8th Jul 2010
I just found this out and I’m freaked out. I’ve been cooking and eating Splenda and NOT counting any of the calories! It meets the FDA standard for a ZERO calorie product because it has less than 5 calories per serving - but their serving is 1 teaspoon which has 2 calories - so you do the math. 2 cal per tsp = 6 cal per T X 16 T in one cup = 96 Gee whiz - we can’t win…. We in the overweight community are taken in once more. I’m still going to use Splenda. I mean it’s the best for baking and cooking that I’ve found so far - but HEY GUYS in the food industry - tell us the truth! We can take it. Like I say- knowledge is POWER. And this is knowledge we needed to know!
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23rd Jun 2010
This is the most inspirational blog I have ever read. There is nothing she says here that I disagree with. Read and be inspired.
http://www.mystyle.com/mystyle/b5223_losing_feargaining_understanding.html
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17th Jun 2010
Life is all about victories - some small and some big. Just to wake up in the morning is a victory and I think it classifies as BIG!
Well, I had a victory today and I’m not sure if it was big, medium or small - but I’m still smiling about it. You see, the oil leak in the Gulf has the seafood industry and everyone who enjoys seafood very nervous about the status of getting fresh Gulf seafood in the future. The whole thing is a tragedy - just a tragedy. So sorry for so many who depend on that industry for their lively-hood and have for hundreds of years..
Not to be a pessimist, but I ordered 35 pounds of shrimp and crawfish tails last week from a place in Louisiana just to make sure I have some. Neil and I are going to the Gulf Coast for a family visit the end of July but who knows what kind of shape the Coast and the seafood industry will be in by then.
So I ordered some for us to have here in California. And sort of a way of supporting the industry, too, since people are afraid that it’s tainted now and sales may be off - which what I ordered is NOT.
I’m not a physically strong person. A few weeks ago I began lifting weights and realized I’m in such a state of weakness that I needed to step that up. I had been going to a gym for the past year but quit, trying to save the dues, so I began exercising at home and “yes” I am actually doing that 6 days a week now.
Ever since I placed the order for the seafood (I had them deliver it to my office at work) I kept thinking “Gosh 35 pounds of seafood. How will I ever get that to my car and more important how will I get it up the two flights of stairs to my condo refrigerator?” I have really been worried but thought maybe I can ask someone to help me.
So the cooler full of frozen seafood came today and as the FedEx guy sat it down and I signed for it the fear that I couldn’t lift it was all over me. So after the delivery guy left I walked over and pick it up. TO MY AMAZEMENT I COULD LIFT IT UP WITH EASE!!!!!! Don’t ever let any tell you that you won’t see results soon after you start exercising because I only started lifting weights a few weeks ago and I can lift this like it was ten pounds - not thirty-five.
This was amazing and I had to share! And because I am someone who doesn’t like to exercize, I can tell you that I will have the memory of this in the morning and many mornings to come to help me lift those weights ten more reps than what I normally do.
THIS IS A VICTORY - A HUGE VICTORY!!!!
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5th Jun 2010
I don’t know who created the iPhone app that allows you to see what you’d look like if you gained 100 pounds, but it’s not funny. But the Today Show anchors seem to think is it. They would change their tune if this was real. Take a look at this link…
http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/06/03/kathie-lee-and-hoda-gain-100-pounds-on-today-video/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl7|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tvsquad.com%2F2010%2F06%2F03%2Fkathie-lee-and-hoda-gain-100-pounds-on-today-video%2F
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12th May 2010
After 4 years of having lost weight and the daily work of keeping it off - something happened today that is truly remarkable. I went on a bender but what I wanted to pig out on was not delicious and so after three bites - I quit eating. I had shut the door to my office (Sneaky Fat Kitty had come to visit) and was ready to hunker down and eat - and after three bites I quit.
My boss Dave Bell used to give away one pound boxes of dark chocolate with his logo on the block of chocolate for Christmas each year. He didn’t do it this past year but he had two boxes left from the year before and one box from two years ago. I went into his office to do something and I spied the one box that was 2 years old. Knowing that he’d never give two-year old chocolate to anyone I talked myself into thinking that this would be okay. That he’d never miss it. And Fat Kitty doesn’t care how old the chocolate is - I mean this is one pound of luscious dark chocolate. She’s never been picky before.
So I tore open the packaging and looked at it. There it was - a pound of chocolate. My mind was telling me that this was not a good thing to do but then I walked over to the door of my office and shut the door, like I’ve done a thousand times before - knowing that I’m about to do something I shouldn’t do.
