Running Into Shape

The Buffet Debacle

Carli — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:26:55 +0000

On Sunday, my Little Sister told me her and Mama were going to dinner. I self-invited. Much to my horror, I discovered we were going to a buffet. I said why don’t we try the Asian restaurant instead? Nope, everybody wanted the free buffet with the coupon. I kind of freaked out. I text my Special Friend telling him I was scared. He likes to eat too; he understood and said he was scared for me. When the hostess asked what I wanted to drink I just said diet soda. Even though I don’t drink soda, I was just thinking about not drinking my calories/points. My mom ordered unsweetened tea, I always forget about tea. I ordered a tea as well and sweetened it with Splenda. I had a light breakfast that morning and 20 bonus points left in the week. I couldn’t do too much damage? Right?

I got little bits of everything but mostly meat and veggies. I ate a few spoonful’s of each dish and then scraped it all into one plate. I actually did it, I wasn’t stuffed to the point of being miserable and ate proportionately. But, it’s still hard for me to waste food. I grew up in the clean plate club. You couldn’t get up until you ate all of your food. Still to this day, I rarely leave anything on my plate unless I just didn’t like the way it tasted. But that day, I threw away good tasting food. It feels so wasteful, it’s probably people starving blocks away, and we pick over it and throw it in the trash.

Anyway, it was time for dessert. I figured my “get everything and eat a few bites” philosophy worked well with dinner, it should also work with desserts. WRONG! I got apple cheesecake, strawberry short cake, and 2 flavors of gelato Italian ice cream. It was all displayed so beautifully and tasted just as good as it looked. I started with a few bites but ultimately ate ALL of it. Me and my sister felt like pigs afterward. Lesson learned, if I have to get a dessert, just get one. After dinner we went home and worked out, hoping to balance things out. I’d probably have to work out for 8 hours to burn off all of that food.

The next day was my Weight watcher weigh-in. I took off my heavy sweater and exchanged it for the thinnest t-shirt I could find. This was the first time I was actually nervous about the scale, even though the whole week was great prior to the buffet. On Saturday, my scale at home said I’d lost 3 pounds. I stepped up at the meeting and lost .8 (eight tenths) of a pound. I almost felt bad for a minute, knowing that I had really done much better before the buffet debacle. But then I realized that’s almost a whole pound and I’ve consistently lost weight for 4 weeks. I literally haven’t done that in years. I lost 8.4 pound in January, and I’m no longer bursting out of my pants. They actually fasten now. That’s what I call success and a lesson learned.

If you liked this post check these out...

Sometimes I Lose My Mind

Carli — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:41:46 +0000

I’ve been doing a really great job staying on the weight watchers plan for the last month. It’s really a mind over matter thing, but sometimes I lose my mind and forget I’m on plan. On Friday afternoon they sent out one of those dreaded food emails, detailing whatever free treats are in the office kitchen. This particular day it was chicken wraps. How bad could a chicken wrap be? It could be my afternoon snack. I hurried over to the kitchen eager to get one before they were gone, completely ignoring the fact that I wasn’t really even hungry. They looked good, so I got two. Prize in hand on the way back to my desk I saw the left over brownies from the same meeting at another secretary’s desk. Yummy free brownies, how dare she not include that in that in the email? Free dessert always tastes better. I got two brownies as well. Then it hit me as I looked down at the two handfuls of food hidden in the paper towel, so no one would see how much I really got. I’m a weight watcher now, trying to get healthy, I don’t eat like this anymore. I no longer hide food and mindlessly eat because it’s free or because it tastes good. I put one of the brownies back.

When I got back to my desk I started eating the chicken wrap which was very difficult with my new braces on my teeth. I threw the other wrap in the trash. But there, are starving kids in Africa, that’s wasteful right? Well, I’ll say a prayer for them and release the guilt of throwing away food. Well maybe I can take it home and give it somebody I thought. But in reality, my family would look at me like I was crazy if I brought over a half of a chicken wrap left over from a meeting at work. Now, for that nasty little brownie situation. I pulled up my WW e-tools online that I use to track my food points. I had pretty healthy day, and there was some wiggle room. I tracked the brownie, ate the brownie and enjoyed it.

