Progress

Curious the progression of the human mind. Currently I'm finding it "easy" to maintain this detox diet so far, with very few cravings. Granted there is the occasional trigger that sets me off a bit, but it passes quickly and I've been able to hold strong, like when Jake ate BBQ Chicken last night followed by cookies and cream ice cream...rough! If I had tried this diet say two years ago, I may have been able to get through it, but probably just barely. If I had tried this say 7 years ago, forget about it...it would have lasted maybe a day. In fact, I remember reading the blood type diet years ago that said I should be a vegetarian based on my blood type, so I tried it and it literally lasted one day and I was a miserable grump with a terrible headache. I was ignorant in the ways of eating and exercise. I started my education and journey in 1998 when I was at my heaviest and fed up with how I looked and felt. My first attempt to change was a slimfast shake in the mornings and beginning cardio in the school gym on the new elliptical machines that just came out. It was a good start, and I lost about 20 lbs, by actually having "breakfast" and cutting my fast food intake. The second attempt was Body-for-Life, which I started in 1999 or 2000 and I did see some success and lost a good 30 lbs. and felt pretty good eating equally portioned meals of protein and carbohydrates, just right to maintain the exercise program you're on. Unfortunately, I gained back 20 when I got in a nice comfortable relationship and had a very active social life full of eating and partying. Finally I moved to NYC and stayed pretty level in weight until I got terribly sick and was bed ridden for 3 months in 2004. I lost a good amount of weight, but unfortunately it was mostly muscle and I wasn't able to do much in the way of exercise, heck I could hardly go up and down the stairs. Finally when I was well and able to eat normally again, I joined a gym and tried to work out as much as possible, which probably equaled only 2 or 3 days in the gym (if I was lucky). Fast forward to this past year; The Southbeach Diet, it was a pretty successful diet...I lost 20 lbs. and I've kept it off. I work-out at the gym and I'm building muscle and have dropped body fat. Now I'm doing the detox thing and continuing on my healthy journey. I'm equaling about 5-6 days in the gym now and eating 5-6 healthy meals a day. I feel energized and focused, a far cry from where I began...and I'm actually starting to like my body. In all honesty it has been a slow progression and I've learned a lot of things along the way and know that there's still so much more to learn. The Ultimate Goal: To live a long, healthy and happy life...and stay as svelte and young looking as long as possible while having abounding energy. Is that too much to ask? I think not. And with perseverance, planning and effort, I know I'll get there!

Food/Exercise Log:
Breakfast:
7:00 AM - 1/2 lemon in warm water & glass of water w/flaxseed (grnd)
8:30 AM - Banana/Strawberry rice milk & protein smoothie

Snack:
11:00 AM - Green Tea
11:30-12 - Large Pink Grapefruit

Lunch:
3:00 PM - Black bean soup & 2 glasses of water
4:00 PM - Organic Applesauce w/cinnamon

Dinner:
7:00 PM - Spicey Vegetable soup w/fresh Ginger & 2 glasses of water

Snack:
10:00 PM - Glass of water w/flaxseed (grnd) 1 tbl sp & Dandelion Root (3 cpsls) w/glass of water

Supplements/Vitamins 1tbl sp grnd Flaxseed X 250 mg Milk Thistle X 500 mg Vitamin C X 200 mg CoQ10 X Multi-Vitamin for Her X 1200 mg Calcium w/D X indicates taken

Exercise: 35 minutes on the treadmill, 10 incline, 4.0 speed

Feeling Good

I'm surprised how good and energetic I feel; I thought it would be the opposite "depriving" myself of meats and dairy. If you think about it, I'm eating pretty much the way that the human body has eaten in times of a thriving harvest. I'm getting tons of fresh fruits, veggies, and whole grains, which my body seems to like very much. I'm really enjoying my morning smoothies, today' s was Strawberry/Banana...mmm...and I can't believe how absolutely fabulous I feel right now. I've even lost 2 lbs. so far. Funny thing is, I didn't start this program to lose weight...huh...the first "diet" I ever did just to make me feel better and improve my health, weight be damned. I hadn't even thought about it until one of my co-workers asked me how much I wanted to lose on this "diet"...I was like, "Oh, I'm just doing this to feel better, I haven't even thought about my weight." Wow, that's a first! Me, not obsess over my weight? Ok, I'm still a bit obsessive, but I did this detox "diet" to see if my joints would stop hurting and restore full liver function...and if I lose a little weight as a side-effect, so be it! And let me tell you, another "side-effect" is that it keeps you nice and regular...lol...too much information?

