Dear Shell,
Time for another excerpt, even though it's only been a couple days. At my region's kick-off party last Friday, we all walked around with papers on our back for others to write plot ideas on to help each writer out when they hit a snag. I decided that the one idea just couldn't wait until i hit a snag, i needed to use it and work it in earlier.
Excerpt from "Hide Me (Hideaway Inn)":
Back to being her usual whirlwind of energy, Marie burst through the office door already talking up a storm without knowing for sure if Amanda was in yet or not. Several of her words penetrated the sleep fog that Amanda was in. Words like: Slime, creepy, strange, snails, unnatural.
Amanda sat up, rubbing her eyes. She said groggily, “Slow down. What or who is arriving? And what are they bringing?”
Marie took a deep breath then quickly repeated what she had been saying when she had come in to the office, “The were- snails are coming. They commissioned a miniature replica of the inn, identical to the Hideaway, down to the furniture. Although, I do not know if they know about the piano. Hm. I wonder if they will add that. Anyway, they said the Hunters or something like that are after them. They want to come to the Hideaway for sanctuary.”
“The Hunters respect our laws at the Hideaway. They hate it, but they respect it. They know we have the blessing of the Gods, and that all the magical community comes here to be safe.” Amanda was starting to realize just how serious things were getting outside of the safety of the inn. She wondered if maybe the notes were warnings from a Hunter, maybe it really did go back to Arabelle.
“What is with the miniature version of the inn though? That is just creepy.”
Amanda shook her head, trying to hold back the laughter. “They are were- snails. That means they are small creatures. I suspect the miniature version of the inn will be where they will spend most of their time, so they avoid being stepped on by other guests. I will need to find a safe spot for them to put the miniature where it will not disturb the other guests, and the were- snails will not be disturbed either.”
“I still say it is unnatural, Amanda. Were- snails? That is just, odd.” Marie said.
“You have been a part of the magical community for how long, and you still find things unnatural?” Amanda gave in to the laughter.
“I do not find most things unnatural. I take it all in stride. But seriously, snails?” Marie shuddered.
Amanda crossed over to her closet to see if she had any spare clothes stored there. Her voice was slightly muffled as she spoke from inside the closet, “You would be surprised just how much magic those little creatures contain. It is good that they are not our size, they would be too powerful, unstoppable.”
Marie moved to the office door and called back into the room, “Still. It is snails.” She shut the door behind her as she left.
Cleaning up the slime trails from the lobby floor,
Shell
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
NaNo Time Again
Dear Shell,
It's that time again. November has shown up on the calendar again and writers around the world are slaving away over their keyboards, fighting the clock to hit 50,000 words or more by midnight on November 30th.
Like I did last year, I plan on sharing excerpts from the novel I am working on this year.
Hide Me (Hideaway Inn)
Three beautiful women stood in the extravagant foyer of the Hideaway Inn. Amanda Cameron, owner and manager of the inn, stood with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. “I measured. I swear I measured it. The piano should have fit between the fireplace and the dining room entrance.”
“Did you measure before or after you upgraded from the vertical piano to the baby grand?” Brynn, the middle sister, tapped the measuring tape against her arm.
“I –oh shut up.” Amanda stalked away from her sisters, cut around the corner of the oak front desk and slammed into her office. The sound of the door hitting the door jamb resonated through the lobby.
Brynn and Diana looked at each other and grinned identical grins. “She's so easy to rile up.” Diana waved her hand in the direction of the baby grand piano and they watched the piano shrink back down to the correct size.
“You know she's going to blame me for this.” Brynn mentioned to her baby sister. She glanced toward the office door and laughed. “Not like I wouldn't have done it if you hadn't beaten me to it.”
Hiding out at the laptop for the next 27 days,
Shell
It's that time again. November has shown up on the calendar again and writers around the world are slaving away over their keyboards, fighting the clock to hit 50,000 words or more by midnight on November 30th.
Like I did last year, I plan on sharing excerpts from the novel I am working on this year.
