Weigh in - Week 25

Last week's weight: 296.0 (this was the actual weight even though I reported 299.6 - taken 2 days prior to weigh in day)
This week's weight: 296.0

No loss, no gain this week

33.4 pounds lost since June 2010

The scale held steady over Thanksgivning and the weekend that followed. Honestly, I dodged the bullet on this one. Here I confess my overeating sins.

Friday night I had about 400 calories of pie and ice cream, when I said I would not have pie other than ON Thanksgiving. There was just so. much. pie.

Saturday after my long walk, I ate about 2000 calories over my normal daily goal. It was boredom eating. I spent the afternoon watching movies and for some reason all those chips, ice cream, snack cakes and tater tots kept calling my name. This was the first time I binged in many, many months.

Yesterday, my mom and I went to lunch before I left town. The place we dined had delicious homemade pasta, so of course I got the cajun seafood pasta with CREAM sauce. The portion was larger than my head. Thankfully, I am getting better at saying "when" at the point I get full so I only ate about 1/4 of it and I left the leftovers with my mom. I hope she enjoys them, because that pasta was darn good!

So, I can't say I have overcame the triggers of family and home, but I am working on it. I feel like I keep falling off a horse and every time I fail it is more painful. I have a plan turning in my head for my Christmas trip home.

I hope you all had a satisfying, wonderful Thanksgiving!

7 mile half-marathon training walk

It was a bit warmer than yesterday's 27-degree walk and the sun was shining bright. I decided to do my long, 7-mile training walk on the Katy Trail - a 255 mile bike path that spans across most of Missouri, which I am lucky enough to have access to a trail head a few miles from my childhood home.

It was a brisk 37 degrees when I set out, but without a cloud in the sky, the sun was very warming. I was able to keep my pace at 17:30 for the entire 7 miles, finishing at just around 2 hours.

You can access this bridge on foot or bike - which is part of a highway bypass - to cross the Missouri River and connect to another greenway in the area.

A shot of the Missouri River, which a majority of the 255 mile trail follows.

I enjoy walking on this trail. It is secluded from traffic, but backs up to many neighborhoods so there is something to look at and has great river views. I think another reason why I enjoy being out on this trail is because I hope to do a cross-state bike journey on it at some point in my life. Maybe I need to ask Santa Claus for a bike?

My other new favorite thing is My Tracks - an app for Android that records activity with GPS technology. I was able to set 15 minute notifications so I never had to pull out my device and see how long I had walked. I effortlessly did 7.02 miles in 2:01:44 or approximately a 17:30 pace.

My walk from yesterday (I dated it wrong) and today are below.

View 11/25 in a larger map


View 11/27 in a larger map

Post-Thanksgiving report: Two Thanksgiving dinners?

It wasn't perfection, but I was in control and I made my food choices with the knowledge of what I was consuming. If I went back and changed anything, it would be not having the small snacks I had before dinner was served. that added about 400 calories to my day, but overall not bad.

I ate around 2,300 calories yesterday. My normal daily goal is 1,900. However, I ate my favorite Thanksgiving items (in limited quantities) and was very satisfied. I even had a small slice of my uncles' infamous Bourbon chocolate pecan pie.

I come from a family of divorced parents. I often have to split time on holidays between my dad's side of the family and my mom's side. This year was no different. I made the decision to eat Thanksgiving dinner at my aunts house on my dad's side. Afterward, I joined my aunts, uncles and cousins at my mom's house where they had not eaten dinner. I was full from my dinner a few hours prior and faced with another Thanksgiving dinner. I am happy to report that I staved off a 2nd Thanksgiving dinner and sat outside of the dining area while they ate dinner. This may seem weird, but my health is more important. I enjoyed the time visiting with my family before and after the meal, and ate dessert with them.