Speaking about the body goal front and all that jiggles; I had my bodyfat percentage done again. What is it, 3 months later? And I'm happy to report that it is at 22%...that's a huge success. My goal is 18% and I hope to be there by this summer. (18% is the beginning of the Athletic build for females...that range is 12%-18%) I don't want to be any lower really, because once you hit 12% or below, you stop having menstrual cycles, and that's a whole other ball game and starts messing with our hormones. So, I'll just keep eating healthy and going to the gym, and we'll see what comes of it. I have to reiterate that I feel great! This diet is giving me such good energy to really have great work-outs at the gym and everything else I'm attempting. I just plain feel good and it's been a while since I've been able to say that...great, now a piano's going to drop on my head or something, I just totally jinxed myself.

Anywho, here's the food log for the day:


Breakfast:
7:00 AM - 1/2 lemon squeezed into warm water & glass of water w/flaxseed (grnd)
8:30 AM - Banana/Strawberry rice milk & rice protein smoothie + 500mg Vitamin C & glass of water

Snack:
9:45 AM - Green Tea
11:30 AM - Orange & 10 raw walnut halves + 200mg CoQ10 & 2 glasses of water

Lunch:
2:30 PM - Chunky Vegetable Soup + multi-vitamin for her & glass of water
3:00 PM - Organic Applesauce w/cinnamon & glass of water

Dinner:
6:00 PM - Indian Platter (egg plant, chickpeas, cabbage, & chutney)
Fresh, hot apple cider w/cinamon + 2 glasses of water & 250mg Milk Thistle

"Snack:"
10:30 PM - Glass of water w/flaxseed (grnd) 1 tbl sp + Dandelion Root (3 cpsls), 1200mg Calcium w/D & a glass of water

Exercise: Tutu Fresh an hour long Ballet bar class to funky music...it was fun :)

Going Well

I made it through a full day of Veganism and fully enjoyed the eats. And so far today's been a good day of eating as well. I had my first restaurant meal today on this diet and I was able to stick to my diet too...I love Korean food! I had the Hot Stone Bibimbop bowl, it contains Multi-grain rice, root veggies, and I chose the tofu in stead of the meat or seafood options. I also made sure they didn't add the egg they generally put in. The red hot sauce & the kimchi add just the right touch of spice and flavor. It was so good, hearty and delicious...MOST satisfying :)

As for exercise, the plan is to get it in while watching the Biggest Loser tonight, after I go to my vocal coaching. Time to start learning The Ballad of Baby Doe.

Here's a run-down of today's food thus far, and I'll continue to add as the day goes on:

Breakfast:
7:00 AM - 1/2 lemon in warm water&glass of water w/flaxseed (grnd)
8:30 AM - Banana/Blueberry rice milk & protein smoothie, glass of water + 500mg Vitamin C

Snack:
11:00 AM - Green Tea & Organic Hummus w/baby carrots + 200mg CoQ10 & glass of water
12:30 PM - Raw red bell pepper & glass of water

Lunch:
1:45 PM - Bibimbop w/tofu, root vegetables & multi-grain rice (no egg) & glass of water
Spinach Miso soup w/tofu + Multi-vitamin for her & 2 glasses water

Snack:
5:00 PM - 15 Raw Almonds & Organic Applesauce w/cinnamon + glass of water & 250mg Milk Thistle

Dinner:
8:00 PM - Curried Lentils on Quinoa & Bosc Pear + Dandelion Root & glass of water

"Snack:"
10:30 PM - 1 heaping Tbl sp of Ground Flaxseed in glass of water (again blech)

Exercise: I just did 30 minutes on the elliptical while watching the Biggest Loser...at least it's something.

