Remember the Rainbow song from pre-school?

♫♪ ♫♪Red and yellow and pink and green, purple and orange and blue♫♪ ♫♪
♫♪ ♫♪I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow too.♫♪ ♫♪

One of the challenges I hear from clients is that they are getting bored,
you can only eat chicken and broccoli for so long until rebellion sets in!
Your challenge is to eat the rainbow!

♫♪ ♫♪Red and yellow and pink and green,

Purple and orange and blue♫♪ ♫♪

♫♪ ♫♪I can eat a rainbow, eat a rainbow, eat a rainbow too.♫♪ ♫♪

Red	Orange / Yellow	Pink / Purple	Green / Blue	White / Brown
Radishes Red Peppers Red Leaf Lettuces Tomato	Spaghetti Squash Summer Squash Sweet peppers Yellow tomato	Red Cabbage Turnips Eggplant Scallions	Celery Greens: Collard, Mustard, Kale or Turnip Cucumber Lettuces: Green Leaf, Butter, Iceberg, Romain Spinach Broccoli Asparagus Green Beans Watercress	Endive White Asparagus Mushrooms Cauliflower Wax beans Mung beans Alfalfa sprouts Fennel bulb Jicama

Yes, there is an art and etiquette to a proper weigh in

1. Weighing yourself first thing in the morning is usually best. Because of variations in food and fluid consumption, we often "gain" different amounts of weight throughout the day. It's also best to do it wearing the same thing, be it your jammies or your birthday suit.
   

2. If you're weighing frequently, remember that daily fluctuations in weight are common. Just because you're heavier today than yesterday doesn't mean your weight control program isn't working. Don't become a slave to the numbers. You want the overall trend to be downward. A few days of an upward trend can serve as a wake up call!
   

3. Monthly variations in weight are also common in menstruating women. Don't get discouraged when the relatives come to town!!
   

4. "Plateaus" in weight loss aren't necessarily bad. If you're exercising a lot, your weight may remain constant for a time even though you're still decreasing your body fat content and getting healthier. Remember it's not a true plateau unless you have been at the same weight for at least 2+ weeks and have been 100% on plan. If you think you may have hit a plateau call your coach immediately!!
   

5. Finally, cues other than the numbers on the scale are equally important. How do you feel? Are your clothes getting looser or tighter? Do you feel stronger, healthier, leaner? Your own perceptions can be the most valuable tool to help you track your weight control progress.That's why it's important to not only weigh but measure, using a tape or a snug pair of pants.
   

Albus Dumbledore

It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.

DASH

A young man named Steven was talking in church today about playing on the US Junior Mens Team Handball Team. Team Handball is like playing soccer only with a small handball. Steven was a goalie and during an important international game [the equivalent of a World Cup game] he got a little cocky and made a rookie mistake - he took his eye off the dash.

Steven explained that as goalie you are the only person allowed in the goal area [marked in yellow above] and because your back is to the goal you need to keep your eye on the dash. In front of the goal line is a small 1 meter long mark or dash used as a penalty throw line. The goalie uses this dash as his reference point as it marks the center of his goal behind him and it lets him know where he is in relationship to the goal at all times. He can't be constantly turning around and looking for the goal he has to know where it is based on his reference point - the dash.

Back to our story, Steven bated an opposing player to take a shot, but because he had taken his eye off the dash he didn't realize he was out of position which allowed the opposition to score on him. That 1 meter mark, so small in comparison to the other court markings made the difference.

You have a dash. Each of you is defending a goal and handballs are flying at you left and right. Life is a full contact sport and taking your eye off your dash, even for a moment, can make the difference between mounting a successful defense of your goal or being taken out by the opposition.

An Affair to Remember

by Health Coach Pat

February - the month of LOVE - Valentines Day = hearts, flowers, kisses, chocolates, fancy dinners. Who do you love? WHAT do you love?

My post today is about our love affair with food and how to nurture ourselves in ways other than through our mouths. For centuries, the message for women to show their affection to those they love has been through FEEDING them, and many have internalized this idea and applied it to nurturing themselves as well. For men, eating the food and goodies showed that they care in return.