Hide Me (Hideaway Inn)
Three beautiful women stood in the extravagant foyer of the Hideaway Inn. Amanda Cameron, owner and manager of the inn, stood with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. “I measured. I swear I measured it. The piano should have fit between the fireplace and the dining room entrance.”
“Did you measure before or after you upgraded from the vertical piano to the baby grand?” Brynn, the middle sister, tapped the measuring tape against her arm.
“I –oh shut up.” Amanda stalked away from her sisters, cut around the corner of the oak front desk and slammed into her office. The sound of the door hitting the door jamb resonated through the lobby.
Brynn and Diana looked at each other and grinned identical grins. “She's so easy to rile up.” Diana waved her hand in the direction of the baby grand piano and they watched the piano shrink back down to the correct size.
“You know she's going to blame me for this.” Brynn mentioned to her baby sister. She glanced toward the office door and laughed. “Not like I wouldn't have done it if you hadn't beaten me to it.”
Hiding out at the laptop for the next 27 days,
Shell
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Missed Contest Entry
Dear Shell,
Well, I had planned on entering a writing contest this month. I read the prompt, thought to myself, this one looks fun, and I sat down and wrote. I was getting ready to submit my work when I received the call to set up a job interview. Wham, the contest flew right out of my head as I started preparing myself for the interview.
Since I missed the deadline for the contest, I am now free to post it here on my blog for all of you to read. It might be good, it might be bad, but it's written!
They'll Never Find It
I hope you enjoyed this short short story, or at least were able to struggle through to the end!
Waiting patiently for the next contest,
Shell
Well, I had planned on entering a writing contest this month. I read the prompt, thought to myself, this one looks fun, and I sat down and wrote. I was getting ready to submit my work when I received the call to set up a job interview. Wham, the contest flew right out of my head as I started preparing myself for the interview.
Since I missed the deadline for the contest, I am now free to post it here on my blog for all of you to read. It might be good, it might be bad, but it's written!
They'll Never Find It
Monday March 2nd
“Don’t worry, they’ll never find the body.”
“I don’t know John, it seems risky.” I bit my lip as I studied John’s hand-drawn map.
“You want to be free don’t you? Michael doesn’t treat you right. You thought he had only a few years left to live when you married him. It’s been almost fifteen years! I’m tired of waiting, tired of hiding.” John paced the room.
I looked away from his gorgeous blue eyes. It was true, when I married Michael, I thought he had only a few more years to live. The cancer had eaten away at his body leaving him near death many times. Thanks to an experimental treatment, my ailing husband had been cured. John, my love since high school, had been waiting patiently on the side, waiting for Michael to die and leave me rich and free to marry him.
“What if something goes wrong?”
“It won’t. Look, it can’t be simpler. You’ll convince Michael to take a boat tour around the islands. You’ll make the arrangements, hire me and my crew. When we get to the south end of Anita Island, the boys and I will take care of Michael. The logs will show you came alone.” John paused and tapped the table. “When you get home, wait until late at night and call the cops, report him missing, he never came home, no evidence he had been home at all while you were on vacation, etcetera. Enough time passes, they declare him dead, you get the money.”
It sounded simple. But there’s always a catch, something that could go wrong. “How do you know the crew won’t talk?” I had to ask.
“I pay them well. And I have blackmail against all of them. They won’t cross me.”
“Okay. Okay, let’s do it.”
Thursday March 5th
It was difficult, but I think I hid my nervousness well over the next few days. It helped that Michael was away on business so I didn’t have to face him. He was home now.
“Ready for our trip?” Michael wrapped his frail arms around me.
“Packed and set to head out. Did you tell anyone about our trip?” I had asked him to keep it a secret, stating that I didn’t want any interruptions from his employees, associates, or family while we snuck away for our romantic getaway.
“No one knows. I told my associates that I’d be working from home and not to worry if they didn’t hear from me for a few days.” A wicked grin crossed his face.
“Perfect.” I pulled away from Michael, walked over to the pile of designer luggage. Making sure my face was turned away from him; I closed my eyes and prayed for strength. Strength to deceive him, strength to commit, or at least aid in, murder.
