I'm already ahead of the game...

Hi- So I only have 15mins before I need to go meet Nikhil for our night of True Blood, but I have to tell you a few things. Firstly, I went to the doctor's office today. Don't worry- I'm fine. It's just that since I got my own health insurance after being on my mom's forever, I was without a primary care doctor. So, now I have one! Yay! And it's in NYC. Yay! Which I like to think for all intents and purposes means that I am officially a resident of New York. So, big day for me. 

I absolutely love my doctor, she is sweetest woman, who is caring... but not too caring and has a sense of humor. All my criteria! I had to fill out the questionnaire thing that I asked me what I ate yesterday. And as I was proudly putting down, yogurt, apple, chicken and snow peas, berries, oatmeal...I knew she would think I was lying. Now, she didn't automatically assume I was lying when I saw her, she just looked at me and said "Oh, you eat pretty healthy." I decided it was ok to inform her that this was a new thing and my list a month ago would have been cookie, brownie, cookie, pasta, chicken with pasta, and a little dessert. I then told her all about this blog, which she thought was a little strange...which I guess it is. But I told her that it makes me feel accountable and normally if I start a diet I am only obligated to myself. And let's face it, I'm not a very strong taskmaster when it comes to me and food. Ultimately, we decided that this blog was a good thing and moved on to the dreaded weigh-in and height-in. I guess height-in (is this even a word?) is not dreaded for most people but, since I always lie about my height and then forget my real height it's always a bit of a shock when they say 5'2". Oh yeah, to all those people I told I was 5'3" - I was lying. Anyway then she weighed me, and it turns out I need to lose weight. But that wasn't hard to hear since I've already accepted it and am actively doing something about it. I'm a step ahead - and it feels good! 

Calories

Hi- How's it going? Remember my signs on my fridge and mirror that say "Nothing Tastes as Good as Skinny Feels"? Well guess what folks, I have another mirror...with another sign. It says "CONSUME LESS CALORIES" (There is also a depiction of what I will look like when I am skinny- essentially it an hour glass with brown hair and no neck. I forgot to add in a neck- but I'd like to have one. I am sure you can all imagine it now. I'll be pretty cute cuter.) Now this is obviously a great sign...but what does it really mean? What exactly are calories...and why do I need to consume less? Because to be completely honest I don't really know. I knew it had something to do with energy, and blah blah blah. I think that was about the time I would start doodling my name in my biology notebook. So, if you were a nerd one of those people who paid attention to the rest of the lecture, you don't need to read the rest of this. But, if you were one of the cool kids like me you may want to continue on to the next paragraph.
After a little research- and I mean like a couple minute google search, I have discovered I was right- calories are something to do with energy! In fact, a calorie is a unit of energy and can be found in anything containing energy...so like, gasoline has calories too. It has a lot of calories in fact, one of the many reasons not to digest it... A calorie is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water, 1 degree Celsius. Blah blah blah. I know...you are doodling your name now, right? I'll just get down to business then, what does this mean for you, me, and The Skinny Mission?
Basically, if you consume too many calories your body saves them in the form of fat for a rainy day and if you are like me, and have had plenty of sunny days, you do not need any more "lay away"calories. I may be a packrat in my room, but I will not be a packrat in my body! So, how do I spring clean my body? Well 3,500 extra calories is stored as one pound of fat. And thus, if you want to lose weight you need to burn 3,500 calories/ pound you want to lose by either consuming less calories or by exercising. Good to know. With this information, I will be able to seize the world!
That's all the science I have for today. Oh, and above is a picture of me and an apple. This is a site that you will be seeing a lot of for the next few months. Bye!

Also, thanks "How Stuff Works" for informing me about calories.

Power Week 2010

Oh, hi! Thanks for coming back. (I am not really sure how to start posts off... so I am just going to wing it each time). It's been one post since my last confession. I feel a little guilty- I started this blog for you all to read and now I am not keeping up my end of the bargain. I am not doing so good guys- I had pasta for lunch (technically my once a week...if I don't have one the rest of the week...which I WON'T) and had a panini for dinner last night (probably equally as bad). I did eat an apple though... and ordered brown rice with my thai tonight. Still, I am not feeling so great about this mission. Who knew it would be so tough? Oh, wait...I did. I usually am very good at putting my mind to something and accomplishing it. But, for some reason I feel like cannot REALLY do this. This is coming out a little more depressing than I mean it to be. All I mean is, I am going to try much harder this week and I need you all to hold me to it. Seriously...don't let me get away with this "confession" bullshit guys. A MOMENT ON THE LIPS IS FOREVER ON THE HIPS...even if you confess it!

