Day 84 Weekend Number Twelve A Success

Day 84

Weekend Number Twelve A Success

Today was another lazy Sunday around the Anderson household. I started my day with a 180 calorie pack of peanut butter wafer bars. Not the best choice, I know. I usually start with some wholesome oatmeal, but I get bored with that after a while. As a matter of fact, Friday I put my oatmeal in the microwave at the studio a little after 6am, and I got it out at noon. I guess I wasn't hungry, although I try not to skip food in the morning, the metabolism needs something to work on early! The peanut butter wafers will be around here a long time. They're awful. One of my dearest sweet addictions has always been Little Debbie Nutty Bars. Picking up a box use to be as normal as picking up milk or bread in our house. Every grocery store trip included Nutty Bars, and if a box lasted longer than two days, someone was sick or away from home. That someone would be me. I'd always put them in the freezer, ah nothing like an ice cold Nutty Bar. I don't think I've had one yet in the last 84 days. Too many calories (155 per bar—310 a package) in those tasty little wafers! But I found a knock-off version that was packaged to target calorie conscience people like me. In big letters on the box it says “just 90 calories!” Really, Ok then, I'm OK with that. I'm normally not fooled by marketing gimmicks, I'll go straight to the nutritional information and the fine print. But for some reason I trusted Mrs. Freshley. Mrs. Freshley sounds like a kind, warm, grandmotherly soul, unlike that Little Debbie, who sounds like trouble. Turns out Mrs. Freshley was being a little deceptive, ya see it is 90 calories, if you only eat half the package. Still, at 180 calories, kudos to Mrs. Freshley for cutting the calories of the original Nutty Bars by 130 calories, but if it's going to taste like cardboard with some stale peanut butter, I'd rather not. I can't believe I finished my package. Completely unsatisfied, I soon had a mid-morning snack. I was fixing grilled cheese in a pan with zero calorie cooking spray, but now I use the George Foreman Grill. It's the best! Just two pieces of bread and a piece of cheese, no butter or margarine, no added calories for anything else. Depending on what kind of bread you use, a grilled cheese can come in anywhere from 140 to 180 calories. My grilled cheese was 180. I should have just started with that huh? But remember, watch the grilled cheese close, if you leave it in the grill too long, all the cheese will bubble out the sides, and all you'll have left is cheese toast. About three minutes is good. To make a long story short, I came into dinner with only 500 calories to spare. It's just Courtney and Me tonight, so we decided instead of cooking we would grab something out. I immediately started going down the list of fast food options under 500 calories. I decided on a couple of Fresco Tacos at Taco Bell. Fresco tacos are just tacos without cheese. They replace the cheese with chunky salsa and it trims 20 calories per taco. I've never ordered the Fresco before tonight, but I decided to leave myself two hundred calories for a snack later. I'm a big believer that just because it's “fast food”, doesn't mean it's junk food. It all depends on your choices. I have yet to come across a fast food place I couldn't successfully navigate. Kentucky Fried Chicken comes close, but even Colonel Sanders can't break me! You do have to be extra careful while ordering fast food. If I'm not sure about the calories, I'll look it up first, then decide if there are any changes I can make to it for a calorie reduction. No mayo is the best move to make if you want to eliminate added calories. I did have to look at the giant picture of Taco Bell's new “Fully Loaded” nachos. I've always been a big fan of nachos, but I've always been frustrated with poorly topped nachos. You know what I mean. Too many chips, not enough stuff! Well, Taco Bell has finally addressed this very important dilemma. However, I mustn't allow myself to get mesmerized by this new menu item. It comes in an edible bowl...that was my second clue that it was loaded, the first being the name, and by the way, to the person that came up with the edible bowl idea, you're a genius! After being tempted by the endless “Fully Loaded” commercials, and tonight by the larger than life picture of it's fully loaded goodness, I had to check out the calories. Are you ready for this? According to Taco Bell's website, the new “Fully Loaded” Nachos check in at a whopping 1,390 calories. And since they apparently have a sense of humor at Taco Bell, they call that 1 serving. Two things I'm sure of now: 1. I'll never order one of these. 2. They sure got the name right. Taco Bell earns an A for truth in advertising. In the case of the Nutty Bar Knockoff...Mrs. Freshley earns a D- for making possibly the worst tasting peanut butter wafer bar known to human kind.

Courtney's finishing up her homework and I'm finishing up todays blog entry. In just a little bit we're headed to the trail to pound out a brisk two miles. It's not going to be a leisurely stroll, we're going for heart rate my friend! That's the thing about walking, if you want a better workout, just pick up the pace! I have to pick it up, because now that I've lost 67 pounds (more by now) I can walk normally without getting out of breath. It's amazing how wonderful that feels.

Tomorrow I'm headed for Oklahoma City. Kelli and I are going for two specific reasons. She needs to pick up her birth certificate and I need some jeans! Her birth certificate is needed so she can renew her license. Which got me to thinking. I've only been honest one time in my life when asked how much I weigh at the Drivers License place. I proudly proclaimed 385 when I renewed back in the summer of 2004. I've changed the picture since then, but it still says 385. I think it's expected for most people to be a little dishonest about their drivers license weight, otherwise why don't they just get a 1,000 pound capacity scale, and make it a requirement of getting your license. I wonder if they've ever even questioned someones answer to that question? “Uh, I weigh 195”, “Ok, Mr. Anderson, here ya go!” I bet police officers joke about it all the time, “yeah guys, and get this, her drivers license said she weighed 115, I almost asked her which half?” Maybe not. I guess I shouldn't assume people, especially police officers, make fun of fat people. But really, even some fat people make fun of fat people.

For a weekend that started with a mini-meltdown, it's turned out pretty well. I made it through a mini-storm and I'm still going strong! I'm headed to the walking trail now. Good night and...

Good Choices,
Sean