Friday March 6th
“Welcome! We’ll be leaving on our tour once we get your belongings stowed below. My name is John and I’ll be your tour guide today.” John kept his gaze on Michael as he explained the various highlights of the tour. At the end of the speech, the boat left the dock to start the tour of the islands.
Several hours later we reached the southernmost island.
“This is Anita Island, named after Anita Fay Dell, a young woman who stood daily on the cliff you see there, waiting to see her love come home from the sea. On the day she received the news of his death, she leapt from the cliff into the sea. If you look over the side right here, you can see a glimpse of something white, that some say is the dress she wore on that day.” John motioned for Michael to come closer to peer over the side of the boat. When Michael looked over the edge, John gestured to his crew.
I turned away. Even knowing what would happen, knowing that I was part of this plan, I couldn’t watch the murder happen. The sounds of struggling seemed to last forever before I finally heard the splash of his body hit the water. I knew his body would be weighted down to help it sink to the ocean floor.
“Ready?”
I turned and looked into those familiar blue eyes. “Ready.” I slipped my arm around his waist.
“Don’t worry, they’ll never find the body.”
I hugged him close. “I know, Michael. I know.” I sighed and kissed my husband of fifteen years.
“Don’t worry, they’ll never find the body.”
“I don’t know John, it seems risky.” I bit my lip as I studied John’s hand-drawn map.
“You want to be free don’t you? Michael doesn’t treat you right. You thought he had only a few years left to live when you married him. It’s been almost fifteen years! I’m tired of waiting, tired of hiding.” John paced the room.
I looked away from his gorgeous blue eyes. It was true, when I married Michael, I thought he had only a few more years to live. The cancer had eaten away at his body leaving him near death many times. Thanks to an experimental treatment, my ailing husband had been cured. John, my love since high school, had been waiting patiently on the side, waiting for Michael to die and leave me rich and free to marry him.
“What if something goes wrong?”
“It won’t. Look, it can’t be simpler. You’ll convince Michael to take a boat tour around the islands. You’ll make the arrangements, hire me and my crew. When we get to the south end of Anita Island, the boys and I will take care of Michael. The logs will show you came alone.” John paused and tapped the table. “When you get home, wait until late at night and call the cops, report him missing, he never came home, no evidence he had been home at all while you were on vacation, etcetera. Enough time passes, they declare him dead, you get the money.”
It sounded simple. But there’s always a catch, something that could go wrong. “How do you know the crew won’t talk?” I had to ask.
“I pay them well. And I have blackmail against all of them. They won’t cross me.”
“Okay. Okay, let’s do it.”
Thursday March 5th
It was difficult, but I think I hid my nervousness well over the next few days. It helped that Michael was away on business so I didn’t have to face him. He was home now.
“Ready for our trip?” Michael wrapped his frail arms around me.
“Packed and set to head out. Did you tell anyone about our trip?” I had asked him to keep it a secret, stating that I didn’t want any interruptions from his employees, associates, or family while we snuck away for our romantic getaway.
“No one knows. I told my associates that I’d be working from home and not to worry if they didn’t hear from me for a few days.” A wicked grin crossed his face.
“Perfect.” I pulled away from Michael, walked over to the pile of designer luggage. Making sure my face was turned away from him; I closed my eyes and prayed for strength. Strength to deceive him, strength to commit, or at least aid in, murder.
Friday March 6th
“Welcome! We’ll be leaving on our tour once we get your belongings stowed below. My name is John and I’ll be your tour guide today.” John kept his gaze on Michael as he explained the various highlights of the tour. At the end of the speech, the boat left the dock to start the tour of the islands.
Several hours later we reached the southernmost island.
“This is Anita Island, named after Anita Fay Dell, a young woman who stood daily on the cliff you see there, waiting to see her love come home from the sea. On the day she received the news of his death, she leapt from the cliff into the sea. If you look over the side right here, you can see a glimpse of something white, that some say is the dress she wore on that day.” John motioned for Michael to come closer to peer over the side of the boat. When Michael looked over the edge, John gestured to his crew.
I turned away. Even knowing what would happen, knowing that I was part of this plan, I couldn’t watch the murder happen. The sounds of struggling seemed to last forever before I finally heard the splash of his body hit the water. I knew his body would be weighted down to help it sink to the ocean floor.
