Wednesday's Weigh In - Love Is Blind

 

I'm so glad my husband loves me! I'm still working on weight loss, slowly but surely it's coming off. Today I'm at 165 I think as the scale is home and I'm at the in-laws. I saw 164 earlier this week so it's only a matter of time before I am down to 160. My goal is to be there by the end of April. 

Anyhew, Kent keeps telling me that I'm just a little bird, and that I have a cute little bum, so I know his glasses need renewed, but I'm grateful he loves me!

 

So far I've lost 30 lbs. yay, and have a bit more, but am feeling so good about not gaining any weight over the holidays! I'm still watching portion sizes, exercising, and not eating after 6 pm. It really makes a huge difference, but sleep is also a huge factor in keeping my weight loss goals moving forward. 

This morning I went running, 3 miles as a matter of fact, uphill to a horse corral and back down again. As I was running, the clouds lay in a heavy blanket over the mountain peaks and you could almost feel Mother Nature shiver with delight at the promise of RAIN. Robins and sparrows were chattering in the bushes and trees, fussing over nests, sharing the best worm stories, and in general making a joyful noise. I heard honking behind me and turned to see a pair of beautiful Canadian geese on their way north. Well it's after noon now and RAIN is late! I guess I should go wash the car to get him motivated. Are you trying to lose weight or get more healthy? What is working for you?

You Can't Have It Both Ways

We've all had those "woulda, coulda, shoulda" moments where if we were thinking we "woulda" said something that "coulda" made someone think, and we "shoulda" just done it. Take for instance the other afternoon, when a couple of friends and I had stopped to grab some killer barbeque before heading to the rodeo. As we were enjoying some hefty tri tip sandwiches with fresh cole slaw and dutch oven ranch beans, a group of young men sat down at the table behind us. Their conversation centered around a new woman one of the men was dating. We overheard comments about her not liking to eat burgers and "heavy" foods, and the young man commented on her eating rabbit food all the time. They also asked him about things such as camping and outdoor activities to which he answered that she was sending mixed messages.
If I had been really thinking I "woulda" turned around and asked him whether he cared about a woman's weight or not in regards to deciding whether to ask her out. Many of us women have been through the ringer with men who have very specific preferences on the women they date. I had a friend once who loved blue eyed blondes, especially with long legs. Another one loved red heads, and then there was the blind date who told me all about his tiny room mate who was built more like a 12 year old than a woman. I got the last laugh on him though as I ordered the lobster dinner and he had to pay...:-) So back to the overheard conversation. The thought that occurred to me later as I reflected on their chat was that men often like their women thin, but they also want them to eat like a guy. You know what I mean, steaks, hot dogs, burgers, fish and chips, potatoes, and barbeque are all things most fellas love, and they want to see their women eating them as well. Perhaps I "coulda" learned something, or even better, had this young man thinking about the old saying, "You can't have it both ways."
I "shoulda" said something, as we would have either had a very interesting conversation, or been told to MYOB. So tell me all you men out there, would you rather have a thin woman, or one who will eat with gusto and enjoy their meal along with you?

Winning the fight?

I live for summer days in Oregon when I can buy blueberries by the bucket fulls and snack on them! So sweet and tart at the same time, they burst with flavor as you bite into them. I'm trying to fight the sugar cravings I get when I'm tired, and I'm tired because I had to take a Benadryl. I had to take a Benadryl because something is making me sneeze and I have an itchy mouth, even though it's been wet and rainy here. So I am fighting back by trying to eat things that will satisfy my sweet tooth without adding to my waistline. I find it easier when it's warm out, I seem to naturally gravitate towards fresh fruit and veggies, but it's downright cold here right now! Staring at a computer screen for too long doesn't help so I need to go for a walk and get my head cleared. I think though, that in order to win the weight loss war I do need to start a food diary so here goes.
June 18
Breakfast - 1 cup Left over beef stir fry noodles with extra peppers and onions. A bowl of fresh blueberries.
Lunch - 1/2 serving of low fat turkey slices on one slice of dill rye bread with lettuce, onion, yhonnaise and a sprinkling of Craisins. 9 tortilla chips with cheesy salsa.
Dinner - leftover lentil pilaf with a few chicken chunks, and more peppers and onions. 1/2 cup rocky road ice cream, more blueberries
I know, a lot of leftovers here, but we have been going out a lot and I can usually only eat a half a plate of food at a time. Tomorrow I will try and stay away from the ice cream and the cheesy salsa. The lentil pilaf is a wonderful recipe I will have to get my friend to share. It's full of nutritious ingredients, tasty and low fat as well. The stir fry wasn't too bad except I couldn't tell what the veggies were it was cooked for so long. That's another story though and we won't be eating at that restaurant again. For breakfast I think oatmeal with walnuts and Craisins will do the trick. I am not one to cut out carbs just for the sake of cutting them. If I eat carbs I try to go for whole grains, not processed junk. Honestly, we eat way too much meat and need to look to other sources for protein that aren't a heart attack waiting to happen. Marvelous Marvel has a wheat berry recipe she has been promising to share so I will snag that and share with you if it passes the Parsons taste test kitchen. :-) Regardless of how my menu looks right now, I am losing a bit of weight, probably due to walking up the hill to the lake, and lots of yard work.  Oh, and chasing the deer away from my flowers and lilacs, the little buggers! I also zigzag my way up through town on my bike alternate days. Why not go straight up the road? I've got too much to haul around right now...;-) I'm off to walk to the store for throat lozenges so taataa for now! I hope that if you are waging the weight loss war, you are winning!

Word of Wisdom

This is me, ecstatic about having lost enough weight to wear this dress comfortably. When we bought the dress last year it was a bit snug and then got even snugger so I've never worn it. Today I'm pleased to say I can! Thanks to my Oregon friend Cathy, who has lost 50 + pounds and is looking great, I decided to try..... again to lose weight. I asked her what her trick was and she told me she started running, and she tried to follow the Word of Wisdom more correctly. In our belief system we have the Word of Wisdom as a guide to how to eat and what is harmful to consume. I know a lot of folks will say it's too restrictive, as in no caffeineated drinks, no alcohol and no smoking, but honestly, if you look at the health risks versus benefits of say drinking wine and such abstaining is a much better way to go. The Word of Wisdom talks about eating fruits, grains and herbs and eating meat sparingly. So along with the running and other exercise I've been doing I've cut way back on my meat consumption, substituting beans, lentils and so on for meat. I've also cut way back on sugar consumption, and one of the blessings of running or any vigorous exercise is that it has an affect on what you feel like eating and how much. I've lost 12 pounds and have 30 to go. It sure is a good feeling to be heading down. I'm not starving myself, I just eat less, and so if I want a cookie once in awhile I will have one, but I've really not wanted one. I have much more energy as well so I'm sticking with this plan. No drugs, just healthy foods and exercise. Now how easy is that?