Tag: diet

Freschetta Simply Inspired Pizza

On By Michel McDonaldIn AdLeave a comment

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of FRESCHETTA® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Freschetta Pizza Simply Inspired - Chicken Bianco

Pizza has been one of my favorite foods since I was a kid.  There are so many toppings to choose from when you are buying for delivery but it doesn’t seem like the frozen section has too many topping combinations.  FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ thin crust pizza comes in 8 distinctive varieties that are all made from fresh ingredients like roasted bell peppers, fresh tomatoes, all real cheese and a thin crust which is better for your diet.

Speaking of diets, when I am dieting, it’s best to buy a pizza with a thinner crust because it has less calories.  Well, these Simply Inspired pizzas from Freschetta are really low cal.  Check it out, this Chicken Bianco pizza is only 360 calories for 1/3rd of the pizza.  That’s so great because normally they say 1 slice is 1 serving.  1/3rd of the pizza is what, 3 slices?  So you’re getting 3x the pizza!

I have bought the regular Freschetta rising crust pizzas and I love them.  The quality and taste of the ingredients is what makes Freschetta the better pizza.  And wouldn’t you know it, they are green, no not the colors of the ingredients, the packaging.  The Fresch-Taste seal locks in the vibrant flavors of the pizza and it uses 30% less packaging.

Better get the Chicken Bianco and Tuscan Farmhouse soon because it’s not going to be around for very long.  Trust me, they are really good.  You won’t want to miss out on them.  My opinion is that Freschetta is the superior frozen pizza that you and your family will love without any of the guilt.

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Why Can’t I Lose Weight?

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, Health2 Comments

I don’t understand why I’m not able to lose weight.  I have changed my diet completely, I have basically done a 180° and yet I still can’t lose weight.

I stopped drinking soda, coffee and tea and I only drink water but that didn’t make any difference because I’m still gaining.  I stopped making pasta meals and started eating more veggies and sometimes only eat veggies and yet that hasn’t made any difference because I’m still gaining.

I haven’t started exercising though because I’m in too much pain.  If I had a back wheel for my bicycle then I would be able to ride my bike, although it has a weight limit of 250lbs and I’m 258 now so I would probably have to wait a bit to do that.  I tried walking but I get back pain after like 5 minutes then I have to sit down.  I have degenerative disc disease in my spine which makes it very difficult to do anything really.

I am seeing the doctor this week on Thursday and I know he’s going to bitch at me for not losing weight again this month.  But nobody can say I haven’t tried because I have made the change to my diet.  Until I can get an easier way to exercise, I’m kinda stuck.

DO NOT CALL!

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

National Do Not Call Registry

Telephone numbers placed on the National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, which became law in February 2008. Read more about it at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/04/dncfyi.shtm.”

I’m very curious about this because despite my being on the Do Not Call registry since 2007 when they first announced it, I still get calls.

Recently it has been calls from a telemarketer trying to sell us diabetic supplies. First they ask for me by name then they ask how many people in the house are diabetic. The first time I talked to them I said there are 2 people who are in the house who are both taking pills to control their diabetes with diet and exercise and we don’t need any diabetic supplies. The guy I spoke to was satisfied with not getting a sale and hung up. But for some reason didn’t take me off of their list like I asked him to.

The phone number that called was 682-227-6805 and the caller ID said the name was “Texas” but now I’m getting calls from 302-752-1422 where it says Unknown Name. The last time that “Texas” called us was on Sunday 12/12/2010 at 7:36pm. First of all, that’s so not cool to call on a Sunday. Second of all, they have called us for months, sometimes as late as 10 or 11pm.

The other phone number I think we’ve gotten twice already. Darrin chewed them out on the phone, I think last night. It’s his day off, he doesn’t want to get these calls on his day off.

Ok so I Googled the phone number and it shows me this website 800notes.com where you can look up a phone number and you can read what other people had to say about this phone number calling you. The 2nd phone number (302-752-1422) has 17 pages of people complaining about that phone number (see link).

Well, besides complaining about these phone numbers on the 800notes.com website and in here, I will file a complaint with the FCC website. I already went there and started filling out the form but they want to know the last 3 times they called. I can only give them one time because I didn’t log their calls. So in order for me to know this information to give a proper complaint, I’m going to have to type out the date and time they call until I have 3 or 4 times to complain about. Not just on the 302 number but the Texas one too.

