Makeover Monday:

First of all, let me clarify something from my last post. I did NOT eat cat food. My "eating 9 Lives" referred to my cattienss over Valerie Bertinelli's bikini shot. One of those phrases that's apparently not as widely used as I thought. :) Sorry for the confusion. Thanks for questioning me on it as I certainly don't want anyone thinking I've discovered some miracle diet. LOL

On to this week's makeover topic:

I don’t think I’ve written much about one of the potential aftereffects of losing 100pounds: hair loss. Yep, it’s a possibility. First-hand experience speaking.

I’ve always had straight, lanky hair, so I hadn’t really noticed a huge difference until somewhere around the 50-pound mark when my hair stylist first mentioned my hair was thinning. She waved off my worry, saying that it’s something she often sees in clients who have lost a lot of weight. (She also reminded me that I was nearing menopause, which can also cause hair loss. Thanksomuch, Jill.) To be safe, I mentioned it to my primary care physician and my gynecologist, and neither of them so much as raised an eyebrow. Everyone said it would grow back. Whew!

Imagine my surprise when during my most recent visit, Jill said, “Oh, you have a bald spot back here.”

Thud. “What do you mean, I have a bald spot?”

“Don’t worry, your other hair covers it. I just mentioned it because it wasn’t here last month.”

Breathe, Cammy, breathe.

Needless to say, it certainly wasn’t what I expected to hear early on a Saturday morning, especially since I’ve been maintaining my goal weight range for five months.

A bald spot.

On my head.

In talking with Jill and consulting with her colleagues (and one eavesdropping buttinsky client), I learned that weight loss isn’t the only cause of hair loss. Other culprits include:

• Hormonal changes accompanying childbirth or menopause (I’m 50.)


• Stress (Between my mother’s health issues and my pending jobless situation, I think I’m covered here.)


• A diet deficient in protein, iron, and various vitamins and minerals (My diet is fairly healthy, but it may not be as nutrient rich as it could be.)


• Thyroid disease or changes in thyroid hormones (which can be caused by large fluctuations in weight)


• High concentrations of metals in the blood (Well, I have been eating a lot of tuna lately. Too much maybe?)

I have my annual blood pressure check up in the next few weeks, and I definitely plan to discuss all of the above with my doctor. Part of the check up is blood testing, and I’ll ask the good doctor to make sure we cover our bases here.

In the meantime, I’ve found a whole host of recommendations for supplements and vitamins to reverse the process. I don't really want to move in that direction until I've spoken with my doctor. So far, the only changes I’ve made are to consistently take my daily multi-vitamin and to add a supplement of biotin.

I know, though, that I can also improve my chances of hair re-growth by focusing on nutrition. Just to remind us all, the following foods are recommended for good hair health:

• Lean meats for protein and iron (hair is made up of protein, after all)


• Fruits and veggies, nuts, whole grains and legumes for fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants


• Soy products for their plant estrogen and a protein boost. (Tofu, here I come!)


• Water (my continuing nemesis)

I can also work on some other things while I wait for the doctor’s visit:
- To combat stress, I’m adding yoga to my exercise routine as often as I can. I’ll also make sure I get plenty of rest and sleep.
- To stimulate my scalp (and show it how much I care), I’m going to do scalp massages. Whether or not it will help re-grow my hair, I have no clue, but my head will feel better.)

Given the choice between a healthier heart and a small bald spot on the back of my head, the heart wins without much debate. Hair extensions are far less invasive than bypass surgery. :)

Still, I'd like to have healthy, shiny hair that reflects the healthy, shiny me. If you have any additional tips for healthy hair, sing out, PLEASE!

And if you're suffering the same malady, you'll find commiseration here. But not the kind of commiseration that allows for large amounts of chocolate or cheese dip. :)


~~

Mixin' It Up: The Cardio Edition

Because it rained and turned cooler on Friday, I had to go to the gym for cardio. I've been enjoying my walks outside, so I was a little peeved. I almost blew off the workout, but given my little tiny miniscule brownie-canceling cookie incident and all the 9 Lives I ate over you-know-who's bikini, I decided a trip to the gym was the least I could do. As usual, I'm glad I did! (Funny how that always works out that way!)

First up, the cookies apparently didn't cause a gain (or a loss), as far as I could tell. The gym scale is one of those with the balance bar, and I don't have time to be standing around moving the slider thingie a fraction of a centimeter to make sure it stops exactly in the middle. When it starts its little middle range bounce, I call it done. (I know, it breaks most of fitness world's rules. Call me a renegade. I also weigh with my shoes, jacket, and iPod shuffle on. And at NIGHT.)

The second good thing that happened was the fun little cardio routine I made up on my way to the gym. I call it the 4x10 medley, and you are welcome to adopt and adapt, if you'd like. It's super simple: a quick warm-up and then 10 minutes on the elliptical, 10 minutes on the stair climber, 10 minutes on bicyle, and then 10 minutes doing core work. Add in rest breaks and stretching, and a nice little 45-minute cardio session is complete. I couldn't believe how quickly the time zipped by!

I'll be adapting it to outdoor walking somehow. Maybe 10 minutes of long strides with arms swinging, 10 minutes of short, arm-pumping strides, and so on. I love mixing things up!

