Vegetarian West African Soup

(makes 8 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped onions
  
  


• 2 tsp olive oil (or vegetable oil)
  
  


• ⅓ cup peanut butter
  
  


• 6 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” cubes
  
  


• 1 tbsp ground cumin
  
  


• ¼ tsp salt
  
  


• ½ tsp pepper
  
  


• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  
  


• 2 (15.5 oz.) cans garbanzo beans, undrained
  
  


• 2 (14.5 oz.) cans low-sodium vegetable broth
  
  


• 1 (28 oz.) can diced or crushed tomatoes, undrained
  
  

Preparation:

• Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large-size saucepan and sauté onions until lightly browned.
  
  


• Stir in the butter, potatoes, cumin, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, beans, broth, and tomatoes then raise heat to bring to a boil.
  
  


• Reduce heat, cover and simmer until sweet potatoes are softened (about 45 minutes).
  
  

Make 8 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(⅛ of recipe (446 g)): 386 Calories, 16 g Protein, 61 g carbohydrates, 11 g Dietary Fiber, 10 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 391 mg sodium

Checking in

I haven't posted anything since Sunday because my job is consuming me lately. I'm slightly stressed at work. I still love where I work and love my job, but sometimes I get myself in situations with deadlines. There's always a deadline looming up ahead, and I'm always trying to meet it. I have one next week that I'm struggling to meet. I guess that's just life.

I'm doing okay, managing to get to the gym every day, although I took today off because I couldn't remember the last time I missed a day at the gym.

Sometimes I'm getting in a lunch hour walk with a friend at work that practically race walks, I almost can't keep up with her. I think it would be easier if we just ran. Of course we only walk when it's not raining in the third most miserable city in the nation. At least that's according to this article in the Wall Street Journal, although they say it has nothing to do with the weather (really?).

It's funny because my niece was here a couple weeks ago (from Fairbanks, Alaska) and she couldn't get over the deep green of everything, from he grass to the trees. She kept saying how beautiful it looked. She's right, at least when the sun shines here I think this area must be one of the most beautiful places on the planet. If only the sun would shine a little more.

My eating hasn't been perfect, but I'm tracking my food which is big improvement. My food choices have been excellent, but sometimes my portions are too large (four ounces of chicken breast just doesn't do it for me). I've also managed to avoid eating added sugar for the last two weeks, which is huge for me.

When my weight got up to 187 a couple weeks ago I had bought some cookies and other sweets which I consumed over a two-day period. I didn't write about it because I was pretty freaked out. I feel like I have that under control again.

I also stopped buying and eating the Weight Watcher frozen treats. The only "treat" in my freezer are the sugar-free fudge bars that Dawn convinced me to try, and they're not that bad. However, they're not that good either so there's no chance I'd eat a whole box.

Lately my evening snack has been a cup of Greek yogurt with a cup of frozen fruit, and some Stevia. It's more calories than one of the Weight Watcher ice cream bars (about 200 for the yogurt & fruit), but it's the same PointsPlus (3). It's a lot more filling than the bars and sort of like ice cream, and I never go back for seconds (or thirds like I did with the ice cream bars) because it's a lot of food.

I tried the Simply Filling a few days this week and then switched back to PointsPlus on Weight Watchers. You're not suppose to switch mid-week, but I still can't trust myself with the "eating until satisfied" idea.

This is a pretty boring post, but I just can't think of anything interesting to say. I guess all work and no play makes Diana a very dull girl.

Off to work now!

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups cooked chicken breast, shredded into bite-sized pieces
  
  


• 4 cups torn fresh spinach leaves, thawed and drained
  
  


• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
  
  


• 6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
  
  


• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
  
  


• 1 (8oz.) carton of non-fat sour cream
  
  


• ¼ cup plain, non-fat yogurt
  
  


• ¼ tsp salt
  
  


• ½ cup 1% milk
  
  


• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  
  


• ¼ tsp ground cumin
  
  


• ⅓ cup shredded cheddar cheese
  
  

Preparation:

• Cook fresh spinach with a small amount of water in a medium saucepan, covered for 5 minutes on medium-high heat.
  
