Quick post

I've had a very busy two days! Wild!

Yesterday I had work in Queens, then Brooklyn, then home to eat dinner, then the train to Larchmont to get my dad's car, then back to Queens. Got up at 7:30 and Alice and I drove to Philadelphia to register voters and hopefully convince a couple people to vote for Obama. I'd say we were fairly successful, although not as much as I had hoped.

Then we went into Philadelphia for a little, which is surprisingly great! Historic, beautiful, poor in some areas and upscale in others, old Boston-y architecture, and a pretty hopping tourist-y area full of families and goth teenagers.

Considering it was a day trip/road trip thing, my day was NOT healthy.

BREAKFAST:

Cheddar cheese squares, grapes, carrots (box bought at rest stop)

LUNCH:

Granola bar
Diet Coke

DINNER:

Philly Cheese-Steak!


Granted, we did walk a lot as part of our day, but still, tomorrow when I return my dad's car I'm going to run on the treadmill for a bit. In honor of the day we had, I shall post a photograph of Barack Obama, who is super hot.



Seriously, I don't know what I'll do if he loses the election. I talked to a couple kids (well, 18-36 year olds, not really "kids") who felt like there was no point in voting. "Who cares? They'll just do what they want anyway." The truth is, I feel like they're right. In 2000, it didn't seem to matter what the popular vote said. The Electoral College is incredibly confusing (can SOMEONE explain what its purpose is to me?) So the only thing I could tell them was, "I do think THIS election IS important and that you should vote." But...I dunno.

hotter than a pepper sprout

So it seems as though beans have won the great debate of 2008 (it rhymes!) Thanks, Aebra and Freya...I am glad to incorporate them back into my diet in healthy amounts.

Today was pretty good in terms of the food choices I made, although I did go a bit overboard at the end of the day.

BREAKFAST:

1/2 cup oatmeal

LUNCH:

String beans
2 Kraft part-skim string cheeses
Diet Coke

DINNER
Handful of carrots
2 chicken fajitas
Baked tortilla chips

DESSERT(?)
2 Werthers candies
1 chocolate Calcium chew


In terms of exercise, I walked home from work, which is about a mile, and I walked from Queensboro Plaza to Freya's house across the bridge, which in total is 2 miles. So I walked 3 miles today, albeit in a leisurely fashion.

I also think I might try a tactic my sister's friend Eliza used to lose weight. (Successfully, I might add, she looks great). She made 4 guidelines for herself.

1. Don't take second helpings at meals
2. Some form of exercise every day
3. No snacking
4. You may break one rule a day

I love the fourth rule because it gives you flexibility and choices! Today I pretty much followed it, because I didn't snack between meals, I did some form of exercise (my walk), and since I had done those two things, I allowed myself to have two fajitas instead of just one. (These fajitas were pretty healthy, by the way, just chicken and vegetables in a whole-wheat flour tortilla).

I know the recommendations I've gotten are that I SHOULD snack healthfully during the day. Maybe that's the way to go. But I just find that once I start eating, it's really difficult for me to put the kabosh on it. I think that's why I lost weight sophomore year of college - the three, healthy, square meals a day (and rarely eating at night - Aebra, remember our perpetually empty mini-fridge?) worked pretty well for me. But we shall see.

On a positive note, when I came back from dinner, I tried on Alice's clothing and had a mini-fashion show in which she greatly complimented my hourglass figure. It was wonderful for the old self-esteem. Thanks, Alice.

And lastly, for my birthday (which I know is far away), I think I might ask my parents for membership to a local gym. I am eating better, but I think exercise will work wonders.



Thanks again for the support, everybody! Here's an interview with Jennette Fulda, the woman who inspired me to start this blog.

woman troubles

So I got my period today, which was kind of a bummer, since the first day always makes me feel really ill. Luckily Alice gave me some sort of super-strength pain reliever and once I was at work, my personal hell lifted and I was able to act like a normal human being. In the afternoon I felt sick again, and when it subsided I suddenly felt very hungry. So I ate a healthy-but-big dinner. In general, today:

BREAKFAST

1/2 cup oatmeal

LUNCH

Bean/corn/onion salad
Chicken and veggies

DINNER

Essentially the same as lunch
Diet Coke


Exercise? Nope, not a chance, I was feeling very fetal-position-y. Tomorrow I really need to step it up. And I've announced it here, on this very blog, so I must follow through!

Other disappointments for me:
1. Portion control! Notice the healthy foods above? I need to measure them out so I'm not eating the equivalent of three people's meals
2. Alice informed me that beans are very high in carbs. Hm. I guess I have to eat them more sparingly.

Thanks for the wonderful comments, Rischa & Freya! I had the same reaction when I saw the 90210 pictures. And in terms of eating after dinner, it's definitely been dangerous for me, with that "Last Meal" mentality. However, I do have some portion control issues - if I don't cut myself off after dinner, my evening becomes one never-ending snack. So I think that I'm going to try it for now.

