Down We Go!

September 29, 2008 · Posted in weight loss · Comment

Just a quick note to confirm I am officially back to my “pre-wedding indulgence” weight…. In fact, I’m lower by .6 pounds.

For all of you keeping track at home, thats a total net loss of 9 pounds since inception of Atkins…

I believe that not drinking alcohol, eating real food, and taking psyllium (fiber) are the keys to my success…

Tags: atkins, fiber, weight loss

Polar FT80 Heart Rate Monitor Watch

September 26, 2008 · Posted in Equipment, Heart Rate Monitor · Comment

Tags: Heart Rate Monitor, Polar

Strictly Business Trip

September 26, 2008 · Posted in Training Thoughts · 1 Comment

In an amazing feat of strength and agility, I came home from a three day business trip to LA and was DOWN A POUND!!

To clarify why this is such an accomplishment, I will outline the typical course of action on business trips:

Fly In to Host City, become bloated and puffy on plane
Arrive at destination: eat meal filled with fat and carbohydrates on company dime
Go to meeting, lots of talking and sitting
Done with meeting, lots of drinking and more eating, typically with reckless abandon… my tummy thinks, “they don’t have any of these restaurants in St Louis… must eat as much as possible”
Wake up next day (most likely hung over), eat greasy breakfast food to compensate… if at nice hotel, order room service and eat while still in bed
Get out of bed to find cupcake place, purchase in large quantities as said cupcakes may never be available again
Eat cupcakes
Go back to airport, sit and wait for plane, buy crappy/salty/expense/unhealthy packaged airport food to have on plane
Eat food while waiting, drink alcohol to make waiting more bearable
Eat on plane, maybe drink on plane, Sit, Sit, Sit on plane
Get home late, feel tired and gross
Wake up FOUR pounds heavier

Here is how I made it work:

Replaced drinking alcohol with drinking herbal tea
Brought my own healthy snacks (popcorn, almonds, raspberries, protein bars)
Went to Whole Foods and purchased healthy options to eat on return plane trip (was a bit nervous about taking through security but even tofu does not qualify as liquid and is allowed)
When eating out, focused on eating fresh, healthy foods – took advantage of California produce…eat local, think global
Did bending and stretching exercises in the morning…tried to walk as much as possible when not sitting
Only ate one cupcake….

Essentially, with a little planning and a bit of self restraint (I only had ONE cupcake), you can be successful on even the swankiest of business trips!

Tags: no tags

The Office – “Weight Loss”

September 26, 2008 · Posted in Training Thoughts, weight loss · Comment

I saw an interesting episode of the office last night.

Dunder Mifflin paper is having a weight loss competition to win an extra week of vacation time. The branch that loses the most weight overall wins. Things at the Scranton branch spiral out of control, with Dwight dumping Phyllis without her purse in a bad part of town so she can get some exercise walking back. Even Michael goes over the line telling tiny Angela to lose weight and her replying, “My doctor wants me to gain weight.”

Next time it feels like everyone in your office is against your weight loss because they happened to bring in donuts, remember this episode of The Office and know how much worse it could be if they were rooting for you.

Tags: humor, the office, weight loss