Everyday Goddess

Free Bike = Youthful Fun. My First Contest!

After wanting one for years, I finally bought a bike when I got laid off a yearish ago. A little counter-intuitive, and certainly I wasn't splashing money all over the place just as I lost my primary income. But I thought, suddenly I have time to pick out a bike, suddenly I have time to exercise, and so I charged it. One of my best life decisions, actually.

I get seriously discomforted when I'm not working and making an income, and the bike kept me feeling good and gave me a place to push through my negative feelings.

But what surprised me is how much getting a new bike in your 30s feels exactly like getting a new bike when you're ten. Simply put, it's the most fun exercise out there. It feels so much more productive and powerful than walking. It feels like you have the coolest new toy on the block. It feels like flying.

And you, my (American) friends, can win a Fuji Crosstown 2.0 bike from me (and Lipton)!

Now, I know that the bike is cool, but allow me to geek out here for a minute. This is a really impressive online blogosphere promotion. It allows bloggers to give something away to their readers, which is fun and has many of us hosting our first contest ever.

They sent me a "White Tea Experience Pack," which included: 1 20 oz. bottle, ready-to-drink Diet Peach Papaya, coupons for some free 1.5 liter bottles, 1 box hot White Tea, and  5 To-Go Sticks. I will say that the bottle of Diet Peach Papaya was a little too sweet for me, but the To-Go Sticks (powder to pour into your water bottle) were raspberry white tea, and I liked them a lot. Sometimes I don't drink water because it feels to harsh on my throat and stomach, so the To-Go sticks are cool for me, plus, I prefer raspberry.

And the hot tea is divine. I'm going to sound like a pansy now, but I can't drink hot black tea sometimes because it's hard on my stomach. The white tea (there's some green in there, too) is much lighter and smoother, and the mango peach flavoring isn't overwhelming. Very tasty, and with those nice pyramid bags, too.

So free tea for me, a bike for you, what gives? It's all part of the "Free Your Y" promotion.

To highlight the fact that Lipton’s White Teas are made from young tea buds, plucked early in their life cycle, we worked with Lipton to develop the “Free Your Y” campaign.  “Free Your Y” is all about tapping into our customer’s inner youthful spirit and highlighting those things we do every day to make us feel young again.

Part of the promotion is a cool video competition on YouTube. The deadline for submissions is today, but you can go there and watch the fun things people submitted. They've put together an impressive YouTube page, that's for sure. And hey, if you're reading this right after I post it, you could whip up a video submission today. It's basically, shoot yourself doing something fun and/or cool and throw it up there. They're giving away $25,000.

And I'm giving away a bike!

The winner will also receive 5 coupons for a free 1.5 liter bottle of Lipton White Iced Tea and a check for $75 for professional bike assembly. Lipton is in charge of fulfillment, and here's some important legal stuff: The Pepsi/Lipton Partnership will provide a check for $75.00 to be used for professional assembly of all Lipton Fuji bicycles awarded.  Neither Pepsi Co. nor Unilever is liable for any injuries, damages or accidents that may result from the receipt, assembly or use of this bicycle.

So! Here's how to enter to win a bike from me:

1. Comment on this post - only once, please. (You don't have to use your real name if you don't want to.)
   
2. With a valid email address.
3. Tell me what your favorite healthy snack is, with prep instructions if required.

Deadline for entry is next Saturday May 17th. So long as your comment comes in time stamped by Saturday and includes your favorite healthy snack, you're in. I will randomly determine, announce, and contact the winner on Sunday May 18th. At which point the winner will need to promptly email me back their information to forward onto Lipton. (You do have to be in the United States to win. Sorry to my international readers.)

That's it! I really looking forward to reading all your comments, and picking a winner. I'm hoping to do the drawing as a video post next Sunday.

Cheers, and good luck!

Learning about Heart Disease Has Never Been So Sweet.

Oh, I had such a wonderful time! And I really learned a lot about heart disease.

You can read about it over at Everyday Goddess Does... "You've Gotta Have Heart" to Fight Heart Disease.

I've got a cookie problem at work.

Long ago, when I was on Weight Watchers, I solidified my strategy regarding sweets.

If you've been reading me for a while, you probably know that I do not believe in eating sweets every day.  Sweets are treats.  Daily food for me is vegetables, meat, eggs, milk.  Food food.  Sweets everyday is not a good scene, because the next thing you know, I'm overindulging.

