Missing W/I again today. Roads are still pretty good but by 3 or 4 the inch an hour snow will arrive and visibility will be gone. Safer to stay home. I've had a good week. Not perfect but no huge disasters. May try to get to a Saturday meeting.
Today has been good so far. Not much in the house to cause much damage .... Thank Heavens!
GEORGIA: Glad you're pretty much OK. Sounds like your rental is cool!
You've had a tough year. Listen to your Dr. Get yourself healthy and your weight loss will follow. What's Metformin?
TERRI: Good to hear from you. Bet riding Spanky makes you feel great even if you're sore. Isn't it funny how we let the thought of a goal throw us off a perfectly good weight loss plan. We've got to learn to fight back negative thoughts. I can see us all in long, floaty robes, burning incense and reciting strange mantras to remove negativity. My dog is driving me nuts too. Glad the weather is supposed to be good on Sat. so she can have her agility class.
Georgia - glad you were not hurt more seriously. Please continue to take care of yourself. It's great to hear you are healing and have a plan - you always have a plan and always work it. I wish I had the visionary skills you have. Thanks for sharing.
Judy - glad you chose to be safe. I always check in on your WI Thursday - I'll be seeing if you were able to get there tomorrow. Add my two dogs to those needing more exercise. Hoping to bundle up and get them leashed up over the weekend. Gonna just have to face it - they've been running like crazy outside but they need the formal walk we all love (or maybe I need it).
Terri - enough of this is all I can say. I'm ready to dig in the dirt.
Debbie - redoing the living room - new furniture - new paint - maybe new carpet - isn't it great! Makes me want to do ours but our wallpaper is still in good shape - I am ready for a change though. I definitely think up and down the ladder is exercise.
Imagine the weather shock Barb will have when she gets back from her cruise Sunday - hope the Philadelphia airport is reopened by then - would be tough to not get home to the little guys.
I'm doing well - had one day of bad choices (attributed to a couple of glasses of wine) last Saturday. POP since then. Heading to two hours of water class and then a one on one session with my trainer this afternoon. Thinking of something "unique" I can do with chicken breasts tonight to disguise it as DH says he is molting.
I hope everyone that is getting the blizzard for the umpteenth time is staying safe. I'm soooooo glad it missed DC this time around, although only by the skin of its teeth!
LOL GGG on DH saying he's molting. Perhaps some fajitas? Tacos? I've been in this mexican mood for a couple of days.
I made my sister's chili and put it thru sparkpeople recipe builder. The sodium is way high! All the tomato pdts do that. My sis made a low sodium version for my dad that cut sodium to less than one tenth of the original. He loves that stuff. It also has a bizillion jalapenos in it to help with the lack of salt lol. I got all the chili put away and ate the leftover broth as a snack. Yum!
I also made cheese crackers sans flour by putting shredded Gruyre (sp) cheese on a cookie sheet and baking at 400F for 12 minutes. After it cooled, I cut into squares. Yummy stuff. I have some hummus and some pate that those will be good with (not at same time). I tried the recipe with parm cheese, but that cheese tastes too salty to me.
Ratkitty, last summer I tossed a bunch of garden tomatoes in the freezer so I'd have some salt-free tomatoes for my winter cooking. It is really difficult to keep salt low with canned tomatoes. I don't think the low-sodium canned tomatoes have much flavor either. I'm in the mood to plant tomatoes!
Cheese crackers...yum!
Carol, do you find the trainer is a big help in keeping you on track? I haven't used on in some time and I think I really miss it. I found someone that is willing to come to my house, but she's pricy. Something to consider once my money is free from paying off divorce bills.
Going back to the doctor for the complete physical this morning. Blech! Judy, Metformin is an oral anti-diabetic drug, usually the first to be prescribed for type 2 diabetes. It's also prescribed for those with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and other similar insulin-resistance issues. I don't want to have to take it, but if the stall in my weightloss is more insulin-resistant in nature, then I'm willing to do it until I drop enough weight to go off all the meds.
My doctor talked about putting me on Statin for cholesterol, because "diabetes always means heart disease". I don't agree with him, so I started collecting my arsenal of information to throw at him. Last time I was checked, my cholesterol was practically holy and perfect (LDL under 100, HDL over 50) and my triglycerides were under 100 as well. I do eat very healthfully. I read that triglycerides go down and HDL goes up with exercise, and that's where I've frequently fallen off the track over the last year. So, I'm prepared to get back on the that track and bargain with him on the meds. I will offer to take the Metformin plus continue with the blood pressure meds but not agree to the Statin, instead ramping up the regular exercise again. And I'll agree to a six month trial on this. If things don't get better, I'll agree to the Statin.
Emotionally, I've been feeling better and better everyday. I'm rather surprised at that! There's no weight on my heart this morning, and I'm feeling at peace, energized and happy to be where I am.
Rat - can you share the sis' chilli recipe? I've made your taco soup several times this winter - it's a keeper.
Georgia - I absolutely feel like having one on one with my trainer has kept me focused or recently helped me refocus - she happens to also teach the water class and land class I take so we spend more time together than just one on one. She works with a number of morbidly obese people who are not quite as open to spout off as I am - she is an always thin, always healthy variety - at times I have to stop and do some 'splainin to her about how I think - or point things out that she is oblivious to - like riding the horse - or worrying if the seatbelt will reach on an airline. This morning water classes were not well attended - we spent a great deal of time discussing my mental block with getting below 250 and hitting the 100 lb released total. It's an investment in yourself - I highly recommend it. Are there hospitals in your area with community outreach programs? I would not be willing to afford Jill if it wasn't through this program - still expensive but not the $100/hour if you go to her privately.
