Time to Clean It Up

Cleaning is an indoor outdoor and inside outside body chore. Well, maybe when it comes to your body, chore isn’t the right word, clean inside and out is necessary for good health.

I was busy outside cleaning leaves and getting my vegetable garden ready for winter today so eating wasn’t on my mind much; not until I was finished with yard work and preparing dinner. Suddenly I needed food and I wasn’t at all in the mood to cook. Take out crossed my mind more than once but that thought didn’t win. While I repeatedly said aloud that I don’t want to cook, I cooked anyway.
I had a small bottle of General Tso’s sauce from Trader Joe’s, organic chicken breast, onion, red & green bell peppers, broccoli and my own home grown garlic. I made a stir fry. I simmered rice while I chopped and sliced and served the stir fry alongside it.

While I wasn’t in the mood to cook, I did it anyway and in the end I was glad I did. I knew it would be healthier for me and I saved money. If you don’t have time to cut up veggies, try purchasing them already cut for you; while some of the nutrients can be lost when veggies and fruits are cut too far in advance, it’s still a better choice than takeout. You can find stir-fry veggies in the produce section. You can also buy your favorite veggies and spend a little time one day early in the week cutting and bagging different vegetables that you will use during the week-this will make meal time a breeze.
While I did pretty good food wise this week, I feel the need, the want to clean up my diet a little more. I have this guilty habit of snacking on things that I don’t need-things like cheese, chips/dip, bread…while I don’t have a lot of these things at one time, I don’t actually need it. It’s time to reboot my system. It’s time to plan a time for my bi-annual 3-day cleanse.

Here’s my version of a fast,easy stir fry which totally beats take-out, especially mid-week!

Hearty, Healthy, Satisfying

When you eat breakfast, lunch or dinner, do you feel satisfied? Do you savor the moment and the flavor and do you give yourself time to slow down and enjoy your meal? I try to but I don’t always succeed.

Most of my dinner time meals are relaxed and wholesome. My breakfasts and/or lunches aren’t always slow and enjoyed. Sometimes I even make an odd choice for breakfast, I often do it backwards; remember I mentoned I love sandwiches? Too often a breakfast choice for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s usually a healthy sandwich filled with spinach or a lot of green leafy lettuce and leftover meat or sometimes completely vegetarian-it depends on leftovers. For lunch I’ll often make a hummus or avocado dip and eat that and carrots, celery, broccoli or cauliflower. Sandwiches and dips…my favorite foods.

Last night I had the desire to make split pea soup since there was a mild chill in the air and nothing smells better than a homemade soup simmering slowly. I didn’t follow a recipe, I rarely ever do-I’m not sure then why I’m addicted to cookbooks! The soup came out so delicious and it was simple to make so I thought I’d shaer the recipe with you.

Dawn’s Split Pea Soup
2 cups split peas, rinsed & drained
2-3 qts. water
3 bay leaves
1 tsp. salt
1/3 lb. bacon diced small ( I used bacon raised locally, Hollis Hills Farm)
Simmer low 1 hour, add
1 onion, chopped
3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
2-3 stalks celery sliced thin
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sage
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
more water if needed-it should be thick but smooth
Simmer for 40 minutes longer. Add freshly ground black pepper & enjoy!

Mindfulness

Since yesterday I've made much better food choices due to the fact that I promised you that I'd post daily. It's interesting that when we are being held accountable, we can stick closer with our intentions.

Last night for dinner I had only one serving and I made sure the portion was reasonable.

So far today I have done pretty well. I began with one egg scrambled with a full serving of sauteed spinach and about 1/3 of an avocado-it was plenty to get my day started.

For lunch I had a simple sandwich of turkey, I added another full serving of baby spinach instead of lettuce but I also added a slice of Swiss cheese. We're all a work in progress though so I don't feel too badly.

My next step for the day is to drink water...I haven't had much at all today....ok, not any yet - I've been drinking warm coffee so far but I promise when I'm done here I will fill my jug with water and drink ;)  (coffee, another vice I need to eliminate or at least reduce)

What are your vices and what kinds of things sabotage your intentions?

Tracking My Course

Yesterday Dale, my significant other, and I had dinner on the Vermont Dinner Train from Rutland, VT to Saratoga Springs, NY, and back. The dining car we had dinner in was from the 1950′s era and in pristine condition. The car held only 6 tables for 4 people each and played music to fit its time period.

The meal consisted of four courses which began with a fresh seafood gumbo witha red broth, the next course was a salad with dark leafy greens, blue cheese, clementine segments, cucumbers, tomato, red onion, and a zesty dressing. For the main course we had a choice of baked salmon, chicken cordon bleu, braised short ribs or fettuccini with a red sauce; I chose the salmon, Dale chose the chicken cordon bleu, and for the sides on each choice was broccolini & carrots and rice pilaf. The dessert course brought a choice of riccotta cheesecake, creme brule cheesecake or pumpkin pie-I chose the creme brule cheesecake and Dale the riccotta cheesecake. Soft drinks and water was offered or you could BYOB so we brought Pinot Grigio wine to accompany our nice dinner and compliment our outing.