My Thanksgiving victories:
- No seconds at dinner
- I did not eat a 2nd dinner at my mom's house (normally I would have had another plate)
- I did not eat so many pre-dinner appetizers I wasn't hungry for dinner
- I only ate one kind of pie, and it was a small piece. (normally I would have tried every kind of dessert - pumpkin, pecan, coconut cream and apple pies)

Today, I took a brisk 3.16 mile walk in the 27 degree icy cold of Missouri and tomorrow I plan to do 7 miles. It feels good to get all of my walks in even though I am out of town visiting family - one of my worst binge and unhealthy food eating triggers - a REALLY great feeling.

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving too - I can't wait to weigh in Monday morning!

Rain, rain go away

This morning I woke up at 6:30 (on my first day of Thanksgiving vacation) to pouring down rain.

UGH!

My plan was to head to a trail not far from my mom's house to walk my 3 miles. At 6:35 my thought turned to, "No way, Jose!"

I know all the "real athletes" out there would say that if you're training for a race, then you should train in any weather. My roommate, for example, trains in rain, sleet, snow. Freezing or hot as hell. Well, I'm not that hardcore. So, I headed to my hometown's rec center.

When it comes down to it, it was between walking indoors or waiting for the weather to clear enough to walk outside with the chance of not walking at all. I decided the former was a better option.

So after paying $7 to be admitted, at 7 am I was here:


It was a pretty uninteresting walk, but I completed my 3 miles in 53 minutes, so that is what is important. I'm not sure what will happen with my participation in the 5K in the morning. The weather forecast does not look good for 7 am. My only hope is that the rain holds off - I can deal with the cold with layers.

What are you all doing this day before Thanksgiving? I've set tables, made two pies - Caramel Apple and traditional pumpkin and plan to have dinner with friends tonight. I can't wait to have a piece of one of those pies tomorrow!

If I was making Thanksgiving dinner...

On my mom's side of the family, creamed corn is a veggie. In my book, corn isn't even a veggie. To say my changes in thought over the last several months differs from my family's thinking about nutrition is an understatement.

I am going to my aunts house (on my dad's side) for Thanksgiving dinner, she does the cooking and doesn't let me bring anything. Which is fine, I only say that to paint the picture of how not in control of what is being served I will be this Thanksgiving.

My plan is simple: Walk 3 miles in the morning, have a light breakfast/lunch and watch my portions at dinner. Also, I don't have to feel like I need to eat every side that is served. I'll eat 2-3 that I really want (including as many green veggies that are served). I will also allow myself one piece of pie without guilt (it may even be pecan).

However I've given a lot of thought to what recipes I would substitute if I was cooking Thanksgiving dinner. My arsenal would include:

Creamy turnip-potato puree - 61 cals for 1/2 cup





Amy's green bean casserole - (omit the rice) approx. 75 cals for 1/2 cup

Homemade whole cranberry sauce - (with some substitutions) 95 cals for 1/10

Baked sweet potatoes with honey and cinnamon - 90 cals for 1/2 cup

Roasted vegetables w/olive oil (carrots, Brussel sprouts, broccoli) - 50 cals for 1 cup

Mushroom gravy - calories unknown

And, of course Turkey - 120 cals for 4 oz

For a grand total of 491 calories - and honestly it is a HUGE meal, so using this menu you really could eat smaller portions of the carbs and still be very satisfied.

Part 2 - under 300 milestone: what I've learned and new goals

Always believe the scale - I weighed in this morning on my own scale and it did show, in fact, that I was at 296 - exactly what the "foreign" scale showed Sunday morning. So, always believe the scale whether you want to or not.

I also took my measurements today and here is the change since June:

Hips: -8.5
Waist: -4.5
Arm: -4
Thigh: -2
Neck: -2

Total inches lost: -21

The last 6 months have truly been a turning point in my life. I feel more in control of my eating and cravings than I ever have before. My binge eating episodes have been slim to none and I've learned how to enjoy food in smaller portions without completely cutting out things I love (read: cupcakes)

Things I've learned that have made all the difference:

1. Measuring my food to a T and learning what typical measurements look like without effort.

2. With that, logging EVERY. SINGLE. BITE. of food I consume. I have done this daily for over 3 months. Funny, how my most successful time in the last 6 months were the last 3 months. Correlation? I 150% think so. When you log your food (truthfully), you learn A) what the calorie counts are on your everyday foods so you can plan better and B) learn what foods have outrageous calorie counts that you can leave behind.

