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Jul 18, 2011

Avoiding Binging By Going Homemade

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No matter what, I will always be a food addict. They say alcoholics and drug addicts are never truly cured, and I feel the same way about food addiction. Presented with the chance, I’d gladly fall face first into a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts if I thought no one would notice. Even knowing the queasy stomachache I’d suffer afterward, I’d still dive right in to those doughnuts just for the momentary sugar high and the sweetness lighting up my taste buds.

However, the higher function parts of my brain know better, and so I (generally) resist. The consequences are too high and that burst of endorphins brought on by a sugary glaze will quickly evaporate and leave me feeling worse than before.

But lately I’ve discovered a little trick to regulating my eating. It came about unexpectedly, but makes perfect sense. A few weeks ago I took out the ice cream maker to make some ice cream for my daughters. My older daughter has a sensitivity to artificial colors and flavors, which makes buying store ice creams difficult at times. The safest ice cream for her is whatever I make at home, knowing exactly which ingredients are going into the bowl.

I bought all of the ingredients (expensive when you’re going all organic) and then pulled out everything needed to make the ice cream. A bowl, two measuring cups, a measuring spoon and a spatula later, the mixture was ready for the ice cream maker. Then we had to wait, wait, wait for it to change into ice cream. Thirty minutes later, I removed it from the machine and put it into the freezer to chill for another 15 minutes. THEN it was ready.

That was over an hour’s worth of work and half a sink full of dishes to make a little more than one pint of ice cream. But it was absolutely delicious ice cream.

After the kids went to bed, I found myself sneaking to the freezer for more ice cream. I took one small spoonful. Then another. Then another.

And then I stopped.

I stopped after three bites and put it away. Why? Well, first of all because it was very rich and tasty. But also because there wasn’t a lot there, and I remember all the effort I put into creating that small tub of ice cream. It had to be treasured, because I certainly wasn’t making any more until at least the ice cream maker was cleaned and refrozen!

Overeating isn’t a problem with homemade ice cream – I want to keep it as long as possible, so I savor a small amount and then put it away.

Two days ago I baked some zucchini muffins. Once again, I find myself reaching for only one and being content with that.

Is it possible that “homemade” might be one secret to avoiding the binge of tasty foods? I don’t want my food to be the cause of the overeater’s stomachache. Having made it myself, I respect the food more and don’t want to see all of my work gone in an instant. (Because I’m too lazy to make more.) 

Maybe it’s time to try creating more of my favorite foods from scratch? Now does anyone have a recipe for Krispy Kreme doughnuts?

Filed Under: food · Tagged:


Jul 15, 2011

A Car Story, Featuring The Ford Focus

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So far this summer, the old car has been holding up well. With an odometer closing in on the 200K mark, I’m amazed that it’s still going, yet still cautious enough to never put the kids in that car for any long trips. I know it has little life left to it, but I’m hoping it’ll give us some time to decide what its replacement will be.

I’ve already been scouting the different auto websites looking for our next great family car. While I love looking at the photos, it’s so hard to get a good idea of how the car will be without actually driving it. Even worse, most dealers will only let you test drive it for a short drive – who can know from that short of a trial that this car won’t leave them with a stiff neck or sore butt two hours into a trip to Chicago?

After the brakes fiasco with NTB (still ongoing, by the way), I received an e-mail from Ford asking if I wanted to give any of their family cars a try. And they made me laugh by referencing my brakes post and apologizing if their outreach was “too soon” after dealing with such auto woe.

I explained to Ford what I was looking for, and they offered to loan me two vehicles for five days each: the Ford Focus Hatchback and the Ford Fusion Hybrid. These two vehicles have been on my replacement car short list, so I was excited to try them out. Also, it’s been years since I owned an American car – I was curious to see how the quality has changed since the spirit of my Dodge Spirit left this earth and moved on to the great highway in the sky in 2000.

Short answer: I was totally blown away by both of these Ford cars.

(Not into cars? You can stop here and just take my word for it. Otherwise, keep reading for the long answer.)