I was back in the gym this afternoon, for strength training. It was one of those days when there were only a couple of beefies in the weight area, but they all seemed to want to be right where I was at any given moment. Grrrrr. They'e got the entirety of Weight World at their disposal. All I ask is a tiny space in front of the 12.5-20 lb. section of the rack. But nooooo, they have to go get the 50 pound weights at the other end and haul them down to my section! Too bad today! I stood my ground and made them work around me.

Tomorrow is more cardio, possibly the medley again. Or I may do an elliptical 5k. It's been awhile. I'll wait and see what my mood is at the time.

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Oh, and note to JC: my last day of work is April 30th, which means I have 24 workdays left. Yikes!

Valerie Bertinelli's Navel is Making Me Sad

I seldom play the comparison game, but there are times when NOT comparing myself to others takes more willpower than losing 100 pounds. I'm having one of those moments now.

It all started this a.m. when I saw this picture of Valerie Bertinelli's bikini photo shoot. She looks great. She set a goal, worked hard at it, and was successful. Props to VB! I'm truly happy for her. Truly.

Why, then, is the whiny, petty, snotty me trying to fight her way to the surface?

::start whiny font::
I don't look like that. Why doesn't my body do that?

There must have been significant air brushing on that photo.

She must've had surgery. That's the only thing that can explain why my body doesn't look like that and hers does.

::/whiny::

And on it goes. I push the pettiness down; it comes back.

Now, there are all sorts of explanations for the discrepancies in Valerie Bertinelli's "after" body and mine, with the primary one being that WE'RE DIFFERENT PEOPLE AND WERE NEVER INTENDED TO LOOK ALIKE. (I get that. It doesn't help much.)

Another good reason is that I carried twice as much weight as she did for many more years. You can only stretch a rubber band so far, you know.

There are other reasons I'm sure, but my pity party is getting on my nerves. For one thing, my goal was never to have a great looking body; my goal was to have stronger, healthier body. Yes, it would've been nice if my belly button didn't point to the floor (unlike a certain Jenny Craig-promoting celebrity's navel, which is all perky and located where it's supposed to be), but I didn't get dealt that hand. That's life. My body may start looking better; it may not. My focus has to be on making it function better, or else I'm going to make myself a very miserable person.

And I don't want to be miserable any more than I really want to wear a bikini. Really.

What about YOU? Do photos like the VB bikini shot inspire you or turn you into a sobbing heap in the darkest corner of your bedroom? Or somewhere in between?

Late breaking update: I just noticed that VB has three cheek wrinkles and I have only two. I'm back, baby, I'm back! ;):)

When Cookies Attack

Yesterday was my last staff meeting at work. To celebrate the occasion, I bought cookies--lots and lots of cookies. I subsequently ate waaaay too many of the celebratory cookies. More than I had planned, which irks me. I'm normally a go-with-the-flow type person, but I'm still not comfortable with splurges that have an 'out of bounds' feeling to them.

But if there's one thing I've learned over the past couple of years, it's that an overindulgence one day does not mean eternal damnation ror all the days that follow, nor does it reflect upon my value to the planet. When your entire fitness plan rests on the concept of getting it right most of the time, a single day of indulgence still leaves me plenty of room to get it right.

What this overindulgence DOES mean is that I don't get my weekend brownie. Bummer.

We Have Winners!

Well, we're all winners, but we have specific winners in the Look into Your Future Giveaway:

HK

JC

JM

IRJessica

and Lisa (sorry, no link, because I wasn't certain which Lisa was commenting)

If you ladies will email me at cammysaid (at) gmail [dot] com with YOUR email addresses, I'll forward them on to our generous sponsor with our thanks.

Thanks to all of you for commenting and thanks to PictureYourselfThinner for providing the opportunity!

Makeover Monday: First Aid Kit Check-up

If you've been here awhile, you might have caught a clue that I'm a bit of a klutz. Make that Klutz. I've always got some sort of bruise or scrape somewhere on my fitter self, especially as the weather warms up and I attempt to do more outside. That's why I keep a pretty extensive first aid kit. It's also why I always make sure my tetanus shot is up to date, but that's a post for another day.

Here's what I keep on hand:
Adhesive bandages of varying sizes, including some butterfly bandages
A roll of gauze and some tape
An Ace bandage
Liquid bandage
Gauze pads in several sizes (at least 2X2 and 4X4)
Bactine
Antibiotic cream
Hydrocortisone (anti-itch) cream
Alcohol prep pads
Baking soda
Calamine lotion
Rubbing alcohol
Hydrogen peroxide
Aloe vera gel for sunburns or burns
Cotton swabs
A couple of instant ice packs and an old-fashioned ice bag
Disposable latex gloves
4 kotex sanitary pads, no wings (don't laugh; I'm going to use them as a compress if I ever hit a major vein and probably save my life. Remind me to tell you sometime about the time I almost amputated my foot with the Weedeater. You'll see then where I got the idea of the pads.)

Anyway, that's what I have in a drawer in my main bathroom. In the medicine cabinet, I have the following:
An oral thermometer
A bottle of antihistamine
A few bottles of Tylenol and other pain-relieving type drugs
Arnica ointment (pain relief)
Heat/Pain patches
Vaseline
Saline solution
Visine Eye Drops
A single earring
A rusty razor

(Those last two have since been removed.)

