Big Fat Lossers: June 2013

Reader Recipe Requests

I'm down to the single digits of my Whole 30. It's been an eye-opening experience, a miraculous one at that. For the first time in months Tally and I are out walking again and we both couldn't be happier about it. Yesterday was tough, I was huffing and puffing, we added a segment to the walk today but finished in the same amount of time, about 40 minutes. It will get easier each day, adding segments until we are covering the 3-4 miles we used to do. I've said it before, no foodstuff on this planet can EVER taste as good as it feels to be out walking my dog pain free!

I had a couple of reader recipe requests from the Sunday Spam post I made the other week. The guacamole I made was very simple but turned out spectacular. I think it was because the avocados were perfectly ripe and sweet. When you're not eating sugar/sweeteners it's amazing where your taste buds find delicious, natural sweetness. I used three avocados and mashed them in a bowl. I didn't mash them too much, I wanted some contrast in texture, chunky and creamy. I squeezed the juice of two fat limes and one lemon over the avocados. I added a few thinly sliced scallions, both white and green parts and seasoned it with salt, pepper and a pinch of both cayenne pepper and smoked chipotle powder. I did not add any garlic because raw garlic tends to overpower the delicate avocado flavor.

As for the chicken and butternut squash coconut curry, it's not really a recipe. I don't claim to be an authentic Indian chef, but I've been cooking Indian inspired food for many years and I feel like I have a good grasp on the flavors. I found a great Indian cookbook in a bookstore in Covent Garden in London on our 2012 trip and learned so much from it. 50 Great Curries of India by Camellia Panjabi is available on Amazon, it's a great resource.

I used split chicken breasts on the bone. I seasoned the chicken with salt, pepper and tandoori spice mix. I roasted them at 400 for 45 minutes. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, I removed the meat from the bone and chop it up and set it aside.

I added a diced onion to a sautee pan with some ghee, then the spices to bloom them. Cumin, coriander, garam masala, fenugreek and tandori spice mix, a good couple of teaspoons each but less on the cumin. Then I added a mixture of garlic, ginger and apple, which I whizzed to a pulp in the chopper. Apple helps thicken the sauce. Seasoned with salt then stirred in half a can of coconut milk. Full fat, thank you very much! I added a cubed butternut squash and cooked it until it was just tender then stirred in the chicken.

For the Pilau Rice, I chopped a cauliflower in the chopper. I did it in batches, pulsing it until it's the texture of rice. I honestly did not think it was going to be good, it smelled really strong of cabbage-funk. I set it aside. I put some saffron and cardamom pods in a bowl and poured over about half a cup of hot water to bloom the flavors. I got a chopped onion going in a hot pan with ghee. I cooked it until it was very tender and translucent. I added some fenugreek and turmeric. I added the cauliflower rice and the saffron and cardamom water. I cooked over medium high heat until it was the perfect al dente texture, about 7 to 9 minutes is the sweet spot. The cabbage funk cooks out and what's left is a wonderful Pilau rice to serve with the curry.

EDIT~I almost forgot to tell you...don't forget to garnish with fresh cilantro, it's a must for Indian food!!!

I hope you try the recipes. If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best.

Just One Thing: Portion Control

As you know, there are no forbidden foods in my healthy lifestyle. Forbidding things (like chocolate or Christmas cookies) can be a trigger for me. So in order to still enjoy certain things that I love, I've learned to embrace portion control. I'm not overly keen on the phrase "portion control" but I have yet to think of a clever euphemism. Moving on, portion control is something that takes a bit of practice but it's a skill worth having. It allows me to eat a wide variety of delicious foods while taking really good care of my health and continue working toward my weight loss goal.

One of my favorite tricks is to check the serving size of the particular recipe that I'm cooking. If the recipe serves 4, I portion out 4 servings. One for my husband, one for me and the other two servings go into two plastic containers and straight into the fridge for lunch or dinner at work on an upcoming shift. This keeps us from stuffing ourselves. It's not like we can't have a snack later on. And speaking of snacks, until I learned to eyeball a quarter cup (which is the serving size of most nuts, granola and trail mixes) I kept the quarter cup measure right in the pantry near where I keep the snacks. It's an easy trick when dealing with high calorie but otherwise nutritious foods.

