Archive for the Diet Category

5 things I’m loving

By on June 14, 2012

I was going to do this, and then I decided not to do it, but I have decided again to go ahead and do it. Over at Shut Up and Run, she has a post up called 5 Things I’m Loving Right Now, and she wants folks to blog their 5 things and tag 5 more to do it. Well, you know I never miss an opportunity to link whore, so here goes.

1. Raw almond butter. First of all, I hate peanut butter. I hate peanuts. So while I can eat a pb&j if I am desperate, it will be just that – desperation. But I thought I would give the almond butter a try since I love almonds, and WOW! That stuff is the bomb!

2. Running 3 miles straight. I’ve never run that far in my life. Previous record was 2 miles and that was only out of fear of getting washed back in basic training.

3. Egg sandwiches. Note that doesn’t say egg salad, which I hate. I fry a couple of eggs like an omelette, and put it on toasted bread with some mustard and a slice of swiss cheese. Yummy!!!!

4. Watermelon. This has always been a love, but here lately it’s been like a craving. I can eat a butt-ton of it, get filled up, and it’s a zero or negative calorie burner so it’s win-win. Yes, I know it’s mostly water, but it’s naturally sweet water.

5. My inner circle of friends. These are the ones who know most (if not all) of my dirt, and love me anyway. 🙂 They listen to me whine about my problems, tell me straight up when I am screwing up, make me run when I don’t wanna, encourage me, make me laugh when I want to wallow in self-pity, and pray for me.

Being the nonconformist that I am, I am tagging 6 of yuns (yes, pronounce that just like I spelled it because that’s how I said it in my head). Diane, MacBros, Opal @ Celebrate Life, Teeni, Molly, Petra

This entry is filed under Diet, Exercise, LinkWhoring, Ramble, Running. | 12 Comments

Meeting goals

By on June 13, 2012

No matter how small. This wasn’t really one of my “official” weight loss goals, but this morning I hit the 25 pound mark after some regression from 24, and subsequent bouncing. I got back on track with the portion control of my diet, and when I was craving and wanting to binge, I got a big ole bowl of fruit and went to town. I need to get back on track with meal planning, and cooking ahead, at least for lunches. I finally remembered that I still had some stuff in the freezer, like the tortilla mexican chicken that I had to leave alone for a while because pre-surgery it was the lunch I lost that one day. Even though I know full well that isn’t what made me sick, it’s a mental thing.

My budget is about to get really tight again so meal planning is going to be a really big deal especially with the kids home all summer. For that matter planning something healthy they will both eat is a major challenge. Eat it or starve is my motto, but there is another variable to that equation. Still, I make sure we have peanut butter & jelly & bread. Oh, and last night I got home and Jamie met me at the van with “We need to go get food. I’m hungry.” I countered with “Isn’t there hamburger meat in the fridge?” She paused for a few second and then popped off with “Fix me food. I’m hungry.” As if she is incapable of making burgers herself…

I still need a cook…and a maid…or both… 😉

This entry is filed under Diet, Wholesome Wednesday. | 6 Comments

Because I told myself I would blog today

By on June 6, 2012

So today is supposed to be Wholesome Wednesday, but despite the fact I’ve been thinking on it all week, I am a blank today. But I will see if I can’t pull something out of my rear and spread across the blog. Haha.

I hit a plateau in my weight loss. I’ve been bouncing between 18 and 24 pounds for 2 or 3 months, and so I think I need to step something up. I am more consistently exercising, but again, I still have the bounce, so I turned back to my diet.

Portion control has always been at the root of my weight fight. So, I took a look at what I have been eating and as I fell back off the meal planning, I fell back into eating for pleasure. I guess it wasn’t just a pasta problem after all. *sigh*

After my surgery in March, I completely fell off the wagon, and not only was I indulging in some “foods” containing artificial colors/flavors/preservatives, but I flirted around with gluten. Oh, I stayed away from pasta, but I was all over breads. Until the double bacon cheeseburger incident, that is. 😉 So, I have been getting back on the wagon, but I had a bottle of A1 in the fridge that I felt compelled to get rid of, but not enough to just throw it away. Needless to say, I had a few steaks. When I wasn’t eating steak, I was eating chicken, and with chicken came potatoes.

