Screw you metabolism!!

Is it me, or does it seem like I'm hungry all the time? Since this morning, I had my protein shake, Cheerio's w/strawberries & skim, carrots with the 100 pack guacomole on the side, a Lean Cuisine Panini, a South Beach bar, and some string cheese. Just typing that is tough! And I will be eating again within the next hour. However, it's always crazy to add the calories up (hint: it's not as much as you think; maybe around 1000 or so). I've already lifted weights today, which takes off about 200 calories, and I'm going to spin after work, baby! The best part about spin class is the whole burning off 800 calories an hour thing ;o). It's all a numbers game. As long as my total caloric input/output is in the negative, I lose weight. Usually I aim at around 1,600 calories on a normal day, although my trainer says I can eat up to 2,000 with the amount of time I spend at the gym.

These days, a big motivator for me has been the number on the scale. Almost too much of a motivator. So I'm limiting my weigh-in's to weekly. Too much room for fluctuation throughout the day, and I want to see a steady decrease. My whole day will NOT be ruined by what I see on the scale!

On another note, I'm losing weight in the weirdest places. My wrists?? Fingers? And especially my cleavage. How can one lose almost half a cup-size in 6 months? Sad day. Although, I guess you can't tell your body where to lose weight. But, man! That would be nice. You could just type it in a computer and tell your body, "Ok, it's time to take all the weight off the tummy. Boobs stay an ample 'c', tummy goes flat." Wish it worked that way, but I'll take what I can get.

In case you haven't figured it out, I think this will be a weight-loss blog. It keeps me accountable, and lets me see the patterns in my bad eating/exercise habits. Oh, and regarding the sugar issue I was going to talk about that I mentioned in my previous post!!

Ok, so while I was semi-napping on the couch a few Sundays ago (my favorite Sunday activity, which is actually being replaced by my favorite summer activity, pool volleyball), a Pop-tart commercial came on the television. Oh, Pop-tarts. How I miss the way you pretend to be a breakfast meal even though you're basically a hardened piece of cake in a brightly colored box. The hard candied icing, the gooey cream inside. Yum. That would probably send me into a sugar coma nowadays, but a girl can dream. Anyway, the commercial. Kids on scooters, swimming in the pool, enjoying their summer activities, doing random summer-related things and...parents passing out a Pop-tart ice cream sandwich?!? No, I kid you not. Two Pop-tarts as the "bread," and a big ol' hunk of ice cream in the middle. WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU, POP-TART?? Do you realize that it's because of this type of marketing that the children of America are obese? I felt like getting up off the couch right there and drafting an angry letter to Pop-tart's parent corporation (Kellogg's? General Mills?? who knows) blasting them for their use of manipulative marketing schemes in order to sell their goods. I hate to compare the two, but it's a bit like the outrage when the Joe Camel company used brightly colored packaging to market their cancer-sticks to teenagers. Why is that not acceptable but Pop-tart can continue their television advertising? Of course cigarettes and nicotine is bad for you, but sugar can be just as harmful. Over intake of sugar causes diabetes, obesity, there have been links to certain types of cancer...the list goes on and on. Sugar is fine in moderation, but this type of marketing makes kids think this is okay. Hey, Pop-tart commercials say, this is an everyday type of breakfast food. That moms approve of. Kids like them. And they're easy to dish out. But it doesn't mention the broader issue that anything that chock-full of sugar (around 70 grams per two Pop-tarts) should not be something you eat daily, especially to kick off your day. And commercials telling you otherwise are fraudulent and misleading. *stepping off soapbox*

On that note, it's snack time. ;o)