the weight loss papers

Well, hello! Long time, no speak. I’ve had sick kids - one with allergy and sinus problems, one with a toothache, one with a stomach flu and a pre-schooler with a serious case of attitude. And I have had another sinus infection (allergy related, too).

Anyway, I wanted to briefly update my plan and talk about some things I’ve been doing lately that I’m really liking a lot. The last few times I posted, I mentioned Blended Salads and I’m still drinking those - I really like them and I can even get my husband to drink them. That’s always a bonus. I’ve found, though, that although I love avocados, I don’t really like them in the blended salad.

My favorite blended salad is a couple handfuls of 50/50 Spring Mix (lettuce variety with spinach) and a handful of extra Baby Spinach blended with 12 oz of water, 2 tablespoons of flaxseed, 2-3 cloves of garlic, and a splash of fresh lemon juice.

I like to drink the blended salad in the afternoon and I’ve been making a quart size container of it which lasts 2-3 days in the refrigerator and still tastes fresh and great.

Now, breakfast is the hardest meal for me because I’m either allergic to, or just plain don’t like a lot of traditional breakfast foods. It’s one of my biggest struggles food-wise - what to eat for breakfast. I’d just as soon not eat it at all. However, skipping meals is not a good idea especially for a person intent on losing weight and maintaining it.

So, in the mornings, I’ve been drinking a fruit-berry smoothie - once at breakfast and then again for mid-morning snack. My favorite blend is 1/2 cup of raspberries, a medium banana, 1/2 cup of mangos and about 20 oz of water. It makes a couple of 10-12 oz servings. (Make sure to cut the banana up into 1-2 inch chunks for easy blending.)

I love oranges but I’m allergic to them so I can’t eat them. But I’ve been adding some extra fiber to my meal plan (and some orange flavor) by using an orange-flavored, powdered fiber supplement (like Metamucil). Sometimes I add it to my morning smoothie and sometimes I just drink a glassful mixed as per the package directions. I also generally have a slice of a good whole grain or oat bread with the smoothie.

You know, I’m the kind of person who could pretty much eat the same things day in and day out and not get tired of them. But part of a good, healthy eating plan includes a variety of foods and combinations of foods. Lunch is one of the things I have the hardest time with in getting a good variety because I don’t really like to eat sandwiches and such. As a result, I often eat soup - lentil, black bean, split pea or tomato. Sometimes I will eat beef stew or chicken noodle or some other variety.

Sometimes I’ll have a blended salad or tuna on whole wheat pita bread with a little spinach and fresh tomatoes for lunch. That’s pretty good. I don’t put anything on my tuna other than sometimes a bit of mustard or some roasted red pepper vinaigrette. I also have some tomato basil vinaigrette that’s very good on with tuna or I’ll put my tuna in some lemon spinach couscous.

One of my favorite dinners is a plate with a couple handfuls of baby spinach, some green beans, a couple tablespoons of chickpeas, some diced tomatoes, a couple minced cloves of garlic and a splash of tomato basil vinaigrette. I briefly warm the spinach, green beans and chickpeas in the microwave (just enough to begin to wilt the spinach - 45 seconds or so and warm the beans) and then add the rest. Once in a while, I’ll crumble a bit of feta cheese on top or add some chicken breast pieces.

Other vegetables I really enjoy are broccoli, zucchini, carrots and peas. I’ll often stir fry them with some peppers and onions and put them over warmed spinach with a baked salmon filet. Very good. Salmon also tastes great with couscous.

When I follow the six small meals per day plan, I don’t get hungry and I don’t have to eat as much. I think that’s where most people have the problems - they let themselves get too hungry. And I know when I do that, I have a greater tendency to load up on things like rice or bread and stuff like that or to eat things like sweets or quick boxed meals. I think the biggest key is to eat enough to feel satisfied throughout the day. It also helps keep metabolism up and thus burns more calories.

And lastly, I continue to exercise. Now, I’ll admit I haven’t been working out in the mornings. Since I got sick back February, I just can’t get up that early. I’ve never been a morning person and I think trying to push myself to be one, really was more harmful than good and is what lead me to getting sick in the first place. So, I haven’t been working out in the morning - other than my daily walk (1.5 miles in the morning and 1.5 miles in the afternoon) - and I still need to find a good time to get that in. Once I get the kids up for school, though, everything becomes a rush and I find it’s lunch time or after school before I have a chance to even think about working out.

I might have to get the little kids settled into an activity when we get back from walking the kids to school and do it then. That might just work. The key will be finding something to the occupy them long enough to get a good workout. I like to aim for 20 minutes at the least and 30-40 at the most so if you’ve ever been around pre-school age children, you know finding something for them to do for that length of time can be quite the challenge!

Anyway, I’ve rambled on enough for now. I hope you haven’t gotten bored!

