Catch Up

Haven't really posted a lot in the last several weeks, what with it being the holidays and all. I've been sick, been kicking ass in my phlebotomy certification course, and pretty much eating chips like they're about to stop being made.

Yeah, I'm all healthy and awesome and shit.

Haven't hopped back on the TAGT train yet, and I hate to say it's the plan for the new year, because I think new year's resolutions are kind of useless. It's less about feeling pressure to make a big change with the new year, and just the nice sort of lining up of the want to get back into my old healthy habits, and that sort of thing being a little easier to execute in January. No big whoop.

My other hopes for post-holiday madness will be starting my garden from seed- at an appropriate time of year. Last year, I tried it months after I should have, then I was gone helping my sister recover from a wreck. This year, I should be employed and unable to flit off to play Florence Nightingale for ailing relatives. If I'm here to actually look after seedlings and plants, then my hope is I'll be here to harvest the suckers and make preserves and such. I have at least a few plans for posts about that in the new year, so check back :)

Anyway, hopefully everyone's holiday season is not causing too much stress or weight gain. I have a few more Christmas related posts on the way, and possibly some recipes, and maybe some Christmas memories posts. Hope your December is lovely so far :D

Gettting Back on the Horse

So, the last two weeks have been kind of a crapshoot, healthy habits-wise, and I'm tired of feeling like...crap.

To avoid the usual rambling post of  "Gee, I hope I do better next time!" I'm saying this: I intend to be back on TAGT this coming Monday. Perhaps this is nuts, given that Thanksgiving is four days later, but I've never really gained weight during the holidays (and if nothing else, I can call it my refuel meal. At least the things I like to eat aren't too far from the plan, anyway.)

I'll not only be restarting the Think and Grow Thin plan, I also plan to kind of do a sort of review of sorts of each chapter. Maybe something like "this works for me, this doesn't, you might try this." I honestly have not found that much info on this book or plan online, outside of Amazon reviews. I'll do (hopefully) shorter recaps of each day, any recipes I try, and just any sort of helpful tidbit I may stumble upon.

As for my previous entries, I think I am going to delete them, and maybe post a summarization of why it didn't work out the first time around. I believe in being honest about my failures, holding myself accountable, and if it helps someone else to know that I tried, failed, but have decided to try again, then I'm totally happy with how this all worked out, good, bad and ugly.

So check back Monday, when I intend/hope to have begun anew :) A month off, but better late than never.

The Lo Mein Substitute You've Probably Been Missing Your Whole Life

This is a grandiose title. I'll admit it. But if you're the kind of person who thinks vegetables make a suitable substitution for pasta, read on!
You will need:
1.25 cups RAW broccoli slaw. No sauces, no nuts, nothing. Just straight up broccoli slaw
1 tsp healthy fat. I used olive oil, but coconut would be great, too
3/4 cup frozen mixed veggies (I used Bird's Eye pasta primavera mix)
Kraft Lite Toasted Sesame dressing- I used around 1-2 tsp
Heat your oil in a skillet on med-high heat. When it starts to sizzle, throw in your slaw and veggies and stir it around enough to get a decent coating of oil on everything. You can keep stirring, or you can let the mix rest for a minute or so, to get some nice color and searing action. But don't let it sit for too long! Thirty to sixty seconds should achieve the desired result. Repeat the stir-sear-stir process until you are happy with the results (about 10 minutes, you wouldn't want still frozen vegetables.) Now, drizzle on the dressing, stir again to coat, and serve up your lovely plate of stir fry!
If you are serving no other sides, I would say this serves one. But if you are having a larger meal, it should serve 2. Other options include adding some shrimp or bay scallops or imitation crab to the mix about halfway through cooking (small scallops, if that's what you go with!) Some almond slivers, water chestnuts or scallions wouldn't suck, either.
So it might not be exactly like lo mein, but it has the right elements- slightly noodly, bits of crunchy veggies, a slight hint of grease. But so, so much better!

TAGT Day 8- A Vast Improvement

I'm proud to say, I no longer feel like a complete and utter failure.

