Sister Skinny

Mission Accomplished

2008-04-18T01:09:00.002-07:00

We'll keep working out.

We'll keep eating well.

We'll keep visiting you.

But we won't be posting anymore.

Thanks for your support, advice, inspiration, and most of all, friendship. We wish you all the best!

Love,
Katie and Molly

Girl Power

2008-04-17T06:54:00.003-07:00

Even though I didn't watch this season of Biggest Loser, I still loved the finale. Specifically, Ali. You go girl.

In the Name of Research

2008-04-16T07:52:00.000-07:00

You all know I love me some Kashi products. I've always been a fan of the GOLean crunch breakfast cereal, but recently I was introduced to the honey almond flax version.

Be still my heart. We all know that anything with the word "honey" in it (when talking about breakfast cereal) means SWEET.

And sure enough the very first bite I thought, "Oh hooray for ~~shu-u-u-u-ugar!~~ brown rice cane crystals!

And then on the next bite it occured to me, the Kashi tasted remarkably similar to this:

Honey Smacks.

And so yes, that box of Honey Smacks is mine. I was so curious and it tasted SO similar that I went out and bought some (much to the joy of my six year old, "NO WAY! MOM!! YOU GOT REAL CEREAL???"

"Yes honey, as opposed to all of the imaginary cheerios you shovel into your mouth every morning."

"AWESOME!!!"). I have to admit, I felt a little nostalgic as I opened up the box. I haven't had paper-foil-packaged cereal in a very long time.

And guess what- they DID taste a LOT alike. The Kashi was way crunchier and more substantial. But the flavor was quite a bit similar. Am I supposed to be bothered or excited? I'm not sure. A little of both. So if you are a fan of Honey Smacks but wouldn't mind getting 9 grams of protein, 8 grams of fiber, and 500 mg of Omega-3's every morning, you may want to give it a try!

Good thing I got to the bottom of this. Research is fun. (Does Kashi make anything that resembles a ding-dong?)

(p.s. Here's a snack that uses all those leftover Kashi cereal crumbs. My toddler and I devoured it.)

Ha Ha

2008-04-15T21:42:00.004-07:00

I saw this at BFD and felt it my duty to share:

"No Pills, No Lipo"
nope! Only some good ol'fashioned time travel.

Hubby Skinny

2008-04-15T06:37:00.002-07:00

[Guest post by my husband Aaron]

Cute Katieo was racking her brain for what to write for today when she said, "You could write my post." (Hopeful grin)

"Sure."

"What would you write on?"

"I could write on how men see weight loss differently than women."

"What do you know about it? I grow humans, and then I push them out. That's why I have to lose weight. What's your excuse?"

Touché.

Undaunted, I am here to opine on the male perspective on weight loss. It's obvious that there are differences between men and women when it comes to this topic (and countless others). And even though I hate generalizing the sexes, I do have a few simple observations to make.

1. Men can be fatter without being fat.
I am sure the women reading that first statement felt a surge of emotion from the injustice of it all. (Can I get an Amen!?!) And it truly is unjust. There is nothing fair at all in the expectations put on women versus those put on men.

For men, its more about ranges then hard numbers. I have to admit, being 10-20lbs overweight doesn't feel much different socially than being at the correct, healthy weight. Being a bit overweight is just the "close enough" range. From plus 20lbs to plus 60lbs, we have the "big eater" range. Above 60lbs overweight, we have the "My wife would kill me if she knew I was eating this" range.

But even when men are considered fat, our society is much more accepting. There's a reason that the media will portray a man who is a closet eater on a Prime Time sitcom. It's comedy. The closet eating woman, however, gets portrayed on the Lifetime Network. (I still remember "a very special" Diff'rent Strokes when Kimberly Drummond turned out to be bulimic. That was not a funny episode. But how many times did I laugh at Bill Cosby sneaking a burger and fries into the kitchen?) Being overweight means two very different things, socially speaking, for the sexes.

One more bit of proof: Hungry Man frozen dinners. Ever see anyone market Hungry Woman frozen dinners? I rest my case.

