Pizza?

I love pizza!  My first job at age 15 was at a local pizza parlor.  It's where I met husband. We both love pizza.  I continue to try and try various low carb pizza recipes.  Here's a pic of my latest!

Exercise Isn't Easy

Exercise.  I need encouragement! For me, this is tougher than changing the foods I eat.  I reached out to my Facebook and had a wonderful response.  I know I can do this if I am not alone.  

Yesterday was my first day doing an app (HCP suggested) called Couch 2 5K.  There are a hundred apps for this, including free ones!  I went with one made by Active at $2.99.   The app takes you over a course of 9 weeks to build your body to a 5K.  There are 3 sessions per week.  You get a choice of "trainers" that goes over the session with you.   The trainer talks to you to keep you moving and tells you what to do.  Session 1 was a combination of walking and jogging.

Needless to say I did it.  The kids were fascinated at it, so I chose the Zombie as my trainer.   They were quite amused.   Guess what? I did the entire 30 minutes without quitting.  Now I admit my calves were pretty tight the last 9 minutes out of 30.  I was so worried about not being able to move.  I woke up today though with only the slightest bit of soreness in my calves.  I survived.  I even survived the zombie trainer!  Tomorrow, maybe I shall try the unicorn.

My quote to leave you with:  "All dreams come true if we have the courage to pursue them." ~ Walt Disney

Refocused!

This past week I went for a check up with my HCP.  This way of eating is finally showing improvements concerning my health.  Yeah!  My resting heart rate is down significantly and so is my blood pressure.  Keeping accountable to my HCP is motivating because ultimately the numbers tell the truth.  So I've got refocused!  As of today I am down 68lbs!  I've lost more in the last 2 weeks than I have since the holidays.

I cannot encourage or emphasize enough the importance of doing this journey without a team which includes your doctor.  Not that it can't be done, it's just going to make it easier!

I've been blessed with 2 feet of snow that I can spend some time on me and recharge!  The pic is a snow day lunch.  Buffalo Chicken dip and veggies.  Who would ever think I could eat like that and lose?

Leaving you with a quote. "If you're tired of starting over, then stop giving up!"

Time to Exercise!

I got to visit my HCP this week.  I need to start exercising.  The visit was great and we can see my health improvements.  I was wanting to lose a lot before starting.  I am officially down 66.3 lbs today!  

So it is time that the exercise begins.  I have been doing some arm work with resistance bands for the last couple weeks, but it is time for cardio.  Thanks to my team (today it was my children) I workout to "Walk Away the Pounds".  (We are currently in a major snowstorm-snowzilla)  I made it through the whole mile with their encouragement.  They did it with  me.  What great family I have!! 

Walking is where I want to be.  With arthritis I have written off the idea of running.  However, I know walking is a great alternative.  So my goal is to do the mile via exercise video or outdoors 4 days a week for the next month.  I will do it every other day!  I am looking forward to seeing the results.

My blog quote today comes from the movie The Patriot which I watched again this week.   "Stay the course!"  

Boredom, one reason I eat!

Today has been the strongest day ever for cravings.  I think most of it is due to boredom.  Most of the time I probably gained weight was from bored eating or emotional eating.  Anyways, I wanted to cheat so bad.  So I decided to be a chef and make up my own recipe.  So how it turned out was not what I imagined.  

Apple Crumble

1 apple diced

1 tbsp butter

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup sugar substitute 

1 egg

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk

Fry apples in butter.  Take off heat.  Mix remaining ingredients and then add apples in last.  Spoon into a hot skillet.  This will fry.  Chop as it cooks.  It makes an apple crumble and lots of it.  

I was intending to make an apple type cookie.  I ended up with this delicious topping though.   I took a few spoonfuls of the hot crumble and poured a couple tbsps. of heavy whipping cream and indulged.  CRAVING GONE!   I am saving all the rest of the crumble though in an airtight container in the fridge.  I am thinking this would be fantastic to sprinkle on my mock ice creams I make in my Ninja.

Boredom is gone!  Although it was fun, I think I will stick to tried and true recipes for awhile.

Staying on track when not at home!

If your like me, going out of town often meant eating whatever I wanted.  Let's face it, rest stop vending machines are nothing but junk!  They even have options that appear healthy (baked chips vs. fried), but really they are all processed JUNK.  Traveling also includes take out since you cannot prep your own meals.

How do you travel then and stick to it? Plan.   Pack your own snacks,  and make good choices at restaurants.  It is that simple.   We went away this weekend just for one night.  I packed my purse with cheese and sunflower seeds.  That one little choice led me to stay on it from Friday afternoon through Saturday night.

It is all part of making this a lifestyle, and not a way to eat when it is convenient.

Teamwork

Team.  Exactly what I am needing for weight loss.  Although this is my journey alone, I cannot do it alone.  I have tried and tried countless times.  I have done diets in secret without anyone knowing or maybe just a family member or two.  If there was a diet for it, I did it.  Except this one.  Why  did I never attempt low-carb? I am not really sure.  Perhaps it was because I was addicted to carbs? Maybe it was just the fact that I wasn't big on meat?  Or maybe the fact that all my life I believed low fat, meant losing fat.  Hmmm. Boy I was wrong.

How am I getting a team?  I am telling everyone I know what I am doing.  This includes family, friends, coworkers, and even online forums.  At first it was pretty shameful.  It was like admitting and uncovering all my faults, total exposure.  Confession.  The more I confessed, the more I realized I wasn't alone.   The matter of the fact is, I gain strength from being open and honest about my struggle with weight.   

