Wednesday, September 30, 2009

granola

I had some yummy granola a few weekends ago and got the recipe... Mason and I are going to make it tonight. yah! granola and raspberries tomorrow for breakfast!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

patterns

I enjoy patterns/ritual/stucture. I like the fact that I've planned my dinners for the next few nights and the ingredients are in the kitchen or will be after my New Seasons trip on Thursday. It sometimes seems like a burden to plan like that, but then I'm left to the whim of the moment and what happens? Crap. I had a great weekend of pretty good food, but this food left me feeling bloated, gassy and fat. And I was all these things. Still am, in fact. Cause this stuff has residual effects on the digestive system. I am hoping to work it out by this Thursday or I might have to take drastic action. This is known as a steak day. I so don't want to have to do this as I will be a horrible mamma and crankster if I have to do it. So, I am hoping my moderative, eat well approach will reign it in. I hope.

Monday, September 28, 2009

What is healthy?

Is it feeling good? Looking good? Tasting good? I spent the weekend with a bunch of 60 year old women who ranged the gamut of healthy eaters to unhealthy eaters, and healthy to unhealthy hearts. I came home feeling unhealthy, but is that the truth? Or is it all balance once again and just remembering where I am and how I live my life on a daily basis.

Monday, September 14, 2009

feeling feelings

So today my naturopath told me to stop losing weight. Now that is something I have never heard before. She told me I needed to eat more carbs, but admired my thoughtfulness in wanting to add foods meaningfully to a meal. So now, after having made halibut, a small salad, and onion on couscous I am feeling very full... and very fat. Huh. There must be a balance.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

different interests

I just posted on facebook a request for smoothies. I guess i was thinking that people who drank smoothies were interested in the same things as me. I was totally wrong. I used to drink smoothies that were all about berries and juice and protein. My new interest includes these things plus fiber and veggies. So having a juice, berries, fruit smoothie doesn't work - too much sugar. Neither does soy products or oils instead of fiber products. Huh. I guess I have specific needs. So weird to realize that my interests in health are so very different than others.

So, what I am looking for is a way to create a smoothie with veggies, no cows dairy, with berries, protein and (mono) unsaturated fats. Anyone have recommendations for that?

Thanks!

New Generation in smoothie

I tried a new smoothie this morning. First, the old one: oj, strawberry (or whatever berries are in season), vanilla yogurt, banana, protein powder, and dehydrated milk. I usually make this and then add spinach and pour them into popsicle molds for my son. He totally doesn't notice the spinach. hehe.

New smoothie: plain goat yogurt, goat milk, figs, mango, almonds, cinnamon, flax seeds, and avocado

Results: son wouldn't drink it. It was a little too thick. I tried adding more milk, but then the cinnamon flavor went away. Needs more mango as well. Almonds are yummy. Didn't notice the avocado (do i need it?)

Lost Weight on Ranchito Night

I can't believe it! We went out to El Ranchito (an old favorite) for dinner last night and this morning I lost weight! I definitely made different food choices, but the chips and margs were the same. The challenge with mexican food is the lack of veggies and too many carbs (rice and beans and tortilla). This restaurant has added some vegetarian options recently, but these have no protein in them (no black beans there). So, I went for the steak fajita with corn tortillas. Pretty yummy - wayyyyyy too much food. We took a short walk after. Was so dreading the scale this morning. What a pleasant surprise. My body is processing foods better since that thing I'm doing started and my naturopath discovered I have a hard time processing dairy. It seems more efficient now. What a marvel is the human body. I should thank it more often.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Bulgur Burgers

Well, that was a bust. While I really like the fixings the burgers shouldn't have been burgers at all. Really yummy insides that didn't benefit from all that bread. I think they'd best be in a wrap. This I will do for lunch in the next few days.

bette midler doesn't trust me

Bette Midler was on the Rachael Ray show sometime this spring and on reruns last week I saw part of the show while working out. I am an old fan of hers and when I saw she was going to be on I was excited even though I don't usually watch that show. At some point during the interview she said she doesn't trust people who don't like food. Huh. My idol doesn't trust me? That's sad. But wait, don't I like food? I didn't used to - but since this thing I'm doing started I've been more mindful of the food I put in my body and how it affects me. What role does food play in keeping my mind and body healthy and energetic? I now know that carbs in the afternoon bug me, but I need some in the morning for energy to workout. I know that veggies and protein are good at dinner, especially when I add some spices to them. I've been experimenting and really learning what I like. So don't I like food now? Now that I can trust food not to turn on me at any moment and shovel itself into my mouth with abandon?