I got curious whether or not I was covered sufficiently for most home-type injuries, so I checked out the site of my own first aid training (21 years ago), the American Red Cross. According to them, I'm pretty well stocked but need to add some scissors, tweezers, and a first aid booklet. Not a bad idea at all. I have extra scissors and tweezers around here somewhere, I'm sure.

While they don't have it on their list, I remember from training that we should also have eye cups to use in case of eye injury. (You place it over the eye socket to minimize movement of the eye.) Something as simple as a Dixie cup will do. I have some of those in my other bathroom and will move a few into the first aid drawer today.

As I was reading the Red Cross list, I remembered (fuzzily) their classroom recommendation that ALL first aid supplies be kept in a single container (easier to grab and GO) and that the container should NOT be kept in the bathroom or laundry room (moist heat and adhesives don't work so well.) I'll be fixing that this week. My den closet is centrally located and may even have an available spot on its shelf.

The Red Cross also recommends that you check your kit every 3 months to ensure products with expiration dates are still good and to check that no one in the house has removed items without telling you. Since I'm on my own, I don't have to worry about anyone messing with my supplies, but I do check all my expiration dates when the time changes in Spring and Fall.

When I was growing up, my Mom's first aid kit consisted of some Band-aids, Mercurochrome, Hydrogen Peroxide, rubbing alcohol, and Dr. Tichener's. My sister and I (along with both my parents) miraculously survived with all limbs intact, and without any serious infections or diseases.

But that was before the advent of shock TV and 12 zillion articles with dire headlines of impending doom. Today we need more.

Do you have a first aid kit? What's in it? Is it in need of a makeover? Are we missing anything here? So many questions, so little time.

If you don't have a kit (yet), you can assemble one yourself or you can purchase one that's already put together here or at many retail stores.

And that's it for this edition of Makeover Monday. Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a marvelous week!

Saturday Catch-all Post

Despite being cool and rainy, this has been a fantastic Saturday! I hope yours was as well.

Quick reminder to enter the Look into Your Future giveaway from PictureYourselfThinner that I posted about on Friday. You have FIVE chances to win, and this could be your lucky day! Contest is open until latelatelate Monday night (midnight central) and is open to all Earth-bound residents.

Speaking of giveaways, few months ago the always wonderful MizFit had a giveaway featuring a Boston Locket from Elemental Memories Photo Tile Jewelry, and I won! My personalized locket arrived today:



I kind of like it. :) (That translates to "I'd do a backflip if I could.") It's absolutely beautiful! The etched cover slides off to reveal my choice of photo for the inside. If you squint really hard, and you've read here for a while, you'll recognize the photo as my "spokesmodel" photo. Along with it is a tiny scroll on which I can write a message. I can't make up my mind what will go on there, but I do know I'll be carrying this with me everywhere. It will be so wonderful to have a touchstone, of sorts, to remind me of the need for mindfulness and focus on fitness. Huuuge gratitude moment for MizFit and Elemental Memories.

It's kind of neat, I think, that my giveaway is an opportunity to glimpse into your potential future, and the giveaway I won allows me to reflect on my past. Funny how that (and the timing of it all) worked out. :)

In other news, I had a bit of a revelation yesterday. One of fatfightertv.com's "News Nuggets" this week linked to an article on how to measure the intensity of your walking pace. I considered my pace for most of my walk to be moderate, so I was curious to test myself to ensure I was getting the required 100 steps per minute.

Surprise! My "moderate" pace turns out to be about 150 steps a minute. My "cruising" pace (about what I'd use in Target or window shopping at the mall) is 110 steps a minute. Apparently, I'm quicker than I thought.

All those numbers have given me an idea to challenge myself with walking. I'm going to try to do 200 steps a minute and build to doing that for one out of five minutes. And then we'll see where to take it, if anywhere.

Since I tanked yesterday's strength training in favor of my walking test, I went to the gym today. No beefy boys in sight. I had a few guys for company in the free weight area, but they were mostly watching March Madness (NCAA basketball tournament for those not sports-aware) on the big screens. I was able to zip through my workout in good time. My weigh-in was okay, a little on the low side, but I'm sure I'll manage to wipe that out somehow. :)

Speaking of workouts, and then I swear I'll end this monstrosity of a post, if you're ever wanting a good workout resource, check out myFit.ca . They have workouts tailored for all sorts of needs, along with clips demonstrating how to do them properly. They also have trainer tips for each exercise, which I use to decide if the exercise is one I should try alone. (I doubt I'll ever get up enough nerve to ask one of the beefy boys to spot me. ::snerk!::)

Enough already! I need popcorn and lots of it. Hope you have a wonderful rest-of-the-weekend and will come back for Makeover Monday!

Offerings from My Mailbox

A busy week in my inbox, but I think I've finally got it together enough to share with you.

Our Help is Needed!!
A Weight Lifted, the blog for Vermont-based Green Mountain at Fox Run (a healthy living and weight loss retreat), needs our help! Yes, US! They're conducting a survey on factors involving stress, the economy, and weight woes, and they asked if we would take a minute to complete the survey. (Actually, it only takes about half a minute, so you're saving time already.)

Here's a link to the survey. With the time you save, you might want to escape for a bit to the Green Mountain photo gallery. I feel calmer just looking at the photos.

