Competition Report

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Dave| Leave a comment

Hey NutriTeam competitors – what do you have to say for yourselves?

I am keeping a close eye on the NutriSum teams competing for good health and of course the $250 prize. The competition began on August 16 and the teams have until October 25th to earn the highest average NutriSum points, highest average pounds lost, and highest total exercise minutes to win.

Based on team names alone, I gotta root for Weapons of Mass Reduction and The Thunder Thighs. I work with “Sistahs in Motion, who without question, have the best team photo on the website. Just wait and see though, I am going to kick all your butts with my new workout plan.

 Here are this week’s top 10 team stats:

  1. Skinny Minnies: 80.1
  2. The Thunder Thighs: 76.2
  3. Gabattack: 75.7
  4. Sistahs in Motion: 73.3
  5. OneGoodGoalers: 71.7
  6. Alley Cats: 59.4
  7. Team Roxbury: 53.3
  8. Lighten Up! 49.6
  9. NutriTeamers: 49.3
  10. GI Janes: 48.9

So team members, what do you have to say for yourselves? What hot tips do you have for fellow NutriSumers?  Let us hear from you. Tell us why you are going to kick butt or if you’ve given up already. Fess up, come clean, tell it like it is. Lets hear it.

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Eight Months In

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Dave| 1 Comment

Who’d a thought? I’ve been on the LiveWell NutriSum program for eight months. 

This morning when I got up I put on slippers because it was cold. What does that have to do with losing weight?  Not a damn thing – well maybe – more on that later. The cold irritates me the same way it being darker longer in the morning irritates me. Pretty soon daylight saving time will “fall back” and that irritates me too. I like long, light days. 

Does irritation lower your urge to exercise or increase it?  Do you exercise in part to blow off some frustration or real stress or do you just let stuff keep bugging you?

Exercise is on my mind again. Eight months in I have made major lifestyle changes in what I eat, changes I am confident will continue. These changes have actually become new eating habits. Most days, I am eating the NutriSum recommended amount of whole grains, fruits and vegetables and drinking plenty of water. I almost always eat breakfast and rarely eat within two hours of hitting the sack.  

As of today, I am at 271 pounds. That’s 32 less than I weighed eight months ago.  Obviously my eating habits have radically changed. 

I have also lost weight because I have exercised, but the truth is that it has not become a built-in habit the way my new eating habits are. I have been erratic as hell. Some weeks nothing, other weeks nothing, three days one week, another week once, yada, yada.  One reason the weather comes to mind is because I am a serious gardener and work like a dog maintaining my garden and a city strip I adopted. I know gardening is good exercise and enjoy walking when it is sunny and warm outside.

So my biggest challenge these last four months is pumping up my exercise routine, or more honestly put: actually making it a routine.

As I’m writing this I’m thinking: You idiot. Why are you saying this out loud? Now you will have to write more about it. Now you will have to make sure to make the hardest change of all – regular exercise.

Exactly.

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LiveWell Lunch Box

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Dave| Leave a comment

I’m starting to take my lunch to work for a few reasons: 1.) It’s cheaper than eating out, 2.) It’s a lot easier to make sure my lunch is healthy, 3.) It limits temptation.  Here is a photo of the nifty LiveWell lunch box I got for logging my progress online and as another incentive to keep up good eating habits:

What’s inside?

  • Sandwich:  Whole grain bread, light mayo, Cajun turkey, heart healthy havarti, mixed greens.
  • Carrots
  • An apple
  • A nutrition bar for a snack later in the day.
  • A slice of lemon for squeezing into my water bottle

I’m feeling pretty virtuous this morning. I ate a healthy breakfast and made a healthy lunch. I still have a few vices — you got to. Otherwise Liz Taylor will say this about you:

“The problem with people who have no vices is that you can be pretty sure they’re going to have some pretty annoying virtues.”

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My New Favorite Grill Recipe

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Dave| 1 Comment

It is going to be 80 degrees today. Although summer is fading there is still time for a great BBQ. I love to grill and have been trying out healthier stuff this year. If it’s healthy it’s still gotta taste great. 

This recipe* does:

Before

 

Shrimp and peaches on a skewer based with Paul Newman’s light honey mustard dressing. Yabba dabba. Um Um good.
After
 
I use small shrimp and cut each peach into six slices. I baste the shrimp and peaches once before the skewers go on the grill and once while they cook. Give them about four minutes, or until the shrimp turns pink on one side then flip the shrimp and cook for two to four more minutes or until there are no signs of gray. It can be hard to flip the skewer (though I have found this to be doable) so you may want to skip flipping and just cover the grill to cook both sides. I have had this recipe with perfectly ripe peaches and it was mighty fine. Even if the peaches are a bit short of ripe, the grilling still gets you a good flavor.

I’m telling ya, this is the healthy grilling hit of the year for me. Try it and tell me what you think. 

*Thank you to my friend Geralyn (and Weight Watchers) for this recipe recommendation.

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Time To Get Naked?