This week is going to be my power week. It is going to start Wednesday, January 27th and last until February 3rd. Are you ready for what is about to come? I have a feeling I'm not...if I was Nick Arrojo on "What Not to Wear" right now, I would be saying "I am very scared..." Does anyone get that reference? I hope so. I think I am going to try to make slightly obscure references in each post. Anyway...back to POWER WEEK 2010, Marisa vs Unhealthy Foods...

1. I will eat some kind of salad for lunch every day with vinaigrette. (This is kind of a cheat thing to say...since I don't like any other dressing...but whatever).

2. I will try that exercise video that I have thrown behind my dresser and next to my pile of clothes (I am sure you all know exactly where I am talking about. By the way, did I tell you that the dresser is fully broken now? Yes... the top drawer's bottom literally fell through. In fact I am not sure where the bottom is.) I will do that video twice this week.

3. In addition to the video, I will not spend the entire Sunday in bed. I will go for a long walk. Feel free to join me.

4. I will make something healthy for dinner this weekend. I will get the recipe off of some Weight Watcher's website or something. I will post this recipe and tell you if its at all appetizing.

5. I will drink a glass of water before each meal.

6. I can't believe I am saying this- no bread this week. You know what? This is my Power Week. NO BREAD. NO PASTA. NO RICE. NO EXCUSES.

That's all I think I am ready to do right now. I think these weekly goals will be good- and I am sure on February 3rd I will be so skinny you won't even be able to see me. Haha- probably not, but I bet I'll feel good. Actually I'm not done, who sets goals without rewards? NOT ME! My reward, if I successfully accomplish all of the above mini goals will be a new dress. I will take pictures of it (and me...obviously...) with my "Nothing Tastes as Good as Skinny Feels" signs that I have taped to my mirror and fridge. Wait, did I tell you guys that? I have "Nothing Tastes as Good as Skinny Feels" taped on both my long mirror and my fridge. If you have come over recently, we may have hid them...but now that it's out in the open, no more hiding them. I am letting my freak flag fly! (Another Nick Arroyo reference...hehe...not really ;) ).

So, to recap, no bread (and all those other things) equals new dress, new me!

Have a great day/night, guys. xoxox, MarisaGirl (I know you all just got that reference...)

I choose my choice

Hi- I am going to start this post with a confession. I made and ate Kraft Macaroni and Cheese today. And, you know what? I don't feel that bad about it. Honestly, I wanted to save money and had a couple of boxes in the cabinet. Who wouldn't do it? Ok..maybe someone wanting to be healthy would have made another choice. BUT I CHOOSE MY CHOICE! (...What movie is that from? I can't remember). Anyways, I also ate icecream last night...with fruit though. Oh, and split a piece of cheesecake with Nikhil yesterday too. So, that's it. That's all my confessions. I will make better choices tomorrow.

Anyways, while eating my mac and cheese, I started watching True Blood. I think I am like a year or two late on this one. Per usual. But, Nikhil told me he just started watching it this weekend- so I am on the same timeline as him. I've been needing something to watch since I watched all of Dexter Season 4 (Maybe, the best season of television, I have ever watched...ever). Maybe next time I will find something other than a television show to procrastinate with-like training for a marathon. (Maybe? It would make a great blog if I do. I'll keep you updated). Anyways, the first episode of True Blood has got me hooked. I just hope I don't start speaking in a southern accent for the next couple of days. Isn't that how it always happens? You start watching something and then automatically go into weird accents for next couple of days. Maybe, that's just me. Oh, wait...does anyone read Harry Potter in a British accent? Because I do, and I haven't found anyone else who does. That can be one of my criterion for my soul mate-they must read Harry Potter in a British accent. They other criteria thus far has been funny, a little chubby and can cook. I have yet to find this person. I will keep you updated on that as well. Ok...back to True Blood. I really like it- and plan on spending the rest of the day watching it. In fact, Nikhil says if I watch episode 2, we can watch episode 3 later tonight. Yayy!

Ok, so I hope that you all are having a wonderful day, and are keeping healthy. Maybe, you can make the choice to eat the salad with grilled chicken that I should have chosen. Also- thanks Gabrielle for the great picture. (BTW...the picture above was from a week ago, when I chose a panini and salad instead of mac and cheese. What a great week!)