You may not be like this, but I have the willpower of... um... something with very little willpower.  And you may not be like this, but I find that when I weight over 150 (at 5'4"), my health and stamina takes a nose dive.

So I need a mental strategy to avoid eating things I would prefer not to, and it is this:  Sweets have to be worth it.

Someone's birthday cake from a supermarket is not worth it.

Someone's homemade bliss from their grandma's prize recipe *is* worth it.

Generally, homemade and/or truly special occasion is worth it; store bought everyday whatever is not.

Really amazing dark chocolate or the occasional Cello Chocolate-covered Cherry with liquid filling or Ferrero Roche is worth it.  You buy me a box of fine chocolates, I'm going to enjoy it, guilt-free.

Other crap candy, not worth it.

So here's my problem.  The chef where I work makes homemade cookies everyday.  Like real homemade cookies.  And one of my bosses gets a couple brought up to him every day, so they come right by me.

Homemade = worth it.

Everyday = problem.

I find that I've begun to have one everyday.  And that's not OK.

But did I mention my willpower issue?

Today I got up and I was like: OK, no more eating the starches in the lunch room unless they're grainy (no more sugary white potatoes!), and no more eating the cookie.  Well, I avoided the rice, but I ate the cookie.

I haven't been overindulging so much that the cravings are back like pre-South Beach or that I'm gaining weight, but I'm slipping, and I don't like it.  I'm not crazy craving sweets and carbs, but I'm wanting them, and I'm eating them like I wasn't before.  Unhappy.

So I guess I'm hoping that if I tell the Internets I need to stop eating that damn delicious cookie, then I actually will.

Weight, Words, and Money

One thing I'm doing pretty consistently during script frenzy is writing at lunch.  This is a triple whammy because I'm bringing these little South Diet deli lunches to eat, I'm writing, and I'm saving lunch money.

Which has me thinking about weight, words, and money.

Not long after I declared I'd slipped under 150 on this blog, never to return again, my weight rolled back to 150 exactly.  And stayed there.  For like a month and half.  Maybe two.

I was terrified it would begin to creep up again, but I also felt like I needed a break from being so stringent about what I was eating, and I haven't had much time for exercise.  So I tried to be careful not to overeat, and I've allowed myself the *occasional* treat, all while staying basically within the South Beach guidelines with what I'm regularly eating.  And the 150 stuck.

I concentrated on staying there and being happy about the 14 pounds I lost.  I concentrated on being happy my clothes fit again and that I felt so much better physically.

Still, I would very much like to lose enough weight to be dancing towards 130.  With my lunch plan for script frenzy, I thought, here's an opportunity to cut back on what I'm eating just a little bit, and maybe it will shake me past this plateau and back on the weight loss path.

This week, I dipped into 147 and am now holding strong at 148.8.  Isn't it funny how sometimes weight numbers don't even seem real?  You think: Really?  Yesterday I was 150, today I'm 148.8, but does it really mean anything?  Of course, in the cumulative it certainly does.  I'm really feeling like my weight is moving down again, and I also feel ready to bring in a little exercise in the next few weeks.

Which feels great.

As for words and script frenzy, yesterday I finished Act 1 and passed the 5,000 word mark.  This is not as far along as I "should" be, but considering it's the first time I've written an Act 1 in years, I'm trying to concentrate on the positive.  I'm writing again.

I sat in a Starbucks with a friend and writing ensued.  Progress was made.  I'm writing again.

And for all my whining about it, I'm better at it now.  All the things I've been learning and studying and thinking about are coming out on the page.

And for all my whining about it, I'm enjoying it.  Wow, did I just say that?  I am; I'm enjoying it.

I've not yet really embraced the "frenzy" in "script frenzy."  I thought I would write a little willy nilly, but I find that I'm not wanting to.  I'm doing a fair amount of crafting.  Act 1 and all.  Perhaps I'll get a little crazy in Act 2.  There's all that room there.

There's a big part of me that wants to "win" at script frenzy and hit that 20,000 word mark by June 30th, but at the same time, I can't deny that merely participating will likely result in a finished screenplay - even if I finish it in July and it's not 20,000 words.

For now, I'm working on the commitment to keep plugging away.  And I'm trying to stay focused on the positive.  And not the fear of getting lost in the big, giant forest of Act 2, where I boldly enter today.