Detoxing

Lately, I've been feeling like a woman in her late 80's as opposed to a woman in her early 30's. All of my joints & legs have been achy, I feel bloated, fatigued, and a bit gummed up at the works. Granted I've been sick since December (I'm finally over that), and off & on my diet for the past few months, which I'm sure has thrown a curve ball at my body into thinking "What the hell are you doing?" The recent 20 lbs. I lost, I can happily say I've maintained at keeping off and I've been pretty good about going to the gym regularly. Unfortunately, the gym gets harder and harder, the more my body aches, especially in the joints. Jake (the awesome personal trainer boyfriend) wants me to get checked for arthritis. I laughed and said, I'm too young to have arthritis, but he thwarted that idea with the fact that you can be any age to have arthritis (boo). I assure you I will get a full physical and have my blood & joints checked out...however, I put all my symptoms into the computer, and everything points to liver function. If it was just one joint or my hands, it could be thought of as arthritis, but the fact that all my joints are sore and achy, points to another culprit. Turns out that when your body is overloaded with free-radicals, the toxins settle in the joints causing pain &/or discomfort. You also get a bloating around your upper midsection and even though you may get a regular 8 hours of sleep, you're still fatigued. This is all because my lovely little liver (which I actually do get checked annually with the rest of my blood work) is a bit overloaded from fatty foods, chemicals & anything else that's unnatural that goes through my bod. So now what? Well, I continued to do my research and found a detox diet that's recommended by The Medical Review Board. It's pretty straight forward and simple: 2 weeks of eating fruits, veggies, nuts, & whole grains, while avoiding gluten, sugar, dairy, meat, alcohol, coffee, & any chemicals (no additives, preservatives or artificial sweeteners). Basically I'm going Vegan w/no gluten. So I called up the lovely Vegan Opera Diva (her blog is in my blogroll) and asked for her help. Who better to learn about this healthy style of eating than from a practicing Vegan that is a shining example of health. So we met up on Saturday and she showed me around "Whole Foods Market" pointing out ways to eat clean and get one 's protein on a meat-free diet. So now I've got a lovely array of beans, lentils, nuts, & quinoa (a high protein grain), plus a brown rice protein powder that my diet recommends. Then yesterday I went to the grocery store and finished stocking the fridge with tons of veggies & fruits to last me all week. I even cooked a lovely chunky vegetable soup last night. It smelled so good, that I had to beat the boys away in order to have something to eat during the week. I'm also making a nice southwest black bean soup (which is slow cooking in the crockpot at home this very minute.) Tonight I think I'm going to make curried lentils to have over quinoa for dinner, perhaps with a nice mixed green salad on the side. So you see, this is really more of an adventure in eating. Lots of new recipes to try while cleaning up the insides of my bod...I can't wait to have my spicy veggie soup for lunch, I've been looking forward to it since smelling it cook last night. I'll also continue to update this post throughout the day to let you know how the diet's going, what I've consumed so far, and how I'm feeling:

7:00 a.m. - 1/2 lemon squeezed into warm water & 3 heaping tsp. of ground flaxseed in a glass of water
(drinking ground flaxseed is going to take some getting used to)

8:45 a.m. - Pear smoothie made with vanilla rice milk & brown rice protein powder & 500mg vitamin C w/glass of water (I cut the pear into pieces & froze it last night so that the smoothie would be nice and cold w/o having to dilute it with ice...it was a bit chalky, but all in all not too bad.)

10:00 a.m. - Green Tea (so far I've had to go pee at least 4 times so far and I feel the 5th trip coming on...haha, guess I'm really flushing out the system. I'm also already getting hungry for my snack, hmmm, nuts or hummus with veggies? I'll let you know what I decide later)

10:45 p.m. - Organic Hummus w/baby carrots & 200 mg CoQ10 (Mmm...good choice, hits the spot. I'm amazed how good everything tastes and smells. Perhaps my body was craving this healthy goodness. It's nice to sit here at my desk and enjoy every taste and smell of the food I'm eating. The carrots seem to taste extra sweet, and the hummus is just so flavorful. I actually had to go out of my way to find this organic hummus...I was completely floored when I read that the regular hummus that I used to buy contained modified corn starch [boo], how could they? Talk about bad for the bod! Anything that's modified, concentrated or enriched has no place in my diet, nor should it in anyone's, talk about caking up the arteries.)