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Dave| Leave a comment

Are you making progress on losing weight? This clip from one of my previous posts came to mind this weekend as I was thinking about my weight loss progress. In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, the always quotable, former all-star basketball player, Charles Barkley had this to say about his efforts to lose weight:

 Charles: “If you want to know if you are fat or not, just take off all your clothes and walk by a mirror. The mirror never lies.”

Jimmy: “What is your mirror saying to you?”

Charles: “Put your clothes back on.”

In last Thursday’s post, I committed to a healthy weekend.  Supportive Sarah, my blog editor, says it is time for a weekend report — a full disclosure. Did I exercise as planned? Did I eat right?    

Here It Goes:

Friday night: I restrained hogging and limited myself to one dog (as in hot, not Gracie). 

Saturday: I skipped breakfast on Saturday morning and although I had planned on going to gym first thing I didn’t. Bad start. 

I ate a blue cheese and bacon burger with fries and a chocolate shake for lunch. I just couldn’t help myself, the BURGER URGE hit and I weakened. I had gone from bad to worse. Then I got a grip and gardened hard for 3 hours. For dinner I ate a giant healthy salad and then I sat down to record my daily progress, if you can call it that. 

Sunday:  I was not to be detoured by my momentary burger/fries/shake lapse. Driven by my recent post stating that I was getting back on plan, I exercised for an hour and ate very healthy food on Sunday.

Full Disclosure: The scale says 277 this morning. I am down two pounds from a week ago. Yeah, I had a burger binge, BUT I got back on it. I exercised both days, which is the only thing that saved me from reporting a weight gain.

Writing this blog is sometimes embarrassing, but sometimes it’s a hell of an incentive.

Charles can keep his mirror for now. But before I’m done…

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What Am I Going To Do About It?

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Dave| Leave a comment

Monday I came clean and fessed up to significant back sliding. Since I don’t care much for whiners and moaners, the question was: What am I going to do about it starting NOW?

Here are the answers I gave myself on Monday:

Record  Progress Daily. When I record daily and meet the whole grains, fruits and vegetables and daily water consumption goals I do better. I have done it all week. I have eaten better. It is not that hard and it pays off to keep track of what I’m doing.

Don’t eat any of the really bad crap. I forgot to mention in my How Am I post that I had backslid some on soda and chips too.  I haven’t had any since Monday and feel better already. 

Plan the Exercise and Actually DO IT. As experienced exercisers have informed me, when you plan exercise times for the week, you are more likely to do it. I planned to exercise Tuesday and Wednesday and I have done it.  Two 40-minute brisk walks outside because was way to nice out to go to a gym. Saturday is next up.

Surprise, surprise, I feel better, have more energy, am less stressed and weighed 276.8 this morning. I am down a little over a pound since the last post.   

How to keep at it? That is the question. FormerFatGuy has some ideas I took a look at recently. What a story:  “Once I weighed 475 pounds.  Now I don’t.”

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How Am I?

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Dave| 1 Comment

My blog editor won’t let me up for air. Enough with posts about the weight management program! What about you? Being the LiveWell Wellness Coordinator, she has a healthy nose for trouble, or maybe better put: avoidance.

Though I have made a reference here or there to some difficulties lately, the ever persistent Sarah demands I come clean. I thought it was enough to say my exercise schedule was in the toileto, but no, apparently toileto is not even a word.

Today’s scale said it all: 279. Now for those of you first visiting this blog, you may be thinking wow, he is a fat pig. The good news is that I started at 303 and then lost 30 pounds. The bad news is that at 279 I have gained six pounds back. Worse, if she had asked me to come clean a week ago it would have been nine pounds gained back.

What’s in the way? To be completely honest, I am busier than hell these days. Twelve to 15-hour workdays are not conducive to eating well. Add in some out of town travel, hotel food and the health concerns of a couple family members and you have plenty of excuses to fall back on. I have convinced myself I have no time to exercise. No time. Plus, in a predictable return to form (damn I hate to admit this), I’m thinking to myself, hey I lost 30, what does it matter if I have a burger now and then, an occasional sausage sandwich, a pizza?

I do not have a degree in occasional. Nor do I have a PhD in balance. This is the pattern that bugs me the most and has always been my downfall in the past, especially combined with long work hours and other issues that I can use as handy excuses. 

This weekend I resolved to do better, but Friday night Pam and I had dinner with our good friends Mark and Maureen to celebrate Mark’s retirement. Mark even tried to help (he reads the blog) by making healthy appetizers — salmon dip and halibut skewers — followed by BBQ chicken and a tasty and healthy corn, zucchini, and mushroom dish. 

I tried to help too: I brought beer, pecan and apple pie and ice cream. It was a beautiful night to spend with good friends. I was so happy I ate a piece of pecan pie and ice cream and then had a piece of apple pie and ice cream.  

Mark asked me if I was going to blog about my excess. I said yes.  Between him and Sarah, no one is letting me up for air. Even a coworker asked me last week if I was putting some pounds back on (we’ve worked together 26 years so she can get away with it).

All good. I know the excuses are just that. I can be a stubborn SOB when the times call for it. And the times are calling.

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In It To Win It

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Dave| Leave a comment

There are NutriTeams forming throughout the Sound Health & Wellness Trust. From team Lighten Up! To team JH Friends United, NutriSum teams are getting set and ready to compete on Monday.