  


• Combine cooked chicken, green onions and spinach in a large bowl. Mix well and set aside.
  
  


• Make the sauce: Combine sour cream, flour, yogurt, cumin and salt in a medium bowl. Add jalapeño pepper and milk and mix well.
  
  


• Pour half the sauce into the chicken and spinach mixture and mix well. Divide the filling among the tortillas. Fold opposite ends of a tortilla up about 1-inch over filling then fold the left and right sides over the folded end, overlapping.
  
  


• Place filled tortillas, seam sides down on an ungreased rectangular baking dish.
  
  


• Spoon remaining sauce over the tortillas and bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F oven until heated through (about 20 minutes.)
  
  


• Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and let stand for 5 minutes.
  
  


• Top with salsa and chopped green onions as desired.
  
  

Make 6 Servings:

Weight loss recipes AmountPer Serving(1 enchilada (196 g)): 248 Calories, 20 g Protein, 28 g carbohydrates, 2 g Dietary Fiber, 6 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 41 mg cholesterol, 384 mg sodium

Vegetarian Chili

(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 chopped onion
  
  


• 4 minced cloves garlic
  
  


• 1 tbsp vegetable oil (or olive oil)
  
  


• 2 finely chopped carrots
  
  


• 2 chopped tomatoes
  
  


• 2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, drained
  
  


• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, chili powder, or chili seasoning mix
  
  


• 1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
  
  


• Salt and black pepper, to taste (optional)
  
  

Preparation:

• Heat vegetable oil in a large-size saucepan, sauté onions and garlic. Add carrots, tomatoes, black beans, herbs and spices.
  
  


• Cook over medium heat until the carrots are tender (about 15-20 minutes). Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper.
  
  

Make 6 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (226 g)): 236 Calories, 13 g Protein, 40 g carbohydrates, 14 g Dietary Fiber, 3 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 348 mg sodium

Dr. Kevin Patterson on Western Diets and Health

A few readers have pointed me to an interesting NPR interview with the Canadian physician Kevin Patterson (link). He describes his medical work in Afghanistan and the Canadian arctic treating cultures with various degrees of industrialization. He discusses the "epidemiological transition", the idea that cultures experience predictable changes in their health as they go from hunter-gatherer, to agricultural, to industrial. I think he has an uncommonly good perspective on the effects of industrialization on human health, which tends to be true of people who have witnessed the effects of the industrial diet and lifestyle on diverse cultures.

A central concept behind my thinking is that it's possible to benefit simultaneously from both:

• The sanitation, medical technology, safety technology, law enforcement and lower warfare-related mortality that have increased our life expectancy dramatically relative to our distant ancestors.


• The very low incidence of obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease and other non-infectious chronic diseases afforded by a diet and lifestyle roughly consistent with our non-industrial heritage.

But it requires discipline, because going with the flow means becoming unhealthy.

New Writing Blog

In case you haven't noticed, there is a new tab at the top of this blog labeled, writing.  Yes, I started a new blog specific for my writing journey: http://karenmariehansen.blogspot.com/  :)

Sweet Potato Soup

(makes 8 servings)

Ingredients:

• ⅔ cups chunky peanut butter
  
  


• 1 tbsp canola oil (or olive oil)
  
  


• 2 cups chopped onion
  
  


• 6 cups peeled and chopped sweet potato
  
  


• 1 tbsp ground cumin
  
  


• Salt and pepper, to taste
  
  


• 2 (15.5 oz.) cans garbanzo beans, drained
  
  


• 2 (14.5 oz.) cans low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth, if desired)
  
  


• 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
  
  

Preparation:

• Heat oil in a large-size saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until lightly browned.
  
  


• Stir in remaining ingredients, bring to a boil then reduce heat, uncovered and simmer until sweet potato is tender (about 30 minutes).
  