2. For men, weight loss is more about beating the clock than beating the scale.
If you pay attention to the way men talk about weight loss, they tend to focus most on avoiding the fateful day when it all catches up to them. Be it a stroke, a heart attack, or diabetes, men fear the impending doom of being overweight. Tighter pants or a bump in the scale don't have the same effect. There certainly isn't enough social pressure to motivate, unless a man is severely overweight. But even at the "My wife would kill me if she knew I was eating this" range, it will be the hammer overhead that gets a man really serious about losing weight.

Because men focus on postponing D-day for their motivation, they have a hard time understanding why the last five pounds is so important to women. (After all, that is safely within the "close enough" range.) A man thinks to himself, "The last five pounds won't give you a heart attack, so what is the big deal?"

3. "Could do" is as good as "Done".
Every man who could stand to lose some pounds takes comfort in the thought that he could lose the weight if he really wanted to. Seeing some ripped beefcake at the gym or on TV doesn't make men jealous, because most of them think they could be the beefcake, too. "But I'm just busy right now. Besides, I hate exercising more than I want to be ripped. But I could do it."

So when a woman feels hopeless in the face of the scale, men don't immediately get it. "If I think I can do it, why don't you think you can do it?" Put that together with the "close enough" mentality, and you have a recipe for obliviousness.

With these simple observations in mind, it should come as no surprise that in my home state of Utah more men than women are overweight. But the slightly overweight men are "close enough" and the rest could lose the weight if they really wanted to.

Deprivation Gets a Bad Rap

2008-04-13T21:43:00.006-07:00

de·prive
–verb, -prived, -priv·ing.

"to remove or withhold something from the enjoyment or possession of (a person or persons)."

It's a bad word isn't it? Deprive. Deprivation. It feels synonymous with the word, "diet." Ooooh. Bad Me. Because diet and deprivation both kind of feel like they belong in the same category right? If you would like to lose weight, the best, healthiest, longest-lasting method is to make it a lifestyle change; a conscious decision made with the rest of your life in mind. And since diets have a "start" and an "end" the "d" word is a no-no. Similarily, I hear the word deprivation and think, "Who, realistically, could ever (or would ever want to) 'deprive' themselves from food the rest of their life? Deprivation is what Dawn did, is what anorexics do, is what crazy crash-dieters do: 'Witholding (food) from the enjoyment or possession of a person.'"

But.

THis weekend I passed up a donut (saturday), some homemade strawberry shortcake (Sunday), and opted for the healthy entree at a restaurant (Saturday again). I sometimes wonder, "Am I depriving myself?" No. I'm just giving it up for something I want more. To fit into a pair of sixes, to feel gross when I eat really unhealthy food, to get a good night's sleep. (crazy that it's starting to affect my sleep. who knew eating better could help you sleep better. ha. probably lots of you...)

That's not to say I pass on everything. Friday was my free day and I enjoyed several handfuls of mini-marshmallows (the fruity kind) and a couple of handfuls of chocolate chips. That was right before the delicious steak, mashed potatoes, salad drenched in dressing and big fatty white roll.

Anyway, my point is that sometimes deprivation seems like an uncomfortable investment with very little return. The fact is though, I've started losing weight again over the past month because I've been saying "no thanks" a lot more. No to the leftovers on the baby's highchair tray, no to dessert at neighbor's houses, no to Krispy Kreme. For lots of reasons (one of them being the level of content I've reached with my body) I had been saying "ok, sure, what's one more cookie going to hurt" a little more than I'd like to admit.

And so maybe a little deprivation isn't so horrible. Donuts, ice cream, pizza, chocolate cake... Could I give it all up cold turkey? NEVER! I wouldn't want to. But could I live without it for six days a week? Absolutely. Not getting that extra hour of sleep this morning could be seen as SERIOUS hardship, but I'm getting to the point where not going for a run in the morning feels more like deprivation.

As for the word "diet," I know so many people who have started one like weight watchers, or body for life, or eating clean, who have realized they like the way they feel when they're following it's guidelines. Long after the "diet" has ended, is it possible that they might just take away some healthier habits? Just a thought...

Is there a point where what felt like deprivation in the beginning doesn't anymore? What do you think about the "d" words?