New Calorie Counter Tool Available for our Delight
Well, shoot, I already gave away the name of it. The site is NewCalorieCounter, and it's a fairly extensive searchable database (around 8000 items) of foods and their nutritional make up. While I did (and still do, sort of) count calories, I respect that it's not everybody's thing.

What I like about this tool (besides the fact that they said I could have 2,362 calories A DAY), is that it provides a way to look up foods by specific nutritional content. For example, in looking for vegetables I might accidentally like, I asked for the results to be returned in order by their Vitamin A values. (I'm all about Retinol these days.) Sadly, the first result was for spinach souffle, which is NOT going to pass these lips anytime soon, but things turned around with the whole roster of potato choices that followed.

Another thing I like (even though I disagree with some of their assessments) is the "weight loss rating" assigned to each food. I think they're a bit harsh, and yes, it IS because some of my favorite foods didn't make the cut, so to speak. :) They also include ratings for many of the popular weight loss plans like WW, Zone Diet, Atkins, etc., but remarkably, they do not have a TippyToeDiet listing. Perhaps in future years. ;) But even if I do disagree, I appreciate a valuable moment to pause and think about my choice.

A couple of areas I haven't explored are the forum and the recipes. I hope to get there this weekend. Maybe we'll run into each other. :)

Look into Your Future (and you could if you win this GIVEAWAY)
Ahhh, GIVEAWAY. Our favorite word, right behind "loss" and "splurge meal". Now, ya'll know I'm a big proponent of the concept that we need to be eating healthy because it's the right thing to do for our bodies. I've loitered all over your blogs with variations on the theme. But I do understand that a little visual motivation might help pep things up when you're gnawing on
your oh-so-healthy baked chicken and broccoli and eyeballing the pizza your husband brought home for himself and the little ones. And honestly, if I'd had a picture of my "now" when I was just getting started, my methods would've been the same, but there would have been a few early workouts with more sweat and fewer tears.

Enter: PictureYourselfThinner. These fine folks have created a tool that allows you to see what your "after" self might look like, but before you get there. Basically, you send them your "before" photo (and they include handy tips on the sort of photo to send so that you get the best visual motivation possible), and they do some sort of presto-chango magic weight loss reduction imaging that returns to you an image of a thinner, healthier you.

I'm not describing it well, am I? Check out their gallery for some actual "before" and the projected "after" photos. I love that these women all look *healthy*--no cutting of heads and pasting on model-thin bodies. I get goosebumps just imagining how excited they must've been to see the possibilities that might be theirs.

Who's tapping their fingers? I'm getting to the GIVEAWAY. You can't just jump into these things, you know. Sheesh.

Anyway, for the IHaveThingsToDo crowd, here's the deal. The super-generous folks at PictureYourselfThinner are offering...not one...not two..notthreenotfour...but FIVE of you the opportunity to receive a F-R-E-E visual representation of the future you! ::wild, happy dancing!::

No kidding, FIVE of you!

The cost of an entry? A comment, of course. :)

Maybe you want to comment on how having a photo of the possible thinner you might inspire you...or not.

Maybe you want to tell us about a Fun!Food!Fact you found on the calorie counter.

Maybe you could comment on the stresses the economy is placing on you and your fitness efforts and what you're doing about it. (Hint: Double-stuffed Oreos is not a good answer.)

Or all of the above. Your choice.

The contest will remain open through Monday, March 23rd (midnight Central US) and is open to all who visit here, the "beloved familiars" and the brand new faces, too! I'll post the winners names on Tuesday.

Oh, and just so you know, if you don't win here, you still have a chance on the PYT site. They have a monthly prize giveaway.

In the interest of disclosure, I received no financial incentives from any of these sites. I just think they're interesting.

Oh, and Happy SPRING!!!!

Family Pride

Be ye warned...this is a ramblin', roamin' Cammy's-doing-some-pondering post....

So, I was watching the beginning of The Biggest Loser tonight, when they showed the contestants reuniting with their families. Seeing the astonishment of the families and the pride in their loved ones got me to thinking about what our families think and feel when they see us succeed...or fail.

Last month, you'll remember I was interviewed for an article in The Tennessean, a Nashville newspaper (my one and only interview--so far.) My sister posted a comment to the article:

This is my "big" sister, only now it's just in age. She has struggled for years with her weight. We are so very proud of her success this time. If it were not for Daniel and all of the others giving her the support she needed she might have failed at her weight loss attempts again.

There are times we see her at a distance and do not recognize her. My husband and I are proud of her and wish we had half of her energy. She is truly an inspiration.

Super sweet (misty moment for me, when I read it.) Tonight, though, while watching TBL, I'm thinking of that quote and seeing my "before" self through my family's eyes. It's not a pretty moment.


Don't get me wrong, my family has always loved me, and they've always been demonstrated their pride in my accomplishments. They've been tremendously supportive of me, in all aspects of my life, and in this conversion to a healthier me as well (although they struggled a bit with the "tippy toe" concept *g*.) Since all of them have struggled with weight at some point in their lives, I know they understand the issues and the difficulties. That said, I think it's telling that one of my Reasons Why (written in 2007, posted here in 2008), I listed "To make my family proud" as one of the reasons I wanted to lose weight.

There's a big disconnect here, and I realize now that it might just be me. I can talk all day long about how proud my family is of me, but what I felt back then was that my size somehow shamed them. (Good thing they don't read this blog, or I'd be catching hell right about now.) What I know now is that it wasn't my family that was ashamed.

