Food Matters

I have been really sick this past week.  Like really, really sick.  Fever, chills, aches, cough, congestion, puking...you name it.  The upside is that I feel very svelte, the downside is I feel like crap.  The moral of this story is that I had a lot of time to sit at home and watch TV in between naps.  One of the things that I watched was Food Matters.  It's a documentary about nutrition and how it can affect our health.  It was amazing, and I highly suggest that you watch it.  To sum it up, food is best for you in its freshest form, and 51% of your diet should be raw.  Also taking vitamins is very good for you and can help prevent and cure disease.  So for October I am OVER processed foods.

For the next month I am going to eat everything in the freshest form I can.  When I cook I'm going to use olive oil, butter, etc., because regardless of how high in calories it is, it's not made from chemicals that your body can't process.  This makes a lot of sense to me because when I look around at my friends that are healthier versus my friends that aren't as healthy, it's really the amount of processed foods they're eating.  So I'm going to make food for myself and really cleanse out my system.  Also I'm going to snack on raw fruits and vegetables and I think that I'm going to feel better.  Taking Vit. D so changed my life that I have real faith that by changing my nutrition and increasing my vitamin intake I'm going to see real changes in how I feel, and that's what's most important.

So hopefully definitely next month will be chock full of some really delicious recipes.  Starting with the Three Stones/They Call Me Hypo Asian Food Night!  It will be fresh, it will be delicious, it will be awesome.  I'm very excited about this turn and I'm really looking forward to listening to my body and seeing how changing what goes in it will change how I feel.  You are what you eat and I'm tired of being things that I can't pronounce!

Hi My Name Is Bree...

And I'm an addict.

I am addicted to food.  It's the only way I can explain why I have to eat, even when I'm not that hungry.  I will eat and eat and eat, and its negatively affecting my health.  The biggest issue between being addicted to food and being addicted to something else is that you can't quite food cold turkey.  You have to eat, or you die, this makes it hard to regulate.  I wish I could go cold turkey, but that would be considered anorexia and not approved by any medical professional.

The diet I've been on this month I would give myself a D.  I have had beef and pork (two times each) this month, which is a dramatic decrease for me.  The one thing I am most proud of is that I haven't had any fast food this month.  That has been hard and I realize that I only have a couple of days left in the month and I'm going to make it!  I'm already formulating what I'm going to next month and I'm excited about it, but that's for my next post.

I didn't do the best with exercise, but I did sign up for Yoga and Abs through HR at work.  They are intense and I'm really enjoying them.  I'm also going back to bellydance, which I'm very excited about.  So while I haven't worked out everyday, I have done some things to increase my physical activity.  There is still a lot of work for me to do toward my goal, but I have hope.

This weekend marks the second Three Stones/They Call Me Hypo cooking extravaganza.  Look forward to some good pictures!  Also next month there will (hopefully) be a lot more recipes and pretty pictures to share with everyone.

Current Weight:  210.5

La Cucina Mexicana

I had a great weekend!  This weekend marked the first week of (hopefully) a new tradition!  I got together with my friend over at They Call Me Hypo to have a super healthy mexican food night, that followed all of our various dieting rules.  I made tequila, lime, garlic marinaded chicken and some yummy baked onion rings!  Also we made a healthy version of a strawberry margarita that I can't wait to share!  Here are the recipes:

The Skinny Margarita

1. 1 shot of tequila
2. 1 cup frozen strawberries
3. 1/2 cup diet sprite
4. A squeeze of lime juice
5. A dash of orange extract
6. Ice to taste
7. Blend that shit!

It is delicious and counts the same as a shot of tequila! I use the frozen strawberries more instead of ice, gives it a really good flavor.  You can see it does come out a little foamy from the sprite, but it is delicious!

Also I wanted to point out how funny it is that I posted the drink first.  Obviously I have my priorities straight.  Here is a mouthwatering picture of the main course!

(Chicken, onions, pico de gallo, and cottage cheese enchiladas with an amazing cilantro pesto!)

Tequila, Garlic, Lime Marinade

1. 1 cup garlic sliced
2. 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
3. 1 jalapeno diced
4. 1 serrano pepper diced
5. 1 cup lime juice
6. 1/2 cup tequila
7. 1/3 cup soy sauce
8. 1 1/2 lbs chicken breast cut as desired
9. Throw everything in a bag and marinate overnight.
10. Grill on the bbq, grill pan (if you like char) or bake in the oven until done.

The onions:

1. Slice onion (sweet onions come out the best) and pop out the rings
2. Put on a baking dish and drizzle with left over marinade
3. Put under the broiler until soft and done

The Pico de Gallo

1. Chop some tomatoes (take the seeds out)
2. Do the same with red onion, jalapeno, and cilantro
3. Mix in a bowl and enjoy!

If you want the recipe for the delicious enchiladas, go check out They Call Me Hypo!  She always has amazing recipes that are low in calories and high in flavor.  She'll be posting this recipe soon.  Also, I'm already looking forward to next month when we concur Asian cuisine!

Making a Decision

So I've been at this for a few weeks and I'm not succeeding.  I am really frustrated, but when I look at what I'm doing on a daily basis, I shouldn't be loosing weight.  I'm not making the choices I need to take.  I need to make a decision.  I am deciding this is something that I want.  This is not a game, this is something that I have to commit myself to.