Water

So, if you remember, I have been drinking more water. I've been extremely successful in doing this. However, drinking more water, means having to pee...all the time! This is not convenient in any way, shape or form. In fact, it makes me feel like an old woman. However, I guess that's how the weight leaves your body? Maybe? I suppose I am on a computer and could easily check this fact, but I'd rather just assume that's what happens to the weight. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Well, in any event, I saw "When In Rome" the other day with work. Awful/kind of wonderful movie. I'd recommend watching it when it's on TBS in a year or two but, not spending $12.50 in the theater for it. Anyways, it was one of those movies that would just not end. It had like 12 different times that it could have been the end but it just kept going. So, obviously not the best creative choice, but also, when you've been drinking water all day it's kind of painful physically as well. I was sitting there, in a packed theater, with my fruit punch (oh, yeah..I didn't tell you, I was drinking fruit punch because it was free. Whoops!)and my popcorn just dying. WHEN WOULD THIS END?! I knew drinking water all day would do this to me, but who knew it would be so awful?

Finally, the movie ends. I quickly gather my things, ready to literally run to the bathroom. And I spill all of my popcorn all over the girl in front of me. I kept apologizing and she just gave me the nastiest look of all time. Ok, lady, it's popcorn, not the frigging fruit punch, I thought. This didn't seem to matter to her, and quite frankly, I didn't care that much, so I said my quick goodbyes and ran to the bathroom. What a relief!

So, basically, the moral of this story is, if you are going to drink more water, be prepared to change your lifestyle/habits a little bit, so you don't look like a frantic crazy person throughout your day. This week, I will be more conscious of that, and maybe try not to be tempted by things like sugary fruit punch.

Mission Skinny 2010

Ok-so I am pretty sure that the title of my blog is false because I am almost 100% positive that chocolate cake with vanilla frosting tastes better that skinny feels, but as my mother says I've never been skinny so how do I really know? My mom wasn't being hard on me, the truth is I really have never have been skinny my entire life. I am no where near morbidly obese, but also not too close to healthy either. I am aware that I am being vague here but, I have not fully committed to put my weight on the internet for everyone to see. So, for now, let's just say I'm a bit chunkier than I would like.

I figure that part of my New Year's resolution should be get healthier. Also, to start a blog. So why not start a blog chronicling my skinny mission? By the way, a long term goal of mine would be to have my story/blog turned into a major motion picture that I would like to star in but, I am going to stick to one thing at a time. Anyways, the first few things I had to do get mission skinny fully underway was basically give up the things I love the most in the world. This would include: lunch dessert (my absolutely favorite part of my (old) daily diet), pasta (ok- I am not completely giving this up, I am just eating less. I would say I ate it at least one to two times daily- I have absolutely no excuse for this...I just love pasta), and just generally indulging in mass amounts of food and wine. I am not giving up wine yet- and vow I never will.

To help me along, I luckily have my own health coach living under the same roof- my roommate Gabrielle. She is keeping me on track with my pact to myself. My pact is basically various little healthy tips to aid in my overall goal of being thinner. I am going to add in new ones each week, so as to not send my body into full shock from extreme healthiness. Anyways, part of Marisa's-Pact-to-Herself-2010 is having pasta once a week. To many of you this seems like an easy task, and you probably all do it in a normal week. To me however, this is like saying I will only drink water once a week- so, we'll see how it goes. I also am going start to drink water when I think I am hungry. Apparently, a lot of the time you feel hungry you are actually thirsty. And since I have a chronic dehydration issue (I have had kidney stones, fainted and gotten tunnel vision because I was dehydrated...normal, right?) this will hopefully make a big impact and this small step will most likely make me look like Mary Kate Olsen. (False.) The next part of week one is I can only have cake/cupcakes once a month. I hear that this is supposed to make them taste even better, because separation makes the heart grow fonder or some bullshit like that. We'll see- I have feeling this is a false statement too since I'm pretty sure I can enjoy a cupcake with creamy frosting to the fullest no matter how many time a week I eat them. In any event, Gabrielle has been there helping me make sure that I complete these goals and I can proudly say have successfully completed them this week!

I even was faced with my demons (cupcakes) twice last week and did not give into temptation. I successfully sat next to (really next to) 48 different flavored cupcakes last week for 7 total hours and didn't even eat a bite. BIG SUCCESS! I knew once I took that first bite, I was absolutely done for. So, I am going to try my hardest to resist even the smallest bite of one of my absolutely favorite things on earth.

Anyways, this week I am just going to keep on mission skinny and maybe in the next post I'll figure out a way to chronicle my weight loss without revealing my actual weight...never gonna happen, but we'll see.