12:45 p.m. - 15 Walnut halves & Glass of water (quick protein before the gym)

3:00 p.m. - Bowl of spicy, chunky vegetable soup, a multi-vitamin for her, and 250 mg of Milk Thistle w/2 glasses water (that's right I finally got to eat my yummy veggie soup, it was not only delicious and satisfying, it was really filling).

7:00 p.m. - Curried lentils over quinoa & Pear cider + Dandelion Root (this was suprisingly good...granted I had to call a friend and get her recipe for making curried lentils...it turned out really nice, even Jake liked it)

9:00 p.m. - Fresh Pink Grapefruit & 1200 mg Calcium w/D

10:30 p.m. - Glass of water w/3 heaping tsp. ground flaxseed (blech)

*Exercise (still trying to take care of all that jiggles):

1 hour of Dance Evolution at Crunch (this was a goofy fun dance class that had us doing everything from Elvis Presley to Thriller to Baby's got Back...lol)

3 sets of 10 push ups, 3 sets of 20 crunches, 3 sets of 25 tricep ext., & 3 sets of 20 side rows.

Pics from the Impresario

My production pics from December's Opera The Impresario are here. I have to say, I don't think I look half bad and look forward to even more sculpting work to get my body in continued shape. I do warn you, the pics are a bit cheeky & a bit drag-queenish...lol.
Here are a few I'll share:

Holy Cannoli (mmm)

The scale has continued to move down as my cold has moved up from my chest & throat to my head, thus making me a disgusting, watery, snot creature with mascara running my face...it's truly lovely. Oh and I should mention my nose is all red and crusty from blowing it wayyy to much, so that just adds to how attractive I'm looking today.

I really avoided temptation yesterday when I was finally thwarted by a cannoli from Veniero's (only one of the best Italian bakeries in all of NYC). How can anyone say no? I tried and I did well until finally around 8pm I gave in and it was soooo worth it! Today I didn't do much better eating wise; I had 1/2 a blueberry muffin, a whole wheat bagel with some cream cheese and two cups of coffee with half & half. Granted it was broken up in the span of 3 hours, in fact I'm still sipping on the coffee at this very moment. The good news is, I'm not only down the original 4 lbs. I had gained over the weekend, I'm also down an extra 2 on top of that for a total of 6 lbs. lost, thus I feel that eating a little unauthorized isn't going to be too detrimental as long as I keep going to the gym (which btw I haven't missed a day yet this week, including Sunday's work-out with Jake.) All this on top of being sick, having auditions, doing hair & make-up at Dicapo Opera, and having to be in early at work everyday this week; I have to say I'm doing very well and I'm proud of myself for sticking with the working out, when I could easily make the excuse that I'm too tired/busy.

I also got an invite to audition for The Ballad of Baby Doe from the Maestro of Chelsea Opera, which is one role I'd LOVE to play and would be idea for me. So I'm very excited about that and now have to learn a couple of arias from that opera to audition with. Thank goodness it's all in English, I'll learn it in no time.

That's about all I have to report at the moment. I definitely plan on eating well the rest of the day and will be hitting the gym hard to burn off that bit of unauthorized eating in the past 24 hours. Have a great day!

Nature of the Beast

I dragged my tired, sickly butt to the audition last night, and I feel it went quite well. I was able to perform and get every note out including a nice sustained high D at the end of the aria. The only thing that I would like to have had more of would have been power, but you can only produce so much when you're sick and with my ears stopped up right now, I couldn't tell you if it was loud enough anyway. Too bad I have to wait to find out if I got the job or not, but again I'm getting used to rejection. In a business like this, you get a 100 no's before you get 1 yes...it's the nature of the beast. Speaking of Beasts, Dicapo Opera's production of Beauty and the Beast goes up this weekend and I've been contracted to do the Hair and Make-Up for the production. This week is going to be a bit tough, especially in the rest department, but I'll make it through...let's just hope I don't get any sicker.

