New Name, Same Idea

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I just wanted to give you a quick update that I've changed the name of the blog to Fit Foodie Chef to coincide with my new website and social media sites. The URL for the Blog has also changed so if you have it bookmarked, please change it to http://fitfoodiechef.blogspot.com/. Thanks again for all of the support and love. You guys are the best! xoxo

What to do? What to do?

Well, the finale of my part in Food Network’s upcoming series, “Fat Chef” has come and gone and the show begins airing on January 26, 2012 at 10 EST (9 CST). I found out that my episode will air March 1! To prepare for the launch of the show, I’ve created the requisite Facebook and Twitter pages (and am almost done with my Web site). You can find all of those things here:

FACEBOOK:

TWITTER: @fitfoodiechef

WEBSITE: www.fitfoodiechef.com (not live just yet!)

Sneak peek of my "after" look.

I want to get all of this stuff live by the time my episode airs because I figure that I am going to have a very short window of time when people are going to look online for info about me (possibly, or depending on how the show is edited, will be so annoyed by my constant crying and cursing that they will cancel their cable subscription) and I want to be ready.

The biggest thing that has come out of this experience for me aside from the weight loss, the mental work I’ve done and continue to do and the positive impact on my friends and family is that I know deep down inside that I am meant to help others. What a shame it would be to have this gift given to me and not do something to share it. So, that’s what I’m hoping the social media sites and web site will allow me to do. Please like my page and follow me on Twitter and ask your peeps to do the same. I will tweet live during each episode of the show.

Another before pic.

So, on to this helping others bit. Many, many people are asking me what I did to lose the weight I did for the show (which I am still working on by the way…I still have about 50 more pounds to lose to reach my overall goal). Let me start by saying I am not a dietitian or nutritionist nor do I believe that just because this worked for me that it will necessarily work for you. I’m just a (less) big girl who needed some help and these are some of the things that worked for me. Try them. Don’t try them. It’s up to you. I’m not the final word in anything and you should always check with your doctor before embarking on any diet or exercise change.

1. Go to therapy. If you are reading this blog, I guarantee you already know the formula for weight loss = burn more calories than you take in. It’s quite simple, actually (simple to understand, not simple to do). The key component for me was finding a therapist and working on the WHY and HOW I got the way I did. If you don’t do this part, none of the rest of this post will matter.
   
   
2. Keep track of what you eat (the calories at least) and how much you exercise, specifically how many calories you burn. It’s science, people.
   
   
3. To help with #2, get a heart rate monitor to gauge the accurate amount of calories you are burning. The treadmill always said that I burned about 150 more calories than my heart rate monitor. As depressing as it is, it’s best to be accurate.
   
   
4. Also to help with #2, log your food somewhere. I used www.loseit.com. It’s free, easy to use and you can hook up with friends on there to see what they are eating, burning and their progress. Plus you get these cute little badges on your profile for milestones and no one loves a patch/badge more than I do. I was a brownie and a girl scout for Heaven’s sake.
   
   
5. No carbs after lunch. This was a toughie for me. I am Carb Girl. Or, I was, at least. The first two weeks I did this, I was climbing the walls. But, I got over it and now, aside from an occasional piece of fruit, my dinners are protein and veggies (and no snacking after dinner). Get some sugar free gum and/or peppermint tea for when you are craving and going nuts. They really do help. I still did high fiber, whole grain carbs at breakfast and lunch so it is not carb-free. If I tried to go carb-free you would have seen me in a clown suit hanging from the spires on the Sears Tower, King Kong style, screaming curses at people on the evening news.
   
   
6. Get rid of your fat clothes as soon as they get too big. I didn’t want anything to fall back on. Even my favorite pair of black pants.
   
   
7. Do more intense cardio than strength training, but still do both. I don’t know all of the rigmarole behind why this works, but it does. Strength training doesn’t have to mean doing the boring machines at the gym though. I signed up for a Bootcamp class at my gym and that worked perfectly. You have to do both though.
   