  

Make 8 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(⅛ of recipe (475 g)): 436 Calories, 16 g Protein, 64 g carbohydrates, 11 g Dietary Fiber, 15 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 696 mg sodium

Day 88: Portion Control

Portion control is a must for weight control when eating the things you really enjoy.  Honestly, you can eat anything if you keep the portions small.  I know, I've done it.

Take for instance these mini meatloaves, they are sitting in oil from the cheese and ground meat, which is normally a diet no-no. (Luckily, they aren't as oily as the picture looks.)  I don't know how many calories there are in one--I don't have time to figure it out--but I only eat one which is 1/8 of a pound of ground meat and a few tablespoons of grated cheese.  With a few baked potato wedges and a hearty serving of veggies, the meal is filling without being heavy on calories.

It's such a freedom to be able to eat what you enjoy while maintaining/losing weight. In the past, whenever I did a program in the past, the restrictions and things I had to do to stay on program would mess with my head. I often found myself obsessed with the process and often I would sabotage my efforts, because I could.

I'm currently going through some stressful times--as I know many of you are too--and counting calories/measuring foods is not something I have time for or even care to do. Normally, I would just say forget it and binge until I no longer could remember what was bothering me, but that only makes matters worse. Going through tough times with tight or no clothes in a body you can't stand is depressing. It's a downward cycle that gets harder to turn around as time progresses.

For me, eating real food, I not only feel full, I don't feel deprived and I haven't spent a ton of time measuring and counting. I actually feel empowered, in control, and that feeling helps me to stay focused on my goals.

5 Day Pouch Test Bulletin 3/28

Read the full bulletin in our online archive


Liquid Restrictions - More Than Just RulesGreetings Neighbors!

One of the first places we go off track after weight loss surgery is forgetting to follow the liquid restrictions. Some centers call them water rules. In short, the liquid restrictions mean to cease drinking beverages 30 minutes before meals and refrain from drinking beverages with

Spiced Pumpkin Soup

(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp butter
  
  


• 1 cup chopped onion
  
  


• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
  
  


• ¼ tsp cumin
  
  


• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  
  


• ½ tsp curry powder
  
  


• 2 crushed garlic cloves
  
  


• 1 cup peeled and cubed sweet potato
  
  


• ¼ tsp salt
  
  


• 2 (14 oz.) cans of non-fat and low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian option)
  
  


• 1 (15 oz.) can of pumpkin
  
  


• 1 cup 1% milk
  
  


• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
  
  

Preparation:

• Melt butter in a large-size saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute onion for about 3-4 minutes then add flour, cumin, nutmeg and curry powder and saute for about 1 minute.
  
  


• Add sweet potato, salt, chicken broth (or vegetable broth) and pumpkin and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially covered and simmer until sweet potatoes are cooked through and softened (about 20-25). Transfer from heat and let stand for about 10 minutes to cool.
  
  


• Place half of the pumpkin mixture in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Using a strainer, pour soup back into pan. Repeat with rest of soup.
  
  


• Heat to medium-high heat then stir in milk and cook until soup is heated through (about 5 minutes).
  
  


• Transfer from heat and add lime juice.
  
  

Make 6 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (300 g)): 128 Calories, 6 g Protein, 19 g carbohydrates, 3 g Dietary Fiber, 3 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 7 mg cholesterol, 351 mg sodium

The NeighborhoodYour Safe Haven Circle of Friends
9,800 Neighbors - 161,540 Posts   






The LivingAfterWLS Neighborhood: an online compassion driven social space evoking feelings of comfort, understanding, knowledge, warmth, acceptance, trust and happiness for those who have undergone gastric bypass, lap-band or any type of weight loss surgery or those struggling with weight control.

Spring Renewal - It's Your Time to Bloom!

