Shrinking Sisters

Water: A glug story

 

That's a pretty glass of water ... now, drink 10 of them.

Water is not my favorite drink. If I had my druthers (mmmm, druthers...) I'd swig Coca-Cola all day -- full sugar, full caffeine. But I don't. That's just crazy.

Aside from my morning massive mug of coffee, I drink water, and I have to force myself to get it down because, you see, I am a camel. I'm never thirsty. But my scale that measures everything shows that I'm in serious need of water.

So how do I get my water in? I glug it. No dainty sipping, no "put it in a pretty glass with a lemon wedge" trick. Instead, I swig it like a frat boy at a kegger.

I need a big ol' water bottle with a proper "guzzling nozzle." My fave is a 32-ounce Rubbermaid bottle with a flip top. In fact, Rubbermaid refers to it as the Chug Bottle (at right). Nice thing about it is that it's readily available, BPA-free and cheap, so you can keep a few of them around and filled. You just flip the top and chug away. It also fits nicely in most car cup holders.

So you've got the bottle and the water. Now I'll tell you what I put in the water. If I'm working out, I can easily drink it plain. But if I'm at my desk or watching TV I need a little something. Right now I have a packet of Emergen-C and a heaping spoonful of pink lemonade Metamucil in my bottle.

Metamucil serves a few purposes:

• Pysllium fiber is great for improving your cholesterol. The gelatinous fiber pulls the bad stuff out of your system.
• It's also good for adding a boost of fiber, which can help make you feel fuller.
• The slightly "gloopy" texture of the water makes it go down quicker, and isn't that what we're after? It literally gallops down your throat.

In the evening, my water of choice is another quart with a packet of Crystal Light Pure lemonade flavor (I'm all about the lemons). It provides just enough sweeteness to make the water interesting, and Crystal Light Pure is made with stevia and sugar so there aren't any artificial sweeteners or colors. Yeah, it has 30 calories per packet but it's totally worth it.

My goal is at least two of those Chug Bottles. If I get three, that's awesome (and 12 glasses, BTW). If that seems like a lot of water, you actually get used to it after awhile.

Do you have any tricks for cramming down the water?

While you're thinking, here's the latest HealthBuzz video:

Friday finds: Chip maker, green hummus, twitterdiet partying, HealthBuzz

Consider this a big ol' salad bowl of Shrinking Sisters info today.

 

I was watching the Dr. Oz Show last week and saw a cool new product -- the Mastrad TopChips kit, which consists of a mandoline slicer and a silicone tray. You slice your fruits and veggies paper thin, then place them on the tray and microwave, making chips. I ordered one from Amazon and it just arrived this morning, so I grabbed an apple to try it out. They came out a little more like dried apple slices than crispy chips but they were still good and a fun way to stretch an apple. Carrot chips didn't work at all, but I have a high-powered microwave and may have to lower the temp a little to get the right drying effect. Sweet potato crisps will be my next experiment.

While at a Whole Foods Engine 2 Challenge Wednesday night, one of the employees mentioned green garbanzo hummus, as it doesn't have any added oil -- just tahini, garbanzos and spices -- so I gave it a try and was really impressed. More impressive -- it only has 39 calories per ounce, which is about half the calories as regular hummus. The brand I got was Nature's Healthy Gourmet, a Florida company that sells its product at Whole Foods.

 

Last night I had the pleasure of co-hosting a Twitter party. For the most part, I don't do Twitter parties because they're usually sponsored by a company and the conversation keeps getting steered toward how awesome that product is with hashtag spam. But Rebecca Regnier's #twitterdiet parties on Thursdays and Sundays at 8 p.m. are geared toward people talking about weight loss and how we can keep each other accountable. So next time you find your handles twitching for evening Doritos, fire up the laptop and join the party.

 

 And, finally, here's this week's HealthBuzz!

Motivation Monday: Me? A dream board?

Yes, folks, take in all its delicious glory:

I was prompted to do this after my SparkPeople Live meeting on Friday. SparkPeople now offers live meetings with leaders and members (just like that other weight-loss company) but you do it at home with a headset and a webcam. Anyway, one of the projects was to create a dream board.

I've seen some pretty "woo woo" dream boards -- ones where people write themselves blank checks for a million dollars, stuff like that. But I made one anyway, and what I noticed was that my images were almost all fitness related.

I did put one picture of "skinny jeans" on, but those actually come from Lane Bryant. Seriously, how "skinny" does a butt have to be?) My other dream is to be able to buy afford clothes at Lululemon. Biggest size in the Ta Ta Tamer doesn't really count.

There's a big "50" at the center of the board for many reasons:

• I turn 50 in March
• I am going to lose 50 pounds this year
• 150 is my ultimate goal

I also have reminders to drink more water, get more sleep, journal ALL my eating and close the kitchen at 9 p.m. 

Can't believe I, the cynic, made a dream board but it was an inspiring activity.

And for more inspiration, here's the latest HealthBuzz:

Don't buy crap with coupons (and check your bra straps)

So I was on the 11 p.m. news last night. Don't worry -- an alligator didn't eat my dog nor did I drive my car into an ice cream parlor (typical South Florida news stories).