   
8. Sweat your ass off. I read an article in the Wall Street Journal recently by Jason Gay titled, “The 27 Rules of Conquering the Gym.”  #4 on that list says, “No one in the history of gyms has ever lost a pound reading “The New Yorker” and slowly pedaling a recumbent bike. No one.” That couldn’t be truer (or funnier). Sweat your ass off. Every time.
   
   
9. Lose the excuses. I’ve used every single one in the book. If you want this badly enough, you’ll figure out a way to get it done despite the time, the expense, the sweat, the crying, the sore muscles, the annoying chick in your workout class, the lady who wears too much perfume on the treadmill next to you, etc. If you don’t want it badly enough, may I refer you back to #1 on this list.
   
   
10. Make a small change that you never thought would have much of an impact before so you never did it. I switched to black coffee. Now, I’ve been drinking my coffee the same way since 1987, extra cream no sugar. This was a big step for me and yes, it only cut about 100 calories a day but guess what? I have to run for a little over 10 minutes to burn 100 calories. I figured out how to live with black coffee. 

Please remember to watch "Fat Chef" starting Thursday, January 26 at 10 p.m. EST (9 p.m. CST) on Food Network!

Not-So-Fat Chef

I am coming down the home stretch (for this leg of my journey at least). It's my last week of filming for Food Network's Fat Chef program which airs January 26, 2012. I got a little more info about my episode (each episode features two participants). I will be the last episode (air date TBD still) and the promo for my episode is:

Episode 6 “John/ Jen” John Ricco is a 33 year-old obese pizza shop owner from Brooklyn with a bad habit of binge eating the greasy, fattening food he makes every day. Jennifer Lamplough is a severely overweight culinary instructor and cookbook author whose problem with portion control and emotional eating has wreaked havoc on her body. Both chefs are ready to take back control of their health and lose 25% of their weight in sixteen weeks. With the help of Christine Avanti (John) and Robert Brace (Jen) can they relearn their relationships with food, or will old habits die hard?

Here is the commercial for the show (you can see me kissing my husband for a nanosecond right at the very end):

I have my final weigh in this Sunday and "Finale" filming and then I am back to normal life. Which is a new normal for me. My new normal is working out six days a week, eating a healthy diet and working on my mental and emotional issues, which are the main reason I got to where I was in the first place (more to come on all of that).

My weight loss has been great so far but I still have a long way to go. So, I've decided that my finale day isn't a finale as all, but a commencement. My new beginning to a healthy life and (God willing) parenthood.

The idea that this journey I am on will be on TV for the world to see is...well...um...scary as shit. Imagine experiencing the most vulnerable moments of your life, then having to watch it on TV, edited for entertainment value! Now, don't get me wrong, I know exactly what I signed up for and am more than grateful for this experience...I can't even express in words how grateful, but I am still so scared to watch it. The cringe-worthy moments will be plentiful, I'm sure (and entertaining) but I can't apologize, ever, for who I am, what I said or how I acted. I was completely me and completely real through the whole process. Sweaty, cursing, crying, laughing real.

And speaking of getting real, here is my before picture (you'll have to wait for the "after" picture when my episode airs):

I hope that you will watch all of the episodes of the show to support my fellow participants on their journey. I don't know nor have met any of them, but we've been through this together and I hope and pray for them that their lives have changed as immeasurably as mine has.

I was a "Fat Chef"? No one told me...

Okay....so I can finally share my HUGE news...for the last four months or so I've been working with the Food Network on a new show that is airing starting January 26. I am one of 12 Chefs who are working to lose weight and get healthy for their newest show called "Fat Chef." I will be on one of the last episodes! I can't say much else about it now but will keep you posted as to when my episode will air and once it does, I will restart my blog about my weight loss journey and my training for the upcoming Batavia Triathlon and the Fox Valley Half Marathon. Here is a link about the show for a little more info...stay tuned! http://m.examiner.com/cable-tv-in-national/fat-chef-helps-chefs-lose-weight-on-food-network.