Yesterday's (day 8, late post again, whoops!) food intake was nearly perfect. I've swapped out scrambled egg whites for the protein shake, and I think it has helped tremendously. As for the Fiber One, I think I'm going to switch to a different, lighter cereal for weeks 3-4, because a serving is 1/2 a cup. TAGT plan requires a cup and a third. That is a lot of dry, twiggy colon blow to have to choke down. Plus I think it's causing some stomach discomfort, so either I'll lower my serving, or start getting Kashi. Probably the Kashi.

Lunches I have pretty much no problems with. I'm generally awake by noon, and I happen to like sandwiches, so yeah, no problems there.

Dinner, I tried the Southwestern ranch dressing cup I made. It was not great on plain baby spinach. Brian tried the dressing itself, and was not a fan. I should have expected that, as I do not really care for that particular seasoning on its own (the McCormick Perfect Pinch Citrus SW or something like that.) It just seems to be an unbalanced flavor, imho, it's missing sweet or spicier. But nothing ventured, nothing gained :) glad I tried something new. And it was actually ok on my tomatoes.

Snacks are fine, when I'm awake or home or remember to eat them. I still have a bit of an issue with really late night snacking. Last night I had an Oreo (just one!) and later on, a mini bag of pretzels with some hummus. So I'm not binging like crazy, and Oreo aside, I think my snack choices have been fairly decent.

Also of note, we bought a food scale last night. I think I may not be eating enough protein at dinner, which surely has led to some less than healthy choices over the last week. I'm not sure if I'm to be weighing 8-10oz cooked or raw. Either way, I had 7.5oz cooked chicken last night, and I think it was a big part of why I didn't go loco on a bag of chips last night.

This week, I'm focusing on a lot at once. I now have homework to do, I'm working on upping my water intake, and trying to get into a normal sleep routine. Plus doing a lot (A LOT) of house cleaning. I'm one busy bee for sure! But I'm already excited and hopeful for my first weigh-in (which will be monthly, if I can manage it), and I'm hoping to just keep getting better!

TAGT Day 7- Not Quite

This whole crazy sleeping thing is throwing a wrench in things.

I woke up at 2pm today, and jumped right in, basically, to the proper meal for the time. I did really well today, mostly- my scheduled meals (minus breakfast and snack 1) were spot on, and I got in another hour of movement. Which involved some much-needed housework, so double yay!

I did just have a slip up, in the form of baked Lay's and some fat-free ranch dip I just made. Which I washed down with chocolate milk. On the plus side, the dip was 1 serving, split with Brian, I did have too many chips but not to my usual binging standards, and the milk was also fat free and was two swigs (which I estimate at about 12oz, based on the glass it was in.) This was not a raging success, but also not a failure. Plus, I have readied tomorrow's dinner, chicken for Monday night, and I made 9 servings of fat free ranch dressings, using Greek yogurt, skim milk, ranch seasoning, and various salt free seasonings. They include Jamaican jerk, onion and herb, vegetable, citrus Southwestern, sweet & smoky Southwestern, and a mix of the veggie and onion/herbs one without ranch. Southwestern is usually my favorite kind of ranch, so I'm really hoping those turned out nicely.

As for the ranch dip? Let's just say, if you love it, and you're looking to reduce fat and calories in your snacking, try it! It's just 2TBSP plain nonfat Greek yogurt and 1.5 tsp ranch dressing mix (the powder.) It was really tangy and even Brian liked it. I'll definitely be making more! It'll be so good on tomatoes.

So today was the end of the first week, and I'm slightly disappointed in myself. Disappointed because I know I could have done better. However, I'm learning not to beat myself up over things- perfectionism, falling short, dwelling on it- are ways to stress oneself into a binge. I'm definitely better prepared for the start of week 2 than I was for week 1, so that's a success in my book.  I'm hoping to try some hypnotherapy to curb cravings and help with the overeating, but there were times over the last week, when I had eaten what I was supposed to, but was still ravenous. I take a carb blocker that seems to help with bloodsugar spikes, but I would love to find an appetite suppressant to help me get over those humps.

