Up and Down

           Well February has been quite a rollercoaster month.  I lost, I gained, I lost again, and then gained again.  Not surprised at all by this, since my eating was a bit off this month (which is a nice way of saying I totally blew it on a somewhat regular basis).  So thankful for my accountability group, who reminds and encourages me to stay on track (or, in my case, to get back on track).

                I was given the opportunity to talk about my weight loss journey recently on the radio.  A friend of mine hosts a weekly program on Sport City Chefs, an internet blogtalk radio station.  She and her husband are both former world champions in arm wrestling for multiple years.  It was a great experience and helped excite me again for this journey I am on.  You can find the interview online at: 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sportcitychefs/2013/02/26/arming-champions-radio

                At the end of the program, Carolyn summarized the show by listing the below 11 points that were discussed in the interview.  I thought that would be an easy way to work in my blog post this month!  So here they are:

1.      We don’t need a program. We need a paradigm shift for the rest of our life

2.      Learn to own your decision to lose weight

3.      Eat less, move more

4.      Feelings follow form

5.      Still do what you’re called to do, whether you feel like it or not

6.      Give people you trust permission to meddle in your life- for your sake.

7.      Create a different way of looking at food

8.      Walk ¼ mile, jog a ¼ mile.

9.      Get a buddy to hold you accountable.

10.   Join my online weight loss accountability group by emailing me at  vicki.stormoen@gmail.com

11.   Don’t let the scale dictate your mood.

Okay, let’s talk food!

My newest favorite for breakfast:  Blueberry Protein Pancake

1 scoop protein powder (I use the Cookies and Cream flavor from Iso Pure)
2 egg whites
2 tble. Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
1 medium ripe banana (mashed)
½ frozen blueberries (thawed)
¼ c. dry oatmeal

Mix the above together with a wire whisk.  Generously spray a dark coated pan with Olive Oil Pam spray.  Pour the whole thing in.  Not going to lie: this thing is really hard to flip.  Be sure you sprayed generously and don’t worry if it doesn’t look pretty.  It’s well worth it in terms of taste!  Top with Walden Farms calorie free (as in ZERO) Blueberry syrup.  

Calories:  370.  SO GOOD!

The below is a before/after shot of my husband and I at our daughter’s high school formal.  Such a fun night!

New Year, New Beginnings

Well I was waiting to lose what I gained through the holiday season before posting another entry, but then I thought that was probably cheating and I should be real and just admit that I gained 5 pounds .  I’ve lost two of them and am hoping the other three disappear shortly so I can at least be where I was back in November.  I’m still 28 pounds away from goal and working hard to hit my goal weight in 2013.

I knew I was going to need to do something different and motivating to get back on track and, on a whim, threw out the idea on Facebook of starting an online support/encouragement group for weightloss and/or exercise goals.  I now feel like I’m starting a new chapter in my weightloss journey, only this time with a great group of friends who are there to encourage and challenge me along the way.  It was exactly what I needed and I feel like I’m back on the right track with more motivation than ever. 

After a year of counting calories and tracking macros (protein/fats/carbs), I  think I’m finally getting the hang of it.  =p  I can pretty much gauge my meals calorie and macro-wise (as long as I’m cooking it), which makes the meal planning much easier.  I know that if I have a certain breakfast, I will need to cut the potato at lunch, or if I’m craving a peanut butter protein shake (which is pretty much always), I am going to have to pass on the morning snack.  Knowing these things off the top of my head is exciting to me because it means that I have truly learned some things this past year about diet and nutrition.  If you knew me well before all this, you would understand why that excites me.  It’s never too late to learn!

Below is one of my favorite lunches.  Easy to make (all in the electric skillet), and doesn’t take too much time.  You could substitute the brussel sprouts for any green vegetable, and add mushrooms, onions, or anything else that falls into the “practically calorie-free” category (of which I have a list, as everyone should!).

Use a 5 oz red potato.  Cut into strips.  Spray Pam on one side of the electric skillet.  The potatoes take the longest to cook, so put them in first thing.  Sprinkle with a dash of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt (or other “better for you” seasoning salt.  Lawry’s is a bit of a weakness of mine), and some parsley.  After the potatoes have about a 5 minute head start, spray the other end of the electric skillet with Pam and put the vegetables in.  Sprinkle with no more than 1 tbl. Balsamic Vinegar.  After another 5 or 10 minutes of both of those cooking, add 22 pieces of the Kirkland brand Tail-off Shrimp.  Take the potatoes out, stir the shrimp and vegetables together, just to heat the shrimp up and give it the flavor of everything else in the pan. 
Calories:  296. (You could easily add a salad to this for just a handful of calories more)

I currently have “runners knee” and am unable to run, which kills me.  And the fact that it “kills me” is hilarious, considering last January I was working on trying to get a consistent walking schedule down, with absolutely no thought of ever in this life being a runner.  After much Googling and talking to runners, I decided to take all of January off and, Lord willing, will start up again in February.  In the meantime, I’m at the gym six days a week doing various cardio machines and strength training.  Anxious to see how that first run on February 1^st goes!

Below is a “then and now” picture of me with my first grandson, Elliott, two years later.  Love that kid to pieces!

Wishing you all a happy new year, and hoping you too will hit your weight and exercise goals in 2013! 

One Year Anniversary

It has been one year this week that my daughter Rachel kicked off my weight loss journey by striking a deal with me that she would cook for me and I could only eat what she put in front of me (see http://busymomofnine.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-weight-loss-journey.html).  One year later and I have lost 60 pounds, 43.5 inches, and am down 8 pant sizes.  I went from not working out at all to now running 20 miles a week, and hitting the gym three days a week.  For the first time in many years, I can walk into a room and not have the passing thought that I am the largest person in the room.  I feel “normal” and am so thankful God has brought about this change in my life. 

