10 Pounds Gooooooonne!

It seems like it has taken forever...ever been there? It's really only been 52 days. But, I can now officially say that I have lost 10 pounds. The first 7 pounds was easy. The last 3, not so much.

Oddly enough, the thing that has helped me out the most in the last few weeks has been the movie Moneyball. If you love baseball, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, or if you can breath, you''ll love this movie. It has absolutely nothing to do with losing weight (although if you caught a glimpse of Jonah Hill at the 84th Annual Academy Awards you can see he's dropped a few pounds!). It does have to do with perseverance and most importantly the mathematics of success. There are certain thing in life that if you do the math, it HAS to work!

I dropped the first 7 pounds in 2 weeks. The last 3 have taken 5 weeks to lose! Now, I will admit there were a few moments where I consumed some no no's. I had a little too much fun with some homemade rice krispie treats a few weeks back. But, instead of giving up and falling into the belief that I just can't weigh less, or it's not worth all of this hard work, I keep doing the math. Remember, losing a pound is worth about 3,500 calories. Whenever I give some up, or burn some off, and when it adds up to that magic number, I'll be 1 pound more successful.

And that's exactly where I'm at right now. Right now my goal is to lose 1 pound. Not 13 more like I'd eventually like to. Just one. I can do that. It might take me a week, or 2 weeks, but I can do that.

Amazing Meatless Monday!

Grab the weekend shopping list and add a couple items!

Although "Meatless Monday" certainly isn't reserved for just the first day of our work week, it's a catchy way to remember a concept that can be beneficial to you and everyone around you. The last 2 1/2 weeks for me have been meat free and I have discovered a delicious, super satisfying, one of my new favorites, recipe.

Besides expanding my food pallet, I have been reminded that "Going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help reduce your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel." For those interested in finding our more, click on the link below!

http://www.meatlessmonday.com/why-meatless/

So, here is my new culinary concoction:

Barley Mushroom and Sweet Potato Soup

1 Package of Streit's Barley Mushroom Soup mix
(Kosher and no meat or dairy)
(I found mine in the international aisle at Super Target)
2 Large Sweet Potatoes (peeled and diced, 1 inch)
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Follow the directions to make the soup. This will take about 45 minutes, which is mostly boiling and simmering. This is a very hands off meal preparation, so you'll definitely be able to leave the kitchen while you cooking! As the soup is simmering, prepare the sweet potatoes. Peel and dice and mix together with 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil. Bake at 425 degrees for 40-50 minutes (depending on whether or not you like the potatoes browned). Make sure to turn them every 15 - 20 minutes. By the time the sweet potatoes are done the soup will be finished!

A 1 and 1/3 cup serving of soup has 213 calories, and about 10 grams of fiber AND 10 grams of protein. Garnish with about 3/4 cup of baked sweet potatoes and you are adding 100 calories, 4 grams of fiber and 2 grams of protein. Top that will a full belly and very satisfied taste buds!

Although I have craved meat and sweets over the last 18 days, I haven't felt unsatisfied or hungry. I have walked or run 39 miles and have not felt weakened or fatigued. I have also lost 8 pounds (that actually happened on day 16)! So, I am back to where I made it to before I went on vacation in August. 5 months of sabotaging my body, all fixed with less than 3 weeks of hard work...that honestly wasn't all that hard.

Start Your Weight Loss With a Bang!

I keep referencing my blog to see how long it took me to lose 3 pounds, 4 pounds, now up to 5.5 pounds. Yes, that's right, I have lost 5.5 pounds in 11 days! During the summer it took me almost 3 weeks to lose 5.5 pounds. So, what's the difference?
I would have to attribute the speedy weight shed to the fact that I am not eating certain foods right now. The same day I restarted my devotion to losing those 20 pounds, I began a fast. Now, this fast happens to be a spiritual one, but whether or not you are a spiritual or a religious person, fasting can be a great way to kick a habit, learn a new way of eating, or take a break from certain foods. The physical part of my fast is to cause me to think about the foods I'm putting in my body. A reminder of what I should be focusing on eating most of the time. For a period of 21 days I'm not eating any unnatural sugar, meat, hard cheeses, chips, and most processed foods. And believe you me, I have had a hankering for chocolate!
If your looking for that extra boost to taking off some weight, consider cutting out certain foods for a period of time. It doesn't have to be 21 days. It could be 1 week. It doesn't have to be all bread and pasta, but consider only eating 100% whole wheat products that are full of fiber and have less sugar. Speaking of sugar, cutting out sweets for a few days is a great way to start! Think about it...

I'm Tooting My Own Horn.

