Don't step on it..It makes you cry!

I wish I had this warning when I was younger!  Oh that scale!

I never had a weight problem when I was younger but after going through menopause I packed on about 20 pounds and then again packed on more after I stopped smoking.  Well, the good part to that is I’m rid of the nasty addiction even though I still need that fake cigarette in my hand to do that hand to mouth thing!  Hey, it works for me!

Now, to deal with getting these pounds off!  At first, the extra pounds were a cosmetic concern for me but now as I'm getting much older, I’m terrified of the increase risks and a host of health problems, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer.

From my own experience, the hardest obstacle to overcome when incorporating any diet is to give up eating bread!  Since grain bread is very high in carbs (about 20 g per slice), it is impossible for me to try and lose weight if I continue to eat bread.

 

A friend of mine just lost a lot of weight and I asked her what her secret was and she said “Cutting Calories” is usually a lot easier than you might think.  Her advice was to cut 500 of calories per day from your diet. For example, that daily tall latte in the morning may pack 500 calories. Since a pound of flab (lost or gained) is roughly equivalent to 3,500 calories, replacing that rich beverage with black coffee can help you lose a pound a week.

 

Other easy cuts include salad dressing (salad dressing is the number one source of fat in the average American woman's diet)  soda pop,  ice cream,  candy, and  butter.  You don't need to cut these things out entirely, but if you reduce your intake of high-fat, high-calorie foods you'll  lose weight faster. She said to also stop using olive oil when sautéing….use Pam instead.  Reducing 500 calories per day from the calories you eat to maintain your weight can help you lose a pound of fat per week.  I did notice a cut in calories by purchasing the squirt dressing instead of pouring dressing over your salad.

My friend obtained all this useful information from a Diet Program that she joined and paid a lot of money for this information and diet program.  Thank goodness my shorthand came in handy jotting down all these notes.  My friend lost 40 pounds in a short length of time.  She told me if I handle this calorie problem with the same vigor I did with “stop smoking”…..she said it will be a “piece of cake”…..no pun intended!  LOL

I do have to learn “Portion Control”.  She told me to never to supersize your food portions -- unless you want to supersize your clothes.  Damn, I have already jumped two dress sizes and I’m totally depressed over it.

My biggest problem is eating breakfast.  Normally, just coffee is enough for me unless I’m joining a group of people, then I will have something to eat.  I guess all those years of hitting the snooze button to my alarm clock too many times never allowed me to have time to eat breakfast.  They say if you eat a big breakfast it helps you eat fewer total calories throughout the day.

She told me of a few tricks that I have noticed her doing while we gals are out having dinner together. 

Eating out? Halve it, and bag the rest. A typical restaurant entree has 1,000 to 2,000 calories, not even counting the bread, appetizer, beverage and dessert.  She will request a take home container before the food even arrives to the table.  She cuts the meal in half and saves it for the following day for lunch. 

 

 

Well, with my nocturnal eating while sleepwalking…that may not work for me.  Cutting the meal in half would not be a problem, it is putting it in my refrigerator for the next day would be a challenge!  LOL

She also said they were taught to plate their food instead of eating out of a jar or a bag.  This must be a visual thing I guess.

We all know to switch from whole milk to 1 percent. If you drink one 8-oz glass a day, you'll lose 5 lbs in a year.  Juice has as many calories, ounce for ounce, as soda. Set a limit of one 8-oz glass of fruit juice a day.  She said she dilutes her juice with water.

She also said they all had to keep a food journal. It really works wonders.  That I knew already, I use a great online site that my daughter introduced to me called Sparkpeople.  I keep track of everything I eat and also what exercise I have done during the day.  It truly helps me.  You must jot down every morsel of food you intake…………the total amount of calories will shock you.

 

http://sparkpeople.com/myspark/loginpage.asp?whereFrom=nutrition.asp

 

Click on the above site and join….it is free.  Yes, you need a username and password………..people panic when they have to take a few more extra steps online to join a free program!

I have been using Mustard instead of Mayo and believe it or not….I like it.  I have been eating more soup….being Italian, mine is homemade of course, just stay way from the creamy ones.

One girlfriend of mine lost 30 pounds by just stop drinking sodas… and she was drinking diet drinks!  Amazing.

Limit alcohol to weekends.  Now, this one I may have a struggle with.  I love my wine with my dinners and that is every night!!!!!!!

 

I just got on my scale!  The doctor told me that if I just lost 20 pounds alone, my cholesterol will go down drastically and will also help my blood pressure.

 

Since my friend shared these great tips with me, I decided to pass it along to you......my dear Internet Friends.  If you have some other great tips...please let me know.  I wish I had all this knowledge 20-30 years ago!

 

Well, I’m going to try harder, how about you?

Tags: BlogPlugs, AOL Journal

The Briefcase People!

Walk along any beach during the summer vacation season and you’ll see them - the Briefcase People! They are all huddled in the dunes at the beach or under umbrellas to protect them from the hot sun; they sit with a Blackberry in one hand, cell phone in the other and a computer on their lap. They think they are on vacation, but actually.......they’ve simply moved their office outside with a better view. They are everywhere!

