Day 3 on the Juice/Veggie Diet

Eating this way feels GREAT!! After three days of veggies, I don't have cravings, I'm not hungry and the only discomfort I find is that I'm thirsty. You would think with juice, you wouldn't have to drink water, but you do. In fact, juice doesn't replace water at all! So, I'm probably a little on the dehydrated side.
We bought a few bottles of Odwalla juice to get started so we didn't have to personally juice at every meal. Our favorites are the Original SUPERFOOD and Mango Tango We bought them at our local grocery store for about $8. Which seems like a crazy amount for juice, but it's lasted us for several servings.  We've also tried a few juice recipes here.

I know my body, and just juice wouldn't swing, so I've been putting a tablespoon of Chia seeds in each glass and it's been no problem.  The added protein, Omegas and fiber help balance out the carbohydrates.  It truely is a blanced meal.

I have also been making my current favorite dish every night. (recipe below) No one is getting sick of it either so I'll probably make it again tomorrow night, or until we get through this pile of eggplant.

Spicy Thai Eggplant

Cook the following in 1 Tbs. olive oil until soft and nearly cooked through:

8-10 Japanese Eggplant
1 onion
3-4 Jalapenos, seeded and demembraned

Wait on the garlic until the end or it could burn.

Add:
1 -2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. sugar (optional) <--I've skipped this
3-4 sliced garlic cloves

Finish cooking.

Add:

A BIG handful of basil leaves.
Stir through and turn off heat.
Let sit for a few minutes so the basil leaves wilt.

Day 295 - Funny, Silly, Female Brain

Seriously, why are our brains constantly messing with us?  Why do our eyes fail us?  This week I have been feeling a little like I used to.  I swear I feel like I have gained a few pounds.  I look in the mirror, the reflection is the same.  I hop on the scale, it also hasn't changed.  I put on my clothes, nothing new.  So what is the deal??

When I used to feel like this I would just eat whatever I felt like, in large quantities.  It was almost like I was punishing myself for being overweight.  The thought was, "Well, I'm overweight, I feel like poo, may as eat things that taste divine.  I would ignore my better judgement and just eat.  Sometimes I would crave and unless I ate what I was craving, I would just keep eating.  I remember eating salty popcorn and then crave something sweet, brownies.  Then after that, I would want something salty, chips.  Then later, ice cream...  It was sad and I never did that when anyone was around because I would have been incredibly embarrassed. 

When I did Weight Watchers a few years ago, I was successful in loosing weight there, but I always felt on the edge. Like at any time I could slip and just go overboard.  (Which I did after having my 3rd baby)  Looking back and thinking about my WW experience, I was loosing weight, but I didn't change the habits.  There were nights where I would start with salty popcorn in a measured amount, then I would move onto a serving of fat free brownie cookies, then I would go back to the popcorn (let's face it, low fat chips taste like paper) and then I would move on to "Skinny Cow" ice creams."  On a rough day I would save a lot of my points just so I could gorge at night on junk.  I stayed within my point range, I lost weight, but I did it by beating the system.  But did I? When you try to beat the weight loss journey, it always comes back to bite you in the bum.  In my case, by adding everything I ate to my bum!  :o)

So I am learning that there are times are brain just freaks out for no reason!  We just feel heavy. We are females, with cycles and as soon as you accept that our bodies are not our own, the battle is easier because you stop fighting it and start to learn to listen to it.  By listening to our bodies, we can begin to work with it.  What I am hearing is that I need to refocus on what I am eating and to start thinking about my portions.  This is the time of year where there are lots of wonderful foods, warm foods, gooey foods.  I am a picker, and if I am not careful I could pick myself into a few extra pounds.  My game plan?  Don't take my eating for granted.  I need to focus and think before I eat.  Make my plate and don't go back for seconds.  If I am snacky, find something healthy that will curb the appetite.  DRINK MY WATER!!!

SIDE NOTE: A new snack that I am loving!  You can't eat a ton, and if you eat more than you would like, not a biggie, because it's a tomato after all.  Dehydrated tomatoes from my garden nearly taste like candy. They have a strong, sweet, savory flavor so after a few you are done with snacking.  Such an unexpected delight!

Day 292 - Favorite Fast Food Fix

Sometimes life is busy.  Sometimes you are caught out in your busy-ness and it's lunchtime or even past lunchtime.  What to do?  Personally I would rather go somewhere with lots of healthy options, like Panera Bread.  If Panera Bread only had a drive-through... but they don't!

When in a pinch, we like In-N-Out Burger.  I have to admit, it's the one fast food place that doesn't make me gag.  It seems so clean of an establishment, the food is basic, not severely adulterated and I can even watch while waiting in my car to see if anything fell on the floor. Maybe their facade has me fooled, but maybe the place is as clean as it seems.

With such a basic menu, it's easy not to get distracted with other things on the menu. You need a strategy to make it through the dangers of all fast food experiences.  This is my strategy:

I order the same thing every time I go and I feel full, treated and I won't find it on the scale. I order a hamburger so I can save calories on the cheese.  (I don't think it's real cheese either) I order it "ANIMAL STYLE" so I can get tasty grilled onions and a bit of special sauce. It's such a juicy burger, I don't miss the cheese.  I also order some fries and ask for them "WELL" so that they will still be crispy by the time I get to our eating location (usually home).  I share this order with my kids because all I really want is a few fries, like 10.  As the kids have gotten bigger and eat more, I now order 2 orders.  I have a nice glass of water when I am finished and I am full. 

