Is this necessary?

A new commercial from Poptarts boasts that they have 25+ flavours.
Well.. how intriguing. Did you know that they even have a....MULTIGRAIN version of Poptarts? While I appreciate their attempt at being healthy, just because the word "multigrain" is slapped on your product, doesn't necessarily mean it's healthy. They even have a whole line of "low fat", "20% fiber", and "added Calcium".There is a discontinued flavour that really piqued my interest, but I can't seem to find nutritional information on it anywhere: Low Fat Frosted Chocolate Fudge. I kid you not.
Their wiki page (found here at Wiki) lists all 25 flavours, their discontinued flavours, their special editions and frighteningly enough... their low fat/multigrain/calcium and fiber enhanced flavours... Wow... 

Lets look at the nutritional fact of a frosted Poptart. When I was a younger person, my favourite was the S'more's flavour. Lets look at that one first.

I chose this one, because as a kid I couldn't get enough of this one. I'd have one whole pouch (2 pop tarts), OR MORE!! Now, how many people have JUST ONE pop tart?  Seeing this kind of makes me sick, and VERY scared. I'm looking forward to having children, and while I'm incredibly thankful for how my parents raised me, you can be SURE Poptarts will NOT be in my house.

Ah wait, it can't be all bad, right? They have a LOW FAT selection! What flavours can you get?

• Low fat strawberry (Frosted)
  
• Low fat brown sugar cinnamon (Frosted)

Looking at the brown sugar flavour (yet again, another favourite of mine) was....flabbergasting to say the least. All it was, is "magic math". I dare you to compare and contrast. It's ridiculous. On the right is the "low fat" version. They take away protein, add some sodium, add some carbs, and take away a whole 20 calories... when you mix that up it breaks down to 25 calories from fat, rather than 45. Wow. Big switch.. not so much.  

Kind of sad. Though it DOES make you stop and look at labels..

So instead of Poptarts, what kind of breakfast can you feed yourself, or your kids? Cereal is a great option. To nix out some more calories, look into Silk Lite Vanilla soymilk. It's my favourite, personally. It's what i stock my fridge with.

In a single Poptart, there are 200 calories. Now, what does 200 calories look like in a -NORMAL- breakfast? Here's a list of ideas:

• Thomas' Light Multigrain english muffin with 1 serving All Whites and 1 Jimmy Dean precooked turkey sausage patty (190 calories)
• Cereal with 1 serving skim milk (200 calories)
• Weight control oatmeal w/ raisins (175 calories)
  
• Thomas' Light Multigrain english muffin with 1 tbsp peanut butter (190 calories)
• All white omelette (3 servings), 1 slice whole wheat toast (40 calories), 1 Jimmy Dean precooked turkey sausage patty (190 calories)
• Dannon light and fit yogurt with All Bran bran buds and half a fruit (200 calories)
• 1 serving raw almonds and half a fruit (210 calories)
• 1 serving raw nuts (almonds or cashews) and K2O Protein Water (190 calories)
• Light yogurt with 1 TBS raw slivered almonds, 1 tsp ground flaxseed and 1/4 cup of a high fiber cereal. (199 calories)
• Omelet bakes: it is so easy to toss together some egg whites (or Egg Beaters), chopped veggies, maybe a little bit of protein (lean ham, turkey bacon) and sprinkle the top with light shredded cheese. Bake it in a 9x9" pan at 350 degrees until set (30 min maybe?) and let it cool. Cut it into squares and package it up. Each morning, you can grab one, warm it up and either eat it with a couple slices of light toast or stick it in one of the Arnold's sandwich thins for your own Egg McMuffin.

How about a parfait for breakfast? A yummy parfait like the one here on the right is scrumptious, filling and HEALTHY! 

Again, how about some Special K with some soymilk. That's my favourite breakfast. Though, they tell you that it's healthy for you to have most of your calories in the morning. Especially if you're going to be highly physically active. To jump start your metabolism, you should have a nice dose of protein and complex carbohydrates to help get you through your metabolism into hyperdrive!

ZOOM ZOOM!

Some quick facts for you

• 55% of all adult Americans - 100 million people - are overweight.
  
  
• One out of three adult Americans is obese. This number continues to increase.
  
  
• In the next 10 years, 70 to 80 percent of all heart disease deaths will occur in people with Type II diabetes is frequently associated with obesity. In fact, obesity is the number one cause of Type II diabetes.
  
