January Review

At my official weigh in this morning (not tomorrow, duh), I'm down 2.9 pounds since the 1st. Since I had a huge upswing in the middle of the month, coming out down almost three pounds isn't bad. But it is a lot less than in previous months, which leads me to think more about this whole "slowing down" business.

I tend to be an "all or nothing" kind of gal. When it comes to weight loss, in the past I've either been "Full Speed Ahead" or "Full Reverse." Yes, the FSA path can include little splurges, but even if I get off track, I get back on again. The FR path, however, is just that. Frequent binges, and just not caring about what I'm eating. It's the not caring part that really characterizes FR.

What I need to find is the "Mindfully Moderate" path. This is the path that lets me consistently eat 1500 calories a day without going crazy over or under. The MM path is ok with losing only half a pound a week, which is kind of counter to where I've been for the past year.

For the past year, I've been so far in the groove, that I can only think about what maintenance will mean in a very abstract way. For me, it's been either losing or gaining. There is no in between. The MM path, the in between, is totally uncharted territory for me. I'm going to need  a machete to hack my way through all this. Wish me luck!

Week #5

Somehow, I managed to lose another 1.3 pounds this week. Considering how I ate both Sunday and Tuesday, that's a gift. But really, between 1 and 1.5 pounds lost per week has been my new goal. So I'm right on track. Kind of. Except for the binge eating.  That's not really part of the plan, even when I do manage to wrangle it back down to the ground again.

I'm going to leave my calorie goal at 1350 for another week. I know I want to start slowly bumping it up, and I don't mind if I go a little over, as long as it's with healthy choices.

My next official weigh ins are Wednesday (to get my total for the month) and Friday--my one year anniversary of being healthier. I know that no matter what the numbers are, I'm in a much better place than I was in the past, and that's what counts.

Recipe Review: Chicken Soup & Dumplings

Al of us have been hit with winter colds lately. Even Sarah, who is normally the healthiest of us, is miserable. No fever, just a drippy nose & the sore throat that comes with it, and really tired.

My first line of defense is always food. I go through tons of ginger, honey & citrus in tea. I put enough garlic in chicken broth to make our whole house repel vampires. And I've lately become a big fan of elderberry syrup.

Yesterday, we saw an episode of Mad Hungry that had Lucinda making chicken & dumplings. I'm really enjoying that show--she doesn't cook über healthy stuff, but it isn't over the top unhealthy, and it's generally aimed at families.

Sarah said it looked good and asked if I could make some, so I got the last of the chicken broth out of the freezer. I only made half the recipe, because there were only 4 cups of broth. I only used garlic, onions and carrots in the broth, and I didn't add any herbs to the dumplings.

Here's how they look while cooking:

And in the bowl.:

I remember making drop dumplings with soup from Bisquick when I was a teen--they seemed fluffier than this. Maybe my baking powder is getting old? At any rate, they weren't as fluffy as I remember, which was a little disappointing. Sarah liked them, Lauren didn't. I thought they were ok. I might give them another go, but it's not high on my list right now.

I'd like to try my hand at matzo balls next. I've never made those, but my grandmother did. I think I'll get some matzo and keep them in the cupboard. I don't have any more chicken stock in the freezer, but I make it on such a regular basis that it's not a big deal.

A Reprieve

After two disastrous days of eating this week, I was a just a week away from my doctor's appointment, where I'd hoped to be "Overweight" instead of "Obese."  Just one week to lose 3.5 pounds. That's a lot to lose in just a week . . . wait a minute. Today's Friday.  Next Friday?  We have co-op next Friday! 

I called the office to reschedule and got an appointment for the 16th instead. So I now have plenty of time to hit that mark--almost three weeks!  I'm tempted to adjust my goal down a little, and I might still do that. But I'm  interested to see what I can do by next Friday as well.

I know it's just a numbers game, and making healthy choices is more important. But it's still gratifying when the numbers reflect those choices, too.

Another Option

I've slowly realized that there is another option besides Planet Fitness or the fitness room at the community center. We could get a treadmill. Treadmills can be gotten for about $100 off Craigslist, but it would be available any time, and any of us could use it (the kids get a big kick out of using Grammy's treadmill when they're up there).

