Wow! I can't believe it's been over 7 weeks since I wrote "The Party's Over". As I was reflecting on my new lifestyle and commitment to lowering my cholesterol, I honestly thought I'd only been "on the wagon" for about 4 weeks. Time sure flies when you're having fun!
First of all, let me give you my progress in numbers: I've actually lost 10 lbs. and while, that's not a lot of weight loss, it does give me hope that I'm doing the right things to bring down my cholesterol. I haven't been starving myself but I've changed the way I eat, what I eat and how I think about eating. Here's what I'm doing:
1. Whole grain foods - you'll be surprised at how tasty whole grain pasta is!
2. Fruit and fresh veggies - try using them in ways you don't normally use them...like fruit in a green salad.
3. X OUT WHITE foods - things like potatoes, rice, pasta, and breads. I'm not saying I never eat white but I'm eating at least 90% less of these weight producing foods.
4. Water - sometimes I'm not really hungry but thirsty. Staying hydrated is very important. I find that a belly full of good ole water is better than a belly full of nothing.
5. Diet Colas - have been drastically cut. Instead of allowing these drinks to be a staple, I now use them as a treat.
6. Olive Oil - cook with olive oil rather than other types of oils and I'm not using of real butter or margarine. I'm using Smart Balance with olive oil.
7. Meat - I'm eating more fish and chicken and less red meat.
All my habits haven't changed, though. What I haven't started doing regularly is exercising. I know I've got to start moving more. In fact, I have started doing my own housework now. From what I read, vacuming, dusting, sweeping and mopping are actually good exercise. And yes, I know keeping my house clean isn't enough to qualify for an exercise program! So, this week as I go on vacation, I plan to start walking every day. I'll let you know how it goes.
Incidently, I've been picking up some great little tricks to keep myself in line. One is to imagine my arteries being all clogged up with yellow blobs of fat. Everytime I start to eat something processed or with a lot of saturated fat in it, a vision of my sticky, gooey arteries with the blood desperately trying to get through that clogged mess comes to my mind. (My daughter told me today that she used this same basic trick when she was tempted to smoke while pregant. She simply envision her womb filling up with smoke and her little baby trying to take a good breath.) Both images are pretty awful but very effective. Perhaps the most effective trick I've learned is to not allow myself to obsess about my weight and size. I'm me...thin or fat and I've got to love myself no matter what. Self loathing simply makes me feel more desperate and sets me up to eat for emotional reasons.
And lastly, I've come to realize this has got to become a life long lifestyle change. That's why I've refused to join this group or that, this gym or that gym or rely on diel aids.
Didn't mean to unload on you but maybe this will help you in your journey. Love you all fat or thin! Jane
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
I Went on Vacation and I Conquered a Beast!
My husband and I just got back from a short vacation on Hilton Head Island. My sister has lived there for about 25 years and it's become one of my favorite places in the whole wide world...I think my sister living there has a lot to do with it but that's not the story here.
Any of you who are following my journey know that about three weeks ago I made a commitment to eat healthy and get healthy. Typically, vacations are a prime time for me to lose most of my will power and abandon my usual, somewhat, good senses. I mean, what is vacation for except to do and eat anything your little heart desires? I love to eat out especially during vacation time and I usually order whatever strikes my fancy regardless of fat content, calorie count or even price. My last visit to Hilton Head was back in the late winter when I was cyber stalking one of my foodie heros, Robert Irvine. He has a wonderful restaurant on Hilton Head called "Eat!" and even has cooking classes for those of us who long to learn, dine, and bask in a little culture for a few short hours. During the class, the chef and his entourage ply you with plenty of culinary wisdom, delicious food and yes, even wine. It's great fun and I highly recommend it to even a novice cook. It's an early afternoon well worth the price, which is, in my opinion, extremely reasonable. But I decided to forgo my usual pilgrimage to "Eat!" this trip and while I was very tempted to "dine with Robert" once again, I decided I'd try my new, healthy culinary skills on my sister and her husband. We started off the weekend with my lowfat version of chicken piccata along with a scrumptious blueberry feta spring salad. One night we enjoyed a splurge of steak along with my very special red potato salad which is mixed with not simply high fat, high calorie mayo but a mixture of 1/3 light mayo, 1/3 lowfat yogurt and 1/3 light sour cream. My triumph of the evening was to only eat a palm sized portion of steak. And so the weekend began and continued past July 4th. I found myself on the beach one day at lunch time not having prepared for the beastly hunger that would attack me about lunch time and yes, I did have one of those packs of cheese crackers laden with saturated fat but that was my one slip of the weekend. Since I did it knowingly, I didn't castigate myself for the processed, caloric snack, I simply went on about my day changing my eating habits one step at a time.
As Dearld and I drove home this morning, I found myself musing over the long weekend and realized I had, indeed, conquered the beast named, "Vacation Temptation". He or dare I say, she, was conquered one healthy meal, one temptation, and one choice at a time.
Just call me "Jane, the Junk Food Dragon Slayer!"
Oh and yes, even when cooking healthier, "Every meal's a party when you Entertain with Jane!" I'm learning good food doesn't have to clog your arteries or pad your thighs!
Any of you who are following my journey know that about three weeks ago I made a commitment to eat healthy and get healthy. Typically, vacations are a prime time for me to lose most of my will power and abandon my usual, somewhat, good senses. I mean, what is vacation for except to do and eat anything your little heart desires? I love to eat out especially during vacation time and I usually order whatever strikes my fancy regardless of fat content, calorie count or even price. My last visit to Hilton Head was back in the late winter when I was cyber stalking one of my foodie heros, Robert Irvine. He has a wonderful restaurant on Hilton Head called "Eat!" and even has cooking classes for those of us who long to learn, dine, and bask in a little culture for a few short hours. During the class, the chef and his entourage ply you with plenty of culinary wisdom, delicious food and yes, even wine. It's great fun and I highly recommend it to even a novice cook. It's an early afternoon well worth the price, which is, in my opinion, extremely reasonable. But I decided to forgo my usual pilgrimage to "Eat!" this trip and while I was very tempted to "dine with Robert" once again, I decided I'd try my new, healthy culinary skills on my sister and her husband. We started off the weekend with my lowfat version of chicken piccata along with a scrumptious blueberry feta spring salad. One night we enjoyed a splurge of steak along with my very special red potato salad which is mixed with not simply high fat, high calorie mayo but a mixture of 1/3 light mayo, 1/3 lowfat yogurt and 1/3 light sour cream. My triumph of the evening was to only eat a palm sized portion of steak. And so the weekend began and continued past July 4th. I found myself on the beach one day at lunch time not having prepared for the beastly hunger that would attack me about lunch time and yes, I did have one of those packs of cheese crackers laden with saturated fat but that was my one slip of the weekend. Since I did it knowingly, I didn't castigate myself for the processed, caloric snack, I simply went on about my day changing my eating habits one step at a time.
As Dearld and I drove home this morning, I found myself musing over the long weekend and realized I had, indeed, conquered the beast named, "Vacation Temptation". He or dare I say, she, was conquered one healthy meal, one temptation, and one choice at a time.
Just call me "Jane, the Junk Food Dragon Slayer!"
Oh and yes, even when cooking healthier, "Every meal's a party when you Entertain with Jane!" I'm learning good food doesn't have to clog your arteries or pad your thighs!
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