  
• Half of all cases of hypertension are attributed to obesity.

• An estimated 97 million Americans (55 percent of the U.S. population) are overweight or obese -- 59 million are overweight and 38 million are obese.
  
  
• Over the past 20 years, the number of children who are overweight has increased by more than 50 percent. The number of obese children has nearly doubled.
  
  
• Forty percent of non-Hispanic Blacks and nearly one quarter of Mexican Americans are obese.
  
  
• Obesity rates among African-American girls are the fastest growing among any demographic group in the country.

(Source:  Dr. Donnica, fast facts)

And here are some of the most scary, and intriguing facts that I've heard in a while. Courtesy of Suze Orman, on the Biggest Loser, Season 8.

• obese employees make $7,000 less than normal employees.

• If you swap out one restaurant meal a day you save: (family of four) 24$ a day

• Americans spend $4.4 billion on gastric bypass (220,000 people a year @ 20k a surgery (approx) )
  

• Americans spend $147 billion a year on obesity-related health issues.

• Americans spend $90 billion on cancer related issues, but we spend $57 billion more per year on obesity related health issues.

• You will save $1 million over 40 years by going from obese to your ideal weight

Wow! How frustrating. Stuck at work, which means no gym tonight. This means I have to be creative. Ball workout tonight, plus pushups and maybe some p90x yoga!

Well.. Lazy is as Lazy does

Today was a shopping day. I'm incredibly broke, as most Americans now a days are, but I'm very skinned when it comes to money. So i took the bit of scrapings i could, and went food shopping. Got some couscous, cucumbers, peppers, some veggies that i didn't get in my food basket from Flagler Organics and some Kellogs Special K cereal. They were buy one, get one, so i stocked up a little bit! I also got all the stuff my roommate needed for some chili. This is my second dose of red meat for the month, so my body is good. I rarely eat red meat, usually about once a month to get my iron jolted back up there.
Had a great weekend... but then i get to today. Starving for breakfast, with an empty house (I went shopping this afternoon)... and just had some fruit.. So what happened? I wasn't hungry until almost this evening. I made myself eat 2 tomato basil & turkey sausages with brown rice and black beans..
I have a problem with eating.
Do i eat too much? HAH no.

I actually under eat, chronically. i've been trying to remind myself to eat more... to no avail.
So .. is it OK to skip a meal then?
The answer seems to be a RESOUNDING no!! Especially breakfast!!

This is from Jillianmichaels.com:

Q: I'm trying to learn to listen to my body and eat only when I am hungry, and sometimes I just don't really want anything to eat. Is it okay to skip meals or to eat fewer than the recommended calories?

A:  You should NOT skip meals. There are so many adverse effects to skipping meals. Not only does it slow your metabolism but it can also lead to overeating, because when you do eat, you're overly hungry.
As for cutting your calories below your recommended allowance, remember this golden rule: Never allow your daily calorie allowance to fall below 1,200 if you are a woman and 1,500 if you are a man. Falling below these daily allowances can do real damage to your metabolism and result in excessive loss of lean muscle tissue. When you dramatically reduce your calories on a consistent basis, it can slow your metabolism or trigger a plateau. Consistent exercise — plus the occasional high-calorie day — will help ward off a plateau.
------------------------------

SO the moral of the story? Eat.
3 square meals a day, and at least 2 snacks...
Smoothies with protein helps wonderfully if you're just not into having real food.
Fruit, greens, and superfoods combined together make DELISH smoothies! I Love green smoothies, so long as there is no chard or kale in it. It just tastes way too bitter for my own palette. Hrm.. Maybe i'll post a smoothie recipe tomorrow!

OM nom nom!

Recipe is from: LOSING IT! With Jillian Michaels
Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Ring in a Healthy New Year

This year's holiday season is almost over... Thank god, right?!
So.... why are you still trying to fix one more fancy, time-consuming meal for guests? Or are you just looking for a good Anniversary/birthday/excuse to celebrate meal that will impress your guest(s)?
Jillian has brought us a quick, simple, healthy, and elegant dish. It is packed with lean protein and heart-healthy omega-3s, with a little punch from the capers and lemon! No one will be the wiser that this dish was quick and is actually HEALTHY for them!
This definitely earns an "Om nom!"
 
