Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Get the Right Tools - Part 2


Part 2: All the Right Tools...

Stop... If you haven't already, please read Part 1 (see below) and hurry back.


Let's face it when it comes to burning calories, nothing comes close to Turbo Jam. In fact, I double dog dare ya to find a workout video with half the funk-factor (Funk-Factor: The less than pleasant odor resulting from profuse sweating associated with a killer T.J. workout.) But when it comes to weight loss it's more than just burning calories, but rather...burning more than you consume.

To consume fewer calories most experts will tell you to get some self-control. I'm going to tell you to get some plastic.

By consuming just an extra 100 calories per day (a second teaspoon of salad dressing, a bigger serving of cereal, a small extra glass of juice) you can easily pack on an extra 10 pounds a year. Conversly, by using the right tools and modifying habits just slightly, you can drop an extra 10 pounds a year (and that's assuming you weren't doing Turbo Jam) by simply equiping yourself with some good plastic. Details to below. Throw in some T,J, and with one hand on my hip and the other snapping a "Z"....... three words for ya.. "LOOK (*snap*) ING (*snap*) GOOD (*snap*)."

Containers, containers, containers:

America is the land of plenty. The businesses, the buildings, the boobs and the burgers..they're all bigger in the old U.S of A. No where is this concept more damaging than in the food industry. We want more for less. Super size it! Big Gulps are the new small. A small mitten size bag of popcorn used to do the trick. Now we order buckets bigger than paint cans! Newsflash...America is Fat!

It's not OUR fault that portions have grown over 60% since the 70's. But it is OUR problem. Ironically the only place I can think of where the portion sizes are appropriate for most adults is found at a 30,000 foot altatude. It's ironic only because it's the one food that you really don't want a lot of anyway! As nasty as it might be, airline food has the portions just about right.

There's only one way thing to do... Get some tools.

Rebels unite. Re-size your portions and win the war on fat! And where can you find these miracle tools? Just about any home/kitchen store will do. My personal favorite for such finds is a little place where I expect more and pay less. A little place that many of us use the french pronounciation of "Tar- Sshjay". A fabulous shop-stop where you pop in for batteries and leave 2 hours later with $300 worth of stuff you describe to your husband as "things we like totally needed." Target is the bomb, off the chain! If you live in the midwest...Meijer's Thrifty Acres is even better! You could find this stuff at Wal Mart or even your local grocery store.


1. PLASTIC CONTAINERS:
Weight loss happens so much faster when you get a handle on portion size. One of the best ways to take control of your portions, rather than accepting what the food companies have decided is an acceptable portion, is to re-package it. Never leave an open bag of food in your cupboards. That's just an invitation to have conveinent food amnesia (when you continue to forget that you've already had several cookies, but you're back for more! If you're grazing, grabbing, or accepting the portions as packaged, may I wish you the best of luck! If you're serious about being a TJ success story ...get some good plastic containers with lots of little ones (i.e. the size that only holds a cup or half cup) That's the most common portion size for each food entre. Prepare each little container with pre-portioned servings stored in the fridge and ready for grabbing. We re-define "fast food" by having these things available and pre-measured. Items featured available at Target.

2. PLASTIC BAGGIES:

Plastic baggies are essential for the Turbo Slim diet. Prepare snacks ahead of time. Keep an emergency stash in your whip (gangsta mom slang for "car"). In my center counsole are a few pre-measure bags of raw almonds and dried cranberries. I keep a baggie in my gym bag too! On Mondays I make edamame and fill small bags to serve as snacks for the next three days. How about a small baggie with drained garbanzo beans and a dash of salt? How about a small baggie with 5 to 10 Oreo double stuffed cookies? Not. (Just making sure you're still with me.) Are these like the cutest plastic bags you've ever seen? Don't they make ya just wanna run out and buy a pair of SHOX to match? A bit on the pricey side, you can get three boxes of these at Target.com for around $15.00. A fair price to pay for fashion forward baggies :) Think how much more exicting to eat carrots from one of these works of art.

3. PARTION PATROL:
My sister got all the grace and all the height. As a teen she was asked to dance for the Grand Rapids Jr. Ballet Company. Those girls weren't allowed to gain an ounce. She learned to estimate calorie content on everything from a piece of reubarb pie to a kithchen sponge. Napolean Dynamite had like nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills... Jenelle has MAD calorie counting skills. It's learned. You have to start with Calorie Counting 101. That means for about a week, maybe more... you going to need to measure and weigh things...(Oh please, like you thought I couldn't see you rolling your eyes.) It's not that big of a deal and it's really what you MUST DO IF YOU CLAIM TO BE EATING VERY WELL, EXERCISING AND NOT LOSING WEIGHT. Second newsflash of the day... weight loss has and always will be a matter of burning more calories than you consume. Pssst...pssst...over here... (whispers) "You might be underestimating your calories". So get a food scale. Good ones start at about $19.00. The one featured is less than 60 but it practically does your workouts for you. This way cool scale weighs your food, estimates your calories for you and even adds and records your total calories for the day/week for up to 4 people. It's like a scale on steriods. Too cool! This too is available at Target for around $60.00. Food scales range between $19.99 and $59.99

4. FRESH IS BEST: When it comes to fresh food there are two things that get me excited... the first is a really good paring knife. A great paring knife makes cutting fruit and vegetables fast and fun! I love me some cucumbers. Cucs with sushi, cucs with salt, cucs with non-fat ranch dressing, cucs with vinegar and splenda, cucs on my eyelids at the spa! The skins not so good, so you will have to peel, slice and dice. You need a killer knife. Ooopps... make that a great knife. I have a Cutco knife that I've had since I was a door to door salesperson for them at the age of 20 (which was like pretty much just a few years ago). I spent 7 days in training and sold 3 sets before retiring and cashing in my pension plan. I love this knife though. I mean I REALLY love this knife. I've checked. To get one, you have to go through a sales rep. I'm willing to put aside my pride and have a lesser salesperson deliver that pitch I once knew so well. However, I would love to hear from those of you who have found "THE" paring knife. Please post a reply below.