So, I am cutting back on the meat. I can’t go vegetarian, and sure can’t go vegan. Seriously, I am wearing a lanyard that says “I &#9829 BACON.” But I can’t afford to eat the local grass-fed meats (often), which leads me to find other protein sources that I can better portion control myself with. Granted, eggs are still considered meat, I guess (yeah, I don’t care enough to look it up-if I’m wrong, I’m wrong), but I’ll only eat 2 with a meal. That’s my supper this week. Egg sandwiches. Note that is not egg salad because I don’t like egg salad. I planned on lunching on salad, but I can’t do that with spring mix. Bleck.

And snacking on fruit…which does not include Powerberries. 😉

This entry is filed under Diet, Ramble, Wholesome Wednesday. | 8 Comments

I ran like the wind…

By on May 2, 2012

…in my mind. In reality, I was sucking wind. I ran the Rabbit Run 5K this past Saturday. By run, I mean I ran just a little over a mile until I was about to puke and then proceeded to walk up the hills, and run down and on the flat. 😉 I was not last overall. However, I was the last of the Brick City Running Tribe group. That was a given though. 😉 Last in my age group, too. But I finished. Oh, heck, I went. That was an accomplishment in itself because I woke up sick as a dog. But I paid a registration fee…

Brick City Running Tribe Representing! (Central Carolina Community College photo)

I totally needed all the motivation I could muster, which wasn’t much of my own. I was kind of freaking out about not being ready for it last week, and my good friend Molly kept telling me, “YOU GOT THIS!” and “YOU CAN DO THIS!” So being a bit on the snarky side, I said “I’m going to write “Molly says, “YOU CAN DO THIS!”” on my arm with a Sharpie. She said something to the effect of, “You better,” and so…I did.

Yes, I looked at that every single time I wanted to stop and puke. I didn’t puke, by the way.

Turns out, I was still in the beginning of being sick, and got worse. I tried to run Monday, and didn’t even make it halfway around the track before my run became a walk…because the DragonLady doesn’t run when she’s dizzy. I should have taken Sunday morning as a cue because I got dizzy singing, and seriously considered sitting down…even though I was leading. I think that falls under listening to your body when it is trying to tell you that you are sick. But I guess the antibiotics have kicked in because after the awfulness of yesterday (which is why I didn’t complete this post yesterday), I am feeling much better now, and 4.4 pounds lighter than yesterday morning. Yes, that was all kinds of fun losing that in one day….not. And yes, that was also partially the result of last week’s glutening at Andy’s as I was bloated up so much I looked pregnant before starting the antibiotics. So, yeah, the reaction is delayed, and so is put to rest the mystery on what causes the 1-2 hour runs. *sigh* Yes, Petra, I was in serious denial. 😉

Since my Tuesday Training post is just getting written posted on Wednesday, Wholesome Wednesday post may or may not get done today. We’ll see. I have a busy night ahead, but part of it will be spent waiting on the oven and dryer, so how better to kill that time that blogging right?

This entry is filed under Diet, Exercise, LinkWhoring, Training Tuesday. | 7 Comments

I don’t think that means what you think it means

By on April 25, 2012

Today is one of those days that I have a topic, I know what I want to say, I have the motivation, but I am not so sure I am really going to be coherent. Focus is not my friend today. I absolutely cannot block out the conversation around me. It’s not bad, it’s just blocking my concentration. So I’ve put on some classical symphony via Pandora, and it is not covering up any talking. *sigh*

Anyway, first confession time. Yesterday, as an office, we celebrated the birthdays of a current & former co-worker. We went to Andy’s, and I was thinking all morning how I could kind of halfway stick to my diet there. I looked at the menu for a salad which I knew wouldn’t by any means be healthy, but maybe not so bad. But looking at the ingredients, I knew that even grilled chicken would be gluteny, and the bacon would be full of msg, so I made a choice. If I’m going to be glutened anyway, I’m going to have a bacon cheeseburger…with onion rings. No doubt that is why I still have brain fog. I won’t lie, it tasted wonderful.

