Small Slice

My thighs are burning from all the walking/jogging/squats and deadlifts I did.  Mercy.

To keep my mind off of the muscle fatigue, I've been thinking about the upcoming holiday weekend... July 4th is next week.  Around here, that means fried chicken, barbecued sausages, potato salad, cole slaw, baked beans and corn on the cob.  It means watermelon and warm-weather desserts like strawberry shortcake and ice cream. 

Previously, that has meant frying oil, mayo-based sauces, butter and cream.  My waistline didn't get this big without help, you know.  I was talking to Carmen the other day about eating non-diet foods, and we agreed: if it isn't the best, most unbelievably delicious diet-breaker ever, don't bother with it.   Don't eat a mediocre cookie.  Don't waste your time (and the calories) on regular bread, or on tasteless muffins.  If you are going to eat something decadent, do it right.

Fried chicken is one of those things, IMO.  Real whipped cream and butter are others.  It just doesn't taste right with the fake stuff. 

So this Fourth of July, I'm planning to substitute similar foods for our picnicking favorites, and boost the servings of the already healthy offerings. 

Shishkababs are a great way to grill, while cutting down on the total meat being consumed.  I personally like to make my skewers all one type of food.  Peppers on one, onions on another.  Chicken, sausage, pineapple, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, whatever you like, all on their own skewers so that they cook evenly.  Then I like to dump the whole kit and caboodle in a big serving bowl.

I'm on the hunt for a good sweet potato-based salad that is served cold.  I'm also looking for a good alternative for cole slaw... one of my favorite includes ramen noodles and almonds, sauteed in butter, but it is just as bad as the cole slaw.  Maybe just a big green salad, huh?

What are you favorite summer foods - and how do you keep the calories down?

Posted by Jenny at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Sometimes, I take a few days away from blogging, and I come back and realize that I'm just a big whiner.  I took each and every one of your wonderful comments to heart, and I agree.  I agree, I agree, I agree.

I'm totally over-thinking, and making myself crazy in the process. 

This weekend, I made good choices with food.  I made the conscious decision to choose healthy foods in smaller than ever portions, and today?  I'm 165 pounds.  (woo!)

So, 14 pounds total down, and even though I still feel like I look the same as before, I imagine there are subtle differences.  I can't see it in photos.  I can't feel it in my clothes, at least not much.  This is the hazard of wearing mostly stretchy clothes for years.  Even my measurements are holding steady.  So much for losing inches.  I'm trying very hard not to let it bug me.

I'm embarking on a 10-day vigorous exercise challenge.  I'm doing Leslie Sansone's 10-day challenge, which is a 4 mile walk-jog DVD every day for 10 straight days, plus  I'm going to add in six days of weight training.   I might not be able to lift my arms, or stand up from a sitting position for the next week and a half, but I'm going for it. 

I'm challenging you guys to participate.   

Whatever your regular exercise is, step it up.  Add a mile to your walk.  Wear ankle weights while you put laundry away.   Do calf raises while you load the dishwasher.  Make the next ten days active - more active than you would normally be, whatever that level is.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you are doing, and how you are going to step it up.  Let's inspire each other!

This week's menu will be posted tomorrow, because I've already lifted weights today, and I think my arms might fall off if I type any more.  Heh.

Go go go!

Posted by Jenny at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, here I am again, feeling blue because I can't seem to get any forward momentum going.

I chalk it up to the strange summer lack-of-schedule that we've settled into, the busy work I've had going, and a general burnt-out feeling when it comes to my weight.

It isn't changing.  It hasn't changed in a month.  I'm not really trying at this point.  And it makes me feel...tired.  Tired of thinking about it.  Tired of wanting to wake up and be 30 pounds down, magically.  Tired of waiting to see results, and aside from more muscles in my legs, I've got nothing to brag about.
Well, except for my hair.  My hair is cute.  And I've got a nice rack.  And I did score a cute dress for 20 dollah.  But I mean, aside from those things. 

Hello!  My name is Jenny, and I'm a big friggin' whiny non-loser.  And I want to smack myself.  But that would take more self-interest than I can muster right now.