The second thing that makes the "fresh" life a little faster is the George Foreman grill. Dare I suggest he might have been the first "Chicken George"? Naaawwoooo! Say it ain't so.

Undeniably he does make a great grill that speeds up the process and decreases fat on fresh protein! I bet Rogers Poultry tastes great on the Foreman Grill. Target has about 5 different versions ranging from $19.99 to $150.99. I actually have the $19.00 version and have had it for years and years. They all work great. Just consider how many people you'll be grillin' fer.

Okay...go get those tools! More before January 1. Please check back....spread the word. 2006 is our year!

XOXOX

Chalene

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are really motiving me. I love the TJ workouts and am so ready to lose the 25 lbs I put on in 2005. I think with the tools (both TJ and the items you suggested), it will all be coming back to me. I do need to know, where do you get the awesome scale? I am using a $5.00 scale from Weight Watchers from about a hundred years ago -- It is time to update. Thank you Chalene for giving me the boost! I am ready!

KellyC said...

Okay, so all these new Chalene posts are getting me giddy!
Not to mention how many awesome tips and tricks there are . . . 2006, here I come!

Anonymous said...

Check list:
Baggies, check
plastic cont. (got to get my Tupperware out or get new plastics in smaller sizes)check
Scale for food, check
Scale for me, need new one.

Ready for 2006, check!

Happy New Year! I am celebrating the beg of the year with my kiddos dancing and having fun at home. Got to love it!

Anonymous said...

I have all the tools, my problem is just not to eat 5 of the baggies or 4 or the 1 cup portions at one time! I love my Foreman grill too! I am so hoping to see some results soon - thanks Chalene for this great motivation!!
Missle (Missy)

Anonymous said...

Chalene - I love your motivational and helpful tips! I just had to laugh over your comment about "open bags of food in your cupboard" and suggestion of an open bag of cookies! YOU obviously do not have three teenage sons who are all well over 6' tall and eat like locusts! LEFTOVERS? What are they? Open bags of food? Not for more than a few minutes! seconds? :)

psalm9567 said...

Thanks, Chalene, for you great sense of humor with this stuff!! I am a Tar-shay freak!! Love it! And I am also a Tupperware junkie! I have modular mates for my pantry, but not enough of the little ones. I will have to remedy that with next week's grocery money! :)

I am one of those whose weight hasn't dropped considerably, so I will drag out my scale again and start weighing my portion sizes. Thanks for the kick in the tuchis (behind, in Yiddish).

I love TJ!!!
Sarah

Anonymous said...

I'm looking forward to getting started Jan. 1, 2006. I need to get a few more tools: shoes, scale, and plastic containers and I will be ready. Oh yeah, groceries would help too.

I do have one question: Is it okay to subsitute frozen fruit to use in the smoothies? I live in the midwest and berries are not in season and cost way too much.

Anonymous said...

As a side note to the scale.... I went on to E-bay and entered in food scales and oh my.... look what came up???? I got mine with shipping for $36 -- it has 999 foods that you enter the code and it comes up and then you weigh it and it tells you how many calories you will be consuming. I have been looking for something like that for a long long time. Can't wait to get it on Tuesday. Okay, off to Turbo Jam -- day number one on to my journey to lose 25 lbs.

Thanks Chalene -- Just love your energy -- it is truly moving!

AmyC

Anonymous said...

I just got a chance to read your tools, and I can attest to the fact that they work!! I HAVE THAT SCALE!! And I love it, I have the GF grill and it is so cool with the removeable grill plates, cleans in a snap!! I am a BIG fan of plastic,(both the storage kind,and the "charge it kind" :) )The only thing I do not have is the cool strage baggie, Gotta get me some a dos...

Anonymous said...

Dear Chalene,
I saw that you removed the 'late' blog and if it was because of something I said in my reply: I am so sorry if I offended you. Please know that I was referring to myself when talking about 'those' character traits. I would never imply that toward you.
Anyone who provides so much service to others is a saint.
And part of it, was my attempt at humor. Again, I am so sorry! Sometimes I'm like Marie on 'Everybody loves Raymond'. What I try to say out of 'love' is actually hurtful.
In the future, I'll read and keep the big yapper shut.
onemarbleleft

Anonymous said...

you can get cutco knives on line now....no salesmen, just you and your computer...love it!

Anonymous said...

Chalene,
I have the Cutco pairing knife and LUV it too! I have to say that it is tied for my affections with the Chef's knife though! I just started TJ and am motivated by you and yoursense of humor! Thanx!
Tammy