New blog alert : Lisa Tries To Cook
by David Wright on January 18, 2009
in weight loss
When I was in high school, I hid my fat under jackets and several layers of shirts. Well, I thought I was hiding it, but since the jacket wasn’t magic, I was only calling more attention to myself – especially during the summer.
“Dude, it’s 98 degrees, why are you wearing a jacket?!”
I lied, telling people I was cold. The last thing I wanted to talk about was the fact that I was fat. I figured if I didn’t acknowledge it, perhaps it would go away.
One of the few people I was open with about my weight struggles was my best friend, Lisa.
She was struggling with weight, too, though at the time, she didn’t have a lot to lose. However, to a teenage girl, 20 or 30 pounds may as well be 100.
Weight loss motivation
We tried many, many, MANY times to motivate one another.
We even made huge bets with money, new clothes, and whatever else we could think of on the line. Whoever got to their goal first, would reap the rewards.
Rather than ever celebrating a victory, we usually wound up drowning our sorrows in fried mozzarella and brownie treats at the local all-night diner. And while I have many fond memories of our trips to the diner, I would much rather have been celebrating our victories.
It’s hard to believe that 20 years have passed since those days. Despite the number of years, not much has changed.
We’re both struggling with our weight, though she’s done much better than I. A couple of years ago, she competed in a marathon, a huge accomplishment that she worked very hard to achieve.
Trying to eat healthier
Recently, Lisa decided to enter the blogosphere and launched Lisa Tries to Cook. The blog details her attempts to eat healthier. She takes a recipe, makes the meal and posts before and after pictures.
Sometimes, the results are a disaster and she winds up driving to McDonalds. I joked that she could have saved a lot of time and money by just heading straight to McDonald’s to begin with. Most days, I’d rather take the easy way out than spend time experimenting in the kitchen.
But maybe that’s why I’m still fat.
Yes, I know I mentioned my own plans to try to eat healthier foods last month (which I will be starting soon). It’s a coincidence that she came up with a similar idea for her blog, as I don’t think she is reading BlogToFit (some best friend, eh?).
Anyway, check out her site, leave a comment, and maybe twist her arm to get her to join us here at BlogToFit!
Question of the day: How long have you been trying to lose weight? What kind of bets have you made? What were the results of those bets?
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Lisa, you should really join the crew of Blog to Fit. You could bring your funky bananas, since Dave is only bringing the funky.
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David Wright Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 11:59 am
That’s funky FRESH to you, pal!
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I love to cook except for 2 things – I am not that good and time. Sometimes it’s just easier with the complications of life to grab take out.
So I have fallen a bit off the wagon, lost my challenge, have started drinking soda again, but I am still exercising and still have the drive. This cold weather has been freezing my will power.
DC Urban Dad’s last blog post..Just what the doc ordered
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David Wright Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Soda is damned hard to give up. When I quit drinking regular soda a few years ago, I immediately dropped 50 pounds!
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Lisa Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
You are a diabetic. That should be reason enough to give up sugary soda.
~L
Lisa’s last blog post..Lisa Tries To Cook… Stir-Fried Chicken with Tomatoes & Green Peppers
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Lisa Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
I understand completely. I too am not that good and some days I just don’t have the time. I was given a crock pot for xmass and hope that maybe if I can find a good recipe that may help with time and convenience. I was told by a coworker that not even I could screw up a crockpot dish.
~L
Lisa’s last blog post..Lisa Tries To Cook… Stir-Fried Chicken with Tomatoes & Green Peppers
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Hope to make some of Lisa’s energy bars today. They sound nummy!
Join us over here Lisa, you’ll fit in well!
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So, Dave – when exactly will you be starting to eat healthier? We want to know.
I’ve been working on losing weight since May. Have had ups and downs – but overall it’s been a loss. It’s starting to change how I look at things and my life habits.
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David Wright Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Truth be told, I’ve been buying some cheaper, easier to prepare food of late due to a lack of money and everyone being sick in the house at one point or another during the past month. Right now, it’s my turn again!
However, the food hasn’t been unhealthy or full of junk.
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Lisa Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Try out some recipes in a crockpot. I just picked up one of those little cookbooks by Pillbusry at the checkout entitled “Slow Cooker: Come Home to Comfort” — 400 calorie or less recipes. Woohoo. Will be trying out some in the near future.
Lisa’s last blog post..Lisa Tries To Cook… Stir-Fried Chicken with Tomatoes & Green Peppers
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Lisa Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Let me know how they work out for you!
~L
Lisa’s last blog post..Lisa Tries To Cook… Stir-Fried Chicken with Tomatoes & Green Peppers
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I’m pretty sure we don’t have all nighter diners over here in England do we Dave F? If we did I’d probably a lot fatter than I am now!
P.S. The yellow boxes at the bottom of the post are really piling up!
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David Wright Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Yeah, we’re going to add a box per week until they outnumber the lines in the post. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
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Tara Cain Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
We do have all night diners here in England – they are called midnight feasts and you tend to find you are sleepwalking when you fall under their spell (well that was always my excuse anyway). Need to get one of those child locks for the fridge!
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I love Lisa’s blog DW.
She’s just hilarious – especially where she goes to the trouble of baking some monstrous turkey thing (we don’t really do meatloaf over here in the UK) and then after letting it ’sit’ for 15 minutes and finding it bland and blah “I threw it out and heated up a frozen pizza in the oven”. Genius!
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Lisa Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
I am glad I am amusing others as well as myself.
~L
Lisa’s last blog post..Lisa Tries To Cook… Stir-Fried Chicken with Tomatoes & Green Peppers
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i gained about 20 lbs over several years which i guess is not too bad, but this last year i seem to be gaining weight even quicker.
i’m slowly changing my eating habits, trying to make better food changes and stay active. that’s pretty much it. since the beginning of january i have lost 5 lbs, so i’m encouraged.
i also made a 50$ bet that if i didn’t lose the fat by july then i would lose my money. i hate losing money.
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I’ve not actually made too many huge bets aside from the laptop deal I have with my husband right now. In the past I’ve always just lived with my weight though right now is the worst it’s ever been. I’m hoping that later when I reflect on this question I can say that I’ve only made one bet regarding my weight and it was a huge permanent success.
I’ll have to check out Lisa’s site. It sounds like a great idea.
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I will just say that being at the Doctor’s all day last Monday and being told I was a lazy, fat, irresponsible person who was wasting everyone’s time…hmmm it was not motivating.
But being able to taste really good food now is motivating. Today was grilled pumpkin slices, brocolli with mustard sauce and poached halibut. Took me 17 minutes to prepare. Topped off with a half a grapefruit – am am still full! Now if we could just figure out the pain in my back and by my sternum life would be good for the lazy, fat, irresponsible time waster…
Heading over to Lisa’s site…thanks for the reference.
Dave you have made good suggestions so far.
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