All in all, I'm glad I'm doing this, even though it is difficult. I've reached the point in my life where I have to accomplish something, because honestly? I haven't. Pretty much ever. I don't want my next 32 years to look like the first 32. I've also begun classes for phlebotomy certification, which is exciting. As for week 2? Bring it on.

TAGT Day 6- Ehhhh

Sorry for the day late posting. I actually fell asleep at a decent hour last night. It didn't last all night, sadly, but I feel like I'm starting to catch up on much-needed rest.

My eating yesterday was totally off plan. I'd been toying with the idea of not having a refuel meal/day, but wound up having a straight up cheat day instead. No breakfast, Zaxby's for lunch (we'd never been, they just opened, and onion rings. Eeks.) We checked out a new Mexican grocer and the lovely proprieters gave me (but not Brian, aww haha) a free empañada de piña, which I would eat for breakfast on the regular if I could, and for dinner I had a Southwestern salad. Dessert was a sampling of Mexcian cookies and later on a yogurt. I recorded everything, and was still 900+ calories under goal. And ya gotta love Mexican coconut cookies...5 are a serving at only 120 calories. Their sugar content isn't outrageous, either.

According to plan, Saturday is supposed to be the day of the refuel meal (and not an entire day), but I figure, I half-assed that yesterday, so today is going to be as close to the plan as I can get (wasn't awake for breakfast. Oopsies.) The best thing I did yesterday was walking for a little over an hour, and hopefully we'll be out and about long enough today to do that again. Not that I can't go walking on my own, I just like it when exercise and my to-do list naturally converge. I'm also increasing my water intake, so even though week one has been far from ideal, I am slowly (molasses-covered sloth slowly) making little improvements that add up to a greater whole. And for that, I am proud and a little excited :)

TAGT Day 5- Getting (sorta) Better

Today, I'm happy to report, was a vast improvement over yesterday. Intake-wise, anyway. Last night, the cravings hit. Maybe cravings isn't the right word...just the overwhelming memories of all my favorite junk foods, how it will be a long, long time before I'll feel ok to indulge again, and how all this means missing out on Halloween candy and Chinese food with Brian (such is our preferred way to observe Oct. 31.) On top of that, I was ravenously hungry really late last night, and wound up eating 17 (yup. Holy sh!t.) Chocolate chip cookies. I managed to not go over my sugar allotment, somehow, but still. Seventeen cookies. Never again.

Today began with the shake and cereal, and I have to say, I'm rethinking the shake thing. I hate foamy textured foods. About halfway through, I had to fight the urge to vomit. It was more than a little unpleasant, and I was still feeling gaggy later in the afternoon. I also weighed myself, and I'm 8 bloody f*cking pounds heavier than I was the last time I weighed myself, several months ago! Oh I wanted to scream and kick and throw things...but, despite wanting to do all of that, followed by drowning my sorrows in a bag of chalupas, it steeled my resolve to stick to the plan.

I was unprepared for snack #2, so instead of yogurt I wound up having a piece of steak jerky. Not my favorite, but it was good for low carb, decent protein, and even fewer calories than the yogurt. Dinner was pretty perfect. I do plan to get a food scale soon, and I need to figure out the whole measuring protein thing. I don't think I'm eating enough protein at dinner.

If I can somehow manage to ward off the severe hunger pangs, I think I will finish week one decently and head into week 2 with a good grip on things. Thing is, I'm honestly hungry, not just bored or wanting to eat some feelings- my stomach growls, I feel puky from low blood sugar, and I get a little nauseous. I guess it's part of the territory, sadly, so I need to find a way to handle it. Overall, I'm really proud of myself today. I had plenty of opportunities to have the drive thru or cheap junk foods that I like, but I didn't succumb. Yay me :)

TAGT Day 4- I Suck at This

Just to preface this- I'm writing this in the spirit of total honesty, keepin it real, being true to myself. To not admit failure would be doing myself a disservice, and I'm not particularly good at or comfortable with lying. That said, I suck at dieting, am terrible at change, and feel like a failure.

