See all those food photos? This is what I've been doing the past couple weeks. Well, that and hooking up a new TV and transforming my Windows Vista laptop into a Windows 8 wonderland (kinda).
The TV stuff and Windows 8 stuff took up a few days and frankly turned me off from doing anything extra on the computer, including blogging.
But, now that the IT situation in the house is all squared away (3-word review of Windows 8: cute but confusing), I can tell you what all those food photos are.
I'm doing the Stefan Pinto C Diet, which is a Facebook-based way to become more accountable over what you eat.
If you don't know Stefan, he lost a bunch of weight and turned himself from an out-of-shape IT dude into a male model.
Every meal, every snack, even your morning glass of water -- all of it gets snapped with your camera phone and sent to a special e-mail address where it'll appear in photo albums on the C Diet Facebook page and on other pages.
Stefan will also comment on the photos and let you know if you made good choices or if, perhaps, you're on some sort of cheese bender.
Another great perk to the plan is that you get free coupons and products from the plan's supporting brands, which include (among others): Chobani Greek yogurt, Navitas Naturals, Beanitos and Pure Bars.
What I like best about this is that it's not a "diet" at all -- it's a way to become more accountable. If last night's dinner was a bag of cheesy puffs and a 2-liter bottle of diet soda, would you want anyone to know that? So, in theory, you'll make yourself a more healthy "presentable" meal, especially if a bunch of people are going to see it (at least that's how it works for me).
I've lost a teeny bit of weight the past couple weeks but I need to get more consistent with water drinking and step up the exercise. But even though the scale hasn't budged much, I can barely keep my wedding ring on, so there's weight coming off from somewhere!
Word of the day: ethereal.
I don't get the parts with car crashes or bloody noses, but I just like the song.
In most weight loss systems, desserts are forbidden -- or they're a melange of artificial flavors and sweeteners... I'm of the mindset that if it doesn't taste good, I'll just go without. I won't eat a sugar-free fat-free cheesecake, just because it's "safe." I'd rather not eat it at all -- go without that nasty aftertaste that a lot of the artificial sweeteners leave in my mouth.
Nutrisystem has some amazing desserts in their repertoire. From pudding to cookies; cake to ice cream sandwiches; candy bars to cheese curls (snacks and desserts share the same classification, but this post is on the SWEETS)!
Naturally, I am a huge fan of the frozen novelties -- ice cream sandwiches and orange creamsicles are my most favority faves, and I am a big fan of the peppermint/chocolate patty. Not so enticing to me were the 3 chocolate sandwich cookies. I was excited to see three "oreo" type cookies. I got thru the first one, but it was difficult to finish the other two. I go back to my earlier statement...
I'm down 2 more pounds this week -- very easy... Now to get motivated to step it up at the gym!
Next blog post, I'll be reviewing the breakfast options.
Follow me on twitter (@martorella) where I'll give you lunchtime reviews of Nutrisystem's entrees and whatever else is on my mind.
Disclaimer: I have been selected to participate in the Nutrisystem NSNation blogger program. For three months, I will receive the food free of charge to help facilitate my honest review. No other compensation will be received.
Hey, long story short – here’s a Subway giveaway and I’ve
gotta pick a winner quickly!
Subway’s the perfect place for control freaks. You can stand there behind the glass and point to every cucumber, every pickle, every squirt of mustard until you get exactly the sandwich you want. You know exactly what you’re getting so there’s no caloric “sticker shock.”
Right now, Subway is featuring its Tuscan Chicken Melt as part of its Fresh Fit menu, and if you get a 6-inch on the 9-grain wheat bread, it’s 380 calories and 8 grams of fat – not bad for a cheesy, gooey sub.
Subway provided me a gift card to sample the sammie, and it’s a nice change of pace from my usual “turkey, mustard and gimme every vegetable you have” combo that I usually order.
Subway has also offered up another $25 gift card for me to just give away, willy nilly. And you only need to do one thing -- none of that “like me, follow me, Klout me, wash my car” stuff, unless you really want to.
Leave me a comment below with your favorite Subway topping. (Mine is banana peppers.) I’ll choose a winner at random at 5 p.m. ET on TUESDAY, OCT. 23 (told you this was fast!) and Subway will get you that gift card.
The Weight Shrink herself has lost over 100 pounds, so I asked her: “How many calories do you eat to maintain your weight loss?”
“1,200 calories, and it sucks!”
Something to look forward to.
Now a 1,600-calorie eating plan is a weight loss plan for most people, but not me, for I am SUPERHUMAN!
I AM A VISION OF CALORIC EFFICIENCY!
I CAN GET BY ON FAR FEWER CALORIES THAN MERE MORTALS!
WHY, JUST LOOKING AT A BROWNIE CAN MAKE MY BUTT WIDEN!
I dug up a graph that I printed out a few months ago where I figured out how many calories I needed to eat to get to a certain weight in a certain amount of time – it’s the NIH Human Weight Simulator (you can check it out HERE). Upshot – 1,300 calories.
And you can’t argue with science – sure you can bitch about it but facts is facts, and this fact makes my stomach GROWL.
So, as a Superhuman Calorie Superhero, I need to figure out how to make those 1,300 calories as awesome as possible. In breaking up the calories over the course of a day, I came up with:
Yes, I’ve known about this 1,300 calorie thing since February but it’s freaking hard to wrap my head around that puny little fingernail-chewing number.
So all I’ve gotta do is laugh. Laugh a hungry, hungry laugh, and suck it up.
This one isn't a workout song, per se -- it's more of a motivational boost to the psyche. Y'all probably know I'm a big fan of "The Biggest Loser" and have been recapping the show nearly since the start. On season 11, Vinny Hickerson, aka "Big Vinny," was one of the contestants, and he lost over 180 pounds on the show and more once the season was over. He's maintaining that loss (you can check him out on his Facebook fan page), and this past weekend he got married.
His bandmate in Trailer Choir wrote this song while Vinny was on the Biggest Loser Ranch, and it's a great reminder that we need to put ourselves first before we can take care of anyone else.
I've been stumped about what to blog about. I've settled into my routine of grabbing a breakfast and lunch and heading out the door to work... a no-brainer. I really enjoy the simplicity of meal planning with the Nutrisystem foods. I ate all of the Chef's Table entrees and was very pleased with them. I ate them at lunch time for convenience and can't wait to order more.
Since I have eaten most of the frozen entrees, it was time to go onto the shelf-stable selections. I have discovered my three favorites: Red beans and rice, tuna salad, and chicken salad.
I grab a side salad and a slice of pumpernickel bread and I'm set for lunch. I really enjoy the portability and all of the space the foods have freed up in my lunch bag.
Next blog post, I'll be reviewing the snack/dessert options.
Follow me on twitter (@martorella) where I'll give you lunchtime reviews of Nutrisystem's entrees and whatever else is on my mind.
Disclaimer: I have been selected to participate in the Nutrisystem NSNation blogger program. For three months, I will receive the food free of charge to help facilitate my honest review. No other compensation will be received.
CSPI (The Center for Science in the Public Interest) posted this video last night as a counterpoint to all the "drink soda and be happy" TV ads. Love it. Even though type 2 diabetes doesn't run in my family at all, my younger, not-overweight brother developed it over 10 years ago, and I blame the "outside forces" of drive-throughs and syrupy drinks for it.
