Some of my favorite light recipes

One of the problems I normally have when it comes to eating healthy is sticking to a regular meal plan. Since I started this program last month, as I have said, I started getting "light" cook books from the library every week or so, and if you are a good cook, you probably know that a lot of it is definitely trial and error. I like to try to use seasonal fruits and vegetables whenever possible, so I absolutely love Cooking Light's seasonal recipes.
I would like to post some of my (and my family's) favorite low-cal recipes to date. This is good for me as well because, while I do have a record of every single thing I've eaten since the program began, it's hard to keep track of the favorites v. the non-favorites, and it's also kind of hard to keep track of anything when every meal I've eaten is scribbled in a little notebook. So here are a few of the best ones (with pictures, when available!)

 

Greek Chicken and Spinach Pie

(Weight Watchers Points Plus Power Foods Cookbook)

My husband was absolutely crazy about this, and "would eat this every day" if he could (which, I'm telling you, says a whole lot about it). I will add the recipe for the yogurt sauce, but we have not tried it yet. Every time I make this, I forget to make the yogurt sauce, but it is just that good alone.

Serves 6 (1 wedge per serving)
239 calories
7 grams of fat

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground skinless chicken breast
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup crumbled, reduced fat feta cheese
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
8 (9x14") sheets of frozen phyllo, thawed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Spray a 9" pie plate with cooking spray.
2. To make filling, spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium heat. Add chicken and onion; cook, breaking up chicken with a wooden spoon until chicken is no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomato sauce and simmer until mixture is thickened, about 5 minutes. Transfer filling to large bowl. Stir in spinach, feta and egg whites.
3. Lay 1 phyllo sheet in pie plate; lightly spray with cooking spray. Keep remaining phyllo dough covered with a damp paper towel and plastic wrap. Repeat with 3 of the remaining sheets, placing corners at different angles and lightly spraying with cooking spray. Spoon filling into crust.
4. Top filling with remaining 4 phyllo sheets, repeating layering and spray. Roll up edges of phyllo toward center to form 1 1/2" wide rim.
5. Bake until phyllo is golden brown, 30 - 35 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Cut into 6 wedges.

Yogurt Sauce:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 of an English (seedless) cucumber, chopped
1 scallion, sliced
1/4 tsp. salt

(Mix all ingredients; drizzle evenly over pie).

Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola Sauce

(Cooking Light: Cooking Through the Seasons)

I thought this would be good because we occasionally eat the Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice pumpkin or butternut squash ravioli, which we like a lot. This was wonderful, and my husband was actually pleasantly surprised by it (he's not usually a fan of Gorgonzola cheese, which tastes a bit like blue cheese, so I was surprised). Even my son, who never eats anything I make unless it's chicken nuggets or spaghetti (lol) ate all of his. It takes a little extra effort (pinching each individual wonton to that they are all sealed was a bit of a pain) but I thought it was definitely well worth it.

Serves 6
250 calories per serving
9.1 grams of fat

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
2 tbsp. dry breadcrumbs
2 tbsp. grated fresh parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. minced fresh sage
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
30 round wonton wrappers (usually found in the produce section where the tofu is located)
1 tbsp. cornstarch
Cooking spray
1 cup fat free milk
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup (2 oz.) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
3 tbsp. chopped hazelnuts, toasted (we actually used walnuts, and it was still fantastic)
Sage sprigs (optional)

Directions:

1. Spoon pumpkin onto several layers of heavy-duty paper towels, and spread to 1 1/2" thickness. Cover with additional paper towels; let stand 5 minutes. Scrape into a medium bowl using a rubber spatula. Stir in breadcrumbs, parmesan, salt, minced sage, pepper and nutmeg.
2. Working with one wonton wrapper at a time (cover remaining wrappers with a  damp towel to keep from drying), spoon 2 tsp. pumpkin mixture into center of wrapper. Brush edges of wrapper with water and fold in half, pressing edges firmly with fingers to form a half-moon. Place on a large baking sheet sprinkled with cornstarch. Repeat procedure with remaining wonton wrappers and pumpkin mixture.
3. Fill a large Dutch oven with water; bring to a simmer. Add half o ravioli to pan (cover remaining ravioli with a damp towel to keep from drying). Cook 4 minutes or until done (do not boil), stirring gently. Remove ravioli with a slotted spoon; lightly coat with cooking spray; keep warm. Repeat with remaining ravioli.
4. Combine milk and flour in a saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add butter; stir until butter melts. Gently stir in Gorgonzola.
5. Place 5 ravioli in each of 6 shallow bowls, and drizzle each serving with 3 tablespoons Gorgonzola mixture. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 tsp. hazelnuts. Garnish with sage sprigs, if desired. Serve immediately.

