Begin Again!

And so I begin again!  

I am going to review some short term and long term goals and get on the band wagon again.  A few years ago, I was in a session with a psychologist trying to determine why I was angry at the world and eating myself to death.  This is a picture I drew at the time.  It is how I imagine myself when I am happy and healthy.  I have it pinned to a bulletin board so I can see it every day and it became my mantra.  

I am going to use it again and try to remember that eating healthy is a gift that I give myself.

It's been a good day

Monday starts the week

So, today is the day that I start eating healthy.  I am reminded of a drawing I made when I was in therapy for depression a few years ago.  It had two lines on it that I want to be my mantra!  "I CAN PAMPER MYSELF WITH HEALTHY FOOD"  and "I CAN TREAT MY BODY AS A TEMPLE TO MY SOUL"

Today, I have eaten a great salad with tuna and olives and a serving of vanilla fat free yogurt.  It is a good start.  I will be starting my food log on fatsecret.com again too, so I can put my numbers here.

I have to eat what is in the house now.  So, until I get rid of things, I will be counting calories and doing weight watchers simply filling.

The changes from the original plan

Part of the reason that this strict Belly Fat Cure didn't work for me was the lack of dairy.  I love yogurt and learned long ago that the benefits of putting live acidophiles bacteria into my diet are many things including digestion and preventing yeast infections.  So, I am doing the Belly Fat Cure, but I am including fat free/sugar free yogurt every day and not counting the sugar.  From everything that I have been reading, lactose, which is the sugar in dairy products, digests differently in the body than all other sugars.

Another reason that I had trouble was the cost.  It is far cheaper to buy a package of bagels for $2.99 and have it last a week rather than buying a pound of ham or turkey ($7) and have it last 2-3 days.  Even if I cook my own meats and slice them, proteins are expensive.  So, this time, I am going to work on learning how to improve my "perfect protein" combinations of rice and beans to supplement my meats.  One of the tough parts of this option is that all other protein options are full of carbohydrates too.  So, we will see if this works.

Time to stop dying and start living

I am back!  It's been almost a year.  I drink too much and eat too much.  I have terrible sleep habits and last night I spent 6 hours thinking I was going to have a stroke or heart attack while the palpitations in my heart roared in my ears.  ENOUGH!  I am back on the wagon.

Thoughts today

Well it's been a couple of days since I have posted. I have been busy, but I haven't fallen off the wagon!

I succeeded with those ribs I was writing about. I used 12 ounces of really flavorful beer that had an undertone of cherries. The beer had 3 carbs for the entire pot of ribs and NO SUGAR! And, it was so good. Hubby said it was a keeper.

So, here is what I did:

In slow cooker:

1 onion, sliced
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, crush in your hands
2 pounds country style pork ribs
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
3 cloves of garlic crushed
12 ounces robust beer, preferably with a fruit undertown

Set on high and cook for 5-6 hours.

YUMMY!!!

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Daily Thoughts

Today I am reading through a great cookbook called "500 Low Carb Recipes" by Dana Carpender. I am looking for methods as well as recipes. One specific thing I was looking for was ideas for making ribs or anything that cries out for a BBQ sauce.

Since most BBQ sauces are full of sugar, I was looking for more natural ways to sweeten tomatoes and vinegar without sugar. I didn't find the answer in the book, but I was reminded that one of our favorite ways to enjoy ribs was to cook them in a slow cooker with diet soda. The soda does 2 things. First it tenderizes the meat; it's the carbonation that does that. And, it sweetens the meat from the artificial sweetness in the soda. It doesn't really work on the stove or in the oven with diet soda because bringing aspartame to a boil makes it very bitter. But a slow cooker slowly cooks/heats it so all you get is the sweetness.

Tonight is one of our favorite local bands at a place only 1 mile away. We will eat dinner before we go, so it will be a very cheap night out.

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End of Day Count (yesterday!)