It’s already a hassle having them call me, now I gotta log every time they call? Sheesh! I shouldn’t have to do this, you know? I shouldn’t be getting these calls in the first place if I’m on the do not frigging call list! But I will do it because it is my duty to let the FCC know they are harassing people with their constant phone calls.

Another Diet

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, Exercise, Food, HealthLeave a comment

I went to the doctor’s office yesterday for my regular visit and found out how much weight I have gained. Over 20lbs.

Here’s the story for those who aren’t familiar. I was diagnosed with diabetes earlier this year when I weighed 252lbs. I went on a diet and went down to 215lbs.

Our diet wasn’t very inventive but it was good enough for me since it had protein, grains and vegetables. I had cut out all breads from our diets (mine and Chips) and my diet gave me so much energy that I was always cleaning.

One night Darrin said to me that he didn’t want to eat this anymore, you’re working too hard and it makes me feel bad. Well, I had lost 37lbs and by telling me that, he discouraged me. He started asking for pasta and for other things and next thing you know, he’s buying cookies and donuts.

I started gaining weight again and before I knew it I was losing all of my energy and becoming lazy again. Now, I’m 239 according to the doctor’s office. The doctor said 20lbs but that’s according to where it says 218 in my chart.

What happened was, I was 218 then went to the doctors then lost more weight and before my next visit I had already gone back up to 218 because of Darrin not wanting to continue the diet. Then I just kept gaining more and more weight.

So now that he has a job, he can’t tell me what I can make for him for dinner or to not clean and I’m going to tell him flat-out that he needs to just let me do what I’m gonna do to help us lose weight. I can’t keep up with this yo-yo dieting. I have to lose this weight.

I’ve already started cooking vegetables for dinner again so when Darrin comes home from work he has a balanced dinner to eat before he collapses on the couch for the evening. I’m going to get off my M&M’s binge and stop eating sugar and breads altogether again. I can do this, I know I can.

I have a feeling I will be hosting Thanksgiving this year which means I gotta get this house clean lol. In order to do that, I need to eat balanced meals to give me the energy. I just drank a Red Bull to give me the energy to mop the kitchen floor which takes all of about 10 minutes to do lol.

You know your energy levels are at 0 when you can’t even do the simplest chores such as mopping the floor. I seriously don’t know how I cleaned the bathroom and living room last week.

If I am hosting Thanksgiving this year then I have a lot of work to do to get this house up to snuff. I’m sure I can do it all by myself… UGH! I’m gonna need a LOT of Red Bull. I wish I had the money to hire a housekeeper a couple of days before they arrive to make damn sure this house is spic n span.

End of Plateau?

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, Exercise, FoodLeave a comment

I’m finally losing weight again. I wonder if this is the end of my plateau or not. In order to give you a glimpse of why I plateaued I have to tell you this.

A few weeks ago I was doing great. I was losing 3-5lbs a week and I was happy. Every morning I would wake up and would be giddy after weighing myself. Ok giddy is a strong term, I was happy.

Unfortunately, both Darrin and I were sick of my menu. It was the same thing every day for lunch and dinner. 4oz of chicken (boneless/skinless) 1/2 cup brown rice and 1 cup of vegetables. After a few months anyone would get sick of that twice a day.

I said ok we can cool it with that for lunch. I started buying bread again which was my big no-no but the bread I was buying was only 50 calories and it was 100% whole wheat. I was also buying very low-calorie lunch meat but I don’t think I can blame that as the cause.

I was also starting to eat more junk food again. Darrin was tired of eating healthy all freaking day and so he started sneaking cookies into the house, Chips Ahoy to be exact. It has his name in the brand, what’d you expect?

So I caught wind of the cookies because he left the boxes all over the coffee table and I was bound to see them. Then he started going to Taco Bell and buying other things and I was eating them too because I am so sick of this diet.

Let me clarify that, I’m sick of this “new lifestyle change” lol. I’m not allowed to call it a diet because diets don’t work but a lifestyle change will if you stick with it.

In the last week or so we haven’t been eating so much bad stuff because we’re both broke so we have to save what money we have left on actual food instead of junk and now that I’m not eating as much crap anymore I’ve started losing weight again.

