Achoooo!

I just did an amazing thing. Started out by going through my wardrobe for work (which is pathetic due to how many things I cannot fit into anymore). I ended up rutting out the entire closet and I literally have a body-sized army surplus duffel bag full of things to give away to charity.

It's both good and bad that I have so few things to wear. The bad news is that I have so few things to wear. The good news is that I see very clearly why I have to lose weight. The cute things I've accumulated over the years that are now stored in a box so that I can lose 2 sizes and fit into them - these things are my inspiration.

I know I need to do two things: exercise more and eat less crap.

On point #1: I'm set to do a water aerobics class where I teach screenwriting, which fits perfectly into my schedule. It's clearly designed for staff/faculty rather than students as it's offered 12:10 - 12:50 for people's lunch break.

I'm also back to Yoga class. Thankfully the instructor was gentle on Monday; I was definitely out of sorts and falling over.

On point #2: There are many things I can omit from my desire to munch. I am also using EFT to reduce cravings and realize I don't need to eat. Making sure my blood sugar doesn't crash is an important part of not snacking on sweet stuff, which is always my downfall (a hot fudge sundae here, a couple Korean choco-cakes there, a handful of Bizarro's potato chips, four pieces of chocolate instead of just one). You get the picture. Today when I went grocery shopping I bought two awesome snacks: celery and hummus, and a jar of wasabi almonds. I need more of that and less sugar.

I have become a fan of 4:00 Tea. I now know why the Brits include this as a routine part of their day. Eat lunch at 12:00 or 12:30, blood sugar drops by 4:00. Dinner's not until 6 or 7 (usually more like 7 or 7:30 at our house). It's tempting to eat a bunch of sugar around 3 or 4, isn't it? Ah but instead now I fix a cup or small pot of tea, and have a decent snack (see above) instead of a sugary popsicle or chocolate-covered-somethings.

SUGAR IS EVIL.

So is the filth that was my closet. I had a massive allergy attack while rooting around in there and going through clothes. Airing it out and Febrezing the shit out of it hopefully has helped. Must not let things get that out of control in there again!

Speaking of 4:00 Tea, t'is time for tea and wasabi almonds!

Finally someone tells it like it is

Is the secret to weight loss hidden in the Acai berry?

When I walked into a dietary supplement store a couple of months ago to ask about fiber products, the disheveled 50-something salesman with sagging shoulders tried really hard to cold sell me some $50 Acai berry juice that is an absolute MUST for weight loss. He delivered the pre-packaged pitch like a good little drone, and then I told him I don't trust the fads and reminded him of Goji berries, which was the last craze for weight loss. He immediately sucked up to me by saying how he, too, doesn't trust these dadburn crazes and turned back to the boxes of colon blow on the shelf.

I am so pissed off at the snake oil salesmen out there (and I'm talking large companies, not just the schlubbs in the mall who try to push these products) who make us believe that we have to lose weight and we have to buy these products, and then make up some fake-ass testing process to "prove" how efficacious the shit is.

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine got into selling Goji berries, and it was really as if she had been brainwashed. I finally asked her to stop badgering me to buy a $70-per-liter bottle of juice every time we spoke, and questioned whether this product was worth her time, and even if it was taking away from her natural abilities to counsel and heal people. She hasn't spoken to me since. For a berry that is supposed to "lift your consciousness" (those are her words) it's done a good job of ruining a friendship.

Get Ready... Cuz Here I Come

I am home prepping for classes today. Pretty much set for this week; getting a syllabus put together for the community college class that starts next week. Reviewing scripts, texts, etc. for handouts and stuff.

All while A&E runs a Paranormal State marathon leading up to tonight's new episodes.

Also, I just have to say how sickening it is that our culture is obsessed with weight loss. Check it: yesterday in the grocery checkout I saw the cover of some popular women's magazine that had huge headlines about how to lose 20 lbs fast, and some pop star's advice on losing that belly fat. And the cover art? I GIANT piece of chocolate cake (4 layers) and the recipe on page whatever. Talk about mixed messages!

The latest scam: Acai Berry and Bromalite. These products are being hawked viciously online, at Yahoo, Google, etc. In fact I have those two sites open right now in separate tabs, and as I was writing this, one of the tabs automatically switched forward with a warning to ORDER NOW BEFORE YOUR TIME IS UP! This kind of aggressive marketing kills me - these products are no different than any other fad (Goji berry, anyone?). I only have these tabs open, BTW, cause I have a Mac. Had I been on a PC, I wouldn't ever click on an ad. OH - and when I just tried to close the tab, it gave me a "do you REALLY want to close this tab and lose this incredible opportunity?" bullshit. Assholes!

End rant.

8 Minutes in the Morning

Last night Bizarro called me from the Borders cafe and said, "Whynchu come over and have a drinkiepoo with me." I had a coupon for a free small drink, so I went over and had a hot cocoa (w/no whipped cream, thank you very much). While I perused the store, I headed to the fitness/martial art section and a book I've seen many times before caught my eye. It's called 8 Minutes in the Morning, a fitness and eating guide to losing weight. Since I had $5.00 in Borders Bucks, I decided to finally give it a whirl (for $10, why not?). I started reading it last night and I have to say it is really inspirational as well as informative. It's a bit hokey, with the testimonials and such, but mostly it goes on about proper nutrition and exercise, why and how it works to burn fat and build lean muscle. Jorge Cruise, the author, is one of those wellness gurus all over teh intartubes and morning talk shows. If he's making a buck off my fat, I don't mind. I'm going to give this a serious go, in addition to my walking and bellydancing cardio stuff. I have GOT to get fit.

3 lbs of glory!

Yesterday I weighed in and to my great surprise and delight, I've lost 3 lbs since the beginning of the month. Granted, it's not a lot, but it's a start and it sure as hell beats weighing 3 lbs MORE or even no change at all. The best part is that I know I lost those fat pounds just by eating less and better. I haven't done much in the way of exercise earlier this month. This means that now that I am exercising again, plus watching my intake, I should be able to continue the trend.

I went to T'ai Chi Wednesday night and it was good. Mostly. My teacher is still running the class so that we only have a precious few minutes to run through the form. I'm not learning anything, really. The stretching and conditioning is good for me, and it beats nothing at all, but as a T'ai Chi class, I don't feel like I'm able to progress in my practice of the form itself. So the search continues...

Mom had her venogram on Wednesday, and they discovered that her fistula hasn't matured because of all the tiny veins running off, essentially lowering the flow of blood through the area they want to access. So there will have to be yet ANOTHER procedure for that. Poor woman. I feel so badly for all the shit she's having to deal with. Anyway, Bizarro and I are going to see her tomorrow. I'm going to make dinner and get my ass wupped in Scrabble.

The new job at the church continues to go well. It's nice to have something that is not stressful and yet not boring. Also, my first day of class was Wed. and it was fine. You know the first class is always the boring "here's the syllabus, now write an esasy so I can get to know you" kind of thing. Easy peasy. Next week the real work begins.

But now it's Friday and I'm going to relax a bit.