It was me.

Even before I knew it, my family could see that with each failed attempt to lose weight, I loved myself less. And less. And less. And all they wanted was for me to love myself as much as they loved me, with as few conditions. Their pride in my success has little to do with my size, and everything to do with the love I have for my "new" self.

What I need to let them know is that I also have an emerging love for my "before" self as well. After all, if my family loved her, she couldn't have been all bad, could she? :)

~~~

And that concludes today's rambliness.

Makeover Monday: Spring Cleaning with a Twist

Yesterday I continued with early spring cleaning by moving all the hard-to-get-to canned goods from my pantry to a bookshelf I put in the laundry room (more about that later in the week). As I was working, I was thinking ahead to more spring cleaning projects in the days ahead, and it occurred to me that my house isn't necessarily the only aspect of my life that could use a good scrubbing. What better time than spring to where I am in my life and sweep out any cobwebs or dust balls that might be cluttering things up. In the event you might benefit from the same, read on:

Spring Cleaning on the Inside

Think about your life (health, fitness, relationships, career, finance, etc.). Where are you now? Where do you want to be? Why aren't you there? Don't beat yourself up over it; just ponder the matter and see if any of these nasties have crept into your life:

Excuses: We're probably all guilty of making excuses for ourselves when we're trying to justify something we should or shouldn't have done. Surely, it's not just me. (Antidote: When you catch yourself making an excuse for something, ask, "Is this really true, or am I just making myself feel better?")

Rationalizations: Did you know that another way to spell "rationalize" is "rational lies"? These are the thoughts and words we use to give ourselves permission to do something we know is wrong. (Antidote: Unrelenting honesty with yourself. YOU know the truth about your efforts.)
Unfair Limitations: Many, perhaps even most, of the limitations we face are self-imposed. Why we would do this to ourselves, I don't know, but we do. (Antidote: Ask yourself, "If I didn't have xxx in my way, what would be by next step? Then figure out how you can do it--or some form of it--anyway.)

Regrets and Resentments: Writer Malachy McCourt once said, “Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” Holding on to past haunts and hurts prevents us from moving forward. (Antidote: Forgive yourself and any others involved, and focus on the future. At minimum, let it go.)

Procrastination: "Someday" thinking is fun for thinking about the lottery. For managing our lives, it doesn't work so well. (Antidote: See Makeover Monday: Getting It Done.)

RightThisMinute Thinking: We all want to see results fast. Whether it's successful weight loss, financial security, starting a family, or any host of other desires, many of us have a tendency to want to get it done rightthisveryminute. We should be applauded for our energy, but doing things too quickly can cause us to do them in a way that's unhealthy, inefficient, or ineffective. (Antidote: Patience. Focus on progress, not the goal line. Unless, you're looking at the goal line, of course, and then it's eyes on the prize time!)

These evil little habits have a way of creeping into our lives and derailing our progress. Join me this spring in spending a little time with a mental broom and dustpan, eliminating this clutter from our lives. Note that I didn't say we'd eliminate it for good. Old habits die hard, as the saying goes, and I'm sure we'll all face these pesky demons again at some time in the future. We're savvy enough to know that and strong enough to defeat them.


Have a fantastic week, everyone!

Winner: Weight Watchers Momentum Cookbook

First of all, thanks so much to ALL of you who shared your triumphs and tragedies from the kitchen. I had so much fun reading your stories and laughing with you.

The magical random number generator> returned number 15, which means:

Krista wins!


(Krista , contact me at cammysaid(at) gmail[dot]com with your mailing particulars and I'll get the book out to you ASAP! (After one fond farewell review, that is.*g*)

Thanks to Weight Watchers, for providing our prize, the Weight Watchers Momentum Cookbook.

Also, a big thank you to those of you who didn't pounce on my head for spamming your blogs with news of the giveaway. My RSS feed chose Thursday night to die, and I wanted to get the news to you! (Btw, another thanks to kentnewsome for posting about the demise of his own feed and sharing the fix with the universe.)

We'll be having at least a couple of other giving and receiving opportunities in the coming weeks, both very near and dear to my widdle heart. So stay tuned!

Cammy Gets a Cookbook and Shares

Let's consider the following:
1) I do not cook.
2) As evidenced by yesterday's post, I am the only person in the ENTIRE blogosphere who doesn't have spices and other things necessary for cooking.
3) I'm not on Weight Watchers.

Who better, then, to review Weight Watchers' Momentum Cookbook?

To be fair, I did disclose items 1-3 to the kind PR folks who offered me the cookbook, and they were still willing to take a chance on me. Perhaps they see me as a challenge. :)

The Momementum cookbook earned a strike against it when I opened the package. I'm a snob for coil-bound cookbooks, especially when they're soft cover as this one is, but my normal sunny disposition returned when I opened the cover and found that it includes a nifty fold for using as a bookmark, and I was downright giddy when I saw that the back cover also has a bookmark flap. Scandal avoided.

Not being a WW member, I'm not familiar with the various plans. This one seems to have more of a focus on healthy, wholesome ingredients. Lots of whole grains and beans, peas, and legumes in here! And my word, the pretty, pretty pictures! Not TOO many pictures, though. Every 2-3 pages, which is just about right, IMO.

Recipes are organized into fun little chapters that seem to cover all of life's eventualities:
-beyond my usual breakfast (waffles, pancakes, omelettes, and such, along with a peanut butter/banana/yogurt smoothie that will be on my breakfast table this weekend)
-brown bag it! (soups and sandwiches, some on the exotic side)
-hearty salads and microwave meals (lots of veggies, lean meats, and some vegetarian options.)
-super hungry specials (big, mostly meaty main dishes like Cajun Roast Pork)
-no-fuss suppers (all meals that can *allegedly* be prepared in 15 minutes or less. We'll just see about that!)
-in the mood to cook (prepare to spend some time on prep with these)
-easy slow-cooker meals (I'm looking forward to the Firecracker Turkey Chili)(Who's going to make it?)
-sweet indulgences (Lots of fruit-based desserts that seem reasonable)
-need a snack! (They know me well! Sun-dried tomato hummus, smoky pumpkin seeds, Pizza Wedges, and Baked Cheesy Nachos. This may be my favorite section!)