Since I have determined to eat healthy and natural, I have become increasingly aware of the deceptiveness of the use of “natural” or “all natural” in labeling.

“All natural” claim on food labels is often deceptive; foods harbor hidden MSG and other unnatural ingredients
MSG is sometimes hidden in food with labels that say “No Added MSG,”
“No MSG Added,” and “No MSG”

I think the problem boils down to the use of the word “natural.” Everything we eat is natural. (Hang with me, Petra. lol) There is no food product we consume that is created from nothing. It may mixed/enhanced in a lab, but at the basic level (and by basic, I mean atomic), it is natural. The difference is whether or not it is naturally occurring. If it isn’t naturally occurring, then “natural” does not mean what you think it means. Our bodies were designed to process naturally occurring foods efficiently and effectively. We have learned to manipulate substances to enhance flavor, but our bodies just aren’t going to process high fructose corn syrup or any of the artificial sweeteners the way it processes sugar. Plus, it isn’t going to process refined sugar the same way it will process raw sugar.

This is incomplete, and lacking in references, but my brain fog doesn’t care, just like honey badger. My only real point is, beware that the word “natural” probably doesn’t mean what you think it does. And I may or may not repeat myself redundantly. 😉

This entry is filed under Diet, Wholesome Wednesday. | 2 Comments

“He put sugar in everything.”

By on April 18, 2012

I grew up in a non-traditional household. By that I mean my mom worked full-time and my dad was a stay at home dad. They weren’t parents when their work role-reversal took place, and the main reason behind it was because after Daddy got laid off from Boeing the last time, Mom said she didn’t want to move ever again. I came along about six years later. I won’t do a total breakdown of what each of them did, but Mom didn’t have to do much more than work, and Dad took care of nearly everything else: finances, yard work, gardening, auto maintenance, most house work (he wouldn’t dust), plumbing, electrical, and he did a lot of handyman stuff around the community & family. Anyway, before that all happened, he had taken over the cooking because he complained about Mom’s cooking one too many times, and she said, “Fine, you do it.” And he did. She’s not a bad cook either, but neither was he. In fact, I haven’t ever had a pie as good as one of his, particularly apple pie.

We ate very little “processed” food. He would buy pasta rather than make it, and ironically, Mom taught me how to make homemade pasta. Our meat came from the grocery store, as did our milk, eggs, & cheese. But rarely did we ever have store-bought vegetables. Daddy raised a fairly large garden for a family of 3, and we ate veggies from it year round. Except for cabbage (cooked, I would eat it raw) & bell peppers, I ate everything that came out of his garden. It was all so good. In fact, everything he cooked was good (except for chocolate gravy & neither was Mom’s). In mentioning that to my mom one day, she said, “He put sugar in everything.” Store-bought, white, processed sugar. That would explain why once when I was eating spaghetti, I had the urge to add sugar. I didn’t add it, I just wanted to. And, no, I don’t put sugar in everything, but I do occasionally sneak in just a teaspoon of raw cane sugar in stuff – enough to enhance, but not be noticeable.