Stop for lunch anywhere...Panera Bread for example..........and there they are......the Briefcase People.....all confined in a special location of the restaurant retrieving the free WIFI. These people need a REAL vacation.

If you are part of this growing group of working vacationers, beware. Combining beach sand and local restaurants with your Blackberry can be hazardous to your health. Instead of using your vacation to release tension and reduce stress, you’re heading for burnout trying to combine both.

Working while on vacation doesn't go unnoticed at leisurely locales like the Boca Raton Beach and Resort Club. I laugh when I see makeshift desks made out of towels by the pool, day planners opened while munching on a sandwich and cell phones ringing every five minutes. Oh those damn cell phones! I admit, I love mine and appreciate that I have it with me at all times in case of an emergency but these people have them glued to their ear and so annoying to hear everyone's ringtones going off constantly when you are trying to relax and enjoy your quiet time or a nice dinner at a restaurant. Why can't people give it a rest and become unglued from that cell phone? We lived so many years without one!

Take that very much needed vacation. It is also very important to have the perfect travel bag along on the perfect vacation, whether those travel bags be luggage, briefcases, handbags, or backpacks. And, if you really can't take time off of work for a real vacation......then this custom designed briefcase is perfect for you.....

With the help of my membership to a special graphic site with so many talented ladies, this masterpiece was created? I'm retired now.........so everyday is a vacation day for me. I wish I owned one of these during the days I carried a briefcase to work everyday for many, many years and especially during the cold winter months in New England during a Nor’easter! LOL

Prince Charming!

Could Cinderella have been happy if she had never met Prince Charming?  Hmmm!  I wonder????

All fairytale princesses found happiness with a "Prince Charming".  Think about all your love stories and phrases like the classic Jerry Maguire "you complete me"!  I have the Jerry Maguire DVD and have viewed the movie a couple of times....and the words "you complete me" rented space in my head ever since.

With so many online dating services and TV's reality shows about the bachelor/bachelorette, we are always tuned in thinking about dating, marriage and mating!

Since I have been on a few sides of the track.......I experienced being single, married, divorced, remarried and now widowed and single again in my 60's.  I found that society is always questioning dating methods, being single, being a couple.... or having a sole mate or being a single parent and finding a sense of family or dealing with sexuality. 

Yet many people trade in their partner for whatever romance lies behind door number three — usually someone with exactly the same inner workings as the person they left behind, different packaging on the outside but same emotional map within. I have to believe life would be easier, cheaper and happier if we could make it work in round one.

When Tom Cruise uttered those memorable words to Renee Zellweger in “Jerry Maguire,” he summed up all the romantic dreams so many of us have for love. We all want that perfect person who completes us, that amazing individual who understands us,  whose mere presence makes us feel like we are on top of the world!  But how many of us find our "Prince Charming" in round one?

I think happy single men and women no matter their age have made a home that nurtures, most have satisfying jobs, financially secured, satisfaction with sexuality, have a connection with the next generation, a close network of friends and a sense of conformity with their lives.

Most families today are nontraditional families and nontraditional living environments can be just as fulfilling as traditional ones.

We ladies always had dreams of our "Prince Charming" because we read too many fairytales and saw too many Walt Disney flicks between Cinderella and Snow White.  While many of us ladies still like a good fairytale that begin with "Once upon a time", most of us are well aware of the realities of relationships and choose to make our own "happily ever afters".

The Prince Charming title has often been applied to male characters or to real men who seem to possess all the qualities that would make women fall in love with them.  However, in the modern world of today, many women would claim they do not need a "Prince Charming" and don't need to be "rescued."  Many feminist critics believe that the "Prince Charming" ideal is unrealistic and reverts many women to "damsels in distress" who need to be rescued.

Love is love and it is wonderful!  And, it hurts when you lose your loved one, so whether you want to call your love, Prince Charming or Cinderella...........just enjoy your life and the people you love every day.  Life is short and precious so make good use of it.

I have had a few glass slippers in my day!  I personally liked feeling like "Cinderella" and I loved couplehood.  My acceptance of singlehood is only by default.

Til this day, when I'm out at night.......I don't want to go home until the clock strikes Cinderella time!   LOL

Life isn't always a shoe full of cherries! (For you, it's a bowl, for me, it's shoes)!

"People love others not for who they are but for how they make them feel" 
                                               ~ Irwin Federman~

Forgiving!

Forgiving is not the same as Forgetting! The act that hurt you may always remain a part of your life. But forgiveness can lessen its tight grip on you and help you focus on other positive parts of your life instead of dwelling on the negative.

Forgiveness also doesn't mean that you deny the other person's responsibility for hurting you, and it doesn't minimize or justify the wrong. You can forgive the person without excusing the act.

Just about everyone has been hurt by the actions or words of another. Perhaps your friend gossiped about you or your mother or father criticized you or your spouse or significant other cheated on you or your boss is a relentless cruel person. The pain leaves with you with lasting feelings of anger, bitterness and then by your own choosing…………you become unforgiving.