The Ford Focus
The first car that arrived in my driveway was the Ford Focus hatchback. I test drove a Ford Focus the first year it was produced, and at the time I wasn’t impressed. The new Focus, however, is nothing like the one I tried all those years ago.

well hello there, my precious

Sitting in the driver’s seat for the first time, I could only think, OMG, how will I figure out all of these controls? Then when I turned on the car and saw the touch screen come to life, I was momentarily transformed into a cave person, staring in wonder at the shiny, magical technology in front of me.

Then the blogger in me snapped back to life and I began playing with all of the controls. Actually, most of the car is pretty intuitive. The touch screen computer controls nearly everything: music, climate control, navigation. Below the touch screen are the manual controls for the audio system and climate control, in case touch screens are intimidating to you. The steering wheel also has controls on it for the audio system, bluetooth phone capabilities, and voice-activated SYNC.

the steering wheel controls all

I must stop at this point to declare I LOVE the voice-activated SYNC feature. It may just be the coolest feature ever. Say you’re listening to your iPod (plugged in using your USB sync cable) and decide that you really want to hear the song Mama Mia? Just activate the voice command system by touching the control on the steering wheel, then tell it “Play song Mama Mia.” It repeats the command back to you, and then? It finds and plays the flippin’ song!

close up of the touch screen

You can also use voice commands to find songs by an artist, album, or playlist, as well as using it for assistance with the navigation system. I’ve heard others complain that the system doesn’t work as well if you have an accent, but this accent-less midwesterner wouldn’t know.

On the road, the Focus is a great car to drive. The steering is sensitive and responsive, it can accelerate quickly in most situations and despite being a “small” sedan, there’s plenty of leg room, even in the backseat. The hatchback is also a welcome addition to this car. It’s easy to open, and provides a variety of options for hauling big things. Going to IKEA? You’ll want the hatchback. With the back seats down, you can fit a lot of Swedish modern design in there.

What I liked:
– SYNC is a tech-lover’s dream come true in a car
– small in size, yet plenty of room for adults or car seats in the back seat
– up to 40 miles to the gallon on the highway!!
– ultra comfortable driver’s seat that can be adjusted a million different ways
– fun to drive: with the onboard technology and the responsiveness of the transmission, I really enjoyed driving this zippy little car
– USB ports in the center console allow you to plug in media devices and keep them concealed so you don’t have to unplug and hide them at each stop

center console USB & media ports

What I didn’t like:
– while acceleration is great, it does hesitate a little on a really hot day when the A/C is on full blast (of course, I hesitate a little on really hot days, too)
– not a tremendous amount of headroom if you’re a tall person or like to sit up high in the driver’s seat
– the trunk space feels a little small when the back seats are in use: lots of height in the space, but not a lot of width or depth

could still hide a body, though…
Overall, I was very happy with this car, and by the end of my five day test drive it already felt like mine. I had learned the systems and controls so quickly that I was using the voice system to request songs without even thinking about it. It felt comfortable and very similar to my current old car. Well, aside from the fact that it makes my old car look like a Model T, technology-wise.
Stay tuned for my report on the Ford Fusion Hybrid.
(Full disclosure: Ford let me borrow these two cars for five days each. No other compensation was provided, and I still had to buy my own gas.)
Filed Under: daily life, reviews ·


Jul 12, 2011

Diets in Review Guest Post

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I’m over at Diets in Review again today, sharing some tips on how to stay active with your kids this summer. Go check it out!

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged:


Jul 11, 2011

Tiny Dancer

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When Cordy was enrolled in soccer this spring, Mira started asking when she could sign up for an activity. I offered her several options and she chose ballet. I found a nearby class that was designed for three and four year olds and was only eight weeks long. Even if she hated it, we wouldn’t be out a lot of money for the experience. Perfect.

Mira did well in the class, although we ran into the same problems in class that we see at home. When she hasn’t had a chance to get to know someone, she’s generally shy and charming. But once she feels comfortable, Mira’s full personality bursts through, and this kid has a LOT of personality.

