It's January

Yes - January.  Otherwise known as diet month.  It's no secret that I packed on a few pounds over the Holidays.

So today I started my diet.  Instead of setting a weight loss goal which will inevitably fail, I am going to call this diet "Three Months of Healthy eating".  Yes until April 8th I plan to eat a very clean healthy diet.  A combo of Furhman and zone type meals, 2/3 vegetarian. No booze, coffee or sweets for the first month.  It started today.

I also have been ramping up the exercise since Christmas - hiking, doing yoga, riding.  I intend on adding Pilates and weights. We will see if that happens this time.

Well, I need to go menu plan.  Wish me luck.  I hope this doesn't happen tomorrow.

What are your New Years plans???  Any healthy resolutions to tackle?

AND SO IT BEGINS...

Well sisters - tomorrow I start a diet that I call "slim down to Halloween".  It is my attempt to get a corset on my plump little body.

The diet rules are:

No booze!!!

Eat a Furhmanesque breakfast and lunch followed by a zone dinner.  At least I am going to give some of the Furhman recipes a try and see how they go.  I worry that the dinner recipes will not be filling enough so I am going to add 4 oz. of protein.

Here is my plan for the first four days:

day 1

breakfast - soaked oats
lunch - veggie pizza, small salad
dinner -  lamb curry over cauliflower rice, green salad

day 2

breakfast - berry smoothie
lunch - big salad
dinner - tomatillo chicken breast, spinach, new pots

day 3

breakfast - veggie smothered omelet (zone not Furhman)
lunch - veggie stir fry over cauliflower rice
dinner - lamb kebabs, capris salad

day 4
breakfast - apple pie oatmeal
lunch - Mexican salad
dinner - salmon, green salad, sautéed mushrooms over spinach

day 5
breakfast -big smoothie
lunch - mixed green salad with pears, apples and walnut vinaigrette
dinner - carrot soup with cashew cream and crusty bread stork bread, green side salad

what are you eating?????

Just Kick Me...

I have been on the zone diet for a week and have lost 4 1/2 pounds.  It has been fairly painless thus far.  Menus have consisted of smothered omelets, health drinks, Icelandic yogurt and fruit mostly for breakfast, a big old salad for lunch, and a meat and veggie dinner.  No flour. No booze. 1 cookie on Tues. and even an Indian meal out last Saturday.  I think portion control is making a big difference - I have been good about controlling the serving size.  Of course, limited carbs helps with that since I am a carboholic and have no bottom to my carb rubbish pit.  So next time I blog that I have gained 4 pounds, please just kick me and remind me of how painless it would be to go on a diet for one week (before it is 12 pounds and requires 2 months of dieting).

Resolutions and the start of a booze free month...

 I have written resolutions pertaining to many aspects of my life.  A few that concern this blog are those in the realms of exercise and culinary.

Culinary

·         Learn to make Kombucha
·         Try 1 new healthy recipe a month – ½ from Furhman
·         Post at least 2x a month in Twisted Sister – especially June –Dec.
·         Try 1 new fruit/veggie every month

Exercise/Weight

·         Lose 12 pounds
·         Don’t gain it back again by Dec.
·         Hike more than 2 miles 3x a week – Set a trail/mountain goal every month to work toward
·         Keep an exercise calendar/log
·         Yoga and/or pilates 5x a week
·         Take yoga teacher training
·         Work out with weights 3x a week

These are ambitious goals and I have tried to include a few references to the bad holiday months when everything falls apart and becomes about discount Halloween candy and baked goods.

Today I started my diet on my quest to lose 12 pounds.  My current weight is 136 and I hope to get down to 124 - I can subtract small numbers anyway.  I have also started a booze free month beginning on Tuesday January 12th.  I will have no drinks until February 13th.  Then I will make his Lordship treat me to a Valentines dinner in celebration of my self control.  Wish me luck.

 

Alan Sugar's Little Fork Diet

I remember seeing this on Graham Norton ages ago and thought I would try it.  Since Monday, I have been eating all my meals with a little fork.  It helps to slow me down so I get full and don't finish my meal wishing I had more to eat.  Here is a picture of my little fork compared to a regular fork.

Here is my zone diet plan for March 6th.  Jackie, you should try my eggs for breakfast this weekend.  They are absolutely delicious.

Breakfast
Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs
1/4 large avocado
Health drink

Snack
1 apple
1 turkey meatball
A few walnuts

Lunch
Big salad with 3 oz  baked pesto chicken topper

Dinner
Tomatillo chicken
Broccoli
Big Salad

Snack
1 square of chocolate with 1/2 teas. peanut butter
1 oz monksfish

Water, water, water, water, and herbal tea

Let me know if you need that egg recipe!!!!!! It's the bomb.

Zone day 2

So I have almost made it through day two but the witching hour is upon me - that time around 6 pm when I want a beer with my hubby.  Stay strong - mantra - no booze, no booze, no booze.  Time for some herbal relaxation tea.