I think I was stuck at 222-224 but yesterday I weighed in at 219 and this morning it was 218 so I’m very happy to see those numbers dropping.  Also a pair of shorts that I haven’t been able to wear in years finally fit me but now they are getting so loose, too loose in fact.  I’m going to have to stop wearing them again which sucks because they are good shorts.

I’m hoping that those cravings will start to go away now that I’ve finally tasted the bad foods again. Unfortunately when you eat bad foods they taste too good to stop eating but we will see how it works out for me. I really want to get into the 2 teens and out of the 2 twenties you know?

Maybe when I’m 215 I will start to feel like I’m getting somewhere.  In reality I should be 215 by now if it hadn’t been for that plateau.  I should be 200 by October 12th so if I’m going to be there by then I have a lot of work to do and I need to start eating better again.

And by the way, the Nook was supposed to be my reward for going down to 200lbs and I’mplanning on buying it sooner for some reason so my reward system isn’t working for me at all.  I think if it were a sponsor who were rewarding me I would take it more seriously and maybe that’s why I’m plateauing because I’m offering myself rewards.  A reward for losing weightshouldn’t be a thing but more a feeling.  Nah screw that, I want devices.

We Cheated with Taco Bell

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, HealthLeave a comment

When I was a teenager we used to go to Taco Bell and we would have about 2 or 3 tacos each and we never gained any weight.  Why?  Because we were fit already and we were athletic so we could eat all the tacos we wanted as long as we remained active.  Although, even back then we didn’t go ALL the time, we went once in a while.

Taco Bell was never my downfall.  I don’t see Taco Bell as being the cause for my weight gain because during the time it took me to get fat Taco Bell was never on the menu.  Every once in a while it was but it is not what made me fat and I can’t say it contributed to it either.  Actually fast food was never what made me fat.  It was always what I bought from the grocery store and made at home.

In the 10 weeks that I’ve been on this diet we have had a no fast food policy.  Although, we don’t regularly go to fast food restaurants anyway, we just figured that if we never went at all then we would be ok.  I would say that in a year we would probably have maybe 4 trips to a fast food restaurant.  So it’s not like I’m depriving myself of something that I never have.

Today I was thinking about Taco Bells new fresco menu on the approved SparkPeople list for fast food restaurants.  I looked at the calories for the fresco soft taco and it was basically the same as a regular soft taco.  Well, the Fresco soft taco is 180 calories, the regular soft taco is 200 calories.  It doesn’t matter if it’s beef or chicken, it’s the same amount of calories.  I didn’t really want the fresco because the salsa they put on it has onions which I cannot stand.  So, I chose those extra 20 calories each.  I had 2 soft tacos for 400 calories and I don’t regret it at all.  And if you think about it, that’s only 40 calories more than if I chose fresco.

The reason I don’t regret eating 400 calories in 1 sitting is because it’s today only.  I’m not going to have Taco Bell again for maybe another 6 months or maybe longer.  I can’t say when we will have it again but I do know that it won’t be any time soon.

If you deprive yourself of things that you like to eat then one day you will end up bingeing on it.  So, it’s good to eat the things you like every so often.

I’ve lost 31lbs so far and believe me, I don’t plan to gain it all back so by eating taco bell tonight and getting the craving over now will make sure that my weight loss continues.

You Don’t Get Paid To Recycle Bottles? Whaaat?

On By Michel McDonaldIn Green, RecycleLeave a comment

I am talking to a friend that I have known for many cycles.  We’ve been online buds since 1997 when I first got online and was using AOSmell going into the Astronet Chatrooms.

We are talking about recycling.  I was telling her about how much I get paid here in Bakersfield, CA for recycling cans as opposed to how much I get paid to recycle 2 liter bottles.  She lives in St. Louis, Missouri and she informs me that she gets money for recycling the cans but they don’t allow them to profit off of 2 liter bottles yet they charge her .05¢ on top of the regular cost to buy a 2 liter bottle.

This is just another example of how “the man” is trying to screw you out of your hard earned money.

This is what I asked her:

Mike:
ok just so I get my facts straight…

you can recycle 2 liter bottles but they don’t allow you to make any money? yet they allow you to make money from recycling cans correct?

and they make you pay for the blue recycling cans and make you recycle?