Coconut Chicken Tacos

(Hungry Girl 200 Under 200)

Again, my husband loved this one. Whenever I make something with chicken in it, I do my best to make something significantly different each time, because in my experience, too much chicken in my diet can become incredibly boring. This definitely does the trick. The part where you drape the tortillas over the oven rack was a bit of a pain because the tortillas would blow up like a balloon. After you press them flat again, though, they harden and it was fine.

Serves 4
198 calories per serving
2.25 grams of fat per serving

Ingredients:

12 ounces raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast, cut into strips
4 medium corn tortillas
1/2 cup sliced red bell pepper
1/4 cup sugar free, calorie free coconut syrup (*see note about this)
2 tbsp. pineapple salsa (or canned pineapple tidbits in juice mixed with regular salsa)
1/2 tbsp. fat-free sour cream (in place of sour cream, we always use plain Greek yogurt - it tastes the same)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 400°. Once oven is hot, use tongs to carefully drape tortilla over two grates in the oven rack, so that the tortilla hangs from the rack. Bake for about 5 minutes, or until tortilla forms a firm taco shell (Shell will harden completely after cooling). Use tongs to carefully remove shell, then let cool.
2. Place coconut syrup, garlic powder, and salt in medium pot. Add 1/2 cup water and mix well. Add chicken and pepper slices to the pot and bring to low heat on the stove.
3. Cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked and tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat and drain liquid completely.
4. Place chicken and bell pepper in the taco shell. Top with salsa and sour cream.

*If you can't find the coconut syrup, add an extra 1/2 cup water, 1 tsp. coconut extract, and 1 tbsp. Splenda (granulated).

Provencal Stuffed Tomatoes

(Fitness Magazine)

The original recipe for this is Provencal Stuffed Tomatoes, but I honestly didn't like the sound of that, so I did this with green peppers instead of tomatoes. Maybe you'd like to try it with the tomatoes. Anyway, regardless of how you do it, the filling was perfect, and even though my son doesn't like peppers or tomatoes, he did eat the filling! That is a step in the right direction! ;)

Serves 6 (1 tomato per serving)
259 calories per serving
9 grams of fat

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 jar (16 oz.) marinara sauce
1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped
2 tsp. Greek seasoning
1/4 tsp. salt
6 large ripe tomatoes
Fresh oregano to taste
6 tbsp. crumbled goat cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Heat a large nonstick skillet  over medium-high heat. Add ground beef, onion, green pepper and garlic; cook 5 minutes. Stir in marinara sauce, olives, Greek seasoning and salt. Cook 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Cut tops of tomatoes and spoon out pulp; fill with meat mixture. Bake stuffed tomatoes for 5 minutes.
3. Garnish each tomato with oregano and 1 tbsp. crumbled goat cheese. Serve.

 

Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Cassoulet

(Cooking Light: Cooking Through the Seasons)

I loved this, and we had plenty of leftovers. My husband and my son were not too sure about this at first because usually whenever I make anything with beans in it, they tend to be skeptical. The difference here is that the bacon (or pancetta, if you can find it) flavors the dish very well, and when they tried it, they both liked it a lot. This takes a while, but in my opinion, it's worth it!

Serves 8
259 calories per serving
7.7 grams of fat

Ingredients:

