Happy Friday everyone! I hope your week was a good one. Mine was very busy. I was wondering where this week went, but then it occurred to me that it was month-end again, so there you go!
Close aside, it was sort of a quiet week for me, but I did get some good news. Back in 2006, I learned that I had some benign lesions on my liver that were being caused by hormones. Each year, I have to go for a CT scan to monitor these little boogers to make sure that they aren’t growing in size. What we found out is that these lesions were fed by hormones. In an effort to get them to shrink…my first thought was ‘take away the food source’…so immediately threw my birth control pills into the trash (read: Hello Adam!). For the first couple of years, they didn’t get any bigger, but they weren’t really shrinking much either. THEN…in August of 2008 I started my weight loss journey and when I went for another scan in 2009, we found that lesions started to shrink and they started to disappear! I had 8 of them to start out with, and by last year, they were gone with the exception of 2, which were MUCH smaller than they were the year before. This year was no different. I had to drink that yucky barium smoothie crap once again and get injected with iodine…and then wait to hear from the GI guy. This time, the results were absolutely fabulous. The two lesions that were left are so small that they really were unable to compare them to the prior year AND any evidence of the fatty liver that I had back in 2006 is completely gone. BEST POSSIBLE news this week.
This is EXACTLY why you simply CANNOT judge your weight loss success by scale figures alone. Success can be measured in many ways. Below are a few non-scale successes that you many have already experienced!
- Being active where you weren’t before
- Getting stronger and gaining endurance
- Wearing smaller clothes
- Before/after photographic comparisons
- Establishing better eating habits
- Being able to come off of some medications due to the weight loss (examples include insulin or blood pressure medications)
- Making your family healthier by setting an example for them
- Medical issues being resolved (for me this means lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, lower resting heart rate)
- Finally, the most important one for me has been to follow through with this journey and not give up. I was one of those people who used to attend meetings for about two weeks and quit after the first gain or weight loss stall! No more. Done with that!!!!
We are now finishing up the second week of school, and it is hitting me again just how far I have come with my own extra-curricular activities. This year, I stepped up and took on the role of treasurer of my daughter’s elementary school PTA. After thinking that I was crazy for dong that, I found out that I actually have a knack for this stuff. I guess that being an accountant has its perks. LOL… I am finishing up my second term as Treasurer of our synagogue’s Sisterhood and I continue to volunteer my time in the synagogue’s gift shop. As I get older, it makes me feel good to volunteer my time. I have found that the busier I am, the less prone to mindless snacking I am.
Today’s torture session was probably the most intense that I have suffered er…um…endured…with Coach Dwayne. Before any of the official beating began, I started with a quick-paced 20 minute elliptical workout. Now for the torture:
I did two sets of the following:
Burpees – 10 reps
Bicep Curl, Shoulder Press, Overhead Extension with 5kg medicine ball – 10 reps
Single Leg Deadlift with 4kg medicine ball – 10 reps
T- Raises – 20 reps total
Bent Over Row Press Outs – 10 reps
Bridges – 20 reps
Tricep Press ups – 10 reps (you lay on your side and use your triceps to lift your body. UGH…)
Lastly, I did three sets of these:
Abs
Body Bar Over the knee – 12 reps
Oblique Twist w/ Body Bar – 12 reps
Leg Push Downs – 10 reps (now with these, if my feet hit the floor, they didn’t count. This time? Feet did not hit the floor once!!!)
My goal tomorrow is to walk with my walking peeps….but if I fall down in the middle of the whole thing, I ask for leniency!!!
The topic for this week’s meeting is to Move for Good (which goes along with the annual ‘Lose for Good’ campaign). Below are some statistics that I copied from the meeting room board this week:
EXERCISE STATISTICS:
- The Good Health Guidelines recommend 30 minutes of exercise per day. 60% of Americans don’t get the RDA; 25% do nothing at all
- 16% of us over 15 years of age exercise on any given day. Five TIMES that number; however, will watch television on any given day.
- The Pacific US is 50% more likely to exercise than the rest of the country
- Walking is the most popular exercise overall.
- Most common duration of exercise is from 30 – 59 minutes.
- True or False: muscle weights more than fat. The answer is FALSE. A pound is a pound. Muscle tissue is more dense than fat tissue, so fatty tissue takes up more space on your body.
This is what Weight Watchers has to say on the topic:
Recharge your routine
If the initial challenge and reward of getting moving have gone and you’re dragging your feet when it’s time to lace up your sneakers, you might need to add life to your workout. First, remind yourself of the benefits you’ve gained from regular exercise: You may be stronger, leaner, even happier! Then try these ideas:
- Find a workout partner: A friend can add fun, encouragement, and good advice (not to mention accountability!)
- Listen to an MP3 player or watch television while exercising if you can.
- Keep your eyes on the prize: Focus on how good you feel and how you are helping yourself, body and mind.
My personal belief is to find something you LOVE to do, because it makes the working out part that much easier. I may complain, but the cardio and strength training that I do each week with Coach Dwayne is amazing. I do love it, and I love what it has done for my mental attitude and my body.
I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend and come back refreshed afterward!
I meant to use this quote last week, but I completely forgot. This quote was provided to me by a coworker of mine who also works out in the fitness center downstairs. Love this! Thanks Keith!!!
“To finish first doesn’t make you a winner;
to accomplish the task at hand, that makes you a winner”
~ Mr. Wonderful (Keith Heinemann)
PRODUCT DU JOUR – Kellogg’s All Bran Bran Buds
This is another product that I have come to love. These are crunchy, ever-so-slightly sweet, and a great filler for an afternoon snack. 1/3 cup of these have only 1 Weight Watcher Point®; containing only 70 calories, 1 gram of fat and 13 grams of fiber. This provides 51% of your daily fiber intake. I have become a big fan of a light yogurt parfait for an afternoon snack. This means any zero or one point cup of yogurt, maybe a half cup of berries, and between ¼ and 1/3 cup of either Fiber One or Bran Buds. They mix well into the yogurt and add less calories and fat than granola would. I like these because of the crunch. Never once did I ever think that I would be so fanatical about fiber-rich products, but they have worked their way in to my diet AND into my heart. Try it! You may like it!
RECIPES
Thin French Apple Tart - Adapted from Cooking Light
Each year the CKA Sisterhood puts on a dessert buffet featuring apples and honey. These items are symbolic of a sweet start to the Jewish New Year. Last year I did a Honeyed Apple Tort, but this year I stumbled onto this great EASY recipe. The recipe was adapted from one that I found in Cooking Light.
This dramatic 12-inch tart will elicit a wow from your guests. They will never know (until they read this, of course...) that it uses only six ingredients and bakes in only a half an hour!
Yield: 8 servings at a POINTS® Value of 5 per serving. If you can slice each wedge in half, you can halve the points too! Still—not bad for a great dessert.
Ingredients:
1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (I used Braeburn and it came out GREAT)
2 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425°.
Place dough on a lightly floured surface; roll into a 12-inch circle. Place on a 12-inch pizza pan. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar mixture over dough. Arrange apple slices spokelike on top of dough, working from outside edge of dough to the center. Sprinkle apple slices with remaining sugar mixture. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes.
Combine honey and vanilla in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at high 40 seconds. Brush honey mixture over warm tart. Serve warm.
Nutrition Information:
CALORIES 220 (30% from fat); FAT 7.3g (sat 2.9g,mono 3.2g,poly 0.9g); IRON 0.2mg; CHOLESTEROL 5mg; CALCIUM 6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 39g; SODIUM 100mg; PROTEIN 0.6g; FIBER 1.9g; Weight Watchers Points per serving: 5