I'm thinking I need to follow a plan.  A real plan, not a make it up as you go, change the rules to include whatever the hell sounds good right now plan.  I know that I'm very sensitive to sugars.  I know what foods I SHOULD be eating.  I know what rules I should be following.  But knowing and doing are two different things right now, and I'm angry about it.  Even my subliminal listening thingies, which had me all excited, seem to be losing their power.

It all boils down to time for me.  I have to be willing to take the time to think about feeding myself.  The exercising has become automatic.  But the food...any menu I plan I seem to immediately deviate from.  Any line in the sand becomes an irresistible naughty desire.  I am totally discouraged.

Talk to me.  Give me some ideas.

Posted by Jenny at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (0)

Oh, you guys...I didn't mean to leave that post up for eons.  Yes!  Tell me I'm cute!  And a good shopper!  Woo!

But I can tell you that all that positive affirmation made it possible for me to pull on my special underwear, baby powder my thighs to prevent chaffing and march forth with my husband on my arm.  And I'll say, the dress was a hit.  Everyone was fussing over me, and telling me how great it was, and how pretty I looked...

God, maybe I don't need to lose weight.  Maybe I just need to shop better. 

(No.)

So here I am, weighing in at 168 pounds, and feeling rather put out about it.  I have been extra busy with a few writing projects, which has been keeping me in a sitting position, and when I'm not working on those, I've been chasing the kids around.  This whole working at home thing?  Not as easy as it could be. 

I'm not even sure what kind of menu to make this week.  We've gone from 100 degree days to today, which is in the high 60s and rather chilly.  Hello, Mother Nature?  Make up your mind, mmkay?

I've been failing miserably on the no-dairy, no flour thing, too.  This tells me that I'm trying too make things more complicated than necessary.  I don't need to give myself more restrictions...I need to focus instead on keeping the good food headed toward my mouth, and leave the rest alone.

I'm off to help the kids make lunch, and then I've got to get my workout in. 

How are you all doing?  Check in, and let me know!

Posted by Jenny at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

I'll be attending a wedding on Saturday evening, and after a brief glance through my closet, I determined that I had nothing to wear.  Nothing, with a capital N.  It isn't that I don't have any dresses and whatnot, but the majority of my wardrobe is black and stretchy.  And hooterrific, if you get my meaning.

I count my bazongas amongst my better features, but I'm tired of dressing myself like a co-ed on the make.  Everyone who knows me is like "Put them away, Jenny.  We've seen enough of the girls." 

Being a petite woman at the double digit end of the size spectrum (read: short and fat) makes for some shopping challenges.  The petite stuff usually doesn't fit.  The regular sizes need to be hemmed, or fits odd.  Forays into the "plus-sized" sections leave me frustrated...I'm too big for regular sizes, too small for plus sizes.  I'm not interested in wearing muu muus. 

Anyway, with the wedding coming up fast, and nothing to wear, I took advantage of my parents' good graces and left them with my kids while I headed to the local mall.  I had a mission:

Find a damn dress in a color other than black that fits properly and makes me resemble a woman.  And some shoes, too. 

JC Penney was having a sale, so I moved quickly through the dress section, grabbing everything in my size that I could find.   With the fitting rooms being painted, I stood in line for 30 minutes waiting for my turn.  By the time I got into a room, I was already feeling  less confident.  I hung all fifteen of the dresses on a hook, and got to work.

Shift dresses?  Sausage casing.
Halters?  Hello, boobs.  And also?  No.
Flirty cap sleeve dresses?  Not on this body.
Cotton shirt dresses?  I can't even express how wrong these looked. 

I was near weeping and beyond frustrated when I reached the last dress in the bunch.  I saw that I had inadvertently picked up a strapless sundress, thinking it had spaghetti straps.  I can't do strapless.  Come on.  COME ON!  The last time I wore a strapless dress was to my prom.  (I rocked it, too.)

Faced with 14 losers already, I thought I'd go ahead and try it on.  Why not, right?  I was feeling kind of fatalistic at that point.

It fit.  It was actually sort of cute.  Wait, it was really pretty cute.  I mean, my middle was kinda lumpy and my boobs needed some lift, but dude...they have special underwear for that.  I have that special underwear in my bureau.  I'm set! 

