Sunday, May 29, 2011

Hungry Girl Is on the Food Network!

Good morning!  It is Sunday morning and I am waiting for my stomach to settle (from breakfast) before going to workout, so the TV is on.  Guess what???? Hungry Girl has a TV show!  How fun!  I have been visiting her website for ahwile, so it is really fun to see her on TV.

This morning she is talking about chip swaps, oven toasted lahvosh cut into squares...a big bowl for only 200 calories and almost no fat!  Then she made crispy kale chips.  They are simply kale that she ripped into chip size pieces, sprayed with olive oil spray and sprinkled with salt, then roasted in the oven.  I am going to make both.  They look delicious!

Then she showed how to make a baked "french fry" out of butternut squash - something I had not thought of but will definitely try!

On a different note - I hope you are enjoying a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.  I know I am.  Please remember to pause and send up a prayer for the countless fallen heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can live our lives to the fullest!

Desire to find new ways to be successful on my healthly journey.  Dedication to remembering our fallen Veteerans.  Discipline to engage creativity to new ways of satisfying tastebuds!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Travel, Travel, Travel

Sorry for the silence last weekend.  We flew to Syracuse for my nephew's graduation from Syracuse University.  We are so proud of him and his accomplishments!

I managed to keep fairly close to my food plan, with just a few treats while traveling and celebrating his success!  On Friday, we hiked with our niece and nephew at the Buttermilk Falls State Park outside of Ithaca, so we got some great exercise! 

Then I really had some fun with my niece Alex (20) and my nephew Dominic (16) on Saturday after the convocation.  We did a workout together.  We all did some cardio and then they wanted me to show them some ab exercises.  I gave them each 3 different ones, each with 15 or 20 reps.  When they finished the first set, I told them to complete the set 3 times.  They were stunned!  Alex did a second set but not the third.  Dominic said....no way...he was one and done!  I loved that my core is so strong and that I could teach them not only how to strengthen their abs, but also teach them that you can be strong at any  age!

I came home from Syracuse and left on a business trip to Kansas City the following morning.  I got home Thursday evening worked out with my trainer and had to be at work Friday morning at 5 am to set up for Bike To Work Day.  We supported bike riders at 2 different stations near our office. 

So, basically, I am exhausted and will sleep as much as I can this weekend. Sleep is an important part of our healthy journey!  I will concentrate on centering myself this morning with a nice yoga class.  Then tomorrow morning, I will hit the gym for an hour of cardio and an hour or weights.  Should be an awesome weekend!

Desire to teach and share.  Dedication to getting and staying strong.  Discipline to always circle back to nurture yourself in healthy ways!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Thanks to All our Mother's!

For me, it is easy to celebrate Mother's Day, 1) because I have a spectacular Mother and Mother-in-Law and 2) because they are both still with me to celebrate.  I am truly blessed!

Yesterday we had our annual weenie roast on the beach for Mom.  It is her favorite way to celebrate each year.  She says it is the only way to eat a hot dog, once a year, grilled at the beach!  Since it is early in the season, we usually end up wearing sweatshirts and enjoying an empty beach due to the overcast skies.  For us, it is absolute perfection!

This year, I was reflecting on how easy it is to absorb and become the best of our Mother's.  It is also easy to carry forward their not so positive aspects as well, unless we are mindful to let them go.  If you have struggled with weight loss for a long time, there is very likely an internal self-limiting belief that is still with you.  It is also very likely that the belief was an unknowing gift from Mom. 

For me, I have learned, and keep reinforcing everyday, that is it powerful to separate from "food is love".  My parents grew up during the great Depression when they literally had no food to eat.  Mom says that many nights they went to bed with no dinner and that if they had a piece of bread with mustard on it, they were happy.  During my formative years, food was very closely tied up with love and celebration and family, home and hearth.  I have worked very hard to separate family love and devotion from food and abundance.  I still face internal challenges with food. I tend to allow myself extra calories for celebrations surrounding birthdays and holidays, which are celebrated with family and love.  It is all tied up together.  The difference for me is that now I choose to be hyper aware and not have it be unconscious eating.

I am not saying that we blame our parents/Mother for our weight challenges.  OH NO!  We are the ones in control of what we feed our bodies and how we choose to exercise and nurture ourselves. 

AND there is great power in our subconscious beliefs and how our lives manifest.  If you know what deep beliefs exist within you, from Mom or any other source in your life, you can acknowledge the belief that may be holding you back and then release it from your subconscious.  It is your choice.  You hold the power to change.  You can create new, more energizing and freeing beliefs to help propel you forward.  Things like self-confidence, self-worth and believing that you are worth the investment of your time and energy to plan your nutrition and spend the time moving in a more healthful way.

This process takes time, requires patience and is about understanding yourself on a deeper level.  So, on Mother's Day 2011, please take the time to honor and celebrate all the glorious wonderful gifts you received from Mom and at the same time, begin the journey of releasing any deeper beliefs that no longer serve you on your healthy journey!

Desire to honor and celebrate Mom.  Dedication to go deeper inside to find your truth.  Discipline to explore a new path to permanent weight loss success.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Hungry Girl White Lasagna - Yum-O!

I saw a recipe on one of my emails from hungrygirl.com for white lasagna. I made it for dinner tonight and it was delicious.  I highly recommend it!  I made to small changes to the recipe.  I added some chopped fresh tomatoes and a little bit of chopped prosciutto.  The original recipe says it is 290 calories for one serving.  With my changes, it probably bumped it up to about 325 calories per serving.  The serving was a generous one.  My hubbie, Mom and Dad also enjoyed it.  Give it a try!

Also, today is my 7th day without any sugar, any fruit, any stevia or sweetner of any kind.  It has actually been OK.  I haven't misssed the sugar.  Instead I really want the flavor of sweet.  I miss stevia in my iced tea.  For the upcoming week, I am going to add back stevia, but do one more week with zero sugar, including fruit sugar.

I dropped 2 pounds this week, and I did not reduce my calories, just eliminated all sugars.  Very interesting.  I ate lean proteins, whole grains, lots of vegetables, non-fat milk, a little feta cheese, some rice crackers, and almonds.  So I did not starve myself at all.

It will be interesting to see what happens this week.  Ultimately, I would like ot add fresh whole fruit back into the mix.  I know that processed sugar of any kind is my "crack" and needs to be avoided!

Tomorrow morning my decaf tea will have some stevia in it.  YAY!
 
Desire to continue to seek a healthier self.  Dedication to monitoring changes.  Discipline to honor my commitments.