Friday Weigh-In

2008-04-11T07:27:00.008-07:00

I Lost a pound this week. I can genuinely say though, I was more excited this morning when I saw my body fat hovering around 25%. That's down 2% from where it was a couple of weeks ago. My general apathy for the scale has also been affected by this FASCINATING show I stumbled on a couple of days ago. If you have ever seen Super Size Me, and are at all intrigued and or fed up with Hollywood's standards of the Size "0," you've got to see this. This is the preview and I'll be listing all the segments in parts on this post. If you get a chance today or this weekend, give it a look see. Feel free to come back and chat about it. (Warning: Once you start it, it's kind of hard to stop...)

(fyi, the show in it's entirety is about an hour long)

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

PART 5

PART 6

Have a great weekend everyone!

2008-04-10T07:18:00.003-07:00

We're going really deep today. Stuff that matters. Issues with life-altering consequences. So read on and do your part.

You have $80 and one hour. You need some new jeans in a smaller size.

Where do you go? What do you buy? How tight are they at the time of purchase? How long do they last (if you were to wear them EVER SINGLE DAY)? How much do you spend?

Just for fun, my slightly-insane-in-a good-way cousin Holly volunteered graciously to demonstrate her jeans stretches in her spiffy SEVENforallmankind jeans.

and here is the diet soda that she spewed all over the carpet after I observed in the previous photo that her chest looked roughly the same size as her head.

The Early Bird Catches The Kid...Unfortunately

2008-04-09T06:03:00.011-07:00

I'm frustrated this morning.

This week I've really been trying to wake up early and get my running, reading, and eating in before the kids wake up. I *love* having that time to myself in the morning. I feel so much more ready to face the tornado that is my children when I start out the day by myself. The strange and annoying this is though, whenever I recommit to waking up before them it only takes a few days for one of them to SOMEHOW, despite all efforts on my part to make NO noise (not even flushing the toilet or turning any lights on), realize I am awake . And heaven forbid mom should be alone in the morning! Monday all the kids "slept in" until 8 am. Today, the six year old woke up at 6:50 am. And when ONE is awake the chances of the others waking up drastically increase. Until eventually...maybe not today...all the kids are waking up earlier and earlier. It's a scary trend, folks. I usually throw my hands up in the air and decide I may as well get some extra sleep.

So I'm off for a short run this morning. Intervals. I'll be back with an update...maybe.

***Update***
Well, one dropped iPod and sore hamstring later- the run wasn't exactly what I was hoping for...but that's what I get after yesterdays post right? ;) Off to go breathe and stretch...and breathe some more...

Click Away Day: Zen Version

2008-04-08T08:51:00.001-07:00

***After my last yoga post, The ever-glowing Heather sent me a really cool Bryan Kest yoga CD...like a month ago. Well last night I finally got around to doing it and was not disappointed. (and p.s. If you click over to Heather, help her out with the restaurant situation!)

From the Kest website:

"In my experience, health is a state of balance brought about by moderation among other things. Moderation is the opposite of being extreme. And happiness is a state of mental balance. Not craving and clinging, but accepting who we are and where we are at, instead of rejecting where we are at in a constant pursuit to get somewhere. Most people bring their craving and clinging mentality into the yoga class, and then the practice is polluted. In yoga class and maybe in life, let the practice be, 'I am not trying to get anywhere, I am trying to make it OK to be where I am at' because I love myself and value my process!!"

Love it. (You can download webcasts yoga sessions here. And here is a preview.)

***Jessica's letter to her body. Her blog is private, but here is an excerpt:

"I'm proud of you, Body -- and even though I'm overly critical, even though I make stupid decisions sometimes, I'm glad that you're mine. I'm proud of what you've done, and even more proud of what you continue to do -- you run, jump, climb stairs, hike mountains, lift weights, dance like nobody's lookin', and at the end of the day, you are something I'm proud to attach my name to. I've started judging you more by what you are capable of than what you look like, and the instant I started doing that, the rest of it seemed to fall into place. "

***Sarah's Empowering Revelation

Have a good day!

