I Have A Problem...

I have a problem, but I think it's a good problem to have.....my new pants that I bought less than a week ago.....ummm, well, they are loose.   I noticed today when I put them on but thought, nah, I must be imagining it.  Then someone else noticed. 

The problem is, I'm at the in between stage where these are a bit loose but not ready for the next size. Only a few more pounds and I'll be there.  Perhaps, in the meantime, I should invest in a belt.

Wacky Weight Loss Tips part 2

The next two wacky weight loss tips are a little bit difficult, Tip # 2 was to eat in front of a mirror. Seeing as I eat out often, I'm gonna be honest and tell you that bringing a mirror to a restaurant is out of the question. 

2. Take a look in the mirror.

While you eat, sit in front of a mirror. One studyfound that when people watch themselves eat, consumption of high-calorie food (such as full-fat cream cheese) drops by nearly a third, possibly because seeing themselves eat reminds them of their diet and health goals.


Tip # 3 was to immerse yourself in blue, use blue plates, blue napkins. 

3. Immerse yourself in blue.

Use blue plates, blue napkins, a blue tablecloth, even paint your dining room walls blue or use blue lights. According to a 2006 study by Dr. Val Jones, gala attendees ate 33 percent less in a room bathed in blue light.
That’s probably because we associate blue with toxic or moldy food, so we eat less. Yellow and red had the opposite effect, which is why fast-food restaurants favor those appetite-stimulating colors.

I do have blue rimmed plates at home, so for the next five days when eating at home, I will use the blue rimmed plates, If I can find a hand mirror I will try that at home as well, but what I will focus on this Monday-Friday is tip #4.....

4. Use your sense—smell, that is.

Sniffinga banana, apple or peppermint helps the weight come off. Just ask the 3,000 people who tried this during a study at the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago.
The more often they sniffed those aromas, the more weight they lost, with an average drop of nearly 30 pounds during the 6-month study among those who inhaled the scents the most frequently. Some participants shed up to 18 pounds in a month. Apparently, by frequent smelling we trick the brain into thinking we actually ate the food.

I have a box of mints...I will carry it with me all week and report back.

Taming the Beast

Let's talk about Thursday.....I had a bad day, I worked 12 hours I got home thinking there would be some dinner waiting. There wasn't. This just sent me into a bit of a diva fit...now I'm a big girl perfectly capable of making my own dinner and there is no rule saying that there has to be a dinner waiting for me but...as I said, It was a very bad day.  Top this off by being asked at 10:00pm by your beautiful teenage daughter to please go to CVS to get something that she needs (yes it was important). As I'm driving to CVS all I'm thinking about is Chocolate and how I would love to just buy a couple of candy bars and drown my anger with it. 

I had to have a talk with myself.....I had to remind myself that first of all eating away your anger is a habit of the past. Secondly I've worked so hard to get where I'm at and third...I still have a long way to go and I don't want any set backs.  Furthermore eating away the anger isn't going to help, I would just be angry at myself for eating that candy.

The talk with myself worked.....I worked it out on my own and not by eating things I shouldn't.  I have to say that I'm very proud of myself for doing that.

Now there is not guilt to worry about and the candy did not win.

The Non Dominant Hand Experiment

As promised I'm filling you in on how the week went with using my non dominant hand to eat with. As I'm right handed I used my left hand all week to eat. It was not as hard as one might imagine. However there were definate things that I had trouble with; soup and rice being the two big ones.  I did notice I left more on my plate eating left handed.  Perhaps it was because it just became a pain to do it that way. I did lose two pounds this week, but I walked a lot so I'm not convinced it really had anything to do with the left handed eating.  I can tell you to never eat a meatball sandwich with your non dominant hand...it becomes a meatball mess. I will announce over the weekend what the next wacky weight loss tip that works will be.

Awesome Week

So far it's been a really awesome week, I've walked 9 miles since Sunday.  Been drinking tons of water, sticking with the left hand experiment and just in general HAPPY!   Happy because I went out tonight and bought a new outfit....and bought everything a size smaller than normal.  A pair of faded jean capris, a hot pink cami and a hot pink sweater to go over the cami.  Yes, you read that correctly I did say hot pink.....not black like I always buy...but hot pink.  I bought a color.  So, I've walked 9 miles and bought a colored top....I'd say that's two pretty big accomplishments right there.  All day long today all I did was adjust my jeans.  They were getting a bit big, so I figured it was time to be brave and go to the store.  I was very nervous as I took the smaller size off the rack. I said to myself "If I try these on and they don't fit I will be so discouraged"  I actually had 3 pairs that I tried on.....they all fit but I didn't like the way some looked.  So 3 different pants, 3 different styles and they all fit, I could button them, zip them and it was awesome!  I only bought one pair because I don't want to invest a ton of money into clothes right now as I still have much more to lose.  But I took those pants and that top to the register with a big smile on my face.  I was so happy that I just had to go next door and buy a pair of shoes!  I decided to live dangerously and get a wedged heel.  Ya'll know how clumsy I can be so we shall see what tomorrow brings when I walk around in them.  Though I best be careful because I don't want to twist an ankle or break a leg...I have much more walking to do.

The three mile walk

I went to my niece's birthday party this afternoon which was at my brothers house.  I don't to that side of the state often. So I decided to bring home dinner from Luigi's which is one of my favorite places that I just don't get to much.  Driving through the town of Johnston, I was reminded of how much walking I did as a teenager. Every Saturday morning I would get my allowance and meet my friend and we would walk miles to the record store and back home again.

It was such a beautiful day out today, I decided I'd go for a walk when I got home.  I had a goal in mind but didn't know if I would actually do it.  My goal was to walk from my house to Del's Lemonade.  Thinking of my teenage years, walking all around town, I wanted to do it again.

I hit the road with my Ipod. Thinking, maybe I'll walk there and then call someone for a ride home. I walked and walked, got to Tom's Market and said "maybe I'll stop here and turn back"  but then I thought well, that's silly, I can see Del's from here.  I made it to Del's and told myself that I would make it back, the same way I came. 

I had no idea how far I walked, I just know that I walked pretty far. When I got home I looked up the miles.  Round trip it was three miles.  Yay for me.....now the only thing that is telling me is I can totally do it and can push myself harder with the exercise. 

I wish I had time every day for a three mile walk. 

I got home in time for dinner and the funny thing is, after all that walking, I didn't even want to eat! 

Weird Weight Loss Tips

Yesterday I came across an internet article....Weird Weight Loss Tips That Really Work.  So I said....WHY NOT?...  So it begins a series about these weird tips to see if they really do work.  It will be fun!  I will spend the next five days (Mon-Fri) trying the first one.

Here is the decription of the first one (lifted from the web)

Eat with your non-dominant hand.
One intriguing new study offers a simple antidote to the mindless munching that often accompanies watching movies or TV: Just switch hands—and you’ll eat less.
The researchers randomly handed moviegoers a bucket of fresh popcorn or “cold, wet, spongy week-old” popcorn. Those who said they usually ate popcorn at the movies shoveled down just as much whether the popcorn was fresh or stale. But in a separate experiment, the scientists found that when people were asked to eat with their non-dominant hand, they consumed 30 percent less.

Beginning tomorrow morning everything I eat will be with my left hand.  I have my doubts that this method work. If you are hungry you'll find a way to eat what's on your plate no matter which hand.  However, perhaps it will cause you to think about what you're eating since I think there will be somethings that will be uncomfortable to eat with your non-dominant hand.  We shall see. Stay tuned for the updates.