After all, food, means love in most cultures, and in America we have taken this idea to new heights. Hasn’t it felt true that a hot-fudge sundae won’t lie to you, reject you, is easily accessible and affordable? Yes and no. Remember, when it comes to food, feelings come and go. It is easy to be entangled in a love affair with food. The problem with affairs is that they hurt those involved, are short-lived, almost always blow up in your face, and produce shame. The affair with food is no exception.

The affair with food begins with the courting phase. You remember it… when the chocolate melts in your mouth and provides a temporary moment of exhilaration. Never mind the fact that when sugar is ingested it raises serotonin levels in the brain creating similar chemical effects of, you guessed it, being in love. It isn’t long before the remorse and guilt, the “I shouldn’t have’s” kick in and you realize you’re hurting someone again. In the torrid affair with food, the one we most deeply injure is ourselves. As it is with a harmful love affair, the positive attention food initially provided becomes more sporadic. It literally adds excess baggage and over time the nurturing feelings are more difficult to achieve. Finally, the self-loathing becomes so great the participant gets honest and knows it has to end.

So how do we transform this love affair with food into a healthier long-term balanced nurturing relationship? It begins with learning to nurture ourselves in ways other than food. It begins with re-framing our thinking of what it means to eat healthfully. Tell yourself that choosing substances to put in your body that add to your health, rather than detract from it is not a punishment. It is in fact one of the most practical declarations of self-love we can make. This means taking the time to cook yourself healthy meals, stopping at restaurants you know have choices that will work for your body long term rather than provide a quick fix.

Notice what feeling is underlying your desire to eat a particular food and seek out a life-affirming way to get this need met. Many turn to food first when really wanting physical nurturing. Treat yourself to a massage, hug your spouse, buy yourself a teddy bear and hug it, pet your dog, If you’re stressed at work, instead of going to the vending machine to “give yourself a break,” take a walk, call a friend and vent your feelings, go to the bathroom and get quiet for a few moments. If you eat to quell loneliness or sadness, invite a friend over for a healthy meal, go to a movie, or curl up on your couch with your favorite blanket and a good book. Light a candle and listen to your favorite music, and by all means cry if you feel the urge. (OK guys - you don't have to cry!)

Although you may initially grieve giving up the highs and lows of the rush of your familiarly intense but chaotic relationship with food, over time you will begin to appreciate and even prefer the consistency of a nurturing, balanced relationship with food and with yourself.

If you are overweight, chances are that you indulge in some form of comfort eating. Figure out why you comfort eat and you will be well on the way to a D-i-v-o-r-c-e from your thoroughly unsuitable love.

You'll be much happier once it's all over.

Operation!

A funny thing happened on the way to the operating room!

I had surgery on Friday to repair a torn meniscus in my left knee. Don't know how I injured it, but it was a pain - literally - and it really impacted my daily life - yes I too thought walking was overrated until this happened!! LOL!!

However, I had a really fun NSV [Non Scale Victory] happen while being prepped for the surgery. I had been dressed in my gown that drowned me [NSV #1 - loved that one!], my "lunch lady" hairnet, fuzzy ugly brownish non-skid socks and compression stocking that was a little big [NSV #2] and I was waiting for the doctor to "sign off" on my knee [I had a magic marker "YES" with his initials on the correct leg]. When in walks the doctor who plops down in the chair, looks at me and says,

"I'm SO GLAD you're little!"

I about fell out of my rolly chair!!
WHAT? ME? LITTLE?????

It seems his patient before me was a very "large" man. In fact he was so large that the scrub nurse said she was struggling to get him moved on and off the table and the doctor remarked about how hard is was to work on large patients - his words, "It takes a lot out of me!".

Needless to say I drifted off to LaLa Land with a big huge smile on my face!

Some times when we're in the trenches it's hard to see where we've come from. My mental image still has not aligned with my physical image. Others may view me as "little" but I still see myself as the "Big Momma that bakes cookies". And it's only when I have these NSV's that my mental image starts to align. I still fight the scale everyday - it NEVER shows me the "Magic" number I so want to see [stupid scale!] but it does show me my reality. It's only when I put the two together that I can see the "big picture" - where I've been, where I am, and where I will be:

Take a few moments today to thank yourself for fighting the good fight! Thank yourself for staying on plan one more day! Thank yourself for being a blessing to someone else [like my doctor and his nurse] because you loved yourself enough to lose the weight! We can do it - together!