Ingredients
3 lbs ground beef
3 onions, minced
2 bay leaves
3 cans of dark red kidney beans
20 oz budweiser
(non-alcoholic sharps is a good alternative, other beers get bitter)
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp salt
(can easily cut out 7200mg of salt by elim 1 tbsp..doesn't change taste that much)
2 cans tomato sauce
2 cans diced tomatoes
7-14 jalapenos
1 bunch celery, minced (optional, adds fiber)
2-3 bell peppers, minced
Directions
Sautee onions and green peppers with ground beef. Drain well.
Wash beans from cans (takes a few of the "snappers" out)
Add all ingredients and simmer for 2 hrs.
Number of Servings: 24
Dropping that one tbsp of salt gives nutrition info:
Servings Per Recipe: 24 cups
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 206.5
Total Fat: 12.0 g
Cholesterol: 42.5 mg
Sodium: 575.2 mg
Total Carbs: 10.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.1 g
Protein: 12.7 g
Thanks Rat - almost identical to mine except I've never used celery - great idea. I also don't use canned beans - I soak dried beans and cook them down - such a difference. Sounds like a wonderful warm pot for the weekend!
I have run this recipe as we make it for my dad... low sodium. Better than anything you can buy at the store!
Sister's chili - low sodium
Ingredients
3 lbs Ground beef, lean
3 large Onions, minced
2-3 Green Peppers, minced
3 Bay Leaves
Budweiser Beer, 20 fl oz
2 cans Hunts sauce tomato sauce no salt added,
3 cans Dark Red Kidney Beans - no salt added, drained and rinsed
2 cans Low Sodium Diced Tomatoes, drained
Jalapeno Peppers, 7 peppers, minced
Brown ground beef with onions and green peppers, drain well
Add the rest of ingredients and simmer 2 hours.
Number of Servings: 20 full cups
Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 20
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 250.0
Total Fat: 14.2 g
Cholesterol: 51.0 mg
Sodium: 69.7 mg
Total Carbs: 12.5 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.6 g
Protein: 15.2 g
Happy Saturday girlfriends! We just had a huge downpour, which isn't normal for Central California. It reminded me of the rainstorms in Indonesia during monsoon season, but much shorter.
Just back from taekwondo monthly testing. Rhyan's got his yellow belt today. I'm so proud of him!
Went in for my complete physical yesterday. Had a long chat with the nurse practitioner. She seemed to understand my wish to stay off meds as much as possible, and we discussed alternative options for blood pressure and cholesterol maintenance. We're both agreed that I start on the Metformin next week. So we'll see how that works.
I'm feeling so good today, really motivated to get back in the game fully to achieve optimum health. My mini goal is to break past 300 lbs by the end of May, exercise consistently six days a week and be OP with diet. I will take time everyday to care for my mental/emotional health with meditation. And I will have fun every day!
Last night I went to the Concept2 website. They make rowing machines and I have one. I decided to do their March Madness challenge, rowing 5000 m (just over 3 miles) every day. I can log my progress online and there are chances to win prizes. I'd just like to stick with it for a whole month. I have no problem with the distance. It's the consistency that I need to achieve. I'll definitely post my achievement to the exercise thread.
Discomfort from the car accident is almost gone. My neck and shoulder are fine now. It's my wrist that's giving me trouble. Hoping that one more Aleve with do the trick. I don't like masking pain with drugs just to be able to exercise or work harder, especially when it involves an injury. I think I can row, using my left hand for balance rather than pulling, doing all the work with my right hand/arm and my legs. The rowing machine is a great whole-body workout, and I can even do intervals on it. I have a relaxation CD of water sounds, like a river, and I play that in the background while rowing. I can even close my eyes while I'm doing it. (Not something I can do on the treadmill!)
So my workout will look like this: everyday, in the mornings, 10 minute warm up on the rowing machine at a slow pace, get off and stretch everything, then 5000 m. In the late afternoons, six days a week, a weight training spilt routine with upper body and abs on one day, and lower body and abs on the other day. And I'll also be doing PE with Rhyan five days a week on the Wii Fit, about 30 minutes.
I'm so excited to get back into exercise. It might sound like a lot to start with after several months of sporadic exercise, but I do know I can do this. I'm not going for major speed on the rowing machine until I can take it, and I'm using lower weights than I used to until I work up to my previous levels again. I don't want to get distracted by huge body aches or an injury.
Okay, I just wanted to write all this down so I can be accountable to you all. Because I really want to do this! I even joined Weight Watchers online to support my efforts on the nutrition side as well. I am determined to break past 300 lbs. by summer!
Looked up the Sat. WW meetings. I didn't get to either of the two local ones. One would have made me late for my dog's agility class and the agility class would make me miss the other. Yesterday was a day where I met my points goal but some of my choices would not be called good. I did get to the grocery store so I'm restocked with healthy food. Today has been OP. I took the time to plan my food for the day and will stick to it!
Georgia: Good luck meeting your rowing goal. You can do it!
Not much in the house to cause much damage .... Thank Heavens!
Isn't it funny how we let the thought of a goal throw us off a perfectly good weight loss plan. We've got to learn to fight back negative thoughts. I can see us all in long, floaty robes, burning incense and reciting strange mantras to remove negativity.
My dog is driving me nuts too. Glad the weather is supposed to be good on Sat. so she can have her agility class.
I'm so proud of him!