Spark people has a quick guide to portion sizes you can print off and stick on the fridge or pantry door. Also, The Portion Teller Plan, which I reviewed here, is a really helpful guide to learning how to master portion control.

It took me a long time to learn that portion control isn't about restriction. It has actually allowed me to reclaim my health and lose over 93 pounds while still enjoying so many of the foods that I love.

Time to Reassess

It's the last day of January, can you believe it? I think today is the perfect day to look at how your goals for 2010 are coming along. Did you accomplish what you set out to do? Did you get started? Or has complacency set in regarding food and exercise?

If it's the latter, in the words of Fred Armisen playing Joy Behar on Saturday Night Live, "So what, who cares!" You have today to turn it around and get moving in the right direction. Do not fall into that trap of thinking you've "blown it" now, so you may as well eat yourself into a stupor until after Valentine's Day.

If you're making progress, good on you! Keep that momentum going and don't let the approach of the chocolate-covered Hallmark Holiday throw you off course. If you want to partake, plan your indulgence for Valentine's Day thoughtfully and enjoy it.

As for my goals, I'm loving training with New Rules. My closet, chest of drawers and bathroom cupboards are still so organized. My stomach bug set me back with the office project, but I'm going to get started on that before I leave for Boston on March 3rd. I may not finish, but I will get started clearing the room and start separating the trash heap from the keep heap. And as for cultivating an attitude for gratitude, I'm working on that each and every day. I'm so grateful for my husband, my friends and family, my health and this amazing blogging experience. You readers have been the best.

So keep looking forward, keep making strides even if they are just baby steps. You have the power to make 2010 your best year ever. Remember, you are worth it!

Case of the Mondays

That saying always makes me laugh. Mondays aren't so bad, it's just means we're one day closer to another weekend! My knee is feeling much better and I was able to push myself quite hard at the gym this morning, I feel like I can start making some headway in that department again.

I'm happy to report that the turkey stock was a success. It came out rich and flavorful. It's tucked away in containers in the freezer for holiday cooking. Making stock really is easy. I did nothing more than put frozen turkey bones and frozen vegetable refuse like peels and cuttings (onions, carrots, celery, leeks, mushrooms, squash) in a pan, fill the pot with filtered water and set it to boil. I added some salt, ground pepper and peppercorns along with a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce and let it simmer for about 5 hours. I strained it and put the pan in the fridge overnight so I could skim off the fat layer. Time consuming, yes, but difficult, no!

When I have a bit more time I'm going to do a recipe index for 2008 and for 2009 and link to them on the side bar. I hope that makes it easier to find a recipe you might like to try. It's time for juice now and then to work. I hope you all had a splendid weekend and that your case of the Mondays is short lived.

Happy Durings

I used to fantasize about being thin. Not just once in a while, but all the time. I would fantasize how perfect everything would be if my Fairy Godmother would just wave her magic wand and make me thin. Being thin would be my happily ever after. I wasted so much time on fantasies and yet the numbers on the scale kept going up and my self worth kept going down.

But then I started to realize that thinness wasn't really what I was after and what I truly wanted was to feel good about myself and feel strong and healthy all the time. Not someday but NOW. Then I realized that I could be my own fairy godmother, that I was the one holding the magic wand. I have had more contentment, happiness and moment of pure joy since I started this journey then I ever have before. And you can experience it, too! You have the power to feel strong, healthy and happy right now. You can be your own fairy godmother, grab hold of your magic wand and start waving it around!

Procrastination Motivation

Unless we're lucky like Mrs. Brady and have Alice to do the dirty work, we all have chores and housecleaning to do. I like a clean, organized house and I'm a task master by nature so the day to day tidying is no problem for me. House cleaning is where I run into procrastination problems.