Well it's only 18 hours late for my end of day count for yesterday.

Carb 130.62 (7 servings) (out of 120 or 6 servings)
Sugar 9.07 (out of 15)

So I was way under for sugar and a bit over for carbs. I have not been getting enough fiber rich foods in my carbs, so yesterday I had brown rice and red beans in my lunch. It was a good compromise. But, I am still learning how to do it all.

Still losing. Tomorrow I will have another weigh in, but I think I have hit a new mark!! The seat belt in both cars hooks easily and I will be moving that goal from short term, to completed today!!

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Daily Thoughts

Well it's mid afternoon and I am just getting to the checking in here. I am waiting for my dinner to be ready and it smells luscious. It is cooking in the rice cooker. It is a Mexican style rice and chicken that I made up myself. If you are also following my cooking blog, it is actually something that was planned for next week, but got moved up because at 11AM I discovered the the item scheduled for today takes 6 hours in the slow cooker and we eat dinner around 3.

Anyhow, it's got yellow rice, chicken, bell pepper, hot frying peppers, red kidney beans, onions, garlic and lots of other seasonings too. It is YUMMY! Very filling and totally simply filling if you are following Weight Watchers. That's not the way I am counting right now, but in many ways it is similar. I am actually using the information I have learned from many eating plans (I don't want to say the "D" word) to choose my foods. I think that's why I am being successful. I am not following someone else's plan, I am learning to figure it out myself.

There are a few reasons I eat dinner at lunch time. First it works well for our schedule. I tutor in the late afternoons and don't get home till 8:30PM. Who wants to start cooking dinner then? Plus it's unhealthy to eat a big meal that late. Also, on the nights we like to go out for music, it's far better to have our big meal before we go. That way the night out costs little to nothing.

We will be heading out tonight to see friends of ours perform at a local restaurant. Here is a no recipe recipe for those who like to go out and have a drink now and then. Take a shot of whipped cream flavored vodka and mix it with diet coke or seltzer. YUMMY! And then each time you are half way down the glass, have the bar tender keep filling the glass with ice and more diet coke or seltzer. Also tastes great with decaf coffee and lots of ice. Use Splenda if you need to sweeten it. No sugar and only 3 carbs.

One of my dogs hasn't been feeling well and that has been very stressful. I think he is better today, although he hasn't started to eat or drink yet and that worries me. He will get a bath later to clean him up and I am hoping that perks him up enough to eat. Although he is such a wimpy dog, he will probably pout for a few hours after the bath first. Just giving him a bath will be a work out for the day.

Well that's enough babbling. I need to get our dinner and will write in my ending day numbers later.

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End of Day Count

Carbs 133.44 or 6 servings (out of 6 servings)
Sugar 16.68 grams (out of 15)

And, my day included an awesome Baked Ravioli Lasagna.

I am down 14.5 pounds in the last 9 days!!! I am so excited, I almost don't believe it. I know this rate of loss won't last forever, but it sure is motivating.

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Morning Check-in

Today is very cold here. The wind is whistling and I have the sniffles and a bad throat. Today is a day of comfort food; and it's all within my limits!

The congestion is causing me to have such a headache. I can't take a decongestant because of my blood pressure. Can't wait till I don't have to worry about that any more. I do believe it is 100% caused by my weight.

I won big at the Trivia Night last night. We had a blast besides. It's always fun to spend a night out that costs little to nothing.

More later....

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End of Day Count - Yesterdays!

Carbs 71.22 - 4 servings (out of 6)
Sugar 24.98 (out of 15)

WOW!! Did I go over the sugar. But carbs were under. I had an awesomely delicious salad for dinner. Spinach, chicken, gorgonzola cheese, and walnuts - all things I am supposed to eat. But, it had grapes in it. Not many grapes but just enough to go over the sugar by almost 67%. So, live and learn. Next time I have that salad, the grapes are NOT in it.