Tonight is the WIF Crystal + Lucy awards.  I go every year, and I was fortunate in previous years that my former employer paid for my ticket.  This, however, is the first year that I was able to buy my own ticket.  I called and paid for it the day I got my invitation in the mail.  Which I'm hoping, hoping, hoping means a better seat.

One thing it definitely means is that my finances have changed.  Not hugely, and not all of the sudden.  I've been working so hard to dig out of the hole, that it kinda snuck up on me.  I mean, surely I was there when I got the Prosper loan, which then allowed me enough breathing room to get lower interest transfer offers for my credit debt.  Certainly, I was there when I got my new job.

But you know when it hits me that things are finally getting better?  When my paycheck comes and there's still a little money in my checking account.  When that little tiny bit in my savings account stays in my savings account.  When I can go to the doctor's office and not sweat about getting a spot on the street because I can't afford to park in the garage.  When I don't have to skip a free film screening because the only place to park at the theater is in a garage I can't afford.  Every single time I'm hungry, and I have money for food.

You know, I write that and it sounds like things were really bad.  You know what?  They were.  It was really hard for a long time and I tried not to think about it then, I just did the best I could day after day after day and it totally sucked.

And now it's better.

And tonight, I'm going to the Crystal + Lucy awards, and I paid for my ticket. 

And eight years after I emptied my 401K to go to grad school, I just started a new one.

And I have so, SO much farther to go.  Sometimes it's still suffocating and frustrating and terrifying and everything it ever was.

But tonight, I weigh 148.8 lbs., I've written 5,000+ words on my new screenplay, and I'm going to the Crystal + Lucy awards all by myself.  Tonight, I'm going to let all of that feel like something that matters in the grand scheme of things.  I'm going to stop on this step in the ladder and enjoy the party.

I earned it.

Who Weighs Under 150 lbs?

I do!  I do!  149.6

South Beach Diet, you are a friend of mine!

I waited for two days to make sure it was sticking, but it appears that the weight loss crawl has slunk down past 150.  May it never return unless it's supporting an additional person, you know?

I'm still feeling a little overweight, but definitely much, much better.  I've worn a smaller pair of jeans twice now, and though it was pushing it, they fit OK.  And it felt better than the bigger jeans I'm also still wearing.  Yeah, I'm in that annoying middle place, but I was waiting to get under 150 to buy some spring/summer clothes.

And while I'm talking diet, I want to share a few things about The South Beach Diet.  First, is that it honestly has killed my cravings for sweets and starches.  Which I never would have believed possible when I was living on pasta.  I've even had a moment where there was a particularly tempting sweet in my fridge, and I had to stop and confirm that yes, I really felt like I could take it or leave it.

People have complemented my "willpower," and I have to shrug and say that at this point, it's honestly not willpower at all.  I simply don't have the cravings.

I will admit that I was extremely motivated when I started the diet, so that certainly helped.

I had often told myself, just stop eating bagels, just stop eating sweets, just cut out snacks like chips and Chex mix.  But that required willpower, and I always failed.  While the first two weeks of The South Beach Diet definitely did require willpower - and lots of it at times - once I was through that became less and less true.  And I think the key was, really looking at what I was going to eat instead.  Taking the time to use the recipes, taking the time to make the quick eggs cups that go in the freezer so that I always have a breakfast option.

Seriously, the egg cups are key, funny as that seems.

Lastly, although I've made great progress with not comfort eating because of stress or feeling down, I definitely slipped recently when the bad period/back pain/annoying cold happened.  Call that comfort food in response to pain and sickness.  I had KFC, I had pizza, I had something else I can't remember, all in a matter of days.  And after all that was the first time I realized that I pass a very tempting drive-thru when I leave work and the first time I was tempted by the afternoon cookies at work.

The slip brought the temptations and the need for willpower back fairly quickly.  It wasn't really, really bad, but it would have been if I hadn't nipped it.  I remind myself that it only takes one afternoon cookie to start a new bad habit.

Two thoughts I keep close:

1. I firmly believe that sweets are a treat and not something anyone should eat everyday.
2. Healthy people do not eat KFC or similiar meals more than once a month.

So, it's OK to indulge, but personally, I have to go up an alert level in the days after indulgence, so that it doesn't become a slide back into bad habits.  Because I seriously never want to be there again.

And on an up-note - Who weighs under 150?  I do!  I do!

