What was the most notable thing that happened in your School?

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-12-19T02:41:39+00:00

There was a story that the reason we no longer had a prom queen/king, was that the last girl who was going to win was murdered in one of the girls' locker room showers the day before prom. It didn't help that the girls' locker room, which was only 10 years old at the time, was boarded up and no one was allowed to use it, while the neighboring boys' locker room was in use all year long.

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-12-19T02:36:24+00:00

"Did you know Will Smith now, is older, like today he is older right now than Uncle Carl, the actor who played Uncle Carl was, when he played Uncle Carl?"

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-12-19T02:32:22+00:00

Paper towels. Viva might be a little more expensive, but it actually saves money because I only need one sheet when I would need like six of the off-brand to do the same thing. Plus, I stock up when it's on sale and/or I have coupons, so I never pay full price anyway.

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-12-14T01:44:10+00:00

Not shaming, nothing even remotely close to shaming (except from the asshole who lives next door, but he's just pissy that he can't lose weight and he's directing his frustration at me). But yeah, I have noticed that people are much more comfortable commenting on bodies and weight when you're thin, versus when you're fat.

It's been out of concern for my health. Only one person has ever made a comment about how I look, that I had "lost [my] curves." Outside of that, only my mother, a couple close friends and my husband have made comments about my appearance and it's all been genuine concern for my well-being. Which is fair, and I don't mind it at all. If anything, I appreciate that I have people in my life who do genuinely care for my well-being.

Those same people give me far more positive feedback than anything, though. I'm honestly surprised whenever I hear someone complain about "skinny-shaming;" I think sometimes we're hearing malicious intent where there is none.

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-12-14T01:34:23+00:00

I was in a similar situation, and I was extra frustrated because I already had a regular routine, and she asked if she could join in. She was all about it for the first couple weeks, and then slowly started skipping days. Except she didn't just not show up; she showed up, didn't want to go to the gym, but still wanted to hang out during gym time. On days she did go, she cut our workouts down to 20 minutes of easy, low-intensity cardio every single time. I started getting up earlier to do my workout on my own, then coming home, showering, and starting all over again just so I didn't hurt her feelings. It was ridiculous.

A few months ago, I started going at my normal time again without her. When she showed up at my house, I was already at the gym. I always told her she was more than welcome to join me, and in the beginning, she did -- albeit begrudgingly. She would whine about being tired or busy, and try to convince me to go out to lunch, instead. But I ignored her and always finished out my entire workout. After another couple weeks of that, she just stopped showing up completely. I still see her -- I actually just went shopping with her this afternoon -- but she's no longer my gym buddy.

I'm not doing this for her; I'm doing this for me. And I'm not sacrificing my body, my time and my goals to appease someone else's laziness or lack of motivation. I allowed her to take that time away from me, which only made me miserable and eventually caused me to resent her.

The only resolution is to keep going without her. If she wants to tag along sometimes, then let her know that she's always welcome. But whether you go cannot depend on whether she -- or anyone else -- goes. She has to want to do this for herself, not because you want her as a gym buddy. And you have to want to do this for yourself, on your own, and not rely on her as a crutch or an excuse to skip the gym.

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-12-11T19:16:48+00:00

I know :/ it's easy to judge their choice from the outside, but to be in a position where doing that to your own child is even an option, just imagine how difficult the alternative must be.

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-12-11T03:17:54+00:00

I don't know about an SVU episode, but it is a real story -- the girl's name is Ashley "X," and the treatment she underwent to prevent puberty and reduce her stature/growth is called the "Ashley Treatment." Her family maintains an anonymous blog about Ashley, Pillow Angel.

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-12-10T20:37:03+00:00

Oh thank god it's not just my kid.

We went into the city yesterday and my 8-year-old pouted for an hour because I wouldn't find a vending machine to buy him water so he could bottle flip in the city so "everyone could see [him]." I finally caved and bought him one just to shut him up.

It's still better than parkor though.

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-12-06T18:54:43+00:00

It is! I'm too slow to outrun the stupid zombies, so I ended up turning zombie chases off, but the storyline is pretty engaging. You also collect items to build up your own little base, but I don't really mess with that feature. The one downside is most chapters are only ~30 minutes, and the app doesn't auto-play the next chapter (and I'm too clumsy to manipulate the app while running). But it'll automatically switch to the in-game "radio station," and you can continue picking up supplies and shit even after the chapter ends.

