New Year, New Ebony/Jenny Craig Update

Jenny/Vacation


So I actually got my Jenny food, but by the time I got it, I had eaten every "bad" thing that I was going to eat. I am also in a house in which I am expected to cook my moms favorites like everyday! So needless to say I have been totally of plan. I have been eating foods that I would not normally eat, but "hey it's vacation!" What has been happening though is that I have not been overeating and I have not been eating just to eat. Those are two things that I used to do. For example we had just finished eating lunch one day, went to the mall, saw some of my Godchildren, ate some ice cream at an impromptu birthday party at Baskin-Robbins (I had a small). Now all of this took less than an hour and a half. Derek said he wanted to go to this great sushi place that we had been to and I said "But WE JUST ATE!" My husband said he was proud of me because the old Ebony would have just gone along and ate a roll...or two. I have made better decisions, not the best, but they are getting better. So for that I give myself a "go me."


New Year's

I think I am the opposite of most people. I don't do New Year's Resolutions. This year I am going to be the same way...sort of. Instead of resolutions I am going to make promises to myself. So here are my New Year's Promises.

I Ebony Promise to do the following to ensure a healthier, fitter me in 2009:

1) I will work out at least 3 days a week for at least 30 minutes.
2) I will eat 5-6 small meals a day.
3) I will eat no more than 1600 calories in a day.
4) I will log my food and exercise on sparkpeople.com everyday.
5) I will log my weight (loss or gain) every Monday.
6) I will sleep at least 7 hours a night.
7) I will not allow work functions to be a reason o go off plan.
8) I will not celebrate with food.
9) I will not allow stress to get in my way.
10) I will not make excuses!

I am so FRUSTRATED!!!

So I had my vacation all planned out. I was supposed to get off the plan at 3 and head home drop my stuff and go strait to Jenny Craig and pick up my food. Great plan right? WRONG. So for the first time since I cam remember we have like a foot of snow! So this means that some people don't want to work. I understand you don't feel safe you go home I get that. What I don't get is why I gave you my number when I made my appointment and you don't call me to tell me you are closed so I am out here in the cold and snow and you are closed! I go back on Saturday to make an appointment for today I get there and they are CLOSED!!! This is so not helping me. The healthy places are closed so all that's left are Fast food and the large chain restaurants who's salads are like 100 calories!!! So I made my husband slide down the hill to the grocery store so I can get veggies and stuff. However I cannot lie and say I have eaten on plan the last couple days. Sour Jolly Ranchers are really good...so are turtle brownies. My excuse of course is that there are no Jenny brownies or lemon cakes available to me. I have made every effort to get them, but the center was closed. That is what I am telling myself. Well I am about to go out yet again to see if they are open. If they are I am just going to buy the stuff and weigh in later at whatever the next appointment I make is...No weigh in yet, no scale, you will know as soon as I do.

Luv, Hugs, and Smooches!!!

Friday Check-In (Week 8)/Check out Miss Diana

In doing my regular checks of my favorite blogs this post hit home. Diana's Body Journey: Free days or no free days, that is the question. Read it and think about what you need to do or can do to stay on track yet not feel deprived of foods that you love. Personally I do the same even on Jenny. I ate what I wanted on Halloween, and Thanksgiving and still managed to lose 17 pound in 2 months. I am sure I will do the same on Christmas and I know I am going to have at least one glass of Tres Donnes Moscato D'Asti on New Years. Yes you read it right! With Me, Jenny, and your support I have lost 17 pounds in 8 weeks! I found my XBOX "game" Yourself Fitness and have been using that this week as my workouts. Unfortunately I haven't been using it much the past couple days because I am sick. The first time in over two years!!! I feel horrible. But anyway. I am going to go to bed now. Just make sure you check out Diana's post. I think you will like it.

On another note I got an A in my economics course!!!

Thank you!!!

