Its not my fault... the universe wants me to be a "fatty"

Over the weekend a friend asked me why I hadn't weighed in last week. "Don't tell me you are slacking!" he says to me...  "I have been slacking ... I put on 1/2 a pound"- was my response. That half of a pound turned into 2 pounds when I weighed in today. Back up to 205. 


For the past almost 2 weeks I have been avoiding the scale, this blog, my meal plan, EVERYTHING
It is as though the universe has sucked out all of my energy and motivation and replaced it with chocolate cravings and non-stop opportunities to cheat.


The slow down started when my husband and I hosted "fight night" for the much anticipated Miguel Cotto vs. Floyd Mayweather boxing match.  In honor of Cinco de Mayo I served tacos and chips and dips... I had too much of everything and on top of  that, a few Mikes Hard Lemonades. If I counted the calories I ingested that night I would probably cry.


The snails pace continued all last week... On the days I ate breakfast, I made sure it was a healthy one. But on a few occasions, I skipped breakfast all together and ate a mid day lunch, usually store bought.  Dinner was usually healthy, always including steamed vegetables but eaten late and followed by a  desser usually a Skinny Cow or TCBY, eaten even later. The week came and went with absolutely NO EXERCISE at all.


The screeching halt came when I helped out with a Mother's Day lunch by making a bunch of food and desserts. I made cupcakes, chocolate covered oreo pops, chocolate covered pretzels, a full size frosted brownie decorated with sugar stenciling, pepperoni wheels and spinach wheels and a chicken Alfredo pasta. While I was cooking I didn't do much sampling, on the day of the party on the other hand I skipped breakfast, ate a little bit of everything at the party and drank like a fish.

I have absolutely no motivation to workout and I am finding every excuse in the book not to do it. I have officially come to a screeching halt with my fitness plan. Every day someone asks me, how things are going with my plan, I smile and say "GREAT!" out loud ... and in my head I'm saying "HORRIBLE, I suck! I'm not working out at all and I have lost all motivation and desire to continue!" 

Every time I turn around there is another event, or celebration or dinner invitation...  Fast food is literally on every street.... teasing me. Workout out is so hard and cheating is SO EASY...

Yesterday my sister sent me yet another little gem I thought I should share with you... this article serves as more proof that the universe wants us all to be fat.

This makes me scared...
http://www.longislandpress.com/2012/05/15/boss-bacon-burger-100000-calorie-bacon-cheese-burger/

And so my friends, I am back to square one again. Luckily I did not gain all the weight back but I gained back enough to scare me back on the straight and narrow.

My apartment has once again filled up with junk foods... stay tuned for home and workout videos and a new meal plan.


Very Truly Yours,

Emmy

The Scared Straight "Fitness Fatty"

The "Fitness Fatty" and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I remember seeing this nutra-grain commercial a while back where a woman experiences two different scenarios. The commercial  is a split screen where on one side she makes the "healthy choice" and eats a nutra-grain bar for breakfast  and on the other she eats a chocolate frosted donut. It goes on to show all of the choices she makes for the rest of the day based on that first breakfast choice. Of course after eating the nutra-grain bar, she picks fruit instead of brownies, and veggies and chicken instead of creamy pasta and at the end of the day she is all smiles :-)  When she picks the donut, she eats a burrito for lunch and at the end of the day shes looking in the mirror feeling bloated and sad :-(  

I thought of this commercial on Sunday when unfortunately I had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad nutrition day.
It all started out with skipping breakfast. My husband was given the honor of becoming a godfather andd Sunday was the baby's baptism. We rushed out of the house without having any breakfast and by the time reception came around, my tummy was rumbling like a volcano about to erupt.  At around 11:30 I ate an appetizer sized turkey sandwich with cheese on white bread  :-(  ...it was all down hill from there.


 On the way home we decided to get our son a happy meal :-(  Don't worry I didn't eat anything from the golden arches but I did try one of their almost 300 calorie cherry berry slushies. AND IT WAS AWESOME. There was no saving myself after that.