Susan:”
right you don’t get money from any plastics at all you can get money for cans it is like 30 cents a pound for cans but nothing for any plastics we have to have them recycled and picked up by the contracted trash company for the city. some cities don’t even get a choice

Are you listening America?  They don’t even give you a choice in some cities.  They charge you .05¢ for the bottles yet they don’t give it back to you.  That’s what the point of the California Redemption Value (CRV) is, that’s why they charge us the .05¢, so you will recycle it, so you may get your change back.

I was at the grocery store yesterday where I bought a 12 pack of diet Dr. Chill (a new albertson’s generic brand lol) and it was on sale for $2.67 which was the only reason I bought it in the first place then the total was over $3 and I was like what?  I thought it was $2.67 and she said CRV and she pointed on the screen that it shows .60¢ CRV charge.  That’s .05¢ per can.  Yeah, you are damned right I’m recycling that shit.

WiFi Scale Tells The World How Fat You Are

On By Michel McDonaldIn TechLeave a comment

WiFi scale notifies the internet of your lapsed diet – source Dvice.com

wifiscaleJust imagine that you have this in your bathroom.  You stand on the scale and all of a sudden the whole world knows just how fat you really are lol.

Through wi-fi this scale will post your weight and body fat percentage to the internet or if you have an iPhone it will transmit it through wi-fi to a iPhone app.

Why in the world would anyone want to do that?  I mean sure if you are skinny like 150lbs or lighter and you are constantly working out and keeping yourself nice and thin then I could understand wanting to brag about how skinny you are but not me.  If this could transmit the info to SparkPeople then fine but it wouldn’t do me that much good to do that because when I do my weekly weigh in’s at the SparkPeople website I also have to measure my waist, hips and neck too.  As far as I know this isn’t that capable.

So, no thanks lol.  I think I’ll pass.

Give Yourself Liposuction At Home

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, Doctor, Exercise, Humor, Products I LikeLeave a comment

Wow, now you can buy a product that you can use on YOURSELF so you can give YOURSELF liposuction.  What could go wrong?

Laser Liposuction System | Cellulite Treatment | Slimray Lipo Laser System | Fat Loss – UNLINKED

I was on Facebook and saw this ad for this.  It says it’s a risk free trial so I guess if you don’t lose any weight from it you can just send it back and get a full refund.  By the way it only costs $379.95 plus shipping, not sure about any taxes.

What it does according to their website is it melts the fat cells and the more you use it the more fat cells will melt.  You feel it right away and you can lose inches of fat every week that you use it.

But with all these things on the market are you willing to drop almost $400 on yet another gadget?  Maybe if I had $400 to spare then yeah I might but I don’t.  So I guess diet and exercise are going to have to do for now.  But it does look neat though, I mean, well the thought of being able to do that.

Edit: It appears that this website is gone for good.  Perhaps they didn’t make the money they wanted for their product so they stopped selling it online.  Who knows for sure.

Hunger Pangs

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, FoodLeave a comment

Yesterday and today were Chips days off so I didn’t ride the bike the entire weekend.  I thought my body was getting used to the new diet or the new portions, in fact it was doing pretty good.  So I was a little confused today when I had my slim fast shake at 11:45am, I was really getting hungry.  But then at 1:45pm the hunger pangs came back with a vengeance.

For the last couple of weeks that I’ve been on the slim fast and measuring my portions my hunger pangs haven’t been bothering me so I don’t know why today.

I decided that I couldn’t wait until 6pm to eat so I just ate an energy bar, a Tiger’s Milk bar.  But then Darrin said hey let’s go to the store and get some steak for dinner to BBQ.  So we went and even got some salad stuff and a can of beans because what’s a BBQ without beans and salad?

Unfortunately he couldn’t wait for 6pm since he didn’t even eat any lunch so we ate at 3pm lol.  Which was ok for my stomach I guess but then when 6pm came around I started getting hungry again grrrr.  And now, it’s just turning 11pm and guess what?

Well, I gotta take an ambien anyway to get me to sleep, I can’t sleep without it because the BiPap mask keeps me awake so I gotta take a pill to be able to fall asleep with that thing.  The Ambien doesn’t really work without food so I’ll eat a banana, that should work.

I’m out of cereal so tomorrow morning I’m going to just have a slim fast shake.  I wanted to limit myself to 1 shake per day or if I had a very light dinner then just add the shake.  If you haven’t noticed, Slim Fast is expensive lol.  So that’s ok, I can actually have a shake for breakfast and then later tomorrow buy some more Raisin Bran cereal for breakfast the next day.