Friday, May 20, 2011

Cauliflower Again?

Okay so it is not just for mashing! I have now tried what is called cauliflower rice and it is yummy! I made it by shredding a head of cauliflower on a cheese grater. Then I used it in replace of rice in my stuffed peppers. It is amazing how this one vegetable can be a substitute for so many of the grains I used to use. It is more amazing that my family thinks it is much more flavorful and says they would rather have it this way always. The peppers were divine and I can't wait to try it just as a rice side substitute. I love CAULIFLOWER!

Monday, May 16, 2011

So. . .I Sold the Bike.

I had all these grand plans of exercising and then. . .nope. Didn't happen. After having my other kids I had to lay off the exercising because every time I didn't I lost my milk. This baby doesn't know what a bottle is and refuses to become familiar with one. I don't really have much of a choice here and I don't want to risk losing my milk when he isn't ready to be off.

So, I sold the recumbent stationary bike. I wasn't using it and I wouldn't be using it until after we move from here and I really don't want to take it with us (I'd rather have an upright bike anyway).

However, I have joined a Biggest Loser contest with some girls in my ward and now that I have $20 on the line and there's a competition going, I'm going to try harder to eat better (stop when I'm not hungry, not when I'm bursting) and get more regular exercise like walking and pilates.


I"m really excited about this and hope that it works out. We'll see how it goes!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

I'm Hungry, I Yam

Today I showed a loss of 1.8 pounds. Woohoo! The only problem? I'm hungry.

It's not the diet's fault. I can eat all the meat, seeds, and vegetables I want. It's just that I'm totally not in the habit of eating this way. I didn't have a lot of meat as a child - we couldn't really afford it, so I'm not habituated to eating it. And I'm really, really not used to doing without grains. I've depended on those to help me feel full.

My mom is the one who led us to this way of eating, and she says that yams are what has taken the place of a filling food for her. So I've got my husband running an errand for me - he's going to go buy me some yams.

In the meantime, my son is just doing what he's told, no problems, no complaints, feeling better every day.

I'm sure I will too ... once my system acclimatizes.

Friday, May 13, 2011

How's It Goin'?

First of all, I just have to say, I'm having trust issues with Blogger right now. It ate two blogs from my regular site and it has since reposted one, but I'm still waiting for the other and I'm concerned that this one might not make it up at all. Keeping fingers crossed ...

As we discussed the other day, I'm changing my eating patterns pretty radically. My son has allergies and we're working on figuring out what's up, and his doctor is having him eat really simply for now. Yesterday I started eating alongside him, and I have to say, that kid is kicking my can. He's eating whatever I'm giving him and he's doing it without complaint. Me, on the other hand? I'm a whiner. :)

Yesterday I did pretty well except for two things. At 3:00, my energy dropped and I had a small Cherry Coke. Then at 9:00, I was on my way home from helping at a wedding reception and my blood sugar totally tanked. I pulled into Del Taco and grabbed a chicken taco and a small burrito. So I'd give myself about a 70% for yesterday.

Today I've done better. I did have a little bit of leftover rice from lunch - on this diet, I'm not supposed to have any grains - but I've eaten right the rest of the day. The other difficulty was the Cherry Coke. I am going to have to wean myself off it a little slowly. I'll give myself about an 80% for today.

I haven't weighed today, but plan to tomorrow. Sabine mentioned that on her plan, you don't weigh for a month - I need to keep tabs on things a little more often to keep myself motivated. :)

Talk to you soon!

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Okay, Well, Here We Go!

I'm entering this next phase of my life with great reluctance. You see, I really like food. (I'm sure you've picked up on that along the way.) My favorites are chocolate and Cherry Coke. I started drinking the Coke because my adrenals are shot, and yes, I know that drinking Coke doesn't let adrenals heal, but I haven't found anything natural yet to take the Coke's place. So. Long story short, I'm not losing weight and I'm unhealthy and it's time to really, really do something about it this time.

The catalyst in all this is my son. He's currently going through some allergy treatments and his doctor has put him in a very simple, clean diet. It sounds pretty similar to the primal diet Sabine is doing - lots of clean, fresh meat, a ton of vegetables and seeds, no fruit, no grain, absolutely no sugar or chocolate or caffeine. My son is feeling awesome, although the adjustment has been a little tough for him. But he's such a good kid - he knows this will lead to better overall health, once all his allergies are isolated and we eliminate those things from his diet. He has hardly complained at all, which is a huge example to me.

So I'm looking at him, and I'm looking at pictures of myself from last weekend's LDStorymakers Writers Conference, and I'm thinking, you know what? If my nine-year-old can buck up and do what he needs to do, then I can too. He's probably going to have to have some kind of alternative birthday cake this year, and he's fine with that. Surely I can give up a few things I know aren't good for me.

I told him I was going to do this diet with him so he wouldn't feel alone, but in reality, I'm doing it with him so he can inspire me with his good attitude. I'm a whiner. I'm going to miss all my nummies. But I'm tired of being the largest person in every picture, or at every dinner table, or in every room. I'm tired of thinking I look pretty cute, for a fat person. Yes, I know that's a matter of internal self-talk, and that I have to change my perception before that will go away.

So, here I go, heading out into the unknown. I've been cooking for my son for the last little bit, so I know how to cook for myself. I'm going to eat right alongside him and let him encourage me not to cheat. Eating this way has worked marvels for a lot of people, and I'd love to follow Sabine's example and lose 19 pounds in a month. Most of all, I want to get off the Coke and stop feeling dependent on the chocolate.