So I'm coming up with some rules for myself.  It is September 1st and while it will be too late for me to use these rules today, I will follow them for the rest of the month and see how I do.

1.  No more cheat days.  I've always told myself that I get one day a week to eat what I want, I have been taking that too far lately.  Also it opens the door for further justification.  So this month there will be no cheat days.

2.  No take out/fast food/pre-made food. I will prepare all of my food so that I know what's in it, how many calories are in it, and how much I am eating (the only note to this is that I may take a business trip to Canada, in which case I will eat the freshest thing I can find)

3.  No red meat or pork.  This one will be HARD, but in the end I think that it will improve my system.

4.  No junk food, candy, baked goods, anything that should be considered a 'treat'.  The goal is to eat fresh, and detox my body.

5.  Limited amounts of carbs.  I'm not going to give them up, however they will have to fit into my daily limits and be either whole grain or high in fiber, and only one in a meal.  So no corn with potatoes and pasta.  I must pick one.

6.  I will record everything that I eat.  I have a subscription to weight watchers and dammit I'm going to use it.  Nothing will go past my lips without being recorded.

7,  I will exercise everyday.  Even if its only some sets of abs, I will not go a day without doing something.

And...that's all I've got.  I think that will be enough for now.  Next post I'll let you know how I'm a huge boozer...only not ;).  Also I promise there will be some excellent recipes coming out, with delicious looking pictures!

Not Playing Nice

Most days I go through a variety of emotions about my weight.  Sad, motivated, laissez-faire, happy, but today...today I am PISSED.  I am so tired of being over-weight.  I am tired of my clothes not fitting right.  I am angry at myself that I can't seem to get a grasp on it this time around.  I am angry that even if I try my hardest it is going to take months to get where I want to be.  It is just too much for me to handle today.  I want to scream and cry and beat myself up, but I know that it won't do any good.  The only upside that I can think of right now is that I am actually not stress eating because of this. 

I. AM. DONE. Being a fatty.  I want to look in the mirror and be happy with what I have again.  I want to win this battle, but today is a day where I'm so mad at myself for getting into this shape again.  Why didn't I work to stay where I was at?  I realize that there were medical factors that contributed to my weight game, but I also know that I helped the process along.  So today I am angry.  I am pissed. I am going to make this happen if it causes me misery in the process. 

Enough excuses.  I am going to do this.  I have to do this.  That's my rant for today.

Letting Loose

This weekend was the big move for me.  This was a huge workout for me, which is great, but the eating portion of the weekend was terrible.  I didn't go shopping in the weeks before the move, and by the time moving weekend rolled around I didn't have a lot to eat.  Also, I was running back and forth all day from one place to the next.  So I ate a lot of fast food.  I also feel terrible now.

I am fine with eating badly for one day, but I really went too far with it this weekend.  There were plenty of opportunities for me to eat better than I did, but I convinced myself that it was okay because of everything I was doing.  In the end I just made myself sick.  I ate so much that I wouldn't normally eat and just kept going, and with my system not used to that kind of food.  Today I hit a wall with it, I had terrible diarrhea and I even threw up.  It hit me like a wall and I just felt like fat and grease.

I need to remember that my body feels better when I eat better.  I am really motivated to eat very well this week.  It will take a day or two to detox, but I know that it will be worth it.  I am determined to fill my kitchen with healthy options and not eat any crap.  I will make all my own lunches, and work on making sure I budget and work out as much as I can.

Hopefully this week won't screw me up too bad...but I'm feeling really slovenly right now. :(

Current Weight:  211.9

No Pain/No Gain???

So I've been working out with a veritable Nazi who creates walking routes designed by the devil himself and SOMEHOW I'm still surprised when it absolutely sucks. Want a good workout? Climb a hill while pushing a stroller. That's right, go find some little kid that you can drag along with you and push them up a freaking mountain. This does two things:

1) Totally works out your upper body because those teacup humans weigh a lot when its you against gravity.

2) It forces you to do lunges! This is great in theory, but when you wake up the next morning feeling like you spent a weekend in a Tijuana brothel its seems like a terrible idea in retrospect.

And one other thing: Unrelated to the children, but relevant to the current situation, is the fact that you should not drink beer while mountain climbing. The carbonation in your stomach increases the urge to throw up. As we started out walking last night we decided we would stop at the liquor store that was halfway down the hill. We thought they closed at 8pm and after booking it (apparently nothing motivates us like vodka) we found out that it actually closes at 7pm. It was disappointing.

So as a backup plan we decided to go to the convenience store, also located in the strip mall, and get a 6 pack to work on. Don't worry, it was light beer, therefore healthy. This was a great idea until we actually started climbing back up the hill. Then all of that refreshing carbonation that you enjoyed at the park while the children played starts to foam and bubble back up. There were a few times I thought I might actually hurl foam up on the side of the road. I guess drinking and exercise don't mix.

Regardless finding a great walking buddy and integrating new challenges into your routine. Strollers are a great way to work out the upper body on the way up and the abs on the way down. Switching off with hand weights is another good one. The best workout is one that you can do with someone and enjoy it.