See you next time, (hopefully tomorrow)

I mentioned Saturday that I planned to follow the suggestions in the article about candida. So, I actually started following it Saturday and so far, so good. Haven’t noticed much yet but since it’s only been basically two days and not even quite three this morning, I won’t complain.

I have some healthy greens that you mix with water. They’re Isagenix and even though I don’t do Isagenix anymore, really (at least not the shakes), I still have some products and I do continue to use a few things (like the healthy greens and fruits). I just didn’t like the shakes after a while and had to stop using them. It got the point that the stuff just made me gag.

Aside from following the eating suggestions, I’m continuing the exercise - walking every day about 3 miles and will start strength training daily again here soon. With everyone being sick off and on for the past few weeks, I haven’t had much time (or inclination) to use the weight machine regularly.

So, that’s it for me. How are you doing and what’s your plan for this week? Post in the comments or feel free to write a post on your blog and link back here if you’d like.

Talk soon,

~ Annie

The past week has been a bit of a roller coaster. My husband was home on vacation, painting the house interior and such but 2 of the kids ended up ill so they were home as well. It was a bit hectic. As a result, I didn’t maintain my plan. Even so, I didn’t eat too badly but exercise - aside from helping paint an hour or two a day - was non-existent. Since the kids were home sick, I didn’t even get in my normal walking routine of before and after school.

Thankfully, I have a pretty routine grocery list I stick to so although I neglected to make a menu last week and my husband did the majority of the cooking, our meals were rather healthy. I just simply don’t buy junk to begin with (except the occasional cake or other sweet for someone’s birthday).

One of the things that helps, not only with eating right, but also on the food budget, is to make a shopping list. This is why creating a weekly menu is so beneficial - it makes writing out your shopping list ultra easy. It also helps cut down on buying junk especially if you follow a simple rule - if it’s not on the list, don’t buy it! Unless it’s something essential to your menu that you completely forgot to write in. However, this shouldn’t happen if you’re diligently following your menu for the week as your write your list out.

So, I’ll say it was a good week nonetheless.
I’ve got some cool recipes planned for later this week and tomorrow I plan to talk about some more tips that I’ve found useful. Feel free to post your suggestions in the comments. Don’t be shy!!

Let me know what you think - do you plan a menu? Use a shopping list? Why or why not?

To your health,

~ Annie

I apologize for being silent here this past week. My husband has been home on vacation, helping to paint the interior of the house and re-organize things. I spent a lot of time working on some of my other projects and totally neglected you! I am sorry!

But the good news is that I’ve decided to implement a new blogging schedule to help me stay on track and keep things organized over here. This is what I plan:

Monday - What I’m Doing - exercise, meals, and everything I’m doing to get in shape and stay healthy.

Tuesday - Tips. I’ll discuss healthy shopping ideas and other tips that I’ve found helpful and that I hope will be beneficial to you as well.

Wednesday - Fitness. This will be stuff I’ve learned over the years related to fitness and exercise, from how long one should exercise to general fits tips.

Thursday - Another shot of what I’m doing as well as what I plan to try.

Friday - Recipes and Cooking. I will post my favorite recipes, cooking tips, and thoughts on food, meal planning and all that good stuff.

Saturday/Sunday - General Stuff. I plan to change it up on weekends, maybe talk about some off-topic stuff.

So, that’s the plan for the blog. If there is something you would really like to see or have suggestions on what I should include, please feel free to post a comment. Like I said on my main blog, this isn’t just a site for me - it’s for you too and I care about what you think.

Get ready for tomorrow!

Speak soon!

I don’t talk stats and such very often but I do want to just quickly post that in recent weeks, I’ve lost about 7 inches, most notably in my thighs (something which has always been a trouble spot for me). I’m at about the same weight, though, and I’m sure it’s likely due to working out - converting to muscle! That’s a good thing!

It is a bit disappointing when the scale doesn’t move, though. Now that I’m well, I’ll be amping up the workout routine again. My plan is to hit that hard come Monday. The fact that the weather is getting nicer is a huge motivator for me. I love this time of year - the transition between winter and spring - when the days are getting longer, sun is coming out, birds begin chirping and the flowers are beginning to pop up in the garden. It’s that sense of renewal and that is so inspiring!

My goal is to lose 10 pounds in March and another 7 inches. I have no idea if it’ll happen or not but I’m sure willing to try. The only problem, is that my husband and I’s anniversary is this weekend and his birthday is next weekend which I’m sure is going to mean . . . CAKE! And I *love* cake, as any good girl should.

Anyway, I hope you’ve had a good, productive week and I’ll write again soon! I’ve got some interesting posts planned for next week -

• A couple of recipes
• Some of my favorite foods
• The importance of food labels

And several more.

Stay healthy!

~ Annie