The last 8

I have been on this diet since January 17, 2016.  I am using the Colorado Diet in the book State of Slim.  Such a dear friend turned me on to it and it has really changed my whole outlook on diet and exercise.  I have been doing pretty well and it seems I do better with more exercise. I lost 18.4 pounds at the end of 8 weeks (when they said I would lose 20 pounds). I was okay with that as I  cheated a few days. I am going to lose a total of 30 pounds by the end of  week 16. I am now beginning week 14 and I have 7 pounds to go! Three full weeks, 7 pounds, and a lot of determination. It will be hard as I have two indulgence meals planned! I have one huge obstacle: I hate treadmills and its currently wet and snowy.

I know I need to get over the whole inside gym adversity. I just hate the idea of walking in place going nowhere. I love walking in the outdoors and enjoying fresh air. What is wrong with that? It hinders my ambition....ugh!  I am hoping I can get 5-7 miles on Wednesday through Saturday! I have to realize this is so much progress from where I was on January 16. Let's see....what was my outlook pre-January 16?

I love food. I exercised when it was convenient. I did the bare minimum. When I did try to lower my carb intake, it was half assed. I admit it. I would justify anything. It's free, I can't turn it down, it's a holiday, I deserve to enjoy it. Donuts, cupcakes, pasta, Mexican food.... I had a bad or good day: I deserve this cocktail. I lost maybe 25 pounds in 6 months then gained it all back within a year. This time is different. Sounds lame. But it is so different and this is why.

I have lost 23 pounds in three months, not six months. The more important thing that makes this different is that this diet/exercise program has shown me true perspective on portion size, metabolism change, exercise habits and persistent and determination. I have gone from a size 12 to a size 10 and in some cases,  a size 8! I need at least ten items of clothes altered to fit the new me. I will never go back to the way I was. Not just the weight I was, but the way I saw all  food as necessary and viewed exercise as a necessary evil.  I now am MORE than satisfied with 4-6 oz of protein and a cup of pasta, whole grain, no less! I love my indulgence meals, don't get me wrong, but actually wanting to  get back to my new "normal" has been the best change of all. 

I blogged a few years ago about the difficulty with quitting cigarettes. At the time that was the hardest  lifestyle change to overcome. I have not had a puff of a cigarette since August 2012.  Not a puff. I couldn't imagine ever smoking again.

These are the two hardest things I have done to improve my physical health. If I can do this, so can YOU !!! 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

New intentions....

I am back in the world of blogging. I am a bit nervous about getting into this again, but I want to let you know what I am up to in my daily life. These days I am NOT SMOKING (yay!)...I have not smoked a single puff in many months and have not smoked habitually in moroe than two years. This has been an amazing feat and I am so glad I made the effort. My lungs feel great, my clothes smell great, I don't stay sick as long (and rarely get sick), and I am not spending money on those awful cigarettes. I AM excercising at least twice a week and it has been great. I am walking around the lake at the apartment complex I have been living at since last November (more on that later!). I am trying to walk 2-2.5 miles on my days off. I love walking outside and I am trying to get more time in before the weather changes. They have a very nice gym, so no excuses Alyssa...They even have yoga classes...more on that later. I can go Mondays and Wednesdays for yoga and walking Friday and Saturday. Think of the excercise!! How do I get motivated to work out more than Friday & Saturday?? I will have to contemplate that and come up with ideas beside weight loss. I AM starting to eat better. I have almost completely taken bread, pasta, and juice/regular soda out of my diet. I say almost because I have created five "exception" days a month to allow myself bread, pasta, or juice. Yesterday, going to Elitches was such an exception. I have lost 6 pounds this past month. So this is the beginning of better living for me and I am enjoying it. Any suggestions for better living? Let me know and drop me a line or a comment!! I will be writing lots more frequently about all the fun things I used to write about. I am just getting warmed up!!

New Recipes I've worked on while NOT smoking

So, I've decided that smoking was the same experience it was on December 31 and thus, my 25 day smoking habit in April came to an abrupt halt on April 30. I am happy that the 25 day blip on the radar was just that, a blip. I am so happy to be a non-smoker again. I have been baking cheap desserts for the whole month of May to obtain and justify very refined sugars (like eating  Betty Crocker cream cheese and classic chocolate frosting on cupcakes or right out of the tubs).  Fun-dip and Haribo gummy bears are part of my smoking cessation diet, but Jeff has been cutting me off from sugar around 11pm. 

Other than Betty Crocker invading my kitchen weekly, I am actually keeping true to my resolution to try a new recipe every week. I have made Shepard's Pie (using ground beef and a DIFFERENT recipe that I used for book club years ago), a BBQ sauce and ribs,  a new Alyssa-made concoction to marinade my stir fry (absolutely a zen creation, but tasty nonetheless). The stir fry marinade ingredients were not original by any means, but the quantities were invented on the spot using ginger (fresh off the root), soy sauce, and garlic and a dash of olive oil (I don't know, but EVOO invades most of my recipes somehow).  This cooking horizon is broad and open. I have a year to see how far I can push myself and test my creative juices. I also made a sesame noodle salad with my mother's recipe which turned out well and Jeff liked it as well.