We had a treadmill before, but I hadn't used it in so long, we gave it away. If we were to get another one, I'd have to get rid of a lot of stuff in the bedroom--I put a hope chest in that same area, and it would have to go back down to the basement. But I also think we could get rid of one of our dressers (we mostly use the closet, and some stuff could go in bins under the bed), so that would free up some room.

When I mentioned all this to Jeff last night, he said, "I said that! Like, twice!" Oops. Sorry, honey.

So we'd have less junk in our room, I could exercise whenever I want, the whole family could use it, and the price would be reasonable.

Excuse me, I have to go buy trash bags in bulk.

Craft Hope Project 16

I love Craft Hope's concept, and I've wanted to do many of their projects, but I have a terrible time with getting things to the post office. I think their latest project is something I need to kick myself in the butt to do.

For Project 16 :: The Littlest Warriors, we will be collecting handmade beanies and bags for kids just like Pierce who are fighting cancer.

We need BEANIES for babies through teenagers. All noggin sizes. They can be knit, crochet, fabric. You name it. They can be embellished with flowers and bows. But don’t forget about the boys. They need hats too. It’s very difficult to find adorable hats and we think this community is the best place to get them. There are a hundred and one patterns online for beanies. If you have one you’d like to share post it in the comments and I’ll put up a post to share with everyone.
And…
We need BAGS for the kids to take with them to the hospital. They can be simple tote bag style or whatever suits your fancy. And if you are so inclined fill them up with goodies for the kids. Some ideas are books, puzzles, crayons, coloring books. The opportunities are endless.

 I think I need to get another sewing day rolling at church. And I think this is good enough reason to shell out the $ to get my Serger fixed. The deadline is March 12--I need to get going on this!

Shopping

I know; I said I wasn't going to go shopping until spring, because I don't really need any winter clothes. But Kohl's had a great sale on winter coats--Jeff got one for $53 that was originally $180.  My winter coats are getting too big, and by next year, they should be really big. So it makes sense to get a new one now, while they're cheap, instead of waiting until next fall, when they're full price.

Yep, makes perfect sense. Here's the problem: I don't know what size I'll be next fall. I tried half a dozen coats on, in various sizes, but the fact remains that if it fits me now, I'm hoping planning that it won't fit me next year. So picking a size now is a crapshoot, and not worth it, even for a good deal.

I also did some more "closet shopping" yesterday. I was looking to see what I had, and pulled out a blue striped button down shirt that I used to really like. I checked the tag. 3X--really? I knew it would be too big, but some things do run small. When I tried it on, it was really too big, even too much for me to consider altering the darts that are already in it. Time to call Purple Heart again!

I've been wanting a black or white wrap style shirt to go with the black & white skirt I got back in December that almost fits, but haven't seen anything "just right" (this is a problem with me--I get something very specific in mind, and then nothing else will do). But at the back of my closet I saw a couple silk t-shirts I used to wear with skirts to work back in the '93 or so. Why do I still have these? But one was black, so I shrugged and decided to see how close it was to fitting (size XL). I expected it would be far too tight, and it was too tight, but not by that much. The shoulder pads were a little linebacker-y, but I can take those out easily.  I'm hoping that this is an outfit I'll be able to wear by sometime this spring.

So even though I didn't get anything new this weekend, I do have clothes waiting for me. How long it takes before I can wear them is up to me. :)

Week 4

I'm happy to report that last week's six pound gain is gone. I really didn't expect to lose it that quickly, but no complaints! I've been weighing every day again. I'd like to get to the point where I only weigh once a week, but apparently I still need that daily accountability, at least for a while. I have just over three more pounds to lose to get to "overweight."

I had set my calories back down to 1300 this week, to keep a tight rein on things. I'm bumping back up to 1350 this week. An extra 50 calories per day isn't a huge amount in the grand scheme of things, but it does give me some more wiggle room.

Wiggle room is just what I need today. We're having dinner with Jeff's family, and although his mom cooks good stuff, I can't exactly weigh my portions the way I do at home. Actually, it's a good exercise in estimating and making good choices without the crutch of the food scale.

Still no exercise this week. I've gotten to the point where I sincerely don't know what I'm going to do about that issue.