Honestly, I had no idea what I was going to write today, but I had an email conversation about healthy eating and how to avoid MSG & artificial additives, and was reminded of the putting sugar in everything conversation. Actually, that is the second conversation I’ve had over healthy/clean eating this week, and it just blows my mind because this time last year I was not paying any attention at all to what I ate aside from attempting portion control…and failing at it miserably. But really, it is not only expensive, but difficult to eat clean and healthy in today’s American society. To avoid additives, pesticides, herbicides, and genetically modified stuff, you have to do a lot of research and read the labels on EVERYTHING. It is such a challenge in our house because the hubby & I ate almost exclusively processed food for years because it was cheap. (I still gag at the thought of eating Hamburger Helper.) So of course, that’s all the kids had, and now that’s pretty much all they want. So after I go through the “trouble” of researching, and reading labels, and cooking from scratch (made even more difficult for me having to avoid gluten), the hubby is the only one who will eat what I cook unless I good steak or bake a Cornish hen. Both kids will eat steak, and the daughter will eat most chicken.

It frustrates me that I grew up on predominately home grown fruits & vegetables, but got so caught up in convenience at the expense of health. Yes, that is the ultimate cost. That’s another thing my doctor told me. Eating grass fed, hormone free meats and fresh fruits and vegetables may cost more now, but won’t cost as much as medication 20 years from now. But it is still hard in the here and now to eat right because it is time-consuming planning meals and then actually cooking them, and it is fairly expensive.

I really need to set aside the time to prepare a garden plot…

This entry is filed under Diet, Wholesome Wednesday. | 7 Comments

Not a diet

By on April 11, 2012

It’s a lifestyle change.


You are welcome for that. bahahahahahahaha!

Admittedly, I miss being able to eat whatever I want. I mean I really miss it. You know what I don’t miss? Being bloated daily. Brain fog after every meal. My hair falling out. Weighing over 200 pounds. General lethargy. Ok, I still have bouts of lethargy that is unrelated to what I eat. Sometimes honey badger gets stung by the cobra and just doesn’t care and has to take a nap. LOL If you are new, or just missed it, here is the background for the change in what I eat, and when the ante got upped.

I have to repeatedly and grudgingly remind myself that a lot of my issues stem from a gluten intolerance. But I cannot ignore certain facts when I eat gluten free: my hair doesn’t fall out, my scalp isn’t so itchy, I’m regular (who knew I wasn’t before?), the extreme mood swings are all but gone and only surface every 3 weeks…which is now a consistent cycle, I don’t have heartburn much anymore, I’m losing weight even when I am not exercising, I’m not tired all the time, and I just really feel better in general. I have done so much reading up on healthy/clean/whole food eating that I refuse to eat fast food, and am leery about chain restaurant food. After the withdrawls when I gave up the artificial coloring, flavoring, and preservatives, I want a farm where I raise all my food. But that isn’t happening on 1.6 acres, and I don’t plan on moving back to the 40 acres in AR while the kids are still in school.

Admittedly, I was a total skeptic of the whole change in diet. I repeated scoffed at Petra, until I started listening to her and saw & felt the results. Oh, and I got scoffed at by my entire family too, so those chickens came home to roost. The hubby has relented since seeing the changes not only in attitude & physical appearance, but also how I have been more diligent than not at sticking with it. Though, it has been hard getting back on the wagon after falling off during surgery recovery. Not that I can use that excuse for glutening myself 3 times last week. But I did say as I was eating both the jalapeno burger from Army City & dipping the bread in the shrimp scampi at Carrabba’s that any ill effects would be well worth the taste. And, oh, did they ever taste WONDERFUL, especially the Carrabba’s.

All in all, it truly is a change in lifestyle every bit as much as forcing myself to run everyday. I have a love/hate relationship with running. I have a love of eating. But, as my doctor said, I can change my lifestyle now and get healthy, or I can change it in 20 years while I am being medicated for diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. I can be fat, or I can be fit(ish). I choose the latter.

This entry is filed under Diet, Video, Wholesome Wednesday. | 8 Comments

Killin’ time

By on March 5, 2012

I am sick, and sick enough to call in sick. However, I still have to get the kids up for school which means I need to stay awake (conscious) for another hour. Might as well do a randomish list blog.