I’m on the home stretch, with still 25 pounds to go.  The weight comes off much more slowly these days, but until I hit the magic number, I will continue counting those calories, tracking the macros (protein, carbs, fats - see http://busymomofnine.blogspot.com/2012/04/about-percentages.html), keeping up with all the working out, and holding back on certain foods I one day look forward to eating again.  I can’t wait to get there!

While doing the above is how I am losing weight, that is only the physical part of it.  So much of dieting is mental.  You have to really be at a place in your life where you really, truly, honestly want to lose the weight.  You have to be at a place where you are willing to give up things to get there.  You have to want it badly enough to do things you may even hate (like working out).  And you have to be ready to persevere through the plateaus and the temptations along the way.

You also have to learn to view food differently.  Food is fuel, not comfort.  Your body needs fuel, good fuel, to run properly.  But it doesn’t need to run on a full tank.  The recent gas hike we experienced in San Diego caused me to change my approach to fueling up our 15 passenger van (an incredible gas-hog).   We knew the situation was temporary, so rather than fill up, I would just put enough gas in to get us to the next event.  Once the crisis was over, I went back to filling up as usual.  Dieting is like that in some ways.  Each meal isn’t about “filling up”.  It’s about getting enough fuel in your body to get to the next meal.  You will leave each meal with plenty more room for additional fuel.  But you will have enough to get through the next three or four hours.  “Filling up” is for another time in my life, when I can "afford" it.  Until those last 25 pounds are gone, I’m still in “crisis” mode, putting enough fuel in my body to make it to the next meal.  No more; no less.  It takes awhile to get used to leaving the table still wanting more.  It takes even longer to stop trying to convince yourself you “need” more.  That’s a huge part of the mental challenges dieting brings. It took many months before my attitude towards food began to change.  But as you stay the course and weight starts coming off, it gets easier to truly want to lose more.

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted any recipes, so here is my newest favorite snack: cinnamon crisps.

Heat oven to 400.
Cut up two corn tortillas into eight triangular pieces in a small bowl.
Mix with 1–1.5 tsp. olive oil
Add two packets of Stevia and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Toss to mix well.

Lay pieces out on a cookie sheet and bake on the first or second shelf in oven, roughly 5 minutes.  Flip and bake another couple minutes, or until baked to your “crispiness” preference.
Smells and tastes great! Yum!

I think I'll go make myself some as an Anniversary Snack.  What a difference a year can make! (Picture on right is a visual of the 43.5 inches lost.)

Still Going

After no weight loss for way too long, the scale is slowly starting to move again.  I’ve lost three more pounds since the “plateau”.  Probably the most difficult part of being on a plateau (besides the emotional aspect of it), is staying on track eating-wise when you see no result.  I can’t say I did very well with that.  More cheats happened in the last two months, than in the whole seven months before that!  But now that the scale is moving again, however slowly, it is definitely motivating me to be more diligent (again) with my food choices.  On the upside of being on plateau, it gives you a whole new perspective on “only” losing one pound a week.  I was never so excited to see a minus 1 result on the scale as I was that day.  I was simply ecstatic.  And now I’m just grateful for anything, anything, less than it was the week before.

Running continues to be the main part of my workout plan.  I run 4 days a week and go to the gym 2 days.  I went back and reread my posts about running at the beginning of the year.  I really, truly, honestly hated it.  It was strictly to help the weight come off.  My plan was that I’d stop when I hit my weight goal.   But that has changed.  Radically.  I. Love. Running.  Somewhere between the first 5K (in March) and now, I truly began to enjoy running.  I look forward to my run days.  I even occasionally sneak in a 5^th run on my “rest day” under the guise of “it’ll just be a relaxing, slow, recreational run.”  If you would have told me seven months ago I would ever use the word “recreational” and “run” in the same sentence, I would have never believed you.  It is amazing to me how much my attitude toward this single activity has completely changed.  And I am convinced it is what is helping me lose the weight.

You may be like the way I was when I started this whole journey, i.e. hating working out.  I didn’t do anything for the first six weeks I started the diet.  When I did start, it was with much grumbling and complaining and lack of a whole lot of effort at first.  The encouragement is that your attitude may end up changing.  I know you don’t believe me, even as you read this.  I wouldn’t have either.  But I can testify that by sticking to a workout plan (whether it’s running, swimming, biking, cross-fit, lifting…whatever), and slowly seeing results from that plan, and pushing through the times when you absolutely hate what you’re doing but know you need to do it anyway,  your attitude toward that very hated activity may begin to change.  Not overnight, and not anytime soon.  But if it happens for you , as it did for me, one day you’ll look behind and be totally shocked by the change.

While it’s clear to me that I won’t make my goal of hitting my desired weight  in a year, I am still committed and encouraged, and despite not blogging much, still very much see myself on a journey.  Like everything else in life, it has ups and downs and long stretches of nothing exciting.  And through it all, I just keep going.  

Back on Track

It’s been over a month now with no weight loss.  However, August wasn’t exactly a model month.  With a couple family birthdays (including my own) and various outings with friends, there was more than an isolated few “off track” days.  In retrospect, I should be grateful there was no gain and I’m still where I was a month ago!

So today, with parties behind me and the beginning of our school year and normal routines, I am back on track and focused yet again on losing the rest.  After asking a lot of people who have gone through the plateau stage, it seems shaking up the workout routine is the common thread in getting the scale moving again.  In light of that, I’m increasing my workout times and doing varied workouts, getting out of my ruts, and pushing to burn more calories in each workout than previously burned.  Another thing everyone says, that I know I haven’t been consistent with, is keeping up the water intake.  So I’m back to my huge blue water bottle and trying to get 1-2 of those down a day.  We’ll see how that goes!

Thank you for all the encouraging notes, emails and comments during my plateau.  I not only have the blessing of losing weight through this, but the blessing of a great support network, which keeps me going and motivates me to finish what I started.  You help me more than you know!

Another before/in progress picture below.  The first one is with my oldest daughter a few years ago.  The second was this weekend, on a birthday shopping trip with my second daughter.  My children are nine of the  reasons I want to continue losing weight!

