I must get this weight off. So, this year here is my plan:
1. Write down everything that passes my lips & go back to calories in & calories out. Have you ever added up the calories of a low carb diet? You may be shocked.
2. I'm going to complete the book "A course in Weight Loss" by Marianne Williamson and find out why my body is holding on to fat.
3. Go to my Dr. and get my hormones tested to see where I stand - they are a mess right now.
4. I'm going to boost exercise and weight training (the key to speeding your metabolism over 40). I admit, I have been slack here.
5. I'm going to use the Silhouette Solution's bars and shakes (because they taste the best with 15g of protein and low calories), but I'm also tracking calories. I think I added too many calories to my shakes in the past.
6. I'm going to take my custom supplements and fit tabs vigilantly.
7. I'm going to focus on growing my business to alleviate the financial stress that makes me want to eat!
To be continued...
For information on The Silhouette Solution go to www.trumpnetwork.com/mikeandkim
Friday, December 31, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
I Hope There's Cake
Her sparkling princess crown tilted ajar as she dipped her tiny three-year-old finger into the fluffy white icing of her very own fairy princess castle birthday cake. Though she had eaten cake before, this was the first time I noticed how her taste buds savored each sugar crystal as they dissolved on her tiny tongue. She slithered into her chair, her shoulders relaxed and her eyes rolled back into her head as she smiled with sheer delight.
My daughter, Madeline, is now thirteen years old and continues to melt at even the thought of cake. Any cake, chocolate, vanilla, lemon, strawberry, carrot, red velvet, German Chocolate, Boston Cream, apple spice, or cheesecake, she loves them all! There is no food obsession, no eating disorder, no childhood trauma, just sheer passion for really delicious sweet treats. A beautiful cake displayed on the counter is too much of a temptation for a true confection connoisseur, so we must indulge only on special occasions. Madeline attempts to turn each day into a special holiday in hopes she’ll get cake. As I woke her on April 1 with a greeting of “Happy April Fools Day,” she giggled with joy and said, “Oh, I hope there’s cake.” She knows that at any party, picnic, reunion, holiday, or decent grandmother’s house, she stands a great chance of getting a big chunk of the sweet stuff.
I have to admit, the urge to indulge comes from me. It’s completely hereditary and unfortunately a very fattening way to bond. A cake or pie in the face on a TV show or movie will always induce a glance between the two of us (no words are necessary). Some people watching the same show may feel embarrassment for the participants, others just disgust in the mess. Maddie and I just wish it were us scraping the excess from our eyes directly into our mouth. To see someone wipe off creamy icing and sling it on the ground is enough to bring a tear to our eyes. There’s nothing like cuddling on the couch on a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon, reading the paper while watching a “Cake Marathon” on The Food Network. We would choose a winner as well as the one we would love to eat!
The only thing better than a big slice of the perfect cake is a big spoonful of the perfect cake batter, and that’s only equaled to a heaping finger full of sugary icing directly from the bowl. Most of us share memories of licking the batter from the spatula, beaters, or bowl as a child. Not the new, fluffy whipped cream icing that some enjoy because “it’s not too sweet,” but the really heavy butter cream, cream cheese, or chocolate fudge icing that will triple the weight of any six-layer cake. There’s nothing as disappointing as dipping into a cake expecting yummy icing and getting whipped cream. Whipped cream has its place but not at the top of a cake! I remember when you could go to a wedding, shower or birthday party and consistently get a heavenly piece of cake with real icing. New and different isn’t always better, especially when it come to cake.
Every family has that special cake that a grandmother, aunt, or cousin will consistently bring to family gatherings. We can always count on Aunt Gina’s chocolate sheet cake, Louise’s carrot or red velvet cake with the best icing in the world, or my cousin Michelle’s latest masterpiece made completely from scratch. Most families should be lucky enough to have a budding Martha Stewart in their family like my cousin Mandy.
Maddie and I are especially blessed to visit one of the best bakers in all the land each week. My mother, Bunny, is always on the lookout for the perfect recipe, and she knows exactly what we like. Whether it’s a strawberry cake made with frozen strawberries and a whole box of confectioner’s sugar for icing, or a hot fudge cake that needs ice cream just to cut the sweetness, we always know we’ll end a meal with something we will devour. I remember homemade childhood birthday cakes with pink icing for me and blue for my brother and happy birthday spelled out in candy letters. Each child at the party would get a letter, but I would always beg for the biggest flower.
