Health Update, Button Update

After staring at it on my to-do list for a month, I finally sewed the button back on that had popped off my pants as a result of my recent weight gain.  The pants have red accents, so I used a bold red thread.

Project Runway, here I come!  I’ve lost a few pounds since popping that button, and while I haven’t worn the pants since the repair, I have a good feeling it won’t pop again.

Here’s the bigger, more exciting update – the one about my health (and other stuff):

My Roller Coaster Day

It’s been an up-and-down sorta day. It started with a double-whammy: it’s been great having my mom here to help out while I recover from my surgery, but I took her to the airport bright and early this morning so she could hop a plane back to Michigan. It was a bummer to see her ago, and I’m man enough to admit that I already miss her.

Despite the circumstances, we had a nice visit (it also helped that the outcome of the surgery provided so much good news). We saw extended family a couple times, and before the surgery we had a nice meal out and saw “The Great Gatsby.” The other day we both wanted to get out of my place for a little while, so we turned a trip to Trader Joe’s into a pleasant scenic drive, where I pointed out a few celebrity homes and stopped at two very scenic overlooks on Mulholland, the road that winds across the top of the Hollywood Hills.

I only see my mom a couple times a year, and luckily for me, I’ll get to see her (and my dad) in about a month, so that will be really nice. Plus, she left behind presents in my freezer in the form of healthy food:

The top shelf, and part of the second shelf, has

The Damage…

…has been done.

It’s the first day of May, and that means it’s time for a weigh-in. Wanna see what two weeks of uninhibited eating and no exercise did to me? Here, take a look at my scale:

That right there is a fifteen pound gain. But, believe it or not, I’m pretty sure there’s good news too.

My Motivation Has Left Me.

Sometimes I’m really excited to share what’s going on in my little corner of the world. Other times, I’m not. This is one of those times.

I don’t want to beat around the bush, so I’ll just say it: I’ve let myself go, and I’m struggling to find any motivation to make healthy choices whatsoever. A big part of the reason why is thanks to a health concern that’s arisen in the past couple weeks. I’m going to be cryptic here, because I’m still processing what’s going on, and I’m not ready to share it yet. I’m sure I probably will, at some point, but not yet. It first reared its ugly head a few days after my wonderfully successful stair climb, and as a result, I decided to take a few days off from working out.

It’s now been over two weeks since my last workout. I’m not out of the woods in regards to that health concern, but I’m physically able to exercise, and I haven’t been. There’s a packed gym bag in my home, but I’m walking by it every morning.

In addition to that,

What’s in the Crockpot? Part Eight

We haven’t played ‘What’s in the Crockpot?’ in months! Time to fix that. Ready for a new installment? It’s easy to play. I won’t even have to explain the rules – you’ll pick it up as you go. I promise!

READY TO GO? LET’S PLAY!

What’s in the Crockpot?

Double Yolks. PLUS, Watch the Infomercial Online!

EXCITING NEWS! You know how I’m featured in Richard Simmons’ new infomercial for Project H.O.P.E.? The infomercial clocks in at a full 30 minutes, but the online version is only 7 minutes, and I was left on the editing room floor. So unless you set your DVR, or happened to catch it on basic cable in the middle of the night, there’s a good chance you haven’t seen my little part of the infomercial yet.

UNTIL NOW! Check it out: the portion featuring the long-term success stories (me and my friends Joanne and Lori) is now on YouTube! It’s only 80 seconds – watch right here:

Big thanks to my buddy Jon. Check out some behind-the-scenes photos from the infomercial shoot here.

Moving on…

The most bizarre thing happened recently.

EGGIES! Plus: Weight Loss Chart Update!

Man, I love hard-boiled eggs. I typically hard-boil a dozen eggs a week, and eat them as part of my lunches and after workouts. Usually, I eat only the whites, and toss the yolks into the trash, along with the shells, but every once in a while, I’ll eat one whole egg in addition to 2 or 3 more whites. Egg whites are an excellent source of protein, are fat-free, and low in calories.

So I was very excited to get my hands on an infomercial product that promised to make hard-boiled eggs a snap to make. The product is called Eggies, and here’s the commercial, in case you haven’t seen it (I’ve seen it roughly 2,500 times):

I can’t divulge where I got the Eggies, but I’m happy that I didn’t pay for them (and, no, I didn’t shoplift them). I don’t think that hard-boiling eggs is a particularly difficult proposition, and I’ve never been nearly as flustered as the women at the beginning of the commercial, but I’m all for kitchen shortcuts. And, well, I love informercial products. I’m in!

Exciting TV Announcement PLUS My Awesome New Kitchen Toy PLUS A Tasty Easy Dip Recipe!

Is your DVR remote control handy? Or pen and paper? I just want you to be prepared, because I have exciting news: I’m gonna be on TV again!

I’ll be a guest on “The Doctors” next Monday, January 28th! It’s a show about weight loss, featuring the one-and-only Richard Simmons. As part of his segment, they wanted to feature success stories of people that have worked with Richard to drop pounds. I’m one of 5 success stories, along with my friends Joanne, Marcia, Iris, and Lori, that are there to inspire a woman in the studio audience who wants to lose weight.

We taped the show in late December (and I’ve kept my mouth shut about it per the confidentiality agreement they asked me to sign), and it was a lot of fun. I’m in the very first segment at the start of the show, and also onstage at the very end of the hour as well. “The Doctors” is syndicated, and to find out when it airs in your area, click here. I actually don’t know right now if my appearance will be available online. There’s a good chance it won’t be, so if you don’t have a DVR or a VCR or the ability to drop everything and watch it when it’s actually on, then you have about a week to figure out a solution! TUNE IN!

FUN FACT: This is actually my second appearance on “The Doctors” – I appear, briefly, in a segment taped at Slimmons that aired about a year ago. You can watch it online right here.

Moving on… I got a fun new kitchen toy as a Christmas present, and I’ve been photographing it in action!

First Weigh-In of 2013!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

I hope your holidays were fantastic, like mine were. I went to Michigan for Christmas, and then to Chicago for a couple days for New Years. Now I’m back in Los Angeles, where I’m fighting a nasty cold and working my way through a box of tissues like nobody’s business. I have a (hopefully) fun post with lots of (hopefully) fun pictures planned of some highlights from my Christmas vacation, but I’m just too tired to start working on it now. But, I didn’t want to leave you hanging, since it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything – 17 days, as it was pointed out to me via text message from a friend and reader.  So… here’s what happened when I stepped on the scale this morning! It’s my first weigh in of 2013!

I made it through the holidays without gaining weight!

Exercise Victories and Weight Loss Chart Update

My exercise routine has evolved (or perhaps devolved) significantly over the course of 2012. For the first half of the year, I was easily meeting my goal of working out 6 times a week (with 5 times a week being acceptable). But that was an easy goal for me to reach, as I was unemployed at the time, with a lot of free time.

But then in June, I started my new job, and exercising became more difficult, as I went from jobless to 50-55 hours a week in an office. I never stopped exercising altogether, but I did cut back significantly, to 3 days a week. Earlier this fall, I felt myself getting a little lazier with my workouts, which was one of the reasons I signed up for the 10K I ran last month. My plan worked: prepping for the 10K was the perfect way to get focused and excited about working out again.

After the race was over, though, the laziness returned. And I had no plan in motion to combat that laziness. Until I stepped on a plane and flew to Colorado for Thanksgiving. Sometimes there’s nothing like a getaway to reboot your system!