I sat at my desk and tried to break off a piece to eat. It was too hard to break so I got a knife and after a minute of sawing I was able to get a chunk ready to eat. I chomped down and felt the chocolate in my mouth. It was - WHAT - tasteless????? What’s going on here. So I took another bite and ate it and then another and this was not going as I had hoped because the chocolate was AWFUL! Hard and tasteless and old. So I threw away the remaining part of the chunk and then threw away the remaining block - box and all.
This might sound like a bad thing, but I’m choosing to see it for what it is - a breakthrough for me. I have over-eaten most of my life - many times and a variety of foods - and it never matter if it was delicious or not. It was just food and I was eating it. This was tasteless - and so I stopped.
Maybe Fat Kitty finally got picky about food, or maybe my good sense kicked in. I don’t know. I only know that this was another example of how good habits can overtake bad ones if you give them half a chance.
There are two more bars of chocolate in Dave’s office from a year ago - but he should not give them to anyone. If Fat Kitty won’t eat them - no one should.
A blog is about being honest - so when I am doing things that I question I want to share them with you - in case you behave this way on occasion too. We are not bad people. We just want to eat. But hopefully by me telling you this story it will make you feel more comfortable with being honest with yourself. If I can tell you a story like this - you, only talking to you, can surely be honest with yourself.
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9th Apr 2010
I was recently talking to someone on the phone about my weight loss and at the time she had not met me so wanted to see a before picture of me. I told her I lost 60 pounds and she thought that was incredible - until she saw my before picture. I could hear her voice change over the phone as she said, “Oh, you’re not that fat.” You just look kind of chubby.” I told her that I was 60 pounds overweight and lost it all and that’s not chubby - that’s fat. She took a second and then agreed. Yes, that’s a lot of weight to lose. And speaking for myself - YES it was… And I still work to keep it off.
But this morning I got to thinking about that conversation. When I was in high school years ago no one was fat. Maybe one or two schoolmates but not like today. I wasn’t even fat. I was “chubby” then. I needed to lose probably 20 pounds back then and at the time that was considered a lot to lose. But today, since 66% of the country is so overweight 20 pounds doesn’t seem like very much anymore. People who have weight issues are almost always 40 - 60 - 100 pounds overweight, so it seems to me that 60 pounds is the new “chubby”. My body mass index was in the obese range yet I was not the fatest person I knew, far from it. I had even allowed myself to think that I wasn’t all that overweight.
Now that I have lost all that weight I cannot imagine gaining even 20 back and to gain all 60 pounds - well, I will never do that. This is the first time that I can say that for sure. After almost (coming up on) 4 years since I started this journey and always thinking that I could gain it all back - I now know that I will not. I will never be fat again.
And you don’t have to be either. Let me hear from you. What can I do to get you started and how can I help you stay on a path that leads to a healthier you? I know you are beautiful - do you know that? Once you know that and truly believe it - your life will change in ways that you cannot imagine. And you are beautiful if you never lose a single pound. I’m not on the “everybody needs to lose weight” bandwagon. This is your life and should be lived on your terms.
But if you do want to lose weight - first you must realize that 60 pounds is NOT chubby.
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6th Apr 2010
I record Oprah’s talk show on my DVR everyday just to see what she’s got cooking (literally). She has so many great guests and she has a weight related show 3-4 times a month and they’re usually very informative.
Yesterday she talked about a book title, “Women, Food and God” and mentioned that she had an except from it on her web site. If you have not read the article in O Magazine (I subscribe) or read this book, I urge you to check out the article on www.Oprah.com - it was wonderful. Most of what the article talks about I found out for myself in my own weight loss journey, but when someone like Oprah puts it out there MILLIONS of people like me (in the overweight community) will be helped by reading it. My book is finished and I’ve written about much of what this book talks about - but I don’t know if or when my book will see a major audience, and this kind of message cannot wait. So - in the meanwhile - check out the article on Oprah’s site and let me know what you think.
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3rd Mar 2010
I can’t believe the new year is here and I didn’t even post a blog the whole entire month of February! YIKES! I’m behind!
A lot is going on - but that’s no excuse. I’ve been finishing my book and creating new recipes and I have a few more irons in the fire for TV appearances so who knows what will be up in 2010.
