A half is better than nothing!

Anyone who has dieted (seriously) knows that the first few weeks will be the most successful, i.e. you will loose more than the recommended 1-2lbs per week. After that your body adjusts to your smaller portions or lack of carbs or removal of wheat (whatever you’re into) and the weight comes off slowly. This is a good sign and usually indicates that those pounds, even though they seem to take forever to come off, are gone for good.
It always amazes me that weight goes on much faster than it comes off. Must be a physics thing and I was never good at physics – in fact I’m not even sure I’ve spelled it correctly!
A few weeks into the start of my joining, I came home from a FPC meeting to be greeted by my husband who innocently asked how I’d done that week. In the previous weeks I had managed to shed a significant amount of poundage and was feeling very positive and even a little smug. When I replied that I’d lost a half-pound, my husband asked if I was disappointed. My look said more than words and he hastily retreated from the kitchen offering his congratulations while making a mental note to never ask such a stupid question again. Since then we have both come to realise that every ounce is precious to me, particularly if it’s in the right direction. Even if you are told that there’s no change from the previous week that’s still something to be proud of. I’ve experienced three week spells where my weight stayed the same but my consolation was that I hadn’t gained anything back. So, why beat myself up? Let’s face it – years of unhealthy eating cannot be rectified in one month.
The purpose of this post is to remind all Fatty Piggy’s to never feel bad if you ‘only’ loose a half-pound but feel good that you’ve succeeded in loosing yet another half-pound and you are that much closer to your target.

Oink oink,
Kath

I do run run run – I do run run!

Ok, well not so much ‘run’ as walk a little faster than normal…

I have taken the advice of my colleague (at Acme Tongue Depressors) and have started to get out of the office at lunchtime, exchanging my stale office air for the fresh, cold Irish winter air (brrrrrrr). Armed (or ‘footed’) with MBT’s and the obligatory navy blue college sweats that are still 8 sizes too big (worn for effect, of course), I take to the Irish countryside for 45 minutes of fast paced walking with my dog in tow. I have decided that the only way to speed up my weight loss is to exercise. “Duh!” I hear you say aloud. I know, I know - It’s a definite case of practicing what I preach!

Thankfully (for my ego) my colleague wasn’t offering me weight loss advice. He was merely pointing out that this daily break does in fact help him keep his sanity (debatable…..). He has successfully converted another colleague of ours on another continent so we now have a running (and I use the term loosely) club of three members when we visit the ‘motherland’ in May. I’m looking forward to it already.

I will eventually build up to a light jog but can never see myself actually running as that could only result in an injury to me or to another passer-by……. Someone once told me that if you do a 2 minute walk - 2 minute jog (alternating for 45mins) for one week and then build up the minute vs. jog ratio that you will eventually jog the entire 45mins without even noticing. Hmmmmm. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Oink oink,
Kath

Sit-up and take notice!

An acquaintance of mine recently proclaimed that part of her new year’s resolution (...to be impossibly thin in an impossibly short period of time…) was taking to the floor each night to do fifty sit-ups. I asked if she was doing anything else, like walking or swimming. The answer was a flat ‘no’ as she gathered a large portion of her midsection between her thumb and forefinger and announced that ‘this was really where she needed to loose it’.

The aim of this post is to stop other people from making that same mistake. Please read up on exercise before you undertake it or talk to someone who is in the know. Go to your local Gym and talk to the staff or search the web for information – anything – but do not be lead astray by infomercials and the like that tell you that all you have to do is ‘5 minutes per day and you too could have the body of a supermodel’!

There is simply no such thing as spot reducing. Fat can only be removed from the body in more or less equal parts. If you lose 5 pounds those pounds will come from all over your body in small amounts (thighs, hips, bottom, arms, neck, face, etc.).

From reading up on this very topic, I have learned that the abdominal (ab) muscles are muscles just like any other. When you train a muscle it will become stronger & tighter – e.g. if you begin training your bicep muscles with light weight curls then your biceps will become stronger & tighter. Therefore, if you begin training your abdominal muscles with sit-ups (or any other type of abdominal exercise) then your abdominal muscles will become stronger & tighter.

However, your new stronger & tighter abdominal muscles will still be buried beneath layers of fat tissue so you won’t be able to see them. Your abdominals will never be noticeable until you burn away the fat that is covering them up. Making your abs stronger and tighter is not the same thing as burning away the fat tissue: which sits on top of your abs.

In a nutshell: When you see an overweight person they not only have fat on and around their midsection but on their face and neck too. So, when that person loses weight they’ll not only lose weight from their stomach and hips but their face and neck will also be noticeably slimmer.

This is true because fat tissue can only be burned from all over your body at the same time, in more or less equal amounts.

The two best and most tried, tested and successful methods of burning fat:
1) Eat properly; and
2) Do non-strenuous aerobic exercises.

Oink oink,
Kath

Tag - You're It!

I was challenged – or tagged- by my pal, Sal (there’s a song in there somewhere) to take part in a ‘MEME’. Other than that being a French/Canadian term for Grandma, I have no idea what it means. I’ll answer the questions anyway as apparently this is designed for all bloggers who have had a complete brain freeze – and as you can see from the postings on this blog mine has completely frozen!