I Am a MACHINE

2008-04-07T08:12:00.001-07:00

Not really. But I had a great weekend. I had a burger and fries (complete with fry sauce...there was some chocolate somewhere in there too...it's only a memory now...) on Friday for my free day. (For those of you who don't know, I follow the Body for Life plan when I'm in weight loss mode.)

Then I felt sick the rest of the day AND into the night. I hadn't eat a single begetable all the live long day. It didn't take long for my body to retaliate. Persistent cramps and bloating made me feel large and sick for a good 14 hours. Nice. This is why I love free days; that's all it took for me to whip out the calendar, plan some meals, blanch me some broccoli, and charge the iPod. Saturday I woke up still feeling gross and told Aaron I was going to run until I felt better. 8 miles later I came back sweaty, sore, and happy. 8 miles. Did you just skim over that part? 8 miles, people. For many of you that's no biggie; for me, it's nothing short of miracle.

Tonight I passed up on a piece of cake. I think I might have higher-than-average run-ins with sweets - especially baked goods. But in a strange way, I'm realizing I won't have to wait long for something even better to show up. (last weekend it was homemade scones). And I can always plan my free days around the highest quality contender.

So I just got back from a 4.5 mile run; I added in some sprint intervals and loved it. Considering it's a cloudy and gray Monday morning, I'm feeling very ready for the week.

Friday Weigh-In

2008-04-04T07:21:00.003-07:00

The scale didn't show it but I worked my butt off this week. Literally.
(These are my favoritest pair of jeans, size EIGHT)

Remember the last time this happened?
I'll see you in a few weeks size six.

Gap Gift Card, I Miss You Already

2008-04-03T07:26:00.001-07:00

I had a revelation yesterday in a dressing room at TJ Maxx. I looked at myself in the mirror and realized I have been working out for the past long while in rags. And not cute Williams Sonoma washcloth or dishtowel rags. The kind you make from old shirts you don't wear anymore because they're dirty or have holes in them.

See, because of all of your great input on Monday's post, I decided to venture out into the retail world (ahem. the discount retail world) to just see if there was any workout attire available in my budget range of nil. So I started at the Gap and found some cute workout wicky capris, (much cooler than the ones I saw online) but ouch. 39.50. Even with a gift card, that's a little hard to swallow. So I ventured off to TJ's and Target to see if I could do any better. I hauled in about 15 things to the curtained dressing room...along with a six year-old who was wearing his coat backwards (with his hood on his face so he kept bumping into stuff), a four year old in buzz light year pajamas (shoes sans socks), and an 18 month old strapped in an umbrella stroller. I knew I had to be fast. I wouldn't be long before the little one stood up and figured out how to walk with the stroller dragging behind him...still fastened in but able to use his feet.

Miracle of miracles they were actually pretty easy to rein in. They just kept popping in and out of curtains (making the toddler snort he was laughing so hard). It helped that we were the only ones in the dressing room. And so for a couple of brief moments I glanced at myself in these new workout clothes and instantly realized how I probably should've gotten a couple of new things oh, I don't know...3 years ago. For example. A bunch of the t-shirts I run in are from Target. But I wore them with the last pregnancy until I couldn't anymore, so they are majorly stretched out in the tummy and arms. And the long-sleeved shirt I wear underneath said t-shirts is a weird greenish grayish stripe. I think I looked like a depressed clown.

Anyway, I didn't find anything at TJ's or Target that came close to the capris I tried on first at the Gap. I kept comparing everything to them. Which made me think I should probably just bite the bullet and get them. So I did:

And I love them.

SO The jeans can wait a little longer, although I will need some 6's, it's not like the 8's are going to be falling off of me tomorrow. And really, my need for some new workout clothing far surpassed the need to replace my favorite sports bra, it's holding up just well.