“Ready?”
I turned and looked into those familiar blue eyes. “Ready.” I slipped my arm around his waist.
“Don’t worry, they’ll never find the body.”
I hugged him close. “I know, Michael. I know.” I sighed and kissed my husband of fifteen years.
I hope you enjoyed this short short story, or at least were able to struggle through to the end!
Waiting patiently for the next contest,
Shell
Friday, October 2, 2009
House Hunting
Dear Shell,
As I said in my last letter, J and I went to look at a house. The house is in great shape, has everything we're looking for, and is in a price range we can afford. J has started the process for the VA assistance for home buying and we should know soon if we are approved by the VA and then we need to get approved for a mortgage.
We don't want to just settle on the first house that we look at, so we are looking at other homes as well. But so far, we're leaning toward the first house still. Today we went to look at another house. It's about $10,000 less than the first one, 300 less sq feet, higher taxes, and.... a lot of water damage visible in the basement, plus other visible damage from animals. So we're crossing that one off the list.
We have three more houses on our current list to look at. I drove past one of them on the way back from looking at the other house today. I have a feeling I can cross it off the list already without J even looking at it. He is dead set against living off a gravel road, and there's about a 3/4 mile of gravel road to go down to get to the subdivision where this house is. The subdivision is paved, but the paved drive stops just before the house that's for sale.
The other two on the list are about 3 miles south of where we currently live, in a decent subdivision.
So far, I'm definitely liking the first house we looked at. It's a good size, not too big, not too small. Has a partially finished basement. Just over one acre of land. Garage. Three bedroom, three bath, kitchen with breakfast nook, dining room, and a large living room. Plus a room off the back of the garage that could be used as a den, office, craft room.... something of that sort.
On the search for a new home,
Shell
As I said in my last letter, J and I went to look at a house. The house is in great shape, has everything we're looking for, and is in a price range we can afford. J has started the process for the VA assistance for home buying and we should know soon if we are approved by the VA and then we need to get approved for a mortgage.
We don't want to just settle on the first house that we look at, so we are looking at other homes as well. But so far, we're leaning toward the first house still. Today we went to look at another house. It's about $10,000 less than the first one, 300 less sq feet, higher taxes, and.... a lot of water damage visible in the basement, plus other visible damage from animals. So we're crossing that one off the list.
We have three more houses on our current list to look at. I drove past one of them on the way back from looking at the other house today. I have a feeling I can cross it off the list already without J even looking at it. He is dead set against living off a gravel road, and there's about a 3/4 mile of gravel road to go down to get to the subdivision where this house is. The subdivision is paved, but the paved drive stops just before the house that's for sale.
The other two on the list are about 3 miles south of where we currently live, in a decent subdivision.
So far, I'm definitely liking the first house we looked at. It's a good size, not too big, not too small. Has a partially finished basement. Just over one acre of land. Garage. Three bedroom, three bath, kitchen with breakfast nook, dining room, and a large living room. Plus a room off the back of the garage that could be used as a den, office, craft room.... something of that sort.
On the search for a new home,
Shell
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Me Lately
Dear Shell,
Yes, I know, I've been slacking yet again on my blog. Again, I'm sorry. Fifty lashes with a wet noodle! Wait... no... I'll try harder, i promise! :)
I've been pretty busy with my writing lately. I had to type up about 100 hand-written pages, plus I was changing the POV so that took some work. I'm still torn as to which POV I want, first person or third person, this particular story would work either way. But I am going to complete the first draft, read it over, and decide then. I can always change it when I'm editing/revising/rewriting for the second draft. I'll try to get an excerpt posted soon.
I'm still searching for a job. I applied a couple days ago for an Administrative Assistant job in Imlay City. The posting is scheduled to stay up until Sept 30th, but I'm not sure if they'll start interviewing before then or not. Wish me luck! I'm going to check some of the other 'cities' in the county and see if any of them are looking for employees as well. Wouldn't that be funny though, if I got a job working for/with one of the cities, I'd be the fourth generation working in the municipal field according to my mom. Must mean it's in my blood somewhere!