3. Stop and enjoy your food! I am a fast eater. Always have been, always will be. I still have a ton of work to do on slowing down my pace at the table. But when I think about actually slowing down I ENJOY my food more. I TASTE the food and end up more satisfied. When I used to read this tip in articles or books, I huffed at the idea - but spend a week really "enjoying" your food and you will see what I am talking about!

4. A little in moderation, is OK. I don't need to ban ANYTHING I love from my diet. If I plan to have a cupcake, then I build it into my daily calorie total. I never feel deprived and I believe this may be key in cutting down on my binges.

Now what?

The question I get a lot is, "What weight do you want to be at, what is your ultimate goal weight?" And my answer simply is I don't have one. Maybe it's because I am scared of committing to a number and then not getting there. But it's also because I didn't turn to a healthier lifestyle over 2 years ago because I wanted to be a certain weight. I just wanted to be healthier and live a more fulfilling life. I experienced my little brother's death (not health related) and my dad's heart attack. I had chronic back pain (still do) and every morning felt like an 80 year old woman getting out of bed. At some point I knew my body would start to give out even more, and I didn't want it to be when I was 30. I never set out to "be skinny." Some days I think I'd be happy at 250, other days I want to aim for the sky and be under 200. The bottom line is I want to be fit. I want to be healthy. And I never want my weight to hold me back. So I'm not sure what that number is, but I think I'll know when I get there.

New goals

In addition to continuing what I have been doing already (improving my relationship with food, logging my calories and following Carb Lover's) I plan to:

- Lose 50 lbs by July 1st (I know this seems like a random goal, but I'll have more explanation soon)

- Finish the Mercedes half-marathon in February.

- Work to fill my diet with at least 7 servings of fruits and veggies daily.

Goal achieved - 30 lbs down and under 300!!

299.6!!!!!

I am OFFICIALLY under the 300 lb mark. I will NEVER see a "3" as the first number on the scale AGAIN! EVER.

Last week's weight: 301.2
This week's weight: 299.6

Total LOST this week: 1.6 lbs

29.8 pounds lost since June 2010

My weigh in is a little less than scientific this week, as I was out of town this weekend. I used a different scale this morning and it weighed me as 296. That seems a *little* optimistic to me, so I weighed myself after dinner tonight and I was at 299.6. So I'm officially weighing in at that number, knowing the number should be a little lower in the morning.

I've been thinking about this post for weeks now. How will I feel? What will I want to say?

In all honesty, this is just the first milestone of what I hope to be a handful more, so while I am ECSTATIC to be at this milestone, I know I have a lot more fight left in me. When I started this blog, I wanted to start simple with a goal I knew I could attain with a little bit of diligence and hard work. Now, here I am - 30 lbs lighter and UNDER 300!

If you remember my first post, my two goals were to:

- Lose 30 pounds by the end of 2010

- Run my first 5K by the end of 2010

Unfortunately, I folded my second goal after having some back issues 4 weeks into training to run the 5K. And while my running dreams are on hold, I'm walking 13-16 miles a week; training to walk my 2nd half-marathon in February. Out with one fitness goal and in with another! And I attained my weight loss goal 40 days ahead of my deadline.

Rewarding a goal achieved
My first choice of reward was to rent a bike from the new Nashville Bike Share program. They just started this program this year where you can rent a bike - for free - at two locations in Nashville - one downtown at the Riverfront and one at a bike trail.

Unfortunately, I found out 2 weeks ago the program is seasonal and closed last Saturday. I was crushed since I was REALLY looking forward to getting on a bike after all these years. So instead, I will be treating myself to my first ever facial courtesy of Groupon.