As I walked in the door at home after work, one of my friends text me, saying “congrats on your weight loss.” I was hungry and just wanted to eat, and didn’t care what I ate. I was probably feeling this insane “hunger” because of the sugary brownie messing with my blood sugar. I made a quick pot of chili and starting filling up a monstrous sized bowl. “I don’t care,” I said out loud, “I’m hungry, I’ll eat how much I want” Right in that moment I heard myself. “Of course you care, you even have friends that care” I reminded myself. I put half of the chili back and counted my crackers according to the serving size on the box. I went to my laptop and pulled up my e-tools as I ate, tracking everything. Friday taught me an important lesson. Sometimes, along this journey, I will have moments that I temporarily lose my mind and revert back to old mindsets, but taking just a few seconds to re-assess the situation can make things back the way they should be.

If you liked this post check these out...

Brace Face

Carli — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:45:25 +0000

I’ve got exciting news! First, I’m so super excited that Me and my Big Little Sister are going to Houston, Texas next month for vacation. We have friends and family there, and I’m going to go to Lakewood Church. Do you know what Lakewood church is? It’s the biggest church in the whole country. And, do you know who the pastor is? JOEL OSTEEN! If you read my blog then you know I’m like a Joel Osteen groupie. Okay, maybe “groupie” is bad choice of words, I don’t want to go back stage and….ummm well…let me stop while I’m still ahead lol…. Let’s just say I’m a super fan, yeah that sounds better. On so many occasions Pastor Joel has brought me out of funk and inspired me to be a better person. Even recently, it was his sermon that helped get me through my first week of Weight Watchers. I constantly tell myself all day long, “I weigh what I should weigh, I’m Healthy, I’m Active, I’m Disciplined, I’m Focused and I have what it takes.” My sister thinks I’ll faint before the sermon as soon as I see him and, I probably will.
And in other exciting news I got braces today! Yes I’m a 30-year-old with braces. I had them in college and swore after 2 years of torture that I would always wear my retainer. Well, like most people, I didn’t wear it, and my teeth spread back out. I couldn’t stand to look at them all spaced out anymore. Although over the years, I’ve gotten really good at hiding my teeth when I talk and even better at taking pictures. See Exhibit A, Me and Big Little Sister on Christmas.

I found this cute little cosmetic dentist’s office. The dental assistants cater to you like Hooter’s girls and walk around in high heels with their scrubs. They have flat screen TV’s at every station and fresh-baked cookies on your way out the door. The dentist is young and kinda hot too…I had to ask myself am I really checking him out? Lol I’m sure I’m paying for all of this extra stuff, but they treat you so good! It’s nothing like the kid’s baseball themed orthodontist office I went to years ago. And, get this, the dentist is part of the 6 month smile program. My braces are clear, and they will be off in 3 or 4 months, not years. When I’m all done he’s installing permanent retainers so I don’t ever have to worry about them spacing out again. I’m so excited! Now for the “Before” pic, See Exhibit B, the scary real deal. (I can’t believe I’m posting this.)

Anyway, if you’re wondering about the food and activity side of things, me and my Little Sister danced and sweated with the Kinect last night and I’m down a total of 7.6 pounds just in case you didn’t see my post on my Facebook Page. Man, it feels good to be in control.

If you liked this post check these out...

I Got This

Carli — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:12:24 +0000

I just finished Jennifer Hudson’s new book I Got This: How I Changed My Ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down. I’m a fan of Jennifer Hudson. I have both of her albums and couldn’t wait to get her new book. I’m totally inspired by her 80 pound weight loss with Weight Watchers. I love that she’s a positive Black role model. But, I kind of have mixed feelings about her book. I read a review on Amazon.com that said that reading the book was like reading her Wikipedia entry, and it was! I hate to say it, but the book almost seems sugar-coated.