J and I are going to go look at a house tonight, in about 40 minutes actually. It's a nice ranch on the east side of town. I'm not sure if we can afford yet to buy a house though. If I get one of the jobs I've applied for, and we can sell this place we're in now, then we'd definitely be able to afford that house. Nothing wrong with looking at what is for sale though and seeing what we like and don't like, so when we know we can afford it, we know exactly what we're looking for.
Well I should finish getting ready so we can leave as soon as J gets home from work.
Shell
Yes, I know, I've been slacking yet again on my blog. Again, I'm sorry. Fifty lashes with a wet noodle! Wait... no... I'll try harder, i promise! :)
I've been pretty busy with my writing lately. I had to type up about 100 hand-written pages, plus I was changing the POV so that took some work. I'm still torn as to which POV I want, first person or third person, this particular story would work either way. But I am going to complete the first draft, read it over, and decide then. I can always change it when I'm editing/revising/rewriting for the second draft. I'll try to get an excerpt posted soon.
I'm still searching for a job. I applied a couple days ago for an Administrative Assistant job in Imlay City. The posting is scheduled to stay up until Sept 30th, but I'm not sure if they'll start interviewing before then or not. Wish me luck! I'm going to check some of the other 'cities' in the county and see if any of them are looking for employees as well. Wouldn't that be funny though, if I got a job working for/with one of the cities, I'd be the fourth generation working in the municipal field according to my mom. Must mean it's in my blood somewhere!
J and I are going to go look at a house tonight, in about 40 minutes actually. It's a nice ranch on the east side of town. I'm not sure if we can afford yet to buy a house though. If I get one of the jobs I've applied for, and we can sell this place we're in now, then we'd definitely be able to afford that house. Nothing wrong with looking at what is for sale though and seeing what we like and don't like, so when we know we can afford it, we know exactly what we're looking for.
Well I should finish getting ready so we can leave as soon as J gets home from work.
Shell
Monday, August 24, 2009
Alternate Day Diet - Part 2
Dear Shell,
Well I started the Alternate Day Diet last week. I have to say, I don't think I like it. We don't have a lot of low-calorie foods in the house (i.e. carrots, celery, etc) to snack on, so the Down Days have been very hard. I've been lightheaded, woozy, getting headaches. And then when the Up Day hits the next day, I'm so hungry that I'm eating more than I should. My calories on the Up Days have been way too high, and I'm having trouble staying in the low calorie range for the Down Days without feeling the symptoms above. The result: Since Wednesday last week I've GAINED weight.
I need to get to the grocery store and pick up some vegetables that I can snack on during Down Days, and some of the 5 calorie Jello cups as a sweet. Plus air-popped popcorn is supposed to be filling for not a lot of calories for a Down Day, so I need to pick up some popcorn to pop.
I'm still drinking a lot of water (which reminds me, I need to make another gallon of lemonade). So that's a good thing at least.
I'm thinking just plain old counting calories is what works best for me. That's always been the only 'method' that's worked for me in the long run. But I'm going to give this Alternate Day Diet a little more time (once i get more prepared for the Down Days) before I decide if it's for me or not.
Shell
Well I started the Alternate Day Diet last week. I have to say, I don't think I like it. We don't have a lot of low-calorie foods in the house (i.e. carrots, celery, etc) to snack on, so the Down Days have been very hard. I've been lightheaded, woozy, getting headaches. And then when the Up Day hits the next day, I'm so hungry that I'm eating more than I should. My calories on the Up Days have been way too high, and I'm having trouble staying in the low calorie range for the Down Days without feeling the symptoms above. The result: Since Wednesday last week I've GAINED weight.
I need to get to the grocery store and pick up some vegetables that I can snack on during Down Days, and some of the 5 calorie Jello cups as a sweet. Plus air-popped popcorn is supposed to be filling for not a lot of calories for a Down Day, so I need to pick up some popcorn to pop.
I'm still drinking a lot of water (which reminds me, I need to make another gallon of lemonade). So that's a good thing at least.