I think so.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

peet-zah

I ate pizza last night as my husband ordered it. You know the gross, pizza hut, salt-infested (reallyreally) yummy stuff. It (probably the msg) started messing with me immediately. My husband was unable to eat it; another story for another day. So, it just felt weird. Only gained .4 pounds though - so I must not have overindulged. Also, ate wonderfully the rest of the day. Good to know that indulgences don't totally screw you up.

Food-Sharing

I'm not very good at sharing food. I am much better than I used to be, but really don't eat my first bite or last. Unless I offer, of course. And I am offering much more these days as I work through my food "issues". At some point I figured out that the sharing thing came from not feeling that I had enough food to eat. Odd, considering my upbringing. We had plenty of food around the house, but where the enough comes into play is desserts. We had them around occasionally, but apparently we were all supposed to be as controlled as my dad and eat the proper amounts on a regular basis. That didn't work for me and I started sneaking food from a very early age. When my husband talks about having cookies around as a kid he talks like they were always there and he never really that about it. Still is like that - he lets the cookies I send with him to work (so I won't eat them all) go stale. That is interesting to me. At various times I have tried breaking myself of this enough or not-enough mindset. In "Overcoming Overeating" they say that you should have a Brooke-shelf and that you should make a list of your favorite foods. You are then supposed to eat the one the you really like until you don't want it any more. Oh, I can't even imagine how many oreos I hate in 2005. I finally feel like I have control over my food right now. I don't feel the pull of sweets and when I eat something my naturopath said to observe, not judge. When I do that life is quite good. Maybe I needed that food in that moment. Was that my body talking? Or my mind? Maybe, just maybe I needed squash instead. (I'm still waiting on that one :).

Now, it seems my son has this enough thing too I'm afraid. I was so glad when I heard he was a boy, I was relieved that I wouldn't have to model food for a girl and deal with all of this. Can't stop unless the food is done. How could this be genetic? I share my food with him all the time as does my husband. He'll share his food too, but he doesn't listen to his stomach, he eats until it is gone. Even when the result of eating that many craisins could NOT be good. I'll have to keep watching, hoping, and providing as much of good role modeling as possible. I don't wish this on anyone.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

lunch

Lunch was yummy today. I had my first wrap since pre-diet. I am trying to reform my quesadilla-loving ways. My SIL told me about these high fiber whole wheat wraps and I used that with cabbage and hummus. I then had peppers with goat cheese and kiwi. Super yummy lunch. yah!

Wednesdays are tough for me as I have yoga at 5:30. I am usually super hungry by then, but it is not a good idea to eat for 3 hours before yoga. So my weekly conundrum is what to do to get enough food energy for yoga. I will probably have a snack in a little bit and hope that it holds me over.

On a general note, thus far my plan is failing. I totally talked to my husband last night about food, well, more about my body and how I have always wanted a six-pack. He was in a mellow enough mood that he hung with me for a while. He also thought it was an awesome goal. So do I, and think it would be awesome to achieve it at 34. Even for 5 minutes. :)

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Dinner

Tonight we had halibut with green beans and parsnip. I usually saute my green beans with pine nuts, but found a new recipe that included ginger, garlic, chili paste and soy sauce. It was super yummy. We convinced my son that the parsnip were french fries and he ate them with gusto. We'll have to get more parsnip in the future :)

I got a new scale today as the old one was totally wacky. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Pounds and Inches

Here is a link to the manuscript: http://www.hcgdietinfo.com/Dr-ATW-Simeons-Pounds-and-Inches.htm

Monday, September 7, 2009

This thing I'm doing

I am 8 weeks into this thing I'm doing. It is called the HCG diet. I first heard of it from a friend who, after losing some weight, told me about it. But the thing is that she not only looked great because she lost weight, but she glowed with health. And that is what I am after. I have long been a healthy person who eats well, works out, and then eats crap. I was looking for a change in perspective and this diet seemed just the thing. I read Pounds and Inches, the book by Dr. Simeons where he describes the diet, why it is unique and how it is achieved. I was hooked and immediately called to set up an appointment with a naturopath.

After 25 days I lost the 23 pounds I didn't think I could lose. I had done it once before with Weight Watchers and I was STARVING. This time I wasn't and was able to finally get rid of the those post (and pre) - baby love handles. I am on my fifth week of maintenance and feel great. I had one blip last week and has been totally rectified.

The reason for this blog? Well, my loving husband is tired of hearing me talk about food, how to prepare food, what I'm making and the grocery store I will buy it in. I think I'll share it with you instead.

Oh, and I am working up a weekly spreadsheet to post my weight, exercise and diet. I have found it really helps seeing what I ate and how this affected my weight. I'm happy to share.