All 200 recipes have nutritional info, including Weight Watchers Points Values.(Duh!) Most recipes include a tip for adding a little something extra to the recipe. The emphasis throughout seems to be on whole ingredients, with lots of veggies, grains, beans, and lean meats. Color me impressed.

From what I've been able to determine, this cookbook is not available at retail stores. You can find it at WW locations (you don't have to be a member to purchase it), or a few copies are available on Amazon.com.

But YOU may not need to go to WW or Amazon for the Momentum Cookbook. YOU may be the lucky winner of your very own copy. All's you gotta do is tell me your most triumphant or embarrassing kitchen moment. I'll collect the entries through Sunday night at midnight (Central US Time) and announce the winner on Monday!

Meanwhile, hope you all have a great weekend! I'm gonna be cooking! (Easy Chicken Cutlets Parmesan, page 146)

Other than the cookbook, I received no compensation from the WW PR folks for this review, and since I'm giving the cookbook away, we avoid any charges of conspiracy, malfeasance, or any other fun-type activity.

(Edited 9:00 a.m. to fix screwy links and on Sat to test RSS feed fix {fingers crossed})

Odd Little Questions Taking Up Valuable Real Estate in My Mind

Why doesn't anyone make a snack-sized bag of plain yellow corn tortilla chips? You know, the 3/4-oz. or 1 oz. size. I would love to have chips and salsa now and then, but I'm not buying an ENTIRE jumbo bag of chips. That's a disaster waiting to happen. Or, at minimum, a waste of food as they'd go stale waiting for me to tippy toe through them.

Why isn't there a down incline on treadmills? It occurred to me today as I was walking down a steep-ish hill in the parking garage that walking downhill is its own kind of workout. My calves agreed completely.

Am I the only person in the blogosphere whose spice rack consists of salt, pepper, and cinnamon? Does everyone else have flour, sugar (or Splenda), and eggs on hand all the time? I see wonderful recipes or read about great meals people threw together at the last minute from things they had 'on hand', and I can't do that. I just checked, and the best I could do would be parmesan flavored popcorn. Or maybe green beans amandine, depending on what's in that. I have green beans (canned) and almonds.

That bit of patheticism (new word!) left me with these questions:
- What spice or seasoning do you ALWAYS have on hand?
- What one item is ALWAYS in your refrigerator?
- What one item is ALWAYS in your pantry?

(For me, I ALWAYS have salt and pepper. I ALWAYS have cheese in my fridge, and I ALWAYS have tuna in my pantry.)

Personal notes: I'm breathing a small sigh of relief after tonight's weigh in at the gym for the first time in over a week. I've been trying not to let a week go by without weighing, but I missed last Wednesday night because I worked and Friday night because I was rearranging my house. Even though I've been eating healthy and getting enough exercise, I still worry that weight is creeping on. I'm at the four-month mark of maintaining, but I'm still super-vigilant. I can't decide if that's a bad thing or good thing. For now, it's my thing, and I'm working with it.

I'm pleased to say I'm still within my "zone" (Sunday brownie splurge notwithstanding), although I'm leaning toward the danger zone...on the LOW side. I'm sure it's a temporary thing, and if not, I surely do know how to take care of it. :)
Just as with a weigh in on the gain side, I've learned that the low side will generally bounce back, too, if I keep doing what I'm doing.

In the let's-keep-Cammy's-life-balanced-between-good-and-not-so-good news, I have to have oral surgery next month: an apicoectomy. It doesn't look like fun, that's for sure. I'll be channeling my inner Scarlett and thinking about it another day.

Hope you're all having a great week! I'm a little behind on reading, but I'll be caught up with you by the weekend. Especially if it sleets as much as they're predicting tonight. :)

Makeover Monday: Shhhh!

Life sure has its ups and downs, and these days it's feeling a little like a roller coaster--complete with nausea and unmitigated terror. (Until I quit watching the news, that is.)

On the days when I let stress get the upper hand, one of the most helpful things for me to do is to simply be quiet. To sit and think, or not think, whatever I need to do to slow down my thoughts. Since I live alone in a 2200 sq ft house, you'd think it would be pretty easy to find a spot, plop myself down, and be quiet. And sometimes that DOES work, but other times I have trouble getting my mind still. I'll notice something or other that needs to be done, or the phone will ring, or I'll spot a magazine and start reading. You get the idea. I've got distractions even when no one is here.

To resolve this little dilemma, I'm creating a dedicated quiet space for just these times.

What's this strange thing you refer to as 'a quiet space'? you ask, followed immediately by, "And how to I get one?" Here's my plan, which you may adopt and adapt free of charge:

First, we have to find our quiet space. It doesn't have to be an entire room, even a corner of a room will do. (I have a useless formal living room, which I'm thinking will be my new quiet space. For one thing, it's separated from the rest of the house's distractions—things like telephone, television, internet, books, etc.)

Next, we'll need to "deck out" the space. Some considerations:

• A comfortable place to relax is required, whether it's a chair, a cushion, a chaise, or a corner of the sofa.


• Aromatherapy would be nice. Candles, incense, any sort of relaxing scent like lavender, chamomile, ylang ylang, and jasmine are all calming scents. You could even use lotion in one of these scents and rub your tired feet while you're being quiet.


• Photos, plants, or other objects that make you happy would be good items to include.


• Soothing colors like blues, greens, and beiges (sea and sand, forests and nature) are the most relaxing. If your quiet space is in a corner of your colonial red dining room, maybe you could have a pillow or other small object in a more soothing color to focus on for peaceful, tranquil feelings.


• Calming sounds--soothing music or wind chimes would be another nice consideration. (It occurs to me that this would be a good use for my "sound therapy" alarm clock. It's one of those with settings for forest or ocean or thundershowers, and it's pretty nifty. The time display is too dim for me to see from the bed, and I've been wanting to get a new alarm anyway. Alternatively, I could use my portable CD player and some classical CDs. I also have a small water fountain a friend gave me that I've never hooked up. Maybe now's a good time…)

The next step would be to alert the media, so to speak. Tell your family or others in your home about your quiet space, why you need it, and why you are OFF LIMITS! when you are in it. Note: you will need to do your part by not spending all your evenings in your quiet place, especially if you have chosen a section of the family room or other "premium" room for it. ;)

Now, when you find yourself in need of a bit of relaxing and de-stressing, go to your quiet place, light your candles, turn on your soothing music…and just be quiet. If you find yourself still distracted by household activities, close your eyes or turn your chair (or cushion) to face the wall.