Part 2 coming soon
I've learned a lot these past 6 months and I am already brewing up my next weight loss goal. Should it be more challenging? Should I stick with what is working? I will share more of what I've learned about weight loss and myself, along with my next plan of attack, tomorrow.

Scale surprise and eating for training

This morning there was a very special surprise on the scale. I hope it sticks around for Sunday, which means I would officially have complete goals (lose 30 lbs and be under 300) before Thanksgiving and 6 weeks before my deadline. This will definitely help me stay on track as I finish my work week and travel out of town Saturday.

I have a lot to post about - new clothes (2 sizes down), my goal reward, setting my next goal - I just haven't had the time.

Half-marathon training
Monday I didn't finish my training walk. I went to the gym during a peak time (right after work), which meant I could only be on the treadmill for 30 minutes - I got in 1.9 miles in 32 minutes, which is a 16:40 pace, but the schedule had 2.5 miles. So I have put $5 in "the jar."

Yesterday I went later in the evening and was able to do my 3 miles. I'd love to find another option for walking indoors, I just can't afford a gym membership right now. I will attempt to get up and do my walk before work on Thursday. Hopefully it is light enough.

Carb Lovers kickstart - Round 2
I admittedly realized last night I haven't been following the kickstart menu plans at all. I've been eating "Carb Lover's friendly," but out of the 3 days I've been "following" it, I've only really restricted my calories 1 day. I really will try to do better for the next 4 days, but I've just been really hungry since my 6 mile walk on Saturday, and I refuse to leave myself starving.

Anyone out there that exercises A LOT - I'm talking burning 2,000-3,000 calories a week - have any tips about how to nourish yourself so you aren't hungry, but you are also not consuming a lot of calories?

Hold the stuffing

Every year my company hosts a 'Hold the Stuffing' challenge for their employees to maintain their weight during the holidays. Basically you weigh in before Thanksgiving and then again after the New Year and if you don't gain more than 2 lbs you are entered to win a prize.

2 years ago I gained 2.5 lbs

Last year I didn't participate (i.e. I probably gained 10 lbs during the holidays)

This year my goal is to maintain (or lose). So I weighed in today. And I will weigh in again the second week of January.

I've been working on my "Holiday Plan" for weeks now. I've made several "guidelines." A few are:

- No consumption of any baked goods brought in by co-workers (so far, we've had pie, cake, muffins, bagels and pastries)
- Allow myself 1 piece of dessert ON the day of the holiday and not the days before or after

I'm still deciding how to tackle Thanksgiving Dinner, as I will not have control of what is being prepared. Portions will be key.

Of course, when I talked to my mom tonight and asked her where she wanted me to eat Thanksgiving dinner (her family, or my dad's) she goes, "oh just eat a little at both."

I just can't win.

Kickstart Round 2 - Day 1

Day One
I didn't do well on day 1. Insomnia left me awake at 5 am, and I had my breakfast by 6. I also indulged in a soy latte from Starbucks.

I was hungry every couple of hours (I'm attributing that to my 6 mile walk on Saturday), so I had several snacks. Plans to go watch football with friends had me drinking half a diet coke (damn you diet coke!) and then dinner out with friends at a Chinese buffet ended it all.

I was at 1,500 calories (my goal) before dinner. At dinner, I ate items that were not breaded and fried - no egg rolls, crab ragoon, fried rice or lo mein. I did have a few bites of rice noodles with my hibachi. So, what I ate was mostly meat and veggies. I had about a reasonable sized a plate and a half of food - somewhere around 600-700 calories is my guess but there's no way of knowing. The scale was unwaivered this morning so my calorie intake couldn't have been too off par.

Day 2 of Round 2 kickstart is looking up.

Missed walk this morning
It is cloudy and foggy in Nashville today, which means at 6 am this morning it was almost still completely dark out. Which also means I didn't walk because I'm not down for walking in the dark.