No, I was talking about my secret skill -- couponing.

I've been doing it since college -- as a journalism major and longtime newspaper employee, Sunday coupon circulars were easy to come by.

But here's where coupon clipping can trip you up with weight loss (tying this into the theme of the blog) -- don't buy something just because you have a coupon. If you're clutching a coupon for chewy chocolate chip granola bars and you don't own a toddler, slip that coupon under the box of bars at the grocery store and make someone's day.

Many coupons are for processed foods, candy, sugary cereal and even dog junk food (you don't need Tuna Helper and your dog does not need Pupperoni).  Resist the urge to clip those and instead clip the ones for non-crappy foods that can help your weight-loss plan, such as coffee, produce, Greek yogurt, eggs, frozen fruit and veggies, and almonds.

I don't blog about couponing because I'm not "extreme" about it. I don't dumpster dive for newspaper circulars, South Florida stores don't double coupons, I don't have a basement to stockpile and I'm not a fan of ramen noodles. (Ever watch Extreme Couponing? For the most part, the families eat crap. "More pizza rolls and orange soda kids? Here, wash it down with a big glass of liquid soap.") My tools are at left: A small coupon organizer, preprinted shopping lists and the weekly ad -- either in printed form or on the web. (Yes, I'm a total Publix fangirl.)

When people say it costs too much to eat healthfully, I say "Ha!" Yeah, you can go through the drive-thru and pick up a cheeseburger for a buck, but you can also pick up a metric ton of fresh green beans for the same price (OK, I exaggerate), rinse them and microwave them for a couple minutes. On Christmas Eve, my two main side dishes for eight people were steamed green beans and sweet potatoes. The green beans were around a dollar and eight sweet potatoes were around $1.50. That's cheap food, folks. And I didn't even need a coupon for those.

Here's the video from last night. (All week the only thing on my mind was "my bra strap was totally hanging out of my shirt," but alas it stayed hidden.)

And here's someone who's much more comfortable on camera than I -- Jamie from Diets in Review, with this week's HealthBuzz:

It's a vlog! Let's talk about danger zones

Shrinking Sister Carol came over today to pick up some stuff (we did a little home purging) and we got to talking about the Giant Mountain of Diet Books on my dining room table.

"Anything good?" she asked.

"They're all good as long as you pick one and follow it," I replied.

We then talked about the things that really trip us up:

And here's yet another HealthBuzz this week

:

Tunes for Tuesday: How Do You Spell Hanukkah, by The LeeVees

This is from my only favorite alt-rock Hanukkah CD -- Hanukkah Rocks, by The LeeVees. The band comprises Adam Gardner of Guster and Dave Schneider of the Zambonis.

Chappy Chanuka!

We'll be celebrating at an actual hockey game, watching a Zamboni between periods, so it's all kinda related.

And as a bonus video, here's a HealthBuzz!

If smoothies make me happy, just call me ecstatic

I'm a rebel without a diet -- I've mentioned that a few times. But does "eating on a whim" help me with weight loss? Hellz, no. So this week, the Weight Shrink suggested that I throw a little structure into my food fairyland. 

We decided to build a plan around smoothies. I find them very filling, they're balanced, they're something I can whip up in a snap, and most importantly, I love them. As much as I try, I can't do something like "the big salad" -- they leave me feeling like a cow grazing on pasture land.

So my goal is smoothies for breakfast and lunch, an afternoon snack (if needed) and the proverbial "sensible dinner."

As luck would have it, the December flood of new diet books is starting at my front door, and one of the books is called The Simple Diet: A Doctor's Science-Based Plan, which is based around meal-replacement shakes. It comes out Dec. 27.

Dr. James W. Anderson, a professor of medicine and clinical nutrition at the University of Kentucky, came up with the plan to automate the process of eating. He writes:

Instead of trying to figure out which foods are "good" or "bad," which are "allowed" or "forbidden," you simply enjoy nutritionally balanced, delicious, premeasured meal replacements along with your favorite fruits and vegetables.

Bingo!

My pantry is chockful of protein powders and we have a constant supply of frozen fruit and various milks (almond, coconut, even sunflower) so smoothies are just plain easy.

I just got the book and am only into the introduction but it sounds like the plan we came up with on Monday might actually be a smart one FOR ME. (I put that in caps because I'm not a medical professional and this is what I'm doing for me. But, hey, it's in book form now, so give it a read when it comes out.)

My Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 notebook

Over on Shrinking Sisters Reviews, I have started a five-week series using Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 for the Xbox. I've tried just about every "exergame" on the market and this one is among the best.

This week's HealthBuzz

And for another dose of healthfullness, check out this week's HealthBuzz:

:

It's the season of (weight loss) miracles

Hiya!

I've been crazy busy the past week, and I haven't had a chance to come up for air.

It's that time of year.

No, I'm not talking about shopping, baking and partygoing.

I'm talking about the onslaught of press releases, packages and TV plugs devoted to weight loss.

