Our second treadmill went. Is this a sign or what? Should we buy another treadmill or is something better for consistent workouts and burning calories?

I found this interesting article on satiety that I think might help us and our families stay healthy:

Research on Satiety

Admission:

Sometimes I find myself pushing past my own bodies limitations of hunger. Something will taste so good that I'll ignore the fact that i'm full, just to feel that taste sensation bounce around my head one more time. Other times it feels like i turn off my self-control and i just keep on eating. I need to work on being conscious when i eat, savoring every bite and judging my fullness before I take another.

In exercise news, i bought a small trail running back pack and ran to work for the first time today! 17 minutes from door to door. The real time killer was the packing, change of clothing, makeup kit, lunchers... But i'm going to try to keep it up. Running is great, you get where you need to go faster. I'm at a steady 153 lbs and my goal is 140 lbs... RUN RUN RUN! One month left!

I Got a JOB! Dream job. How it helps: walking distance from home. 30 minutes there and back adds an hour of light cardio to my day and hasn’t stopped me from my regular exercise. Gives me $$$. Feeds my soul (no calories). Forced to pack my lunches. My morning-self is torching my lunch self with only healthy options. How it hurts: less time to plan meals. Less time to BLOG! Less time to cook! I’m so tired when I get home from work/walking that I’ll eat ANYTHING as soon as I get in the door. I also walk by countless restaurants on my way home.

I broke my TOE! Poor toe. How it helps: …. How it hurts: A lot, when it happened! No more kicking door frames. My usually glass-half-empty grandma pulled out a rare gem when she remarked “at least you didn’t mess up your pedicure!” What a damper on my exercise options! But Amielle finds a way. Amielle does Pilate-esk mat exercises for a couple days until the stationary bike doesn’t hurt. Now a week later, I’m swimming again. In another week, JOGGING TO WORK! And taking a half an hour off of my commute time.

I PARTIED! Birthdays and sister visiting. How it helps: fun, friends, sun, family. How it hurts: I lost control and ate cookies and my homemade potato salad and hot dogs! I felt crappy. Felt like my FlaAB goals were done-zo. It took too long to realize, like so many alcoholics, to take one day at a time. Just because I messed up yesterday doesn’t mean I shame spiral and mess up again today, right now, present.

 If any women  out there is as old as I, then you know what this is. If not, trust me, what "they" say is right-on! Which is where my weight is. I am delighted to have made it to middle age, but apparently, things really DO slow down--- most noticeably, THE SCALE!!!

Does anyone out there struggle with weight loss? Or is it EASY for all of you Flaabers? I am up against the wall!! It seems that everyone succeeds, and I'm worried about myself.

Don't get me wrong ... I'm happy for all of you, but sad for myself!!

My college friends just contacted me and they want to head back to SU for homecoming!!! Yea I say, but they cannot see me like this. It's bad enough that people who know me and see me all the time have to see me like this.

(having children can no longer be an excuse; my youngest is 8)

So here it is. I've been dieting for months and only lost 20 pounds. Then the heat hit and I gave up (and yes gained 3 pounds back). Now I have to get back at and some!!!

I'm looking for any and all fast acting diet tricks. I'm praying for a disorder ... anything!

Here's my plan, but I'm open.

Walking 3 miles at least 3 times a week. Exercising with my kettleball at least 3 times a week -- the days when I do not walk. Using my AbCircle every day since that only takes 3 minutes. And of course, diet foods.

But the problem I need to lose 60 pounds in 2 months. Is that doable? I once lost 30 pounds in one month.

My one friend agreed that she would need the biggest loser and a make over, but I'm not sure I believe her.

So I'm uping the challenge and the need all the way around.

Ready, set, here I go!!!!

 I hope everyone is suggesting I take the "perfect power" she has over me,  turn that energy around and use it as a powerful inspiration for me to lose 10 lbs. Trust me, I've looked beneath her surface... she IS perfect. I am just jealous, not stupid. This gal has got it going on!  So I hope you are on my immature side and wishing me powerful thoughts.

Today I decided to stop hiding; it’s time to tell the truth straight, no chaser. I am the other half of the writing/producing duo Stacey & Tracee. Which one am I? Well, I guess the jig is up; you know by now.  So what will I stop hiding from? The fact that right now I am scared doo-dooless. At this very moment we're in the midst of a serious fund-raising campaign. And I'm scared that we won't reach our goal. I'm completely TERRIFIED! We'll be failures.  That I’ll either be overweight or underweight by the time this is over.  That "they" will laugh at us. Then I'll have to pour pig's blood all over everyone and destroy the prom!

We've been thinking of all kinds of creative ways to ask for money. Because nice, prideful Americans don't just come out and ask for money, right? Because if you come out and say you want money then people will shy away & treat you like a funky bum on a NYC subway. Right? Riiight. Well, we've tried the coy, clever approach and that has gotten us nowhere. 9 days into the campaign and we're only $530 closer to our $35,000 goal than we were - you guessed it - 9 days ago.

