Friday Five

A weekly round-up of tidbits, tips, ideas, news articles, random cool things...

1. It's National Donut Day.

Shelly's Mini Chocolate Protein Donuts
2. Summer is coming. The temps are rising. This is my friendly reminder to drink water! I have such difficulty with this and often pay for it dearly (kidney stones are no joke.) New post-ops be very very careful and sip every chance you get. I know it's so hard those first few weeks to get it all in but aim for better everyday and NO SLACKING. I know many who ended up in the ER getting IV fluids within weeks of surgery. Here are some tips that have been helping me get better at it then I have been in the past. Also I downloaded this great FREE App called Waterlogged that keeps track of my intake.

Another find that will definitely help me this summer is Trader Joe’s Kettle Brewed Unsweetened Black Tea, a homemade-style tea, bottled immediately after brewing, so it tastes like you made it yourself, but no waiting. One gallon jugs are $3.99 each. It's unsweetened, so you can sweeten it or not. I love a couple of squirts of Sugar Free Torani Syrup in it (SF Raspberry, SF Peach or SF Vanilla believe it or not is yum.)

3. Some articles I read this week that were worth checking out:

Biggest Loser MD Deluded, Unethical or Clueless? I vote all of the above. Throughout the years I did A LOT in the name of losing weight that was not healthy... cabbage soup for weeks anyone, pills, gadgets, drinks, extreme workouts, even not eating for weeks. Did I lose weight? Of course. Did it stay off? Never, in fact the pounds came back and brought friends. 4 hour DAILY workouts and extremely restricted calorie intake will work for a time but it's not sustainable by anyone with a life, job, family. When I finally wised up and made lifestyle changes I could live with forever... healthy food choices I enjoy, an exercise regime that doesn't feel like torture, and most importantly IMHO started working on the head stuff (the why's of why I gained) have I seen sustainable (so far going on 6 years) weight loss results. I can only imagine the Dr. that presented the study owns stock in 24 hour fitness ;)

Overweight women experience obesity stigma even after weight loss - Grrr. A person’s weight provides no indication of an individual’s character, credentials, talents, leadership or contributions to society.

Pounding Away At America's Obesity Epidemic
The Upside of Peer Pressure: Social Networks Help Kids Exercise More
Obesity, Be Dam"m"ed!

In case you missed Dr. Timothy Katzen & my pal Sarah on TV last month you can catch it on YouTube. The Real Skinny Part 1-3. It follows Sarah's post weight loss reconstructive plastics. I had a very similar body lift done and a few other things.

4. Walking through Target the other day I spotted these and you know I had to try them. "Three delicious and authentic tasting Girl Scout Cookie flavored" Lip Balms. Now I ate A LOT of Girl Scout Cookies in my day and I may have not had them in 6 years but the memory still lingers. "Delicious, Authentic" Hmmm I'll be the judge of that.

My verdict: Thin Mint: Very close. I was impressed. I got the mint, the chocolate, even the smell was evoking memories of late night visits to the freezer to eat 1/2 a sleeve of frozen ones. Trefoils - Not bad. vanilla-ish shortbread, sort of. Now I thought I was saving the best for last... the caramel-coconut yum that are Samoas: Ewww. No. This one was scary bad. It was nothing like a Samoas. Maybe a Samoa that you dipped in old motor oil instead of milk. Blech. I'll stick with my Girl Scout Cookie inspired Protein Shakes.

5. It's June 1st! This month is a HUGE month in my world. Practically everyone in my family has a birthday this month including yours truly (June 28th), it's my blog's birthday month (6 years of post weight loss surgery blogging), and my 6 year Surgiversary (June 20th.) So you know we'll be celebrating with some AWESOME GIVEAWAYS. Stay tuned.