Recipe Review: Garlic Lime Tilapia

I'm always looking for new ways to make fish. So far, fish is generally a hard sell for the family. They eat it, but grudgingly. When I saw Garlic Lime Tilapia, I thought it sounded pretty good, and made it last night. Sadly, this is not the recipe that turned my family around on fish. Again, they ate it, but only what was served to them.

I eat tilapia pretty frequently for lunch. I dust it with Old Bay or Cajun seasoning, and fry it in a pan with cooking spray. I either put it on a piece of bread for a sandwich (a little low fat mayonnaise is a bonus), or just have it with some veggies and maybe a carb.  Sometimes I put salsa over it, too. Tasty, low fat, low cal, good protein, and cheap.

Maybe I need to try a different kind of fish for the rest of the family. I've got a pan-fried catfish recipe with a cornmeal crust that looks good. . .

Acapulco Pancakes

Most days, I have eggs for breakfast. Other times, it's oatmeal. Once in a while it's cold cereal. But sometimes I make pancakes. It's ostensibly a treat for the kids, but I always have a few, too. I use my mom's buttermilk pancake recipe, but since I rarely have buttermilk in the house, I use milk with lemon juice as a substitute.

But if there's orange juice around, I invariably make Acapulco Pancakes. Acapulco Pancakes replace some of the milk with orange juice, and it makes a really nice, light pancake.

Why are they called Acapulco Pancakes?  Because back in the 90's, my dad & stepmom used to go to Acapulco and stay with friends at their condo. The cleaning lady/cook would make these pancakes, so that's how they got the name.

The recipe itself is very basic:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup orange juice

Mix the dry, then the wet. The pancakes will be rather thin, not thick and fluffy. Also, don't make them too big, because they can be hard to turn if they are. I got 22 pancakes from today's batch.

They came in at 49 calories, 5 carbs, 2 g fat, 1 g protein.  I had five today. Not my healthiest breakfast, certainly, but acceptable.

Go check out a bunch of other orange/orange juice recipes at Eat at Home! 

False Advertising

A few months ago, I saw a blog post with the title, "Want to eat a BIG bowl of cookie dough?" 

Duh. The only point of making cookies is to eat the dough before you bake it. Well . . . maybe not the only point. Anyway, I couldn't wait to make this recipe. Sadly, no nutritional information was provided. When I put it in the recipe calculator at My Fitness Pal, I was dismayed to see that the calories for the entire bowl were just over 1300. OK, so I wouldn't eat the whole bowl. I could share it with three friends.  That's still over 300 calories per serving, and that's a lot more than most of my snacks or desserts. It's worth trying again, with a  rework of the recipe, because I thought it was pretty good. Sarah hated it, but Lauren and a bunch of her friends wolfed it down. But I felt misled. One fourth of that recipe does not qualify as a "BIG bowl."

Last week at our co-op, the cooking class made baked vegetable chips. The baked kale was amazing. Crunchy, mildly salty, interesting (not strong) flavor. The kids hated it. I couldn't get enough. We had a potluck at church Saturday, so I decided to make them myself.

I ripped the stems out of one bunch of kale and ripped them into bite sized pieces. Then I spread them on two rimmed baking sheets and poured a Tablespoon of oil on each sheet and sprinkled with kosher salt. I baked at 350 for about 15 minutes. You want to make sure they don't burn, but dry out and get crispy.

There were some minor complaints about the smell, no one else in the family liked them, and there was some doubt as to how they would be received at the potluck. "If no one else likes them, then more for me!"

Not everyone did like them. They weren't the runaway hit I'd hoped for; almost half of what I took came back home with me. I'll admit, something that looks odd and isn't your typical saucy potluck offering is a hard sell sometimes. But I'll definitely be making this again. I'll probably spray with cooking spray instead of the olive oil, because the salt didn't stick well, and that much oil just wasn't necessary.

Oh--the calories? 365 (which will be less next time when I use less oil) for an enormous amount, easily as much as a big bag of chips. Did I mention that the kale only cost 69 cents? Now that's a good deal.

Week 3

Oy.

I knew it wouldn't be a loss this week. I've had too many days of eating too much. But a six pound gain is never nice to see, no matter how much you know it's coming.

