You know you're on a diet when...

You can differentiate the distinct flavors for Equal, Sweet-n-Low, Splenda, Stevia, Truvia, honey, brown sugar, cane sugar, and white sugar.

Same goes for Diet Coke and Coke Zero.

If you don't drink a Diet Coke every day you turn into The Hulk. (Maybe She-Hulk, but a hulk nonetheless).

You know the low calorie food options at Wendy’s (it’s the chili).

You consider the following cheat food: Corn.

You have counted out the 55 pieces that equal one serving of goldfish crackers and 140 calories.

You know how many calories are in one single Dorito.

You know what glycemic index means.

You know the glycemic index of a banana.

You have tried Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and Nutri-system, and thought they were too expensive. At the same time, you’ve spent equal money and calories at Starbucks without a second thought.

Then you’ve tried Atkins, The Zone, South Beach, The Cookie diet, and the Paleo diet. You are pretty sure that diets that make you feel crazy must work.

You’ve had the South Beach flu.

You once drank cabbage soup for three days straight.

You've invented your own diet more than once. (See the George Clooney diet and the Star Trek diet).

You’ve considered cutting your hair to lose weight.

You don’t weigh-in until you’ve shaved and exfoliated. I mean really exfoliated. I mean shaved everything.

You count sex as exercise (and your husband isn’t complaining).

You caught yourself discussing your bowel movements with your co-workers. During lunch.

You have stayed up not once, not twice, but five times to watch the P90X infomercial at 2 a.m.

You’ve been dieting for five months and lost five pounds. Your husband goes jogging twice in a week and looses six pounds.

What are some weird things that you do when you are dieting? Let me know in the comments.

Weight in (July 5 to date): -5.6 lbs! Food journals and recipes coming soon! Happy eating and exercising.

19 lbs Gone Forever

Weigh In: -19lbs! (Weight loss to date since July 12)

Can you believe it? I hit the 19 lb mark this week. I've never lost 19 lbs in my whole life including after birthing my babies. Each time I step on the scale I remind myself that the pounds cannot come back. They have to go away forever. My goal was to be at the 20 lb mark this week, but I'm still proud of my progress.

I like to stress a lot, so this week I'm working on still losing weight while stressing out.

Weird Weight Loss Tips
Imaginary food and exercise journals. I love my food and exercise journals, but I've been without them for weeks. I've been trying to keep track of what I eat and how I exercise mentally. Let's face it. It isn't as productive as really writing it down, but my imaginary food and exercise journals are helping me continue to reach my weight loss goals.

Figure out what stresses you. Please stand by for a mini-therapy session: I'm stressed when I lose control. Keeping food and exercise journals are good for my personality. Getting on the scale is good for my personality. I like graphs and records and progress notes. Not everyone likes to do this, but I do like the order and control of measuring out my food.

Here's a picture of what my breakfast, snack, and lunch may look like. Order! Control! Organized Happiness! For those who really know me and know what my house looks like, food order is sort of my only hope. The rest of my life is a whirlwind of chaos.

Control in Weight Loss = Life Control
My dirty little secret is that the better I control what I eat and how I exercise, the better I control my entire life. Writing, cleaning, momming, working, you name it.

What stresses you? What works for you? What progress have you made toward your goals? Don't forget to read my October story. Until soon, happy exercising and eating!

Lose 30 lbs, Write a Book, and Save the World!

A lesson plan for life. Revisiting New Year’s resolutions nine months later.

My first blog with the Petit Fours and Hot Tamales was called Don’t Wait for January 1. I had big plans for the year, and now I’d like to give you a quick update on what’s happened in the past nine month. And yes, friends, it is the first nine months in forever where I didn’t have a baby!

December 28th resolutions with updates

• Lose the dreaded final 30 pounds. I’ve lost 23 lbs total since January (Including 15 lbs lost since June). I hope never to find these pounds again.
  