My friend and confidant (and fellow RFP) Carol T from Biloxi, MS sent me an email a couple of days ago about Mississippi and how overweight the state is. I then turned on the TV show RUBY that I recorded from last week and Ruby is going to Biloxi, MS to see if she can remember her childhood and maybe connect why she is so overweight. As Ruby travels through Mississippi she stops at various places to eat and at each stop she is hit with Southern Fried Comfort Food like no body’s business. I know all the dishes and how they smell and taste. BUT I now know how to cook them in a way that doesn’t make me gain all my weight back. Carol’s email was about how she and her husband had gone out to eat at one of the Casinos and she was the only normal weight person in the restaurant. Not surprising…
I don’t know how I can show people the way I cook but I’m determined to do it. I could cook for Ruby and she wouldn’t have had to say NO to everything on her trip to Mississippi. The South is so notorious for cooking with butter, sugar and for frying everything - and I mean if we could figure out a way to fry tap water I think we’d do it. I mean, back in the day I even fried my own potato chips.
There is a way to prepare food so you don’t have to live a life of NO. Let’s face it we can say no when people are around, but something takes over when it’s just me alone in my kitchen with my friend the refrigerator. Fat Kitty knows all my buttons to push.
Make sure, if this is you, that you have good choices around when that voice comes calling for you. Mississippi is number one in obesity, but it doesn’t have to be that way forever. I’m sorry we even have that as a statistic but every year that goes by, as the country gets fatter, we have more fat statistics. I was reading the other day about when portions started getting larger and it was 1970, when they first started to increase. No secret that was the same year we had an explosion of fast food joints. By 1976 obesity was on the rise. So, it’s not hard to put 2 and 2 together here. I was plump in 1970, but not fat until the late 1970’s so I fit right into this trend. I’m just another test rat the fast food industry is playing with. I got super sized portions and my body super sized along with it.
So, Carol if you’re reading this, I understand your concern, but as we both know you have to be ready to hear information before you can act on it. For years I turned a blind eye (and fork) to my weight and food issues. As I watch Rudy on her TV show try to find the answer to why she overeats I wonder if she’s ever considered this. Maybe she does, just because she does. Maybe there isn’t a dark horrible answer to why each of us stuffs our mouths full of food that is bad for us. Maybe we just do this like someone else who likes to paint with water colors. Maybe we just do because we just do. I have quit trying to find the answer because in all my searching it never helped me lose weight and keep it off. Accepting that maybe this is just a part of me (meaning my desire to overeat) that will never change has helped me more than any other single thing. It allowed me to create my recipes and enjoy them without guilt. NO guilt, that’s what I want. And I wish you the same happy life. If you never lose weight, you are beautiful - remember that. Simply beautiful.
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14th Jan 2010
What a great experience this radio show is turning out to be. I set out to help people change their lives if they have food or weight issues - but this show helps me just as much. This morning right before we started Seth said he forgot to play a request for a lady and could we play it during the show. Of course I was fine with that but I had no idea what the song was - It was “Lord I Hope This Day Is Good” by Don Williams, which is just about one of the greatest all time country songs EVER! As I listened to it play I thought this is what we all struggle for and hope for - a good day. Lord just let this day be good and let me be good and eat well and nourish my body in a non-destructive way. My whole day started at that moment. It was already a good day but that song sent it through the roof.
And I hope if you’re reading this that you’re having a good day too. I wish that for you everyday.
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20th Dec 2009
72 calories each! AND HERE’S THE RECIPE! You’ll need:
1 Cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 Cup Self-rising flour
1/2 Cup Whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
1 T Splenda for baking
1 egg
1 1/2 Cup skim milk
1/2 Cup chopped onion
4 Chopped green onions
4 chopped Jalapenos
Butter flavored cooking spray
Large skillet and spatula
Mix all dry ingredients together well. Add egg and milk and mix thoroughly. Add onions and Jalapenos and mix (and this is optional if you don’t want them spicy, plain they’re very delicious too). Spray skillet with butter flavored cooking spray (you’ll do this in between each batch you cook) Turn your heat to medium and allow the skillet to heat up. Drop by spoonful a portion of the mix onto the cooking surface, like pancakes, and I used a large skillet so cooked four of these at a time. Once the cake bubbles through, again like a pancake, flip and cook until golden brown on each side. The diameter of each should be between 3-4 inches each. This recipe will give you at least 17 cakes each - so once prepared you can store in a baggie what you don’t eat for the next day. And these will freeze too.
I ate mine plain, but my son used the sugar free Smucker’s Apricot jelly and made sugar free syrup. (To make this all you have to do is place about 1/4 cup of any sugar free jelly in a microwave bowl and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds on high and it becomes instant syrup)
So enjoy!!! REALLY delicious and can you believe 72 calories each.
Here’s the total breakdown..
Calories 72, Fat 0g, Fiber 1g, carbs 14g
Now go enjoy!!!
Happy Holidays,
Kitty
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