The Plateau

Three weeks now with no weight loss.  The dreaded plateau.  It would have been more convenient to have the plateau come when I was in a definite size.  But I’m between sizes right now, belting one and squeezing in the other.  Of course it would have been even more convenient to plateau at maintenance! But since these things never seem to care much about convenience, I’m just continuing to do what I do and wait it out.

In the absence of any exciting weight loss to report, other than the 54 pounds to date (not that that's not exciting in and of itself), I’ve decided to focus on inches lost in this post.  I measured at the beginning of all this, last November, but only once or twice since then.  I must admit, I’m more focused on the number on the scale, even though everything I read tells me not to be.  But the inches lost are adding up and I was quite surprised by how much less of me there is.

There are seven areas I measure (chest, waist, hips, thigh, stomach, buttocks, and arm).  In total from those seven areas, I’ve lost 38 inches!  That’s over a YARD of me GONE!  And if you count the size I can squeeze into (which, of course, I am), I’m down 8 jean sizes.

So if you are on a weight loss journey, here is my tip for the day:  measure yourself at the beginning and then don’t do it again until you hit your plateau (and you will hit a plateau).  It gives you something to get excited and motivated about, even though the scale refuses to budge. Because right now, I gotta admit, I'm pretty motivated and excited!  

My other random tip for those taking up running or cardio that you otherwise don’t care for: audiobooks.  I started downloading books on my itunes and only listen to them when I run.  I cannot believe what a difference it has made.  I get so lost in the story, it takes my mind off the run (or cardio machine) and makes the time fly by.  Sometimes when I should be done with the workout, but the chapter isn’t finished, I keep going to get to a good stopping point.  And because I won’t let myself listen to it unless I’m working out, there are some days I can’t wait to get to the gym, or start the run, so I can find out what happens next! Books that leave you hanging at the end of chapters are especially effective in this regard.

And speaking of running, I ran my second 5K on the 4^th of July.  I beat my time goal, which was to finish in 33 minutes, by two minutes, finishing in 31 minutes.  That’s five minutes faster than the first 5K in March.  VERY happy about that!  =D  Below is my wonderful husband, Ron, who also ran the race, but finished considerably before me.   

Bottom line, plateau notwithstanding, I’m still committed and on track.  Other than a couple day splurge with some girlfriends on a recent getaway, I’ve been keeping to my calorie and percentage goals.  I’m obviously looking forward to the scale moving again, but the way I eat is pretty much the way I plan to eat long term anyway, so I don’t feel like I’m spinning my wheels for nothing.  I may not make my final goal in the one year time frame I was hoping for, but, Lord willing, I’ll hit it eventually.  And in the meantime, I feel better than I’ve felt in years!  

Nobody Said It'd Be Easy

I love those weeks where I’ve lost a couple more pounds, tried a new recipe that is just to die for in a completely healthy-okay-to-eat kind of way, or had some really cool new gadget or insight that helps propel me into the next week of my weight loss journey.

This last week was not one of those weeks.

Last week, hands down, has been one of the toughest weeks for me so far.  I have a sweet tooth craving that cannot be satisfied, jars of peanut butter that audibly call to me at odd hours in the day, and the munchies almost around the clock.  Not just today, which I could probably handle, but the entire last week.  While to some degree I’ve succumbed to these temptations, for the most part, I’ve just suffered through it.  But the longer it lasts, the weaker I get.  And the weaker I get, the crankier I get.  And the crankier I get, the more I think about peanut butter.

This next paragraph is supposed to contain the epiphany that saves the day.  It’s supposed to be the nugget that you walk away with that encourages and inspires you to stay the course, or start the course, or get back on the course.   But today, I sort of hate the course, and have nothing short of this to say:  this is hard.

Losing weight is never easy.  And losing a lot of weight throws the element of a lot of time into the mix, making it not only not easy, but seemingly unending.   It’s at this point that we separate the people who are committed to losing weight from the people who merely want to lose weight.  It’s that commitment that compels me to not give in, to not take a step backwards in my journey, only to have to make up for it next week.  Not because I’m obsessed.  Not because losing weight has become an idol in my life.  But because I have a goal to be in the “healthy weight” category.   I have a goal to be healthy and keep up with my nine kids and grandkids.  I can’t meet that goal by giving in whenever it gets hard. Yet I can already hear the voices of some well-meaning friends who would say to do just that.  “Take a couple days off”. “Life is short, eat dessert first” kind of advice.  When I get to maintenance, there will be times I do just that.  But for another 32 pounds, I’m still on a journey.  And I can’t get to where I’m going if I start walking backwards.  Please don’t tell me to just go for it and get back on track next week.  What I need is….

I can’t even finish that thought because I don’t even know what I need.  Sometimes things are just hard and you have to pick yourself up and just keep going.  I suppose if you’re really looking for it, you could find a life analogy in there somewhere, though if you find one, it would be completely unintentional.  This is just me, struggling to stay on track with the goals before me.  Even when it’s hard, even when I don’t want to, even when others would tell me to take a break.

Not the most encouraging post, I know.  I’d apologize, but it’s real.  If you think losing weight will be easy, you might as well know the truth.  It’s not.  Sometimes it’s just really hard and not a lot of fun.  But the more you distance yourself from your ultimate goal by giving in or taking breaks, the longer it will take to get to your destination.

 Just. Keep. Going.

Two New Items

I recently purchased two things that are helping in the continuing weight loss journey. 

The Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor

Absolutely LOVE this!  It has motivated me to increase my workout efforts, as I now have an accurate, in-your-face number of what I am burning and how hard I am working, staring me in the face during my workouts.  This HRM is a combination of the wrist watch and chest strap.  The chest strap is comfortable and you forget it’s even there once you start working out.  Once you enter all your personal information in the watch (height, weight, age, etc.), you get an accurate accounting, via your heart rate, how many calories you are burning during a workout.  I usually have the watch set to calories burned while I’m working out and have a number in my head before I start of how many calories I hope to burn.  I either keep going, or step up the intensity to make sure I get there.  At the moment, I only allow myself to eat back anything I burn OVER 200 calories.  So if I burn 250, I only get to eat 50 of those.  Therefore, my goals for most workouts are closer to the 350-400 range.