OK then: here goes…..

FOUR JOBS IVE HAD (all prior to the one I have now):
1. Sales assistant at ‘Mr. Donut’. This was my first after school job and probably my first step towards becoming a fatty piggy….
2. General dogs body in a law firm (filing and getting coffee for overpaid lawyers for the summer before senior year). For some strange reason this is what enticed me to pursue a career in law (sad, eh?).
3. Hairdresser… or should I say Hairwasher! Hated it, hated it, and hated it!!! Spent an entire year doing this prior to college. Thought I’d take the ‘easy’ route to being wealthy. Boy, was I wrong. Did I mention that I hated it?
4. Secretary to a financial controller (yawn!). I (yawn) found that one (yawn) particularly exciting (yawn)…! Thus again I was enticed to pursue my original idea of a law career and hey-presto… here I am today (yawn) with a career (yawn) in law…. (yawn)!!! Aren’t I (yawn) glad I didn’t (yawn) opt to become a (yawn) boring accountant..???? I’m sure Sal will agree with me on that one – if he’s still awake that is!!

FOUR MOVIES I CAN WATCH OVER AND OVER:
1. Bull Durham
2. The Wedding Singer
3. Batman Returns
4. Some Like It Hot

FOUR PLACES I’VE LIVED:
1. Waltham, MA
2. St. Petersburg, FL
3. Nashua, NH
4. County Clare, Ireland

FOUR TV SHOWS I LOVE(D):
1. Tom & Jerry (does that count as a ‘show’?)
2. I Love Lucy
3. CSI (the original in Las Vegas – the rest are poor imitations)
4. The Dukes of Hazzard, and 'yes' I am embarrassed about that one!!!

FOUR BOOKS I’VE READ THIS YEAR (actually last year):
1. “It is just me or is everything shit? The encyclopedia of modern life” - Lowe & Mcarthur.
2. “The Rule of Four” - Caldwell & Thomason
3. “Blow Fly” - Cornwell
4. “Lifeguard” - Patterson & Gross

FOUR PLACES I’VE VACATIONED:
1. Hermit Island, ME
2. St. Pierre et Miquelon, France (I think)
3. Paris, France
4. Menorca, Spain

FOUR FAVORITE DISHES:
1. Anything Italian
2. Seafood Platter
3. Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon
4. Fish & Chips
(Hmmmmm.. I’m noticing a nautical trend.)

FOUR SITES I VISIT DAILY:
1. Sky News
2. ebay
3. My employer’s homepage
4. This blog

FOUR PLACES I’D RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:
1. At my Dad’s house in MA
2. At my Sister’s house in MA
3. At my other Sister’s house in CN
4. At my Brother’s house in ME
(Do you get the feeling I miss being around my siblings???)

FOUR BLOGGERS I’VE TAGGED TO CONTINUE THIS MEME:
1. thru 4. I’ll follow Mausi’s and Sal’s lead: I do hereby tag any bloggers reading this who are experiencing a “bad brain day.”.

Oink oink,
Kath

We're Back...........................

It's been a while; in fact it's been too long. Us Fatty Piggy’s are still trying to recoup from the holiday season (Fatty Piggy Fest) that was Christmas, New Year's and any other celebration we had the misfortune to take part in. Top that off with a visit to Scotland, large quantities of scotch whiskey, haggis and bacon butties washed down with Cosmopolitans (at midnight) – oh and one trip to TGI’s for dinner that resulted in 1 combo starter and 6 Cosmopolitans (no dinner) - and you have a Fatty Piggy disaster on your hands. My stomach hurts just thinking about it!!

We are back on track now and determined to continue our mission as we careen dangerously towards summer vacations and swimwear. Each one of us had our own torturous return to the scales within the past couple of weeks; and believe me, it wasn't pretty.

Onwards and upwards - we shall overcome - we can do it! Words of inspiration or desperation? At this point I'm not sure!

Let's start with a really nice recipe:

Chicken Salad wrapped in Chinese Lettuce
1 cold grilled chicken breast
2 sticks of celery
1/2 onion or 3 spring onions
1 clove garlic
1 carrot (peeled and blanched to soften)
Parsley (a pinch of dried or 1 stem of fresh)
2 tablespoons of low fat (preferably fat free) mayonnaise
Leaves of Chinese lettuce (although any crispy lettuce with large leaves will do)

Put the lettuce leaves to the side. Throw all of the other ingredients into a food processor and whiz until the contents resemble a thick paste - the less you whiz the chunkier the salad mix so go according to your own tastes. Spoon the salad mix into a lettuce leaf - or two - and enjoy. This is tasty and healthy alternative to having a sandwich and lower in carbs and fat. The best part about this recipe is that kids love it too so you can serve it to the family as a lunch or snack item (thus hiding the vegetable content and fooling them into thinking it’s just chicken & mayo). The chicken can be substituted by either 1 can of tuna (in brine) or a grilled turkey breast (you'll need more of the other ingredients as turkey breasts are larger) and it tastes just as good.

Enjoy!

Oink oink,
Kath