• Redefine my image. Nothing doing on this one. I’m wearing a few more dresses, but I'm still avoiding wearing heels. Like Popeye, I am what I am.
• Keep the clutter out of my house. Doing okay, but not great on this. Three kids are constantly conspiring against me. I lieu of cleaning, I just spray bleach. On everything.
• Update my personal website. Done. Check out 8 Headed Hydra. I also started my personal diet and fitness blog. It is really an online food and exercise journal to keep me accountable to my fitness goals.
• Enjoy my participation in Petit Fours and Hot Tamales. Absolutely! Nine months and nine blogs later, I have a very different perspective on what I write and how I write it.
• Focus on my writing. I’m a Maggie Finalist! I'm writing more (and I think better) than I did last year. I’m also working on a short story for our Petit Fours and Hot Tamales scavenger hunt in October (check back next month). I feel better and stronger about my writing than I ever have before.
• I also plan to save the world. In progress. One recycled item, one smile, one push-up at a time.

I still don’t like New Year’s Resolutions. If anyone is going to be successful at something they must start it immediately. Change can’t wait for a Monday or the first of the month or the beginning of the year. Neither can you.

Nicki’s Plan to Save the World

• If you are a writer you have 15 days to register for Moonlight & Magnolias. Back in July, I told you about the importance of writing conference. This conference will change your life and your perspective on writing. To register go to Georgia Romance Writers and click on M&M Conference.
• If you are a reader, come by the book signing at Moonlight & Magnolias on Saturday, October 3 at 4:00pm. Free and open to the public. Meet #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Sherrilyn Kenyon and 50 other fabulous authors.
• Look back on your New Year’s resolutions. If you have done even one thing on your resolution list, you are a success. If you didn’t make a list in January, make one in September. Make one October, but don’t wait for January. Do it now.

My biggest revelations this summer was about the ability to change. I went to Hilton Head Health Institute, and one of the instructors asked why we wanted to get fit. To become healthier? To lose weight? To gain confidence? The answer I gave surprised me. I wanted to see a change in myself. I wanted to be able to become a different person. Not weight loss specifically, but my whole life. Better wife, better mom, better at my job, better at my writing. I’m not really sure how to do this, but I’m trying different things each day. Some days it is more time in the park with my kids, another day it is exercising, another day it is writing a short story for our blog.

Can I save the world? No. Can I change it? Maybe not. (Notice I didn’t say no). Can I change myself? Yes! As always, I thank this blog and group of writers for pushing me forward every day. My final words of advice for saving the world:

• Have the desire to see change in yourself. When you see the change happening it can be scary. We don't really want to be different. But embrace change like a butterfly. It might be dark, lonely and scary at first, but then it will be suddenly beautiful.
  
• Surround yourself with people who want to do more and be more. They will encourage you and change your perspective. I've got great writing buddies and fitness buddies. You don’t have to change the world alone. You can do it with friends.
  

I have two prizes up for grabs. A writing journal and pedometer. Here's how to win. Anyone one who both 1) registers for M&M between September 1-7 and 2) posts a comment on my Petit Fours and Hot Tamales blog post between September 1-7 will be eligible to win the journal. Everyone else is eligible to win a pedometer, but you have to post a comment on my Petit Fours and Hot Tamales blog post and here my diet blog. See, if you want free stuff, you've got to work for it. And I'm getting you ready for the scavenger hunt in October. The rest of you let me know how your New Year's resolutions are coming along!

See you in October with my not so spooky story. Until then happy reading and writing!

Party of Five (unreal) Friends

Some friends of mine are discussing five fictional characters they would like dine with. And of course, since many of my friends are writers heaven forbid they'd choose to share a meal with someone real. If you want to see this list done the right way check out Romance Novel TV or my friend Chicki. But today I thought I'd list a few interesting lines from literature that make me think about food and eating.