I was completely outraged that she did not even mention the horrible murder of her mother, brother and nephew by her sister’s estranged husband. You better believe if my sister’s estranged husband killed my Mama, my other sister and my niece, y’all are going to hear about it. Jennifer simply said, “my Superbowl performance was my first public appearance after my family tragedy” Really JHud? Some readers may not even know what her “family tragedy” was. I’ve never lost people that close to me, so I can’t image how difficult it would be to discuss it, but I would have loved to hear how she was able to overcome such extreme adversity and still remain a positive happy well-balanced person. A part of me wonders if her “brushing over it” is how she coped….Okay, I’ll leave it alone…but that was just not what I expected.

Then she had a whole section on the biomechanics of Weight Watchers and a bunch of statistics. I realize that when the program is great you almost become a spokesperson (as I have) because you’re proud of the way it helped change your life. But, some parts were a little too “Team Weight Watchers.” Okay, enough of the negative, but I had to keep it real.

Finally, her personality started to show in the book. She was raised that curves on a woman were a good thing, and she “never felt self-conscious.” I can believe that, a lot of times in the black community, guys like a “thick” girl. A little extra weight is a bonus. When I picture myself at my goal weight, I’m a size 8 or 10. I have no desire to be a size 2 or 4.

It was interesting to learn that Jennifer was not an emotional eater. She literally didn’t know what healthy food was and how to eat healthy portion sizes. She lost weight solely for health reasons, not because of how she looked. She was also inspired by the birth of her son and a career field that thrives on image. That was an interesting perspective.

She mentioned some good food ideas I can’t wait to try like apples and cashews that taste like a caramel apple and how cinnamon on salmon with lemon is delicious. She even included a few recipes at the end.

Her WW leader Liz gave her great insight on being active, she told her don’t do exercise that you don’t like and have as many options as possible. She also reminded her that every day is a chance to start over. Since Jennifer lost weight, she inspired many of her family members to join WW and they have lost over 2,000 pounds. I would have to say that my favorite part of the book was near the end. Unlike her easy breezy “track and lose weight” she discussed her struggles with life after losing such a drastic amount of weight and how it changed her image. She discussed how at one point while filming Winnie, she feared she was too thin, and how some fans rejected her instead of supporting her new found health and body. She also explained how she embraces her extra skin and stretch marks as battle scars to show how far she’s come. I’m long way from taking pride in my stretch marks, but it was refreshing to see how to overcome it once you are on the maintenance side of losing.

Overall, I give the book 3 out of 5 stars. I love that she explains the importance of family and how the strength and lessons of her deceased grandmother pulled her through difficult times. I’m so happy that she found her calling through singing and inspiring, and I believe that she’s right where God wants her to be.

If you liked this post check these out...

The 500 Pound Gorilla

Carli — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:12:56 +0000

Hey everybody! Today while scrolling through my TV shows on my DVR, I watched Oprah’s Next Chapter show with Steven Tyler the lead singer from Aerosmith. Of course I know their songs, but I didn’t really know much about him. He very openly and candidly discussed his strong history with drug addiction. He has been sober for two years and is working the AA program. He said something that really stuck with me. He’s confident that he won’t get high again, but he said “I have to remember that there’s always a 500 lb gorilla waiting in the parking lot that wants to take me down.” Basically, meaning that he can’t get too cocky with his sobriety. He has to remember to work the program and continue to go to meetings. I have never done drugs of any type, but I definitely understand addiction. It made me reflect on my journey with my food addiction.

