Doing Lunch

So first of all, yay down 3 pounds!

Second, lunches this week have been such a big obstacle. Most days around here (and probably where you work) people ask you to go out to lunch with them. Eating out is difficult enough without trying to accomodate the preferences of multiple people. Inevitably we end up at Olive Garden or thai food - and healthy choices are pretty hard to come by,

So, yeah I know that I CAN just get soup and salad at good ol' O.G. but - who can really sit there with their veggie soup and watch people eat LOBSTER RAVIOLI or Fettucini Alfredo? No sir. That restaurant is a mine field of hip-widening, belly-expanding explosives.

So here are my compromises. First, I eat very low points the rest of the day (obviously.) Second, I only get water now and drink A LOT of it. Third, whereever possible I get a half sandwhich or meal and a small salad. That way I can get something yummy and have my salad too.

For the really difficult places like the thai place down the road with the killer pad thai - my tactic so far is to share the meal with another pad-addict.

What are your strategies for getting around this?

Caffeine Royale

Ok, well I'm running out of James Bond references for blog titles. Anyhow, this one is about drinking enough water - and when to adjust that amount for your lifestyle.

According to articles like this, the average you need is 8 glasses a day though that varies depending on your body, your geographic area, and your activity level. The number that I've heard is that you probably lose about 1.5 liters a day through urine, plus sweat, breathing and bowel movements.

So obviously if you are working out a lot more, or you get sick and say can't keep anything down then your water needs are much greater.

The title reference is to one thing that I think most of us don't think about. Caffeine's affect on our water needs. While most of us take in our caffeine in liquid form (except for those of you hard-core caffeine mint addicts) but that shouldn't actually count towards your water consumption.

Why? Well according to what I've read, it is important to remember that caffeine has diuretic properties so you may lose more water than you think just via that morning cuppa joe.

So bottom line, Hydrate Hydrate Hydrate!

Dr. No - Sugar

<------ My new counter. I will expose my inner-most thoughts but not the number on the scale...sorry!

I thought I would share with you all a fantastic resource for those of us on the "Pound Ponderers" points system.

Dottie's Weight Loss Zone has listings for many of your major restaurants. It's very convenient for someone like me who constantly has to go out to eat for work.

Next post I'll look up some info on good ol' H - 2 - 0.

To Cheesecake With Love

Losing weight is like cutting your lawn with those safety scissors they gave you in kindergarten. Sure, you can make some progress in one area (exercising), but as soon as you turn around your diet is overwhelmingly overgrown. Even worse, like those dull snub-nosed scissors, your own body can go through phases where it absolutley rejects what you are trying to do.

In today's non-fat super skim designer coffee world, everyone knows how to lose weight. Simply intake less calories than you use. Drink 8 or more glasses of water a day, eat at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies, eat only lean meats, take a multivitamin. This is the "miracle" advice we pay billions for each year. And yet most of us are at least clinically "overweight."

In this blog, I'm intend to track my progress up the treacherous slope of the gumdrop mountains and through the molasses swamp. I hope you will join me, and maybe every once in a while reply to a post to help me through.