1 whole garlic head
4 ounces of pancetta, chopped (or regular smoked bacon, a little less)
2 cups vertically sliced onion
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
4 1/2 cups of cubed peeled butternut squash (cubed to 1/2"; approximately 2 lbs.)
1/2 cup organic vegetable broth
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
4 (16 oz.) cans cannellini / other white beans, rinsed & drained
1 bay leaf
2 (1 oz.) slices of bread
2 tbsp. grated fresh parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Remove papery skin from garlic (do not peel or separate the cloves). Wrap garlic head in foil. Bake at 350° for 1 hour; cool 10 minutes. Separate the cloves; squeeze to extract garlic pulp. Set half of garlic pulp aside; reserve remaining pulp for another use. Discard skins.
2. Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pancetta (or bacon); sauté 5 minutes or until crisp. Remove from pan / reserve drippings in pan. Add onion and 1 tbsp. olive oil to drippings in pan; sauté 5 minutes. Reduce to medium-low; cook 25 minutes or until onion is very tender, stirring frequently. Stir in vinegar.
3. Preheat oven to 375°. Add garlic pulp, pancetta (or bacon), squash and next 6 ingredients to onion mixture, stirring well. Place bread in food processor and pule until coarse crumbs measure 1 cup. Combine crumbs, parmesan and 1/2 tsp. olive oil; sprinkle over squash mixture. Cover and bake 50 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more. Discard bay leaf and sprinkle with parsley.

Spicy Shrimp Noodle Bowl

(Cooking Light magazine)

We found out that we all love rice noodles! My son who, until now, has always refused to even try shrimp, ate all of his! I did have to make a non-spicy version of it, though, only because he won't eat spicy foods. Even so, it was great. The noodles absorbed the flavor of the broth, and I was very happy with the outcome of this recipe.

Serves 4
236 calories per servng
3.6 grams of fat

Ingredients:

1 lb. tail-on peeled and deveined medium shrimp
1 1/2 cups of water
1 cup fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth
1 (8 oz.) bottle clam juice
2 (1/4" thick) slices peeled fresh ginger
1 tsp. olive oil
3/4 cups thinly sliced red bell pepper
1/4 cup thinly sliced yellow onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup sugar snap peas
2 tsp. chili garlic sauce or 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (we omitted this part for my son)
1/4 tsp. salt
3 ounces uncooked rice sticks
2 tbsp. fresh cilantro leaves
Lime wedges

1. Remove shrimp tails; set aside. Combine shrimp tails, water, broth, clam juice, and ginger in a saucepan; bring to boil. Reduced heat, and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Strain broth mixture through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids.
2. Heat olive oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, yellow onion, and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Add reserved broth; bring to a simmer. Add shrimp, peas, chili garlic sauce, salt and noodles; cook 5 minutes or until noodles are done. Ladle 1 1/4 cups soup into each of 4 bowls; top each serving with 1 1/2 tsp. cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Light Italian Wedding Soup

(This was a Martha Stewart light cooking recipe; I can't remember what the name of the cookbook was)

My husband's thoughts on this were that the meatballs were fantastic, but the soup lacked noodles. I personally was not aware that Italian Wedding Soup usually had noodles in it...but then again, I really have not tried it before, aside from the canned versions. Anyway, you be the judge, and if you do wish to add noodles, just adjust the calorie / fat count, which is already considerably low.

Serves 6
250 calories per serving
9.8 grams fat

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup dried plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese + more for serving
Coarse salt & ground pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth (14.5 oz.)
2 cans diced tomatoes in juice (14.5 oz.)
2 heads escarole, trimmed and coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. In large bowl, combine first 5 ingredients (1 tsp. salt + 1/4 tsp. pepper). Roll into balls.
2. In large pot, heat oil to medium. Cook onion until soft. Add broth and tomatoes, bring to simmer. Add meatballs and cook without stirring until they float to the surface (about 5 minutes).
3. Add as much escarole to the pot as will fit. Cook, gradually adding the rest, until wilted and meatballs are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt & pepper.

 

Cider-Glazed Chicken with Browned Butter-Pecan Rice

(Cooking Light magazine)

Again, with chicken, it makes a huge difference when I mix it up periodically. The usual baked chicken with broccoli and rice or what have you tends to get old for me real quick. The apple cider glaze worked well for me, and the rice with the pecans was to die for! I'm not sure my husband was crazy about the rice because he's not a big fan of pecans, but I shared some of it with my father and he couldn't get enough of it!