Now that I have a team, I am more focused.  I am accountable to me, but with my team cheering me on I find bursts of energy and a lot of focus.

I will end with a quote (I love quotes!).  "When "I" is replaced with "e",   Even "illness" becomes "wellness".

Red Radishes

I always like to try new things.  I cannot tell you how many times people tell me I couldn't live without potatoes or pasta.  I do indulge in one potato a week, well most weeks.  It takes discipline not to eat those things on a whim.   

Thanks to social media though, I stumbled on a fried potato alternative-red radishes.  Red radishes taste like potatoes?  Fried they do!  I was the biggest skeptic on this one.  My brain from 40 some years of a traditional American diet still needs to rethink things.

First I sliced mine thin.  You can buy radish chips already cut, but it is twice the cost and they are much thicker.  I plan to try them to see if I like thicker ones better though.  After slicing I drizzled oil into a frying pan and fried.  The smell wasn't something I was used too.  Who has smelled fried radishes before?  It wasn't exactly pleasant.  I was pretty sure when that odor hit my nose, this recipe was doomed.  (boy I was wrong!)

After they were completely fried and plated, I sprinkled salt.  I hesitated through the first 1 or 2.  However, they were fantastic. In fact they tasted like potato chips!  The hotness of raw radishes was gone.  There was no after taste even for me.  I now love them!

Breakfast for me today consisted of fried radishes and some sliced Dill Havarti cheese.  Next time though, I think I will explore more.  Perhaps maybe dicing them and incorporating them into an omelette or using a dip with them. 

Why are radishes good though for my health?  They are very low in calories, only around 20 calories for a cup of slices.  They  are packed with Vitamin C, B vitamins, calcium, and potassium.

Enjoy!  I look forward to growing these come springtime in my garden.

Plan plan plan

Plan!!

As a teacher my life is filled with plans.  I write plans for my classroom every Saturday.  EVERY Saturday.  Do teachers always stick to the plan?  Not exactly, but it is outline.  Children can give you a lot of unpredictable moments that you must adjust too.   So sometimes we adjust how or we rewrite the plan.

So how does this apply to my new lifestyle and losing weight?  Well I need a plan.   I read a quote that says "a goal without a plan is just a wish".   I cannot tell you how many years (decades really) I spent wishing to lose the weight.  I would wish to be thin.  It was just that, a wish.  This includes even when I tried other diets-but I never planned fully.    To be a goal, I must actively participate.

The goal for me was not to lose weight this time.  It was to be healthy.  I wanted to reverse prediabetes and I wanted to reduce or come off my blood pressure medicine completely. I knew that weight loss would occur and it was added bonus-but it isn't the goal. The plan?  LCHF lifestyle.  (Diet is no longer a word in my vocabulary.)  Choosing Low carb though is not enough of a plan.  In teaching, I just don't write teach math.  I have to be specific. 

What are a few things do I plan and implement?
I plan...
1.  to take a vitamin every morning
2. stock my fridge/pantry with low carb ingredients
3.  have alternative treats on hand when faced with treats from others or when I just have a weak moment
4.   plan my meals the night before and even pack my lunch for workdays in case my morning is crazy
5. tell my friends and family about my choices so they are educated on what I am doing.  People will tempt you with food, if you keep your lifestyle choices to yourself!
6.  1-2 new recipes a week


As you can see I am an active participant, not just a dreamer. My plan continues to grow, as I grow (or should I say shrink!).  Now I am not here to push LCHF on anyone.  It is what works for me.  Regardless of your plan to success, its only a goal if you actively participate! 

Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream

I've done well today and was in the mood for a treat.  The Ninja has become my favorite tool.  I decided to whip up some ice cream.  I'm not a big ice cream eater, but for some odd reason  I was in the mood.  Since I was very low on carbs (total about 4 after dinner) I could splurge on a more heavier carb fruit.  Normally I stick to berries.  So here it is...Cherry Vanilla!

1c. Light cream
1 cup frozen cherries
1 tsp vanilla
Sweetner to taste-although you could almost skip it.

Mix in you Ninja and serve.  Makes 4 servings.

Garlic Butter Parm Wings

Happy 2016!

Today I was busy cleaning clutter as much as I could-considering I am still having some major coughing fits.  It is amazing how much junk we accumulate!  Do you ever notice how good it feels when you get rid of it, and things go back to simple?  For me I get this same feeling with clean eating.

Clean eating for me is simply eating unprocessed food as much as possible.  My whole body reacts in a good when I eat food that is wholesome!  This is a feeling I haven't felt for a couple weeks with all the junk laying around and being sick. 

I also miss those type foods at the same time in one aspect. I  love wings.  I mean I really wings!   However, take a look at the store and most packages have added sugar.  Sugar is hidden in so many things.  So below is my own recipe for wings.  Sugar free.  Clean.  For me I am giving up nothing, but learning to cook it right and healthy!

Garlic Butter Parm Wings

1 frozen package of raw wings (unprocessed, no additives-Perdue is my go to brand when its available)

1 stick of butter-real

2 TBSP minced garlic

Parmesan cheese

Place the wings, butter, and garlic and put in the crockpot.  Cook for 4-6 hours depending how fast your crockpot cooks meat.  To serve drain off liquid fat.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese before serving. 

Enjoy!  Sorry I have no pic.  The family demolished them before I even thought of taking a picture.