Sweet Jeebus, I found a cute dress to wear to the wedding.  I'm wearing a strapless sundress and it makes me look like a girl and I really love it.  And the best part?  It was on sale for twenty dollah.  I actually said "wooo!" when the salesperson rang me up.

Then I went over to shoes and scored a cute pair of sandals for another twenty dollah.

You wanna see?  Click below to see the cuteness.  And no, I don't have makeup or my hair done.  I'll take those photos on Saturday. 

Cute, yeah? TWENTY DOLLAH.

Posted by Jenny at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (0)

Elizabeth asks:

So, I've been trying to limit myself to around 1400 calories a day, and I'm okay with breakfast and lunch, but if I eat a 400 calorie dinner at 6:30, then by 9:00 I am STARVING. I just want to shovel everything in the kitchen into my mouth. I try eating a big salad with a drizzle of lowfat dressing with my salad, but it doesn't help! Any suggestions?

Actually, I've got some suggestions!  Go me!

The thing about eating a salad for dinner is this...your body is pretty efficient at processing raw fruits and veggies, so they won't stay with you as well as other food options for the night.   Does your salad include protein and/or some sort of good oil?  Olive oil? Almonds? Egg or Chicken breast?  Beans? 

My question for you is this:  are you REALLY starving?  Or are you accustomed to snacking at night, and feeling deprived?  Because while you can have a really good meal for 400 calories, you have to plan smart, and watch those portion sizes so you get good bang for your buck.

This is one of the areas that The Fat Fallacy really gets right.  If you are consuming a giant salad in one sitting, you're going to stretch your stomach out with all that roughage, which will pass right through you in a few hours, and leave you feeling hungry.  If you slow down and eat small portions over, say, an hour, and include something with some fat and protein in it, it will stay with you, and the hunger won't sneak up on you.  Will Clower suggests finishing a meal with a slice of cheese or small square of chocolate.

I personally like to have a cup of tea during those evening hours where I used to snack.

Try shaking up your evening routine a bit, and see if you are really hungry.  Instead of cruising through the kitchen at 9 PM, find another destination.  Go check and see if your eyebrows could use a tweeze.  Check on the kids.  Whatever.  If you are truly hungry, snack on something small - a handful of raw almonds.  A slice of cheese.  Half an apple.  Choose something that passes the healthy test, and you won't have any guilt later.

Some 400 calorie meals:

A small grilled chicken breast, 1/2 cup steamed brown rice and 1 cup cooked veggies
6 scallops sauteed in 1 tbsp butter over 1/2 cup spinach pasta with a salad
1/2 avocado stuffed with 1/2 cup shrimp salad over a bed of lettuce and sliced peppers
Small steak served with an ear of corn and watermelon
Baked sweet potato topped with 1/2 cup chili and small salad

Really, if you keep your portions small, you can make almost any of your favorite foods into 'diet' foods.  It isn't always about lo-cal substitutes or fat-free options.  It is about eating smaller, and eating smarter.

Posted by Jenny at 6:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I had Chinese food made with flours and sugars this weekend, and I put milk in my coffee.  And then I ate pizza on Sunday. Oh, and I had some wine with my husband.  I'm holding steady at 166 pounds as of this morning, but I feel bloated and blurgh.

I found that by fudging a little bit, it opened the floodgates of fudge.  I hate that.  I hate that I have the type of personality where I have to be all or nothing when it comes to food and exercise. Now, I'm not even trying to say that eating a slice of pizza or drinking a glass of wine is bad.  Neither is milk in my coffee or Chinese food.  But the fact that I decided not to eat sugars and flours and dairy for one month, only to fall off the wagon for two straight days, is disappointing.

Truth:  I feel better when I don't eat a bunch of dairy and carbs. 
Also true:  I feel deprived when I don't eat ANY dairy or refined carbs.  Even when I'm satisfied by the meal I've just eaten.  I pine for cheese.  I long for breads.  I crave crackers and cream in my coffee.  Surprisingly, I don't miss sweets at all. 

I'm going to continue doggedly on my quest to keep dairy and refined carbs out of my meals for the rest of the month.  In my typical fashion, I've managed to get all excited about this new goal, and then promptly shelve it when faced with cooking dinner for kids who don't think sweet potatoes and steamed veggies sound good. 