Parking Pickings

2008-04-02T08:38:00.003-07:00

This morning (and every morning) when I arrive at the gym I come in from the very back of the parking lot and start to look for a spot. I'm usually getting there early and there are always other cars circling the spaces. Most people drive straight to the first avaliable spot (always way far back), park, and run inside. Not me. I always drive all the way up to the front to check for any open spaces, cause hey. Me and my '02 Sienna deserve a good parking spot. Bingo! Very often I will find a front spot is open. And as I pull into my awesome parking spot I can't help but wonder EVERY SINGLE TIME: "Do these people know they could've had an awesome spot? Did they just not want to take the time? Did they look up the row and think, 'Meh, they're probably all full...' or think, "Oh I need to get here early to get one of THOSE spots."

It's like since they weren't able see it, they assumed it wasn't there. And then I shed a little tear for all of the poor suckahs with their far far away cars all the way over on the other side of the parking lot by the bank. Poor Poor gym people. Shoulda driven up the aisle.

But they never do! They'd probably be likely to brush it off with "Who cares where I park? I just want to get in there and workout." To which I would smile and say, "Yeah, it's just a place to put your car" but I'd really be thinking, "We both know you're jealous of my spot. It's ok."

Every time I pull into a front spot it makes me happy (more happy than other people I suspect). The extra calories burned from walking further to my car pale in comparison to the victory in finding the coveted parking prize. I suddenly feel able to conquer all that lies in my path (which usually means dumbbells or a sidewalk). This morning's awesome workout actually had more to do with a space between two little white lines than my muscles or determination or motivation.

***UPDATE***
Some of you (Sarah and anon) park in the back for the extra calories burned and to avoid getting dinged. So now I'm curious, if you're a "back of the lot parker" would you still park far away if you saw a very front spot open?...not 10 feet away from the entrance? (And please tell me I'm not the only one who gets excited about a good parking space...)

2008-04-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

You should know about this blog (if you're unsure, start with Things that Might Be Awesome, and Insecure.

Between fits of laughter, I am seething with jealousy. (Ha ha...just kidding of course. Ha ha...no, actually I'm not...)

True Story

2008-04-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

Vegetables added to homemade macaroni and cheese automatically negate all fat and calories in cheese and butter.

The Great Debate

2008-03-31T06:57:00.010-07:00

I have been paralyzed for months, unable to make a decision on how to spend a $50 gift card from the Gap. That, and I don't exactly go to the mall to browse ~~very often~~ ever (if you don't know why, go read this post).

I don't have ANY jeans in a size 6 (and I am getting there people, slowly but surely).
So jeans it is.

But then there's this stuff from GapBody, my favorite sports bra and some loungey workout capris...
I haven't bought ANY new workout clothes since the baby (who is now 18 months) was born. Come to think of it...since well before I even got pregnant with him.

I need some new attire. Bad.

I go back and forth in my head ("Well, I could always pick up some workout gear at Target, then I could just get the jeans...BUT the sports bra I CANNOT get at Target...you pay for what you get with that one...I could spend it on workout clothes and then just go to a trendy-ish used clothing store to get some new jeans...AH, but there's nothing like a new pair of jeans...actually there's nothing like some new workout clothes...")

Here's the deal:

desperate need of new jeans and new workout clothes.

$50 Gap card, $20 max to spend outside of the Gap (the sports bra is $40 on sale for $30. The jeans are $59.50, the capris are 24.99)

Help. Any suggestions?

The Day After the Marathon

2008-03-29T06:25:00.004-07:00

Thanks for sending me this Whitney!

Friday Weigh In

2008-03-28T05:51:00.005-07:00

The blip from last week is gone as well as another .2.

I'm going to let you in on a secret that has REALLY helped me: my calendar. This little piece of paper has been an extremely effective weapon against scale-angst. This is what I track and why it helps:

*the scale numbers. Similar to a graph, every time I look at it, I can see how far I've come over the the past weeks and month. It's an easy way to keep track of meeting goals.

*my workouts. Did I do weights one week really hard and not see a loss? Well duh. And I ran a 10K two weeks ago! go me. It really helps me plan out and see what I've done. This week I ran 13 miles (so far), that's a bit more satisfying than saying, "I worked out every day this week." I think it's a more concrete quantity that I can be proud of.

*BY FAR, the most important thing I track I do with this little red x.

