Calories #Dieting Week 6

It is amazing how much I am aware of calories now. There are days when I think my budgeted calories for the day are not enough and others when I feel I can’t eat that much. It truly is a daily battle.

For those interested, here is the formula to lose a pound. 

Negative 3500 = 1 pound loss.

There are several calorie calculators online to figure out how many calories you need to maintain your current weight. Find one and plug in your stats and it will tell you what calorie count to maintain. In order to lose weight you need to be negative 3500 calories. The method I choose for myself is to reduce my calorie intake by 500 calories a day below my ‘maintain’ weight ideal there by giving me a negative 3500 calories after 7 days. By this method I should lose one pound a week.

By upping my activity level and staying with a 1200-1400 calorie a day diet, I can increase the speed by which I lose weight.

There is a science to all of this; but you still have to figure out what is best for you. 

Changing Habits: Snacks #Dieting Week 5

Guilty, Guilty, Guilty of stopping and buying a Hersey’s bar or a bag of cheese doodles or chips in the middle of the day when I get hungry. It is the worst thing you can do for any diet. Obviously fruits and veggies (veggies I don’t like at all) are the preferred snacks. I like oranges and bananas. So a banana is great and an orange range under 100 calories or so; they are great snacks.

But sometimes you don’t want either; I have gotten into the habit of carrying the Special K bars in my purse. I really love the vanilla one and the chocolate and pretzel ones. They are great on the go, you know the calories and they satisfy the need for sweet. There are also all sort of granola bars and snack bars on the market just find the one that suits your taste and that craving for a snickers might be tamed.   

 Also, Trader Joe’s is a good place to find something healthy to snack on that doesn’t have several hundred unneeded calories!

Changing Habits: Food #Dieting Week 4

Oh yes, I am SO guilty of the McDonald’s run for lunch and sometimes dinner. I love me that greasy fried chicken and that saucy pasta. This is probably were the change is most noticeable for anyone trying to lose a few pounds or just get into healthier habits.

Now, I know if I deprive myself of my fried foods I'm not going to be a happy camper and I’d likely fall off the diet wagon sooner rather than later. So my motto all in proportion; find out the calorie count and instead of having what you really desire as a overflowing plate fit for a family of four for just your dinner; have half or a quarter of it.

A trick a friend taught me recently I have really appreciated. I love fried chicken as opposed to baked – though baked isn’t bad. But there really is nothing like a nicely fried wing or drumstick. So she gave me this advice:

• Use about two tablespoons of oil (or a tad more if you are frying a lot of meat) and use about ¾ cups of water. 
• Place both in a pot (a pot not a skillet because the contents will rise in a boil) and make sure *both are at room temperature* do not under any circumstances heat the oil before you add the water.
• Combine both room temperature oil and water into the pot. 
• Add the meat. 
• Bring pot to a boil.
• The boiling water will essentially poach the meat, thoroughly cooking it and when the water evaporates it leaves the oil at the bottom which will give the meat a gentle fry. 
• Then remove the meat and place on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.

This process reduces the amount of oil absorbed by the meat and while not as healthy as baking; it will satisfy the craving for fried foods while reducing the grease consumption overall. However, whenever possible baking of course if preferred but changing ones eating habits is a process and this could be step one.

Great Writing Weekend part 5

Sunday: wrap up, doing this again, and still remaining friends.

We did more plot rounds, it's fun, fast, and yet not as easy as it sounds. But it's a way to come up with new ideas in a genre you may not write. For instance, comedy: don't write comedy and yet one of our author friends does. Coming up with ideas for her was a blast! Oh, how I wish I could write funny!

Then we ate a very late lunch and reluctantly wrapped everything up. Would we all do this again? Definitely. The only problem was that it takes an entire weekend when there's always something else to do. However, it was well worth it!

Great Writing Weekend part 4

Saturday: or why it's best to have an entire day devoted to this where no one has to travel.

Manuscript critiquing in the AM, with 1 hour per person which spilled over into lunch. We only allowed for the summary and 1 chapter read aloud. Why aloud and not hand out pages? Because you only have a few moments to catch a reader's attention. Most people read at least the first chapter, possibly the first few pages of chapter one, before deciding whether or not to buy your book.

So by reading out loud, I, as the listener, have a better chance of telling you what does and does not work. What catches my attention and what doesn't.

Then we ate (always important).

After lunch, we did two versions of fast plot rounds:

What about this plot does or doesn't work? What did we, as the reader/listener, like about the plot, can the rest of us see where this plot is going and agree with it? Are there research problems? Not just historical but other issues. Even in a contemporary world, you can't know all the ins and outs of everything.

What did you want to work on next? Then the rest of us threw out crazy, zany, or possibly workable ideas for plots based on the author's criteria. As with everything, some work and some don't. Weeding through great, funny, oh this is brilliant ideas might elicit a gem or two, but they also might not be workable beyond chapter 4. Things to think about when plotting.

All this took us well into the night, when we finally crashed.

Great Writing Weekend part 3

Friday night was very informal. We arrived, unpacked, ate, and talked. As noted yesterday, we also had a psychic. But we also made a plan for the rest of the weekend. Sure, we had the agenda, but we talked plots and what each individual author wanted out of this weekend.

We also talked about why we had this weekend. It came about from a 2008 RWA workshop in San Francisco hosted by Susan Mallery and three of her writing friends whose names escape me now. (But they're all bestselling Harlequin authors.)