I spent the past week chasing down the Next Big Thing -- the P.I.N.K. Method weight-loss plan (you can read more than enough on that over at my column on Examiner). I've been greeting the UPS and FedEx guys at the door just about every day, their arms laden with items like green kefir (really good!), workout DVDs (Tuesday is a BIG release day, by the way) and even a Shake Weight (the "Pro" edition).

It's enough to make my head spin.

Is this the cure-all for obesity? Is this workout The One? Is the Shake Weight more than a punchline? Is Jane Fonda some kind of antiaging robot?

It's easy to get caught up in the reams of hype and for someone who frequently gets stuck on the scale, the hype can be very tempting.

But I know I am The Rebel Without a Diet and I need to stay true to my "non plan" because that, strangely, works. I take bits and pieces of the scads of plans I have followed and discarded and make my own rules that I can live with. When I start thinking that I need to do something else, I rebel, fall off and stuff my face with Rice Chex.

As long as I track my food and fitness on the totally free and totally awesome SparkPeople.com, I'm good. I've been doubting my "non-plan" the past couple days, and the scale has shown that.

And if you've never checked out SparkPeople, you definitely should. It's amazing how many resources they have and it doesn't cost a cent. You can check it out HERE.

And here's some more good advice, from the weekly HealthBuzz:

Can we get in our own way?

Standing on the scale today, I breathed a sigh of relief. Since Thanksgiving Day, I've gotten rid of 5 pounds.

Yep -- I lost 5 pounds over Thanksgiving and the weekend.

How did I do that? I got out of my own way.

I tend to impose too many weight-loss rules: Eating a piece of fruit? Make sure you have some protein with that. Having a salad for lunch? Better balance that with something starchy. You can't have a spoonful of peanut butter and call it a snack! Did you do a DVD yesterday? Better run today. Did you walk today? You need to strength train tomorrow.

And on and on.

Taken at face value, and one at a time, those don't seem like bad suggestions. But these food and exercise rules can swirl around in my head every time I step in to the kitchen or lace up the sneakers.

It's exhausting and can make me freeze in my tracks, afraid to eat a banana or do a Zumba DVD. Afraid it's not the right day or the right food.

The day after Thanksgiving, all my kid wanted for lunch and for dinner was a plate of turkey. No sides, no bread, no ketchup, no nothing. Just turkey.

"Is that it? Don't you want some leftover stuffing? Want it in a sandwich?"

Nope. Just turkey. I couldn't wrap my head around that because of my food rules.

Ugh.

So Saturday morning I said to myself: "Stop it."

Want a banana? Eat a banana. Want to Zumba every day? Go for it. Eat the salad for lunch and have a baked potato at dinner -- it all works out in the end.

I also went back to my old pal SparkPeople.com. I have always loved their fitness and food trackers. But this time around I'm not going to check the pie chart of nutrients after every meal and snack. In the past I would do that and then obsess the rest of the day about getting my food in the "perfect" ratio or getting enough fiber or calcium or whatever. Instead, I'll let the tracker give me the daily wrapup at the end of the day. I'll see how I did and think about working in more fiber the next day. All I'm looking at is the calories. SparkPeople gives me a range and I have been staying around the low end of them.

And that, boys and girls, is how I lost 5 pounds in three days.

And here's a belated HealthBuzz:

Produce of the Month: Campari tomatoes

Who needs a candy dish?

I'll bet you were thinking: November ... Produce of the Month ... why the heck is she writing about tomatoes?

Sure I could go all brussels sprouts or gourds but I am in love with Campari tomatoes, especially this time of year. All those juicy heirloom tomatoes are gone, and grocery stores are full of those tasteless, gas-bag hockey puck barely red tomatoes from my fair state of Florida. But look a little harder and you'll find plastic clamshells of Campari tomatoes, either from the U.S. or Canada.

Huge difference!

Campari tomatoes got their start in European greenhouses, then Canada started growing them and now they're being grown in the United States, too. And since they're grown in greenhouses, they're free of pesticides (as best as I can find). They're also consistently sweet, juicy, ripe and really flavorful.

They're about the size of a ping pong ball -- smaller than a salad tomato and bigger than a cherry tomato.

I keep a bowl of them on my kitchen counter all the time, and will often eat one as a snack. My favorite way to snack on them is to slice them and sprinkle them with "fancy-pants" sea salt flakes and True Lime powdered lime juice. Or you can cut them in half and stuff 'em with a teaspoon of hummus.

Kids love 'em too. My 11-year-old niece frequently will chow down on a handful of them when she comes over.

And hey, if you're craving an autumnal veggie, check out Roni's Green Lite Bites post on butternut squash. Turns out I was doing it all wrong. I was even tossing out the seeds when I could have been roasting them!

Oh, what else ...

Check out my review of Marzetti Simply Dressed salad dressing over on Shrinking Sisters Reviews. The Pomegranate variety is really good and low in fat, too.

And here's this week's HealthBuzz

Diets in Review discusses Turkey Trots (if I don't find one near me, I'll do my own trotting), fall veggies and a great sounding salad recipe.