I got mine online for $65.00.  There are tons to choose from.  This one doesn’t have as many bells and whistles as others out there, but it does exactly what I want it to do: give me an accurate count of how many calories I’m burning, rather than estimating, thus pushing me to workout harder than I was doing before.

A ridiculously over-sized water bottle

Okay, this one was much cheaper.  $7.00.  It’s a half gallon water bottle, with the built in straw and the optional frozen mechanism in the middle.  Buying this has most definitely increased my water intake, which hasn’t been too great.  I’m addicted to iced-tea and drink about a gallon of that a day.  I’ve been telling myself it’s AS-IF I’m drinking water, since of course iced-tea is made with water.  Ahem.  Yeah, not the same thing at all.  Calorie-wise, the iced-tea doesn’t “hurt” me at all, since I don’t add sugar, but because caffeine is a diuretic, it is not the same thing as drinking water.  On run days, my goal is to drink two of these, one before noon, and the other before dinner.   Otherwise, I shoot for one and a half.  I’m not giving up my tea yet, but I have definitely noticed I’m not as “snacky” in the afternoon when I’m sipping on this all day.

I’m down another pound, but also down another jean size!  I kept one pair of jeans from back in November when this all started.  I just can’t believe how much more of me there used to be!!!

Another Milestone

After no weight loss last week, I was thrilled to get on the scale this morning and see a 2 pound loss.  This put me at minus 50.  50!  That just sounds so…well…50! 

I received a message from another large family mom asking me about how I handle eating so differently from the rest of the family.  It seems so “normal” now the question took me by surprise. But in the beginning, it was a little weird that I was eating often completely different meals from what the rest of the family was eating, even though we were all sitting down at the dinner table at the same time.  Because I have changed the way I cook, relying more on seasonings than sauces, I can often eat the main dish and salad or vegetable that everyone else eats, and just skip the side dish.  But there are still plenty of nights I throw together a tilapia filet or a chicken breast instead of whatever they eat.  The secret to getting the kids' food together, especially at lunch, is gum.  Often I have to chew gum while making their lunch or I find myself picking at whatever I’m making them. =O

I’ve really simplified my lunches of late, since after making their lunch, I don’t feel like making a whole separate elaborate lunch for me.  Often I have what I’ve nicknamed my BOWIN lunch:  Bowl Of What I Need.  When I plan my food journal for the day, I always start with breakfast and dinner.  Then, after I know how many carbs, fats, and proteins I have left over, I throw together a lunch that fits the need.  Often it’s a chicken breast, turkey sausage, lean ground beef or fish, with black beans, a heated-until-crispy corn tortilla, brown rice, wheat pasta or yam cubes, with an avocado or nuts, mixed with a sugar-free BBQ sauce or Balsamic vinegar, tossed in a bowl.  It’s quick (especially if some of it is already made ahead of time, see post http://busymomofnine.blogspot.com/2012/03/day-in-life.html ), it’s easy and it’s what I need.  Here is a picture of a typical BOWIN lunch.

My new absolutely favorite breakfast is Peanut Butter Protein Steel Cut Oats.  The biggest differences between steel cut oats and rolled oats are in the cooking time and texture.  Steel cut oats are more hearty and chewy, which makes it seem more filling (to me).  I add a scoop of my chocolate protein powder, along with 1 tble. Kirkland Organic Peanut Butter, and it makes a great tasting, well balanced breakfast.

And my latest find for a late afternoon, heavy protein snack is shrimp.  Shrimp is straight protein, no carbs, no fat.  It’s also very low in calorie.  I get a back of the Kirkland Cooked, Tail-Off Shrimp just to have on hand for snacks.  You get 11 pieces for 70 calories, so I usually have 22 pieces for a typical snack.  It gets my protein where it needs to be (which is generally hard for me to hit) and fits well with my calories. 

35 pounds left, which seems so doable.  I’m shooting for the second week in November, which would make the whole journey one year.  I bought my first pair of shorts in over 18 years last week.  I’ve stuck with capris and sundresses in the summer for the past 18 years.  I haven’t actually worn them yet, but the fact that I own a pair of shorts is a pretty big deal.  Amazing what a difference seven months can bring!

Is Your Program Better?

A question recently asked of me:

“Would you say the program you are on is better than any of the other diet programs out there?”

I’ve spent the past 18 years overweight.  I’ve gone up and down on the scale during that time (mostly due to pregnancies), but always overweight.  I’d get inspired to start a new program, or join a new diet group, or take a new product, but after some initial weight loss I would always gain it back.  The bottom line was, I just wasn’t committed to stick with it or see it as a lifestyle change.  I wanted to shed the weight, and then go back to eating the foods I wanted, when I wanted, and how much I wanted.

Seven months ago, that changed.  With the jumpstart of Rachel cooking for me and those first 35 pounds gone (the most I had lost on any program), I slowly came to embrace that this was not a “diet”.  It was a complete change in the way I approach food that would last forever. 

I remember being inspired at different times through those 18 years when I would see my friends losing weight and would think, “Oh, if she can do it, so can I.”  But I didn’t have the discipline or commitment to work past the initial weight loss.  I got tired of “their” food, that really didn’t taste that good anyway.  I was sick of being hungry all the time.  I was discouraged to be spending all that money on something that would probably not work long-term anyway.  And, importantly, I couldn’t see how what I was doing could ever be something I could do for the rest of my life.  