Serves 4 (1 cutlet and about 1/2 cup rice per serving)
333 calories per serving
13 grams of fat

Ingredients:

1 (3.5 oz.) bag boil-in-bag brown rice (such as Uncle Ben's)
2 tbsp. butter, divided
1 lb. chicken breast cutlets (about 4 cutlets)
3/4 tsp. salt, divided
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup refrigerated apple cider
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

1. Cook rice according to package directions in a small saucepan, omitting salt and fat; drain.
2. While rice cooks, melt 1 tsp. butter in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 tsp. salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side until done. Remove from pan. Add cider and mustard to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until syrupy. Add chicken to pan, turning to coat. Remove from heat; set aside.
3. Melt remaining 5 teaspoons butter in saucepan over medium-high heat; cook for 2 minutes or until browned and fragrant. Lower heat to medium; add pecans and cook for 1 minute or until toasted, stirring frequently. Add rice and the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt; toss well to coat. Serve rice with chicken. Sprinkle with parsley.

Seeing Results

I am finally happy to say that I am down 20 lbs. since I started this program in August. In the past, I think I have been in too much of a hurry to see results, and when I didn't see them come fast enough, I would give up. I think it's true what they say: the best way to do it is slowly, a couple of lbs. a week, and I think the best reason that it's good in the long run is because I know from experience that when I lose weight too fast, I don't really put much thought into every lb. I lose, so when I finally reach a goal, I sometimes relax too much. At that point, I will start putting it back on again almost as quickly as I lost it, and I'll think "oh, it's no big deal, it's just 10 lbs., I'll just lose it again." Then, before I know it, I have gained it all back.

Let me explain some of the things I am learning in this program that will (hopefully) help me to not only lose the weight, but keep it off (which has been a nightmare for me in the past):

1. I weigh myself every day. This is something I would never do before, and there is a very good reason for that. I would prefer to do it once every week or two at the most because I didn't want to see how fast I was losing weight; it was never fast enough for me (then there's the fact that my weight fluctuates like crazy!) The way I look at it now (and they explained it this way) is that weighing yourself every day will become a habit, like brushing your teeth, so that when you finally do reach your goal, you will be able to maintain your weight by being aware of it all the time. One of the best things about this program is that we make this stuff part of our daily routine, so that our lifestyle changes, not just our weight.

2. I try to keep my daily routine moving in the right direction. They refer to this as our "east". I first identify my values, or my reasons for wanting to be healthy (mine include seeing my son grow up, gaining back energy which I usually do not have, and feeling better for a better quality of life in general). They say "values are like directions. You can always try to move east. It never ends. In any situation, you can ask yourself 'am I behaving consistent with my values? If I lost 30 lbs., would I not want to be healthy, active and engaged anymore? If I didn't lose weight, would being healthy, active and engaged be a failure?" So if I fall off track, east is always there, and I can always go back in that direction, no matter how bad I think I did.

3. I see cravings and desires as thoughts, and nothing more. We learned that our minds have evolved to try to keep us as comfortable as possible. It is a comfort machine. It tells us "why would you want to exercise? Sitting on the couch and eating potato chips is much for comfortable!" This was a good thing when we were in constant fear of being eaten by wild beasts thousands of years ago, but it's not such a good thing all the time nowadays. We become controlled by our thoughts. So we can identify the fact that we are having these thoughts by saying "I am having the thought that I would rather sit on the couch and eat potato chips." That separates the thought from us; it puts it outside of us, and we are no longer controlled by it. So we can say "I am having the thought that I want to eat ice cream" or whatever you can think of, and just acknowledge that we are simply having a thought.
This helps a great deal if you eat out at restaurants often, like I do (although I seriously need to work harder on limiting this to once a week). One of the things they emphasize is that if you were to eat out every day, it would be virtually impossible to lose weight. They even have a class that is just about how bad restaurants are for people. Naturally, many restaurants offer menus under 500 calories or so, but the main idea in the restaurant business is to make money, so they are going to do whatever it takes to make the food taste good and make you come back for more. But my point is that if you do go out to eat, you can identify your thoughts while you are sitting there looking at the menu. Most people will think "well, my husband gets to order this, so I should be able to!" Or "the food smells so good" or my personal favorite, "a calorie splurge won't kill me". This is when it is good to take a step back and acknowledge these thoughts and still choose a healthier option.