When dinner time came we decided to go out . Friday's has a few great low calorie options.... but the thought of more broiled fish made me want to cry.  

 I said to myself... "You know what would go nicely with the cherry berry slushy still floating around in my belly? A gigantic cheeseburger with some bbq sauce on it- that's what!"

As I ordered it, I realized that I had officially lost my mind! I knew I would have to pay for it in body squats but I didn't care. And unlike the girl in the nutra-grain commercial I felt great. It was the most delicious thing I have had in weeks and I enjoyed every last bite.

After dinner I received a small gift from God, that only parents (especially those with special needs children) can appreciate. My son fell asleep in the car around 7pm which would give my husband and I a chance to watch a movie and hang out in peace and quiet. Now how could I enjoy a movie after this long day without ice cream? So off I went...

On my way to Emack and Bolio's inconveniently located one block from my house, I kept telling myself to turn around and eat a protein bar or some carrot sticks. I talked to myself all the way to the counter, where I ordered not one but TWO scoops of cookie dough ice cream. It was the BEST, and once again I did not feel like skinny girl from the nutra-grain commercial. I went to bed last night with all of my cravings satisfied.

Today I am getting back on track and SKIPPING THE GUILT. I ate like a crazy person yesterday and I am not proud of it. But I am also not going to let it lower my self esteem. I have been kicking butt on this program and although I made bad food choices yesterday... one day doesn't make this program a failure. Today I will pay for my bad choices in planks and squats... and I'm actually looking forward to it.

Here are some videos of my workout with the always awesome...  Bryan Nunziato 

    

Now that the beautiful weather is here, this will happen to a lot of us. We will be spending lots of time with friends and family and it will be hard to make healthy eating choices. Here are some ways that you can avoid having a day like mine when you are going to be out or at an event.

1. Don't skip breakfast! Make sure you give yourself enough time in the morning to eat a healthy  breakfast before spending the day out. Try  an egg white and veggie omelet, a slice of whole wheat toast, and 1/2 an apple with 1/2 a tsp of peanut butter (my breakfast of choice). It will keep you satisfied longer, boost your metabolism and give you the mental strength to be the nutra-grain girl  and make good choices through out the rest of the day.

2. Pack Snacks and Water- Throw a few healthy snacks in your bag. A protein bar, some nuts, a banana or an apple. Make sure you don't go more than 3 hours without having a snack and a bottle of water so you are not famished by the time your next meal comes around. We all make better eating choices when we are not starving.

 

3. Don't let one bad choice change your whole day. If you have an unhealthy lunch, pick a super healthy dinner. One bad choice does not have to turn into a whole day of bad choices.

4. Skip the Guilt.  All the "emotional eaters" out there know that once you start feeling bad about yourself, out comes the box of cookies you've been hiding in your secret "fatty" stash. Own up to your mistake and move on. Use it as motivation to get a great workout in the next day.

And so friends... It finally happened. I fell off the wagon and ate like a maniac. But I'm back in the game and focused.


Now its time for you to tell me what you do when you fall off the wagon.

What are your triggers? How do you make up for your bad food choices and how do you avoid making the same mistakes again?

Can't wait to read your comments.

Very Truly Yours,
Emmy
The back on track "Fitness Fatty"

A whole new level of CRAZY + (My second weigh in!)

Hello all,

I was reading the news a few days ago when I stumbled upon this little GEM that I felt it was my duty to share with you all.
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-04-16/news/31351239_1_tube-brides-nasogastric

It is an article about brides to be using nasal feeding tubes to lose weight before their wedding day.  

When did we COMPLETELY LOSE OUR MINDS?

The woman described in the link above paid $1500 to have a tube inserted through her nose, down her esophagus and into her stomach to receive nutrients. The side effects of which include nausea, constipation and dizziness and not to mention the SHOCK to the body of losing 20 pounds in 10 days which is the average of what people lose doing this.