As for the weight gain, 2.5 lbs. are already gone...the fluctuations are really annoying, but that's the way it is when you're a girl. I just have to continue on my healthy regiment and do my best, 'cause really that's all one can do. At least the scale is going the right direction, and my body is totally sore and worn out, so I must be accomplishing something. Currently my only complaint is that Jake (the awesome personal trainer boyfriend) is working sooo much lately that I don't know when I'm going to get in a boxing session again. I'll probably have to wait until the weekend, so I'll come up with other ways of challenging myself in the gym...ooh like that Fat Burning Pilates class they have on Fridays, it's really fun.

Ebola

So I'm doing pretty good with the goal to tone up everything that jiggles. In fact after my little boxing work-out with Jake (the awesome personal trainer boyfriend) last night, I can officially say, "Ow, I'm sore." The good side is that I'm feeling strong, the bad side is that after the week of working-out pretty regularly and efficiently, I'm showing a 4 lb. gain. I realize this is temporary, but boy does it stink! I hate seeing the numbers go up on the scale when I'm doing good things for the bod. It's not like I sat and ate cheeseburgers with fries and a milkshake all weekend long (or at all for that matter, but that does sound pretty yummy...sorry). I actually ate pretty well and not massive amounts either...meh! That's ok, I'm gonna stick with my getting lean goal, and I know the scale will go the other direction eventually. I've got to persevere through this as with anything else in life: I will continue to eat lean & healthy and I will keep going to the gym and working my butt off!

Tonight I have the audition for the Bronx Opera. Normally I would be looking forward to the opportunity to sing, but I've had a bit of a cold over the weekend and my voice is not quite up to par. I'm not sure what's going to come out of my mouth, but hopefully I'll be able to perform well. I'd love another opportunity to do this show with a different production company. I've really got to stop getting sick! I live and work in the huge germ factory know as NYC and I've gotta step up the vitamins and rest if I'm gonna survive the latest outbreak of viruses & bacteria. Maybe I can reschedule my audition for tomorrow, but who knows how much difference a day will make? Besides it's not very professional of me to do it with less than 24 hours notice...so I'll suck it up and go. I'll tell ya tomorrow how it went.

Getting Jiggly With It...?

I thought of a fabulous new way to think of my weight loss goals...tone up anything that jiggles. It's ok if certain body parts stay buoyant and bouncy, but jiggly isn't it. I want to be a lean, mean singin' machine...and that's gonna take some extra effort at the gym (and at home). Thank goodness I'm dating/living with a personal trainer...I have all his equipment available to me at no charge :) Which means, no excuses :( So now it's time to suck it up and put in the extra effort. I have a lovely goal to look fabu in a bikini by Summer...and I know I'll see results by Spring. That's right girls, I'm goin' for the hot bikini bod...at least hot for my pasty, lily-white self...maybe I'll do a little spray on tanning if I do actually go out in public in a bikini. Actually another incentive to get in even better shape is that I may be doing The Impresario again with the National Lyric Opera...the same exact production in fact that had me wearing a bodystocking and feather pasties...so you KNOW that I'm gonna keep my butt in the gym for the next, oh I don't know, Forever! So the New Year is here and it's off to a good start I feel. I gave myself one last reprise of some unauthorized eating last week and now I'm back on my program of eating lean & healthy and working out.

Now for the follow-up to the hypnosis: Well that didn't happen...so there's no following-up, but there are plans for when the guy gets back in town (I believe in the Spring) so we'll catch up then on that front.

Singing-wise, I have a voice lesson tonight and have to decide what I'm going to sing for my upcoming audition for yet ANOTHER production of The Impresario, this time with the Bronx Opera. Now that I have the role under my belt, I'm hoping to go in and sing something that really knocks his socks off. I'll more than likely do the good ol' Laughing Song from Die Fledermaus since he wants an aria in English, and I only know the Mozart aria in German and would hate to try out a new English translation with only a week's preparation. Sure I could do it, but why stress over something new when I have a perfectly good English aria ready. Yet I know we'll probably go over the Mozart tonight and maybe touch on a new French Aria...sheesh...wish me luck!