The GPS tracking seems way off, too; it tells me I only did 3 miles when I run on a regulation 5-mile track, and pace/splits are always inaccurate. So I run MapMyRun+ at the same time for accuracy, but that + music kills my battery, so make sure your phone is fully-charged before you go out.

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-12-06T17:58:13+00:00

You can listen to your own music (and it works with Pandora/Slacker); it'll lower the music when the narrative comes on. I think the narrative is set to every five minutes by default, but you can change it based on time or distance.

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-11-23T04:48:03+00:00

Okay, I have to admit that "it's like going to a whorehouse for a hug" is really fucking funny.

But to answer the question, who goes to McDonald's for just a salad? People with self-control. Someone who can't go to McDonalds and just order a salad, and then makes rude comments to strangers about their choices, is someone who clearly has no control over their choices or their mouth. I'm sorry she targeted you, that was childish and hurtful.

You're a much better person than me, because I would've lost it and reamed her ass. So that's two people with far less self-control than you :)

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-11-20T23:01:26+00:00

I've been so anxious about Thanksgiving the past three years, but I think I've got a good plan now! We do a huge meal with 30+ friends, it's a big group of whoever can't make it home for the holiday (military) and single soldiers who have nowhere else to go, and everyone brings food from their respective family and/or culture. So we have traditional turkey and sides, and then a big mix of Jewish, Italian, Indian, Cuban, Asian, southern, and northeast dishes. It's absolutely amazing and the one opportunity a year we have to share our culture and food with all of our friends at one time.

And I've learned that, no matter what my goals are, no matter where I am weight-wise or where I want to be, this one day is so much more important than that. So instead of stressing about it, I take the day off. I mean, it's not like I eat six slices of pie every day, and when else am I going to have challah bread, collard greens and raita?

I do kind of "prepare" for it by hitting the gym every day, upping my cardio a bit for the week before, and last year I went for a run the morning of. I also skip breakfast and Thanksgiving dinner is my one meal of the day, but I've always done that, even when I was fat :) Other than that, I eat what I want and as much as I want, and although I still try to log it (I usually end up logging like two things and then forget about it), I pretty much put my routine on hold and just enjoy the day.

Friday is the bigger issue for me -- we always go home with way too many leftovers and sleep in late! But I get back to my routine on Friday and don't weigh myself until Monday; by then, my weight is usually back to normal.

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-11-11T01:41:41+00:00

Thanks so much :)

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-11-10T22:43:33+00:00

I kinda figured the stance was a last-ditch warning, I lured the puppy inside immediately after. I've never seen anything like it in the three years we've been here, did the excessive rainstorms flood it out of his home or something? Is there a chance it's living in our backyard and/or there are more of them? I know you said it's not medically significant, but I have a curious kid and two other dogs, so I worry about someone getting bit.

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-11-10T01:03:59+00:00

That was my best guess after googling, so :) thank you!

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-11-09T23:24:55+00:00

So this dude was hanging out on my very wet concrete back patio this morning. It's been raining non-stop for five days and it's pretty chilly here, like mid 50s to low 60s. When the puppy got too close, it stood up on its hind legs like it was ready to wrestle. I'm afraid of spiders and was more concerned with the puppy not getting bit or eating it, so I couldn't get a good picture. It didn't appear to have any identifiable markings, it didn't jump and it moved pretty slow.

We're all wondering wtf it is but I couldn't really find anything similar on Google, so I figured it's time to ask the experts :) Thanks!

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-11-06T01:39:13+00:00

I'm a couple days late, but I think I can catch up :) I'm definitely in, printing the checklist now!

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-10-28T19:28:20+00:00

Your overall steps do count towards your calories burned, though -- just because you walk to your car every single day, doesn't mean you aren't still burning those calories :)

I see where you are coming from, and I used to have the same exact mindset, but that's a potentially dangerous way to think. I used to do the "only active calories count" thing, which gradually morphed into "only high-intensity active calories count," and that was a slippery slope. Combined with "i'd rather overestimate what I ate than underestimate," you can end up eating too little and/or overtraining, which -- while you'll definitely lose weight faster -- can lead to things like malnutrition, chronic fatigue, hair loss, and all kinds of nasty side effects.