The experience was quite nice. We relaxed, talked with our tablemates and watched the New England countryside as the sun set behind the rolling hills and trees. The very cool thing I quickly noticed was the fact that unlike in a typical local restaurant Dale and I both seemed extremely relaxed even if it was a slight challenge to get a sip of water or wine into our mouths and not on our clothes due to the rickety-rack swaying from the railroad tracks!

It was simple to track our course last night because someone else was in charge of preparing portion perfect meals and serving, all we had to do is sit back, eat and enjoy the leisurely art of eating.
Bon Appetite!

When and Why Food is on My Mind

We’ve all heard it so many times through the news, magazines, radio, the internet, pretty much anywhere weight, cravings, overeating and food in general is talked about; what I’m referring to is the common knowledge that we tend to eat when we’re bored.

Why do we eat when we know we’re not hungry? And more, why can’t we stop ourselves when we know that we’re foraging through the cabinets and refrigerator just because we have nothing better to do? In my opinion and personal experience, it has a lot to do with lack of motivation. So, why aren’t we motivated? Because we don’t have to be? Well, why not? What will it take to find motivation? This entire line of thought is quickly snowballing into many questions, aka excuses, and a mission to find the answers.

Let me address boredom first. When I feel bored, I want to nibble on something, anything; food is always on my mind. When I decide to care enough about not eating when I’m not hungry, I do know for a fact that I can always find something around the house or work that needs to be done and through talking with friends, family and clients, this is the case with them as well. The key is doing it. Either find the motivation or the discipline to get your mind and body in motion. Yes, definitely easier said than done…most times. But you will soon realize that when you set your mind to do that dreaded chore, you feel so good about your tiny (or major) achievement. You end up not feeling so bad about rewarding yourself with a snack and in my experience, that snack ends up being a healthier choice than you might have made if you ate out of boredom.

How can you get motivated? It’s not easy, I know it’s not, but it is important. Motivation is complex. It stumps me. Motivation can be gained in many different ways. Sometimes we’re motivated by getting a reward afterwards, sometimes we’re motivated by talking to, listening to or working beside someone who inspires us, other times we find motivation within ourselves-often because we just don’t like the way things are anymore. We are motivated by the desire for change.

Motivation comes from inspiration, inspiration comes from ourselves, others, and life itself. It’s necessary to keep our hearts and minds open to inspiration and motivation.

When you want change in your life you have to inspire change. I believe Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”, I agree, I need to and you need to stop complaining about things not being as we wish they were and start working toward making things as we wish they were.

Let’s Be As We Can Be!

Today is a brand new day!

I didn’t post much about the foods I ate yesterday but not to worry, I’m not hiding anything! I ate a healthy breakfast of 1 scrambled egg, a slice of turkey and baby spinach between two slices of rye with seeds (seeds are healthy for you – you know!). Remember I mentioned that I think I should create a sandwich diet? This is why! and yesterday, my oldest son defended the good ole sandwich by making a statement something like, ‘ what’s wrong with that? I love sandwiches’- I think we were talking about making sandwiches with uncommon sandwich ingredients though I cannot recall what they were.

I skipped lunch :/ I know, bad choice against the advise I give. I think I had a few rice crackers and garlic dip leftover from our Oktoberfest party last weekend; I don’t believe that I have mentioned yet that I love dips too (sorry Dale, no pun intended, you’re definitely not a dip )! I usually try to make healthy dips such as ones with a bean base and fresh herbs and veggies mixed in so that I can keep with the healthy eating and feel like I’m indulging. On a happy note, I learned this weekend that my cousin also has a weakness for dips (sorry Bryon, no pun intended, you’re absolutely not a dip either ) teeheehee! And boy did she make a pretty fabulous pumpkin dip for ginger snaps!

Onto today. So far, so good but then again it’s only 11:30am. I made a delicious 2 egg omelet stuffed with about 1 cup of baby spinach, 1 thin slice of ham and a slice of Swiss. I served it atop even more baby spinach(after I took the picture) so it would wilt a little. Adding so much spinach means that I’ve gotten at least 2 servings of vegetables in today! The eggs I use come from a mile down the street, thank you farmer Clem! Any more local and they would be from my own back yard, which both of my brothers do; I doubt I will – though one never knows!

Though it’s not lunch time yet, I plan to have some of my leftover homemade chicken soup. It has a lot of veggies, not much sodium and it’s fresh!