I’m not bashing or discrediting any particular diet program or product.  You will find people who thrive on this particular program or that one.  And that’s great….for them.  But that’s the key.  It wasn’t for me.  You have to find something that works for you; that works with your lifestyle, that works with your budget, that you could see yourself doing forever.  At some point, the “diet” is over and you have to go on eating for the rest of your life.  If what you are doing isn’t something you can do forever, odds are you will gain it all back once you end your “diet”. 

I needed the “jumpstart” of Rachel cooking.  Maybe this or that diet program is your jumpstart.  But until you come to terms with the fact that losing and keeping weight off involves a change in the way you eat forever, you will probably continue to go up and down on the scale.

So back to the original question:  Do I think the program I am on is better than others out there?

 No. 

But only because I don’t see myself on a “program”.

I have changed the way I eat.  And this change will stay with me the rest of my life.  I see myself always counting calories.  I see myself always eating within certain protein/carb/fat percentages.  I see myself staying away from certain foods (namely processed foods and refined flour and sugar products) forever.  These changes work with my lifestyle.  They work with my budget.  And they are changes, many of which are now habits, that will stay with me forever.  And that is how I am losing weight.

47 pounds gone.  Everyone says I need to do something special when I hit the 50 pound mark.  I'm open to suggestions!!!

A Change in Attitude

A strange phenomenon is taking place.  I’ve been hesitant to say it out loud because I don’t want to jinx it, but, truth be told, I am starting to enjoy working out.  (I’m never going to hear the end of this from my family members).  I’m not sure when the change in attitude started, but I definitely no longer have the dread of the next workout  that I formerly had.  In fact, I kinda, sort of, just a little bit, even look forward to it.  =O

I’ve been on a pretty regular six days per week workout schedule for the past couple of months.  I run every other day, and go to the gym on the other days.  I rest on Sundays.  The runs are going great.  I run 3 miles for two of the days and work on time goals.  The third run is untimed and I’m slowly adding quarters to it.  I’m at 3.5 now.   The timed runs are going ahead of my goals.  I ran the first 5K at 12 minute miles.  I wanted to be at 11 minute miles by the 4^th of July 5K (which I just signed up for last week).  But my runs are pretty consistently under 11 minute miles now, so I may push for 10 between now and then.  (Notice the completely non-committal “may”, thus leaving me an out if I don’t make it).

I don’t know how long this non-aversion to exercise will last, but I am enjoying it for now.  This is a definite first for me.  And it feels great!

Recipes

Rachel made these pancakes last weekend and they were so good!  I just had to post the recipe.  They are now our Saturday post-run breakfast.  I have three, with ¼ cup Pure Maple Syrup, and add two scrambled eggs to it, since the pancakes are so low in calorie.

Gluten-free Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

1 ¼ - 1 ½ oat flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 c. apple juice
1/3 c. apple sauce
1 egg
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbl of melted coconut oil

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in the other.  Then mix together.  Spray bottom of skillet with a cooking spray (I use Olive Oil), and spoon out in ¼ cup servings.  Each pancake is about 70 calories.  Makes roughly 14 pancakes.

And I have found my new “candy”.  Peanut Butter Protein Balls.  Where have these been all my life?!

1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I use Isoflex)
¾ cup Kirkland Organic Creamy Peanut Butter
¼ cup honey
½ cup dry rolled oats

Mix into balls and freeze on a plate of wax paper.  Once frozen, move to a ziplock bag.  Remove from bag a few minutes to unthaw before eating.  Makes 14 balls. 1 ball = 122 calories

(If you are using Myfitnesspal, it is on the database as Stormoen Protein Balls)

Peanut butter and chocolate!  It’s like heaven in a ball!

45 pounds gone.  I finally cleaned out my closet and seriously have very few clothes left in there!  But since I don’t want to stay in this size very long, I’m just making do and waiting for a whole new wardrobe when I get to where I want to be.  Now that’s motivating!

Fast Food

This picture has been spreading around Facebook and for most of you, it probably isn’t new.  Both the picture itself, and the fact that fast food isn’t good for you, are pretty well-known.  And yet, most of us, at least periodically, still go.  It’s quick, easy and relatively cheap.  That’s why pictures like this are so good to keep in front of us.  For those of you who have never seen the above before, it is a picture of various fast food products two years after they were purchased. There has been no spoilage or mold in that time. We need to keep reminding ourselves that that quick, easy, cheap food, is questionably really even “food”!  The amount of preservatives and additives you would need to keep the “food” pictured above from spoiling after two years is nauseating.  What are we putting in our bodies?  And what are the long-term effects?  No one denies the negative long-term health consequences to eating fast food.

But…

I can already hear half my friends starting in with the “buts”.  There is a convenience to fast-food that cannot be denied.  And for all those soccer moms (or baseball moms, or volleyball moms, or ballet moms, or whatever), there are some days when you leave in the morning and don’t get back home until well past dinner.  Fast food is a necessary evil to get through those days.

Really?

I am the first to acknowledge that the various tasks we moms are called to perform in a given day can be somewhat daunting.  In one day, we’re supposed to keep up with laundry needs, keep the house picked up and clean (or at least sanitary!), cook three meals a day, be the taxi driver, keep up with our personal quiet times and exercise, and for those of us homeschooling, add a day’s worth of school for multi-grades into the mix.  The question isn’t, “How on earth am I supposed to find time today to do all that?”  The question is, “How am I going to prioritize what I need to do today to get as much of it done as possible?”  Okay, but how does this relate to fast food? 

I think one of the problems is the priority we give the “cook three meals a day” task, to other tasks.  “We have to have fast food on volleyball nights because there is just isn’t time to make and eat dinner.”  (I’m cringing because I’m totally guilty of this one.)  The priority that statement implies is very clear:  volleyball before food/health.  Are we really going to put a sport/activity that our kids are going to participate in through high school, maybe even college, before the very thing that is going to impact the rest of their lives?  And the solution is so simple:  PLAN AHEAD.

