The Further Adventures of Deluzy: A paean to Starbucks

Health and Wellness

The Google 15
An excellent weight-tracking tool that keeps track of your moving weight average over time so that no single weigh-in is a cause for ecstacy or despair.
Understanding Your Tests
A good preliminary resource for understanding your lab work (though of course it's no substitution for discussing results with your doctor)
FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal
An essential tool for me during my first 6 post-op months -- and a good reality check for anyone keeping track of daily food intake (e.g., calories, fats, carbohydrates, etc.) and activity levels
Gmaps Pedometer
A wonderful tool that allows one to map exercise routes and calculate miles covered and calories burned

Products I Like

Spanx
A line of comfortable foundation garments (and even easy-to-pack clothing) that comes in handy post-op to corrale that wayward, formerly obese flesh and make you feel comfortable. Available online, at Lane Bryant in larger sizes, at Nordstrom in smaller sizes, and sometimes at outlets for less.
Pure Protein RTD shakes
At an average of 35 grams of protein, 3 grams of carbs, and 160 calories, these ready-to-drink shakes work for me because I can chill them, grab them, pack them, and go. Available from a variety of online sources or at GNC stores.
Perfectly Sweet
Expensive but excellent source for sugar-free and no-sugar-added bakery and candy items.
Low Carb Corner
As near as I can tell, this site sells nothing but two kinds of breakfast cereal -- but as one who's avoided cereal since my DS surgery because it contains virtually no protein and far too many carbs, Protein Crunch is a wonderful option (i.e., 27 grams protein, 2 net grams carbs). It's horrifyingly expensive but for WLS cereal lovers, it's worth the occasional splurge.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

A paean to Starbucks

I know -- I'm hopeless. Really hopeless. But I'm hopeless and happy because, when you get a Starbucks card and register it online, you get the following benefits:

According to the manager of one of my local Starbucks stores, you also get free wireless, though that doesn't seem to be advertised on the corporate website -- at least, for two hours you do ((it's about frickin' time with that one, boy).

These benefits make me happy because I've been a registered Starbucks card user for years anyway, simply so that I hang on to the cash in my wallet longer and so that I face up to the reality of how much I spend on my coffee habit. Each time I reload my card, it's a reality check. (Of course, I'm sure Starbucks has done studies and determined that having a card makes it more likely that a person will actually spend more in the stores -- or, alternatively, gift cards will bring in new customers who will return as repeat visitors and keep up the cash flow.)

And yeah, I know the beverages are overpriced, and yeah, I make a better latte at home (using Starbucks coffee, even) -- but you know what? I still like it. I know it's fashionable to bash Starbucks these days, but I'm still okay with them.

Now, if there were more Peets near me, I might choose them over Starbucks. Might. But there are fewer Peets in my neck of the woods, and convenience is one of the selling points of the former.

And of course if there were a good local independent coffee house near where I live, I'd choose it over either one of the others -- but I'm in a neighborhood of suburban sprawl and strip malls, and unfortunately, that option is not available.

Posted at 06:24 PM in Food and Drink | Permalink