Today could have been great. Instead, I'm writing this, admitting how far below ideal I came. Instead of going to bed at a decent hour, I was still awake when 5, 6, 7am rolled around. And I hadn't actually had the allowable snack since before midnight. By 6 I was ravnous, so I made a sandwich (should have made the breakfast shake, but wasn't feeling it.) I had my sandwich and a serving of chips. Then another. Then another. Then probably another still, I stopped counting after serving #2. Around 10am, I finally fell asleep, and woke up around 2 or 3, then continued to sleep off and on until after 5pm. It starts with simply being unable to fall asleep, then I find myself a week later, living like a vampire.

I haven't eaten at all between 6-something this morning and about 7:10pm. And frankly I don't feel like cooking rice or chicken or eating salad. It's frozen chimichangas, because as far as today's concerned, I've thrown in the towel.

Tomorrow will be different. For starters, I have an appointment that I would prefer not to miss, and I'm hoping to hit the bed at a decent hour. Even if it means taking a melatonin or sleep aid (which I'm not a fan of, as they leave me unable to function for much of the following day. It's part of what got me here now.) I'm not giving up. I've just had a lousy day, that's left me exhausted after doing pretty much nothing. Tomorrow will be better. I will accept nothing less of myself.

Hummus is Yummus Chicken

I dedicate this recipe to my bestie, Dinnah. She's a pescatarian, and will likely never even eat this version of the recipe, but if not for her, I may never have had hummus. And I probably wouldn't forever associate the words hummus and yummus. So this is for ewe, Dinnah! <3 I'm trying to come up with fat and salt free options to season my chicken while doing TAGT. I have a few salt free seasonings, a couple of Southwestern ones from Mrs. Dash that frankly, I do not like unless they are added to other things. Like chili. Or brown sugar. I'm weird. I might have them mostly because they were the only options available at the time. My other option is a tiny jar of Sunny Spain from Penzey's, which is their salt free lemon pepper seasoning. It's such a basic option for flavoring a "healthy" meal, but that doesn't have to mean boring. For this recipe, I decided to pair this seasoning with some roasted red pepper hummus- thinking tangy will go well with tangy. As for the fat content- yes, hummus has fat. A serving is 2 tablespoons, which contains 3-4 grams of fat. I figured, I could use a small amount and get the flavor punch I wanted, for minimal fat. And I have to say, .6 grams of fat for an entire piece of chicken is no dealbreaker for me. I'll shut up now. On to the food!

You will need:

• 1 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 3/4 tsp hummus (I used Fresh Hummus Co. Roasted Red Pepper)
• 1/2 tsp salt free lemon pepper seasoning (I used Penzey's Sunny Spain)
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp minced, dried onion

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Cover shallow baking dish with tinfoil (or not, if you have nonstick baking dishes.) Place chicken breast in dish. Sprinkle on lemon pepper and onion powder seasonings. Measure hummus, and rub onto surface of chicken. I wound up kind of making a paste-like rub out of the hummus and spices. When you are satisfied with the spread, sprinkle the onion flakes on top. Bake for 40-50 minutes (I actually made two, and baked them for about an hour, with great results.)

This makes a lovely, tangy piece of chicken, and the chicken I have prepared using this method has all come out nice and juicy. For you pescetarians out there, I can tell you Sunny Spain is great on tilapia. Just sprinkle some on the fish, make a topping out of feta and chopped, seeded tomatoes, and bake. Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle (another salt free option, btw) is also good mixed into the fish topping. Hope you try these and enjoy!

The Plan, So Far

There's a saying, about the road to hell being paved with the best intentions. I think that sums up much of my life.

This past Sunday was to be the start of my following the Think and Grow Thin plan. I planned for it (but not very well), but Saturday night, I wound up with a stomach bug or some other sort of intestinal unpleasantness. So my Sunday was spent on the couch, sleeping, or running to the bathroom. My eating was nowhere near what I'd planned to do. I started out not eating very much at all (a sandwich, with about half the meat I normally do), or too much of the wrong stuff (potato chips! Lots of hummus! Stouffer's mac and cheese!) Sunday was just a no go kind of day.

