Cubicle Diet – Lunch Ideas For Eating Healthy At The Office

3 Comments September 22, 2015 Dot2Trot

Looking for great lunch and snack ideas to spice up your lunches and keep that keeps the vending machine at bay? Check out Nom Nom Paleo for great, healthy lunchbox ideas.

Looking for great lunch and snack ideas to spice up your lunches and keep that keeps the vending machine at bay? Check out Nom Nom Paleo (an awesome food blog you should bookmark!) for great, healthy lunchbox ideas.

My husband regularly comes home from work complaining about the assortment of donuts, bagels, Panera sandwiches, cupcakes, cookies and other carb-loaded, sugary temptations at the office. When he is home, I know he eats healthy because he eats what I give him. But for a man who proclaims “pie” as his favorite food group, that daily 9-5 grind is more problematic.

Sure I send him to work with healthy lunches, but are they appetizing? When I’m scrambling around in the morning to make his lunch, I’m going for convenience (for me). I never really thought my cooking was in competition with this processed junk.

Perhaps my lunches are too boring for the hubby’s taste buds. They certainly are losing out to the junk sitting out across from his ~~lair~~ cube.

Reality hit me the other day when he blogged about a nightmare he had the other night. A dream so hideous that it shook him to his very core — he was at a buffet and they never filled the French toast bin. Oh, the horror!

I think it’s time to rethink my lunches.

Thankfully Michelle Tam of Nom Nom Paleo packed a ton of great lunch ideas in one location on her awesome blog. For both kids and adults, her food combos can more than compete with any of that processed crap.

Besides her 20+ ideas, Michelle includes a mess of lunch related links to give you even more ideas.

We’re headed to Florida this week. While the hubby is attending a writer’s conference I’ll slave away on a game plan for next week’s lunches…all done poolside of course!

Daily Weight Loss Motivation: Fat Jeans Vs. Skinny Jeans

1 Comment October 24, 2014 Dot2Trot

I was feeling pretty down about my weight loss this morning. It was time for some perspective. Fat jeans to the rescue…again!

I woke up this morning feeling pretty frustrated that I can’t seem to shake these last 5 lbs. before reaching Onderland; I needed something to give me that little extra push. So I got the urge to pull out a very special pair of jeans – my fat jeans.

This is what I wore when I tipped the scales at 325 lbs (wow…was I really that big!?!). Once in a while I pull them out of a drawer just to remind myself how far I’ve come. I compared them with what I wear now.

Well this put a big smile on my face and was just what I needed this morning.

I’ve gone from a size 28 (and those size 28 jeans fit pretty tight back in the day) to wearing a size 14.

I’m feeling pretty awesome now! Time for my spin class.

Damn You Water Retention

4 Comments November 24, 2013 Dot2Trot

Swollen feet, knees, hands and face means I’m retaining water. Just in time for my weekly weigh in!

I knew going into my Weight Watchers meeting that I’d show a gain. Not only were my hands, feet and knees swollen, but my face was puffy too. Great! Nothing like water retention on weigh-in day.

The old me would skip the meeting. I never wanted to step on the scale if I had a bad week or knew I gained weight. I didn’t get that stepping on that scale week after week makes you accountable to yourself. Without accountability, I’d fail…and I did.

I must admit the thought of skipping yesterday’s meeting did cross my mind…for about half a second. I can no longer fear the scale. The scale is just a snap shot in time and doesn’t tell the full story. Sure Weight Watchers will officially record a gain. But the difference is I know that it’s water weight and it will fall off in a day or so. The new me knows weight loss is about baby steps and I’m not going to always have the losses I’ve had the last few weeks.

I also know if I want to reach my 3-month goal of losing 19.5 pounds by year’s end, this was the one Weight Watchers meeting I’d be foolish to miss. Thanksgiving is this week and I need all the good karma I can get before Thursday.

This week I’m up 2.8 pounds. I’m less puffy today than yesterday, so I know I’ve lost a chunk of the water. The real test is coming up — no, not Thanksgiving. I’m talking about making it to the post-Thanksgiving weigh-in.

Want To Lose Weight? Ignore Most Nutrition Advice

Leave a comment October 21, 2013 Dot2Trot

weight loss lies, weight loss myth busting, ignore nutirion advice to lose weight

Most nutrition recommendations are myths. Want to lose weight, you need to do your own research and talk to your doctor.

What you eat makes up 90% of the weight loss battle. Unfortunately, most of the nutrition recommendations are bunk! Check out this article a friend sent me. It covers the 13 biggest myths that cause people to get fatter and sicker.

Up until last year, I believed every one of those myths. Once I tipped the scales at 325, I started to question things.

