Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Little Debbie Is My Homegirl


I love chocolate. I mean I really love, love, love chocolate.I don't mean chocolate bars or candy- except for chocolate covered nuts or Hershey Kisses on Valentines Day or the small decorative chocolate bunny on Easter. I love chocolate brownies ,chocolate pie and chocolate cake (minus frosting/icing).My oh-so -all time favorite- Little Debbie snack cakes- Chocolate Zebra Cakes and Fudge Rounds, OMG! I will even eat fruit dipped and covered in chocolate fondue, especially chocolate covered strawberries. It is actually quite sinful how much I love chocolate.
I will give myself a hand though,I don't eat donuts. I used to love chocolate donuts or just donuts covered in chocolate. In 2001 , I did the Weight Watchers program and learned, among other things that fried chicken, sodas (minus the occasional diet soda) , and DONUTS were a dieters downfall. So there went the donuts. I am PROUD to say that I have not had a donut since March 2001.
The weight thing has been an issue since I moved to ( or should I say back ) to Beaumont in August 1998, after living in Friendswood/Alvin/Pearland Texas since 1984.I am barely 5 feet tall, I have always been the one of the shortest or the shortest person in my classes at school or my group of friends. But until I moved back to Beaumont, my weight has been fine proportionate or even just right for my height. Trust me, when a short person gains 5 pounds, it looks like they have gained 10 pounds, at least it does on me.I went from a happy 120-125 pound girl to a 155 pound very unhappy girl in the matter of 3 years.The drowning my broken heart (broken engagement to a guy who I thought was "the one" and we had been together for 10 years) in anything and everything that did not eat me first, being depressed, working 2 jobs , going to school , and not making time for exercise , I packed on the pounds. One day I finally just said enough, went to Weight Watchers, started walking and gradually getting back into running a mile or two and getting back into healthier eating habits.
I left the teaching profession after many years of trying to shape and mold 12,13, and 14 year old minds and took a chance and my opportunity and went back to school. This time doing what I really wanted to do, nursing.I vowed not to put on the dreaded and feared 15 to 20 pounds that nursing students fear and struggled with it sometimes, working two jobs, studying,and trying to exercise, and have a social life.I did a good job and came out of nursing school with a degree and only 5 extra pounds.
The pounds did not creep back on me until 2005, when I got married. Was it being married to someone with horrible eating habits himself, depression, the stress of being an ER nurse, adjusting to working night shift? I don't know, but I do know that by the summer of 2008, I weighed 187 pounds.I got back to basics , cleaned out the pantries and refrigerator, got back on an exercise plan, tried to recruit my husband( now my ex) into doing the neighborhood walk thing ( with no luck), and gave myself a reason to get back in shape.
Not ever really being a red meat eater ,I cut it out completely. i eat chicken now very sparingly, maybe once a month, as long as it does not have bones.I eat fish only one or two times a week, I only eat whole grains and have pretty much cut pasta and white rice out of my diet. That was so hard to do!I love seafood though, as long as it is not drowning in some rich fattening sauce. I love crawfish and boiled shrimp, and lucky for me , I got to eat some delicious , spicy boiled crawfish and shrimp this weekend.Even though I forgot to take a Benadryl before indulging in the shellfish, and even though I broke out in a mild case of hives and wheezed a few times, I enjoyed it!I was not worried about having a bad reaction, I mean I was surrounded by four nurses, one medical school student and one doctor.Any medical emergency could have been dealt with , even though quite a few beers had been consumed!
Since 2008, getting back into it- healthier eating,Yoga ,Pilates, walking, running at least 3 miles twice a week, and now ZUMBA ! Zumba is a fusion of Latin,Hip-Hop,bellydancing, and Bollywood all rolled into one and I am hooked!!!One hour of Zumba can burn up to 700 calories. I was totally lost the first day, but I am working my to becoming a Zumba Princess.Tomorrow I start another class at Exygon called Group Groove, so I will report on that later.
I have lost 25 pounds since January of this year and have gone from a size 14 in 2008 to comfortably wearing a size 8.I still have not reached my goal, it is going slow and steady, but at least it is going in the right direction.I do contribute this to all my hard work, but I also have to give Kudos to my med I take for "depression". When I started taking this medicine in November, the only thing I was getting out of it was nausea/vomiting and diarrhea. I am okay now, with the occasional bout of nausea when I wake up ( and no, I am not with child), and the fact that my taste buds have changed, it has had alot more of a positive effect than I thought it would, I don't get upset as easy anymore, I am in a much better mood and really don't have much of an appetite anymore.So , hooray for that. By the way, I don't really think I was ever depressed, just needed a boost or a mood stabilizer.
Also, good news, I am running a 5k in the Gusher Marathon, it is Beaumont's first marathon and I am so proud I get to participate and be a part of it. It may only be 3 miles, but hey, I'm still doing it !
As far as the chocolate goes, I have toned it down a bit.As far as making a spiritual commitment for Lent, I gave up chocolate . My last taste of chocolate was at Taste of the Triangle on Fat Tuesday and no chocolate passed these lips until Easter night , when I ceremoniously bit the head off of my decorative chocolate bunny I bought for myself just for the occasion.
These days it is all about 100 calorie pack snack cakes and cookies and Skinny Cow brand ice cream and fudge pops. I did a calorie and sugar gram content check and discovered that my favorite Little Debbie snack cake only has 115 calories and the same amount of sugar as the 100 calorie pack cupcakes I eat. So, once a week, Little Debbie & I can be friends- again :) .
And , by the way Skinny Cow cookies and cream ice cream,5.8 ounce carton only has 150 calories and it tastes great.