I'm just so glad that I have a nine-year-old cheerleader on my team. I wouldn't do it for myself, but I will do it for him. He will help me get healthy while I'm helping him get healthy.

Expect to see me posting a lot more frequently, and probably with some whining, too - I can't whine at my son, so I need to get it out of my system somehow. :)

Today so far:

Weighed in to get a baseline

Breakfast - slice of turkey meatloaf I made with 97/3 ground turkey, chopped onion, celery, egg (no crumbs or oatmeal), 1/2 peeled cucumber, 4 oz. sunflower seeds, large glass of filtered water

I will probably have to taper off the Coke a little slowly. I haven't had any since yesterday - we'll see if I can do it cold turkey or if I need to wean.

Talk to you soon!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Cauliflower!!!

Okay, so going primal has been pretty easy, but there are somethings I was not willing to give up. First up Spaghetti sauce. I knew I could do without the noodles, but not my meaty goodness (which now that I am making it fresh from my homemade bottled tomatoes is to die for). But what was I supposed to put it over? It was a sauce. My answer was Cauliflower. And it was a success, everyone loved it. So I have been sick this past week and wanted some comfort food. Shepard's Pie has always done that for me. At least the ground beef, mashed potatoes version. I know the real stuff is made with lamb, but I grew up calling this Shepard's Pie and so it is. Anyhow, being primal doesn't allow for the starchiness of potatoes, so what was I to do? My meat went fine with a few herbs, some beef broth, and fresh veggies added, but I needed a creamy white topping to make it perfect. So I used mashed cauliflower instead. I topped off my meat, put a pat of butter on top and 40 minutes latter had one of the best versions of Shepard's Pie I'd ever tasted. I can't wait to discover what else I can pair with this wonder vegetable! I didn't even think I liked it that much a month ago. Now it is a staple in my house!!!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Um ... Hi

So, it occurs to me that since I started this blog, I should probably post something, huh? I'm glad to see Brent's posts resuming - he's really inspiring with how he's taking this thing by the horns and wrassling it into submission. Every one of you inspire me with your successes and I commiserate when you have a day that didn't go how you'd hoped. I'm still here, even if I'm very, very quiet right now.

My thing is that I'm having issues with my body right now. After wondering just what was up with my back, I had some x-rays done. I've always known I have scoliosis - that was diagnosed when I was ten. But now I know to what extent I have it (quite a lot) and some other problems I have (I'm just a very interesting medical case). It really explains a lot, like why my ribs keep popping out of alignment, etc.

I've done, and loved, the Game On! diet, as I've mentioned here, but also as I've mentioned here, it's almost impossible for me to keep up with any healthy routine when my life gets busy. I can't concentrate on multiple things at a time anymore - I'm still blaming the concussion, but who knows who long I'll get away with that excuse. So as my author services business picked up, my healthy habits went by the wayside, and I'm weighing pretty much the same right now as I did a year ago. I did back down from that ghastly weight number we once talked about - the one I'm determined never to see - but I'm nowhere near close to the goals I had set for myself.

However, I'm soon going to be following Sabine's example and going primal. It's actually pretty coincidental that she's doing it - my son's doctor is doing some allergy testing, etc, on him and has limited his diet for the time being, and I'm going to join him next week. I'm away from the house Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (LDStorymakers Writers Conference) and I will have no control over my eating, so come Monday, I'm hitting the diet with my son, help him feel a little less alone. And hopefully, I'll drop some awesome weight too.

And that's all for now ... you guys are awesome, you're inspirational, and I appreciate you.

Wanting Some More Accountability

It's been a long time. I've been totally on the workout train the last couple of months (I won't bore you with the details here. Click here if you're interested in reading about it.) as I prepare for another triathlon in less than 3 weeks. (EEEEK!) But my eating habits have hardly budged.

I know I need to go on a no-sugar regimen and really fuel my body with healthy foods from now until race day, but I'm having a hard time committing to it. The biggest challenge I have is my daily routine of sitting down in front of the TV at the end of a long day with my hubby and eating lots of bad foods right before bed. Every night.

Any big ideas on how to combat the problem? I keep vowing to myself that I'll only eat veggies after a certain time at night, but when it comes to that time and my significant other sits down with a big bowl of cereal and some chocolate candy goodness, I can't stick to the plan.

Help??

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Staying Primal

Well it has been one month since I went primal and for the most part I stuck to it. Yes, I messed up once or twice. I had a bite of my daughter's noodles when we went to Panda Express. I had one piece of milk chocolate at Easter, but I tried even on my mess ups to only let them be really little. And when I did my monthly weigh in I was down 11 pounds since April 1st! Wahoo. It worked, and with relative ease. I never went hungry. I ate as much as I wanted when I wanted it, just sticking with vegetables, fruits, and proteins and staying away from sugar, starch, and grains. So, that puts me at a grand total of 19 pounds since Feb 2. One thing for sure with this last month over the 8 pounds I lost the first two month when I just started cutting back...I don't have to go hungry, my posture has improved, and I have had so much more energy. I totally made it through finals week without a Coke! I have been finding some really good substitutes that even my kids like, to stay away from grains. On the menu for tonight is homemade marinara with grass fed beef over cauliflower (instead of pasta). My whole family loves it. I also want to start adding a little walking and a few WOW's (work out of the week from the primal blog...marks' daily apple). Here is to hoping at the end of this month you will still be seeing less of me!