I have plans after work with a friend (for a manicure and pedicure), which means I will leave work at 4:30, go walk indoors, then meet up with her. If I don't make it tonight I'll be walking Tues, Wed, Thurs - not ideal.

This balancing act is what I remember disliking the most from the last half-marathon training. 5-8 hours a week of working out is just a lot in my book and usually something (friends, relaxation, a clean house) has to go by the wayside. Anyone have tips for time management?

Carb Lovers Kickstart - Round 2

Today I am starting another week of Carb Lover's Kickstart. There are four of us on Twitter doing it together (But I think I started a day early). The biggest thing for me I think is sticking to the 1500 calories.

Things I will do differently:

- Have the green tea drink
- Make sure I eat 1500 calories so I do not feel tired or lack energy (last time I was coming in around 1200-1400 and while I was not hungry, it caught up with me after a few days
- Eat an extra snack on the days I walk 3 or more miles
-I'm not going to stick to the meal plans exactly (not recommended for first time Kickstarters), but I am using them as a guide

Tips I picked up from the first time I did Kickstart

- Drink plenty of water - at least 64 oz a day

- Exercise 4 times a week

- No soda or other artificial sweeteners
- Stay away from sugar and sweets completely - you can stay away from dessert for a week! (Sub in fruit and Greek yogurt if you need to)

My hope is this will kickstart my metabolism right to get through Thanksgiving and get me under 300 pounds (only a little over a pound to go!).

In the case of full disclosure, I've already had a soy latte this morning. My insomnia had me awake at 5 am and I headed to the grocery story at 7 and a soy latte just sounded perfect. So I did it. Not the best start to a week of strict commitment.

I am also getting together with some friends today while they watch the football game. I plan to eat before we go and I will have unsweet iced tea while we're there. We may go out for dinner afterward, so I will try to have a lower cal lunch.

Right now, I'm going to have a banana strawberry shake (frozen bananas, strawberries and milk) for a snack - I ate breakfast at 6, so I'm already hungry!

Have a great Sunday!

Weigh in - Week 23

Last week's weight: 301.6
This week's weight: 301.2

Total LOST this week: 0.4 lbs

30.6 pounds lost since June 2010

I'm honestly ecstatic that there was any downward movement on the scale at all. I was expecting a small gain or just an even week. Honestly I know my extra water aerobics session and 6 mile walked helped. Also sticking to my guns on calorie consumption helped even me out from last weekend. After doing Carb Lover's Kickstart this week, I expect I'll be at my goal of under 300 lbs next Sunday. I'm already building my next goal.

Carb Lover's kickstart post coming up!

Uncooperative restaurant and 6 mile walk

That's the approximate route I took on my walk today - approximately 6.18 miles according to MapMyRun.com. Honestly, it wasn't a bad walk (I've had worse). My time was 1:57:25, which is about a 19 minute pace. I'm happy with that for now since the last long walk I did was 4 miles three weeks ago. I know I'll need to get my time to 18:30 per mile eventually.

Two things I remembered about half-marathon training:
- You get freaking HUNGRY after your walk - I wanted to eat everything in sight (and I nearly did)
- My FEET hurt

Eating out at restaurants
This morning I shared the joy of a friend's pregnancy and unborn child at her baby shower. It was a wonderful celebration at a local restaurant, with a meal served buffet style.

I filled my plate with fresh fruits and cooked zucchini, squash and carrots and headed to the omelet station - passing up all the tasty looking fried chicken, pork, waffles, biscuits and gravy.

My first clue of impending trouble should have been when the omelet cook paused when I asked about egg whites and gave me a condescending reply yes. Then I asked for him to go light on butter and oil. A couple tablespoons of oil and a teaspoon of butter later (note: not light in the least) my veggie omelet was frying like the eggs I used to wake up to on Sunday mornings as a child.