So here's some more undiluted truth. No sugar coating. No vanilla Joe-Joes and almond milk. No Twilght Dark Chocolate (yum!) No trying to be cute and clever. No silly euphemisms. I'm shooting straight from the hip (Can someone tell me what the heck that means?!) Violins please. We need your support. We are two creative, very talented girls living our dreams and trying not to do anything illegal in the process. (We, of course, would only dream of doing something illegal in our...dreams. We wouldn't think of unlawful schemes during our waking hours. Really!) Louder violins, please. Seriously, we just want to create. We have a wonderful plan - to build a website that will house all original web series. No more incessant  pitching to major networks and having them determine our fate. We have the experience. Stacey graduated kindergarten Magna Cum-Laude. Plus, she has won many festival awards and has been endorsed by Marty and Bobby (Come on now! You don't know who Marty and Bobby are?!) Tracee was the darling of Mrs. Jackson's Jumping Jack Day Care Center where she was a 2-time recipient of the prestigious "Baby Who Didn't Sh$t All Day" Award. Plus, she's appeared in several national commercials and worked for a major sports network with 4 letters in its name. Uh huh, we're PROVEN!

So what exactly do we need from you? So glad you asked. We need you to visit our Kickstarter project page http://kck.st/aqO4Ue and view our short film THEN lend your support i.e. donate some moo-lah. In exchange you'll receive some really cool gifts like buttons, t-shirts and Flip Video Cameras. And you'll even have an opportunity to shoot a film and have it screened on our site. If you're a student, there are even more perks! But wait; that's not all! If you visit the page in the next millisecond you can also cast your ballot for your favorite web series. The series with the most votes will debut first on StaceyandTraceeTV.com. Yep, our site will be totally interactive. How cool is that? Very cooool! We also need for you to pass along our wonderful project to some of your closest friends and heck, enemies too. And if you know of a nice angel philanthropist dude or dudette just looking for a great cause, you know what to do. Well, what are you waiting on? Cut n' paste away! http://kck.st/aqO4Ue

Oh, did I mention that we only have until September 3 to raise $35,000?! Uh huh, scared doo-dooless and now sitting with a tub of Trader Joe’s Triple Giner Snaps in front of me.  Yum Yum!

Thanks for your support. Pretty presumptuous of me, right?

I just went back and read some of my old blogs.  One of them was my rant against technology that I reluctantly give in to.  I INSISTED that though I've given in  to other things like IM, text messaging, & Facebook, that you would never is a MILLION ZILLION years find me on Twitter. I even said "HECK NO!"  Well guess what?  The Twitter monsters kidnapped my brain and forced me to sign up.  In my defense, I still think people give way too much info on FB and Twitter. And I still think that FB and Twitter are tools for people to pretend to be smart and funny (most of neither lol).  And I still don't really use it for personal reasons. I don't give a play by play of where I'm going, where I've been, what I'm eating...you get the point. Its mainly for marketing purposes and to share entertainment industry news/job postings.  So I'm still holding on to my rebellion, even if its just barely.  Foursquare - J'mais!  ;-) 

 I have been here before, so I have to be here again so I don't have to be here again! My MUSE for the current War Whoop is pictured to the right. It's not so much that she's rich OR my enemy. It's just that I'm tired of her perfect little life, with her perfect little job in her perfect little house, with her perfect little children and, you guessed it, her perfect little body! 

And, perfection is the enemy of "done." But that's what she's going to be.

I am sure this post reflects poorly on my character --- but resentment, wealth and jealousy ARE my character. 

Here’s an interesting new food pyramid I found today at the Harvard Medicine web site.

UGHH! This is some bad news bears for me. I I love red meat! I kinda hate that my boyfriend was right about that. What threw me off about this new pyramid was the fats and oils line. Not what one usually hears about when discussing health. “Be sure to get your fat everyday!” Got some. You want some of mine? This link will take you to their explanations about fats. It’s the good fat/bad fat distinction that’s important. So pass the olive oil!

Allow me to explain my 5 day hiatus. Wednesday through Friday was my favorite time of the month-- the time in which my uterus turns into an evil gremlin and all I want to do is sleep. So, I devoted all of my free time to snoozing. Saturday and Sunday were without Internet (rough times), and thus I had no means for Flaab gab. 

BUT I am still here, and I am still a-chuggin along.

I have decided that Sundays are my weigh-in day. I am happy to report that, according to the Sunday scale step, I have already lost 4 POUNDS! 

I know that the first week is the Honeymoon, and there is little hope of losing that much weight this week. Nevertheless, I am relieved to be waaay ahaead of schedule :)

More tales from my existence to come...

Does it count if you lose weight when you're not trying to?  I'm 3 pounds lighter this week than I was last.  I've been consumed with many things in my life and food has not been a priority. So maybe that's the key. We should all try to try not to lose weight. But then you're still trying, right?  Hmmm?