I'm thinking just plain old counting calories is what works best for me. That's always been the only 'method' that's worked for me in the long run. But I'm going to give this Alternate Day Diet a little more time (once i get more prepared for the Down Days) before I decide if it's for me or not.
Shell
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Alternate Day Dieting
Dear Shell,
Recently I read an article in Woman's World Magazine about the Alternate Day Diet, also known as the Johnson Up Day, Down Day Diet. My friend Melissa and I have been researching the diet for the past two days (yesterday and today) and discussing trying it out ourselves. We've read articles on the pros of the diet and how to do the diet, blogs and message boards of people trying it, articles on the cons of the diet, and watched Youtube videos of shows discussing the diet. One article promoting the cons of the diet, the author decided to try the diet but she went to the extremes, rather than eat like she normally would on Up Days which is the recommended way to do it, she gorged herself to the point of being sick every Up Day, eating stuff she normally wouldnt have and overdoing it. IMO, she lost a lot of credibility doing that, because she purposely went to the extremes to try to prove it as a bad diet, instead of actually following the diet as recommended.
The basics of the diet: You only diet every other day. The days you are dieting are called Down Days. The days you are not dieting are called Up Days.
On Down Days, you keep your caloric intake low. They recommend 500 calories on Down Days, but you can go up to 40% of your normal intake and still lose weight, it'll just be at a slower rate. (for example, for my height, weight and age, my normal caloric intake should be 2042 calories (which i've been below this amount while counting calories so I'm already doing good on that). So for a down day I would need to eat 817 calories or less to stick with the program and lose weight. That may not seem like a lot, and some experts say you miss out on nutrition on those days, but... you can have a LOT of veggies on a Down Day and still stay in your calorie range. Veggies are a great source of nutrition. Add in a little protein for energy.
I've actually had a few days while counting calories that are close to Down Day calories anyway and still felt fine throughout the whole day. I just wasnt that hungry and I made good choices on what I did eat. Such as: Last night for dinner I baked up chicken breasts, then I chopped it up into small chunks (ended up being 12 ounces of chicken = 560 calories) and put it in a large skillet pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil (120 cal). Cooked rice (1 cup dry = 2 cups cooked = 400 calories) added to the pan along with 1 bag of steamed SteamFresh Broccoli and Califlower (105 calories for full bag). The total calories for the WHOLE pan was 1185 calories. I had about 1/3 of the pan, which equaled 395 calories. And I was full before finishing my bowl of food. So I could have had less for dinner, still been full, and had even less calories going to dinner. So you can easily eat healthy and low-cal at the same time. We even had leftovers!
On Up Days, you can eat whatever you want. Note: This is NOT a license to eat everything and anything in sight, gorging yourself on food to the point of making yourself sick. What it means is, I can eat like I normally would. And if I want pizza for dinner, I can have pizza for dinner. My normal amount of pizza though, not the whole large pie! If I'm craving chocolate? I can have some chocolate. This does not mean run out and eat a whole box of chocolates. But a candy bar? No problem. 10 candy bars? Get serious, don't be stupid.
By now you're probably wondering, well where's the benefit in this diet? First off, you only have to diet every other day. Second, you can still have the foods you love and crave, just have them on your Up days. Third, because you're not putting your body into starvation mode by restricting caloric intake daily, you keep your metabolism high instead of it slowing down and getting sluggish because your body is trying to store fat. Fourth, health benefits of reduced asthma, more energy, lower cholesterol, and its been linked to longer life.
So today marks day one of the diet. Today for me is an Up Day. Melissa is starting today as well but hers is a Down Day. This should help us with encouragement, if one of us is having a bad Down Day, the other can say "I made it through mine yesterday, I'm still here, you can do it!"
The reason I decided to start today with an Up Day is because I looked at the calendar and the next few weeks are rather busy with birthdays and vacations, so I tried to find the best way to have Up Days on the special occasions, that way I'm not sitting there chowing on a carrot stick while everyone around me is eating cake, etc and tempting me to attack the table of food.
We'll see how this goes. My biggest concern is my blood sugar level and the Down Days. I'm not diabetic, but I am hypoglycemic. So I will keep a good eye on how my body feels on the Down Days to make sure I'm not risking more than I'm gaining.