As for Monday, I wasn't awake for breakfast. For lunch, I had a salad instead of the sandwich and chips I'd planned for (I actually had no allowed chips.) The rest of the day I did decently, having apples at snack times, dinner was almost perfect- you're supposed to have brown or long grain wild rice. I only had yellow. I did portion out a cup of it, so at least it's helping develop a habit. I even cooked two more chicken breasts for the next two nights. I like to work ahead sometimes :)

I can say, I'm thankful for the hiccup in my plan, because it reminded me, if something isn't flexible, it will break. I'm going to follow this plan, but with some tweaks that I think are more beneficial to me personally. My #1 trigger food is actually chips. So, despite the fact that I actually control myself fairly well when faced with a bag of baked Lay's, I've decided to have a mixed greens salad in place of the chips. Surely extra veggies won't hurt, right? Other than missing breakfast, having yellow rice and no chips at lunch, I was pretty much on point for everything else. My snacks were apples and yogurt (with chia seeds), my chicken was prepared without added fat or salt, and I actually measured my salad for dinner, instead of grabbing a couple of handfuls and calling it x-amount. I did have some peanut butter and some Fiber One and skim milk after dinner. I'm still about 800-plus calories under goal according to MyFitnessPal, so I think today was a vast improvement, even if it wasn't perfect.

A final note, if you are interested in following this plan and need ideas for seasoning your meats, or you are just looking for good fat/salt free options, I recommend Penzey's Spices. They offer many salt free varieties. I am currently using Sunny Spain, which is a lemon-pepper seasoning, which is great on chicken, tilapia, and would probably be just as tasty sprinkled on salads. Check them out here. And check back tomorrow (later today?) for a crazy-easy chicken recipe!

Weeks 1 & 2, Think and Grow Thin

Today it starts! Three months of massive, life-altering change. Or at least that's the plan.

If you're following along with me on this journey, the plan is this: every other week, I will post about the nutrition plan for that period. On Saturdays, which is the day you're allowed a refuel meal, I hope to post a healthy recipe that I made that day (worry not, no tofu-seaweed wraps here.) Progress will be posted monthly, as will any random thoughts along the way. Also, hoping to post any different and new workouts I try, meaning different or new to me. I have Zumba for Kinect and have tried it once so far. It's something to work up to.

Now onto the meal plan!

For breakfast, I'm going with Option 1, which includes a protein shake made with 8oz water, 6 frozen strawberries, 1 scoop whey protein, and flax seed oil. Since it's easier to come by, I will be taking a flax supplement. Rounding out breakfast is 1 1/3 cups dry, lightly sweetened, whole grain cereal (such as Kashi. I like the really crunchy one.)

First snack of the day is one piece of fresh fruit (choices being apple, orange, pear or mango. I'm going with apples.)

Lunch will be Option 2, which consists of a 12" turkey breast sub on whole wheat, double meat, with mustard. It will be hard to give up cheese, but you're allowed to add romaine lettuce, spinach, tomato, onion, sprouts, vinegar and pepper only. I do like adding plain broccoli slaw to a sandwich, for the crunch, but it's not allowed. For a side, you can choose between a 1oz bag of baked potato chips or one banana. I choose chips, as I hate bananas.

Snack 2 will be 6oz nonfat, no-sugar-added yogurt. I'm debating whether or not this will be artificially sweetened yogurt, or some plain Greek with a tablespoon of Polaner All Fruit or Sugar-Free Smucker's stirred in.

Dinner will be Option 1, which is 8-10oz boneless, skinless chicken or turkey breast, cooked without added fat or salt, 1 tablespoon nonfat sauce, 2 cups of one or a combo of asparagus, spinach, kale, broccoli or green cabbage (I think broccoli slaw would be great for this), and one cup of brown or long grain wild rice.

Snack 3 can be 1/2 an apple or pear, 1 peach, or 1 clementine (I choose clementines, as long as I can find any, otherwise it'll be apples.)

The only drinks allowed are zero-calorie ones. I'm trying to give up soda, and I drink a lot of teas, and really need to work on my water consumption.