I think back to the first time that I really lost weight while attending Weight Watchers meetings. I was young and cute and maintaining a 50 pound weight loss. I thought I solved the problem, I was finally cured. Not skinny, but cured. Then those 50 pounds came back and brought their friends with them. Finally, years later I accepted that there was no cure, and joined the hospital weight management program. I lost 50 pounds again. In the past year or so, most of those pounds came back. Early in 2011, I halfheartedly tried to go back to Weight Watchers because in my mind I knew it was the best program for me, but my heart was not in it. On some level I was still in denial that I even needed such a program. Most recently, after literally bursting out of my clothes, I knew something had to be done, and it wasn’t buying new pants. I went back to Weight Watchers again, but this time with a new attitude. This time I am focused on health and positive thinking; not just looking cute. I was always angry that I was “cursed” with something as horrible as a food addiction. Before a stranger even says a word to me, they can look and see that I like to eat too much. At least alcoholics can stop drinking, at least drug addicts can stop snorting and smoking, but I’m forced to let the tiger out of the cage every day, take him for a walk and then I have to have the strength to put him away.

But here’s the thing that’s starting to change. I’m starting to accept that it’s just a part of who I am. I can’t change it, it’s a part of me that will be there forever. But, I’m re-learning that tracking my food and attending meetings helps me control the tiger. I always have to remember that the dark side is there waiting, but also remember that I have the power to stay away from it. Hearing Steven Tyler speak about addiction also helped me realize that even when I do get to a happy healthy weight, I will still have to be mindful of that gorilla. It’s a scary thought, but I’m actually finally starting to feel peace about it. I guess turning 30 is not so bad after all. I’m learning who I am and accepting the fact that I can’t change who I am, but I can change the way I play the cards that I was dealt.

My Random Thoughts...

Delicious Discovery: Lactose-Free Yoplait Yogurt

Carli — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:00:03 +0000

Since I finally seem to have gotten my insane eating under control with the help of weight watchers, I decided to do a new type of post called Delicious Discovery. Anytime I find or re-discover a new food, I’ll do a quick post and a review. So, today’s Delicious Discovery is Lactose-Free Yoplait Yogurt. I’m lactose intolerant (allergic to milk/dairy), so I was super excited to see this in Super Wal-Mart yesterday. Here is the nutrition label.

It comes out to 170 Calories or 4 Weight Watcher’s Points Plus. It was delicious. I highly recommend it.

If you liked this post check these out...

Say Ahhhh

Carli — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:34:33 +0000

Happy MLK day, I heard on the radio that only 3 individuals have a U.S national holiday in their honor, and I’m proud that Dr. King is one of them. Since my firm recognizes the holiday, I was able to sleep in. Once I woke up, I played the xbox Kinect Dance Central 2 video game in my living room. I was trying to master the moves to Trey Songz hit song, “Say Ahhh.” I’m so uncoordinated, I had to take the step by step tutorial. But, it was so much fun, and it showed that I burned between 30 and 50 calories each time I did the choreographed routine. I was pouring sweat, but finally managed to get 4 out of 5 stars. It’s a great way to workout with feeling like I was exercising. You know I’m an over achiever, I’m going to get those 5 stars at some point. lol.

The scale at home has looked promising all week, so I wasn’t concerned about the weigh in at the Weight Watcher meeting tonight. Additionally, like last week, I look and feel better, so I was determined that the scale was not going to change my mood. But it turned out that was not totally true. Getting on the scale at the meeting did change my mood. I went from being at peace, knowing that I worked the program, to being ECSTATIC that I lost a total of 6.6 pounds in just 2 weeks!!! And I ate, y’all. I didn’t starve. I ate all the things I wanted, just not at much. If I keep saying the positive things and keeping track of my points, there’s no telling where this thing might take me. (People Half their Size issue? A weight watcher commercial? A full marathon? lol) Baby Steps…I know…Only time will tell!

If you liked this post check these out...

