I like to take photos and I'm usually the one you can count on to have my camera ready at an event. I'm also known for taking those photos of myself and my friends and "photoshopping" them to fix those things the camera does to us .....like adding all those pounds and wrinkles that aren't really there ( well, we wish they weren't there!)
I think I had been doing that so often to my own pictures ( shaving off a few pounds in strategic places....like my butt!) that I started to believe that's how I really looked! ( by the way, that's not me on the left. I wish I looked as good as her before pic!)
It only took a photo of me that someone else had taken that was not 'enhanced' that brought me back to reality and made me face the truth....and it's what pushed me to start this blog.
But, what I wanted to share with you is this very cool site weightmirror.com. It is an instant weight loss visualizer. You upload a full frontal photo of yourself , put in your weight and height and then using a sliding scale, you see how you would look after losing a certain amount of weight. Sliding the bar to 20 lbs lost, then 30....is a real motivator to keep on track. But an even better motivator is sliding it up to 20 lbs gained and seeing how I would look if I keep gaining! So, have someone take a photo of you this weekend and see your future self!
I think I had been doing that so often to my own pictures ( shaving off a few pounds in strategic places....like my butt!) that I started to believe that's how I really looked! ( by the way, that's not me on the left. I wish I looked as good as her before pic!)
It only took a photo of me that someone else had taken that was not 'enhanced' that brought me back to reality and made me face the truth....and it's what pushed me to start this blog.
But, what I wanted to share with you is this very cool site weightmirror.com. It is an instant weight loss visualizer. You upload a full frontal photo of yourself , put in your weight and height and then using a sliding scale, you see how you would look after losing a certain amount of weight. Sliding the bar to 20 lbs lost, then 30....is a real motivator to keep on track. But an even better motivator is sliding it up to 20 lbs gained and seeing how I would look if I keep gaining! So, have someone take a photo of you this weekend and see your future self!
Recipe of the Day
Blueberry muffin makeover
Tip of the Day
Blueberry muffin makeover
Have you ever had one of those giant muffins you get by the 24 pack at those big warehouse stores and felt pretty good because when you looked at the nutrition info label, it said it only had 180 calories.....so you had two on the way home? Well, if you looked a little further you would have read that a serving size was 1/3 of the muffin! So that muffin is really 540 calories, the same as a Big Mac ! And let's not even mention the saturated fat ( okay, it's 16,grams a whole days worth......). Here is a recipe makeover from Good ( enough) Housekeeping for blueberry muffins:
- 1 cup(s) oats
- 1 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup(s) packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup(s) low-fat buttermilk
- 2 tablespoon(s) low-fat buttermilk
- 3 tablespoon(s) canola oil
- 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
- 2 cup(s) blueberries
- 1 teaspoon(s) granulated sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place oats in blender and blend until finely ground.
- In large bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt. In small bowl, with fork, blend egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla; stir into flour mixture until flour is moistened. Fold in berries.
- Spoon batter into muffin-pan cups; sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake 23 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of muffins comes out clean. Invert onto wire rack; serve warm, or cool to serve later.
| Calories | 165 |
| Total Fat | 5g |
| Saturated Fat | 1g |
| Cholesterol | 19mg |
| Sodium | 250mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | -- |
| Dietary Fiber | 2g |
| Sugars | -- |
| Protein | 4g |
| Calcium | -- |
Tip of the Day
Don't assume "Healthy" Means "Low-Cal"
The label trumpets "low fat," "zero trans fats," or "no carbs." But these virtuous pronouncements don't tell you a thing about calories — which is what you need to pay attention to in order to lose weight and keep it off. "My rule of thumb is to look first at the calories per serving, then check the serving size," says Marion Nestle, Ph.D., professor of nutrition and food studies at New York University. You might be surprised by what the manufacturer considers a serving: For some cereals, like Grape-Nuts or certain brands of granola, it's only a half cup (compared to a cup and a quarter for Rice Krispies, say). "Once you match the product's serving size to what you'd actually eat, the calories might be considerably higher."
The label trumpets "low fat," "zero trans fats," or "no carbs." But these virtuous pronouncements don't tell you a thing about calories — which is what you need to pay attention to in order to lose weight and keep it off. "My rule of thumb is to look first at the calories per serving, then check the serving size," says Marion Nestle, Ph.D., professor of nutrition and food studies at New York University. You might be surprised by what the manufacturer considers a serving: For some cereals, like Grape-Nuts or certain brands of granola, it's only a half cup (compared to a cup and a quarter for Rice Krispies, say). "Once you match the product's serving size to what you'd actually eat, the calories might be considerably higher."
Yesterday's menu
Breakfast: Chex cereal with blueberries, cut up nectarine and 1/2 cup 1% milk-233cal
Lunch: Lean Turkey Burger on a bun-243
Pre-dinner reception at art gallery: 2 glasses chardonnay- 260 1 oz cheese-100
Dinner: 1 1/4 lb lobtstah, hardly any of the butter, 1/2 baked potato, tsp sour cream
1 glass chardonnay, 1/2 cup ice cream- 550 cal
Snacks- popcorn-250
watermelon-50
Almost 1700 calories, not bad for going out to a reception and dinner.
Lunch: Lean Turkey Burger on a bun-243
Pre-dinner reception at art gallery: 2 glasses chardonnay- 260 1 oz cheese-100
Dinner: 1 1/4 lb lobtstah, hardly any of the butter, 1/2 baked potato, tsp sour cream
1 glass chardonnay, 1/2 cup ice cream- 550 cal
Snacks- popcorn-250
watermelon-50
Almost 1700 calories, not bad for going out to a reception and dinner.