Have a good day kids!

A day in the Life

Yesterday was The Liederkranz Foundation Vocal Competition (wow that's a mouth full) and I sang for it around 4:30pm. I felt that I did pretty well, except for one tight high Eb at the end of Spargi from Lucia di Lammermoor. It's not that it wasn't there, I just felt that the note was a bit shrill...but who knows, it could have been just fine. The second aria they selected was The Laughing Song from Die Fledermaus...haha...I think they were truly entertained and didn't know what they were asking for when they chose it...no one milks that song like I do...if nothing else, it's a fun and boisterous piece with lots of places to garner a laugh...let's just say I did my job. At the end they wanted to know where I got my translation for the piece from and I had to owe up to the fact that I "borrowed" it from the Lyric Opera of Chicago's performance way back in the 1990's starring Ruth Ann Swenson. The judge who was doing the talking seemed excited and relieved by that answer...beats the heck out of me why, but no one does that translation, so I think the uniqueness of it gives me a plus...besides it's funnier than alot of the other translations out there. Now I have to play the dreaded waiting game until Friday to see if I get a call for the finals. Not that I'm being pesimistic, but my chances are slim...I'm being a realist here. Sopranos are the largest group of singers out there and I'm competing not only against a ridiculous amount of those who share that voice grouping, but with the whole lot of vocal fachs down to the Basses...and alot of them are already singing at the Met, so I've got stiff competition. Besides, I really wanted to just sing MY best and I feel I pretty much did that and gave them a memorable performance. That's all a singer can do...their best. The rest is based on opinion, what they're feeling that day and who they like. You can be the best, most polished techincal singer with great performing skills, and one judge just may not like the tambor of your voice or the piece you selected...it's all relative. So who knows where I or anyone stands? But let's just say, I'm not counting my chickens.

As for the ever steady quest of physical health. I'm sticking to my diet, but I feel that I caved a bit with eating a bit too much lo carb / no sugar added ice cream last night. I hadn't had much in the way of a real meal yesterday, so when I got home I had veggie soup w/a lean burger patty and then followed it up with the afore mentioned ice cream. Oh well, I've just gotta keep trying and watching what I do put in my mouth. Today I have a date to work-out at the gym, so I think I'll probably hit the Elliptical for 30 minutes or so. It's such a lovely day outside, I may try to convince my friend Nakeeta into perhaps walking outside for our lunch break...it's not every day that we have a day in January where it's sunny and in the 60's, crazy huh? Pshaw, Global Warming indeed...hmmm?

Tonight I've got my second hypnosis session. I really didn't like the first one, I just wasn't comfortable and it was hard for me to relax and let go of control, but hey that's me...lol. I do have to say however, I've been singing really great since, and have had one successful lesson and coaching after the other...so something really may have sunk in. So I've opted to give it another go. I'll let you know what I think of it once I go through it and roll it around in the ol' noggin.

Alright, back to the grind. Have a great Tuesday and good luck on your endeavors :)

Diet Obliteration

Ok, I totally blew my diet yesterday. It started off innocently enough by having lunch with my friend C. It was so cold and I didn't want to walk to far and besides there's nothing better on a cold winter's day than nice spicy Korean in hot stone bowls, unless you're going for lasagna maybe. Anywho I ordered the Hot Stone bibimbob w/beef and had a meat mandu (dumpling) for lunch, however I did opt for the multi-grain instead of the white rice. Feeling completely full and content I figured if I had rice then a chai latte with skim milk wouldn't be too harmful (I'm not really supposed to be having caffeine on this diet either)...and while there at Karen's, I spied a fresh loaf of chocolate, pecan, banana bread sitting on the counter. Before I knew it, I was ordering a slice to have with my chai...Oh dear, it really IS a slippery slope. So I figured, oh well, guess I'll make up for it by having vegetable soup tonight so that I don't add insult to injury. At 5:30pm I was off from work and finally headed home for once, where I figured I'd walk home, work-out doing some crunches and/or elliptical work and then dip into my spicy veggie soup, when I got a phone call from Jake (the awesome boyfriend). I wasn't even a block from the subway stop in the burg when I picked up my cell and to my delight he was off early and on his way home. So we made plans for dinner and my good intentions went out the window. My Grandmother Mille always says "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions." Oh well, to the Devil because we met up for Mexican at Vera Cruz and I even ordered a Pina Colada (what was I thinking?) Of course I had an immediate brain freeze, and it serves me right for ordering a drink that contains probably more than my daily caloric intake. Thankfully Jake helped me drink it and eat the large plate of steak nachos that I ordered as my dinner. We then hopped in a cab instead of walking the cold mile home and cozily settled down for the night (him on the computer and me with my book). I swear sometimes we act like an old married couple...eek! Oh, I forgot to mention that I had a fudge covered Oreo cookie with a tall glass of cold milk once I was home, in case there was any calorie not ingested in the past 12 hours. I think its safe to say I not only blew my diet, I completely obliterated it!