All it would take is looking at your schedule every night to see what the food plan needs to be for the following day.  If you are going to be out a lot, plan to get up a half hour earlier than usual and make something to keep in the cooler.  30 minutes.  That’s it.  If you have younger kids that look forward to getting their usual Happy Meal, you are likely to get some complaints.  After all, everyone knows Happy Meals aren’t about the food, but about the toy.  The cheap, plastic toy that will break in a week or so or be left in the car, or stepped on when they leave it out in the middle of the living room, or tossed in the already way too full toy box never to be played with again.  (Yeah, I have no experience with this whatsoever.)  Here’s an idea:  go to the Dollar Store and buy $20 worth of cheap, plastic toys (or maybe even throw in some actually useful items like crayons, pencils, notepads, etc.) and keep them hidden.  Every time you pack an “on-the-go” meal, put theirs in a lunch bag (could even get colored so it’s different) and add one of the toys to their meal.  It might help in getting rid of the complaints.  You could call it an Ecstatic Meal, because it’s that much better than a Happy Meal.  Okay, maybe not….

The point is, with a little prep and perhaps getting up a tad earlier than usual on some days, eating healthy on the go IS doable.  Look at the above picture again. Now look at your kids.  Back at the picture, back at your kids. 

Make the Ecstatic Meal.

Recipes

Here are two recipes , the first of which I just tried this morning and will definitely be repeating!

Peanut Butter Protein Pancake
1 scoop Whey Peanut Butter protein powder
2 egg whites
2 tble unsweetened almond milk
½ cup mashed banana

Mix the first three ingredients together with a wire whisk.  Add the mashed banana.  The riper the banana, the sweeter the pancake.  Spray pan very well a cooking spray (I use Pam Olive Oil).  It will be hard to turn if you didn’t spray well.  It’s a good size pancake so plan accordingly! 

Top with 1 tble peanut butter (which just slides right on since the pancake is warm) and then drizzle 1 tble Pure Maple Syrup.    YUM! 

Total calories is 457.  That’s a bit higher than I usually go, but I will only have this on “run” days.  It’s worth it!

Chicken with Sprouts
Actually, this is chicken with just about anything.  This is my “fast food” or “food on the go” meal.  Today I was out most the day, so I made it in the morning, put in Tupperware and had it for lunch.  It doesn’t take long to throw together and is filling.

1 chicken breast, cut into strips
frozen brussel sprouts (or broccoli, or whatever)
mushrooms
seasonings (I used garlic powder, sea salt, parsley)

Stir fry the above together until done.  Spices, for the most part are free, so spice it up however you want.  I had this with ½ (cooked) of Quinoa (pictured below).  Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is sometimes called a whole grain, but is actually the seed of green plant in South America.  It is gluten-free, high in fiber and manganese, and is a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids.  You cook it like rice (I cooked mine in the rice cooker), doubling the liquid with the dry amount used.  I made mine with Organic Chicken stock instead of water. 

I went back through all my prior posts and added a “recipes” label to every post that included a recipe.  So you should be able to just click “recipes” now on the left and get to just those posts.

Mental Obstacles

While the bulk of most diets can be summarized as “eat less, move more”, there is another aspect to dieting that is often overlooked; the mind.  I’ve had to overcome several mental obstacles so far in this journey, and am still trying to get my head around others.  It’s amazing how many pre-conceived ideas I had about what’s “normal” or “right” as it relates to food, and how those ideas have contributed to my inability to lose weight in the past.  So the below are my top 5 Mental Obstacles to Overcome.  Maybe you can relate to some of these.

1.  If I eat less, I'll lose more

Not necessarily true.  Once you find your healthy calorie goal (if using Myfitnesspal, this is calculated for you), it is important to eat all those calories.  Going under your calories on a regular basis will cause your metabolism to slow way down, conserving the energy it gets from the reduced calories you are giving it.  While there is much controversy in nutritional circles about the validity of Starvation Mode (and about every other topic that has to do with diet and nutrition), it is agreed on both sides that by eating too few calories, your body will start to store the fat because it doesn't  think you are going to give it anything.  In short, it’s counterproductive. 

2.  As long as I don't exceed my calories, it doesn't matter what I eat

Definitely not true.  I’ve talked about this under the post “About Percentages” (http://busymomofnine.blogspot.com/2012/04/about-percentages.html).  In summary, no 1200 calories are alike.  If you aren’t watching the protein/carb/fat numbers as well, you will likely not lose much weight.

3.  Certain foods are only consumed for certain meals or at certain times

Okay, this one is tough for me.  Especially when it comes to snacks.  To me, a snack is a small, relatively tasty treat.  “Tasty” being defined as sweet or salty.  However in order to get the amount of protein I need, and not exceed my carbs, my snacks have taken on a radical transformation.  On some days, a stir-fried chicken breast, cut into strips, is my “snack”.  At first it seemed as though I were violating some sort of written code on the integrity of snack foods.  A chicken breast was a “meal”, not a “snack”.   Here is where I’ve had to re-look at the purpose of the food I eat.  It’s fuel, not comfort.  So the question changes from, “What sounds good?” to, “What does my body need?”  Depending on how my food diary looks for that day, my body may need a big boost of protein, with no carbs.  A chicken breast is a quick and easy solution.  For me, replacing the word “snack” with “mid-morning food” and “afternoon food” helps in the mental game.    

However, this also extends to other meals.  Eggs, for example, to me, are a breakfast food.  And you eat them with things like sausage, or bacon, or toast, or in a scramble with some veggies thrown in.  So on one day when I was low on carbs, partially because I didn’t have any with breakfast, Rachel suggested I have oatmeal with them.  I thought she was nuts.  “I can’t have oatmeal with eggs.  That’s like two completely different meals.  You have oatmeal on oatmeal days, and eggs on egg days.  Having them together is just weird.”  Sigh.  Another mental obstacle.  Go back to the relevant question:  What does my body need?  Pick a food that fills that need.  There’s no “right” food for the time of day.