I like to play what I call "The Race Against the Kitchen Timer Game." I carve out a block of time for house cleaning in advance, in fact I put it on the calendar. I set the timer in the kitchen for 99minutes and 99seconds and I go balls out to see how much I can get done before the timer beeps. I work fast and I work hard, I count it as a workout for the day because I get my whole body involved and get my heart rate up. I promise myself a 15 minute break when the timer beeps and I always have a "prize" lined up for when I finish. Sometimes I finish before the clock runs out and other times I'm so close to being done when the timer beeps, I just carry on the last few minutes until I'm done. And then I get my prize!

Yesterday after shopping was my scheduled house cleaning time. While I was out I picked up a tub of fresh face mask from LUSH and when I "won the game" I got my prize. I applied my mask and put my feet up with Food and Wine magazine and some Christmas music. Lovely!

How do you motivate yourself to get chores done?

Expectations

Let me talk for a moment about expectations. Not the ones we hold for ourselves but the kind that comes from others. Yesterday a family member brought in a beautiful cake to thank the staff for taking such good care of her mother. It was a beautifully decorated homemade cake. She brought it at change of shift and the day supervisor was cutting up small squares for the off going and on coming staff to enjoy.

I picked up a plate with a two-inch square of cake to enjoy (though I admit I picked the corner because the frosting is the best part. I've always said that cake is really just a frosting delivery system.) Well, you would have thought that I had ripped off all my clothes and started doing patient care buck ass naked, such were the looks I got from several of my co-workers. This isn't me being paranoid, one of the looks was even accompanied by a naughty finger wag!

There was time when this would have enraged me enough to justify eating five pieces of cake, but it's different now, I'm different now. I had a laugh to myself, savored my cake and went to work. My co-workers seem to think that I only eat carrots and apples like a quarter horse, after all, how else have I managed to lose weight. HA! My journey to health and fitness isn't one of deprivation and white-knuckle moments. It was a small piece of cake, I don't eat it every day but I will be honest, I would never have been able to lose 93 pounds if had been told to do so that I would never be able to eat cake again.

Many times over the years have expectations from external sources kept me from losing weight or keeping it off. But I realize now that it was just another excuse to carry on in my old habits. My health is my responsibility and no one else's. The only expectation I have now is that this journey is for life. Life that will include carrots and apples, roast chickens and fresh juice, long walks and yes, even the occasional piece of cake.

Get Back to Nature

I've finally found a fitness activity that I love, and the huge bonus is that it doesn't feel like exercise at all. Ever since my husband and I hiked up Kennesaw Mountain for the first time I've become enamored with hiking or trail walking. Yesterday we ventured further and longer than we ever have before. It's hard to believe that Red Top Mountain is just 20 miles from our house. It is a beautiful mountain and lake area full of trees with Lake Allatoona as it's glittering centerpiece. We did a 5.5 mile trail in just 2 hours.

If you've never ventured out of your comfort zone for a nature walk, give it a try. I'm by no means "nature girl." I'm not a fan of camping, mud or woodland creatures but there is something so amazing about a walk in the trees with nothing but the sounds of nature and your own breathing to keep you company. Check out the websites Trails or Local Hikes for walking trails in your area. Call a friend (don't hike alone if you're inexperienced or are going to an isolated area,) pack a bottle a water, put on your walking shoes and get back to nature.

Here is a bit of video footage I took yesterday (please try and control yourselves at the site of the super hot guy in the red jacket!)

Break the Streak?

Friday night found me racing away from the movie theater and toward my pregnant friend's house. She'd gone into labor and so, following my directions, had called my house. My husband called my cell phone (the only acceptable phone call in a movie theater, really) and said she was having contractions four minutes apart. "Does she want me now?" I asked. And he confirmed that she did, so I missed the last fifteen minutes of the movie. (Which are said to be awful, according to movie critics, but still. I wanted to see the ending! The movie? "Premonition," which I thought was entertaining, despite the panning given it by critics everywhere.)

As I sped down I-5 at 9:30 p.m., I realized with sudden dismay that my exercise streak would die that night because I was the designated childcare person. My friend and her husband would leave me with their sleeping two year old . . . I didn't even have a toothbrush, let alone access to exercise equipment or an alternative plan. I telephoned my husband to announce that my exercise streak would end that night. He suggested I do calisthenics at my friend's house. Somehow, I couldn't imagine it.