Looking forward to seeing results,
Shell
Recently I read an article in Woman's World Magazine about the Alternate Day Diet, also known as the Johnson Up Day, Down Day Diet. My friend Melissa and I have been researching the diet for the past two days (yesterday and today) and discussing trying it out ourselves. We've read articles on the pros of the diet and how to do the diet, blogs and message boards of people trying it, articles on the cons of the diet, and watched Youtube videos of shows discussing the diet. One article promoting the cons of the diet, the author decided to try the diet but she went to the extremes, rather than eat like she normally would on Up Days which is the recommended way to do it, she gorged herself to the point of being sick every Up Day, eating stuff she normally wouldnt have and overdoing it. IMO, she lost a lot of credibility doing that, because she purposely went to the extremes to try to prove it as a bad diet, instead of actually following the diet as recommended.
The basics of the diet: You only diet every other day. The days you are dieting are called Down Days. The days you are not dieting are called Up Days.
On Down Days, you keep your caloric intake low. They recommend 500 calories on Down Days, but you can go up to 40% of your normal intake and still lose weight, it'll just be at a slower rate. (for example, for my height, weight and age, my normal caloric intake should be 2042 calories (which i've been below this amount while counting calories so I'm already doing good on that). So for a down day I would need to eat 817 calories or less to stick with the program and lose weight. That may not seem like a lot, and some experts say you miss out on nutrition on those days, but... you can have a LOT of veggies on a Down Day and still stay in your calorie range. Veggies are a great source of nutrition. Add in a little protein for energy.
I've actually had a few days while counting calories that are close to Down Day calories anyway and still felt fine throughout the whole day. I just wasnt that hungry and I made good choices on what I did eat. Such as: Last night for dinner I baked up chicken breasts, then I chopped it up into small chunks (ended up being 12 ounces of chicken = 560 calories) and put it in a large skillet pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil (120 cal). Cooked rice (1 cup dry = 2 cups cooked = 400 calories) added to the pan along with 1 bag of steamed SteamFresh Broccoli and Califlower (105 calories for full bag). The total calories for the WHOLE pan was 1185 calories. I had about 1/3 of the pan, which equaled 395 calories. And I was full before finishing my bowl of food. So I could have had less for dinner, still been full, and had even less calories going to dinner. So you can easily eat healthy and low-cal at the same time. We even had leftovers!
On Up Days, you can eat whatever you want. Note: This is NOT a license to eat everything and anything in sight, gorging yourself on food to the point of making yourself sick. What it means is, I can eat like I normally would. And if I want pizza for dinner, I can have pizza for dinner. My normal amount of pizza though, not the whole large pie! If I'm craving chocolate? I can have some chocolate. This does not mean run out and eat a whole box of chocolates. But a candy bar? No problem. 10 candy bars? Get serious, don't be stupid.
By now you're probably wondering, well where's the benefit in this diet? First off, you only have to diet every other day. Second, you can still have the foods you love and crave, just have them on your Up days. Third, because you're not putting your body into starvation mode by restricting caloric intake daily, you keep your metabolism high instead of it slowing down and getting sluggish because your body is trying to store fat. Fourth, health benefits of reduced asthma, more energy, lower cholesterol, and its been linked to longer life.
So today marks day one of the diet. Today for me is an Up Day. Melissa is starting today as well but hers is a Down Day. This should help us with encouragement, if one of us is having a bad Down Day, the other can say "I made it through mine yesterday, I'm still here, you can do it!"
The reason I decided to start today with an Up Day is because I looked at the calendar and the next few weeks are rather busy with birthdays and vacations, so I tried to find the best way to have Up Days on the special occasions, that way I'm not sitting there chowing on a carrot stick while everyone around me is eating cake, etc and tempting me to attack the table of food.
We'll see how this goes. My biggest concern is my blood sugar level and the Down Days. I'm not diabetic, but I am hypoglycemic. So I will keep a good eye on how my body feels on the Down Days to make sure I'm not risking more than I'm gaining.
Looking forward to seeing results,
Shell
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