The cook left my omelet there frying and stepped away for a few minutes. When he returned, I asked him if he would make another another egg white omelet with no butter or oil. He said he couldn't and when I protested, he laughed at me and rolled his eyes. At that point I gave up on eggs. After realizing there wasn't much for me to eat otherwise, I went to the manager asking if the the kitchen could make something for me. He wasn't helpful at all and told me they had to use oil to prevent it from sticking - saying this as he walked over to the omelet cook, not the chef in the kitchen. At this point, I wasn't going to eat anything anyone cooked me because the way they were acting (like it was a huge inconvenience) - who knows what they would have put in my food - bodily fluids or otherwise.

I didn't want to be a bother, I was a guest at a baby shower after all, and the focus wasn't on the meal, it was supposed to be on celebrating my friend and her child. So I mainly ate some fruit, veggies, and potatoes. Has anyone had trouble with a restaurant not being accommodating at all? What did you do? Is there anything I could have done differently?

Tomorrow I will begin the Carb Lover's Kickstart week again. I'm working on a post about that with some tips I jotted down about last time I did Kickstart and some things I'm going to do differently.

I'm back bitches

Last night I got on a treadmill for the first time since I failed at my couch to 5K training over the summer. I am very grateful that we have a free employee gym with treadmills, ellipticals, weights, classes and all the other usual suspects found at a gym. However, it's not a very "fun" place to work out - I am really hating the end of daylight savings for that reason.

Anyway.

I got my ass on the treadmill and crushed that sucker for 3 miles, with a pace of around 18:20. And no pain from my ankle, so I guess I'm back in full swing. I'm actually going to head to water aerobics after work today to get in an extra work out since I haven't really been working out the last two weeks (but I've managed to lose 7.4 pounds, imagine that).

Tomorrow I'll do my 6 miles, as long as my ankle holds out. I'm sort of scared about the pain this will cause because the highest milage I've done was 4 miles three weeks ago.

With a baby shower Saturday and a gathering with friends Sunday, my goal is to just stay within my calorie range and make reasonable choices. After last weekend, I have to do this to maintain (or just gain less). Sunday's weigh in will be interesting for sure.

Happy Friday y'all!

This dark at 4:30 thing is not working for me

The end of daylight savings time is kicking my ass. Anyone else in the same boat? It's only 7:15 and I could crawl into bed right now. Yesterday I headed to the employee gym to test out my ankle for a 3 mile walk. It was getting dark and once I got over there I realized there were no parking spaces because all of the lots were closed due to the basketball game. At that moment I had a choice to make, deal with it and seek out a parking space on the street a few blocks over or go home. I choose the latter.

This is a perfect example of how you always have a choice and making a series of healthy choices more times than the unhealthy choices will lead to being successful in building a healthy lifestyle (and hopefully in my case, weight loss).

Because of that choice, I got up at 6 am today and walked before work. Never in my life have I been able to exercise before work. I'm just not a morning person and the thought of getting up a couple hours early makes me want to puke. In this case the time change has affected me to my benefit.

My walk was pretty good. I only got in 2 miles before 1) my ankle started throbbing and 2) I ran out of time before I had to head home and get ready for work. I may try to do morning walks at least until it is too dark.

Training is going a bit slow at the moment, I've missed 2 longer walks because of my ankle and I'm not sure I'll be able to do the 6 miles on the schedule today. I'm just taking it as it comes and listening to my body when I go out to walk. This approach seems to be working, but I don't want to fall too far behind.

Weekend
My scale showed a gain this morning. Hopefully being back on my eating plan and exercising even a slight bit will shake it out. I admit though, I did not count calories at all Sat - Mon. I ate what I wanted and drank plenty of alcohol. My family is a trigger I need to work to overcome. I intend to dive into this issue head on during the holidays. I'll be blogging more about the weekend and some "Ah-ha" moments I had when I comes to family and my relationship to food.