So how did I actually kick these myths to the curb? I did my research. That started with a great book I’ve mentioned before, Why We Get Fat. Not another diet book, it focuses on the science of what happens when we eat. If you don’t know what 100 calories of pasta vs. 100 calories of protein does to your body, you’ll find it harder to lose weight.

After that, I actually talked to my doctor about a plan for losing weight — something that many of us don’t do.

After years of being part of Weight Watchers, I always ignored their advice about “consulting your doctor before starting a weight loss program.” After all, I just needed to eat less and exercise more, right? If that was the case, why didn’t I lose the weight 5, 10, 20 years ago? Oh, I don’t have will power. What a crock!

For the last 50 years, we’ve let weight loss information be dominated by psychiatrists and nutritionists, and yet medical doctors are the ones who actually treat obese people. That just doesn’t seem right.

So last year I stopped listening to pop culture’s idea of weight loss and actually scheduled my very first physical. Boy what I shock. I was fatter and sicker than I thought. It was like being in Bizzaro World – all my good numbers were way too low and all my bad numbers were way too high. But it was the eye-opener I needed.

The game plan I discussed with my doctor completely busted any nutrition myth I still believed.

A year later, the complete opposite happened at my physical – all my good numbers skyrocketed and the bad numbers dropped like stones. We tweaked my weight loss plan and I’m continuing my march to good health.

OK, I’m off my soap box.

Weighing In On Heavy

1 Comment September 14, 2013 Dot2Trot

My new favorite weight loss show – Heavy. It takes an honest approach to losing weight. I just wish it spent a little more time on nutrition.

Yesterday I stumbled across Heavy, a show weigh loss reality show. I’m a little late to the party – the show aired in 2011-12 and season 2 starts in 2014. But better late than never.

Each episode follows 2 people in a 6-month weight loss program. They work with trainers and dietitians to change their habits and lose weight. While considered a reality show, in fact, it feels more like a documentary. No one is voted off. It’s not scripted. You get to know these people, warts and all.

This show cuts close to the bone. At times it’s like someone is holding a mirror up to me, making the show difficult to watch. But that’s why I love it too.

Some weeks you lose weight and others you gain. Sometimes life kicks your butt and you binge. Heavy captures this in spades. You really feel for these people, even if you disagree with some of their choices.

Weight loss is awesome, but hard as hell. Heavy takes an honest look at the journey. Sure there’s help in the form of trainers, but the individuals’ success or failure is all their own. And the show pulls no punches with the health problems these people face – diabetes, strokes, heart attacks, high blood pressure, skin disorders.

I wish they’d explore the nutrition side more. Food and nutrition are way more important than exercise when it comes to weight loss. If you don’t get the nutrition right, no amount of exercising helps.

Also front and center is the “calories-in, calories-out” myth, which, if you read this blog, you know I think is BS.

If I owned a weight loss spa, I’d give all of my guests a copy of Why We Get Fat and hire only nutritionists who understand it’s not about how much we eat, but what we eat (in fact, what we eat can trigger us to overeat). But that doesn’t make good TV.

Criticisms aside, I really love the show. As a big bonus, after watching the first episode online, I ended my afternoon with 30 minutes of yoga followed by a 15-minute walk.

Yes, the show is a big motivator.

Fat Jeans To The Rescue!

4 Comments August 16, 2013 Dot2Trot

Me in my size 28 fat jeans. The photo doesn’t do justice to how baggie those suckers are now. I’ll try to get a better photo up when the hubby is home.

Yesterday was a bad day. I won’t go into the details, but let’s just say that I started the day feeling sorry for myself (sore knee = no exercise; plateau frustrations galore). And I ended the day with a big slice of chocolate cake and a side of vanilla ice cream.

Ugh! I hate self-pity days. My rational side knows weight loss is a marathon not a sprint. It’s just amazing how quickly you can turn on yourself regardless of success.

This morning I stumbled upon an idea to hold the negative thoughts at bay.

While getting dressed I found an old pair of jeans. I completely forgot about them. When I started losing weight, I did a complete wardrobe overhaul. The only item I kept was the size 28 jeans. I wanted a reminder of how far I’ve come.

I decided to try them on.

Wow! If I needed a pick me up, this was it. I can’t believe that I was that big. But then again, I have days like yesterday where I still think I’m that size.

Sure I look in the mirror everyday, but I can’t see the weight loss. I notice that my clothes are a bit loose or that I have more energy. But I needed to put on old clothes to shake me out of my funk and appreciate the work I’ve done this past year.

From now on I’m going to take a photo of myself once a month to track my progress. It’s a great way to chronicle my weight loss and motivate me when I feel down.

Getting the photos off the phone is key. Seeing is believing, right? I’ll keep them in strategic places – on the fridge, in my wallet, as my screen saver on my phone and tablet, and on the blog.

I can’t trust my own eyes, but photos don’t lie.