Setbacks

I've never been afraid to fail.

You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed.

I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.

I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying.
Michael Jordan

The important thing is to realize that temporary setbacks are not permanent failures. Successful people recognize that we all experience temporary setbacks that require us to reevaluate our performance and take corrective action to achieve success.

They know that adversity is never permanent.

Correct your course, get your act together, put on your big girl panties and do everything it takes to win - that is how you succeed!

Emperor Penguins

Emperor Penguins are some of the most social and well traveled animals in the world as shown in recent big screen movies like Happy Feet, Surfs Up and March of the Penguins. Their unique habitat and way of life is not duplicated anywhere in the animal kingdom. Once an egg is born an unusual phenomenon occurs. The mothers gently transfer the egg on the top of her feet to the top of the feet of the father.

The males then shuffle into groups. Their eggs still tucked above their feet. To survive they must generate their own heat by huddling. Speeding up the action, reveals an unparalleled display of sharing as each penguin works its way to the warmer center. Emperors are the only non-territorial penguins and they have to be. If they lose the huddle for even a moment, precious heat escapes.

Their greatest test lies ahead—winter blizzards. The temperature plunges to seventy-five below zero. The birds at the edge of the huddle bear the brunt of hundred-mile-an-hour winds and shelter those taking their turn in the middle.

The penguins huddle together, tighter and tighter in what looks like hump after hump of snow-covered, black, furry mounds in concentric circles. Their senses tell them their personal survival depends on their fellow penguins. Their instincts tell them the next generation, tucked safely between belly and feet, needs them to endure.

In many ways we are like Emperor Penguins. We've hatched this egg (our desire to lose weight), and now it's up to us to keep it safe until it hatches (reaching our goal weight). And just like the Emperors we can huddle together to keep our egg safe. Here are ways we can do it:

1. Keep to the 5&1 religiously - like the Emperors if we step outside the huddle we loose precious energy or face certain "death" of our egg. I like the saying, "Cheating only keeps me fat longer". Each bite we take out of the "huddle" throws us out of fat burn, sabotaging all the work we've done!
   
2. Report in each week to your Health Coach. Reporting each week allows us the opportunity to take our turn in the center of the huddle. All week we've been out in the blizzard and it's time to come in from the cold. Your Health Coach has been where you've been! We've survived the winter blizzards and lived to encourage, strengthen and support you!
   
3. Take advantage of all the support available.
1. Client.Powerlosers.Com
2. Support In Motion
3. Weekly Support Call Schedule, Support Center Information
   

Working together, taking turns incubating, feeding, shielding, and teaching we can survive the long winter of our "egg's"journey.

Stress

Ever had one of "THOSE" days?

Maybe a better question is who hasn't had one!
We all have stress - it's how we deal with it that sets us up for success in our weight loss

I'd like to share with you an article written by one of our team members - Dan Morgan. Dan is a wellness spokesperson for his company and writes a monthly article for the company newsletter. He's given me permission to share it with you. Check out how Dan deals with his stress:

Hello again! I have made it another month in my quest toward my commitment goal to lose a total of 114 lbs. by January 31, 2011. This past month it has been a little rocky and a little slow for weight loss. My weigh-in this morning was 220 lbs. My goal still remains at 195 lbs., but I have added a commitment goal of an additional 10 lbs.

Occasionally, I find myself wanting to binge eat if my stress level has been above normal for my day. The key to my success is realizing my weakness -- similar to a smoker realizing their weakness -- to use food to comfort me after a bad day. I also know that this is a lifestyle change I must embrace to keep the weight off. I must continually be aware of this moving forward in my quest.

Recently, I met with my doctor, who (I must say) was ecstatic about my results. Since my first visit with doctor, I am off two of my medications for high blood pressure. The key to my weight loss is that I eat six small meals per day approximately every 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

I am still playing racquetball and have just started playing in a competitive league. Then, in October, I am attending the “Fran Davis Racquetball Training Camp” to increase my ability level. Racquetball is my way of saying NO to the boring treadmill that in the past has lost my interest and become a great clothes hanger.