Twice a year they meet in hotel rooms around the country and devote a day each to brainstorming and plotting new ideas. Pretty cool, eh? Yeah, we all thought so, too, and created a smaller version of it.

While all of us have been friends for years, we got to know each other better, outside the writing box. No, we didn't do the speed plotting round, but relaxing hafter a long week was needed more. For next time we'll definitely add in time for idle chit chat!

Tomorrow: Saturday's progress

Great Writing Weekend part 2

Here's the agenda we used. Note the psychic part. It was fun to add in on Friday night while we ate and chatted. One person met the psychic in the basement while the rest of us relaxed upstairs. Not for everyone, granted, but you should add in something fun and frivolous. It adds an element of playfulness to it and gives you more to talk about than just writing and reading romance.

 

Combine your weekend with your at home spa night-facial masks, pedicures, etc.

 

The Great Weekend Writing Getaway

 

 

Friday night: Dinner, gossip, and speed round for plot concepts

 

Saturday:

• 9-1 manuscript critiquing
• 1 lunch
• 2-4:30 manuscript critiquing
• 4:30-5 Tea break
• 5-7 Plot problems
• Dinner
• Character profiles

 

Sunday:

• 9-2 new plot brainstorming session.
• We’ll take the plot concepts from the speed round and devote 30 minutes per author for developing, planning, and detailing a new idea. Each author will get 2 sessions.

What to bring:
• Laptop, USB drive, paper and writing utensils.
• The manuscript you want to work on this weekend.
• A completed synopsis for this story.
• Which characters are represented with their own points of view.
• Which publisher and line you wish to target.
• Specific problems you want to discuss with the story.
• For the brainstorming parts, have ready vague concepts for future stories, and publishers you wish to target for these stories. Sometimes it’s better to tailor the concept to the publisher than go back and rework it later.

 

At the end of this weekend you’ll have an idea of where this manuscript is going, how to fix or tailor it to your target publisher, and ideas for at least 2 future stories.

  

Tomorrow: Friday night's progress

Great Writing Weekend part 1

The first weekend of February I got together with several writing friends for an in-person weekend of food, fun, and (of course) writing. All this week I'll be blogging about how we came up with the idea, what we did, how it was organized, and most importantly, WHY we did this.

So why did we do this? Simple: it's a fun way to get outside opinions on your writing, plot ideas, and future concepts. While three of the writers were critique partners, hearing a chapter, or a part of one, read aloud is instant reaction: there's no going back looking for grammar problems or flow, you hear the chapter and you either want to hear more or you know why it's not working.

Creating a writer's weekend retreat:

Step 1: Figure out who to invite, where to hold this, and how long it's going to be. This is actually more important than you might realize. There were 6 of us (5 writing names) and 1 who couldn't make it at the last minute. It was a purposely small group; we met at a house, after work on Friday evening through Sunday afternoon.

Step 2: Make an agenda. be specific but be flexible. Writers love to talk their stories, which I'm sure you know! So while the agenda may say: 30 minutes each for chapter 1, tangents do happen. Keep an hourglass or stopwatch nearby to time it. Gently steer the conversation back onto the right path and don't be too strict with the time.

Step 3: Have food. And snacks. And a conveniently located bathroom. Also make sure the meeting area is a comfortable temperature, there's nothing worse than freezing or sweating while you're trying to work, and has comfortable chairs for everyone. Not just a nice couch to lounge on, but a straight back chair for someone with back problems, etc.

Step 4: Be prepared and make sure everyone else is, too. Bring a laptop, USB drive, paper, pens, folders, whatever you need. This isn't a workshop, this is for you to actively work on your stuff. And yes. You will forget it. Better to write it down or record it than sob over that lost brilliant idea later.

Tomorrow: How we broke our agenda down and how it really worked out.

Pictures to Smile at

Thanks to Mary Ann who forwarded them!

Soccer Grandmom! I love it.

This one is just too cute.

And this Friday, my guest will be Wendi Zwaduk who's talking about how to act naturally and her new release, Careless Whisper.

Writing Weekend

This weekend I'm getting together with several friends for a weekend of writing. What does this entail? Besides food? And a psychic?

Plotting, critiquing, 3 minute concept ideas, and helping writer friends do what we all love best. Writing.

Maybe it'll become an annual thing!

Losing a friend

Last night I found out that a man I never met in person passed away. He was a great online friend, who loved to read such a variety of genres it was amazing. I respected his views, his comments, and most importantly him.

Doesn't matter that we never met, had a phone conversation, or that I even knew what he looked like. I'll miss him.

RIP Jack.

I'd also like to post this article I read Sunday about an American football rivalry and how it changed two men's lives.

Why I do RWA

There are reasons for and against it, but I'm being positive so will list the reasons why I am doing RWA this year. (In no particular order)

• Meet online friends!
• Have a drink with these online friends that you now know what they look like.
• Meet other writers in various stages of their career and get to know how they're doing, what they're doing, and what their career plans/goals are.
• 
  
• Pitch to an editor or agent! You never know who's going to like your book, it only takes one.

• Workshops-these are the best reason. Other conferences have them, too, so if RWA is too expensive or too far for you, try to go to any writing conferences and workshops. They're worth it.

More on workshops tomorrow as I travel to Orlando.

Today the blog tour is taking me to D. Renee Bagby Presents First Chapters! Want to read Chapter One of Sex & Subterfuge? Stop on by!