4.  If I cheat, I might as well blow off that day and start fresh tomorrow

Cheats happen.  Move on.  Right then, move on.  You ate it, you shouldn’t have.  Cut something from lunch or dinner to compensate a bit, but keep going.  One cheat is bad enough.  Don’t add multiple cheats to it and make it even worse. 

5.  I can never cheat, or I'll never get back on track

The reality is there will be some times in life when you will eat things you normally would not eat.  Many factors are at play here.  Some of them are just plain courtesy.  If you are invited to somebody’s house for dinner, don’t panic and bring your own food.  Just eat what they have graciously prepared for you, in moderation of course.  When you are out and about and aren’t able to get home as planned to make whatever you are scheduled to eat, just do your best.   You can fix it later.  It’s not the end of the world.  While you are on a diet, life is still moving forward.  Everything and everyone doesn’t cater to you and your diet.  Don’t think of these times as “cheats” as much as times you are being “flexible”.   Conversely, don’t look at them as times to just go for it and blow it big!  Flexibility and moderation are the key.

Two more pounds gone.  After a week of no loss, that was very exciting!   Another before/in progress picture below.  I’m trying to remember to take pictures of food to post some recipes.  Hopefully I’ll get those up later this week.

No Loss

I got on the scale yesterday morning and didn’t lose anything.  I admit I completely overreacted.  I hardly ate the rest of the day to somehow “compensate”, which of course is counter-productive and not the right way to lose weight.   It’s amazing how a number on a scale can completely change your mood and outlook for the rest of the day.  I know some people who weigh every day and I don’t know how they live with that kind of rollercoaster ride.  The reality is there are so many different factors that go into that moment on the scale that even at once a week, it’s not completely reliable.

And so I’ll continue doing exactly what I’ve been doing.  Perhaps too much sodium and not enough water the day before or some other factor caused me to hold on to some water weight, or maybe I just really didn’t lose anything last week.  Either way, what I’ve been doing has taken away 41 pounds.  One week of no weight loss is hardly enough to scare me off!

After realizing I hadn’t lost any weight yesterday, when my husband, Ron, asked if I wanted to go for a run at the lake with him, I readily agreed (even though it wasn’t one of my “run” days).  We took two of the girls, Jessica and Emily, who rode their bikes as we ran.  Ron, who is a runner and runs considerably faster than me, stayed with me for the first mile and for the first time I can say, “Ron and I ran together yesterday!”  That was really cool.  After a mile, though, I was glad to see him go!  He was great about slowing way down to stay with me, but still pushed me a bit faster than I usually run.  I slowed down after that first mile and finished my 3-mile run at my new 11.20-something pace.  The girls had a blast biking between us and it was a beautiful way to start the day. 

Below is an absolutely fantastic salmon recipe I tried out this weekend.  So easy.

Drizzle olive oil on the filets.  Add some fresh lemon juice, sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, and parsley.  Place in COLD oven and set temperature to 400.  Cook for 25-30 minutes, no longer.  Moist and flavorful!  Though not pictured, I also tried Rosemary Red Potatoes over the weekend, which was really good as well.  Cut red potatoes into bite sized chunks.  Mix in a bowl with olive oil, sea salt, pepper, garlic powder and rosemary.  Place on an aluminum foil-lined pan and bake at 425 for about 25-30 minutes, turning occasionally until softened and browned.

 Finally, another before/in progress picture.  This one is of Ron and I.  The first one was taken in November, the second was this past Sunday.  I’m having a hard time finding material for before/in progress pictures, because I was very careful to not get pictures that weren’t “from the chest up”.  I’ve cropped just about every picture of me that had my full body, so I’m going to have to keep re-using old “before” pics soon.  I had Jessica (11) take this new picture and I said, “Be sure it’s a full body shot.”  Her mouth flew open in shock and she said, “Wow, mom.  I’ve never heard you say that before.  I don’t think I’ve ever been allowed to take a picture like that!”  Too funny (in a weird-sad way). 

About Percentages

If you’ve ever been on a diet, you already know all about calorie counting.  It’s probably the oldest “diet program” in the book.  And, I’ve discovered, it doesn’t have a lot of fans.  Counting calories is a lot of work.  You have to remember to log everything that you put in your mouth, and then look up the calories (although that really should be in the reverse order), and then hope by the time dinner rolls around, you still have a calorie or two to spare to eat something. Now while it’s true I “calorie count”, the program I am on is only half about calorie counting.  The other half is about percentages.

There are many ways to eat 1200 calories.  Not all, however, will result in healthy weight loss.  Some of those ways won’t even result in any weight loss.  That’s where paying attention to your percentage goals comes into play.  When I talk about percentages, I am referring the protein/carb/fat percentages that make up the 1200 calories.

When we started, I was high in carbs, because I just couldn’t give them up.  We started with 45% of my calories in the carb category.  Last week I changed it to the more traditional 40/30/30 plan (protein/carb/fat), but had a hard time eating all that protein.  This week we changed it to 35/30/35 and we’ll see how it goes.  I'll probably experiment with the percentages from time to time to see what happens.

This is where, yet again, Myfitnesspal is so handy.  It tracks not only the calories but the percentages.  However you decide to set up the percentage goals, it’s important to make your food plan work with the percentages, not just the calories.  If you aren’t seeing weight loss and you are still within your calorie goal, you may want to consider playing around with the percentages (assuming you were faithful to them in the first place).  If you cut the carbs, even by just 5%, you will probably start losing again.

I lost two pounds last week, which was a pleasant surprise.  Here is another before/in progress picture. 

What Have You Learned?

Rachel and I went to do the monthly grocery shopping at Costco today and on the way there, we had the following conversation:

Rachel:  You know, you should blog about stuff you’ve learned through this whole thing.
Me:  Learned?
Rachel:  Yeah, you know, like a post about why use coconut oil instead of other oils, that kind of stuff.

Awkward pause.