So the diet today was/is

Breakfast
1 egg and 1 egg white omelet with a topper of 4 shrimp, bell peppers, a shitake mushroom, fresh basil, fresh oregano, garlic and red onion

16 oz. health drink - cherries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, 1/8 mango, 2 inches of banana, fresh turmeric, 1 brazil nut, 1/4 scoop of hemps seeds, 1 cup of raw spinach and water

Lunch
3 turkey meatballs with mushrooms leftover from dinner
1 cup homemade chicken/purple barley/veggie soup

Snack
Apple with 1/2 oz. of cheese
1/2 oz. of beef jerky

Dinner
Ancho chili rubbed flank steak - 3 oz.
1/2 c fresh garden peas - boiled
1/2 c cooked crimini and shitake mushrooms
Spinach salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions with tbsp. homemade dressing

Snack
2 squares girdelli 70% chocolate with 1 tsp. peanut butter

Exercise was a bit of a let down as I intended to ride Casper but the arena footing is still trashed due to all this snow and ice.  Did 30 minutes of yoga, 15 minutes of weights, 20 minutes of pilates but whimped on my hike due to more snow (which is falling as I type this).

This has to be the most boring post - sorry.  It helps to write it down.  It keeps me honest. Thank you for putting up with me.  How is your diet going today?

Poor Casper is the most neglected pony ever.
 

1st day in the zone

Step 1 - Weigh myself
Hmmm - how many ounces can I lose if I take of my pjs, and evacuate my orifices?  The answer is not much.  So starting weight this AM is 134 lbs - that's the baseline.

Step 2 - Come up with a zone breakfast
I didn't plan well for breakfast and lunch - just for dinner.  So I have come up with 16 oz of health drink with about 15 carbs and 4 fats and a concoction of tuna, hardboiled eggs, hummus, celery, bell pepper and green onion for 21 protein, 15 carbs and 5 more fats. Drink water

Step 3 -
Exercise -  Do some yoga. Drink water

Step 4 - Get out of this house and away from the kitchen until lunch when I can have some shrimp lettuce wraps and another health drink and drink water

Step 5 - Go take a hike and away from the kitchen again until dinner whereupon I will make Turkey meatballs with mushrooms and spinach over spaghetti squash.  Drink water

Ok that is the plan for the day - wish me luck

 

 

Big changes in March

So despite my best efforts of the last two months, I have not lost a pound.  I am working out a lot and hard, really pushing my limits.  But my body seems complacent to stay the heaviest it has ever been in my life outside of pregnancy.  I cannot seem to shake this stability.

So March brings THE DIET!  Yes I must force my fat cell into submission.  They can no longer hang around on my love handles - they must be burned for fuel.

The plumbishness must go

So I have chosen my old standby "The Zone" by Barry Sears.  This is a diet whereupon one balances the carbs, fats and proteins to keep the blood sugar from spiking and no it is not just about eating bacon not bread.  It is a piece of lean meat and lots and lots of lower carb veggies.

I have reserved three books from the library to help in this diet quest and will begin tomorrow.  My goal is not too lofty - just 10 pounds.  My love handles and belly.  But the biggest kick is no booze - this brings me to my next goal "THE BOOZE FREE MONTH".

Yes unfortunately research shows that giving booze up for a whole month has amazing health benefits. It lowers all the stress factors associated with the liver etc.  So wish me luck - this is gonna be way harder than the diet!

Gumbo!!!!

We have Canivale coming up in our little community of Manitou Springs.  As part of the festivities there is the Mumbo Jumbo Gumbo cook off.  Unfortunately, I have a previous engagement and will not be able to attend.  However, I thought I would share my Gumbo recipe with everyone as it is a low fat version that is pretty darn tasty.  This recipe is not for Dr. Theda, however, as he is allergic to bell peppers. 


Yum Gumbo -let me share my recipe

Ingredients List:

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 large onion chopped

4 ribs of celery chopped

1 red bell pepper chopped

1 green bell pepper chopped

2 gloves of garlic minced or mashed

1-2 tsp. hot pepper sauce

1 lrg. can of tomato sauce

1 bottle clam juice

2 cups chicken broth

1 lb. of shrimp

2 chicken Andouille sausage

3 Tbsp. file'

 

Spice mix:

11/2 teas. sweet paprika

1 teas. salt

1 teas. cayenne pepper

1/2 teas. ground black pepper

1/2 teas. ground white pepper

1/2 teas. thyme

1/2 teas. oregano

2 bay leaves

 Saute' onions in veg. oil for about 5 minutes.  Add celery and peppers and cook 10 more minutes.  Combine the spice mixture in a bowl and set aside.  Stir the file' into the veggies and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add dry spice mixture, hot sauce, garlic and cook another 5 minutes, stirring often. Add tomato sauce, clam juice, chicken broth, sausage and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about an hour stirring occasionally.  Add shrimp and simmer for 2 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Saute' veggies in oil

Mix spices

Add as much chicken sausage as you wish - I like two

Add Tomato sauce, chicken broth, clam juice and sausage, bring to a boil and let simmer for an hour

 

Ready to eat over rice - yum