Next diet post when I crawl under 140.  Should be a few months more of excruciatingly healthy weight loss.

UPDATE:  I realized that the next milepost is actually when I get under 143.8 - which will mean 20 pounds lost.  So next update then... I needed a slightly closer mark.

Slow and Steady Wins Something, I Hope.

Finally, Finally, FINALLY, the scale shows I've lost over 10 pounds on The South Beach Diet.  10.8 pounds in 6 1/2 weeks.  Not record-breaking, but definitely healthy and doable. 

It's also the first time I've ever lost 10 pounds and still not had a healthy BMI, which kinda bites.  But, I'm almost there.  Next small goal is to get under 150 (3 pounds to go!), and I will be really, really, REALLY happy when that happens.

So, of course people want to tell you you look fine and tease you about being on a diet.  I am blessed with a figure that once I'm in this zone, really begins to carry weight well, too.  Once I'm under 150, the next ten pounds lost will be much less visible.  Still, even if you can't see it, I'll be getting healthier and more fit.

And more fitting into more of my cute jeans!

I appreciate that people love me and are being nice, but the thing is, my life career goal is to become a film & television director, and I am 35 years old on a very long road.  I certainly hope it's earlier, but realistically, my career could start at age 50 or 55.  I need to be healthy, because I need to be able to continue working, working, working for a very long time.  And after I start directing for a living, I want to work for years and years after that!

Just because it's a diet, doesn't mean I'm living on grapefruit.  If you had a heart attack, your doctor would put you on a diet.  A healthy diet.  Diet is not inherently a bad word.

I feel great, and I'm just feeling better and better, so go me, that's what I say!

BTW, worst, never-ending PMS EVER last week.  Ug.  It's rarely that bad, but it was like the gift that kept on giving last week.  At least that means next month will be a breeze.

I just had to say that because it was really, notably bad.  Sorry to anyone who got a piece of my drama last week.

OK, I'm off to figure out what one who hasn't done laundry in two weeks wears to work.  Thank goodness for the largest underwear stash in Los Angeles!

14 Days Without Red Wine

I have successfully completed Phase 1 of The South Beach Diet.

Well, somewhat.  The book says that you might lose 8 to 12 pounds in the first two weeks, and I lost 5.6.  Which is excellent, healthy weight loss, but is a bit disappointing because I was hoping to kick off my diet with that 8 to 12 pounds gone.

I believe it's likely due to portion control - which I did pretty good at, but certainly not perfect - and cheese control.  I'm allowed to eat low-fat cheese, but I suspect I ate too much.  And at one reception I went to in the past two weeks, there were big wheels of gourmet - read full fat - cheese with cute labels about each one, and I decided to taste them.  Some more than once.

I mean heck, I wasn't drinking the wine.

I feel OK about that choice, too, because it was still very in control and a conscious choice.  In fact, I feel great, except for wishing I was instantly thinner, which I know isn't reasonable.

So here is what I have decided for my next step.  After two weeks, you can enter phase two, which reintroduces, in moderation, healthy foods that were out in phase one:  fruits, brown rice, corn, carrots, etc.  And red wine is back.

You can, however, stay in phase one for up to four weeks.  The book is cautionary about it, but I think I'm going to give it a go - with two exceptions.

1. I'm drinking red wine
2. Valentine's Day

One thing I really like about The South Beach Diet is how it deals with treats and special occasions.  The philosophy is, treat yourself on occasion when you want to, then do phase one again until you're back where you were before the indulgence.  The trick, of course, is to allow yourself to indulge within reason and then get right back on the wagon.

So I actually think that slipping my glass of red wine back into my diet and just that to start with will be a good thing.  That way, the glass of red wine can't possibly signal, Go crazy and down that 9-layer dip, too!

Also, having been "good" for the two phase-one weeks, I am developing a small fear that I will have one bite of chocolate and slip completely back into very bad habits.  Two weeks of weight loss is a tenuous thing to hold onto and continue positively.  Obviously, I am still on a diet, but I'm going to allow myself some candy or some sort of treat on Valentine's day, should the opportunity arise, and be a worthy enough sweet.  (One thing I learned from Weight Watchers:  If you are going to indulge, hold out for the quality treat; spend the calories on something that's really worth it.)

Then, I'll get back on the phase one wagon on Thursday.

My second fourteen days will end February 26th, and my reasonable, healthy goal is to have lost ten pounds by then. 