In my humble opinion... this is on a whole new level of C R A Z Y. I can't lie... I have tried some bonkers things to lose weight but thankfully the thought of walking around with a tube in my nose getting nutrition from a pouch never crossed my mind. I'm miserable now that I cant have any chocolatey treats, imagine what kind of monster I would be if I was nauseous, dizzy, constipated and broke because I just spent $1500 on the "tube through my nose diet".

Why is it that we would rather torture ourselves with these insane diets and keep failing over and over instead of saying I'm going to bake my chicken instead of frying it? Why do we even try these fads if we know in our hearts that we will fail. Why are we giving the weight loss industry millions of our hard earned dollars every year?

I think I kept doing it because it was easier to point the finger elsewhere rather than at myself. If I didn't lose any weight on the sugar water diet, then its the stupid diet's fault not mine. 

Healthy eating and lifestyle change requires us to take responsibility for ourselves and our choices. It forces you to say, I didn't lost any weight because I couldn't stay away from the drive thru and that's not Ronald McDonald's fault, Its mine.

The hardest part of this whole thing for me, is accepting that if I mess this up... I'll have no one to blame but myself.

On Wednesday I weighed in at 203! That is 8 pounds down in 2 weeks... TUBE FREE! I am the happiest fatty in the whole world. Although I am not working out as often as I should. I am giving it a REAL effort and its paying off! By next weigh in I will be under 200 pounds for the first time in a L O N G time!

Here's my current workout.

Warm up with 10-15 minutes of cardio (my choice is usually the elliptical)

1. 20 body squats

2. 20 squat press with 5 pound weights (Don't make fun of me- I'm a beginner!)

3. 20 push ups on a BOSU ball  ---->   This is a BOSU ball- Don't worry I didn't know either.

4. 20 side steps with a level 2 resistance band on my ankles 

5. 20 Squat rows on the  with a  50 lb resistance

6. 20 Bicep Curls

7.10 leg curls on the balance ball... NOT FUN

    ( lay on your mat with your feet resting on the balance ball. Lift your hips off the ground and hold. Now roll the ball in towards your butt and back out. Repeat 10 times)

And my most hated exercise of all...

8. Plank for 20 seconds

Repeating these steps twice completes the workout.

Now readers... lets laugh. Tell me some of the craziest things  you have tried to lose weight. Have you spent weeks eating nothing but cabbage? Have you done the juice only diet or the grapefruit diet? Comment and share and don't be embarrassed, this is a judgement free zone. And as long as you aren't walking around with a tube in your nose... its not that bad!

*By the way- you no longer need to have a log-in to leave a comment

Very Truly Yours,

Emmy

"The 8 pounds down 7 to go... tube free... "Fitness Fatty"

  

When No One is Watching

I came through my junk food withdrawals like a champ and I feel great. This weekend felt so much better than last. I have found a new sense of self control that I never had before. 

I was strict with myself over the first week because I felt like any little thing could throw me off and send me spiraling down into an abyss of brownies and chocolate chip cookies. I can safely say that I feel comfortable enough now and have regained enough control over my eating to allow myself a once weekly cheat. I mean you didn't expect me to give up chocolate forever did you? A life without chocolate is no life at all... even if only occasionally!

On Friday I went to TCBY Treats. (

Western Avenue

just past Stuyvesant Plaza) 

 I encourage you all to go... its AWESOME! Although I went a little crazy at the toppings buffet, I still think I did alright! Before I started this program I probably would have filled that cup to the top, added all types of chocolate deliciousness and devoured it as though it were the last cup of frozen yogurt on the planet... I left feeling pretty good about myself!

All of these happy and new feelings of control, determination and commitment made me wonder why I couldn’t stay on track on any of the other programs I have tried. All of my friends used to pat me on the back when I would diet because in front of them I would only eat skimpy salads, rice cakes, low fat yogurts and those awful jenny meals. No one ever understood why I never ACTUALLY lost any weight. But, I knew that it was because of what I was doing when no one was watching.