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Morning Check-IN

It's kind of late for a morning check in, but I have been busy planning my menus and ordering groceries. Tonight is Trivia Night! I usually win enough to pay for the night out, so we don't want to miss it. The place we go puts out a huge display of free appetizers. I am hoping they do the same as last time with many proteins (chicken and scallops) and not as many breaded and fried things. Although I can eat the fried things, I can't eat them if they are breaded. And, truth be told, I would rather eat better than "fried".

I started my day with a plain fat free yogurt, which as I have shared before uses up 12 of my 15 grams of sugar because dairy is full of lactose. I will adjust the rest of the day accordingly.

Yesterday was an extraordinarily stressful day, so the fact that I didn't over eat is a victory in itself. Today should be much better.

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End of Day Count

Tough day today emotionally, but the numbers are good.

Carbs 121.83 grams or 6 servings (out of 6 servings)
Sugar 13.11 grams (out of 15)


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End of Day Count

Today's Count was another good one. A bit over the sugar count again, but quite a bit under the carb count. The stew I made was so filling, that all I needed tonight was popcorn and a string cheese.

Carbs 82.9 grams or 5 servings (out of 6)
Sugar 19.51 grams (out of 15)

I had a yogurt for breakfast. It was fat and sugar free, but dairy has lactose in it and lactose is sugar. I am back to the egg breakfasts tomorrow. I think I am going to try doing the fruit/dairy exchanges on the weekends only or at least only 2-3 times a week so it doesn't get to be a habit.

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2 Short Term Goals Met

I am proud to announce that I can move 2 of my short term goals to accomplishments. I have successfully lost 10 pounds. Actually 11.5 to be exact!!

And, I made it through a weekend keeping with the plan. Yes, it's Sunday and the weekend isn't over, but we are home today and all the meals are planned to be within my limits.

Congrats to me!!!!!!

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End of Day Count (yesterday!)

Lots of empty calories yesterday in the form of wine and vodka. Although there is no sugar in either of them, and only 3 carbs per glass in the wine. However with that it mind, I stayed below in the carb count and above in the sugar count by a small bit, due to the grapefruit for breakfast. So, it was a GREAT DAY!!! And, I can take 2 more goals off my list.

Carbs 82.89 grams (5 servings) (out of 6 servings allowed)
Sugar 19.67 grams (out of 15 grams allowed)

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Morning Check-IN

Well, it's 2PM and I am doing a morning check-in. No, I didn't sleep till now. I actually was up at 7. I didn't feel very well though, so I have been on the couch watching food network and then the Super Bowl pre-game. I also didn't do a count last night. I will do that in a few.

It was an awesome day yesterday! Great numbers, and good out to music night.

Today is beef vindaloo for dinner. It is a very, very spicy dish from southeast India. That area has influences from the Portuguese, hence the beef. I can smell it cooking now and even the fragrance is spicy. As my niece Carole said at our wedding reception, when she was only 2 1/2 and was licking all the spicy cocktail sauce off the shrimp, "Spicy, HMMM, It's so good!"

OK, Going back to the count for yesterday!

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Morning Check-IN

Just finished my coffee and my grapefruit. Boy did that citrus flavor go well with my slightly stuffy nose. Vitamins sure work wonders.

My dinner today is a Weight Watchers cook book recipe, called Green Chili Chicken. I am making it in the rice cooker. Nice and spicy and full of vitamins and fiber with chickpeas.

I am watching my normal Saturday morning cooking channel shows. I especially look forward to The Spice Goddess at 11AM on Saturdays. Bal Arneson is amazing as she teaches how to cook beyond salt and pepper. There is a link to one of her latest cookbooks on the left of this post.

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End of Day Count

Today's Count:

Carbs 49.70 grams or 3 servings (out of 6 servings)
Sugar 6.61 grams (out of 15)

EXCELLENT and room for my grapefruit tomorrow morning!

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