Gah.  There has to be a happy medium.  It is times like these where I feel like following someone else's menu plan would be a good idea. Nevertheless, I'm a menu-planning, grocery-shopping fool.  I'll update this post with the week's menu in a couple of hours.

Posted by Jenny at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

So, since returning from my vacation and swearing off on dairy products for the month, plus all refined sugars and flours, I'm doing surprisingly well.  But it is curious how often I reach for a cheese stick, or a yogurt, or the milk to add to my coffee or whatever.  I consume a lot of dairy products on a daily basis, and eliminating them (temporarily) has shown me how much I clearly use dairy to fill my stomach.  That and bready stuff. 

I know that I need protein and veggies, but I can't tell you how often I've made a meal of a bagel and cheese, or buttered toast, or a granola bar.  I can justify each of these choices, of course, but the reality is they DON'T contain the nutrition I need, at least, not entirely.  I need to have protein and veggies at every meal, or I get sluggish and mean an hour later. 

With school out, and all three kids home, I'm trying to make meal time more organized.  While my natural instinct is to push the kids out the back door as soon as the sun comes up and to toss them snacks through the doggie door, we all eat better (and consume less crap) if we sit together for our meals and make them an event.  I'm also assigning kids the task of helping select the foods we eat, with a goal to "eat a rainbow" every day.  We're not doing so well with that yet, but I've got high hopes.

Plus I'm willing to pay my kids a dime each time they try a new food.

I'm off to get my workout in before heading to the pool.  How are YOU moving your bod today?

Posted by Jenny at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm so excited!  I'm going to be moderating a panel on Weight Loss/Body Acceptance bloggers at BlogHer in Chicago!   The panelists are all amazing women - Wendy McClure of Pound, who has my undying affection for her brilliantly funny take on Weight Watchers recipe cards; Yvonne from Joy Unexpected, who cracks me up and makes me cry, often with the same post, and Laurie Toby Edison, whose blog, Body Impolitic, is a keen-eyed look at our society's reaction to perceived imperfections. 

What topics do you think we should cover?  Do you have any questions that you would like to see addressed?  How do YOU feel about discussing body image online? 

I'd love to bring your questions and comments to the panelists.  Share in the comments below, or email me at bigslicejenny@gmail.com.  Thanks!

Posted by Jenny at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Big Slice is back in action after our little family vacation.  Woo-hoo!  Yosemite was a smashing success, and while I ate fairly small, my choices were limited by the food offered.  Meaning, I ate a lot of starches, and not a whole lot of veggies. We also didn't get to do as much hiking as I would have liked.  Not because the kids were tired, hoo-boy.  No.  It was because the kids were too busy climbing rocks.  Big ole rocks.

I'm tackling Mount Laundry, and then it is off to the grocery store to stock up on healthy foods for the week ahead.  Since all of our eating left much to be desired this weekend, I'm going to initiate Operation Veggie around here.

The best thing about summer is the abundance of fresh produce.  Living in California, we've always got access to good produce, but the fruits and veggies of summer are just better. 

I've also decided to forego dairy and all refined sugars and flours for the month of June.  I realize that means no ice cream, and believe me, I'm already whimpering about it.  But I've been feeling bloated and cranky, and I know that I haven't been making smart choices with my portions of dairy and starches in particular.  I also know that I can easily eat well without those items at this time of the year.  So!  Dairy and sugar and flour-free month ahoy!

Breakfasts - either plain oatmeal with a splash of almond milk and cinnamon, or a veggie and egg omelette with decaf coffee.

Lunches - soup and salad.

Dinners - here goes nothing...

Tuesday: Grilled chicken breast and zucchini, peppers and onions over steamed brown rice.

Wednesday: Baked sweet potatoes topped with vegetarian chili served with sliced cucumbers and baby carrots.

Thursday: Some sort of fish (have yet to grocery shop) with tabouli salad and watermelon

Friday: Okonomiyaki (made with soy flour and no cheese for me) and sliced apples

Saturday: Bell peppers, stuffed with orzo, ground turkey, tomatoes, onion and garlic and fruit

Sunday: Tacos - for me, minus the cheese and shells - I'll use cabbage leaves.  Refried beans and spanish rice, sliced avocados.

Posted by Jenny at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)