4. I don't try to avoid the thoughts. We did an experiment where the psychologist told us "don't think about chocolate cake". We had to sit for a minute and try to think about anything but chocolate cake. For most of us, that didn't work, and for the others, chances are that over time, it won't work. Depriving ourselves of certain foods will make us put too much energy into trying to avoid those foods, which will usually end with us succumbing to our desire to eat the food.
They teach us that if we are having an unhealthy thought, we can become "stuck". We know we're stuck when we're fighting with the thought, going along with the thought or consumed by the thought. This is when we can say "I'm having the thought that _______" or we can find our "east" / reorient our values.

5. I acknowledge when I am making excuses. We learned that our mind can come up with an excuse for just about anything. We had to come up with two reasons why we have been unsuccessful with weight loss. Then two more reasons. Then two fake reasons. Then two reasons why our spouse or siblings might have been unsuccessful. Then two reasons why we might have been successful. We came up with tons of reasons for everything. Our minds are reason-generating machines (and JUDGMENT machines, "the world's worst motivational speaker"). So basically, they said that if our mind was making excuses not to exercise or not to eat healthy, we need to look at it as "if someone offered me a million dollars, would I still not do this thing?" If the answer is no, then it's a legitimate excuse. If the answer is yes, I would do it, then it's probably not a legitimate excuse.


Well, things have been going really well since I started using these techniques (although, like anything else, it is a learning experience and is not without its snags and difficulties). I am noticing that I am able to let go easily nowadays. My favorite thing about this program is that it is designed to be for life, not just some temporary fix like the Slim Fast diet, and while I am paying attention to the scale, the purpose is more to be a healthier individual than it is to lose weight. The program is changing my perspective on life, which is exactly what I need.

As far as our weight loss method goes, we learned that it is better to count calories rather than just fat, carbs or sugars (or what have you) because all of these things are made up of calories, which is why it's the best thing to focus on. Our eating plan, however, should not provide more than 25% of our calories from fat. Because of my weight, my daily calorie goal is 1,500 and my fat goal is 42 grams. I cook a lot more than I did before, and all of my meals are for the whole family. I go to the library every few weeks or so and check out recipe books for cooking light. My family has loved almost everything so far! Exercise is just as effective if it's divided up into increments of 10 minutes. Right now, we should try to get at least 100 minutes per week. This will eventually go up to 250 minutes per week (which I think will help a lot with that weight loss plateau I always run into when I get down to 200 lbs.)

Anther thing is that when I am losing weight, I never realize that there is actually a change going on, so maybe it would be better for me to take the time to post my progress photos as I'm losing weight. Below on the left is me on February 25, 2013 at 270 lbs. and on the right, me today (09/20/13) at 250 lbs.

 

I will keep posting my results and what I am learning from the program periodically. Thank you for reading!! :)

Starting Tomorrow...

I had my first "official" group with the other people in the weight loss program this evening. The goal (the first of two for this year) is to lose 10% of my body weight. I am actually really looking forward to this now that I have had a chance to meet the other people (there are 15 in my group, and a total of 30 in the program).

I have to write about my personal incentive to pursue this, and for me, that will be to improve my health for the purpose of increasing my energy for a better quality of life. It is very important to me that I set a good example for my son. I do not want to feel like I have failed my son because of the possibility that he will have to deal with the same struggles as I have.

I have been thinking about the Mediterranean Diet; any takes on this?  I am particularly fond of the idea that there is a diet out there that I don't have to pay into just to try. The only problem is that I need to keep my calories around 1500 per day, and my fat at 42 grams per day, so I know I will need to omit a lot of the things on that menu. If anyone happens to know of a decent food planner for this that I can find online, that would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Weight Loss Research Study

So today, I went to an orientation for a weight loss research study, conducted by Brown University and Miriam Hospital. I signed up for a program that will last for a year, and continue periodically for a subsequent year of just follow-ups. Here is what the paperwork says about it:

You are being asked to participate in a research project because you are between 18 and 70 years old, are overweight or obese, and have problems with eating in response to negative thoughts and feelings...The purpose of this study is to test a new approach to helping you lose weight....You will be "randomized" into one of the study groups described below:
Program 1: If you are assigned to this program, you will be asked to attend weekly group meetings for 6 months, then every other week for 3 months, then monthly for 3 months. At these group sessions, you will be taught to change you eating and physical activity to lose weight and maintain it. You will be asked to write down your food intake and activity throughout the 12 month program. You will be taught standard techniques to help you recognize and change negative thoughts and emotions that are making it hard for you to follow a healthy eating and exercise program.
Program 2: If you are assigned to this program, you will attend group meetings on the same schedule as in Program 1 and be taught the same strategies to help you change your eating and activity to lose weight and maintain it. The program will teach a different approach to handling negative thoughts and emotions, in which you are helped to accept these feelings (rather than trying to change them) and to focus on achieving your goals and values despite these negative feelings.