When I arrived, her contractions were a steady four minutes apart, but seemingly bearable. She was restless, so I suggested a walk . . . and she said with apparent relief, "Yes."

That's how I ended up walking on a starlit Friday night with a 9-months pregnant woman (who walked at a steady clip, let me tell you!). We walked for an hour, thus keeping my streak alive.

Food Today

Do you want to know what I ate today? Well. I'll tell you.

For breakfast, I had old-fashioned oatmeal with a packet of Splenda and cinnamon. For a snack, I ate a Kashi TLC granola bar.

For lunch, I ate a giant Romaine lettuce salad with a bit of shredded sharp cheddar cheese and some bacon bits. Then I had some Triscuits with shredded mozzarella melted on them. Then I ate a few raw almonds.

I had soup for dinner. I put the ingredients into the crockpot at breakfast time: brown rice, onions, celery, garlic, V-8 juice, chicken broth, kidney beans. I had another granola bar at some point, either before dinner or after. I can't remember.

When I returned from the store tonight, I ate a bunch of strawberries. I'm afraid they'll go bad if I don't eat them before I go. No one else is interested in eating strawberries around here but me.

So, there you go. It's not difficult to eat a low-glycemic index diet. If I'd known this before, I would have done it year ago.

(Oh, and yeah, I'm eating evening snacks again and considering whether it makes any difference to me. Psychologically, I think the idea of not eating snacks causes me to eat more during the day because I feel a sort of panic that I'm not going to be able to eat later. I'm thinking about the whole thing.)

With a little help from my friend

I am lucky enough to have a friend (from this blog) who insisted that I be accountable to her--in the best way possible, of course. We happen to have quite a bit in common, so we have cobbled together a friendship based on our similarities, including our desire to lose this weight. Again. Forever. Amen.

So, I'm back on track. For me, that means eating a low-glycemic index diet. In other words, no sugar, no white flour, no white rice, no white potatoes.

Today, I ate a low-glycemic index "snack bar", a big salad with turkey, some Triscuits and cheese, and then a chicken "burger" which I ordered grilled, with no bun (came with avocado and bacon). I had two peaches tonight while I worked.

I always hesitate to post what I actually eat--we weight-loss people are sort of judgmental about what other weight-loss people are eating. We all have our particular style or plan and since we think we're doing it right, other ways must be wrong.

But the truth is that there are many different weight-loss plans that work.

The trick is finding one that works for you and sticking with it.

And it helps a lot if you have a person who emails you and asks you if you're eating right and if not, why not?

I did it!

I finished the 5-Day Restart.

Someone asked how I feel . . . I feel pretty virtuous, actually. I feel like I've lost weight--and, of course, I did step on the scale, so I know I have, but I am interested to see what the scale says tomorrow. I will consider that the total amount lost on this 5-Day Restart.

I can't really point to clearer skin or better sleep or anything like that, though. I blame all that on PMS. I am sleeping pretty well but not remarkably better than usual.

I have been walking 30 minutes a day. Nothing like a rowdy puppy to force you into your sneakers and out the door.

I'm looking forward to eating salad tomorrow . . . now, to continue steering clear of all those dastardly processed foods which make me fat and mess with my blood sugar.

I am so sick of being fat. I really am ready to do this.

Submerged in Food

At our local pool, I watched a toddler walk in the pool. Even in the shallow pool, the girl bobbed around up to her neck in water. Still, she splashed around with no fear.

Then, without warning, she lost her footing and capsized. She floundered for a moment or two until her father scooped her out of the water. He cradled her as she sputtered and coughed.

And I recognized that feeling of going under, because so many times in the past, I've been minding my own business, splashing along through life, and suddenly, I lose my footing and find myself flailing.

But it isn't water that knocks me off my feet. It's food. Just like water tips over a buoyant toddler, food can submerge me and when I surface again, to my dismay, I realize I've been drowning in Ben & Jerry's ice cream and salt and vinegar potato chips. And my pants don't fit anymore.

