New Slideshow from Australia!

Hey All,
I'm in Darwin, Australia right now. It's in the Northern Territory, which they call the Top End.
Tomorrow I leave on a two-day safari to Litchfield, but before I go I just had to add a widget to the new JenLeoLIVE! It's One True Media and they let you do slideshows with your photos.

Check out my trip to the Tiwi Islands.

And please, pretty please, change your bookmarks and aggregator feeds to the new blog.

Many thanks!
Jen

Current: Australia
Next: San Francisco (Oct 27-29)

Please Check Out the ALL NEW JenLeoLIVE!

Hi everybody,
Yes, I'm fine. I've just been busy, traveling, and changing JenLeoLIVE! over to TypePad was a good excuse to take a break from blogging for a while. I'll start updating you there, and I'd appreciate it if you changed your Bloglines and other blog/news aggregators or bookmarks over to the new page:

http://jenopolis.typepad.com/live/

Yes, I bought JenLeoLIVE.com so at some point my TypePad address will turn into it's own sexy url, but if I waited for that to launch, you might still be wondering where I am and if I'm alive.

Quick! Go check out the new blog! -- THANKS. :-)

Making Eating Light FUN!

When I was in college at USC, I wanted to quit my Public Relations major three years into it. I was getting A's, but it wasn't that much fun. My teacher said, "You just haven't found your niche, stick with it." And I'm glad that I did because I love helping people promote their work. Today, I'm applying that to the $1000 diet. Find your niche while eating light.

I know that the Food Diary will report yesterday's meal, but I couldn't help telling you about what I just had for lunch. It was so good. Wheat pita stuffed with hummus, good tomatoes (you know, sometimes you can buy the kind that are a bit blah), a spring mix of baby lettuces and—are you ready for the secret ingredient?—a dabble of olive oil vinagrette dressing. Voila, Salad Pita Sandwich! With a side of carrots and red grapes. I found my niche.

I'm making drinking water fun, too. Hello, Perrier. (Spilling half of it on your lap like I did is not recommended if you're having lunch with company). And in the wonderful way that blogging research leads to unforseen cool knowledge of varying levels of triviality, Perrier has drink recipes! That's right, alcoholic and non alcoholic drink recipes are in their party planning section. Make me a Green Lizard, please!

FOOD DIARY
John deserves to go first today because he did an amazing job yesterday. In my book, anybody who can avoid a sausage while at the ball park is either half nuts, or uber-committed to winning a $1000 diet bet. We'll have to take additional bets as to whether or not I can resist the same temptation tonight when we go see the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

Day 11, John:
Breakfast: muffin, coffee
Lunch: Maria's chopped salad
Dinner: Turkey sandwich
Snack: peanuts
Dessert: nada
Excercise: nada

Day 11, Jen:
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: greek salad and pita with pepper spread
Dinner: broiled veggies
Snack: carrots
Dessert: grapes
Excercise: mile to the coffee house - one way only

Note: I was inexplicably fatigued yesterday. I felt well rested, but just out of sorts. I'm figuring that my body is getting used to eating considerably less.

NON DIET NEWS: Get ready for seeing JenLeoLive! in a new format. I am meeting with a techie on Monday morning to transfer the content from Blogger to TypePad. I've been wanting to do this for a long time now. I chose Blogger in the beginning because it was free and because I didn't know if I'd be able to really update people consistently here, but since it's working, we might as well do it better. For those of you that are Blogger fans, please note that they are out with a new Blogger in Beta where you will be able to customize your templates and like Vox, make some posts available to friends and some just to family.

CURRENT: PASADENA
NEXT: EUGENE, PORTLAND, SEATTLE (Sept 1-14)

Men Lose Weight Faster Than Women?

That's what every body is telling me. I think I've heard that three or four times in the last 48 hours. From men, from women. It seems like everyone is siding with our hero, John. Or JCall as Gavin Smith calls him. And I've always kinda liked that tag.
Well, shocker of all shockers, I weighed in this morning naked as a jaybird and before a drink of water or breakfast and my new friend the scale says I'm down 6lbs!

Scale Report:
Jen
Starting weight: 185
Last weigh in: 182
Current naked weight: 179
New total loss: -6

John
Last weigh in: -3.5
New total loss: -5


I certainly don't look any different, and I'm sure that number is a fluctuating one. Because after I weighed I drank a big glass of water and ate half a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. I only stopped halfway because it wasn't that good.