Spring Renewal - It's Your Time to Bloom!
Happy Spring to you! I hope your world is renewed and awakening after a long winters rest. Like most of North America our winter has been long and harsh and it has outstayed its welcome. If you squint your eyes today I think you may be able to see a hint of green in the grass!

Spring is such a sweet time of renewal and it seems many  "reminders" pop-up

It's hard to lose weight but it's even harder to be fat

As I struggle to get control of my eating and get my weight back down, I constantly wonder why this has to be so incredibly difficult. I know I'm not alone in these feelings. Almost everyone with a weight problem can relate. It's hard to constantly deprive myself of things I want to eat. For whatever reason, food makes me happy. It's just that simple.

Three years ago I was 240 pounds. I honestly don't know how I was walking around. I don't know how I held a job or how I managed to start going to the gym. Carrying around an extra hundred pounds on my body made life very hard.

Two summers ago I was 152, last summer I was around 166. Right now I'm at 182.2. Down 5.2 pounds from my last weigh-in on Wednesday. I'm still 30 pounds up from my lowest weight in the last three years. I've beaten myself up about this over and over. 

The biggest thing I've noticed about this recent weight gain is how uncomfortable I feel in my own skin. More than anything, I'm embarrassed about the weight gain. How could I let this happen to me? Don't I even like myself? The answers to those two questions are sad. I let this happen to me because I don't care enough about myself to want to take care of myself. Like myself? Silly girl, of course not.

Added to the embarrassment is the discomfort. My clothes don't fit. Everything is tight. Every morning looking for something to wear is a challenge. 

Added to the embarrassment and discomfort is the constant nagging fear that I'm going to end up where I started. Every morning I wake up and my first thoughts are "what did I eat last night?".  If the answer is "nothing bad" then I'm happy. If the answer is "oh darn, I ate that entire box of Weight Watcher Truffle bars" then I'm miserable (that was my thought this morning). 

My workouts the last two weeks have been hard. The more weight I gain, the harder it is to exercise. My body doesn't want to work hard, it just wants to lie down and sleep. Every day I push myself to exercise, but with the added weight on my body, I can really feel the difference. It hurts so much more to exercise at this heavier weight.

The bottom line is that it's really harder to be fat than it is to lose weight. Fat hinders my entire life. Being uncomfortable 100% of the time and hating myself because I'm fat is really no way to live.

Spicy Seafood Stew

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. fresh or frozen sea scallops
  
  


• 8 oz. fresh or frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails intact
  
  


• 8 oz. fresh mussels in shells, beards removed
  
  


• 2 cups water
  
  


• 3 tbsp salt
  
  


• 1 tbsp vegetable oil (or olive oil)
  
  


• 4 chopped cloves garlic
  
  


• 1 cup chopped onion
  
  


• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  
  


• 1 tsp ground cumin
  
  


• ¼ tsp ground red pepper
  
  


• 1 cup low-sodium fish broth (or vegetable broth)
  
  


• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
  
  


• ⅛ tsp ground saffron
  
  


• ¼ cup chopped cilantro to garnish
  
  

Preparation:

• Thaw scallops and shrimp, if frozen. Rinse scallops and shrimp; pat dry.
  
  


• Scrub mussels. In a large-size bowl, combine water and salt then add mussels and let soak approximate 15 minutes. Drain, rinse and repeat twice.
  
  


• Heat vegetable oil in a large-size saucepan then sauté garlic and onion until they are tender.
  
  


• Stir in cinnamon, cumin, red pepper and cook approximate 1 minute, stirring constantly.
  
  


• Add fish broth, tomatoes, saffron and bring to boiling.
  
  


• Add scallops, shrimp and mussels. Return to boiling, reduce heat, covered and simmer until mussel shells open (approximate 5 minutes).
  
  


• Garnish with cilantro and serve.
  