Once, when my daughter was two years old, she sank like a rock to the bottom of the pool within arm's reach of me. I could see her wide-open blue eyes under the water, but she couldn't seem to plant her feet on the bottom of the pool or reach for air. She was discombobulated, disoriented, lost in two feet of water for those seconds it took me to reach her and pull her up.

And that has happened to me before. I swandive dip my toes into a batter of cookie dough, slide right in over my head and by the time I right myself and struggle to shore, I've been through the entire refrigerator, the pantry and a hidden stash of chocolate candy leftover from Halloween. Once I'm up to my neck in food, finding my balance and direction is tricky.

If you are drowning in food, grab a life-preserver. Hang on for dear life--you're safe now--and kick to shore. Touch the ground with your toes. Breathe deeply. Make a plan. Find support.

And by all means, stay out of food up to your neck . . . because one minute, you're breathing air and all is well, and the next minute you're inhaling cream-filled chocolate eclairs.

Ten Foods You Should Eat

Here is a list of foods you should eat! Have you eaten any of them lately? (That reminds me--I have salmon in the freezer that I need to thaw.) I've had skim-milk and those Wasa crackers and blueberries recently.

The secret to losing weight is not to stop eating. Instead, you must incorporate healthier foods into your diet and find what real, whole foods you really enjoy. That list is a great place to start.

Fat is Not A Feeling

I feel fat. And the second I hear myself think those words, some voice in my head says, "Fat is not a feeling."

Luckily, that same voice also says, "Go exercise," and "Relax," and "Don't worry about your feelings, just worry about your behavior."

(All the same, I should have stopped at one handful of walnuts last night, but that is water under the bridge. I am moving on, not back. No need to abandon the cause just because I foolishly ate straight out of the bag instead of fixing myself a small portion.)

It's Monday (almost). A new week, a new chance to start afresh.

Update: First thing Monday morning (which, unfortunately, was very early for a "holiday" morning), I weighed myself. Since Thursday, I lost another pound, so all that gloom and despair of "feeling fat" was all for naught. Feelings are unreliable. Actions count.

Hand-me-downs

I have a little secret. The scale has been kind to me that past few days. Sunday, I weighed in at a svelte 170.6. Today, the scale said 171. I tell you this only because Wednesday night my husband and I are going out to dinner for Valentine's Day and, although I am confident of my ability to choose well in a restaurant, my Thursday weigh-in will probably reflect that late-night dinner. Or maybe not.

At any rate, I'm feeling strong and confident that I will eventually get out of the 170s and back into the 160s for the first time since 1991.

Oh! And a friend of mine who lost about fifty pounds recently donated her now too-big jackets and coats to me. When she asked me if I'd like them, she told me they were size 12 and while I am wearing size 12 jeans and pants, I doubted my ability to wear a size 12 jacket. However, I am pleased to report that almost everything fit perfectly--two leather jackets, a wool Liz Claiborne blazer, a full-length coat, and an all-purpose casual jacket. The only thing that didn't work was a size SMALL coat and that was because the sleeves were too short.

I could not be more surprised or delighted. While I understand intellectually that I have lost weight, I honestly find myself surprised when I fit into smaller sizes. Slowly, my brain and heart and body are getting aligned, just in time for me to lose the rest of this weight.

Now, Valentine's Day is tomorrow. Be prepared to see chocolate. But remember that just because you see it, just because you receive it, just because it's a symbol of love does not mean that you must eat it all in one night. Taste! Share! And then get it out of sight . . . or even out of your house.

Today, I sent twenty-five "fun size" candy bars with my son to school for the Valentine's Day party. (They celebrated early because tomorrow is a field trip.) Anyway, those candy bars were left over from Halloween . . . which is remarkable if you consider that this means I did NOT eat all the Halloween candy I could get my hands on this year before, during and after Halloween. It also means that "the kids" were not the ones eating too much candy in the past.

Smaller People Must Eat Less

The other day, the light dawned, only it was less like a dawning sun and more like a high-wattage flashlight shining in my eyes. ("Stop shining that light in my eyes!") I realized that the less you weigh, the fewer calories you require. That explains why my weight loss has slowed even though I am eating the same now as I did when I began this weight-loss journey.