I still haven't bought a scale. Dumb question - where does one buy one? I miss Meijer , which has everything under the sun. I went to Rite Aid, but that didn't seem so promising.

And lastly, on a positive note, I would like to pictorially convey what I am excited about when I DO actually lose this weight:



Bikinis! I have never owned a bikini in my life. The last time I wore one, I was two years old. (It was polka-dotted and very cute). It would be pretty thrilling to be able to wear even the most conservative bikini at some point in my life. And I think if I work a little bit harder, it's definitely a possibility...

stormy weather & beauty standards

Well, it hasn't stormed today necessarily, but all day it felt like it was supposed to.

I haven't bought a scale yet, but it's on my to-do list - so I don't know how I've been doing in pounds, just in terms of food and exercise.

And how HAVE I been doing? Okay. Not great, not terrible. I tend to eat so well during the day, but by the setting of the sun, it just deteriorates. Last night I cooked a lot of delicious stuff for the week, so obviously I was tasting the food and snacking a bit as I did that. Today I came home really hungry and had dinner - but I was still wanting food, so I ate another small portion of the food that I originally had saved for snack. So now, per usual, I feel uncomfortably full.

Today I had:

BREAKFAST
1 cup of oatmeal
Some bites of chicken

LUNCH
Chicken & veggie stir-fry
String beans

DINNER
Salad
Brown rice & beans with some chicken. (And a LOT of it...probably the equivalent 2 or 2.5 portions, after I ate the contents of the other tupperware)

Jeez, I have a very chicken-heavy diet right now...I can't help it, I like chicken.
In terms of exercise, I haven't really done anything. Maybe later tonight I'll go for a walk/jog, but right now I feel so tired, it's hard to motivate myself. My goal tonight (and I'm starting small) is not to eat anything for the rest of the evening. And go to bed early.

Lastly, I wanted to share with you all a great thing I saw on Jezebel.com. As Aebra rightly pointed out (I miss you, by the way, and yes my address is the same!), this blog is about feeling GOOD about myself and getting healthy - NOT conforming to our society's twisted view on what it means to be attractive.

What do I mean by "twisted"? Ah, so glad you asked! You see, a while back there was an amazing television show called "Beverly Hills 90210." Oh, the drama, the heartache, the time Brenda lost her virginity to Dylan in a hotel room at their prom. Well, they're making a new "90210" and you only have to glance at the photos below to see a pretty striking difference in the new cast and the old.





Try to ignore the unfashionable outfits, and focus instead on the healthy, positively hot bodies of the original show's stars. The new cast? I feel sorry for the girls growing up today thinking they have to adhere to that ridiculous standard. I'd rather look like a 1991-era Brenda Walsh anyday.

Ah, starting out

I've done some things so far that have made me feel good - like last night, I got home late and obviously wanted a snack. I was even pretty hungry! But I said to myself, "Maggie, you had dinner. Now the kitchen is closed. You get to eat again tomorrow." And it worked, and I was pleased with myself.

Today for breakfast I had:

- 1.5 cup of oatmeal
- 1 green apple

I did some minor exercise, sort of, by going to drop off my laundry, coming back, going to switch it to the dryer, coming back, going to Staples to drop off this printing stuff I need, coming back, going to pick up the Staples stuff and finding out it's not ready, coming back, etc etc. Nothing too strenuous, but a lot of walking.

I also went food shopping and I actually looked at a cookbook before going, so I would get stuff that went together, as opposed to my usual haphazard shop. Tonight I shall COOK FOR THE WEEK. THRILLING! If I end up cooking good things, I'll post the recipes.

I wanted to post another photo of America Ferrara, who I think is beautiful, but I will alternate. Today is Marilyn Monroe day.



And lastly, Alice is back! She is taking a nap. I'm glad she's here so I am no longer alone, talking to myself like a crazy old lady. In celebration, I'll post this wonderful video about cake. Some of you might have seen it already. My favorite part is when he talks about what you think about during the song "Happy Birthday." Enjoy!

A beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Ah, my first post.

The idea for this blog came from a Seal Press Podcast highlighting the writings of a woman named Jeanette Fulda. She wrote a book about her weight loss and her blog, "Pasta Queen." (Plus you can see her lose 192 pounds in 7 seconds here!) Pretty rad.

Anyway, I was inspired and I decided to combine my narcissism and my desire to lose weight into one fantastic blog. I think it will help me because it will keep me accountable. I've been at my parent's house all weekend while they're gone, just binge-binge-binging on food, and I came to the realization (like I've done many times before) that I really need to change my ways.

So here I am, Day 1. I'm not sure exactly how I need to eat, but I do know I need to stop eating late at night, or at least not after dinner. And I'm really going to try hard to write down what I eat. And I need to tend to myself like a garden.

Today:

- 2 whole-grain waffles with syrup
- 1 green apple
- 2 pieces of cheese
- 1 Diet Coke
- 2 cookies
- 1 Ginger Ale

Weight: 152.1 lb.

Goal: 120 lb.