The thought of eating the same meals day in and day out is both appealing and kind of soul-sucking all at once. On my own, not thinking about things, I usually do eat the same old things. But having to do so really makes my "you can't boss me around!!" side come rushing to the surface. It's worth it to try if it means improving my health. I will still be using My Fitness Pal to record my meals and workouts, because having to be accountable for my daily behaviors does seem to help keep me on track, and I've been really good about using it for the last few weeks. Refuel meals are not supposed to be an excuse to abandon all good sense and run for the border. I have a few ideas about what I'd like for those days, so look forward to those (hopefully) every Saturday.

So these are weeks 1 and 2! Fingers crossed that I keep it up and it leads to lasting change. Here I go :)

Lifestyle Changes, via Think and Grow Thin

I am fat. There, I said it.

I am fat for a variety of reasons. Initially, I gained a bunch of weight before I began kindergarten (for reasons unknown; I started the summer average sized, and by the end of that summer, I was a little fatty.) I was involved in sports as a kid, I was not fed the junkiest foods (nor the healthiest, but I can promise you, I grew up before feeding your kids solely from the drive-thru was the way things were done), and for at least half of my childhood, I didn't eat sugar (hypoglycemic, threat of bodily harm from mother.) In sixth grade, I started developing an eating disorder, it really took hold in my first couple of years of high school. By the time I was 18, I was probably 150 pounds overweight, and when I actually ate breakfast, it usually consisted of a honey bun, Doritos, and a liter of Mt. Dew. I really wanted to be a vegetarian in high school, which is ironic, as I mostly ate not meat, in a poor attempt to be healthy, but still mostly ate junk. Fast forward six years after high school, I gained even more (mostly after moving in with my now fiance), and here I am now, extremely overweight...no, obese. I am obese. And it sucks and for the most part, I did it to myself. (that does not mean I think it is at all ok to fat shame, to ridicule, or otherwise be a jackass to anyone who is overweight.)

I will be 33 in a little over 3 months, and I am hoping that I have at least made a noticeable dent in my weight loss journey by then. I purchased a book over a year ago that I think will really help me with this. It is titled Think and Grow Thin, by Charles D'Angelo. The basic premise is that you can change your life in 88 days, 12 weeks, three months. The program entails eating the same meals everyday for 2 week periods- the same breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks. At the start of each new 2 week period, there is usually some change, such as cutting out the dry cereal allowed in weeks 1-2. It doesn't require anything special (beyond protein powder), and the wherewithal to eat the same damn things daily for 3 months. I figure, no big whoop, I tend to do this anyway. I think it's harder to do when you have to plan for it, if that makes sense. However, I plan to make this work for me by getting back into the habit of planning/cooking ahead, so I have no excuses NOT to keep up with it. You are allowed a "refuel meal" on Saturday, which can be anything you want, but within reason. Which is probably what keeps people from losing it totally and binging on Whataburger and Taco Bell and Krispy Kremes within the span of 45 minutes.

My personal tweaks to this plan include keeping up with My Fitness Pal, which I have been using sporadically throughout this year, and supplementing with a carb blocker called Carb Intercept by Natrol (recommended by my counselor for helping control blood sugar spikes), biotin, chia seeds, and if I ever remember to buy them/have the cash, CoQ10 and flax seed oil, or the 3-6-9 I think mix of the good fats. I really liked that one when I took it. I think it's a mix of flax, fish and some other oil, and doesn't make me feel like I'm burping sushi. Always a good thing :) The fun (hahahahahahaha.....oy vey) starts October 27, and hopefully by that day in January, I will have progressed muchly. I will try to update regularly, and maybe even post dinner ideas (not that there is much wiggle room, but it could be a motivating thing for me.) If you're interested in checking out the plan, Think and Grow Thin is available on Amazon. I feel like I should have posted a review of it, but it's not a new(er) book. I will say, Charles D'Angelo lived what he wrote, there are lots of testimonials from his former clients, and it really does cover almost any aspect of weight loss you could imagine. So stay tuned for October 27, when all the fun begins!