Yesterday, I read an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal ("Enlisting Cellphones to Fight Cellulite") about all the mobile gadgets that help dieters. Would you believe there are programs where you can take a picture of your meal from your phone, send it in, and then they'll analyze it for you and tell you the nutrition value, etc. Oh yes, it's true. Check out MyFoodPhone. At first this sounds cool, but then I thought, the food is already there. The decision comes from looking at the menu, once you've ordered and it's in front of you, it's there. You're eating. I mean, you could take a picture and someone could tell you, "hey! that's not good for you!" So then what, you only eat half? You tell yourself that you're only going to eat around the edges of the plate and leave the chunk in the center? Too silly.

I read that other cell phones have their mobile services, too. Verizon, Cingular, all for a few bucks a month, you get get calorie counters and what not straight to your phone. More on that as I dig up the info.

We still haven't gone to a Weight Watchers meeting or signed up, but I will this weekend! I'm excited to check out their Restaurant Guide to be sed in conjunction with their points system. That could be fun! Ok, now for the dirt.

Day 10, Jen:
Breakfast: coffee and grapes
Lunch: Raw veggie salad that made me say aloud, "I think I want to stay fat" and then take two bites of John's mashed potatoes. A yummy wheat grass and pineapple juice drink.
Dinner: Steamed veggies, mashed potatoes, herb roasted chicken and half a piece of a meatloaf, half an amstel light, and some Coke Zero, two waters.
Snack: iced tea
Dessert: fruit salad, some bitesized chocolate mints, 2-3 glasses of champagne, and two wheat fig newtons
Excercise: my arm got loose playing catch with John at the park. Then I did some sit ups and leg ups in the grass.


Day 10, John:
Breakfast: Nothing. maybe coffee
Lunch: Tasteless meatloaf and mashed potatoes
Dinner: chicken, steamed veggies and mashed potatoes for dinner, water and Diet Coke
Snack: handful of Cashews
Dessert: fruit salad
Excercise: Played catch with Jen and walked around 3rd Street.

And last but not least. Big thanks to Mark for the great dinner at poker. I heard other people complimenting him on the healthy options and good pics. Except for the few bits of candy which I briefly cosidered eating and not recording, I was excited about dinner because I ate enough to be full, but didn't take the seconds that I wanted. I ate the healthy bits, and there were just enough treats in the meatloaf and mash to splurge. But wait till we're on WW. We'll be able to eat everything we want as long as we're in the points.

Speaking of food and excercise. I'm going to go walk a mile to the coffee house for a salad. Maybe a sandwhich.

Current: Pasadena, CA
Next: PDX, EUG, SEA (Sept 1-14)

Side Bets Anyone?

It has come to our attention that people are taking sidebets on the John vs. Jen $1000 Diet. This is excellent news and we highly encourage it. Or, at least I do. It means more competition for us. But come on people, you have to tell us the stakes of your bet. Could it possibly be to eat a plate of veggies? Or maybe some crayons? Or is your bet all about the Benjamins. Tell us, pleeeeeaaaase.

We're jetting off to play in the media tournament at the Bike today for the Legends of Poker. And you know what Thursday means. Hopefully I can get enough done between the two events.

Before I give you the FOOD DIARY, I just want to say, Light cheese sucks. Do you know of any good brands? John is thanking me when I deliver him a plate of Light Swiss cheese from Trader Joes, and I am in the other room, scrunching up my face as I quickly put it in my mouth, then savor licking every last salt particle off my Light Wheat Thin. Sixteen of them to be exact, because that is a serving size. Mmmm Light Wheat Thins.

Now for the home cookin':

Day 9, Jen:
Breakfast: Americano and grapes
Lunch: Greek salad with one piece of olive break toast, half an oatmeal cookie
Dinner: Pineapple chicken over brown rice with a chunky mixed green salad
Snack: Light Wheat Thins and light cheese (no wine!)
Dessert: frozen cherries
Excercise: 2 mile RT walk to the coffee house

Day 9, John:
Breakfast: nothing, just coffee
Lunch: Subway turkey salad
Dinner: Pineapple chicken over brown rice with a chunky mixed green salad
Snack: Triscuits with light cheese
Dessert: nothing!
Excercise: full work out at the gym

I like how John doesn't tell me he worked out at the gym until the next morning when I have to do my report. The house of pain!
Ok, we're off.

CURRENT: PASADENA, CA
NEXT: EUGENE, OR, PORTLAND, OR, SEATTLE, WA (Sept 1-14)

The Decision to Eat Out

For me, it was an easy one. Let's go! "Must have social contact," I said with a neanderthal accent. But there was some hesitation in John's voice. It was Shiki. A standing tradition among his friends that if one of them said "Shiki!" the call had been made, and all must come for sushi. (Or you just don't reply and then they figure out you're NTG - Not That Guy). It was very hard to tell if John wanted to go. I'm pretty sure he did, but his caution was all about the question of whether or not we could be disciplined at a restaurant this early in the diet.