Me:  Um…If someone were to ask me why I use coconut oil instead of other oils, I’d just say, “Because Rachel said it’s better.”
Rachel:  (sigh)  Mom, don’t you want to know why you’re eating the way you do?

A good question.  In the beginning, the answer was “no”.  I honestly didn’t care why I was eating what I was eating.  Rachel was doing all the cooking and I was losing weight.  Everything was perfect.  In fact it wasn’t until I started this blog and asked her for a one sentence summary statement of what I eat that I discovered I don’t eat dairy!  How did that get past me?!  But now that I’m doing my own cooking and am realizing I’m in this for life, I really do need to spend time learning why I eat the way I eat and why it results in weight loss.  Yet another journey.  And I’m looking forward to it.

But for now….use coconut oil.  (Happy, Rachel?)

Oh, and for all you busy moms out there that are asking for quick and easy lunch ideas, here was today's lunch.  10 minutes to make, but it'd be faster if the turkey sausage was made ahead of time.

1 cup black beans
1 oz avocado (which is about 1/4 of a regular sized avocado)
1/8 cup almonds, chopped (makes it seem like there's more)
2 turkey sausage links, chopped
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Mix together.  Chill if desired.  

One is the New Two

Another week, another pound gone.  I think the days of losing two pounds a week have come to a close and the era of a pound a week has begun.  But I’m still losing and still committed to seeing the next 46 pounds gone.  Even if it’s one pound at a time!

I ran into someone I hadn’t seen for awhile and her first comment was that my face looked thinner.  That kinda surprised me, because of everywhere I’ve lost, that isn’t the place I would have pointed to first.  So I went back through some pictures just before I started all this and sure enough, my face does look thinner! So here’s a before/in progress shot of my face (notice it’s not a “before/after” shot, because I still have a long ways to go).

Speaking of food (yeah, there was no transition there whatsoever), below is my absolute most favorite lunch.  BBQ Chicken Tacos.  I’m only “allowed” to have this once a week, because of the tortillas, but I seriously look forward to this lunch each week!

Stir fry the chicken in Mrs. Dash Chicken and Pam Olive Oil cooking spray.  Add some sea salt to taste.  Heat the corn tortillas in the same skillet as the chicken (but re-spray the pan first) over low heat.  Mash up 2 oz. avocado (which is half of an average sized avocado), add a squirt of lemon juice and diced tomatoes, and a dash of Mrs. Dash Original.  Divide between the two tortillas.  Add 1 tble BBQ sauce to each tortilla.  The barbeque sauce I use is from Organic Ville, Original BBQ sauce (no sugar added).  The only place I’ve seen it is Sprouts, but I would guess you could also get it at Trader Joes or similar store.  Incredibly delicious!

Another staple dinner for me is tilapia.  There are so many good recipes for tilapia and I’m anxious to try them all.  This one is a quick, easy to prepare recipe when I don’t have a lot of time.  Use the Pam Olive Oil spray, season with garlic powder, sea salt, a squirt of lemon juice, and parsley.  Flip and do the same thing on the other side.  The brown rice is made with Organic Chicken Stock instead of water.  It’s a filling meal and, if the rice is made ahead of time and bagged, only takes about 15 minutes to make.

We finally changed my percentages to where they should be, and not so high in carbs.  I’m on the “traditional” 40/30/30 (protein, carbs, fat) percentages.  It’s not as hard as I thought it would be to cut the carbs back a bit.  What’s been hard is eating all the protein I’m supposed to eat.  I’m not crazy about protein shakes, but these Quest Protein Bars are pretty much my daily afternoon snack.  They are so good and have very few active carbs, but a lot of protein.  Highly recommend them!

5K...DONE!

     I feel like a poster child for a “Couch to 5K” commercial!  In January I ran my first quarter mile and today I finished a 5K.  Wow…just wow.  Such a great feeling.  I have to admit, I’m already excited for the next race! 

      After I ran my first 3-mile run at the lake a couple weeks ago, Rachel started pushing to run the Race for Autism 5K.  I was hesitant at first, but after I ran the second 3-mile run, I decided to go for it.  I never looked at it as a “race”.  I just wanted to run the whole thing.  Mentally, I kept telling myself this was no different than going to the lake, as I usually do.   It was different though.  You could feel the energy from the crowds.  It kept me going and made it, dare I say it, fun.  It was a bit of a stressful run however, as shortly after I started, I looked down at my iphone arm band, which also holds my car key, and the car key was gone!  I was too far to go back and with the crowds behind me, there would have been no way to retrace my exact steps.  I just prayed that the key would be in the grass area where we started, or that someone turned it in to a lost and found.  With that on my mind, I was a bit distracted, and kept running through different scenarios if I couldn’t find the key.  In hindsight, it might have been a good thing, in a really weird way.  I was doubly motivated to cross that finish line, as I really wanted to start looking for the stupid key! 

            Crossing the 3-mile checkpoint was a definite highlight.  The Finish Line was in sight and I wasn’t as exhausted as I thought I’d be.  I picked up speed, as everyone does once the Finish Line is in sight, and as I glanced ahead, I saw Rachel waiting for me on the sidelines.  That was pretty cool.  =)  The second I crossed the Finish Line, I went back to where we started, and in God’s good providence, found the key in the grass.  It was a bit matted down, clearly being stepped on a few times, but it was there!  I don’t think it was until after I picked up the key, that I truly was able to take in the thrill of the moment.  I went from “couch to 5K” in two months time.  While I really don’t have a desire to increase my distance, I am now setting goals related to time.  It would be nice to get to a respectable enough time to be able to run with people.  I came in at exactly 12 minute miles.  I’m anxious to see how the next race goes!

(Mommy of 9 t-shirt, compliments of my father-in-law.  Side note:  he bought it for me about three years ago, but I was never able to wear it because "it was too small".  Not "I was too big", but the shirt "was too small".  Now that I can finally wear the shirt, I can say, "I couldn't wear it before, because I WAS TOO BIG!")