There are only three days left to create a team of your own. You can compete with at least three other Sound Health & Wellness Trust participants, spouses or same-sex domestic partners for the team prize of $250 and better health habits of course.

To get started, log in on the Sound Health & Wellness Trust website and click on the team advertisement. By joining NutriSum you’ll be able to create a NutriTeam by clicking on the “Team” tab. Remember, your teammates must accept your email invitations before Sunday at midnight in order to complete the registration and start competing on Monday.

Who knows which team will win, but I would watch out for those Alley Cats. After all, they tell us they are “In it to win it!”.

Good luck everyone!

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What’s For Dinner?

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Dave| Leave a comment

This post is written by Dave’s guest blogger, the Sound Health & Wellness Trust’s LiveWell Wellness Coordinator, Sarah Monley

If you are anything like me, when life gets hectic your natural reaction is to stop planning and cooking meals at home. Whether that means I am heating up frozen dinners, eating out at restaurants or grabbing fast food, I tend to feel like “if I’m not cooking it it’s convenient”.

There is no reason to sacrifice all the hard work I put into maintaining a healthy diet through NutriSum just because I am not in the mood to cook.  

This week’s NutriSum article titled: Get Smart About Eating Out offers four simple suggestions to stay on track when you are ordering off a restaurant menu. Although NutriSum’s tips are relevant to restaurant dining, with some creative thinking the tips could apply to fast food or deli counter grocery shopping too. I have some ideas for how you can also stick to the program when you are eating in but trying to get dinner on the table in a hurry.

  • NutriSum’s Tip: Eat a salad first. If a salad comes with your meal ask for it to come as an appetizer.

 Sarah’s Tip: Pick up a snack-sized bag of carrots or pre-cut veggies to snack on as you leave the store and get home to serve dinner. This way you don’t arrive at home starving and you have a snack with minimal calories.

Bonus Tip: If it has been a busy day chances are I also haven’t had enough to drink. Drinking a bottle of water before I leave work helps cut my appetite as I commute home. This way I don’t arrive famished and gorge on the first thing I see.  

  •  NutriSum’s Tip: Order first. We’re always influenced by the choices of others so eliminate this pressure by deciding what you will eat and sticking to it.

Sarah’s Tip: Don’t be tempted by those vending machines by the door or sale items at the end of the check stand. In the same way, say no to adding anything to your order at the window or counter. An extra drink, side dish or appetizer adds unnecessary calories.

  • NutriSum’s Tip: Ask for what you need. It is no big deal to ask for substitutions like vegetables instead of bread.

Sarah’s Tip: If you would be picky with a server be picky as a chef. Be willing to make substitutes in your own meal at home with things like brown rice and whole grain tortillas or swiping a sauce* for some fresh herbs. Keep these things stocked so you are not reaching for the unhealthy alternatives when you’re in a hurry.

  • NutriSum’s Tip: Inquire about the details. Know your ingredients and ask for special toppings on the side.

Sarah’s Tip: Just because it is in the salad mix or on top of the microwave packet doesn’t mean it is necessary. Skip the mayo packet at the drive thru, be flexible when it comes to glazes and coatings. It might be a small change but it will count when it comes to your daily caloric intake.

I wonder if you have used any tricks to make “fast” food healthier. Whether it because your hungry or tired, don’t let excuses get in the way of your overall healthy living goals.

 *I know there is one sauce fan reading…

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To Snack Or Not To Snack

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Dave| Leave a comment

What is a snack anyway?  A snack doesn’t sound like much, does it? I used to have “just a snack” before dinner. What I really ate were appetizers because that is what my “snack” invariably became. Isn’t rationalization great? “Just a snack before dinner”, yeah right. I love appetizers, but the dictionary would tell ya they are to stimulate the appetite before a meal. I was not snacking, I was eating “horse doovers” as my Grandpa used to say. 

It turns out that snacking can be good for you and a well-timed snack can actually complement your diet. Alas, the healthiest snacks are eaten between meals, not right before them. I know this because a couple healthy coworkers who always have a snack at the ready tipped me to this healthy eating idea. Like most of my efforts at lifestyle change, figuring out the best snacks and when to have them is a work in progress. I am on the hunt for great-tasting healthy snacks.

The Art of Snacking (one of many helpful articles in the latest In Sound Health newsletter) shares some important tips about snacking and the benefits of a good snack. There are tips like this:

  • A nutritious snack can help control blood sugar levels and stop you from binging or overeating at meals.  
  • Snacks should be high in vitamins, minerals and fiber: “Complex carbohydrates like fruits and vegetables or an ounce of low fat cheese will keep you going much longer than a bag of chips for the same amount of calories.”

This is an unpaid promo, but if you aren’t checking out the LiveWell In Sound Health newsletter from cover to cover you are missing out on some great info. From The Art of Snacking and Sawing Logs to an article titled Attack the Plaque, the newsletter is fact-packed, to the point, and full of useful information. All participants covered by the Sound Health & Wellness Trust get it delivered to their door so share it with your family. It should arrive this week so check it out, improve your health and snack on.

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