Carb Lover's Kickstart - take 2
I plan to do another week of Carb Lover's kickstart beginning Monday. Stephen and a couple lovely ladies I am following on Twitter (@marleneglaser and @onnalark) will join me and start their Carb Lovers journeys. If you've been thinking about trying Carb Lover's, please take the plunge and join us. It helps to have support. Email me at emilysbiglife [at] gmail [dot] com.

Early morning walk

I woke up at 6:15 this morning. That's earlier than I wake up even for work.....and I'm off today. Figures right?

My stomach is upset and that had to do with my early wake up call. I decided to take advantage of the lack of sleep and my time off and took a quick jaunt around the neighborhood in the brisk 35 degree. It was actually felt great.

My stomach is still upset, and I am staying far, far, far away from fried foods. I just haven't consumed that large of an amount of junk in awhile and I think my body has actually changed! Despite the stomach ache it feels great that my body CRAVES healthy food now.

Last day to spend with mom and I will be going back to my healthy eating with my banana-strawberry shake (and coffee)!

Weigh in - Week 22

Last week's weight - 303.6
This week's weight - 301.6

Total LOST this week - 2 pounds

30.2 pounds lost since June 2010

Disclaimer: I weighed in yesterday knowing that last night I would be enjoying myself at the Beer, Bourbon and BBQ fest. And enjoy I did.

This week's weigh in DOES put me at my GOAL of losing 30 lbs by December 31st! 54 days before my deadline, by the way. However, I am still not under 300 pounds because of a few gains I had. I have something in mind to celebrate my first goal, but I will talk more about that and actually do it once I get to the under 300 mark. I expect that to be before Thanksgiving!

My mom is in town for the next two days, but I think I'll have some good blog topics next week - there was an interesting observation about the relationship with food between me and my mom and it definitely got my thinking. I can't wait to dive into it.

I haven't walked in over a week because of my ankle. I plan to do my first walk post-second sprain on Tuesday. My training schedule puts the walk at 3 miles, but honestly I'm only going to do that distance as long as is no pain during it.

Hope you all enjoyed your extra hour of sleep! I'm waiting for my mom to wake up so we can go to brunch. YUM!

Fast Food Wars

I know we've all seen headlines like this: "McDonald's Happy Meal has no mold after 6 months sitting in woman's apartment"

Yeah, yeah, I usually read the article, view the pictures and shrug.

Well, here's the latest video in this "OMG, fast food is so bad for you" saga:



I want to know, does this make you not every want to eat McDonald's - or other fast food again?

This ain't your mama's fried chicken

Last night I made my first attempt at cooking collard greens. We got a bunch in our final CSA share last week. After the turnip green disaster, I proceeded cautiously and followed a recipe this time.

I used Amateur Gourmet's rendition of a Lee Bro's recipe. And they turned out great!

Given my big ol' pot of collards, I was craving some fried chicken to go with them. I was on my way to the grocery store and even reasoned, "Well, I'll just get ONE piece to take home from the deli."

But I didn't. Nope, I was a good little Carb Lover's (and calorie counting) girl and came home from the grocery store and dredged some chicken breasts in a mixture of corn flakes, salt and pepper and baked them in the oven.

Oh - my - goodness! It was SO good and the extra pepper I put in the breading mixture made it *almost* like my mom's homemade fried chicken I haven't had in probably 5 or 6 years.

I will be making this again and again! I also think I'll try Amateur Gourmet's collard soup idea with my leftovers.

Moldy banana bread, Halloween treats and ankle report

Well mold on banana bread is one way to prevent me from eating it when I am already full. I think this is the ONLY time any portion of a loaf of banana bread made it to the trash in my house.

NSV perhaps?

Someone at work brought in their excess Halloween candy *shakes fist* It wasn't even anything Carb Lover's friendly like Reese's or Hershey's dark chocolate. Also, did you know that fun size Almond Joys are 82 calories?

I don't really have anything to say, ankle hurts less today. I'll try to do a short walk probably Wednesday.