When I jotted this quote in my notebook awhile back, I wasn’t thinking of it in terms of productivity, but in how I felt in my early days of this Tippy Toe Diet. For the first time ever, I wasn’t thinking of change in the context of what I used to do but in the light of what I do now. ALL of my energy was on creating a sustainable way of managing my weight. I didn’t feel like I was fighting battles against myself; I was learning to live with myself in a new and healthier way. Life was/IS about the new, not the old.

Speaking of new, I’m following years of tradition and starting something new on this particular Monday. I’m experimenting with a new-to-me way of working, The Pomodoro Technique(pdf), a productivity method that focuses on 25-minute increments of activity with a 3-5 minute break following. After four work-breaklet cycles, you take a 15-30 minute break. Or as I like to call it, lunch!

I’ve had some success with working in 15-minute bursts, but what often happens is that I just turn off the iphone alarm and keep going, telling myself that I’ll just finish this one task and then I’ll get up and stretch or, depending on the task, sit down and cool off. Or get some sleep. And two hours later I’m either feeling like a pretzel or an egg that’s been cracked and fried on the sidewalk.

Or sometimes what happens is I get distracted in the middle of the “shift” and end up surfing chatting with neighbors going to Smoothie Cafe working on something less imperative.

I’m eager to see if this Pomodoro thing works better. I’ve already learned one valuable lesson. The technique gets its name from those cute tomato timers you see around. I thought I’d just use my iphone, but, well, I got distracted in the middle of my very first task! I’d kind of forgotten to focus for a minute there and got off track. So I dragged out my kitchen timer which is a much better taskmaster. Tick-tick-tick A constant reminder to finish the task at hand when my mind (and clicky finger) wanders.

During my first breaklet this morning, I was thinking about writing this post (I don’t think the rules say you can’t think about the tasks ahead), and it occurred to me that in successfully managing our weight, we find some sort of tick-tick-tick that keeps us on task, on building the new. It might not be audible, or even tangible, but there’s something that keeps us from losing focus.

For me, listing the reasons why I wanted to lose weight and referring to the list at least once a day was the tick-tick-tick I needed. As I stuck with it day after day, forward momentum kicked in and the rest, as they say, is history. As Richard Murphy (Confessions of a Contractor wrote: “The moment you fall in love with the sound of progress is the moment you stop hearing everything else.”

Tick-tick-tick What keeps you focused on moving forward, on building the new?

Or do you feel like you’re stuck in fight mode? I’ll do what I can to help, and if I don’t have an answer, maybe another reader will.

As for this tomato productivity thing, it’s too early to tell, but I think there’s something to it. I’m not fighting the urge to check email or facebook or go play with the dog down the street. I can do that on my (non-lunch) break later. Tick-tick-tick I think I feel a rhythm building.

The Secret of Change is a post from: Tippy Toe Diet and is under copyright protection.

Fulfilling my newshound role, I’ve got a couple of links to share:

Are Your Spices Fake? [WiseBread] was an eye opener for me! It seem some spices might be made up of ingredients we’d rather not eat. A couple of those listed–chili powder and parika, to be specific–are ones I use frequently and now I find out they mightcouldpossibly be contaminated with Sudan dyes (carcinogen) and other icky things.

Could your pet stand to lose a few pounds? Overcoming Canine Obesity is a good, common-sense checklist for ensuring your dog is managing his/her weight well. Not surprisingly, it contains many of the same tips humans use (proper portions, exercise, etc.) and a few others as well. I’m having a girls’ weekend with Sally Doodle this weekend, and she’s not impressed with the article at all.

In case the weather has you stuck for something to do this weekend, here are a few deep questions to ponder and, I hope, share your answers:

-When trick-or-treating as a kid, was there any kind of candy that you didn’t like to get?
-When you were in grade school, what did you want to be when you grew up? Why?
-Name the most famous person you’ve had a face to face encounter with
-What is your favorite weird food combination?
-What’s your middle name? Significance?

Answer as many or as few as you like!

My answers:
- Disappointing Candy: Believe it or not, there are candies I don’t like: Necco wafers, Bit o’ Honey, and those peanut butter taffy things wrapped in black or orange paper. Ick!
- Grade school goal: I’m not sure why, but I wanted to be a pathologist. Once I learned what that was, I changed to teaching as a goal. Didn’t meet either one, unless you count corporate training classes.
- Brush with Fame: Who’s more famous, Danny Glover or John Grisham? I’ve met both of them briefly (corporate spelling bee and book signing, respectively.)
- Weird food combo: I don’t think it’s weird, but a friend tells me that my current favorite salad with pineapple and olives in it is weird.
- Middle name: Camille, and it has no significance other than my mother liked it.