Basically, it's like being in a weight watchers group in which they teach 2 different techniques for dealing with emotional eating and try to learn which is more effective. My understanding is that regardless of which group I am in, weight loss is expected (and it is all focused on calorie intake and exercise). It's free for me, which is fantastic, LOL, and I will receive some compensation for my time. I must say, I am ready to make this commitment; I really need it, and I have never been in any kind of weight loss program before, but I am sure that it will give me the motivation I have been lacking all this time. I am looking forward to it, and I'll keep you updated! :)

Letting Go

I think a big part of "letting go" of the difficulties and the stress that bogs us down is realizing that it's not going to all change by snapping our fingers. Like most things in life, it takes time. I am reminded of a teacher of the Toa Te Ching who said something to the effect that during meditation, we shouldn't try to force all thoughts out of our mind. When a thought finds its way in, acknowledge it, and gently let it go. If it keeps coming back, do the same thing; let it go. These things must be done slowly, over time, for us to master them.

I think this can be applied to just about anything that will help us change our lifestyle, whether it's quitting drinking, smoking or fast food, sticking to a healthy exercise routine or minimizing food portions, or in my case, switching over to a vegetarian (leaning toward vegan) lifestyle. I find, once again, that I am having trouble sticking to it, but I think I need to take a calm approach to steering myself in the right direction, rather than losing my grip and telling myself "you'd better do this now, or else" or even "I can't do this". I am not living in the moment when I say things like that, and I find as I get older that I say that pretty often!

The big problem right now is that we are also trying our best to save every penny because we may be taking our son on vacation. We had this planned out for over a year, and now we are going to have to wait until the morning we are supposed to leave (this Friday) to find out whether it would be irresponsible to do this because we are starting to fall behind on bills right now. Money has been pretty tight since I stopped working full-time. That said, the menu for this week consists of frozen food, loaded with preservatives that we had in the freezer for some time, but never ate until now, lol -- and there is a reason for that! We'll see if it was worth it.

Meanwhile, I realized that I completely forgot my doctor's appointment, which was supposed to be on the 15th! I have a few things that I need to talk to her about. I need to constantly, constantly remind myself that health comes first!! Anyway, I should mention that giving up coffee has been the most difficult part of all this, and once I start with the coffee, everything else goes right out the window. I wish there was a way I could drink coffee and not overindulge. I think that plays a huge role in why I am so tired all the time, and I find that I feel that way very shortly after I overdo it with the coffee! No good!

I am a work in progress...

Next Stop: Vegetarian

I know it seems like I don't come here as often as I probably should, and it's not because things aren't going well. Actually, I really can't complain about my overall progress too much...except for this past weekend, because, well, I'm Irish and I celebrated that fact for like 4 days lol...but the party's over now!!

I did, however, weigh myself at some point last week and was a bit disappointed to find that I hadn't lost a single pound, nor did I lose any inches. It stung because I had been working really hard at it, keeping my calorie count under 1200 per day and burning an average of 500 calories / day. I do believe it has a lot to do with the possibility that my body is resisting it after having lost and re-gained so much weight over the past 10 years or so. I don't know if there is any truth to that, as I've never heard anyone complain about this happening before, but it's the only thing I can think of (aside from the fact that I'm pushing 30) because I was doing it exactly the same as I did the last two times, and for some reason I immediately hit the plateau.

On that note, I must keep reminding myself that I am not in this to lose weight as much as I am to get healthy. And, if I'm in it to get healthy, it's inevitable that I have to face the fact that the Slim Fast diet is probably not the best way to do it (although, um...it's delicious! My husband still wants to do it anyway just because he loves the taste of the chocolate royale, lol...)