So I am doing my normal somewhat daily blog checks and was surprised to see that I had been nominated for my first and second blog award! I am super excited and even more grateful. I have won prizes in the past, but never awards. This means even more to me because it comes from peers who are walking the journey with me. I am dang near at a loss for words.

I screamed so loudly when I saw it my husband told me I was messing with his PTSD. Which is funny because sound is not his trigger. We have only come across one place that has water the color of his trigger and have since avoided that place like the plague. Unfortunately outside of the pond it has the most beautiful flowers. "Your messing with my PTSD" has now become our "OMG you scared the mess out of me" or "You are really irritating me" But I digress back to happy thoughts.

Big thank you's to Confessions of a Wayward Diet Goddess for the Marie Antoinette Award

and Diana for the Fabulous Award

Now its time to pay it forward.

S0 here are the rules for the Marie Antoinette Award:
Please put the logo in your blog
Place a link from the person, from whom you received the award
Nominate at least 7 or more (See Below)
Put the links of those on your blog
Leave a message on their blog to let them know

The Fabulous Award Rules:

1. You have to pass it on to 5 fabulous blogs. (See Below)
2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions.

• My Family
• MAC Eye Shadow
• Dior Lip Gloss
• Fragrances (too many to list)
• Shopping

3. Make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.

So below I have listed some blogs that I pay particular attention to for one reason or another. Most of you have been nominated for on or the other, but I don't think you have both. In no particular order.

Skye

Da Diva

Diet Goddess

Scale Junkie

Andrea

Amanda

Donna

HeatherMarie

Sylvia

Diana

You are looking at a new Sparkpeople Co-Leader!!!

So I go the email this morning from spark people. I am a co-leader for the Jenny team on spark people. I am SO excited about this opportunity. I hope I am able to lead the team well. I dropped the weight that I gained from thanksgiving and hope to get my workouts back on track this week. Sorry so short, but I am in the middle of an NCIS marathon and can't seem to break my focus...I'll probably post more Monday or Tuesday.

Luv, Hugs, and Smooches!!!

OMG!!!

So I was once again perusing the articles on sparkpeople and found this tidbit.

From Wallet To Waistline: The Hidden Costs of Super Sizing, was issued by the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA), a coalition of over 225 national, state and local health organizations. The report compares the price, calories, and saturated fat in differently sized foods from fast-food chains, convenience stores, ice cream parlors, coffee shops, and movie theaters. Among the findings:

• Upgrading from a 3-ounce Minibon to a Classic Cinnabon costs only 24% more, yet delivers 123% more calories. The larger size also provides almost three-quarters of a day's worth of artery-clogging saturated fat.
• Switching from 7-Eleven's Gulp to a Double Gulp costs 42% more, but provides 300% more calories. Those 37 extra cents deliver 450 extra calories-more than you'd get in a McDonald's Quarter Pounder.
• It costs 8 cents more to purchase a McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese, small French fries, and small Coke (890 calories) separately than to buy the Quarter Pounder with Cheese large Extra Value Meal, which comes with a large fries and large Coke (1,380 calories). "McDonald's actually charges customers more to buy a smaller, lower-calorie meal," Wootan said.
• Moving from a small to a medium bag of movie theater popcorn costs about 71 cents-and 500 calories. A 23% increase in price provides 125% more calories and two days' worth of saturated fat. (And that's unbuttered popcorn!) According to the report, the practice of "bundling"—turning a fast-food sandwich into a "value meal" by adding sides like fries and a soft drink-is responsible for some of the largest increases in calorie content. And fountain drinks proved to be especially bad health bargains. They cost the least to upgrade and deliver the biggest calorie boosts (and they provide some of the highest profit margins for retailers).

That's why consumers should decline to take advantage of "more-for-less" marketing practices, even if it may seem cost-ineffective, says Polk. "It's penny-wise and pound-foolish to order more food than you really want, just because it seems like a bargain," she says. "Let restaurateurs and retailers know that you want reasonable portions at reasonable prices. After all, restaurants pride themselves on responding to customer demand."