In closing, let me say, I must continually take ownership of this process. This is my healthy lifestyle change, and my will to continue to be happy and healthy for my family, my children and my grandchildren. I wish each of you the WILL to do the same.
Kind regards,
Dan

If you don't have stress it probably means your dead! So learn what your stress triggers are and how you can deal with them. Take ownership of your lifestyle and your choices - no more blaming it on "Mother Nature", hormones or aliens invading your body! Work the plan and the Plan will WORK!!

The Tribbles Tree

When I was a kid growing up the Tribble Family lived down the street, right on the corner. When I was about 9 or so I got a new bike and started learning how to ride it. I was terrible!! And to make it worse, back in the dark ages and before dirt, they didn't have training wheels! (see the photo of some cool kids with training wheels AND Helmets!)

Like all good parents, mine decided they would teach me how to ride my new bike - btw it was a pink and white Huffy! I had tried it out a little on my own and was moderately successful - meaning I could go about 20 feet before crashing. I figured out that I could balance the bike against the front fence, hop on and start pedaling, go 20 feet then crash - maybe that accounts for some of the loss of brain function I have!! But I digress......

Back to the parents teaching me how to ride. On that fateful day we all gathered out in front of our house and my dad started pushing me and running along side me to help me learn to balance, then he would let go and let me do it on my own, but catching me if I started to fall. After 3 or 4 tries he decided I was "experienced" enough that he wouldn't go with me this time.

Dad gave me my big send off and I started pedaling like mad! With the family cheering me on and screaming "pedal Lynn, pedal faster" I was going to ride this bike by myself or die trying! I made it down the street pedaling my heart out only to come to the end of the street where I knew I had to stop or I would ride into a busy street. I had 2 choices: 1) put my brakes on and try to stop or 2) put my brakes on and turn. The problem with either choice was I hadn't been taught how to do either! We were so focused on teaching me to stay upright and to ride that no one had bothered to teach me how to turn or stop!! Minor detail??

So here's where the Tribble's tree comes in. Remember the ride or die trying sentence a few moments ago? Well, I was going so fast that when I tried to use my coaster brakes I didn't realize I would end up turning too. And that's when it happened - I killed the Tribble's Tree! Yes, I AM A TREE KILLER!! Mr. Tribble had planted a small sapling in the front yard that ended up breaking my fall. A tree gave it's life so that I, the helmet-less, training wheel-less young bike rider could live!

You're probably wondering why I would tell you about the Tribble's deceased tree. From the story of the tree we can learn:

• Weight loss is like learning to ride a bike. You have to learn to balance your life in order to be successful. Eating 6 healthy meals a day is so different from what most of us have done in the past. Yes, we may have eaten 6 (or more) times a day, but it probably wasn't healthy, and no french fries are not a vegetable!
  
• Using replacement meals, like the ones we use, is like using training wheels. It makes our weight loss "ride" easier. Yes, you can learn it on your own, but it's a lot harder, and you'll find yourself crashing - a lot!
• Having a coach is like having your parent run along side you as you learn to ride on your own
  
• Like training wheels, at some point you may decide to take them off - and that's ok. My words of caution: make sure you have mastered the fundamentals of riding, like stopping and turning, BEFORE you take them off!!
• If you find yourself crashing because you took the wheels off too early - you can always put them back on
• And finally, watch for the trees in your path. Don't become a Tree Killer!

Some of you are pedaling for all your might right now! Congratulations! Remember, you have more than one set of training wheels you can use if you need them - I'm your training wheels too - and I'm there for you anytime you need me. I've crashed - a lot, and I'll continue to crash, but I've also been successful, I'm having the ride of my life and I'm willing to run next to you and catch you if you fall! BTW: Thanks for riding along with me!!

Biafra and Sirens

Growing up in the days following the Great Depression and major World Wars my mom made sure we were members of the "Clean Plate Club". She didn't actually call it that, but that's what it was. You couldn't leave the table with food on your plate no matter how much you hated it! I remember one time sitting there crying for what seemed like hours because I couldn't leave the table till I finished my soup - it had cooked tomatoes and celery - which I hated and still to this day have a hard time getting down sometimes.

I remember Mom using such motivations as "There are starving children in China who would love to have this to eat". To which I was thinking, "Well send it to them!" or "Why don't you go cook for them then?". Ooh, I was a rebellious soul!