The world is a weird place. As each day passes I’m more and more intrigued, fascinated, and baffled by the things that go “viral.”  Half of the videos that attain such enormous fame or infamy make me scratch my head. (I could also be scratching because I have dandruff or my head just plain ol’ itches, but that’s another story.)  This week I’m bewildered by the obviously captivating “Washing Machine Self-Destructs” video that’s been blazing trails on YouTube. WTFreaky FREAK?!  Can someone please tell me why?  WHY?  WHY? WHY? WHY?  Maybe its me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=364dzVsBs2o

     I told my friends about my challenge and instead of support, I was met with concern. “I don’t know if you have 20 lbs to loose?!”. Flattering: Yes. Supportive: No. I wish I had just told them what I felt instead of the obligatory ‘thank you’. And when I went on to explain my portion control goal, it came out all wrong “I just need to stop eating, so much.” >.< Sounds like I’m aiming for Ally McBeals’ body type.  Should have said “I don’t think it’s crazy for me to want to be a size 8 for once”.  I’m lucky enough to be starting this while I’m just barely overweight, according to the Body Mass Index: 25.1. And my goal is still within that safe body mass range: 21.9.

     So this week (drum roll please)… I’ve lost ~5 lbs! I’m down to 155 lbs from a scale that was fluttering around 160. I know that this doesn’t mean that my goal will be achieved in four weeks. I also know that what I’m doing is having effective changes. Thanks for reading my little post. Here are some helpful exercise tips!

Tip 1:    It’s not for everyone but exercise plans that involve morning workouts are more likely to be followed than those planed for the evening. By the end of the day, I always come up errands or am just too tired to work out. If you have the option, work out sooner rather than later!

Tip 2:    Working out doesn’t have to take place in the gym; it can be any time, anywhere. Sure, the most effective way to workout is to keep your pulse up for at least 25 minutes, but don’t let that stop you from getting exercise where and whenever you can. Do crunches or use hand weights during the commercials. Do leg balances while you’re cooking. Get off the bus four blocks early. Dance Dance Dance!

Tip 3:    When I work out, I put a check mark in that day’s calendar box. As the week progresses, I make sure that the number of checks for each row is at least four. Putting in a new check mark is equivocal to giving yourself credit for the hard work you just did. GIVE YOURSELF CREDIT! It feels good and motivates you to keep it up.

        It’s not fad-diet mumbo-jumbo. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is working against your weight loss goals.  Imagine this, you’re in the bread aisle picking out your next loaf, weighing a myriad of different options. You compare brands and types by calorie content, find one with the lowest number and plop it in your cart feeling good about the extra time you took for your health. This game of calorie limbo, how low can you go, is misleading for weight loss. A study by Princeton University found that “even when their overall caloric intake was the same” the research animals that ate HFCS “gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar” (Parker, 2010). Not only is that little calorie number misleading, but so is the quantity of food. In the United States, HFCS is inexpensive compared to imported sugar (Philpott, 2006 , Wikipedia). This means that companies that make processed foods can super-size their foods, swaying consumers to buy larger amounts for the same price (VideoJug).

        Don’t stop reading after the calories; there’s more information on that label. To start, expand your scanning to include fiber, and HFCS content. Don’t be fooled if the calories are lower or amount you get is higher of a favorite snack when it contains HFCS. That doesn’t make it more healthful.

Here are some helpful tips from the Mayo Clinic’s Web site to avoid eating HFCS:

• Limit processed foods.
• Avoid foods that contain added sugar.
• Choose fresh fruit rather than fruit juice or fruit-flavored drinks. Even 100 percent fruit juice has a high concentration of sugar.
• Choose fruit canned in its own juices instead of heavy syrup.
• Drink less soda.
• Don't allow sweetened beverages to replace milk, especially for children.

Or better yet, for the last two, have some water with a slice of lemon in it instead.

Side Note:

this spoof amusing. If you haven’t seen the ad campaign, this will make no sense and scare you :)

From my Saturday night fortune cookie (before I made the Flaab bet):

"There's more to balance than not falling over"

What the universe is trying to tell me:

Stop using coffee + energy drinks as  meal replacements. One super-can may have 12 glorious grams of protein, but so does a McFlurry.

Duly noted. Thank you, universe.

I had orange juice and yogurt for breakfast this morning. OJ is a good indicator that I am trying to make a lifestyle change.

I friggin love orange juice. I steer clear of the concentrate, but I do enjoy me some Tropicana. The best orange juice I ever drank was made from Hawaiian oranges. The coolest orange juice I ever drank was made from blood red oranges.

About a year and half ago, I equated  a condition of frequent fatigue to a vitamin C deficiency. I then took this diagnosis a step further and convinced myself that I had scurvy. I actually called in sick to work and spent an entire day sleeping and drinking orange juice. Real or imagined, I do believe that citrus saved my life that day.

Anyway, cheers to my orange morning beverage. Can't say it was the absolute reason why I had a good day, but it definitely didn't hurt :)