Merry Christmas to all!

A Year Without A Santa Claus

I'm mister White Christmas
I'm mister snow
I'm mister icicle
I'm mister 10 below

Friends call me snow miser
whatever I touch
turns to snow in my clutch
I'm too much

I never want to know a day that's over 40 degrees
I rather have it 30, 20, 5 and have it freeze

I'm mister Green Christmas
I'm mister sun
I'm mister heat blister
I'm mister 101

Friends call me heat miser
whatever I touch
starts to melt in my clutch
I'm too much

I never want to know a day that's under 60 degrees
I rather have 80, 90, 100 degrees!

No More Starbucks Drive Thru

At $3 or more a cup, and not much control over content, why not save the environment and your waist-line at the same time?

How stinkin' cute is this? And it is Eco friendly too. Available at Bed, Bath and Beyond here.

Copco To Go Cup

This cup looks like a disposable one but it's reusable so it reduces waste. With an easy-sip top, BPA free double wall mug provides enhanced insulation. Dishwasher and microwave safe.

January Goals

* Update my blog daily
* Eat 3 servings of fruits and/or vegetables daily
* Get 8 - 8 oz glasses of water daily
* Write everything I eat in my food journal
* Get to my 10% weight loss goal
* Exercise at least 5 times per week for min 30 min
* Eat all my daily points

Scale Stats for the Week

Weigh ins Monday morning:

Fat %: 48.9
Water %: 40.8
Muscle Mass %: 28.7
BMI: 34.9

Calories needed daily to maintain: 1661

Normal healthy range
Fat 22-32% (whoa)
Water 50% (clearly not getting enough water)
Weight 110-140 ish (huh)
BMI 18.6 - 24.9 (oh my)

I'm not really sure how the scale gets all this information from my feet. I would think it would be based on age height and weight and then just making a guess but it does change even when the weight is the same.

Biggest Loser Scale

This is a great scale to use on your weight loss journey. Available from Amazon here.

Product Features

• Measures body fat-Body water via the BIA method.
• Calculates daily caloric reference- shows calories needed to maintain weight
• Fitness Minder calculates BMI
• Accurate to 330 pounds -150kg
• Silver and Stainless steel platform with large 1.9" -2 line LCD display

Daily Nosh

Easing my way back into the tracking of my food:

Peanut butter/jelly sandwich
mini marshmallows
Chicken enchilada (Schwann's) - 350 cal, 5 fat, 1 protein
Popcorn

Not a good day...

Easy Vegetarian Brown Bag Lunches

• Black beans, diced red pepper, onion, jalapeno, salsa on a whole wheat wrap with pepper jack cheese




• Vegetarian chili salad you can add salsa, corn, beans, egg, cheese, chick peas, & avocado




• Grilled cheese & tomato soup




• Avocado, cucumber, red onion, tomato and hummus on whole wheat




• Vegetarian B.L.T. - Caramelize onions and use instead of bacon. It takes two minutes and they hold up find throughout the day.




• Black bean and cheese burrito wraps




• Garbonzo beans, feta cheese and lettuce is a great quick salad




• 1 can Tuna, 2 chopped apples, 2 chopped stalks celery, 1 TB mayo, salt & pepper! That makes 2 delicious servings of salad




• Tzatziki pita - pita, 1/2 tomato, cuke, feta, tzatziki, lettuce. Assemble right before eating.




• 1/2c brown rice (I use the microwave packets), 1/2 can chopped no salt added tomatoes, 2/3c morningstar farm ground soy

Vanity Sizing

Seriously...

Now it is no secret that the sizing of clothes has changed over the years. And as frustrating as it is not knowing what size you are going to be from store to store, here is the reason why: vanity sizing. Americans are willing to pay more for a smaller size on our clothes. We like the smaller size in the closet so we can say, "yeah, I'm a size 4". This vanity sizing phenomenon has certainly contributed to the ever growing American population...and I don't mean the number of people. Americans are getting fatter and the vanity sizing from clothing companies are enabling us. Here is an interesting article in the Seattle Times.

So what is your true size? To really know what your true size is, you should go to European clothing companies such as Boden or H&M or sewing patterns. The pattern companies are still using the commercial sizing standards that the Department of Commerce regulated up until 1983. It seems once again, America has their own way of doing things.

Another helpful site for clothing conversions.

Morning or Evening Exercising

Is it better to exercise in the morning or evening? Well for me, since I am not a morning person, the evening is better. When I am on a regular schedule, I find it easier to come home from work and hit the treadmill or weights before dinner. The problem with exercising in the evening is on the days that I have to work late. I seem to have had the unfortunate luck of working for companies that suck every ounce out of me. Then when I finally get to go home for the day it is 9 or 10 and night and the last thing I want to do is exercise. A typical day usually meant I probably didn't eat lunch or if I did, it was from a vending machine because I didn't have time to leave. (Normally I could go home for lunch) So even though I should not have eaten anything, I really hadn't eaten all day and when you are starving, you eat everything. And because it is so late, I didn't have the time or energy to make lunch for the next day and it all starts again.

There is a lot of information on the internet regarding when it is better to exercise. Basically it comes down to, what works for you?