1. So the dandruff problem that I have always had that got a lot worse in my mid 20’s seems to be an allergic reaction…to high fructose corn syrup. Since my food detox, I have been experimenting with foods. The itchiness (which was really bad when it was fully flaired), had mostly gone away and I couldn’t see the hot spots around my scalp line anymore. I tried some gluten-filled (read yummy) bread last weekend, and while I did have a reaction, it was solely digestive reaction. Thursday, however, I had a caramel macchiato from Starbucks. Their caramel sauce has HFCS. I nearly clawed my scalp off Friday morning it was so itchy.

2. A cat in heat is disgusting. Dogs too, but in different ways. Female cats are hoes.

3. I watched Obscura Oddities with the hubby nearly all day yesterday. Oh.My. There are some weird folks out there. Yes, I toned that description way down.

4. I’ve probably said this before, but it bears repeating. I hate to puke. I suffered a no-warning, immediate projectile vomit yesterday morning while taking my garlic. Out of sheer laziness I was standing in front of and facing the sink. I didn’t want to get anything more than the knife dirty while cutting it up, so I stood there to cut it up in my hand. The hubby witnessed it, and was extremely amused. I was not so amused. 😉

5. I love trying new foods. I’ve still been trying new recipes, and ran across a bunch of duds. Some of the duds can be altered in a way that will make them pretty tasty.

6. I see roosters. They are everywhere. I always smile when I drive by this place:

They sold the huge one.

7. Seriously doubts that I will manage 20 books by Easter. I’ve managed 3, and one of those only because I happened to have a book at work and had to escort some folks working on equipment in the server room. Time is not on my side.

8. Failed to do a real pushup by this past Friday. Close, but it will likely be this week before I can drop all the way and push back up.

9. Started listening to country music after swearing to myself I wouldn’t ever do it. This is college-era, and I include it because of the post title…which put the song in my head.

10. Did not and will not proofread anything I have written in this post. haha

This entry is filed under Diet, Exercise, Life, Photos, Ramble, Reading, Video. | 5 Comments

What is it with a challenge?

By on February 23, 2012

And why can’t I just leave a challenge as it stands and not up the ante? So here’s the deal. My friend Molly put up a challenge to read 10 books in March. I am totally up for that since I gave up gaming for lent (and I can’t tell you how hard it was not to play spider solitaire last night or this morning), so I should be able to fill that void with reading. So I went through the books I have listed in Goodreads, and wrote down the ones I have either started or haven’t read at all yet. That would be 20. Actually, it’s probably 19 as I have 2 Corrie Ten Boom books listed, and one of them I read when I was around 12, but I can’t remember which one I read. Since I have started reading 8 of those books, and just need to finish them, I have decided that I am going to complete my list of 20 by Easter. That’s 6 1/2 weeks…with no naps… 😉

Challenge #1: 20 books by Easter.

Now that I have lost 20 pounds, and it is actually noticeable now, I need to start working on core training to tone, build up muscle, and absolutely do something about the fat between my underarms and boobs. That fat goes away most effectively with pushups. I haven’t been able to do a real pushup in years. When I got out of the military I could only do 1. Yes, that is pathetic. I never was in danger of maxing out on pushups, but in my younger years, I was always able to do between 10 and 20. So my next challenge has to do with pushups, and is a 2-part.

Challenge #2a: 1 real pushup by March 2.
Challenge #2b: 10 real pushups by March 31.

Back in the Air Force, I ballooned up dangerously close to my max weight after I quit smoking. Rather than risking being put on the fat girl program (and having less than a year left and refusing to buy new uniforms), I started taking my fat arse to the gym. I went every weekday afternoon and still remember my routine:

Monday: Stationary bike (because that’s what we were PT tested on) and weights.
Tuesday: Elliptical and crunches.
Wednesday: Rowing, stair stepper, or treadmill (depending on my mood) and weights.
Thursday: Same as Tuesday
Friday: Same as Monday.