My dinner plan is meatloaf. I usually add a lot of chopped (very tiny) vegetables like carrots, onion, celery, shredded cabbage, butternut squash, and any other veggie that I think would hold up inside a meatloaf well; I also add 2 eggs and ground flax seeds instead of breadcrumbs and sometimes crushed walnuts and apples & cranberries. We look forward to leftovers….yup, meatloaf sandwiches!
It’s never too late in the day to set an intention, even if you only have 2 more hours left in your day you could intend on no more snacking or one more glass of water even if it means a middle of the night bathroom run. My intentions for today – #1 drink water! 2, 3, and 4? 2-no bread today, 3-no sweets (no hard feat for me), 4-portion control

Follow your heart to reach your dream <3

It's a Scheme, in my opinion

Lately I have been bombarded by several different individuals urging me to climb aboard their weight loss or health maintenance supplement companies. Each one of them claims that this is the best thing they have ever done for themselves and they will never stop doing it. For each of them I say great, if selling a meal replacement or supplements helped you stay on track with your intentions an are leading you to your goals, keep doing it! But I also say, it’s not for everyone.

I’ve tried two pyramid scheme supplement companies over the years. Both touted the same exact things that these more recent company ambassadors are claiming and while vitamins nd minerals are indeed healthy for us I personally don’t believe it’s the only way to reach success in your goals nor your career. Some of us just aren’t pushy enough; some of us would prefer to teach that you are in control of your intentions, you have the power to set your mind to something and succeed. There is no little pill, no magic drink that is going to make you do what you either want to or don’t want to do.

My sharing this blog, my daily journal/journey, is a way of supplementing my intentions and doing what I love doing most, helping you find the courage, the desire and the excitement to finally begin your journey to weight loss success, better health and happiness. Through sharing my daily walk with you I find the energy, mindfulness and power within myself to succeed.

I believe that if you take yourself seriously, make yourself and your health #1, set and stick with your intentions – you will find the success you’re dreaming about.

Controlled Eating & Cravings

Today I tried to stick diligently to my intentions of more water, less bread and more vegetables today. I usually do very well with lots of vegetables and today was no different, For the most part my meals were portion perfect but my love for carbs won. I didn’t eat a lot of bread but I did have a few crackers and a small handful of potato sticks, something I typically don’t even have in the house.
Carbohydrate cravings are very similar to sugar cravings and addiction. I do have a carb addiction unfortunately. My cravings are rarely ever sweet, they’re actually almost never sweets but are always simple carbs; bread and pasta are first in line-I Love them!

Am I upset with myself for not doing as well as I planned today? Not at all. I’m more aware though of my weaknesses and can work to address them.

In the event that my example of dinner might help you find dinner ideas I’ll share with you. I roasted a chicken, I simmered peas, baked garnet yams and made a huge Ceasar salad. My personal chicken portion was only about the size of my palm, one small yam, about 1 cup of peas and a large bowl of salad. Simple to prepare since the oven does all the work.

Tonight’s not over, but I have a good handle on things (even while watching game 1 in the world series with my Red Sox sweatshirt on) snack later? Maybe but not necessary at this point.

The Sandwich Diet

I’m thinking about going on a sandwich diet. I’m not sure there is such thing…yet, but I bet I can create one. I bet if there was though, I would be able to stick with it easily; I even think many other people would too!
The positive part and rules of making the perfect sandwich: you would have to load it with lots of interesting vegetables and bean mixtures along with whatever other ingredient you choose and no heavy, chemical laden spreads allowed. The negative side, too much bread! Too much wheat and refined carbs that we all need to get away from.
A sandwich diet. A cool thought. I might need to investigate this idea a little deeper because in reality, sandwiches are so cool!

Today, I Begin

If you read ‘my story’ you have a pretty good idea of where I’m at in my life. Today is day one of my personal journey for weight loss and emotional growth. My goal is to lose at least 16 pounds. To some, 16 pounds doesn’t sounds like much of a journey but it doesn’t matter if you’re trying to lose 5 pounds or 500 pounds, it’s your personal journey and it matters to you.

Upon weighing myself this morning, my current weight is 156 and I’m 5’4″ tall. I’m 50 years old, a young fifty thank you I’m most comfortable with my weight being 135-140, at this point I’ll settle for 140, so my goal for now is 140 or 16 pounds. What’s my time limit? I don’t have one but if I had to choose I would say 4-6 months, either by my next birthday Feb 21st or just as Spring 2014 sets in.

My first steps are:
1- setting an intention – (check)
2- setting a goal – (check)
3- sharing it with you (check)
4- diet? no! Eat healthy? YES!
5- is there cheating? No such word on my journey…getting back on track daily is my rule and sharing honestly with you is my promise
6- I’m ready! Are you?

My intentions for today is to drink at least 50 ounces of water and to eat no less than 5 servings of vegetables and 1 fruit.

* Let me share with you that the foods I eat are whole foods, no boxed/processed/prepared foods. I don’t typically use frozen foods except perhaps frozen vegetables that have no seasonings or sauces, and I try to stick with organic as often as possible. I’m a label reader, it’s an important habit to adopt, I steer clear of MSG, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners and some natural sweeteners such as Stevia. Overall, my diet is healthy, my breakfast choices, portion sizes and lack of physical activity are often my ‘bad habits’. Being a health coach, I know what I should be doing, this is my inspiration to do it while helping you do it too!