Poached Salmon With Creamy Piccata Sauce
 
Ingredients

• 1 pound salmon filet, skinned and cut into 4 portions
• 1 cup dry white wine, divided
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons capers, rinsed
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill weed, chopped

Preparation Place salmon in a large skillet. Add 1/2 cup wine and enough water to just cover the salmon. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer, turn the salmon over, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the remaining 1/2 cup wine; boil until slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Stir in lemon juice and capers; cook 1 minute more.
Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream and salt. To serve, top the salmon with the sauce and garnish with dill.
Makes 4 servings.

(Nutritional Information unavailable unless you sign up for JillianMichaels.com... how expensive is it? Here's the snippit from her billing:
*Jillian Michaels’ online program is just $4 a week, billed quarterly (every 13 weeks). You will be charged when you subscribe and at the beginning of each following quarter. The charge will be applied to the same account you provide at sign-up. You may cancel your membership at any time. If you cancel, billing stops immediately and no new charges will be billed to you. You will continue to have access to your account for the remainder of your term. )

New year, New experiences.

So i'm a bit late to the party, I'll be the first to admit. Here we are a week into the new year, and my hopes and dreams of a world famous blog are dashed. Wait... Are they? NO!

I've been working out nearly every day. I had to take two days off due to illness and extreme low iron count. I ate a trim steak, some baby potatoes and beans with baby carrots. Relaxed for a night, slept super early. It felt amazing.


  But now i'm back in action. I took a TRX class tonight at the gym (Thrive Fitness, Palm coast!). Dont know what it is? Ahh never fear! I shall explain, but first... A little smack to my ego.

Now, I know i'm not in shape, by any means. But things that i've been doing lately have truly helped me to understand that i am NOT as bad off as i thought. Yes, i'm fat. Yes, I have a belly. Yes, I'm "Plus size".... But man, i can MOVE! I can get on the treadmill, i can do elliptical, i can do rowing.... I can lift weights like nobody's business... So this class should be a pretty decently smooth right? Whoa. Just. Whoa.

I walk in a few minutes "late"--the class actually started early. I was kind of embarrassed. I hate walking into anything late, let alone a fitness thing. Hey! Everyone stop and look at the fat chick walking in! WOO! ....UGH.
There are these handles hanging from the ceilings, and mats on the floor. The sassy side of me is thinking "hrm, these could be fun at home" and the scared fat kid in me is shrieking, "OH GOD! They wont hold me"... Nevermind the steel beams it's hanging from, right?

The class trainer, Christine, is tiny. Skinny. GORGEOUS body, beautiful personality, amazing face and an ass that would make any woman drop to her knees in worship. The best part of all? She's welcoming, friendly and *gasp* SINCERE! She's genuinely happy to see me walk in class, and she greets me by name every time she sees me. It quiets the little scared girl inside of me.

After watching her lithe figure press, lift, and maneuver these ropes, I'm still stiff staring at the beams and the straps, praying that they dont snap and send me on my bum. My partner is a quirky young girl, smitten with my tattoos, but sad in the face. She seems so down. I cheer her on, and tell her to look up, be proud, push harder, she's doing great. I get a smile.
Class was hard. And at points, awkward. I have very big feet, and shoes that are 2 sizes too big for me.. OH and we have to put our feet in the stirrups, ala gynecological visits ladies! Thankfully, Christine was fantastic. She was understanding of the awkwardness, and told us to help our partners saddle up, so to speak.

It was fun. Hard. If you move forward or back, it governs how much weight you are really pushing or pulling. A half a step forward REALLY makes a difference. I have a lot of upper body strength, specially with my biceps, but a slight move forward sent my upper body leaning backward more, which meant i had to pull more of my own weight.
Time flew by. Christine was engaging, fun, and totally supportive.
I left the class far more sore than i had ever been just spending an hour hitting the free weights or the machines. There was a ton of cardio, stretching, and OBVIOUSLY lifting.

Best part is? This can be used for your home gym. Click the link above, and take a look. I've bought other fitness things before, but nothing is nearly as fun as this! Bea was there with me, and even SHE  had a hard time on some things! She actually sweat! (Not like bea's a bum, she's a yoga diva, but she takes forever to sweat). It's challenging, but it is completely worth it.

if you have a class on TRX in your area, TAKE IT!!.... You truly will not be disappointed. If you walk away from that class not feeling any sort of burn, good luck. It's time for a real trapeze for you!

The "IT" Dinosaur: Ana-Rex!