Making A Difficult Decision

Carli — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 04:02:30 +0000

Sometimes in life we have to make hard decisions. Although I have a “do everything” mentality, I’m learning that sometimes I’m just running in circles and not getting everything accomplished. Although I don’t have a husband or kids to keep me busy, everything else does. I have full-time, very demanding job at a law firm and I own and manage investment properties full-time. Not to mention my website that I write for and maintain while trying to break through emotional overeating and train for a half marathon while raising money for cancer. Oh yeah and I’m writing a future best-selling novel. I rarely come home and “relax” after I get home from the law office. I usually change out of my business clothes, put on my landlord “hat” and meet the maintenance guy. We spend so much time together that my family and friends are convinced we’re having some sort of twisted love affair… (we’re definitely not by the way..lol)

We go the hardware store, and run around my properties making sure things get fixed properly. This week alone there were leaky pipes, broken door knobs, and an ongoing apartment rehab for a unit that’s been vacant for a year. The previous tenant was a hoarder, just like you’ve probably seen on the TV show. There was one room in the apartment that I never even saw until after she moved out. There were clothes, bags and trash stacked from floor to ceiling and you couldn’t open the back room door. There was only a little pathway from the main front entrance to the kitchen. Everything else was floor to ceiling junk. She even had a broken doll house from when her daughter was 3 years old…her daughter is an adult. You can only imagine how much work we had to do just to peel back enough layers to see the nasty floor. Anyway, when I finish all of my real estate errands, I come home and write my blog posts. I had to face the music and realize that something has to give. Of course I’m not giving up blogging, I love it, it helps me stay on track and I get a great warm and fuzzy feeling from helping people all over the world learn to run and get active. I tried to get rid of the property, but apparently, divine intervention mapped out a different plan. At first, no realtor would even list the property, then finally, I put the building on the market, and my listing contract expired without so much as one interested buyer. Then, the realtor’s office closed down, the bank denied my short sale, my family and friends disapproved of me selling, and I got great new tenants that I didn’t even ask for. These events, plus a little prayer for guidance led me to believe that I’m stuck with the property. I’m sure when I’m 50 years old and I can retire, I’ll look back and be grateful, but now I’m just annoyed and tired of it costing me lots of money…

Well, what’s the point of this lengthy post now that I’ve done a complete brain dump? Unfortunately, I decided that I’m not going to be able to train for the half-marathon. I feel like a quitter, I don’t like to commit and then back out. But, I really don’t have the time and energy to give Team in Training all that it deserves. If I host any fundraiser, it needs to be raising money to pay the mortgage, buy copper pipes and pay for new window installation. Additionally, when I was working my “real job” preparing for the big national trial, I got way behind in training. When I told my Special Friend, yesterday, he sarcastically said “oh, you realized you don’t have time to train between working your 12 jobs?” … I guess he was right…I don’t. So, if you’re still reading and managed to keep up with my wacky train of thought…simply put, of course I’m still going to be active, but I have to quit Team in training. I need to slow down, I know I won’t be able to raise $1,000 and finish 13 miles in the next 2 months. But hopefully, in two months, I’ll be a few pounds lighter with weight watchers, have a fully occupied property and….peace of mind from learning to take baby steps.

P.S. 14 Straight days of tracking my food, and counting points and I feel GREAT!!!

My Random Thoughts...

What Happens at a Weight Watcher’s Meeting?

Carli — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:39:43 +0000

Monday night I went to my Weight Watcher’s meeting. For those who don’t know, you walk in and wait for your turn in line to weigh in at the private scale. It’s not a “Biggest Loser” TV show style weigh-in like you might have imagined in your nightmares. Usually your meeting leader or an assistant will track your weight and confidentially let you know how much you gained or lost, ask about your week, and then give you some encouraging words or advice. All the New Year’s resolution people showed up Monday, and there had to be a least 60 attendees, a few people had to stand up. My hitting rock bottom, just kinda happened to hit a convenient time of year. When it was finally my turn to step up on the scale, I wasn’t scared or apprehensive. I knew I had a great week regardless. But, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thrilled when she told me that I lost 3.4 pounds! When Ricarda, the leader, asked me how I did it, I told her tracking works. But, in hindsight I had to get my mind right first, and then track daily.