  

Make 4 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(¼ of recipe (297 g)): 204 Calories, 27 g Protein, 10 g carbohydrates, 1 g Dietary Fiber, 6 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 113 mg cholesterol, 458 mg sodium

Salmon Chowder

(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped onion
  
  


• 1 cup diced potato
  
  


• ¼ cup celery, chopped
  
  


• 1 tbsp vegetable oil (or olive oil)
  
  


• 2 tbsp water
  
  


• 2 tbsp flour
  
  


• ¼ tsp pepper
  
  


• ¼ tsp dried dill
  
  


• 2 (13 oz.) cans of evaporated skim milk
  
  


• 1 lb. salmon fillet, skinned, boned and cut into 1” cubes
  
  


• ½ cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, grated
  
  


• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  
  


• Salt and pepper, to taste (optional)
  
  

Preparation:

• Heat vegetable oil into a medium saucepan, sauté onion, potato and celery for about 5 minutes. Add water and continue to cook until potatoes are tender.
  
  


• Blend in flour, pepper, dill, milk and salmon. Heat until soup thickens then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until salmon flakes when tested with a fork.
  
  


• Stir in cheese and parsley. Season with salt and pepper before serve
  
  

Make 6 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (323 g)): 294 Calories, 29 g Protein, 27 g carbohydrates, 1 g Dietary Fiber, 7 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 66 mg cholesterol, 331 mg sodium

Randy Tobler Show: Welcome

This morning, I had a conversation with Dr. Randy Tobler on his radio show "Vital Signs", on 97.1 FM News Talk in St Louis. Dr. Tobler is an obstetrician-gynecologist with an interest in nutrition, fitness and reproductive endocrinology from a holistic perspective. He asked me to appear on his show after he discovered my blog and found that we have some things in common, including an interest in evolutionary/ancestral health. We talked about the history of the American diet, the health of non-industrial cultures, what fats are healthiest, and the difference between pastured and conventional meat/dairy-- we took a few questions from listeners-- it was fun.

The show is available as a podcast here (3/26 show), although as far as I can tell, you need iTunes to listen to it. My section of the show starts around 8:20.

To everyone who arrived here after hearing me on the air this morning: welcome! Here are a few posts to give you a feel for what I do here at Whole Health Source:

The Coronary Heart Disease Epidemic
US Weight, Lifestyle and Diet Trends, 1970-2007
Butter vs. Margarine Showdown
Preventing and Reversing Tooth Decay
The Kitavans: Wisdom from the Pacific Islands
Potatoes and Human Health, Part I, Part II and Part III
Traditional Preparation Methods Improve Grains' Nutritional Value
Real Food XI: Sourdough Buckwheat Crepes
Glucose Tolerance in Non-industrial Cultures
Tropical Plant Fats: Palm Oil
It's Time to Let Go of the Glycemic Index

Western Food is Making the World Diabetic

Listen to this interesting 13 minute NPR audio on Diet and Diabetes, where one doctor discusses the differences he noticed between Afghan patients and the bodies of North American patients. He says;

"Typical Afghan civilians and soldiers would have been 140 pounds or so as adults. And when we operated on them, what we were aware of was the absence of any fat or any adipose tissue underneath the skin," Patterson says. "Of course, when we operated on Canadians or Americans or Europeans, what was normal was to have most of the organs encased in fat. It had a visceral potency to it when you could see it directly there."

Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 5 yellow bell peppers, remove stem, seeds, and membranes, cut into quarters
  
  


• 1 cup chopped onion
  
  


• 4 chopped cloves garlic
  
  


• 1 tsp vegetable oil (or olive oil)
  
  


• 5¼ cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
  
  


• 1 cup chopped potato
  
  


• ½ tsp ground cumin
  
  


• ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
  
  


• non-fat sour cream (optional)
  
  

Preparation:

• Roast the peppers:
  
  
  • Line a baking sheet with foil. Place peppers down on foil, skin side up and press each segment to lie flat on sheet.
    
    
  
  
  • Bake in an oven at 425 degrees F until skin is blackened and blistered (approximate 20 minutes).
    
    
  
  
  • Transfer peppers from oven and place in a paper bag.
    