"It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love . . . ." Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez

"And now you come to me -- women with hands and feet as soft as a queen's, with more cooking pots than you need, so safe in childbed and so free with your tongues. You come hungry for the story that was lost. You crave words to fill the great silence that swallowed me, and my mothers, and my grandmothers before them." The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

"I thought they were going to skin me alive. But they gave me food. Delicious food. Once I started eating, I couldn’t stop. I thought I would never stop being hungry." Life of Pi by Yann Martel

"I took hold of his collar and said, 'Come on, boy, let's go home and get something to eat.' He seemed to understand that he had found a friend. He came willingly." Where the Red Fern Grows by By Wilson Rawls

"I asked, it is true, for greater treasures than a little food or rest: I required kindness and sympathy; but I did not believe myself utterly unworthy of it. " Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

There you have it. If you missed 10th grade (or grade 10 as some call it) then I've caught you up to speed on a few books you should have read long before now.

Weight in (weight loss July 12 to date): -11 lbs!!! Next week I'm going to check my measurements. I'm very happy today. I've lost almost two pounds a week since July12. My husband has lost 20lbs! He is a very good healthy eating and exercising partner in crime. I'm so glad H3 put things in the right perspective so we can be more successful this time.

Friday Exercise Journal
6 flights of stairs at work
20 minute walk

Friday Food Journal
170 - Egg white omelet
340 - French toast
390 - Lean Cuisine Pizza
200 - Peach cobbler
200 - Kashi, blueberries and milk

Saturday Exercise Journal
30 minutes yoga
20 walk
1.5 hours cutting the grass

Saturday Food Journal
090 - Boiled egg
180 - Biscuit
230 - Kashi, blueberries and milk
200 - Ham sandwich (light oat bread, laughing cow cheese, ham)
400 - Bruster's Key Lime ice cream

Sunday Exercise Journal
30 minutes playground with kids
1 hour yoga

Sunday Food Journal
200 - Egg white omelet with sausage and onion
180 - Biscuit
200 - St. Cruz Organic Mango Lemonade
230 - Kashi, blueberries and milk
??? - Some coconut rum drink and horseradish mashed potatoes at my sister's house
290 - Seared scallops and angel hair pasta (One day I'm, going to go all Starving Foodie and post the recipe, but for now I'm just proud that I cooked something from scratch!)
400 - Double chocolate with peanut butter ice cream from Bruster's.

Someone out there is wondering about me wasting my calories on ice cream, knowing I don't even like ice cream. Let's just say I am experimenting with food. And I'm guestimating 400 calories for 1/2 cup because I can't find calories anywhere. I'm trying to figure out what satisfies me when. What I can eat with control. Ice cream is one of those things I can control, because I don't like cold desserts, so there is no chance of me eating an entire pint. Now if you left me alone with warm bread pudding or peach cobbler I could eat 2 lbs of that stuff. So I'm working on understanding my psyche and allowing myself some treats to boot. Sue me.

Weird Weight Loss Tips
Cook. I made seared scallops and the process of cooking really squashed my appetite. Chopping onions, smelling the food cook . . . . by the time you eat you're over it already.

As mentioned above, Eat something that you don't love, but is still an indulgence. For me this is ice cream.

I've had two weeks of doing better, but I'm really going to try to do my best this week. Got more real writing to do and healthy eating and exercising! You do the same.

Naughty Number Nine - Day 22

Number nine will put you on the spot.
Number nine will tie you up, oh, in a knot.
When you're tryin',
Multiplyin' by nine...
With naughty, nasty, mean old number nine.

Weigh In
-9lbs July 12 to date. No weight change this week. Well at some point I was at -10lb, but on weigh in day I was stuck at -9lb. I'm not complaining.

First of all, I'd like to tell you that I gained muscle this week, but I heard a good lecture at H3 about how implausible that is.