You might ask, "If you are going through the drive through just to take it home, why don't you just go home and eat something there?"  Yes, that is the best solution!!  There are just times where it's 1- 1:30 and we haven't had lunch.  By the time I get home (we live out in the country), make lunch and eat it, it's after 2 and we are famished.  As most know, when you get overly hungry, you will eat more.  This is my solution to prevent overeating on late days and late lunches on the run.

Day 286 - A Warm, Healthy Drink on a Cold Day

I am a muncher.  A grazer.  A snacker.  Whatever you want to call it, it all means the same.  I am home most of the time, and it's so easy to just snack unconsciously throughout the day.  Heck, I gained 10-15 pounds when we first started homeschooling because it's easy to do between subjects!!  I also eat when I am stressed.  So if there are things going on in life, it's easy to just snack my way through the issues.  This comes natural to me.

During this journey I have found that although grazing is so easy to do, I had to stop it.  It is too easy to get extra calories in without even being aware of it.  I have found that if I can fill myself up with fluid, I not only can curb the munchies, but i can also get extra water in.  When I speak of fluid, I am referring to water.  I always forget to drink my water, I swear I am mostly in a dehydrated state.  This isn't a good thing when trying to loose weight and I need to do better.  You need water to flush your system!  Not soda, not coffee, not anything with chemicals, just pure, clean, water.  When I consume fluid, I mostly do this, drink water.  In a year, the number of sodas I consume, I probably can count on my left hand.  The stuff offers nothing good for your body, nothing.  I have read that for every soda you consume you should also drink a glass of water because it takes water from your system to flush the toxins out of your system.  It's bad stuff and the farther away you can get from the stuff, the better off your health will be. 

A little trick that satisfies both needs is that I try to drink mugs full of warm fluid through out the day.  My two most favorite beverages is Pero with a little milk and herbal tea with a splash of milk.  Sometimes at the end of the day, around 9ish, especially if I had a light dinner, a little hunger twinge might hit my tummy.  A big mugful of one of these hits the spot and kills that feeling.

This is considered a coffee substitute and it tastes like it too.  I don't drink coffee, but this is just as good.  It's really tasty with some sugar, but I try to keep the calories down so I just add a few tablespoons of milk.  Read the ingredients.  If you are trying to kick a coffee habit, this will help in the process.  When I am feeling like a special treat, it's super tasty with a coffee flavoring like Coffee-mate.

This is my favorite herbal right now because there is choice.  Every flavor is so tasty and they have a natural sweetness so it's easy to pass up the sugar bowl.  A shot of milk adds a creamy to it that is really satisfying.  I am a little excited from this image because the Fruit Tea Sampler I have has an orange flavor instead of blueberry.  I am excited to try some blueberry!

Day 161

A few things I have learned on my journey

1. If I go to bed just a bit hungry, not starving, just the feeling that I could eat a little bit, I will loose weight. Over a couple of days, the effort shows up on the scale.

2. I am a mom. I prefer, and do cook most meals at home, but there are times, where fast food just happens. There are only a few places I can stand to go to and not leave full of guilt. One of which is In N Out. It's a basic menu, they use basic ingredients, some of them even fresh not frozen. How can you not love that!?! If Panera Bread had a drive through, I would be all over that. I have learned that you can not only eat somewhat healthy if you choose right, you can even keep from gaining from the experience. I find that if I can just eat 1 serving of one thing I can enjoy the experience without stressing out. I use to figure and count and figure again to see what I could order, what would be the lightest, what wouldn't do any "damage". I find that by going infrequently when we do somewhere like In N Out, if I choose a burger, without cheese and with a few fries, I can enjoy the meal, not feel guilty and still stay within my goals. I think the key is to eat just enough to kill the hunger but not stuffed. Even allow yourself to be a little bit hungry at the end.

3. Remember that fat is important. We hear about good fats and bad fats. We know that too much fat is just as bad as not enough fat. Fat is what makes you feel full!! Ever notice you can just pack in the low fat carbs and never really feel full even though you have consumed a ton of calories? It's all about balance! One of my most favorite snacks in nuts. If you are feeling a little bit hungry, grab a handful of nuts and a glass of water. I have found that this kills the hunger and holds me until meal time.

4. I have heard that if you can purge yourself of sugar you no longer crave it. I always thought that hard to believe, probably because I was still getting sugar somewhere since it's a hard habit to break! While I was pregnant with my last baby, I didn't eat sugar for a space of time (I tend to loose my appetite with pregnancy because the baby pushes on the tummy and messes with that whole system) I realized that I wasn't craving sugar and therefore didn't miss it. I thought I would test this theory after the delivery. As soon as I would eat something with sugar, I found myself having cravings, strong ones! But as soon as I stopped eating the sugar for a few days, my control against it got stronger. My favorite thing to do in the evening (when my cravings can be all consuming) is to drink an herbal tea. Some herbal teas can have a sweeter flavor simply from the herbs themselves. I enjoy an added shot of milk which makes the drink get creamy. It's a wonderful evening treat. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I found that if I chill the tea first, it's just as good. Some nights, especially after eating sugar the day before or that day (life happens) I find myself drinking a few mugs of tea. For me, it's a great substitute for eating in the evening.

5. It is all about the water. We see it everywhere, we know we need to, but some days, I just forget to drink it!! Especially if it's not warm outside. But it's a must, must, MUST! A lot of times when we are craving food, it actually means we are thirsty!! Sometimes, if the tea just isn't working for me, if I chug a big glass of water, I can curb a difficult craving. Think of it as drowning your enemy!!

I do not have this perfected yet, I am still learning, but I am finding that this is working for me right now.