Sneaking junk food, pretending I had completed my workout when I had really only done 1/4 of it, covering my skimpy salads in creamy Caesar dressing, eating steamed vegetables at the dinner table but Ben and Jerry's in my room afterwards... 

 It is so easy to say you are doing the work, pretend you are following the plan and make everyone else proud of you. It makes you feel good when the people around you commend you for changing and getting healthier.  The real change only comes when you stop pretending and when you start to realize that it isn't about what everyone else thinks, its about what you think, and what you are going to feel when once again you have to start over and try something different because you cant pretend anymore. 

This time around things are different. This weekend at the times when I was alone, I could have stuck yet another pop tart in the toaster, or polished off those girl scout cookies that I visit in my pantry from time to time but I didn’t. I did the right thing... while no one was watching.

I went to the movies with my nephew on Sunday and I could have had a little over priced popcorn covered in butter and I know he wouldn't have ratted me out but I didn’t, I drank my bottle of water instead... while no one was watching

And lastly, when I came in to work to check on things on Sunday evening, I could have sat around for an hour and watched TV or surfed the web... but I ran on the treadmill and did my workout (provided by the always awesome Bryan Nunziato) for 45 minutes... while no one was watching.

And that's why this time it’s going to be different.

Very truly yours,

Emmy

The seriously committed, no games, all or nothing, In it to win it "Fitness Fatty"

P.S.  Here is a great recipe for a healthy snack ... for all of you that hate protein bars- try this instead. Thanks to Sue from Synergy for bringing these in for all of us to try!

Protien Bar Recipe

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8” square pan with wax paper.

2 cups old fashion oats (not instant)

½ cup coarsely chopped raw almonds

2/3 cup natural peanut butter

½ cup honey

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup rice krispies cereal

1/3 cup chopped dried fruit (cherries, craisins, raisins)

½ tsp salt

Combine oats and almonds on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 10 minutes.

Combine peanut butter, honey and vanilla in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until all three are melted together.

In a large bowl, mix rice krispies, dried fruit, salt, toasted oats and almonds until combined.  Pour peanut butter mixture over the ingredients in the mixing bowl and toss until all items are coated with the peanut butter mixture.

Place the mixture into the 8” square pan and press down firmly until even.  Let cool for at least 2 hours. Cut into bars.

 Enjoy!

Drum Roll Please...

After my butt-kicking workout with Bryan Nunziato yesterday... I went home more sore than I have ever been in my life. I was concentrating so hard on not dropping anything because it hurt just thinking about squatting down to pick anything up. Walking up the few stairs to my apartment made my eyes water.

I was feeling horrible and it was all coming back to me... all the reasons I hate working out!
All of these negative thoughts reminded me of something I read online last week... I was helping my co-worker Akeem put into words his "training philosophy" and while looking up quotes we found this...

"If you are tired of starting over stop giving up" 

and now that I am going through the aches and pains of starting over on my fitness program, I see now that if I NEVER want to feel this way again... I can't give up.

And so, I came to work today ready to jump on the scale and give myself a confidence boost!

<------------------ This is Juice... My friend and official weigh in guy!
                                         (so you know i'm not cheating!)

Drum roll please......



   207! 4 pounds down! I feel like a rock star!


Everything on my body hurts! But I would rather be in pain have that horrible feeling that comes when I can't fit into anything in my closet.

Stay tuned for some workout tips and some healthy snack ideas.

Very Truly Yours,

Emmy
"The VERY SORE but feeling like a rock star Fitness Fatty"

Mother of God its MR. DING-A-LING!