That’s it for me for the week! I’ll be chilling with Sally and generally trying to catch up this weekend. What are you up to?

Fake Spices? and Other Questions is a post from: Tippy Toe Diet and is under copyright protection.

And you thought about hitting the snooze button. See what you would have missed?

There are a whole host of great reasons to blog, but I blog because I like to talk and I like to write. It’s as simple as that. I can’t NOT do either of those things, and I’ve been that way for as long as I can remember. In fact, way (and I mean waaaaay) back when I was in kindergarten, this passion for communication was documented in the press:

I don’t know that we can consider what I post here “news”, but I still have lots to say. Sometimes it’s about me, sometimes it’s about something I’ve read, sometimes it’s an opinion piece or a bit of inspiration. But it’s not often I can’t think of something to write about. What can I say, I’m chatty! At least these days I’ve got all my teeth! For now.

In the greater blogging universe, The Tippy Toe Diet is a tiny blog, a miniscule corner of the interwebs, and yet, through some extraordinary bit of fortune, I’ve made some amazing personal connections through the blog and grown friendships that I hope will last a lifetime. I’ve met many wonderful readers and fellow bloggers in person, and my TBM (to be met) list gets longer every day. I’m so blessed to be among such great people.

Considering that I break most of the “blogging rules”, I’m a little surprised that people show up here at all. About the only thing that’s constant here is that I post from my heart and try to do it in a way that’s authentic and represents the real me, goofy and flawed though I might be. I’m so very grateful for those of you who either embrace the silliness or graciously overlook it. Thank you for your part in making the first 1000 blog posts so rewarding!

So now I’m off to conquer the next 1,000 posts. I’ll try to make most of them worth your while for stopping by. To that end, feel free to share topics YOU would like to see covered here.

And for the thousandth time, thank you for reading The Tippy Toe Diet!

For the Thousandth Time is a post from: Tippy Toe Diet and is under copyright protection.

Possible Mr. Cammy Candidate?

I’ve been giving some thought to ramping up (or perhaps, starting) a search for a Mr. Cammy with whom to share my domicile. Preferably before the lawn needs mowing again. Unfortunately, most of the men I meet who are in my age bracket seem so…old.

Here’s a representative sample from my dating pool:

It’s a pity you miss the full effect, which included black wing-tip shoes and the hamburger he was munching on as he walked along.

On the positive side, he seemed quite relaxed and comfortable in his colorful, if mismatched, ensemble. (That sounds so much nicer than ‘oblivious’, doesn’t it?)

Am I the only one who notices these things?

I dashed into Dollar General the other day and noticed this oddity:

Don’t you think it’s weird to have the veggies and the insecticides sharing space like that? Maybe not, considering these are canned vegetables that were likely already treated with some of the same products on the neighboring aisle. *sad sigh*

Garage Sale Makeovers

I’m trying to catch up on some of my garage sale “finds”, the kind I buy thinking, Oh, I can make this better, and then get home and realize I don’t have much talent in that area. But I did get two pieces into acceptable states yesterday instead of writing a useful blog post.

I have a shelf along the back of my tub and with my love of bath salts, scrubs, and potions, it was a bit cluttered looking. I found this plant stand for $2 and gussied it up with a spray-on hammered metal finish. I don’t LOVE it, but it will do nicely for a while. And then I’ll sell it for $3 at my next sale.

This cute little table was an early morning find. Too early, apparently, because I didn’t notice some major chewing on the bottom shelf. I probably overpaid at $5, but you’ll have that sometimes.

I had the apple green paint on hand, so I gave it a quick two coats to cover the chewing. I’ll let it rest this way in my front porch pondering spot for a while, while I sip some iced tea and contemplate giving it a light antiquing.

Now, only a dozen or so more projects left.

When Back Pain is Not a Sign of Over-Training

Did y’all hear about the woman who was training for a half-marathon and thought her persistent and increasingly intense back pain was the result of overdoing? She finally went to the ER and left with a 6-pound, 6-ounce baby girl. Yep, she was pregnant and had no idea! (I thought this was a made-up reality show thing, but apparently it’s not that unusual.)

If you’re like me, this story will have you noticing every back twinge today.