We went.

And in the car ride over, we planned our meal. Usually, Shiki is all about sharing. But we are now renegades of all communal eating. John knew exactly what he wanted. Garden salad, spicy tuna, and something else. He was staying away from California rolls, anything with avacado, and the Salmon Tempura—at all costs.

I had no idea beyond the side salad which I knew wouldn't be as great as the salad at Octopus. But still, it had to be done. Filler food. Anything to keep us from eating what we really wanted, ahem, Salmon Tempura.

We feel like we did ok with our excursion. It could've been worse. It couldn't been much worse. I wanted the Caterpillar roll, two more beers, and oh the Salmon Tempura was talking to me. Staring at me lovingly. Adrian sat on my left and ate his plate stealth mode while I gazed back across the table at the full plate next to Mark. I wanted it. It wanted me. Mark even asked if John and I were going to take one piece each to keep it fair and light, but no. We said we wouldn't. That creamy warm terriyaki sauce... Idiots!

Before I left, Mark took me aside and told me the super secret to beating John. And it does not involve sending him nachos to the office. No, this is very natural and does not involve and infared machine. Look out John! I don't care how many people told me yesterday that men lose weight faster than women, I'm going to beat you.

FOOD DIARY


Day 8, Jen:
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: turkey breast sandy on multi grain, carrots, and grapes
Dinner: green salad, seared albacore, beef terriyaki and veggies, and one Asahi beer
Snack: wine and light cheese
Dessert: none!
Excercise: more none! still scrambling to finish writing assignments


Day 8, John:
Breakfast: nasty diet coffee cake
Lunch: lime cilantro chicken salad - yummy
Dinner: green salad, spicy tuna roll, rice
Snack: 8 triscuits, and diet swiss cheese
Dessert: none
Excercise: none

CURRENT: Pasadena, CA
NEXT: Eugene, OR, Portland, OR, Seattle WA (Sept 1-13)

$1 Bet

Not all bets have to be for $1,000. Yesterday I told my barista that if I came over with the car, she'd get an extra $1 in the tip jar. That's right. I'm only allowed to walk to A Penny For Your Thoughts. It's about a mile up the hill from us. As an added bonus, I told her that if I came in the car 3x in a row, the bet got upped to $2/visit.

John asked me to drive him to work today and I declined in an effort to make sure I get a walk in—and save a buck!


Current: Pasadena, CA
Next: Poker Home Game on Thursday

"If You Play, You Pay"

That's what my dad used to tell me, but it usually referred to events of indescretion. Still, that's what I think of as I'm working my butt off. I'm late on three articles and expect to turn them all in today. And it's all my fault since I made long overdue visits with friends a priority last weekend.

But, some of you are food diary addicts, so I'm here to give you your fix. So you know, I'm treasuring the simple quiet life in Pasadena right now and even contemplating cutting my Northwest trip in half next month. I mean, if I'm excited to load and unload my dishwasher, how could I possibly leave again for two weeks.

Day 7, Jen:
Breakfast: wheat muffin
Lunch: Salad trio at Corner Bakery
Dinner: Weight Watchers meal: chicken, broccoli, pasta alfredo
Snack: reduced fat wheat thins and light cheese - ICK!
Dessert: Cutie tofutti ice cream sandwich and pop corn
Excercise: nada, badada

Day 6, John:
Breakfast: wheat muffin, coffee
Lunch: turkey sandwhich and caesar salad
Dinner: Weight Watchers meal: Lasagne Bolognese
Snack: n/a
Dessert: cottage cheese with pineapple. A lot of it!
Excercise:

So, I bought us some WW meals for $2 each at Vons. John really doesn't want to go to the meetings. I said we should go to one, and then decide what is right for us after that. No doubt we'll both be doing much of this online. In fact, I just found this handy resource "My Favorite Weight Watchers Websites".

There is a meeting today at 5pm. We still haven't decided if we're going, but we need to at least get our points stuff started. I have to get back to work, but don't think for a second that I'm going to be day dreaming about our return to the home game in Cheviot Hills on Thursday. Our host has even said the dinner will be waist-conscious friendly. I'm always curious about what dinner he chooses for us each week, but this week I'm guessing even harder...hmmm....salads? grilled veggies? What will he do! I can't wait!

Current: Pasadena, Ca
Next: Eugene, OR (Sept 1-4)