It took about three weeks for Mira to show her true colors to her ballet teacher. She became bossy, demanding that she didn’t want to dance to “princess” music and had to do things in the order they did them the week before. (Sigh...) She told other little girls they were doing things wrong. (Gah!!) Her bossy personality got worse when they had a substitute teacher one week. I nearly died from embarrassment as she ordered the poor young sub around on how to do her job. (Nooooo!)

Thankfully her teacher was amazingly patient with her and wouldn’t let me yank my kid out of class for being disrespectful. (Oh, how I wanted to, though!) Instead, she gave in to some of her demands, letting Mira feel in control, and in doing so Mira did pay better attention and didn’t do too bad as a dancer.

On the final day they performed a “recital” for the parents, using the music that Mira found acceptable: Peter Pan – no princess music for her!

Did I record it? Why yes, I did.

Am I going to post it here? Why yes, I am.

(Was I a dummy and didn’t understand that I needed to turn my new iPhone 4 sideways to get the best video shot? Why yes, I was. Sorry for the narrow video clip – you might need to enlarge to see it better.)

Mira’s not hard to spot. She’s the biggest kid with the mop of curly hair on her head.

Mira’s Ballet Recital from Christina M on Vimeo.

Gotta admit, she’s cute. I’m so proud of her for being brave enough to perform.

Now if only she wasn’t so stubborn.

Filed Under: Mira, shameless bragging ·


Jul 8, 2011

Conference Time Pressure

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It’s that time again: BlogHer. I originally started a weight loss blog back in 2009 for the sole purpose of motivating myself to get in better shape to look good at that year’s BlogHer conference. Hot by BlogHer was simply about losing weight so that I could rock a little black dress at the conference cocktail parties.

Then last year I decided that it wasn’t just about looking good at conferences – I really did want to be healthier, too – and so I switched to Losing My Hind, which has more of a year-round, broader focus on weight loss, health and fitness.

Conference season always brings out the vain side of me, though. And so with less than a month to go until I’m hanging with some of my favorite bloggers in San Diego, I’m suddenly feeling more pressure to step it up and stay the hell on track.

Generally I’m a jeans and t-shirt type of gal. No make-up, no accessories. It’s not that I don’t like nicer clothing, make-up and jewelry, because I really do like it. Years of being heavy, along with teased for being different, taught me to draw as little attention to myself as possible. So most of the time I keep to my comfortable and plain uniform of jeans and t-shirt, blending into the background and happy for it.

But for conferences I love playing dress up. I have no idea why, but at blog conferences I feel like I can open up more and show off. Maybe because these people have already seen me vulnerable on my blog? Whatever the reason, a blog conference is an excuse for me to show off. I’ve already purchased one dress for BlogHer, and I’ve got my eye out for more. I’m prepping my feet to wear heels again, and applying sunscreen dutifully to avoid t-shirt tan lines. I’ve got plenty of shapewear to go under my outfits, but I would also prefer to not work that shapewear as hard as I have in the past.

Since attending my first BlogHer back in 2006, I’ve been getting progressively lighter and healthier each year. And each year, a few people will see me and remark on how I look so much smaller than the year before. Yes, I usually make some throw away remark about their foggy memories and then thank them for the compliment, but truthfully? I eat it up. I cherish every single positive comment and wrap myself in those kind words.

I know I am far more than just my outward appearance, but damn it feels nice for people to like the outside as well as the inside. It’s a sad truth that for those with self-esteem issues, it takes several positive comments to make someone believe she’s pretty, yet only one negative to undo it all.

So with the conference approaching quickly, I’m evaluating myself and feel pretty good about this year. I’m 10-15 pounds lighter than last year (depends on the day and the kindness of the scale) and down one size in clothing. I don’t expect to lose more than a few pounds between now and then, so I’m instead focusing on healthy foods and strength training versus dieting.

I can’t make drastic changes in 25 days. (OK, I did make drastic changes like that once, but it wouldn’t be as easy now.) But I am using BlogHer as a little extra motivation to avoid laziness. Choosing between junk food and a more natural snack is easy when you plan to be on display in less than a month. And feeling good about your appearance makes dress shopping a lot more fun!

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Filed Under: motivation · Tagged: ,