Later on I used the same, less than successful, motivation on my own children, only by then it had changed to starving children in Biafra. Does anyone even remember Biafra and the images of children suffering from starvation and malnutrition caused by the civil war? Let me tell you those images were powerful!

I recently sat down to a beautiful dinner at well known steak house. My tender and juicy fillet, cooked "just right" as Goldilocks would say, surrounded by the roasted asparagus and steamed broccoli. A perfect Lean and Green. I had chosen wisely.

But there IT was. Sitting innocuously off to the side. Perfectly golden brown. Fluffy. Innocent in it's own simplicity. I hadn't asked for IT and IT certainly wasn't in the description of the meal on the menu card or I would have asked to have IT removed, but there IT was! Granted IT was small, maybe only 2 inches square by 1 inch high, but for the power IT had over me IT could have been the size of an aircraft carrier and IT wouldn't have made a difference!

It was with this internal brain tape of "cleaning your plate because others were starving" constantly running that when I had finished my meal I just couldn't leave well enough alone. IT started calling to me! That siren song [ of several sea nymphs, part woman and part bird, who lure mariners to destruction by their seductive singing]. I was about to go under!

All of us are going to face temptations while we journey our way to being Healthy. For some it's going to be a small IT. For others IT will be huge! What ever IT is for you, identify IT. Plan for IT.


Remember Ulysses, in Homer's Odyssey, who planned for his encounter with the sirens. He had his crew's ears stopped with wax and himself lashed to the mast of the ship in order to survive. No amount of pleading with the crew - who could not hear his cries - would allow them to release him. Yes, people IT can be that seductive.

Take a minute to contemplate how you've been responding to the sirens. Are your ears stopped? Are you lashed to the mast? or have they invaded and you are about to go under? Remember you can change your mind tape!

A Case of Mistaken Identity

You've probably heard a version of this fable:

After touring the barn and the orchard beyond, the two men started back toward the house when the ranger noticed the hen house and chicken coop built against the back of the barn. He couldn’t help but smile at the way several dozen baby chicks were scratching and pecking in the dirt right along with their mothers. There was also a rooster and a couple of half-grown turkeys. Just as he was about to look away and follow the farmer back toward the house, his eye caught the movement of a huge bird just emerging from the shadows alongside the chicken house. At first, the ranger mistook it for a full grown turkey due to its size, but then he all but gasped as he recognized what kind of bird he was looking at. It was a huge bald eagle, one of the biggest and most beautiful bald eagles he had ever seen in all his years in the mountains!

Seemingly oblivious to everything around him, the eagle was turning his majestic white head from side to side, peering at the ground, first with one eye and then with the other. Every now and then he would stop his awkward gait and scratch in the dirt like a giant chicken, even though his giant talons dug deep grooves in the earth instead of just scratching the surface like the hens around him.

“Wha . . . what? It’s an eagle!” he stuttered as the farmer chuckled at his shock.

“Yep. Found him in the mountains a couple of years ago, just a chick. Apparently his mother had been killed and the other chick died. We barely saved him, but he pulled through. We brought him home and put him in with the chickens and he’s been living with them ever since.”

The ranger watched in amazement as one of the hens got upset at the eagle for getting too close to her chicks and flew at him in defense. The giant bird ducked his head and ran awkwardly away from the hen.

“Do you keep his flight feathers clipped to keep him from flying away?” the ranger asked.

“Goodness, no,” answered the farmer. “No need to. He’s been with the chickens so long he doesn’t know he can get off the ground any farther than they can. Sometimes he’ll start to spread his wings and all the chickens get frightened and start making such a fuss that he tucks them right back in again. I think it scares him to have them react like that. We’ve never had to worry for a minute about him taking off.”

“But . . . but . . . what about his instincts, his ancestry, his heritage! He’s an eagle, not a chicken!” the ranger blurted.

Once again the farmer smiled as he started to turn away. “Well you know he’s an eagle and I know he’s an eagle, but the deal is . . . he doesn’t know he’s an eagle.”

Are you like this Eagle - you've been scratching with the chickens so long you've forgotten how to fly?

When you start to fly and the other chickens raise a fuss do you pull back your wings?

Do you really believe you are a chicken even when all the signs say you're not?

Have you even gone so far as to say I've always been this way, I'll die this way?

Eagles soar high above other birds. Therefore, eagles must be willing to fly alone.