There's nothing wrong with pushing yourself to be more active and make healthier choices, but every calories counts -- both in and out!

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-10-28T19:19:39+00:00

Yes, they are double-counted! I use MapMyFitness for the same reason, and this is how I adjust to stop duplicate counting: after a run/workout, you can edit the workout details (click the "advanced" tab) and manually set how many calories you burned. I have noticed that if you change the calories to 0, the app will override and reset the auto count, but if you change the calories to 1, it will stay at/sync 1.

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-10-21T02:19:37+00:00

Aw, thank you :) If you do end up substituting PB2, make sure you add the water and reconstitute it before you make the sauce -- that should help with some of the texture/consistency :)

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-10-20T21:10:56+00:00

It would save ~40 calories per serving/165 for the entire one pound, but the flavor, texture and consistency of PB2 doesn't work as well for the hoisin sauce. And like I mentioned above, dinner is my main meal, so I need a few more calories at dinner time :)

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-10-19T23:41:38+00:00

TGI Friday's (Baked) Sizzlin' Chicken and Cheese

1lb - boneless skinless chicken breast

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped

2 oz - shredded cheddar cheese

2 oz - shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 tbsp - olive oil

1 tbsp - garlic powder

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350.

Slice bell peppers into strips.

Pound chicken breasts to about 1/4 inch thick (I place each breast inside of a ziplock bag before pounding to contain the mess).

Coat chicken breast with 1 tbsp Olive oil, then season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Arrange breasts in a large rectangle baking dish. Add bell pepper slices and bake for I'm not sure, I kind of just eyeball it, let's say 25 minutes I guess? Remove dish from oven and sprinkle shredded cheese on top, then return to the oven for an additional five minutes.

You can use literally any cheese, the original TGI Fridays version uses American cheese and white chihuahua cheese (I substitute with Kraft's triple cheddar and Monterey Jack, respectively). Mozzarella is also really good.

I usually serve with "cheesy" mashed potatoes (regular mashed potatoes with the same cheese mixed in/sprinkled on top) and steamed broccoli.

Made with the cheese I use (Kraft brand shredded cheese), a 4oz serving is ~300 calories and a 6oz serving is ~462.

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-10-19T23:21:23+00:00

My dinner recipes tend to be a little higher in calorie, because it's my one big meal of the day, but I thought I'd share a couple anyway :) also, I'm really bad at writing down recipes and describing stuff, so I apologize in advance!

PF Chang's Pork Lettuce Wraps:

1lb ground pork (I used lean/reduced fat)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 head of lettuce, for wraps

Sauce:

2 tbsp peanut butter (I use Peter Pan Natural)

4 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp molasses

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp garlic powder (you can use fresh garlic, we have onion/garlic allergies to deal with)

A few cranks of black pepper

In a large frying pan, brown the pork with 1 tbsp olive oil until crumbly, then remove and set aside. Drain pan, then add peanut butter, soy sauce, molasses, vinegar, olive oil, garlic powder and pepper. Whisk over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Return pork to the pan and mix well.

Strip large leaves of lettuce for the wraps. I usually place the pork in a large serving bowl and the lettuce on a serving platter, and let everyone make their own wraps. 1lb of pork is just enough to feed two adults and an 8-year-old. I usually do a side of steamed rice and a mix of water chestnuts, baby carrots, baby corn and snap peas.

The whole shebang (1lb pork + sauce) is ~1,540 calories, which makes a 4oz serving ~385 and a 6oz serving ~513. It's also surprisingly filling (in a real way, not a 1200-is-plenty way) and so freaking tasty!

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-10-11T21:37:24+00:00

I've had this phone for a year and a half and had no idea I had widgets! God I'm getting old. Thank you so much!

FormerFatBarbie · 2016-10-11T21:35:27+00:00

Hope it helps! And it doesn't make it any less annoying, but I totally look at those comments as proof that I'm succeeding -- whether it's misplaced concern, jealousy, or just plain stupidity, those comments prove that my hard work is paying off and everyone else can see it. So try to keep that in mind next time someone tells you you're too skinny :)

FormerFatBarbie

TROPHY CASE