This weekend was a real test for me. I spent most of the weekend at home which made the temptation to cheat on my diet... increasingly difficult to avoid. Time after time I would get up, walk to my pantry, see the cookies, touch the cookies, smell the cookies sometimes even talk to the cookies, then I would walk away, go back to the couch and think about the cookies, until I repeated that entire crazy routine. I actually took pop tarts put them in to toaster warmed them up and left them there! (sad I know)  I am so used to sitting around on a weekend and having coffee and cake or M&M's or cookies, that just sitting on the couch watching a movie or reading a book and not snacking, just didn't feel right.

The biggest test of all came while I was blow drying my hair. I had the bathroom window open when I heard it. A sound that used to make me and all of my friends smile, was now the ultimate test of my commitment to this program. When I heard the magical tune, all I could think to myself was... MOTHER OF GOD ITS MR. DING-A-LING! All I wanted was a vanilla/chocolate twist on a cone with rainbow sprinkles, Is that too much to ask for?  In the 30 seconds that it took the ice cream truck to drive down my street, I gave myself a million reasons to chase after the truck...

                   One ice cream cone isn't going to kill me!

                   I'll do a little extra cardio today.

                   I'll walk up every flight of stairs instead of taking the elevator.

      I'll skip all my other snacks today and I'll eat rice cakes for dinner.  I just want an ice cream cone!

But I stayed strong and much to my own surprise I have not cheated... yet

3 egg whites, .75 ounces of cheese, a slice of whole wheat toast, 1/2 of an apple,  and a teaspoon of peanut butter for breakfast. 

Turkey on whole wheat+flax seed sandwich thins with lettuce and tomato, a reduced fat sargento cheese stick, 1/2 of a banana and 8oz of fat free milk for lunch

Baked salmon fillets with steamed vegetables for dinner.

And a variety of things for snacks (mini meals) in between- small Luna protein bars, baby carrots,celery, 1/2 of a piece of fruit, rice cakes, pretzels... etc.

My friendly neighborhood fitness expert... Bryan Nunziato is going on vacation so it will be up to me to workout on my own.  45 minutes of cardio per day and a variety of functional and strength training exercises.

Here are some pics from today's workout.

So far... this sucks. Its hard! I constantly want throw on my sweats, curl up under my blanket and eat some Ben and Jerry's Half Baked.

I find myself zoning out a few times a day, having "fatty daydreams" as I like to call them where all I think about all the delicious treats I could be eating... the star of my fatty daydreams is currently the chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream...

Tomorrow is my first weigh in and I hope it is going to give me a boost in motivation and the strength to resist temptations... 

In the mean time post a comment and tell me about your biggest food temptations and who is starring in your "fatty daydreams".

Very Truly Yours,

Emmy

"The desperate for chocolate Fitness Fatty"

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The Last Supper and now...ITS ON!

When it hit me last night that I had just committed to this program in front of my friends,  family, co-workers and all over the internet I had a small panic attack. After it subsided I started to review my diet plan courtesy of Dr. Paul's Protocol and when I realized that chicken parm, girl scout cookies and hot pastrami and Swiss were not included... I had a mini melt-down .

 And then after that passed, I realized that this would be my last night of free, wild, irresponsible eating.  It had to be the best, fattest, bbq smothered dinner I could ever imagine.. so of course I turned to my all time favorite Wings Over Albany. My always supportive husband and I enjoyed every last little bit of our meals... (mine was boneless bbq wings, french fries covered in cheese and a can of coke) I said my goodbyes and now...
ITS ON!



This mornings breakfast, 3 egg whites on a slice of whole wheat, a teaspoon of salsa, a cube of cheese and 1/2 a piece of fruit was a harsh change from my usual 4 cups of coffee and a toasted croissant with butter but I'm feeling good!


Here is my before picture... 









Workout pictures & plans, meal ideas and more to come!


Very truly yours,


Emmy
On my way to being a former "Fitness Fatty"


P.S. A special thank you to my sister who supports every crazy thing I do, and has burned more calories laughing with me than on any of the crazy weight loss programs we have tried together!<3