Last night, I found myself getting worked up over some political issue that involved corporations destroying the health of America, I think it had something to do with the mayor of New York losing the battle to ban large-sized soft drinks. I was on the fence with the issue because on one hand, I'm not sure if I agree with politicians telling us what we can and can't consume, unless you're looking at it from the perspective that healthcare costs come out of the taxpayers' (our own) pockets. That's a whole separate issue, but I was also thinking "damn...money wins again!" I mean, I would not have cried a river for the ever-so-greedy McDonald's, or what have you, if they had lost that one in court. So anyway, I started browsing the internet to learn more about the typical American's highly processed diet, and I found my way to Netflix, where I watched this:

And here is the link if you've never seen it and you're interested (you will need a Netflix account):
http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Forks-Over-Knives/70185045


I am a sucker for inspirational documentaries; I had the pleasure of seeing Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead for the first time a couple of years ago and, as I've mentioned, I actually did a reboot that lasted 2 weeks (I felt really funny toward the end of it, like I was constantly in a dream-like state, and I don't know if that's normal but I wasn't crazy about it). After watching Forks Over Knives, I recalled that I actually was a vegetarian when I was 13, and it lasted for a year. Even though that was the case, I don't believe I cut out all processed foods from my diet (I still ate those Boca burgers, etc. by Morning Star, which I don't know if I could stomach this time around lol). Last night, after watching the documentary, I decided to become a vegetarian again (I shouldn't say it like I know what I'm talking about because the last time I did this was 17 years ago, but there it is).

So, we went shopping today, and here is what's on the menu for this week:

Really, I didn't have much time to think about it and we needed groceries pretty badly, so I just kinda walked around and threw whatever I thought would be good in the cart, but before we go again the next time, I will have plant-based meals planned out. Since I am a newbie at this, I will need to find some meals that look appetizing and try them out. This (along with the diet itself) will take some getting used to, but I am looking forward to the challenge. :) I do wish I had a juicer again for those times when I want fresh juice, or even a functional blender for that matter (the one I have is crap! It's true what they say: you get what you pay for!)

As for exercise, I am sticking with my elliptical machine regularly, but I am so happy the warm weather is finally on its way (well, at some point; I say this because we just got bombared with more slushy snow...spring is coming, folks!) I am finally going to be able to use those bikes; I just need to pump up the tires and make a few adjustments. I am finally going to take advantage of that bike path down the street. Very exciting!

Lost 11 lbs!

Well, I am very happy to say that I am finally getting that motivation I need. I am going strong with my diet and regular exercise, and since my last check-in, I have lost 11 lbs and a couple of inches off my neck, waist and hips (I realize that those first 5 lbs. are probably from the initial diet shock on my body, which happens to me every time).

As a matter of fact, we all went out to Ruby Tuesday's last night (Friday is restaurant night) and we ordered chips and artichoke dip for an appetizer, and I am not really crazy about that place, but we had a coupon we decided to use and I ordered a cheeseburger. Well, I ate some of the chips, the two sides and I took two bites of the burger, and by that time I was so full I thought I would burst. Even my husband looked at me like really? LOL that's very unusual for me. It's true what they say about the elasticity of our stomachs, smaller portions over time make them shrink. I could never put myself through stomach stapling surgery, but this does the trick. And, to reiterate what Joe says in Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, who made it a law that we need to eat three square meals a day?

I am very happy about this so far, and being on this diet has given me the control I've needed; I really don't have overwhelming cravings, and I haven't had the urge to stop at a fast-food place at all because I know what I'm going to have for lunch already, and the portion size is always the same.

The only thing that concerns me is there are days when I am just incredibly overtired (I've mentioned before that exercising in the morning makes me exhausted by the middle of the day, even when I'm not doing this diet; now it is slightly better, but I do still feel it). I've never had this problem before. I'm wondering if it could be that I am getting older and my body is just not as strong as it used to be. I've looked online and read about other people who have had this problem, and it seems like it might boil down to not enough hydration (I drink tons of water every day, but may not be getting enough electrolites / potassium) or, and this is something I really need to figure out (as I no longer have a gym membership), I have done no weight training whatsoever so far. Supposedly, this leaves nowhere for glycogen (??) to go after working out, and thus, it makes you feel exhausted. I have a couple of small weights I will start using tonight, but I would like to figure out something a little better. In any case, I have made an apointment with the doctor for March 15, and I'll hopefully know soon (although there are still some health mysteries I have yet to understand thoroughly right now). For now, I'll just do what I'm doing, as it's not at the point of being debillitating.