Focus on positive thoughts only. The problems and troubles will still be there when you leave your quiet space. But maybe--just maybe--a few minutes of solitude and reflection will strengthen your resolve and freshen your perspective.

Spend your quiet time reflecting on the things you did well that day, or maybe the blessings that you have, or maybe you can simply compile a mental list of your favorite things. Soothing thoughts, empowering thoughts, happy thoughts--those are the goal.

That's how I picture it in my mind, anyway. (Sometimes those things don't translate as well to the real world.)

Do you have a quiet space? Tips for those of us who might be creating a space in the near future? Or do you need a quiet space, but don't YET have one? What will you put in yours?

Wishing you all a happy, no-negative-stress week!

Bits, Bytes, and Bites

Greetings from the safety and comfort of my home office. I've just returned from a morning walk, 20 minutes of which was spent wandering suburban wilderness trails, lost and side-stepping horse doo. (Those were some well-fed horses, from the looks of things, lemme tell ya.) Don't think I will do the trails again without a pocket compass Not on a cloudy day, anyway.

For those of you who do all your walking on pavement, I highly recommend an occasional foray into the woods. Depending on the trails, you can't really work up a good cardio pace, but the variations in trail surface work the calves and quads in a different way and more than make up for the slower pace. Plus, you get plenty of bending, lunging, and balancing to maneuver under and over branches and fallen trees. Personally, I make it a habit not to touch any tree or limb, lest it be the World's! Largest! Anaconda! in disguise, which creates an extra level of difficulty to the wilderness experience.

Traumatized after being lost, I treated myself to a decadent and delightful brownie after lunch (tuna melt on wheat with pretzels). Now I have sugar jangling through my system, the better with which to complete my daily to-do list.

Speaking of the to-do list, I'm thisclose to completing a good project. On Friday, I went for a 50-minute walk and then returned home to rearrange furniture in my guest bedroom so that I could then move the treadmill and all my exercise paraphernalia from the master bedroom to the guest bedroom--now the guest bedroom/exercise room. Later, I was giving myself a minor walloping for missing my scheduled trip to the gym for strength training, and I had to laugh. I moved a double bed, a double dresser, a cedar chest, 2 end tables, and the treadmill all over the house. I think my muscles were given a good workout. :)

Okay, on to the to-do list! But before I go, I need to mention a few things:

1) Weight-loss Worlds Collide on Monday when Ruby will be on Oprah! Check your local TV listings for time and set your recorders accordingly. (Btw, did you know The Tippy Toe Diet is the fifth listing on Google if you search "Ruby Weight Loss Reality Show"? Cool, huh?)

2) Great article from Brandon Morgado (Fithacks.com) on Dumb Little Man today: How to Build Motivation for your Workout. (I especially liked his "Use a Landmark" and "Just One More" tips, since I use them regularly.)

3) Target has all sorts of nuts on sale, 15% off. They also have a 5-pound bag of clementines (23 sweet calories each!) for $4.99. I had a $1.00 off coupon, so that makes them especially sweet!

Okay, now I've really got to go. Hope you're all having a great weekend!

(P.S.
I filed my taxes yesterday--yaaay!--using Free File Fillable Forms. Super easy and FREE!)

Time Marches Forward

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is observed by many countries around the world. For most of us in the U.S., the big switch happens this weekend, when early, early, early Sunday a.m. we'll move our clocks forward one hour. This causes some of us to stumble around all day on Sunday, yawning and grumbling over the loss of a precious hour of slumber. That is, until 4 or 5 p.m., when we realize we have a couple hours of daylight left to play. (To that point, I've always wondered why we can't start on Saturday, which would give us two longer weekend days.)

This time shift is supposed to help reduce energy costs, increase sales for retailers (especially sports-related ones), reduce crime, and decrease traffic accidents. There are some who say it also increases the risk of heart disease, encourages more on-the-go eating (read:. fast food), and increases sleep deficit (possibly causing more traffic accidents.)

I have no idea of the accuracy of any of that, nor am I particularly concerned about it. I lose an hour of sleep but gain an hour of warmer daylight. It's a wash.

The Summa Health people have a few tips on how to adjust to DST:

- Maintain a regular bedtime on Saturday night. This helps keep a constant sleep schedule and reduces sleep debt.
- Do not nap on Saturday before the time change. If a nap is necessary, it’s best to limit it to less than one hour and no later than 3 p.m. [Cammy note: they almost lost me with this one.]
- Although DST means the sun will rise an hour later, it’s important to maintain a dark sleeping area.
- Simulate the time change a few days in advance for better adjustment.
- Gradually move bedtime and the desired wake up time by 15 minutes every 1 – 2 days to potentially ease difficulty adjusting to the time change.

Since the only personal side effect of DST I've noticed is an increased propensity for grumbling (which I probably would've been doing anyway), I doubt I'll follow any of those suggestions, but it was really nice of them to try to help.

And you? Have you noticed any negative effects of DST on your diet/fitness/health? Do you do anything special to prepare for or manage the switch? Inquiring minds, you know...

A Nod to Nutrition

Yep, it's that time of year again! March is National Nutrition Month and is sponsored by the American Dietetic Association. From their website:

Eating right doesn’t have to be complicated. Start with these recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

A healthy eating plan:
-Emphasizes fruit, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat or fat-free milk and milk products
-Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts.
-Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium) and added sugars.

Raise your hand if you're feeling all smug-like because you already knew that. (So it's not just me, huh?)

Wanna show off how much you know? Check out this quiz on the NNM site.

Another interesting link I found while poking around the site was a 2007 listing of popular diet book reviews from various nutritionists. Verrry interesting.

To celebrate NNM, I think I'm going to spend March increasing variety in my diet. This will be made easier by the arrival of nice juicy strawberries! I've already added in carrot chips and teensy amounts of broccoli. I think I'll play around with sweet potatoes, too.

What could YOU do to improve your nutrition in March? Will you pledge to do it?