Reader Error

Lori pointed me to The Old Reader as a potential replacement for Google reader, and my transition to it was smooth, but not without error. I didn’t realize until yesterday that I had a setting in place that would mark a post as read even if I just scrolled down the screen. At least, I think that’s what happened. Anyway, I missed some posts because of it, and I apologize to those of you who got skipped. I’ve changed the setting and it’s working better now.

I do like this reader, but like so many others, it’s going through some growing pains as they gain more users. The biggest thing I’ve noticed is that sometimes random RSS feeds don’t make it into the reader for a few days. But they do seem to be tweaking and working toward making it better, and they entertain you with cute cat pictures when they’re doing updates.

In Conclusion

It’s time for my walk, so I’d better get going. (You can bet I’ll be monitoring my back for any discomfort!)

No big plans for me for the weekend, since I opted out of the family reunion this year. If the weather cooperates, I hope to “rescue” some more garage sale treasures.

What are you up to this weekend? Fun stuff? Quiet stuff? Whatever you do, I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Mélange is a post from: Tippy Toe Diet and is under copyright protection.

With summer vacation season upon us, this month’s AIM discussion is all about travel. As always, I’m looking forward to seeing the similarities and differences between the AIM bloggers and also with YOU through your comments.

Some people follow their weight loss/weight maintenance plans religiously while traveling. Some people throw caution to the wind and eat whatever they please. I’m sure it will surprise absolutely no one that I fall somewhere in the middle.

For me, vacation is a time to relax and let go of life’s worries and stresses–to step outside my ordinary everyday life to explore and experience the area in which I’m traveling. I don’t want to think about housework or yard work or work-work or cooking or any of the other things that clutter up my thoughts on ordinary days. My purpose in taking a vacation at all is to escape all of that, including, to some degree, spending precious vacation time thinking about my weight, or at least, not thinking about it excessively.

All that said, I mostly eat the same types of foods on vacation that I eat when I’m at home. Go figure. I either pack or purchase healthy snacks like fruit, nuts, and yogurt to keep in my hotel room and enjoy on the road, but I don’t eat meals in my car or my hotel room. That’s not vacation to me. I guess that one of the benefits of having lost weight while eating 99% of my meals in restaurants is that I know how to find and order healthy(ish) foods outside my house. Lean proteins, lots of fresh veggies, whole grains–these are the foods that make me feel good, so naturally they’re the ones I seek out most frequently at home and when traveling.

Muffaletta, Picayune, MS

I’m not going to Chicago without having at least one piece of Chicago-style pizza. Or Tex-Mex in Texas. Or Skyline Chili in Cincinnati. Or a po-boy or muffaletta in New Orleans. Or pancakes in the Smoky Mountains.

But those indulgences are part of the local flavor. A Snickers bar is not. Olive Garden is not. Baskin-Robbins is not. Being on vacation isn’t a free pass to eat my way across the country. If there’s no special local cuisine, I just go with something I’d normally eat. (Some of y’all will remember my two-week trip across Florida, when I became Queen of the Grilled Chicken Salad. )

Just as I’m aware of the vacation expenses accumulating on my credit card and manage my spending accordingly, I’m mindful of the calorie splurges that happen along the way and try to “spend” those extra calories on worthwhile experiences.

When I first started following a healthier way of eating, I was a bit more rigid and I didn’t enjoy traveling so much. After a few trips (including one 30-day road trip out west), I realized that it wasn’t the idea of vacation splurging that bothered me, it was the fear that I wouldn’t get back to my new normal way of eating when I returned home. From that, the idea of The County Line Rule was born. No matter how close (or far) I am to “normal” on any given trip, the very instant my car tires cross the county line, I’m 100% with the program. It’s a silly little rule, more mental game than anything else, but it works for me every single time so I’m keeping it! (It used to be The State Line Rule until I traveled east and realized that Tennessee is a very wide state. )

Another thing that helps my comfort level with vacation indulgence is that most of my vacations are fairly active and include some combination of walking, biking, and/or hotel gym workouts. Back when I was in my losing phase, I had several vacations in which I lost a few pounds, and I attribute that to my activity level as much as keeping the indulgences in check.

So that’s my travel philosophy, at least with respect to vacations. When I travel for work, I do a bit more advance planning and a lot less “winging it.” When the weather’s not broiling, I’ll even pack a few back-up meals in case I can’t find a healthy meal in whatever town I’m in. Fortunately, even the smallest towns seem to have a Subway or Wendy’s, where I can get a meal for under 400 calories. Ideal? No. Workable? Yes, and I’ll take that every time.

