The 2011 #NoFatChristmas Challenge!
Everyone has been there. I have. You have. They have. Yeah. Like I said. EVERYBODY. Let me set the stage...
It's Christmas morning. You open presents. You eat. You spend time with your family. All is well. You tuck the kids/dogs/cats/other species of critters into their bed(s), and sit down with your laptop to relax. THEN IT HAPPENS...
You open up the photos you took throughout the holiday on your shiny new digitial camera - but something is amiss! Surely there is something wrong with the lens! There must be! In every photo, you look 20 pounds heavier than you thought you were! WTF?!??!
Then you realize what happened. The weather started getting colder, the desserts more delicious, and somewhere between the turkey on Thanksgiving and the cookies on Christmas morning, you fell of the fitness wagon! AGAIN! Damn it!
I know this because it has happened to me. Not once, not twice, hell, not even thrice - but for YEARS I shuddered each and every time I looked at a Christmas photo. NEVER AGAIN.
So here is the plan. We are going to join forces this season and help each other through what is easily the toughest time of year to either get into or stay into shape.
The Rules
Starting December 1st, you must:
- Take an initial weight and waist measurement
- Keep track of all calories consumed and/or burnt each and every day
- Workout for at least 7 hours a week
- Check in with the challenge by posting these activities to the #NoFatChristmas hashtag
- Help all others who rock the #NoFatChristmas tag to stay on task - we are a team!
I know what you are thinking! What do I win if I lose the most pounds or inches! Drum roll please..... NOTHING! There are no winners and losers here. And actually - you get something MUCH BETTER than nothing. You get to wake up Christmas morning knowing that you gave yourself the BEST gift you could have - a healthier you! Those who complete the challenge will also be immortalized on this website with a sweet digital plaque designed by your's truly! :)
So who is with me? Comment on this post to officially throw your hat in the ring. Do it for yourself. Do it for your family. Do it so we can all have a #NoFatChristmas together! :)
So Far, So Good…
Well it's been almost a week since I started trying to get back on track, and so far, so good.
I haven't worked my way back to my workout routine yet, however, I did manage to run a 30 min 5k on both Saturday and Sunday, and my calories and food intake are finally starting to shape up... 
It can be hard due to client lunches and work events to eat healthy, but I have managed. For example, today I was invited by a client to grab some Mexican food. Instead of ordering a greasy fried WHATEVER, I got a chicken taco salad, no sour cream - and I didn't eat the shell. I even skipped the chips they brought to the table. Now THAT'S a challenge!
It's getting easier to stay on track again, so I think I can say that I worked through my little "fall off the wagon" and am now ready to get back into routine.
I know I say this frequently, but THANK YOU to all who helped motivate me and get through all this. I was feeling pretty down, and my Fitness Friends helped to pick me back up again.
Thanks for being there for ME. Now it's time I get back out there and start motivating others again!
With Each Days “Chip” Comes a Victory…
I know, I know, you have heard the old saying before: "Take things a day at a time!" It sounds like such common sense, but in the minds of we "Biggest Losers", it can be easy to forget - especially when we are all at different points of our journeys.
For me, I am not trying to "lose" the weight as much as "maintain" from my 80lb loss. There is no "before & after" people, only "then & now". It's a life style, and you can't stop when you reach your goal - but don't let that discourage you. It's worth it.
Now back to it (man I go on tangents!)...
One common scenario is when I end up eating something I either didn't really want to eat, or didn't plan on eating. Since I count calories, it's very important to me to keep on track throughout my day, especially considering there are many nights that the wife and I make dinner "on the fly". (Speaking of which, she made some AMAZING Guacamole Chicken the other night - more on that in another post!) I tend to sometimes look at my day at that point and think "Well there goes today!" and will then tend to snack more just because I feel I have already somehow ruined my day - which simply isn't the case. I could eat a smaller dinner, or - guess what - even workout and burn some of those extra calories away! Duh!
My point is - in order to succeed on our respective missions, we need to take each little thing we do to help ourselves towards our goals and be proud of them. We can't let each little bump in the road halt our progress. I finally took my own advice last week, and low-and-behold, look what my new attitude has given me in return:
TA-DA!
My first #7daychip in a long time! I am so happy, and very proud to be part of such an amazing group of individuals, all striving towards the same goal!
WHAT??!?!? You have never heard of the #7daychip? FTW?! Here are some basic "guidelines" that you will need to understand before trying for it:
- No longer can I eat without thinking.
- No longer can I eat to comfort myself.
- No longer can I eat to abuse myself.
- No longer can I eat because I don’t feel good about myself.