Chickens, on the other hand, are content to scratch along the ground with other chickens.

Which will you be?

A Wise Yogi

A wise Yogi once said - It ain't like football. You can't make up no trick plays.

Of course I am speaking about the great Yogi Berra.

Yogi was also a talker behind the plate. He used to talk to the opposing batters in order to distract them. Hank Aaron tells the story about the 1958 World Series, with Yogi behind the plate. Yogi kept telling Aaron to 'hit with the label up on the bat'. Finally Aaron turned and said "Yogi, I came up here to hit, not to read."

Staying on plan ain't like playing football! You can't make up no trick plays! The game is played straight, no fakes, misdirections or "hotdogging". At times you may be blindsided, blitzed and even roughed up. You may even come up against someone trash talking you from behind the plate [or across the plate at the buffet], but like Hank, you aren't here to read [other than your Habits of Health book!] but to hit it out of the park.

Dr Seuss's Plan for Life

You've got brains in your head.
You've got feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

Dr. Seuss' classic book, Oh, The Places You'll Go!, is an incredible allegory* for our weight loss journey. Lets take a closer look at it to find out how we can use those principles to succeed.
*[A story that has a deeper or more general meaning in addition to its surface meaning. Thank You Dictionary.Com]

Dr Seuss' Plan for Life	Your Plan for Life
Brains in your head and feet in your shoes	5 & 1 Plan
I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.	Life gets in our way if we let it
Un-slumping yourself is not easily done	Immediately get back on 5 & 1! And remember that it will take about 3 days to get back into fat burn – so choose wisely!
You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”	Just say NO! It's YOUR plan – own it!
How much can you lose? How much can you win?	The choice really is yours
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind	Set your goal weight now and don't look back
Everyone is just waiting. No! That’s not for you!	You no longer are stuck. You have hope! Yes, you can turn your “inner” skinny self into your “outer” self
And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.	You will get scared. You will have to look yourself square in the facr and ask yourself, “Can I really do it this time?” The answer is YES, if you are a mind-maker-upper!
Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act.	You will always be making choices. Make sure your choice supports YOUR goal

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)

Kid, you’ll move mountains!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.

So…get on your way!

Diet Food vs REAL Food

If given a choice would you rather eat "diet" food or "real" food? I'm asked this questions a lot and it seems like the follow up comment is always, "I could never eat powdered food the rest of my life! I want to eat "REAL" food!". To which I just chuckle to myself and say to them - I understand.

What people don't realize is that majority of the "real" food they are consuming comes to the retailer in the form of powdered food. To give you an example - I was at Fudruckers for dinner (great place to get a good bison burger and salad btw) and noticed that you could buy their rolls pre-made or you could take home a bag of roll "mix" (aka powdered rolls). My son worked in the bakery of a large retail chain and all their "fresh" bread and rolls, cookies, brownies, croissants, etc. were made out of mixes (aka powder) re-hydrated, baked and sold as "fresh baked" to the end consumer. (Silly me - I had visions of those little baking elves carefully measuring out ingredients like I did at home!)

Magically it had become "real" food to the end consumer!

Our little foil packets come to us as "diet" food and magically we can produce "real" food!
It's amazing!!
What's really amazing is that these little foil packets can change your life!

So I thought we'd take a look at a day of "diet" vs "real" food at my house.

Today's Diet Food Menu

5- Foiled packets of Pancakes, Chocolate Pudding, Banana Pudding, Chocolate Shake, Brownie

Today's REAL Food Menu

Breakfast

Chocolate Chip Crepe with warm Syrup





Second Breakfast

Chocolate Frosty





Lunch

Tropical Punch Slurpee







Second Lunch

Chocolate Cookie "Ice Cream" Sandwich






Ap`eritif

Raspberry Limeade







Dinner

Beef Shish Kabab's with Grilled Romain and Green Beans





Snack

Banana Pudding with Chocolate Cookie

Gastronomic boredom leads to lots of unhealthy eating.
If you don't make improvisation and experimentation part of your eating life,
you are sure to find yourself in an eating rut.
It's as bad as a romantic rut - losing that spark - and just as likely to get you in trouble!
Mireille Guiliano
French Women Don't Get Fat

So, if you're still licking that shaker cup clean and feeling a little deprived, just scoop the pudding into a fancy glass bowl, get out the silver spoon, sit down at the table and enjoy REAL food!