How do you handle vacation eating and exercise? Do you stick to your plan or go all out? Or do you find a middle ground?

If you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out the other AIM posts:
Lynn @ Lynn’s Weigh
Lori @ Finding Radiance
Debby @ Debby Weighs In
Shelley @ My Journey to Fit

AIM: Adventures in Maintenance is Lynn, Lori, Debby, Shelley, and Cammy, former weight-loss bloggers who now write about life in maintenance. We formed AIM to work together to turn up the volume on the issues facing people in weight maintenance. We publish a post on the same topic on the first Monday of each month. Let us know if there is a topic you’d like us to address!

AIM: Road Maintenance is a post from: Tippy Toe Diet and is under copyright protection.

Yesterday was one of those weird meal days. I was working up until around 2:00 p.m., so lunch was delayed and I really didn’t want much because it was warm and muggy outside and I was out in it. Eating lunch so late meant I didn’t really want another meal until around 8:00 last night. I thought about just having a yogurt sundae and calling it dinner, but I felt like I wanted something a little more substantial, something like a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Only I didn’t have any bread. All I had on hand was a couple of fiber wraps…shoot.

And then a light bulb went off! I remembered that earlier this week, Beth at Budget Bytes posted a recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Quesadillas! Bingo, three bars, jackpot! We have a winner!

Click on the previous link for the luscious particulars (Beth’s photos are MUCH more tantalizing than mine), but here’s my version:

My fiber wrap was a little large, I think, or maybe I’m just a lazy peanut butter spreader because I had a few tiny empty pockets. Still, it tasted great, it was very filling, and the addition of the chocolate chips made it feel as much like a dessert as a mini-meal. Efficiency, thy name is Cammy. Well, I suppose that would be Beth, and Copy-cat would be Cammy.

With my ingredients (subbing a tablespoon of peanut-flour mix for a tablespoon of regular peanut butter), the calorie total came to a little over 300. Not bad, and it had a nice balance of protein, fiber, fat, and decadence. I’ll definitely be having this again someday!

What do you think? Will you be trying a pb&b quesadilla? Subbing another nut butter or nutella? Running far, far away?

All-in-One Dinner & Dessert is a post from: Tippy Toe Diet and is under copyright protection.

Since I’m currently staying in a different part of Memphis, I explored a couple of new-to-me restaurants.

First, I went to the Mediterranean Grill and Sandwich Shop, which advertised Fresh! Healthy! Delicious! food. I have to say, they are not overstating themselves if my Chicken Tekka wrap was any indication. The man who took my order seemed almost apologetic in telling me that it would take about 15 minutes to prepare, but I assured him that I’d much rather have freshly prepared food than something pulled from underneath a heat lamp. That earned me a smile…and I’m pretty sure, some extra chicken as well.

Another new-to-me stop was La Michoacana, a local paleteria, or ice cream shop that makes its own ice cream and popsicle-like treats in amazing flavors. They even have a corn ice cream!

I somehow let myself get talked into ordering the Tres Marias–three different flavors of ice cream with a drizzle of chocolate and caramel, a sprinkling of pecans (whole!), and 2 sugar wafers (those were a surprise). There were other toppings I could have had on there as well (coconut, granola, raisins, whipped cream, etc.), but I do try to watch my calories. Hah!

Anyway, it was delicious and I’m glad I had it, but it’s a bit much. I’ll try it again when I have one or two friends along to share.

Fortunately, I don’t think I did too much damage with the ice cream indulgence since I way overshot my target on exercise for the week:

That’s my SparkPeople total for the week, with the numbers on the left representing actual and the numbers on the right being the goal. I rocked it this week, if I do say so myself. And I do.

On my walks and bike rides last week, I spotted some more pretty flowers:

I know the day lilies on the left well, but I don’t know the flower on the right. It’s blooming in abundance along the Greenline, which makes me think it’s probably a weed. If it is, it’s a pretty one.

Another interesting sighting in the neighborhood:

My mom would love to have these lawn statues in their yard; my dad would have fits about having to mow around them. I kind of see his point, but they are eye-catching.

Those are just a few of the scenes from my weekend. It was mostly quiet and always enjoyable. I love when those two things work together.

What fun and exciting–or perfectly ordinary–things did you do over the weekend?

Scenes from the Weekend is a post from: Tippy Toe Diet and is under copyright protection.