So there is a very skinny elephant that stands in the rooms of college dorms, fashion shoots, and even adult households. There are girls ripping pictures of thin models out of magazines and creating "Thinspirational" books. There are girls purging after lunch.

Now, I'm guilty. I admit it. I have had an eating disorder my whole life. Am I anorexic? Not technically. Am I bulemic? No, but I have done it. Am I an over eater? No, but I am guilty of emotional eating. I have beaten my fists into my stomach, and stared in a mirror wondering what it would be like to just cut it all off. I have bruised myself black, because I was so angry with my fat. I have starved myself, and purposely avoided taking a supplement I was supposed to take because it made me nauseas, and I thought it was helping to keep the weight on. I put myself into the hospital when I was younger, because I wanted nothing more than to be thin. I have eaten my favourite foods, and then felt guilty, or caught a glimpse of myself naked; then spent 15 minutes or longer to make myself throw up (it's REALLY hard for me to vomit). I have hung up pictures of thin women in my room as a focal point while I did hundreds of situps.
And my result? 302lbs (yes, I've lost weight) and still physically unhappy.

I was reading The F Word blog and found a post on Isabella Caro. She's 31-32 Kilos, which is roughly 68-70 lbs. No, I did not mistype that. I did not forget a 1. She is below 80lbs, even today with her pushing to gain weight. Now, why would I, a Plus Size woman read about an Anorexic living in France?
She was featured in a campaign called Nolita. It is a campaign by Flash & Company, and backed by such huge names as Giorgio Armani (wait, the man that uses size 00 models in his campaign?) and a few others based in Milan. Why is this such a shocker? Milan banned the use of models that are unhealthily skinny. As in, models that have a BMI under 18, which was VERY common in high end fashion. Now, models in Milan have to carry a certificate of health to prove that they are above the necessary BMI.

Artist and photographer Ivonne Thein opened her exhibit “Thirty-Two Kilos” not too long ago at the Goethe-Institut Washington. The title refers to the weight (about 70 pounds) of the French actress Isabelle Caro. Since the billboards, Caro's name has become synonamous with anorexia in the limelight. Though, Caro is now fighting against it with all her will.

Take a look at her below, and watch. If you are currently suffering from any eating disorder (ANY eating disorder at all) please check below for some resources to help guide you.
Fat, skinny, Anorexic, Bulemic, Over/under eater, emotional eating, whatever your problem is, please look below so you can find a counselor to help you through.

Follow this link to see the video on Isabelle Caro.

• F Word Blog: Nolita Campaign Bears All!
• Over Eaters Anonymous
• Anorexic & Bulemic Anonymous
• Experience Project: Anorexic Contact group
• Anonymous One: A full Anonymous program (Anorexic, Bulimic, Overeating, etc)
• Experience Project: Bulimic Contact group
• For emotional eating, please see over eaters, or great programs in your area like Weight Watchers & Jenny Craig.
• Weight Watchers
• Jenny Craig
  

Dont you realize fat is unhealthy?

Wake up, plushies. We are fat. Not plump, not big boned, not fluffy. Whatever nickname we love to give ourselves, truth of the matter is, we are fat. We have issues. Whether it's over eating, under eating, sedentary lifestyles, whatever the reason is, we have let ourselves go (or were never there to begin with).

One thing that is important, and that all overweight people have PERFECTED is personality and sense of humor. For years, we have had to overcompensate with personality for what we were lacking in the physical department. We are the funniest, nicest, sweetest, most humble and outgoing people you'll ever meet. But it's a different story behind closed doors. Well, time for us to just accept things as they are, or CHANGE THEM!
Here is a AWESOME blog I found about fat acceptance. Now some things, i dont agree with, only because i am attempting very hard at getting into peak physical condition. But it's still damned funny, and it makes me feel at ease.

Please go read this blog, at Fat Acceptance!

Don’t You Realize Fat Is Unhealthy?

1. Weight itself is not a health problem, except in the most extreme cases (i.e., being underweight or so fat you’re immobilized). In fact, fat people live longer than thin people and are more likely to survive cardiac events, and some studies have shown that fat can protect against “infections, cancer, lung disease, heart disease, osteoporosis, anemia, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis and type 2 diabetes.” Yeah, you read that right: even the goddamned diabetes. Now, I’m not saying we should all go out and get fat for our health (which we wouldn’t be able to do anyway, because no one knows how to make a naturally thin person fat any more than they know how to make a naturally fat person thin; see point 4), but I’m definitely saying obesity research is turning up surprising information all the time — much of which goes ignored by the media — and people who give a damn about critical thinking would be foolish to accept the party line on fat. Just because you’ve heard over and over and over that fat! kills! doesn’t mean it’s true. It just means that people in this culture really love saying it.

2. Poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle do cause health problems, in people of all sizes. This is why it’s so fucking crucial to separate the concept of “obesity” from “eating crap and not exercising.” The two are simply not synonymous — not even close — and it’s not only incredibly offensive but dangerous for thin people to keep pretending that they are. There are thin people who eat crap and don’t exercise — and are thus putting their health at risk — and there are fat people who treat their bodies very well but remain fat. Really truly.

3. What’s more, those groups do not represent anomalies; no one has proven that fat people generally eat more or exercise less than thin people. Period. And believe me, they’ve tried. (Gina Kolata’s new book, Rethinking Thin, is an outstanding source for more on that point.)

4. Diets don’t work. No, really, not even if you don’t call them diets. If you want to tell me about how YOUR diet totally worked, do me a favor and wait until you’ve kept all the weight off for five years. Not one year, not four years, five years. And if you’ve kept it off for that long, congratulations. You’re literally a freak of nature.

5. Given that diets don’t work in the long-term for the vast, vast majority of people, even if obesity in and of itself were a health crisis, how the fuck would you propose we solve it?

6. Most fat people have already dieted repeatedly. And sadly, it’s likely that the dieting will cause them more health problems than the fat.

7. Human beings deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Fat people are human beings.

8. Even fat people who are unhealthy still deserve dignity and respect. Still human beings. See how that works?

9. In any case, shaming teh fatties for being “unhealthy” doesn’t fucking help. If shame made people thin, there wouldn’t be a fat person in this country, trust me. I wish I could remember who said this, ’cause it’s one of my favorite quotes of all time: “You cannot hate people for their own good.”

10. If you scratch an article on the obesity! crisis! you will almost always find a press release from a company that’s developing a weight loss drug — or from a “research group” that’s funded by such companies.

So let’s just be clear that if you want to tell me fat people are disgusting and unhealthy in comments, all I’m gonna do is point you back to this post. And/or point you to other posts from my blog or from one of my favorite fat bloggers, and/or bombard you with quotes from the aforementioned Gina Kolata, or Paul Campos, or J. Eric Oliver, or Michael Gard and Jan Wright, or Glenn Gaesser, or Marilyn Wann, or Laura Fraser. Seriously, you don’t even want to get me fucking started.

Oh, also? BMI is complete horseshit.

New experience!

Well, tonight Bea from Raw for Change, her husband, my boyfriend and myself all went to the Almond Blossom Cafe (Check out their blog, not as updated, but nice!) to listen to a lecture by Dr. Craig (Raw Foods bible author). Today was a little stressful, so i was looking forward to a relaxing night, with good food.


First things first, Dr. Craig was a fantastic speaker. I learned a lot about the toxins in our daily lives. I was both shocked, but not so shocked. As an educated person, I happily knew more than I thought about EMF (though, he kept saying EMF Fields.. drove Gio crazy, made me snicker) and free radicals. He was very informative about what exactly vitamins, enzymes and different things are and how heat makes them react (or destroys them)
He made a lot of great recommendations to incorporate more seaweed (or sea vegetables as he referred to them), more B12 and natural versions of Omega 3 (rather than via animal livers). I think the only complaint I had about the whole night was the craning of my neck to turn and look at him while he spoke and at the end, it became a slight infomercial. He had a LOT of things for sale, even how to turn your vehicle from a regular diesel fuel to a vegetable oil based fuel. Yes. Do it yourself fuel change, as in, do it yourself motor editing. This man surely knows how to be an entrepreneur. I was VERY impressed with that.
Only thing he didn't have an answer for, was how to relieve the toxins at the office. His recommendation? Quit my job. While I'd love to, to be able to do full time school and pursue my career, it's really not an option right now. I'm going to continue to look for a desktop purifier/humidifer just to ease the strain at my desk. I'm also getting an electric teapot so i can keep having tea warm all the time. :)