It is fun to cook when you are not smoking for so many reasons:
1.The wonderful aromas are more enticing when you can actually smell them
2. and appreciate the taste!
3.You can actually get cooking and cleaning done faster when you don't have to take frequent smoke breaks.
4. It seems a bit cleaner to cook when you are not dealing with nasty butts (even if you are constantly cleaning your hands before and after smoking which brings me back to #3 with a vengeance!).
5. At least for me, I have an enhanced appetite when I am not smoking and the rewards are actually reaped!

Friends don't let friends cook and smoke!!! COOK, don't SMOKE!!!!

Day #7- A bad habit dying very very hard

Sooo, smoking at the moment is a thing of the past. I feel that the physical part is way in the past. It's the habit part that is kicking my ass. To be honest, the physical part of smoking was deplorable and easy to let go. The physical effects of being smoke-free are glorious: hair smells fresh and clean (well, as long as I shampoo somewhat regularly), clothes smell clean, and breath does not resemble a human ashtray (this is one of the most disgusting facets of smoking hygiene, or lack there of). I wish that's all there was, the remnants of a nasty habit gone bye bye. Ciao, adios, shalom.

Nope, it could never be that easy. That's why this quitting smoking thing SUCKS! The physical reasons are the reasons we quit (the short term physical benefits as well as the long term physical/medical plusses). Honestly, I did not quit because I wanted to stop doing something that is: enjoyable, calming (paradoxical as that sounds to a non smoker), and well, so damn habitual. Smoking is not a glamorous social sport. It just happens to be what you would find me doing when I got off work, work breaks, after meal times, before, during &after watching the sopranos, movies, driving a long distance or in traffic. And any other time you think "why not smoke now...sounds like a great time for a light".

So if you ask me for the truth, I will tell you. I enjoyed smoking. I enjoyed the ritual; I enjoyed having a smoke with friends after an AA meeting or dinner; I had fun smoking with fellow smokers during the Sex and The City movie and all the episodes. I enjoyed smoking on my own when I was single and watched tons of foreign movies and chick flicks by myself. Quitting smoking for some reason seems more difficult than the whole drinking thing and that sounds absurd; maybe I don't remember the drinking thing as well. I remember obsessing and then being neutral to alcohol. Perhaps, down the line, I will be neutral to cigarettes. I don't believe I need a gift of desperation. I don't need cancer or a respiratory disease to get me to quit. For me, smoking is just a dirty nasty ludicrous habit that is going to require a really good fight.

These are the cigarettes I enjoyed and smoked for any length of time (I feel I ought to identify the opponent in the battle):

The Main Event:
Alyssa
vs.
Marlboro Reds
Marlboro blend 27 (I think this is the name)
Marlboro Lights
Camel Lights
Camel Special Lights
Camel Pink no 9
Camel special blends
Parliament lights


I think I have enough fight to kill the habit! We will see at day 30, day 60 day 90! Day 90 will be a big one as that's about as long as I have ever gone.

But we will take it one day at a time.

It's all fun and games four days in...

So, with all my attempts, I don't expect some people to take me seriously. You know, that's not even that important any more! I am taking me seriously...one day at a time. Maybe, four days without a cigarette, I am on a pink cloud. Never had that before. I really feel better already! Now, to be honest, I have certain positive changes in habits already working in my favor that I never had during previous attempts to quit cigarettes for good:



I am eating less fast food and eating healthier over all (let's not get too excited-no one said anything about eating vegan or recycling the containers of my food or anything).

I am exercising more.

I am experiencing less insomnia and getting more quality rest.

I, of late, have been reading more fashion magazines, but feeling the need to indulge and BUY BUY BUY much less (I am not sure how this helps the smoke habit, though I guess I am finding smoking a lot less glamorous-not sure if I ever did, but definitely finding it less so).



So, when I say I am not smoking anymore, cut me a little slack on my support group, okay. Meet my support group:

There is my best carbonated and ever faithful friend Diet Pepsi. There is Dr Pepper, but I am not sure if he betrays me with calories. They are both getting a bit jealous of the wallflower, water, who makes very quiet but frequent introductions into my life. I am drinking some now! Meet Starbursts, the Nerds, the Haribo gummy bear and cola bottle gang and least but not least: the Nerds Rope!



My more healthy friends include cucumbers and carrots as well as sunflower seeds. I confess, however, that the sunflower seed shells are salted and I suck the salt completely dry. Yummy. And sometimes, I still feed the seed inside to Max. He likes Nerds too! More water please!!

Yeah, like I said, it's all fun four days in!