Second of all, I'd like to tell you (BOYS CLOSE YOUR EYES) that I'm having women's issues and I just wasted five minutes googling euphemisms for menstruation. Most pleased to see that my favorite periodical, The Onion, ranks as second result. News and euphemisms. Being on the rag is a good enough excuse for plateauing. I will use this as an excuse until there is a H3 class on why I can't use this as an excuse.

As you can tell my head hurts and I'm feeling a little cranking. I had a busy weekend doing writing business stuff (aka Georgia Romance Writers) without doing any actually writing. That always puts me in a bad mood. Less my PMS gets the better of this blog I will now report the happy stuff!

Nicki Does the Right Thing

1. I carried kashi cereal and a peach with me to GRW in lieu of Chick-fil-A biscuit. I ate the veggie meal, skipped the bread, pasta, and dessert. Brought second peach to be my dessert.
2. Went to an evening museum event with free alcohol. Opted for Diet Coke in lieu of wine. I normally feel like I should eat my weight at the buffet, but instead I ate lots of veggies and a little bit of meat. I'm guessing less than 2 oz of meat. I skipped the baklava, and ya'll know I adore baklava. I did indulge in fig the size of a plum and a yummy chocolate chip cookie.
3. For Sunday dinner, I stripped the fried chicken and ate the non-fried parts.

Friday Exercise Journal
2 mile walk. Very brisk 2 mile walk. 45 minutes worth. Maybe even more than 2 miles.

Friday Food Journal
250 - Flax Plus with Raisin cereal
380 - Roasted veggie sandwich
140 - Baked Lays
030 - Almonds
100 - Strawberries
300 - Macaroni

Saturday Food Journal
250 - Kashi cereal
042 - Peach
200 - Roasted veggies
042 - Peach
200 - Ham sandwich
500 - Assorted treats at the museum. Asparagus, green salad, fig, Parmesan, lamb/beef kabob, chocolate chip cookie

Saturday Exercise Journal
30 minutes strolling through a museum in heels. I'm counting this as exercise.

Sunday Food Journal
250 - Kashi Cereal
042 - Peach (I'm in a peachy mood this week. They have been delicious!)
500 - Tomato, basil, and mozzarella sandwich
200 - Mixed greens with dressing
200 - Chicken
200 - Peach cobbler (My sister made it and I had to try it.)
100 - Remainder of lemonade and apple juice abandoned by my kids. Scavenging again. I'm not really sure how to break this bad habit.

Sunday Exercise Journal
40 minutes stroll.

Weird Weight Loss Tips
What would Sanjay Gupta do? At Christmas, I will have a blog call "My Favorite Things" and remind me to include Gupta among them. He issued a four month to fitness challenge in June. So we are a few months late. Check it out. Always better to be late than the alternative.

Periodically, Gupta is nice to my brother-in-law and interviews him about sports medicine stuff. Check out a video clip of my brother-in-law on CNN. Not a weird weight loss tip, but now you know what my brother-in-law looks like!

Final Weird Weight Loss Tip: And just to be the annoying little sister-in-law that I am, here's a plug for my favorite shoes: Earth Shoes. I did lose some weight when I started wearing them last year, but quite honestly I wear them because they are beneficial for people who do a lot of yoga. They keep my calves and hamstrings stretched out. They are comfy. I don't care what Gupta and my brother-in-law say about them. I love Earth Shoes! I'm going to marry them.

Have a happy week. Good exercising and eating to all.

Better Late . . .

Friday Food Journal
450 - Chick-Fil-A Chicken Biscuit
240 - Palak Paneer (Yummy Indian Ethnic Gourmet)
080 - Steamed Veggies
100 - Grapefruit
150 - Super Green 96 Protein Drink
175 - Grilled Cheese
165 - Fish Sticks
200 - Cookies

Friday Exercise Journal
30 minute walk
12 flights of stairs

Saturday Food Journal
300 - Egg white omlet
045 - 1/2 toast
050 - Fruit
185 - Grilled cheese
160 - Chips
070 - Hot dog
200 - Burger (slider with no bun)
050 - Cole Slaw
050 - Watermelon
180 - Veggie Sausage
100 - 2 reduced fat Oreo cookies! Only 2!!!
075 - Blueberries and strawberries
075 - Whipped Cream