Now, the Almond Blossom Cafe has some of the BEST Raw/Vegan smoothies, E-V-A-R. They even have "cappuccino". They make some of the things with carob, cacao and all these things you would never think of (okay.. cacao i think of all the time. I'm actually ordering some from Amazon.com right now! RAW!)
Tonight on the menu was a salad with some spring mix and a lot of spinach, with these ... sprouted things? I know they were sprouted, thanks to Bea, but I can't place what they are. They were a bean of some sort. No, I'm not trying to scare you readers. It sounds plain, right? Not even CLOSE! It had this amazing drizzle on top. I tasted hemp seed, and peanut in the oil, but there was a slight citrus that I'm thinking was lemon? I loved it. I hope it's something they sell, I'd buy some in a heart beat.
The main course was zucchini spiral cut to look like rotini. It was fantastic. It had 2 large "meatballs" that were made of mushrooms, onions, scallions and a few other ingredients. The baby tomatoes were fantastic, slightly acidic but the oil throughout helped cut it down. There were so many ingredients to this one, if I wrote them all down, the blog would be about the "spaghetti".

And for dessert.... Oh... My... God. It was a raspberry & chocolate... cake? Mousse? It was very soft, and almost custard like, but formed into a cake. It was so good. It had agave nectar and coconut sprinkled around it. I could have eaten a bunch of them! I manage to snag a picture of it before I inhaled... er.. savored it.

To drink? Water, with a slice of lemon and cucumber. Also, a cup of hot tea with Yogi goji green tea. It was sweetened with Stevia. Normally, I use splenda. After doing some research, I am nixing my Splenda usage, and switching to Stevia, and Agave Nectar.

Reviews:
The food was amazing. I never thought of putting cucumber in my water, but it was absolutely... fantastic. The lecture was great, and the company I was with was absolutely fantastic as ever. Gio and I actually laughed a lot when we left. He had a VERY hard time with the zucchini rotini. He kept twirling it like pasta, so by the end, it was almost a full zucchini again!

It played a lot with my stomach tho. I got home, and definitely lived what he was talking about as far as bowel movements. I think it was the oils that played havoc with me, courtesy of my lack of gall bladder, but I was filled up, and my body was happy.

Afterward, my body feels clean. Full. Happy!

I am looking into some great recipes for Raw foods. Not that I am suggesting it, or swapping 100%, but I enjoyed it whole heartedly.

Enjoy!

PS: I love how on the cover of Dr. Craig's book, he has a sliced open Durian fruit! NUMMY!!

How much wood could a woodchuck ....eat?

So there comes a point where something has to break. Where the fat kids in us scream out and we give in..... Right?

Nope.

Today work bought us food again. They bought a huge tin of pasta with ricotta and mozzarella, a tin of sausage and peppers slathered in grease, and.... a HUGE TIN OF SALAD! There was also a few bags of baguette bites. Honestly, i didn't even want any of the pasta. It smelled delish, but it looked like red mush, or red throw up after a night of bad drinking. I had a big salad, with mixed greens and tomato, sprinkled with chopped cucumber and black olives. I fished out as much of the nasty onions as I could, but.... please answer me, why does anyone put onions in a salad??

I used a light drizzle of the italian dressing. The choices were Italian, or a creamy ranch. I happily chose the light Italian. I pressed 3 pieces of sausage between some paper towels to suck out as much oil as i could, and i cut them up and tossed them in.
I had one piece of baguette, which was smaller than the bottom of a coke can. I was slightly bad though. I had an 8oz glass (er.. plastic cup) of 7-up, that was flavoured like pomegranate! It was good, but it tasted more like seltzer, which i'm not a fan of.

I was going back through some of my favourite fitness magazines (Fitness and Womens Health, i think it's called?) to find some of the awesome weight loss supplies.



I re-stumbled upon a place called fit fresh. It's a GREAT place that has a ton of tupperware for portion control and ease of use. Visit it at Fit Fresh to check it out for yourself.
I'm going to get this one!! It will be great for those times that i have chicken and salad, or chicken and rice. Even though it's meant to stay chilled, it still allows for heating. This makes it super convenient. Also, if you look further on their site, they have a lunch bag formulated for their products. Corny, yes... but it is much better than carrying your junk in a WalMart canvas bag, right??

Hrm. I should get on designing cool lunch bags.

So my question for you out there in Blogland......

Are you influenced by the stars you see selling Nutrisystem and Weight watchers? If you are doing those programs, why? What made you choose that program in particular?

I'm looking into weight watchers. My insurance covers a portion of it! COOL isn't it?
Check with your health insurance to see if Weight Loss / Prevention is included. You'd be surprised.