Nectarine Smoothie

Today I had a yummy green nectarine smoothie with 1 fresh nectarine, 2/3 of a frozen banana, 3/4 cup almond milk, a fistful of spinach, pinch of cinnamon and just a quick squeeze of honey plus 3 ice cubes. It was refreshing and perked me up at lunchtime.

Tip of the day for good smoothies.... try to use a frozen mug to keep it cold and don't dilly-dally drinking it. It's sweetest at the beginning and flattens out as it oxidizes. I've read that it's great to chew it if you can because the saliva really helps to absorb the nutrients better when it hits your stomach. So I use large smoothie straws.

enjoy!

Lose It! App

If you have an iPhone or iPad, I highly recommend this app. There are several out there, but this is the one I used the most and I know it helped me through the first 25 pounds I lost. After you use it for several months, and you eat basically the same things, you may find you don't feel that you need it as much. You start to know how many calories was in your breakfast or lunch, etc because you've seen it before. But I'm here to tell you, food logging is the way to go if you're serious about turning your life around. You will be blown away when you look up some of the dishes you've eaten at restaurants and desserts you've had at DQ. whew. I was shocked. It's more of an education and an exercise in responsible, mindful, purposeful eating. It's awesome. LoseIt!

My favorite for checking out restaurant meals was this one: Calorie Counter
I rarely had a problem finding items. This is phenomenally helpful when eating out. But, mostly, you'll find you'll be eating a lot of salmon and tilapia and some salads (drizzle the dressing from "on the side") when you go out because everything else is over 1200 calories.

It's not a DIET, stupid!

Disclaimer: I'm NOT a doctor... obviously. I do have a lot of common sense however, and I know what has worked for me. You can use what you want and leave the rest, I'm just sharing what I know, read and see. You have to choose your own path.

You know you can't "diet", right? it doesn't work! Okay, well, maybe it works for a week, or a month, but whatever you lost with the last pill, shake, restrictive foods, skipping meals, whatever- it comes right back with a few extra pounds in tow, just to make you think twice next time! Even mentioning the phrase "I'm on a diet" in front of kids makes me cringe. It brings to mind food disorders and body dysmorphic disorder. Be conscious of your words around your children - it matters! they do listen, even when you think they're not paying any attention.

DIETS DO NOT WORK.

This is about your LIFESTYLE. This is about a choice, a responsibility, eating for your health, not just the scale. The weight comes off as a byproduct of eating healthy. It's not about counting "points" for yourself and letting your family eat whatever crap you can get in their mouth without them complaining. That's not to say that I don't alter my meal slightly from theirs just a tad. My husband can burn the carbs in whole wheat pasta, but with my sedentary occupation, those are converted to sugar and then right into fat. So I would choose spaghetti squash instead. But for the most part, we all eat the same thing when we sit down to a meal. Here is the basis for my overall nutrition and lifestyle and I think it makes the most sense for a healthy lifestyle. (NOTE: the vegetables say 1/2 cooked, 1/2 raw - that's because when you cook them, their nutrients break down and you are not getting the full benefit of the vegetable. Boiling the life out of them isn't going to give you the most important part of them. So balance this at another meal with a side of veggies that you can dip, or a salad with loads of raw veggies)
(click on the pyramid to see it larger)

Do you believe in JINX?

Well, I hope this doesn't do it. (the jinx part, I mean)

If I could only lose a pound for every time a person asks me how I lost the first 40...

so, I thought I'd start a spin-off of my blog without muddying up my family blog with all my personal weight loss "journeyisms" blah blah blah. I've almost hated to talk about it because I was afraid it would jinx the whole thing. But, it's been a year since this started and I think it's time I have a little more confidence in myself. I just hope I can make 5 minutes for this from time to time. I'm hoping that if it's helping a few friends think of new ways to have a healthier life, maybe, just maybe it will be the motivation that keeps me up until 3:30am instead of konking out at 3:15 : )

I'll also post some confessionals just so you know I'm still human and I eat what everyone else eats sometimes too. Here's the first thing I'm mustering up the courage to post: a photo of myself a year ago in May 2010. Confession alert: I had bought a number of clothes in size 16 a couple of months before this photo and had a lot of self-loathing over it, especially because it seemed like it wasn't all that long and I felt like I was pushing them to the limit. I could not bear the thought of a size 18. But I didn't know what I was going to do to turn it around. I really couldn't be in denial any longer with a 16 bending at the seams, it was becoming obvious to me I was heading no where but up the scale. But with no time to exercise, living on 8-28 hours of sleep per week and sometimes eating just to keep myself awake to work, I felt hopeless.

I avoided photos like the plague for a long time after I had my second child. Hated to look at myself and hated to admit I wasn't where I wanted to be. Now I take photos of myself all the time in cute clothes to remind myself where I'm at, how I've gotten there and to enjoy it!

I hope you find something helpful here in these musings of a shrinking mama. Welcome!