Today so far, I've been on the straight and narrow, but I hear the distant calls of the bialies downstairs asking me to eat them, or at least one. If you've never had a bialy, its like a bagle yet flatter with I believe onions baked inside or something...guess I should look it up, but who cares, it's just delicious toasted with butter. I've decided not to freak about my diet for the rest of the week, seeing how it's Friday, and allowing myself the few things I enjoy eating. I believe I'll have that multi-grain bagel with low-fat scallion I sooo adore, and I also think I'll have some Chicken Pad Thai that I really love from Amarin (really the best in all 5 boroughs). Monday will be a lovely fresh start to my diet, my work-out, and my Excel "Nutrition & Fitness Log" that I generally keep up so well. Besides, I'll have everyone on the bandwagon with me starting at the same time. So it'll be nice to be on the same page with my gaggle of girls.

Have a great weekend, I know I will :)

The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl

I got a new book on Friday and have been thoroughly enjoying it! I guess this is a bit of an endorsement, but so far I've been totally engrossed in "The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl." I've read this young woman's blog for awhile and now I find it a treat to read her first book that happened to come out of her many years of blogging. I won't ruin it for you, but it's a truly inspirational read and full of wit & lovely reality. Not one of those guru self-help books that say "I can make you thin" and then take your money. No, Shauna's book is a real life story, about real life success due to real life perseverance. As I've always said, Perseverance is the key to gain anything you truly want in life.

So now that the commercial break is over, let's talk New Years and the Not Fat part of this particular blog. I've been back on Phase 1 for officially one week today. It's been tough, but I've overcome pastries, desserts, salty snacks and the rest of the sugary / empty carb foods & snacks that have been put in front of me. I did finally break down and buy the locarb/no sugar added ice cream to curb my insistent PMS calling for chocolate!...Not too terrible though, it has only 4g of sugar per serving...and I also went through a lot of caffeine-free diet coke as well, so the sweet & chocolate cravings were met if not completely satisfied. Honestly, I can't wait to meet my fitness & weight goal so that I can finally concentrate on the maintaining and allow myself to indulge every now and then. But as for now, I feel if I indulged, I wouldn't be able to stop...that's just where my mind is at the moment and I've got to gain control over the whole kit'n caboodle before I make such allowances. After next Wednesday, I can have my once a week multi-grain bagel w/low fat scallion that I look forward to every Saturday. I know it doesn't sound so unhealthy and terrible, but believe me, bagels are the devil when it comes to weight loss, and besides it gives me something to look forward to in the treat department. I'm generally ok with saying no to sweets (except when I'm totally menstruating), but it's the breads and potatoes that are hard for me to avoid. My God, I could totally eat a whole loaf of hot french bread with butter in one sitting...or an entire platter of french fries...damn the french and their tempting carbs ;) lol

I don't generally make New Years Resolutions, I believe anytime is a good time to make a change or do something good for yourself. So if you missed Jan. 1st and feel that you've already blown the year and it's only the 2nd, I say fooey! Start now, there's no time like the present, and only you can really make the change, no one can or will do it for you. So get your but out there and do something good for your mind, body and spirit. Life's to short, so Carpe Diem!