I wasn’t really dieting at the time. I gave up chips, but I think that was it. Hence, it took a full year to lose 20 pounds. Now that I have identified my comfort food addiction, and cut out the addictive foods (mainly pastas and breads), I somewhat have a handle on my diet and have lost 20 pounds in about 4 months, predominantly through diet. I say that because I haven’t done crossfit in months, and haven’t managed more than 2 runs a week if that. In fact, I haven’t run in over 2 weeks now. So my next challenge is exercise related.

Challenge #3: Cardio and core at least 3 times a week…each.

Anyone want to join me for any or all of these?

This entry is filed under Diet, Exercise, Life, LinkWhoring, Reading. | 13 Comments

Cleaning out the fridge

By on February 6, 2012

I had some leftover veggies that were quickly approaching use or lose. In fact, there were some losses. But I was determined that before I lost the whole lot I would do something with them. So I went through the fridge last night, picked out the bad, kept the good, and this is what I ended up with:

3 or 4 green onions, a few chives, 5 leftover slices of russet potato, 1 zucchini, 2 yellow squash, 2 parsnips, 1 avocado, and 2 apples. I pulled out 3 carrots from the bag, the last lime, 1 of the 3 lemons, and a sweet potato also. But what on earth was I going to do with all this? As an aside, before I continue, I want to note that those are the 2 crappy apples that my daughter did NOT get when she ate my really really good Gala apples. Not that the Galas would have gone into this dish.

I opted for roasting them since I had some practice last week roasting veggies, and turned the oven on at 350 to heat up. I threw in a second sweet potato and started peeling and slicing. After the carrots, parsnips, russet slices, and sweet potatoes, it became quite clear that my bowl was not big enough to fit the squash in.

I transferred to the larger bowl and added the squash, avocado, and apples.

This is the point I thought I would be tossing them with olive oil, but the big bowl was too full and that’s the biggest bowl I have. So instead of tossing them, I put parchment down in the big baking dish (because I learned that parchment not only keeps the food from sticking, but makes for waaay easier cleanup) and drizzled them with olive oil. I semi-randomly picked spices to add based on a general taste I was hoping for.

The salt & pepper weren’t random, but I picked white pepper because I just don’t really like the taste of black pepper. Never have. I know, I’m weird. My parent’s peppered EVERYTHING. It sucked. But anyway… I put thyme in something last week that was ok, I love ginger (and would have put fresh ginger in but that had to be thrown out), and I thought the nutmeg would go really well with the sweet potatoes. The cilantro, well, it’s cilantro. It’s a must. Ready for the oven in 15 minute increments it was:

In the meantime, I went to work on the chives & green onions, and threw in 4 cloves of garlic.

Every 15 min, I would take the veggies out and stir them up. This was probably the 30 minute mark.

After an hour and 15 min, half the carrots and parsnips were still on the crunchy side. (Yes, there was a lesson learned.) I then put on a honey badger attitude, and squeezed the lime and lemon over it and put it back in for 10 more minutes.

I should have tasted it BEFORE I added the lime & lemon juice. Another lesson learned. I don’t know if it was just one of them that was a mistake or both, but I didn’t care for the flavor. It’s not so bad I couldn’t eat it, and even the hubster liked it ok. He didn’t love it, but it was good enough he could eat it, but not so good he would eat too much. Sadly, that makes perfect sense.

Lessons learned. 1) I am terrible at determining how much “prepared” I will have after peeling and slicing when looking at the raw material. 2) I take forever to prep. 3) I suck at picking out good (read firm) avocado. 4) Ok, this one I already knew, but carrots & parsnips will take longer to cook than the rest of that stuff. 5) Taste at every point when experimenting.

And yes, I know apples are not veggies, but I had to get rid of them.

This entry is filed under Diet, Photos. | 4 Comments

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