I weigh over fifty pounds less now and I'm going to have to adjust my diet to feed a smaller person.

Drat.

This calls for . . . I've said it before . . . weight training because we all know that muscle burns more calories than fat.

And now, I'm returning to my recliner to watch "American Idol." I'll think about weight training tomorrow.

On Exercise

Once you start exercising every day, it becomes such a habit that you don't have to talk yourself into it. And if you start a streak--even a "five-days a week" streak, not necessarily a "consecutive days" streak--keeping the streak alive becomes a quiet obsession, propelling you to exercise even on those days when you are so tired that all you really want to do is watch television until your eyelids close.

Exercise makes you feel virtuous. Exercise burns calories. Exercise reminds you that your body was made to move. Exercise improves your mood, helps you sleep better and gives you energy.

I'm up to 162 consecutive days of exercise. (I count it if I've ridden at least 30 minutes on the exercise bike--20 minutes if I'm in a real pinch, like on Christmas Eve--but normally I ride 45 minutes. I ride at night, sometime between dinner and bedtime.) I need to add weight training to my routine and I've come to realize that I really need a set of weights at home so I can work-out with weights at night because going to the YMCA just isn't happening on a regular basis for me.

Anyway, if you haven't added exercise to your life, do it today! Figure out a way to make daily exercise an integral part of your day. Make it convenient. And then, just do it.

You can thank me later.

Last few days

I had to go to out of town for a funeral this week. I brought my food with me, some servings of beans & veggies, some lettuce and fruit (mandarine oranges and apples). I wasn't that hungry because of the sadness of the event. For some people, this kind of stress makes them eat more; it makes me eat less, but as you'll see, it's the happy events that make me crack. After I got home, I have been going to parties nonstop, full of sweet treats. I finally cracked today and had several vegan chocolate chip cookies. Then I decided, let's make a day of it, so I got a couple of non-Fuhrman foods at the deli at my co-op, some red curry tofu and a quinoa salad, and a falafel. It was small servings and not too far off the plan, except for the oil and salt. As usual, I didn't think it was as good as my food and realized again that I'm not missing anything. I satisfied my urge to splurge so I think I can resume healthy eating tomorrow. I think the last time I went off plan was in September so that's not so bad (though I have over-eaten on plan several times). But I would like to kick the sugar habit completely. It just feels too much like an addiction, because it is. I never thought sugar would be harder than coffee or alcohol to give up. Pretty interesting.

Read the Labels

Although weight loss seems to be a main focus of this blog, it really is secondary to my quest for vibrant health. Eating clean and healthy (eating whole, unprocessed foods) is a critical strategy in achieving this goal. While I've drastically limited the amount of processed and packaged foods we eat we aren't living an organic vegan lifestyle. So, I have had to become an avid label reader.

High fructose corn syrup/corn syrup is one of the things I look for. It is an insidious poison designed to keep us fat and addicted to mass marketed junk foods, but it's also in places where you wouldn't expect to find it. I was shocked to see HFCS listed as an ingredient in many of the sandwich breads on supermarket shelves. I switched to Ezekiel bread, but I didn't want to force it on my husband, who adores sandwiches on fresh bread. Pepperidge Farm and Arnold are two companies that have stopped using HFCS in their bread so I feel confident buying bread from them. I was also amazed to see how many products claiming to be "fat-free" are loaded with HFCS. They have to make it taste good somehow, right?

Splenda, Nutra-Sweet and other mass marketed artificial sweeteners are also on the "avoid" list. If these chemicals were effective in reducing obesity and contributing to great health of the US population at large, the state of health and wellness affairs in this country would be a whole lot different, would it not?

I don't get caught up in counting calories or fat grams, but one thing I do look at is sodium content. Too much sodium makes me retain water like a cactus and my husband has a family history of hypertension so I make sure that the per serving sodium content isn't through the roof.

I tend to look for items with the shortest ingredient lists and if I can't pronounce it, I don't eat it. Reading labels has been an education for me and I highly recommend it to anyone who is on a quest for better health. Knowledge is power or in this case, knowledge is good health.