Here I go, Here I go, Here. I. Go. Again...

Girls, What's your weakness?  WINE!  WINE!

Hello, 159.4 lbs.!

Today is the first day of my second week on The South Beach Diet, phase 1.  It's also the day the scale read: 159.4.  Goodbye, 160s - don't let the door hit you on the way out.  You aren't welcome anymore.

My total weight loss for week one is 4.4 lbs.  If I can match that this week then I'll hit the 8 in the "8 to 12 lbs." expected during the first two kick-off weeks.  Which is cool with me.

After that the plan changes, and the weight loss slows to the healthy rate of - hopefully - 2 pounds a week.

I'm not going to go on and on, but I will say that I feel great.  Nothing like a diet to get you eating your vegetables and not eating sweets!   Both of which make you feel great.

I certainly don't feel thin today, but I definitely feel healthier - which is pretty damn nice.

Waiting on my weight to change.

OK, most people will tell you that you shouldn't weigh yourself every day.  I, however, find it's a good way to get a sense of what's going on with my body day to day.  Because I weigh myself everyday, for example, I have an awareness of what's a fluctuation, and what's weight gain.

My "watch out" weight was 150 lbs. for years and years.  I went on the South Beach Diet for two reasons:  1.  I was physically feeling like crap and feeling myself sliding further and further down that path, and 2. My weight was sticking at 164.  Wait, there's one more reason:  I really, really, really want my jeans to fit again.

At 164, and the way I was eating, I realized that 170 was mere months away.  Me at 170 - who is that person???

No one I want to meet.

And finally, thankfully, I felt ready for permanent change.  This being laid off, while hopefully short-lived, has been well-utilized.  I've gotten sleep and catch-up, and I've used it to start to turn my health around.

So I started the 14-day "phase one" of The South Beach Diet on Monday.  Of course, cutting out my practically entirely bad carbs diet and suddenly eating vegetables again led to two first days of weight loss on the scale.

Now I'm stuck at 160.8.

Now, I'm an intelligent person.  I know I'm eating and feeling better.  I know that if I was losing every day it wouldn't be healthy.  I know that if I stick to the plan for the next nine days, of course the scale will start moving down again.  And I know that what I'm feeling right now is exactly why they tell you not to weigh yourself every day.

But I am SO CLOSE to slipping back into the 150s.  I just really want to get on that scale and know that the 160s are gone for good, and I'm never going back.

Tomorrow.  Tomorrow's the day.

South Beach, Here I Come.

I wish I was referring to the real South Beach, aka home, however, I am referring to The South Beach Diet. Yes, I am going on a diet.

I actually have a pretty deep-seated feeling that diets are really bad for you and really impossible.  Other than the times I've been on Weight Watchers, I've never actually gone on a diet.  And the only time I've stuck to Weight Watchers, I was really hard-core into it with an energy I cannot seem to muster any more.

I absolutely loathe, even fear, being hungry.  Which The South Beach Diet says I won't be.  Weight Watchers also makes me really obsessive about food, which The South Beach Diet says I won't be.

It starts with a two-week strict phase to get you turned around.  And this I totally need.  I've been living almost entirely on bad carbs and sugars - my body is even beginning to feel an aversion to vegetables, like I won't be able to digest them. 

And the fat just speaks for itself.  I need a change, and I need it to be a drastic change.

I used to smoke, like a million years ago, and one day I thought, I am so sick of buying these - and I just stopped cold.  I'm pretty good at the 180 when it's time to make a change.

So for the next two weeks:  no bread, no rice, no potatoes, no pasta, no baked goods, no candy, no cake, no cookies, no ice cream, no sugar, no fruit, and no beer or alcohol of any kind.  I'm not going to go into the details of the diet and what I can eat, but that's the challenge of the first two weeks.  The alcohol will be the most difficult.  I'm going to be dying for a glass of red wine on day 15!!! 

February 12th - I have to do this really strictly until February 12th.  Then the plan kicks into phase 2, and by then, I'm betting I'll be feeling a heck of a lot better than I do now.

I'll be enjoying red wine again, for one thing.

So I'm reading through the book, and I'm going to do a major shopping trip tonight or tomorrow to stock up on all the good things I can eat.  I'm also going to be preparing more food, and I think it will be good to get into the swing of that, too, for multiples of reasons.

OK.  Tomorrow is Diet Day 1.  Here I go.