What does tracking my cycle have to do with scale zen? EVERYTHING. I see that red x and suddenly the out-of-nowhere extra pounds that I'm freaking out about are no longer an issue. I know that I'm going to be a little crazy-pathological that week so I just know in the back of my head I'll be back mentally in a couple of days. So I don't go overboard and mess up the rest of the hard work from last week....usually.

So People.
and by "people" I mean ladies. Last week was a red X weigh in. This week it's gone. If you don't have some visceral method of tracking your T.O.M, I highly recommend it.

*I keep my list of meals by my fridge but I'm sure a calender like this would be useful in some sort of meal-planning way too. I just keep mine as simple as possible so it's really easy to just glance at and see what I need to.

Here is a site where you can quickly print one off: monthly calendars.

Now, here's the last video to finish up video week. I had to watch it twice before I really liked it.

Have a great weekend!

I Love You Mr. Miyagi

2008-03-27T06:39:00.005-07:00

I'm 27, he's 16.

He's Italian, I'm not.

He's not trying to lose weight; he's just trying to beat Johnny in the big fight.

He's got a girlfriend from the other side of the tracks. I have a husband...and three kids.

But I swear- every time I watch this I AM DANIEL LARUSSO.

(fyi: it's about 5 minutes long)

(For those of you not here yesterday and wondering about the random Karate Kid clip It's video week on Sister Skinny)

Starting... Now!

2008-03-25T21:39:00.011-07:00

Despite the week being half-over, I am officially declaring this video week on Sister Skinny.
(I'm being held against my will by a fleet of sick people who claim to be my family...send help...)

Apologies if you hate videos, or can't watch them because you're at work or whatever, or don't have time.

You are totally missing out.

My better is definitely better than someone's better...

...somewhere. Maybe in a nursing home...or maternity ward.

Incidentally, the song is going into my workout playlist and can be found here:

2008-03-25T06:49:00.005-07:00

When I don't feel like running (ahem. this morning.), I go dig around in Vanilla's archives for this video.

ps. here's the song:

Easy Peasy

2008-03-24T08:10:00.004-07:00

Easter has made my meal planning for this week really easy. Eggs are a super easy quick source of protein. And we've got 18 of them sitting in our fridge. Here are some of the rest of my non-dinner meals for this week.

*frozen banana (a la Scrumpy's Baker) dipped in yogurt

*brown rice and mango salsa with cottage cheese

*apple and peanut butter

*tuna and brown rice (another "poor" week concoction)

*chicken and broccoli over brown rice (with minimal creamy cheese sauce)

*hummus on pita chips

*cottage cheese with any of the following:
-cucumbers
-strawberries
-kiwi
-yogurt

*whole wheat bread with peanut butter and banana

And of course blanched veggies will be out.

This week is going to be superb.

Friday Weigh In

2008-03-21T07:21:00.004-07:00

Slight gain this week. It's Just a blip in the big picture. It could be any number of things. If I didn't have a laziness aversion to the tape measure I'd probably be telling you I lost some kind of inchage.

I've got a baby crawling on me so I'll make this quick. I laid off the running mileage just to give myself a break after Saturday. But. I've increased my weights and as a result there has been much moaning, waddling, and cringing in our house over the past couple of days.

Thanks again for taking the time to comment yesterday, I loved reading your experiences with the "cheat" meal, or "free" day.

Hope you have a Happy Easter weekend (I'll see you next year Cadbury Creme Egg).

Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater

2008-03-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

(Which really should be "Cheater Cheater Brownie Eater" because pumpkin just isn't that tempting...)

So here's the question of the day:

Do you do the "cheat meal" or "free day"? (Using one planned meal or day where you just get to eat whatever you want) Have you mastered the balance of the occasional treat?

--FYI: I'm not exactly looking for the scientific or psychological evidence that it is or isn't beneficial in losing weight. I'm just curious if and when you use them.--

I'm interested in the whole concept of a guilt free eat-whatever-you-want allowance (...and by the way I just don't like the word cheat. It implies you're doing something really naughty by eating a cupcake. While it can, in fact, keep you from losing weight, that doesn't mean there isn't a place for it. I'm just curious where your place falls. Planned, unplanned, a nibble, 3 smooshed together with nuts and whipped cream? )