~~~

In unrelated news, if you have 100 pounds or more to lose, Oprah and Dr. Oz want to see you. Here's a link to share your story with them. And please let me know if you see them asking for folks who've already lost the stupid 100 pounds. (My timing sucks.)

Makeover Monday: Zzzzzzz

A subject near and dear to my heart: napping!

Over the past few years, I've read lots of news reports about this study or that project that proved the necessity of a good nap for restoring cognitive abilities, reducing stress, and providing boosts of energy. I could've saved them all a load of time and money by giving them my family history.

I come from a long line of midday nappers. Big family dinners on Sundays were always followed by an hour or so of "quiet time", when everyone found a horizontal (or semi-horizontal) place to "rest their eyes" for a little while. Maybe that's why our family gatherings never had any drama. We napped!

Not everyone benefits from napping, of course. A lot depends on how long you nap and how you move through the various stages of sleep. (You can find out more about those here.) A good nap will usually last between 20-30 minutes or 90-120 minutes, to avoid interrupting your natural sleep cycles. The easiest thing you can do is to experiment with napping to find the optimum time for you to wake feeling refreshed and energized.

I haven't noticed length of time making a big difference in my naps. For me, it's more about *how* I nap. Here's my napping technique (patent pending):

-a cool, dark place
-a horizontal surface (my father naps in his recliner; a friend naps at lunchtime sitting up in his truck. Me? I've gotta be horizontal.)
-a late morning or early afternoon nap time. ( I wake up early and go to bed fairly early, so my sluggish time is usually midday. If you're a night owl, your ideal nap time might be mid- to late afternoon.)
-television or music on low to mask neighborhood noises (and a pox on the neighbor who mows his lawn in the middle of my nap!)
-optional: an alarm (if I'm feeling particularly exhausted, or if I have a to do list that hasn't been touched, I'll set an alarm so that I don't sleep the day away.)

And that's my napping process. I accomplished it twice this weekend (in the interest of research, you know.) So far, I haven't mastered napping during the workweek. I'm always too worried that I won't wake up in time to get back to the office.

One thing I've noticed since...well, since I started noticing these things is that when I'm sleepy or super tired, I tend to snack more. Napping seems to help with that. I suppose it's part diversionary technique and partially related to energy reserves.

Any other confirmed nappers out there? Tips? Techniques? Funny stories that will make us laugh with you, not at you?