Saturday Exercise Journal
30 minutes walk/run
1 hour at park with kids

Sunday Food Journal
300 - Egg white omlet
045 - 1/2 toast
175 - 1/2 biscuit
235 - Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
060 - 1/2 cup milk
100 - 1/2 cup cereal
135 - Laughing cow cheese and salsa
300 - 1/2 Turkey sandwich
200 - Spaghetti with fat free cheese. Note to self: Cheese needs fat.
150 - 1/2 cupcake no frosting

Sunday Exercise Journal
I did none. Nada. Nothing. Hung with the kids and cleaned the house all day. Not sure how to quantify cleaning, grocery shopping, and a day completely away from technology. No phones, no computer. Let us just say it was a happy day. Don't feel guilty about not working out!

Weigh-In (Weight loss July 12 to date)
-9 lbs. For the record my weight fluctuated about 6lbs during the course of the week. But as of weigh-in, the scale showed 9 lbs. I'm taking it. I may be up a pound next week. We'll see...

Weird Weight Loss Tip
Don't worry about weight loss every day of the week. That's my story and I'm sticking with it. Happy eating and happy exercising!

Blame It on the Rain

It was pouring on Friday night so instead of exercising outside, my husband and I opted to exercise inside . . . at Target. We spent a full hour doing laps. Dollar bins, electronics, school supplies, house wares, grocery, check-out. Repeat 12 times. It was the final two hours before closing. I’m sure they didn’t appreciate us using their store for exercise, but we kept our pace to relaxed, but purposeful. Some of my realizations from that walk:

I love Target. Other women love Tiffany’s, but Target is my Tiffany’s.
The exercise equipment is completely hidden, but low cost snack foods and movies are on the end caps across the store.
There is a Target brand low calorie frozen meal that is just like Lean Cuisines, Healthy Choice, and Weight Watcher meals.
I like looking at food, but my mind had a hard time circling the food without intending to buy any food.
I don’t just like eating food, I like buying food.
I cannot leave Target without spending at least $100.
Once I reach my goal weight I’m going to focus on reducing my Target addiction.

Friday Exercise Journal
2.5 mile walk

Friday Food Journal
100 – Whole grain waffle
420 – Veggie Wrap
140 – Fruit salad (pineapple, honeydew, grapes)
225 – Turkey burger
030 – Ketchup
100 – Baked Cheetos
040 – Coffee

Saturday Exercise Journal
Jari Love’s Get Ripped 1,000

Saturday Food Journal
150 – 2 boiled eggs
050 – Grapefruit
240 – Oat bread
130 – Baked Cheetos
025 – Oatmeal cookie
148 – Turkey, cottage cheese, veggies
150 – Cereal, yogurt, banana
1000?? – Dinner at Cakes & Ale

Sunday Exercise Journal
1.5 hours mowing the lawn
4 hours of pain from my first yellow jacket sting

Sunday Food Journal
100 – Whole grain waffle
050 – coffee
263 – Turkey sandwich
1,000?? – Dinner at Cakes & Ale

Weigh in: -7.5 lbs despite two nights of ridiculous splurging at Cakes & Ale. I'm still down half a pound from last week. My what's-his-name and I had an anniversary dinner with my parents on Saturday and one on our own on Sunday. Sunday night I ate goat for the first time and found it to be rather delicious. I ate tons of veggies and healthy stuff, but there was champagne and dessert . . . Nothing says thank you for being married to me like food! No regrets. We did some pretty good exercising to make up for the food.

Weird weight loss tip. Circle the grocery store once without putting anything in your cart. Circle the second time and pick up what you need. I made very wise food choices at Target because I had a chance to ponder before I picked up anything.