- No longer can I eat for stimulation.
You can find all the information you need right here on Brad Gansberg's site. Be sure to tell him Miller sent you!
PS. Today is my Day 11 - how are YOU doing?
Portion Control Tip: Hit Your Plates with a Shrink Ray
I tried to stop him. Really I did. But he wouldn't listen. Now he is sitting here right next to me while I type this. He is being an asshole nice guy as usual. He is none other than Fat Miller. You asked for him to be a bigger part of the blog, so I hope this is what you wanted. Oh God does he stink too. Christ. It's as if he doesn't bathe because he is too fat to care. Oops. Now I sound like an asshole too. Let's just get this over with...
So I had such an amazing response from my first "In the Kitchen with Fat Miller" post that I thought I should do another. I envision doing more of them if you like them, because the majority of the battles we fight with our weight issues take place in the kitchen.
<FatMiller>
I personally give my fridge a dirty look each time I walk by it. It pisses me off. F*ck him (or her - I'm equal opportunity) for having such tastiness held within it's icy cold four walls!
</FatMiller>
Can I finish? Jesus. Anyway...
I LOVE SPAGHETTI. There I said it. Loudly. The only thing I like more than spaghetti is A LOT of spaghetti. Yeah. I know. Crazy. The problem here is simple: When I eat, I want to EAT. As I said before, 70% of your battle against your weight is mental. Damn you mind games! So I thought to myself... how can I play mind games on myself to fool myself into eating healthier. (That's too many myself's but whatever).
Then it came to me - I need to make my plates LOOK more full. Sound crazy? It most certainly is is not.
Both plates have the SAME amount of food on them. Honest.
So here is the deal. You can see two plates above. Each has 2 cups of cooked pasta, and a piece of bread placed on it. The SAME piece of bread. And it was yummy. Hell yeah I ate it. Geez. Anyway - I think you can see pretty clearly what I have effectively done. I have magically changed a 1/2 full plate of spaghetti into a full plate of spaghetti! Viola!
<FatMiller>
I mean, I know it's not feeding millions with like, 3 loaves of bread, but come on people, work with me...
</FatMiller>
And again, I am sorry. He is a monster.
The point of this post (if there is one) is to remind you to be mindful of the size of the plates and bowls you are consuming your food from. No one wants to eat a 1/2 plate of pasta or a 1/3 bowl of cereal. But - who would turn down a full plate or full bowl of either? Not this guy.
Enjoy.
Prep Bowls: Your Adversary in the Battle with Portion Control
1 Cup, 2 Cup, 3 Cup - BUNCH!
Today I received an email from one of my readers asking how I was able to successfully get my portions controlled. After settling down from the pure excitement of actually having someone send me a question via email (I know - lame!) - I thought to myself, "Self - Maybe it's time to start a In the Kitchen with Miller segment on the blog - and now here we are, all live and in 3D. $13 please. Wait. Nevermind. Sorry.
Anyway - I wanted to share something that my wife bought us about two years ago. They are made by KitchenAid (they look a little different now) and are called Prep Bowls.
My set consists of three bowls (1 Cup, 2 Cup, & 3 Cup) that are labelled on the bottom and each have air tight lids.
I use them when dividing up food to quickly ensure that I am only eating the suggested serving size of whatever it is I am eating. For example, I love cheese curls. Instead of messing around with measuring cups, I just grab the 2 cup bowl (which is the suggested serving size) and fill it up. Done.
Sound simple? It is. Simple and effective. These Prep Bowls help me stick to my Golden Rule when it comes to portion control that I try my best to stick to each day:
Never eat from the bag or container the food came in. There's no way to be nice about this, so I am just gonna let that asshole "Fat Miller" say it.
<FatMiller> Don't be a dumb ass. I mean it. I love you all too much for that. You know as well as I do that neither of us is going to eat one serving out of a bag of chips, box of cookies, or carton of ice cream. There is a reason they show the serving size on the package. Really. Believe me. I know - I didn't want to believe it either, but it's true. Live by it. Don't eat two portions and wonder why you didn't reach your goal or get a tummy ache. By putting it into a prep bowl, you've measured out the serving, and when it's gone, it's gone. </FatMiller>
Whew! What a dick. But he is right.
Another important thing that comes from using these for awhile is that you become more aware of how "much" a cup really is. A lot of times I would short-change myself and think I was eating more than a cup of something only to find out I could have ate more.
Let's work "smarter" on getting into shape and not "harder"...
Do have a question for me, Fat Miller, or Skinny Miller? Just send us an email at: questions at retroactiv dot com
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