BTW - I won't tell if you just mix up the brownies and eat the batter (:

The Incredible Shrinking Couple

The Incredible Shrinking Couple!
150 pounds lost!

Priceless

With fire alarms blaring at my mom's apartment complex, she
grabbed her favorite bathing suit and ran out.

"A bathing suit?" I said later. "Of all the priceless things
in that apartment, that's what you chose to save?"

"Material things come and go," she said with a shrug. But a
one-piece suit that doesn't make you look fat is impossible
to replace."
(Good Clean Fun)

Isn't that the truth! I know you guys out there are shaking your head but just think of it this way - it's like trying to find a really comfortable easy chair. One's too small, one doesn't have a "lounge" feature, one's too flowery and it's not leather or it's "pleahter".....you get the picture.

Finding a weight loss program that works and is easy to do is like finding that perfect swimsuit or lounge chair - truly priceless! Once you find it DON'T LET IT GO!! Hang on to it with all your might!

Life of Gaga

My gym uses some really upbeat and fun music in their workout areas and classes. We sweat away to pop divas like Beyonce with her "Single Ladies" and Lady Gaga's "Poker Face".

Ah, Lady Gaga what can you say about her.................
Words like creative, weird, original, outrageous and kooky come to mind.

But I think she's brilliant!

This is me on a normal day. I wake up in the morning and make my hair bow,
and I put my catsuit on,
and I call up everybody in the Haus of Gaga, and I say,
"How are we going to be brilliant today?"

Lady Gaga

So Wake UP!
Get your cat suit on,
make that hair bow (tutorial)
And be BRILLIANT today!!

Fillet of Elephant

The best way to eat the elephant standing in your path is to cut it up into little pieces

African Proverb

How do you drink like an Elephant? An African elephants drink as much as 50 gallons in a single day. They drink at least once a day and in the wild, though they live in a variety of habitats, from thick jungle to open savannas, they are never far from water.

If an Elephant can drink up to 50 gallons a day, how hard is it to drink our measly 64 oz. (1/2 gallon) of water each day? To me it's like trying to eat an Elephant! It's HUGE and I get very overwhelmed by the thought!

This is our Elephant - the 2 liter or 67 oz bottle - on the right
1 of these a day in addition to our shakes, soups and other meals with water
It's the big Elephant in the room and no one wants to talk about it!

To conquer my Elephant I've discovered my
"Fillet of Elephant"
That small, tender and juicy morsel -
the 8 oz water bottle - on the left

12 swallows and I'm done! 8 of those a day - easy peasy! I can enjoy fillet 8 times a day! And to make it even easier I freeze just a little water in them to make them cool and crisp each time I reach for one. To do that I lay them on their side in the freezer. The ice melts quickly and keep it "just right" as Goldilocks would say - oh, sorry for mixing my proverbs and my fairy tales.

Yes, that's a chocolate shake getting ready to be a "frosty" in a few hours

To spice up your fillet of Elephant, try sparkling water with a twist of lemon or lime. Perrier or my favorite San Pellegrino are wonderful served with dinner - it turns a Tuesday ho-hum into to a Tuesday hummy (humming+yummy)! Buy low or zero sodium seltzer or soda water and sugar free syrups like Torani or DiVinci brands. I fill a large glass half full with crushed ice, add a splash of sugar free raspberry syrup and fill with seltzer water and I think I'm in heaven!

No matter how you serve it
you really can
Eat [or in our case] Drink an Elephant!

Don't Put Your Finger In Your Eye!

Ouch!! I was working on a new Chili Relleno recipe so I cleaned some fresh chilies for dinner and didn't wear any gloves - gloves are for sissies! Later on I forgot and then rubbed my eye - DOH!!! What was I thinking??

Well, I was thinking that for a born and bred Arizona girl chilies are a way of life and we use them all the time. Sometimes we get a little slack in handling them.

Boy was it a wake up call! What I really learned was we can't be slacking in handling our lives. Especially in regards to our weight loss goals.

So my take away from this experience is - be aware of everything. Wear your "gloves" when you handle something toxic - like a party, family gathering or dinner out.

You may save your eye!!