My obvious obsession with cake began early and continued into my teens when I met another sugar lover, Penny. We would drive over to the only Krispy Kreme Doughnuts in town (down from the big chicken in Marietta) hoping to see the HOT sign lit. Our doughnut of choice was the glazed chocolate iced. I once made Penny a birthday cake by stacking glazed doughnuts in a circle, four layers high, topped by the chocolate iced ones. It was simply decadent and easy to pass out and eat. I remember visiting Penny’s grandmother, hoping she had made her famous chocolate fudge cake. She used real Hershey’s Cocoa and granular sugar and poured it on top of a yellow cake just before it hardened into the best fudge on earth. Now that’s cake!
I’ve had many special memories with family and friends, and it’s always sweeter when someone bakes. Whether it’s a holiday, birthday, or a reunion, I’ll use the words of a wise little girl and say, “I hope that there’s cake”!
My daughter, Madeline, is now thirteen years old and continues to melt at even the thought of cake. Any cake, chocolate, vanilla, lemon, strawberry, carrot, red velvet, German Chocolate, Boston Cream, apple spice, or cheesecake, she loves them all! There is no food obsession, no eating disorder, no childhood trauma, just sheer passion for really delicious sweet treats. A beautiful cake displayed on the counter is too much of a temptation for a true confection connoisseur, so we must indulge only on special occasions. Madeline attempts to turn each day into a special holiday in hopes she’ll get cake. As I woke her on April 1 with a greeting of “Happy April Fools Day,” she giggled with joy and said, “Oh, I hope there’s cake.” She knows that at any party, picnic, reunion, holiday, or decent grandmother’s house, she stands a great chance of getting a big chunk of the sweet stuff.
I have to admit, the urge to indulge comes from me. It’s completely hereditary and unfortunately a very fattening way to bond. A cake or pie in the face on a TV show or movie will always induce a glance between the two of us (no words are necessary). Some people watching the same show may feel embarrassment for the participants, others just disgust in the mess. Maddie and I just wish it were us scraping the excess from our eyes directly into our mouth. To see someone wipe off creamy icing and sling it on the ground is enough to bring a tear to our eyes. There’s nothing like cuddling on the couch on a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon, reading the paper while watching a “Cake Marathon” on The Food Network. We would choose a winner as well as the one we would love to eat!
The only thing better than a big slice of the perfect cake is a big spoonful of the perfect cake batter, and that’s only equaled to a heaping finger full of sugary icing directly from the bowl. Most of us share memories of licking the batter from the spatula, beaters, or bowl as a child. Not the new, fluffy whipped cream icing that some enjoy because “it’s not too sweet,” but the really heavy butter cream, cream cheese, or chocolate fudge icing that will triple the weight of any six-layer cake. There’s nothing as disappointing as dipping into a cake expecting yummy icing and getting whipped cream. Whipped cream has its place but not at the top of a cake! I remember when you could go to a wedding, shower or birthday party and consistently get a heavenly piece of cake with real icing. New and different isn’t always better, especially when it come to cake.
Every family has that special cake that a grandmother, aunt, or cousin will consistently bring to family gatherings. We can always count on Aunt Gina’s chocolate sheet cake, Louise’s carrot or red velvet cake with the best icing in the world, or my cousin Michelle’s latest masterpiece made completely from scratch. Most families should be lucky enough to have a budding Martha Stewart in their family like my cousin Mandy.
Maddie and I are especially blessed to visit one of the best bakers in all the land each week. My mother, Bunny, is always on the lookout for the perfect recipe, and she knows exactly what we like. Whether it’s a strawberry cake made with frozen strawberries and a whole box of confectioner’s sugar for icing, or a hot fudge cake that needs ice cream just to cut the sweetness, we always know we’ll end a meal with something we will devour. I remember homemade childhood birthday cakes with pink icing for me and blue for my brother and happy birthday spelled out in candy letters. Each child at the party would get a letter, but I would always beg for the biggest flower.
My obvious obsession with cake began early and continued into my teens when I met another sugar lover, Penny. We would drive over to the only Krispy Kreme Doughnuts in town (down from the big chicken in Marietta) hoping to see the HOT sign lit. Our doughnut of choice was the glazed chocolate iced. I once made Penny a birthday cake by stacking glazed doughnuts in a circle, four layers high, topped by the chocolate iced ones. It was simply decadent and easy to pass out and eat. I remember visiting Penny’s grandmother, hoping she had made her famous chocolate fudge cake. She used real Hershey’s Cocoa and granular sugar and poured it on top of a yellow cake just before it hardened into the best fudge on earth. Now that’s cake!
I’ve had many special memories with family and friends, and it’s always sweeter when someone bakes. Whether it’s a holiday, birthday, or a reunion, I’ll use the words of a wise little girl and say, “I hope that there’s cake”!
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