Once the meeting starts, they go over individual accomplishments like, who reached 10% weight loss, and special acknowledgements of any other scale or non-scale victory that you want to share. For example one lady, a school teacher, made it through her “Food Friday” class without eating the chocolate covered pretzels the kids were making. One lady reached her doctors preferred weight and another finally lost 23 pounds after hitting a plateau. I personally didn’t share anything during the meeting, I’m usually pretty quiet. Nobody knows I’m Carli Fierce, the legendary 5K podcast blogger lol! (at least in my mind I’m legendary ;-)… If they find my website that’s great, but I don’t want all that attention, it makes me feel weird.

Then after general group recognitions, the leader will discuss whatever pre-planned lesson Weight Watchers recommended. This week it was a lesson on the importance of planning. She shared one of my all-time favorite quotes, “Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail.” She also brought in a large potato to show us what a large potato it actually looks like according to its weight. She reminded us it’s okay to eat a potato, there are no foods off limits, but just make sure you have a good understanding of how big the potato is really supposed to be. After the meeting I stayed for part 2 of the new member’s class as she went over the basics of PointsPlus and how it works.

I just thought I would share what actually happens at a Weight Watcher’s meeting. One time last year, my mom said “How was your workout?” I said “Oh, no I didn’t go to the gym, I went to a WW meeting.” She said surprised “You don’t work out at WW meetings? Well what do you do? Just talk?” I laughed, because essentially, it is a support group where you share-ideas with like-minded people and get inspiration from people overcoming similar situations.…When I left the meeting, I headed to grocery store to get more fruit. I had enjoyed the meeting as always and felt prepared to handle a new week.

My Random Thoughts...

Sisters In Sweat

Carli — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:50:50 +0000

Yesterday was my Dad’s 60th birthday party. My mom threw a get-together at the house, because he didn’t want a “party.” So, this get-together included bar-b-que, green beans, corn on the cob, spaghetti, potato salad, pasta salad, appetizers, peach cobbler, birthday cake and ice cream along with about 50 of our closest friends and family. My family does not understand the definition of an small get together. But, we had a blast! My Daddy was so happy. My sister made a beautiful DVD with photos of my Dad from infancy, to meeting my mom in college, to us growing up in Kansas City, all the way to Christmas with my niece.

There was so much food everywhere. I ate just one plate and loaded it with the corn and green beans. However, I did go overboard with the desert. I had cobbler and ice cream and cake AND ice cream. I didn’t beat myself up about it though. I am adjusting to the mindset that there is no “on plan/ off plan.” I just enjoyed my family and the food. However, I knew that today I had to make up for yesterday’s desert debacle. I packed my to-go plate with chicken and veggies only and at that for lunch today. No cake, no cobbler. This afternoon I watched “Water For Elephants,” a cute movie about a 1930s veterinarian that runs away with the circus and falls in love. Later on my little sister invited herself to my house. She wanted to play the X-box Kinect, but I really needed to walk in preparation for my half marathon in a couple months. So, we put in Leslie Sansone’s walk at home DVD. I told her that we would walk for two miles, but really I knew I wanted to walk three miles. (She is sitting next to me now as I dictate this blog post, looking at me in shock and horror, that I once again tricked her into a lengthy routine.) LOL! Anyway, she was surprised that Leslie talks through the whole routine, I told her that’s just what Chatty Cathy does. We had fun and even broke a sweat. Leslie said we were her “Sisters in Sweat.”

I was glad that my sister came over and helped me stay on track. After the workout I was hungry and cooked dinner. Still making up for yesterday, I opted to prepare a meal with just a few carbs. I made baked tilapia seasoned with roasted red pepper and garlic with a side of mixed veggies and cheese. The fish was delicious, very similar to the Parmesan encrusted tilapia recipe that I posted a while back. I’m anxious to see what the scale will say at the weight watcher meeting tomorrow. But, honestly with my new approach towards being healthy, I won’t let it impact my behavior. I’m using the scale for information, not judgment. My pants feel looser and my attitude is brighter. So regardless of what the scales says, I tracked every day for a week (except last night), got in some activity, remained positive, and got right back on plan after a relaxed night of fun. In my book, that’s success.