I was rooting around in the closet this afternoon, as you do when packing for a trip. I love jeans and have stacks of them in a wide range of sizes. Just for shits and giggles, I started pulling them down and trying them on. Imagine my surprise when I found that my fattest pair of mom jeans, ones that were snug when I put them away for summer, were so loose on me that I could almost pull them off without undoing the fly! Then I found two other pair that were too tight last winter and found them too baggy to wear. I can't express how good it felt to place those three pairs of size 26 jeans into a bin bag for donation. I then tried my favorite pair, one of my closet goals for early 2009, the size 20 lightweight wide legs that I wore when I first met my husband in 1999. They fit, a bit too snugly to wear just now, but not far off. And my lovely pair of size 22 Tommy Hilfiger's fit perfectly. I was jumping up and down and squee-ing so excitedly that Rob came charging up the stairs to see about the commotion. Days like these are just one of the reasons that I keep on keeping on.

It's a Friend This Month

Got on my trusty scale late this afternoon to check my body fat %. The instructions say not to do it first thing in the morning because the scale gives a more accurate reading when the body is hydrated. The results are 48%, down 3% from a month ago. I'm feeling pretty good about that.

Inactivity Hurts

As every person who has ever carried around a lot of extra poundage knows, fat hurts. It puts excess strain on the joints, muscles and bones which can lead to chronic pain in the low back, knees, ankles and feet. I've experienced these pains almost daily for years. Getting out of bed was a chore. I had to find a close parking space at the shops because my knees and ankles would hurt when I walked. Work was a killer. But it wasn't just the fat that was making my body hurt, but my inactivity. Our bodies were created for motion, not designed to sit behind a desk, in a car or on a couch for hours and hours at a time. And this is going to sound like a load of bollocks but exercise can relieve chronic pain.

I definitely experienced "morning after" pains during those first few days when I added walking to my routine. But after that subsided, I noticed many of my other aches and pains subsiding as well. My feet, knees and ankles started feeling better than they had in years. Even my low back didn't burn as much as it normally does. This was enough to keep me going back for more until I hit the snag of a pulled muscle and a cold which put me out of commission for a week.

That brings us to this morning when I noticed the first signs of inactivity pains returning. I never would have thought it but my body actually missed the workouts. My cold is nearly gone so I did a two-mile power walk early this morning. The pain was gone afterward and I had a burst of energy that has carried me through a busy day. I may feel a bit of post-workout discomfort tomorrow but I'll take it and then relieve it with another walk.

Monday Weigh-In

I've indulged but I haven't over-indulged so I wasn't too disappointed to see I was up two pounds this morning (carbs make me retain water something fierce.) I'm back at 249 but we're just a few days from heading home where I can de-bloat and get back into fat burning mode. My pimple is healing, I've been getting in some physical activity and have only missed a couple of days of juice.

The important lesson that I've taken away from this holiday season is that I can still have a really good time, enjoy plenty of tasty food and wine without going all out and overboard. My attitude adjustment and new, healthy habits haven't gone out the window, in fact they've been whispering in my ear the entire time, keeping my demons and my waistline pretty much in check.

I finally have a few moments to myself today, I'm going to enjoy the quiet and do my nails. I hope you all have a fabulous and peaceful day!

How I Did It

When you lose a lot of weight people start to notice. And then come the questions..."But how did you do it?" One person at work asked me about it and before I could even open my mouth she followed with "You have to give up fat and carbs, right?" Um, no. People have so many preconceived (and often wacky) ideas about what is healthy and how to lose weight that it's often tough to explain how I changed my life and lost 93 pounds in the process.

My unhealthy lifestyle and weight gain wasn't caused by just one thing so it would be unreasonable to think that there is just one thing that helped me lose weight. Looking back over what I've done over the past 14 months one always comes to mind, I've taken time to learn about health and nutrition. There is some great information out there. I've gleaned what I found the most useful and applied them to my life. Because "rules" sound so rigid, I like to call them "strategies." This is how...