So now it's time to get going. Again. History says that after a gain like this, I'll have a few weeks of big losses, but I'm not sure that I'll hit that first goal at the time I wanted. I do still hear that little voice that says, "Nope. This is it. You'll never get past that number again." That voice needs to shut the bleep up.

Week 2

218.3 this morning. That's about four and a half pounds from goal #1 and about 8 weeks to goal #2.

I'm hoping to join the community center fitness room next week, so exercise is still going to be low this week. I will do the Wii for at least half an hour every day, whether it be Wii Fit or Just Dance.

I'm increasing my daily calorie goal from 1350 to 1400. An extra 50 calories a day isn't a lot, but I'm looking to increase slowly. I'm going to see how this goes for a few weeks. Of course, this also means I need more protein & fiber, which can be difficult for me to get sometimes.

I'm also going to go back to planned out meals. The whole "lots of food in the house and everyone can grab whatever" does not work for us. It doesn't hurt that people have been dealing with the aftermath of stomach flu (not severe, but not fun). It's time to use up those leftovers!

What I'm Reading

I'm rereading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card before I give it to Sarah. I've always planned to have her read it, because it's great, but I don't know where my copy of it is. Her Literature class read it last sememster (before we started with this group), so I decided it was a good time to check it out of the library. Both girls are at a sleepover tonight, so I'm going through it again, so when she starts ranting about something in it, I'll be able to respond.

And boy, is she ever going to rant about it. She hated the first few chapters of The Hunger Games, but liked it by the end. This one is going to make her even more crazy. But I think she'll also like it by the end. I need to find some study questions for her to think about as she finishes each chapter, too.

Once I'm done with that, I'm going to jump into Spontaneous Happiness by Andrew Weil. I have his Spontaneous Healing from a few years ago, and always liked it. I saw that he had this out, so I checked it out of the library. Well, it fell to the bottom of the pile and I kept forgetting about it. I put it in the bag to go back today, but I started glancing through it and realized it deals a lot with nutrition, anxiety, and other stuff that I'm really interested in. So I turned it in, and then checked it out again with Sarah's card. Bad mom! I'll get through it and get it back by the end of the week, I promise.

Oh, and in non-reading news, we went to see Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy today. I was the one who chose the movie, and I chose that because we always see action movies, and I wanted something a little different.  Sadly, it was a complete snooze-fest. Tin Tin or the latest Mission Impossible would have been better choices. I won't go so far as to say Chipwrecked would have been a better choice, but . . .

Recipe Reviews: Rice Pudding

Last night, I made the Cherry Vanilla Rice Pudding from the Cook Yourself This Faster cookbook. I'd never made rice pudding before, and I don't think I'd even eaten it before, but was pretty sure I'd like it. It's rice, people. With sugar & dairy. What's not to like?

The recipe itself is quite basic: 4½ cups of 1% milk, ⅔ cup white rice, ⅓ cup sugar, a little orange zest, and some vanilla extract and dried cherries at the end. Serve warm or cold.

First off, I didn't have 1% milk, so I used the 2% that I did have, and 4 ½ cups of it seemed crazy, so I only used 4 cups. Even then, I wasn't convinced it wasn't too much, but of course it all came together beautifully in the end. I thought it was insanely delicious, and Sarah also loved it. Jeff thought it was good, and Lauren didn't even want to try it. My only complaint was that at six servings, each portion was a little small.

Of course, since there were enough leftovers, I had some with breakfast this morning, too. Not as good cold as warm, but still good.

227 calories, 41 carbs, 4 g fat, 7 g protein, 0 fiber, 2 g saturated fat.

Hm.  What can I do differently next time?  I think it would be worthwhile to make a point of getting 1% milk, and I'd use the full amount (there were a few grains that were just a bit too al dente for me). I think I'd also nix the dried fruit--it's tasty, but there wasn't much of it, so it just didn't add much. And I'd make 4 servings instead of 6.

All these changes would change the numbers to 296 calories, 53 carbs, 3 g fat, 12 g protein, 0 fiber, 2 g saturated fat. Still not an everyday dish, but it's so rich that I'd be satisfied with a really light dinner beforehand if I were getting a full quarter of the whole pot.