Yes, that's right. I said it. I would say that I am a pretty modest person. I generally don't want to draw unnecessary attention, but there is something
I need to point out: This blog on losing weight is really, really helpful!

I have been reading my own writing for the last week to inspire me. If you haven't already, or if you haven't in a while, I encourage you to go through the previous entries in my blog. They have encouraged me, reminded me, and given me direction once again.

I would also encourage you to somehow, whether it's through blogging or keeping a journal, to record your thoughts, your milestones, your recipes, all those little pieces of information that are helping you to become healthier. You never know when you might need them again,
or when someone else might benefit from them.

By the way, I'm also bragging that I am down 4 pounds in one week!
Good job Sara, good job :)

It's Been 5 Months Since My Last Post...

Ever since August I have experienced some major life adjusting. I started working full time for the first time in 8 years. Now couple that with being a personal assistant to 4 very important little people, and you'll understand my 5 month hiatus. I'm just getting over being exhausted.

I clearly fell off the wagon (BOOMER SOONER - had to interject that) and completely sabotaged all my hard work from the summer. Add in the holidays and a surprise 4000 mile road trip, take away the consistent exercise, and that completes the equation. I didn't gain it all back, that's the good news. But, I was close.

So, this week I put some action to my resolve and started up again. Counting calories, exercising, and cutting out foods I know are bad for me. I found a new tool I really like too: MyFitnessPal http://www.myfitnesspal.com/.

I have only been at this for 4 days and already I am seeing results! I feel so much better.
Today is all about encouraging you. If you've just started working on your overall health, or if you are restarting your plan to become a smaller and healthier you, know that you can do it! Don't allow your faults or your failures to stop you from trying. Surround yourself with an no-fail environment and people that will lift you up and you are sure to succeed.

Vacation is Over

For the last 10 days I have been enjoying what is as close to a vacation as I get these days. Anyone with small kids knows that you never really get the mental or physical break from attending to your children's every need. I did enjoy a trip to see old friends in Gettysburg, a week off with Jason, and some priceless smiles and squeals from my kids . But, what you are really wondering is if I stuck with my healthy eating this week, right?
I seriously debated on whether or not I was going to strictly adhere to my eating plan or just vacation from all aspects of my life. I opted for the latter, with the assumption that I would enjoy eating with everyone else. I loved the fact that we all ate together and that I wasn't the annoying "dieter" out of the group. That was about it though. I really didn't love, no less enjoy, much of anything I ate. True, at this point of our life eating out consists of pizza, burgers, and Mexican fast food, so it's not exactly a sophisticated pallet.
I had two or three disciplined days thrown into the mix simply out of desperation. There were some days I felt so drained from eating so much processed, sugary foods. The moral of the story for me...vacationing from my healthy eating wasn't worth it! The end result: I added on two pounds. I'm pretty sure it will come off quickly. But, if I had stuck to my calorie restrictions and healthy food choices I would probably be down another pound or two.
Next time I'm faced with the question of whether or not to vacation from healthy eating I need to remind myself of how I felt last week. How it wasn't worth it. If I'm going to break the bank with calories I need to make sure it's really worth it. It needs to be something a little more fabulous than pizza and nachos.

Body Types

Maybe it’s your thighs, your stomach, or your upper arms. Regardless of where it is, many of us have at least one area that makes us feel self conscious because it isn’t as lean and toned as we’d like it to be – a problem area where stubborn fat gathers and stays.
When we try to lose weight we tend to focus on our problem areas and sometimes we get frustrated that we haven't seen a change. It seems we lose weight in every spot but the one we notice the most. Is it really possible to target those fat gathering locations and lose weight in one particular area of your body?
Here's what I found out: It is a myth that it's possible to cause your body to lose fat from only a certain area. You can tone a specific area with exercises, but you cannot cause your body to burn fat in one specific location. When we lose weight, we lose it all over. Fat comes off gradually from all over our body, not just a few selected spots.
Imagine with me. Remember when I used the analogy that a pound of fat is like a pound of butter? Well, every time I walk and am sweating I imagine the fat is melting off all the parts of my body, just as a stick of butter would melt. As the stick of butter melts it gets smaller, but it always retains its original shape.
Under all our layers of fat, whether it's 20 pounds or 10o pounds, we have a shape. My shape happens to be a rectangle. That means when I put on extra weight it gets focused from my thighs to my shoulders in a geometric shape that offers no rooms for waistlines and curves. It also means that when I finish losing weight I still will not have a waist line...bummer!
Keep your body shape in mind as you are losing weight so you don't get discouraged. I guarantee that as you lose weight over your entire body you will be happy with the results! You can't change your body type, but you can change the size and tone of your body. And to all the other rectangles out there...here's to wide belts!