1. My juicer.
My juicer is the cornerstone of my healthy lifestyle. It's hard to eat the amount fresh vegetables and fruit required to keep the body strong and healthy but my juicer makes it so easy. I get all the nutrients and goodness of fresh, raw veggies with a bit of fruit each morning, any other produce I eat the rest of the day is gravy.

2. You can't change everything all at once.
I didn't gain my unhealthy habits overnight, so trying to change my entire lifestyle in one fell swoop would be completely unreasonable. Making small changes one or two-at-a-time and working on them until they become habits is a fairly painless way to living a healthier lifestyle.

3. Don't diet!
I've said it before, I'll say it again: THERE IS NO MAGIC BULLET!   Diets that encourage pills, powders, giant cookies with a water chaser or giving up entire food groups may work in the short term but inevitably lead to the ugly cycle of deprivation, binge, weight gain, guilt, new fad diet and so it goes again. After years of the ugly diet cycle, a sane and balanced approach to eating was the only way for me to go. Whether you utilize portion control or calorie counting, eating a wide variety of delicious and nutritious unprocessed foods will help you feel great and keep you interested long term. Diets promote an all or nothing mentality, an on-again/off-again cycle that is unhealthy and frustrating. Which brings me to...

4. There is no wagon, only life.
Learning this one was a major epiphany, click the link above to read more.

5. Learn to deal with emotional issues/stress/anger in a non-food way.
The weight of emotional overeating is two-fold, excess weight on the spirit and excess weight on the body. Learning to deal with my emotional issues in a non-food way was the first step in lightening this burden to my spirit and my body. I've learned to eat slowly and thoughtfully as not to fall into the trap of mindless eating. It's something that I will always have to be vigilant about because I don't want to relapse into using food as a crutch.   Don't bury your feelings under a mountain of food, feel the feelings, process them and let them go.

6. Listen to your body.
After years of abusing food, I had no idea what real physical hunger felt like nor did I know what actual comfortable full felt like. The Four Golden Rules are a fantastic tool to start learning about your body's signals. It's also important to learn your body's signals especially when you start adding exercise into the mix. Your body will tell you when to slow down and when it is ready to do more.   Which brings me to...

7. Exercise is non-negotiable for a strong, healthy body.
You know the title of the blog but I've learned to embrace the benefits of a good workout. My posture is better, I'm stronger, I have more endurance and don't even get me started on those lovely endorphins. Just 30 minutes a day, three times a week is all it takes to get started.   Click the above link to read more about wonderful benefits of exercise. Make it a priority, put it on your calendar, "just do it."

8. Accountability
Take some time to think about what it means to be accountable. For me, it means that I am the one in charge of my health. I can most likely prevent a future full of depression and disease by taking care of myself now, by treating my body with respect and love and nourishing it with healthful things, plenty of water and giving it lots of rest.

9. Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
Whether it's making sure I have a healthy snack at the ready at all times or batch cooking to stock the fridge and freezer, it's really important that I don't let myself get hungry or get caught without something delicious and nutritious to eat. This keeps me out of the drive-thru or having to call for take out.

10. The numbers on the scale only tell part of the story.
I'm living the life of a fit, healthy person and with each passing day, that fit and healthy person emerges a little bit more. I feel happy, energetic and stronger than ever.   Feeling lighter, feeling freer, meeting and exceeding closet goals? Yes, yes and yes! While it's a good gauge of progress, I am not defined by the numbers on a bathroom scale.

Hot Buns

My first foray into making homemade Hot Cross Buns was a success! I used this foolproof recipe from Simply Recipes and made only a few minor changes.

I used golden raisins and candied orange and lemon peel, had to omit the orange zest as I forgot buy an orange (d'oh!) For the second rise, I cut 12 buns and put them in a baking dish, covered t with plastic and put them in the fridge over night. They proofed so nicely!

I let them come to room temp, brushed on an egg wash then baked them at 400F for 22 minutes until golden brown and oh-so-tempting.

And I didn't slash a cross in them before baking, resulting in our jokingly calling them "Hot Heathen Buns." Whatever you choose to call them, these hot buns were absolutely delectable. Nicely spiced, not too sweet and just perfect served warm with butter.

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