Someone's In The Kitchen

Oh, that's right--I'm in the kitchen. Or at least I will be when the dishwasher is done.
Plan for today:

• chicken in the crockpot
• chicken carcass in the crockpot for stock (I need more onions)
• Szechuan Green Beans with Pork with brown rice for dinner 
• leftover ground pork + ground beef + potato + onion + carrots + rutabaga + pastry = Cornish Pasties

Pasties are fairly labor intensive--I only make them once or twice a year, but Jeff loves them, and it's a good time to have them in the freezer.

This is looking like a "grab whatever you want" week for food (you'd think that would have been last week, but no).  We'll have the chicken meat & chicken broth, there is fish and shrimp in the freezer, the pasties will be in the freezer, and I'm doing boneless country pork ribs with BBQ sauce in the crockpot and Asian style on the grill tomorrow.  So there will be lots of food available, but eveyone will be responsible for their own meals. There are always lots of vegetables available (I need more peppers, too), so I'm confident that we'll be able to figure it out.

I've gotten more interested in desserts lately. I'm making rice pudding tonight, and keen to try a lighter chocolate mousse soon. 

Week 1 and Goals

Weigh in at 219.8

Goal #1: under 214 by doctor visit 1st week of Feb
Goal #2: Corktown St. Patrick's 5K (no time goal here--just do it)
Goal #3: under 200 pounds by Easter
Goal #4: Farmington 10K Crop Walk in May (again, no time goal--just finish it)
Goal #5: 190 pounds (tentative goal weight) by Memorial Day

I'm going to be slowly increasing my calories over the next few months.  I think my maintenance calories will be between 1500 and 1700.  Right now my daily goal is 1350. I want to start losing weight more gradually, so that by the time I get to my goal weight, it's just natural to be eating at an appropriate amount.

2011

In 2011, I

• got yelled at and threatened with blood pressure meds by my doctor in February
• got an iPod for Mother's Day
• went to Florida in May
• broke my arm in August
• walked five miles in one day in September
• saw Sting perform at the Fox Theater in November
• dealt with car issues, family issues, and personal issues all stinkin' year
• lost 128.3 pounds, which is 36.75% of my original body weight
• lost 11 inches off my hips, 10.5 inches off my waist, and 11.5 inches off my bust
• lost control several times, but wrestled it back into my corner every time

I don't know specifically what 2012 will bring. I know it will bring more stress, because that's the way life is. But I also know that I will have to deal with that, because letting it run roughshod over me doesn't really help. 

What Was I Thinking?

For Christmas, I asked for and received Just Dance 3 and Zumba for the Wii.  I've heard so much about how fun they are, and I figured it would be better than just stepping on and off the balance board in Free Step.

The girls were really excited for the Just Dance--they've played it at their friend's house, so they know a lot of the moves already. Lauren was demonstrating it for me last night, and I suddenly remembered:  I am totally uncoordinated.

I was watching her jump around, thinking, "Crap. I am never going to be able to do that!" But I got up and did the "Crazy Thing Called Love" routine. You know the best part of trying to do one of these routines?  You feel like a total idiot.

Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking. I never like aerobics in college, either. But I do know that if I suck it up and do them more frequently, it'll get easier and I might even remember what rhythm is. Yeah, probably not.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

One of my favorite recipe sites is Gina's SkinnyTaste. She posts a new recipe pretty much every day, and they usually look delicious. I was browsing there the other day, specifically looking for something new to make. I decided to give Stuffed Pepper Soup a try.

But I didn't want to tell everyone what I was making. Jeff in particular has bad stuffed pepper memories from the 70's--that and goulash are the two foods he & his brother joke about the most. But the recipe has everything we like: peppers, tomatoes, ground beef, rice. In fact, as I was making it, I realized that it looks a lot like chili without the beans.  We eat our chili over rice, so the similarity is even greater. I used a more peppers than the original recipe called for, and no green--just red, yellow & orange.

The girls gave it grades of A- and B, and agreed that I could make it again. Jeff liked it, especially after I sprinkled some "Mexican" cheese over the top of his. I loved it and was glad I allotted two bowls for myself. I'm looking forward to leftovers for lunches the rest of the week.