Back to Life – Day 8

Monday Weigh In : - 7 lbs. (Weight change July 12 to date)

Wooo hoo! I checked at work and at home. Both scales are showing the same amount lost. I’m pretty surprised, but I also know that weight can drastically fluctuate. We’ll see what my results are next Monday for comparison. I am happy.

Weekend in review

Friday
Exercise Journal
20 minute walk before work
20 minute walk at the airport. We skipped the train in the ATL airport and walked to our concourse. Ya’ll in Atlanta know that is a workout.

Food Journal
100 - Oatmeal
150 – ½ Frozen Banana with Peanut Butter
Unknown Lunch– Arugula, yellow beet, blue berry, and gorgonzola salad, 2 oz beef tenderloin, ½ chocolate peanut butter cupcake, ½ meltaway cookie (yumminess)
Unknown Dinner – 1 beef slider no bun, 1 fish slider no bun, 1 onion ring, 2 cheese curds, 1 mini-meatball, 2 sips strawberry milkshake
Unknown drinks – Irish Car Bomb and Kamikaze

Good News. Skipped the beer at the Happy Gnome in St. Paul. Bad News. The Irish Car Bomb and Kamikaze at dinner. Less worried about the two shots of worthless alcohol and calories, but more worried that I’m too old to do shots. After taking both shots, my college roommates and I were tired and immediately went back to hotel to sleep. Rather unlike nights of debauchery in our younger days.

Saturday
Exercise Journal
30 minute walk in downtown St. Paul pre-breakfast
1 hour – 3 mile walk/run along the Mississippi river

I want to give a special thanks to my friends for taking a long walk with us on Saturday. Extra motivation and fun! I'll tell you more about it in tomorrow's blog.

Food Journal
Unknown calories most of the day. This is bad news. Good news is that I tested my judgement and portion control skills.
½ hotel omelet, ½ sausage, 50 calories of honeydew, 40 calories of coffee with milk
Lunch – 1 Bratwurst and 1 hot dog no buns. 1 tsp potato salad, cole slaw, and kraut. 1 piece of rye bread, 1 slice of corned beef, 2 mini-lemon cookies, 1 oatmeal cookie.
Dinner – Wedding reception. Lost track here, but I was nervous about giving a toast to bride and groom. I made better food choices than normal. Enjoyed 2 mojitos and a glass of champagne.

Good News. I brought my running shoes and did a 3 mile walk/run while traveling! Bad news. I remembered running shoes, but not my workout pants. Good thing Minnesota is the home of Target. No excuse not to workout on this trip!

Sunday
Food Journal
200 – ½ turkey sandwich
040 – Coffee with skim milk
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
280 – 2 pieces Pepperidge farm soft oatmeal bread
090 – 1 tbsp peanut butter
080 – 2 tsp Polaner’s cherry preserves
120 – 1.5 eggs
160 – 2 oz salmon
050 – Sautéed spinach and green peppers
50 – 4 oz Organic limeade

Exercise Journal
1.5 hours in the Great Barn at Stone Mountain Park. It is like Cross Fit for kids. Running jumping, sliding, climbing, throwing. I got a lot of exercise in there! I also felt a lot better than the last time I was in there with my monsters. Better fitness actually means more fun for all.
20 minutes Paddle boat at Stone Mountain Park. Big monster is too short to paddle so I had to do all the work.

Weird Weight Loss Tip
Don’t just take the stairs instead of the escalator. Don’t just walk instead of the moving sidewalk. Pick someone on the escalator or moving sidewalk and try to keep up with them while you are on foot. It might seem creepy at the mall, but if you do this at the airport, people with think you are just trying to catch your flight!

Weird Weight Loss Tip for Weddings
As my dear friend Mamie said as she walked on to the dance floor this weekend, “I’m just here to burn calories.” Don’t forget to dance. No one cares if you dance like Elaine Benes from Seinfield, Mamie. Oh, wait. That's how you run. Different story. Have fun, burn calories!