If you don't practice forgiveness, you may be the one who pays the price most dearly. I recall the priest saying those exact words during a sermon one Sunday. I also read an article on the topic of forgiving written by a doctor of the Mayo Clinic. I read a lot of medical articles when I was working in the medical field for several years. A lot of information remained in my memory bank. And, if you think about it…..it is all common sense. You don’t need a doctor or a priest to preach this to you.

The people most likely to hurt us are those closest to us. When we're hurt by someone we love and trust — whether it's a lie, betrayal, rejection, abuse or insult — it can be extremely difficult to forget. And even minor offenses can turn into huge conflicts.

I realized that forgiveness begins with your decision to forgive, but because memories oranother set of words or actions may trigger old feelings, I find I need to recommit to forgiveness over and over again.

Hoping that the other person will change their actions, behavior or words isn't the point of forgiveness. In fact, the other person may never change or apologize. I learned that forgiveness is more about how it will change my life by bringing me more peace, happiness, and emotional healing.

I’m 63 years old and I’m not perfect, no one is. But I do accept myself despite of my faults. I admit my mistakes. I believe in treating others with compassion and respect has always been my motto.

I recall when my children were young and still in school; when they brought home their report cards, I always looked at the right hand side of the report card first….the section where they were graded on their behavior and attitude…..then I looked at all their grades listed on the left hand side. Their behavior reflected on what I taught them. Their grades reflected on what the teacher taught them and how well they learned and studied in order to receive a good grade.

I'm a basically kind person with a sense of balance and boundaries. However, I'm no Mother Theresa!

I love my family and they come before everyone!

Sex and the City Review!

The dialogue was sharp and precise, even to an audience that is now used to women characters talking very frank about sex, it may no longer seem so shocking.

I loved the part when the girls were talking about sex in front of a child, referring to the act as “coloring”.   How often did Miranda do coloring?   Not nearly enough.  Samantha, the sex goddess single of all the older women, of course, she liked to use all the crayons in her box, while Carrie said that when Big colored “he doesn't always stay inside the lines.” (this part was already on TV promoting the movie so I don't feel like I'm giving anything away)

I was disappointed to read reviews that gave away the entire show.  Fortunately, I viewed the reviews the following morning after I saw the movie.  That was not fair to viewers and die hard fans like myself.  I think it was o.k. to chat about the clips showed on TV but don't go further than that.....

Who wants to see a movie when the plot is already on the computers before you even buy your ticket!

I wept and cheered along with the other women in the audience.  I loved all the beautiful clothes and shoes.  It was like Saks Fifth Avenue/Neiman Marcus catalogs on steroids!  I was also surprised to see so many men in the audience.  I'm sure they were pacifying their ladies but I heard comments that they really enjoyed the flick.  It was not just a girly show.....men would enjoy it too.

I loved, loved the movie.  I love, love Mr. Big!  I loved all of Carrie's outrageous outfits and shoes.  You can only get away dressing like that in New York!  LOL

 

 

 

 

Tags: Sex and the City

Envy

 

Are you still hoping for that winning Lottery ticket?

 

I couldn't help but notice how some people are so jealous and envious of others that maybe richer than they are.  Friends, one rich, one not.  One dines on caviar, the other cereal.  For years, everyone experiences similar things such as:  housing, meals, classes, hangovers....you even shared the same tax bracket. 

 

Ever think that maybe the result of the professions you chose, the families you came from, the people you married, dumb luck, bad luck or all the above.....all relates to whether you are eating caviar or cereal.

 

I have a friend that obsesses over another friend's net worth...what envy!  But one things seems pretty clear to me is that whether you're feeling envious or envied, you either have to make your peace with the divide or risk drifting apart from each other.

 

I think more often, though, it's about a sense of loss or remorse about choices you didn't make or potential you didn't realize.  Maybe, the person you envy represents the kind of ideal you haven't lived up to.  Money definitely changes your choices about how you live, the company you keep and the work you seek.  It also changes people's expectations of you and may change the way they behave towards you. 

 

See, the knowledge you gain when you get older!  So, while you're busy wondering how great it must be to make an outsized salary, own a beach house or jet off to Italy at the last minute, your friend may be envying you for having a balanced life, complete with a job, time to spend with friends, a great partner and kids.  Yes, you are lucky!  I feel lucky!

 

Okay, you are right, it is great to have a ton of money, cool down at the beach house and take last-minute jaunts to Europe.  But, envy is the ultimate wet blanket.  I always appreciate what I do have and made peace with the fact that someone else will always have more....so what....

 

I guess I got on a roll of "envy" from a comment a friend recently made to me......she is constantly wishing she would meet a rich, famous, wonderful man to change her life so she can eat caviar!  Good luck waiting for that dream to come true........sometimes people don't realize how lucky they are.  So take a broom to your envy and sweep it away!  Such a waste of energy......

 

Wow, sometimes things that people say to me.....rent space in my head....I guess that's what gives me things to write about.

 

 

Tags: Envy, Jealous