    
  
  
  • Close bag and let cool approximate 10 minutes.
    
    
  
  
  • Remove and discard skins. Set aside.
    
    
  
  


• Heat vegetable oil in a large-size saucepan and cook onion and garlic until onion is tender (approximate 3-4 minutes).
  
  


• Stir in roasted peppers, vegetable broth, and potato. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low, covered and simmer approximate 15 minutes.
  
  


• Cool mixture slightly then pour in a third of the pepper mixture into a food processor and process until smooth. Repeat with remaining mixture.
  
  


• Return mixture to saucepan and heat through.
  
  


• Serve in bowls with a dollop of non-fat sour cream (optional) garnished with chives.
  
  

Make 4 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(¼ of recipe (629 g)): 172 Calories, 10 g Protein, 27 g carbohydrates, 3 g Dietary Fiber, 4 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 103 mg sodium

Vietnamese Pho Beef Noodle Soup

Serves 4

Prep time: 40 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

ingredients:

• 2 tsp canola oil
  
  


• 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
  
  


• 1 2” piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  
  


• 1 tsp five-spice powder
  
  


• 6 cups low-sodium beef broth
  
  


• 1½ tbsp Asian fish sauce ("nuoc mam" or "nam pla")
  
  


• 1½ tsp sugar
  
  


• Freshly ground black pepper
  
  


• 6 oz. dried rice noodles or rice vermicelli (Soaking the rice noodles before cooking may seem like an extra step, but it helps release some of their starch so they don't clump and the broth stays clear.)
  
  


• 8 oz. flank steak, well trimmed and thinly sliced
  
  


• Fresh mint sprigs, fresh cilantro sprigs, fresh mung bean sprouts, chopped scallions, thinly sliced serrano chili, and 2-3 lime wedges, for garnish
  
  


• 1 small onion, peeled and sliced in paper-thin rounds
  
  


• The seasonings and noodles can be found in the Asia section of large supermarkets.
  
  

Preparing

• In a heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and ginger; sauté until onions are lightly browned (about 5 minutes). Add five-spice powder; stir until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Pour in beef broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover; simmer for about 15 minutes. Strain broth into a clean saucepan (discard onion and ginger). Stir fish sauce, sugar, and black pepper to taste into the broth; keep warm over low heat.
  
  


• While the broth is simmering, soak rice noodles in hot water (do not boil) in a wide bowl until softened (about 20 minutes). Rinse the noodles well in cold water, then drain. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
  
  


• Arrange the mint and other garnishes on a serving platter. Bring broth back to a boil.
  
  


• Transfer softened noodles to the pot of boiling water; cook for about 30 seconds, drain, and divide among 4 deep soup bowls. Arrange some of the raw steak slices over the noodles, and scatter some of the onion rounds over the steak. Ladle boiling broth into each bowl (the beef slices should cook or brown in the boiling broth.). Serve the soup immediately with the garnishes so everyone can customize their own bowl.
  
  

Nutrition score per serving (2 cups): 350 calories, 7 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 51 g carbs, 20 g protein, 2 g Dietary fiber, 51 mg calcium, 2 mg iron, 1,308 mg sodium

I didn't know I was so fat but pictures don't lie

Before Pictures (from the Big Climb March 20, 2011)

Rear view (ugh!)

It's weird how I often don't see my body as it really looks. When I weighed 152 two summers ago, and 166 last summer, I thought I was a fat pig. That's the picture on the lower right, me in the black size 10 skirt and pink top. 152 pounds and I thought I was fat.

Now that I'm fat again I don't see it when I look in the mirror. Even though the size ten's hanging in my closet don't even begin to fit, I still think of myself as the same person that weighed 152. It's like my head hasn't caught to the fact that I'm fat again. It's the opposite of what an anorexia thinks.

The pictures really hit me hard. Really? I'm really THAT fat?! Yes, Diana, you are really that fat. How fat am I? Read below.

My second weekly Weight Watchers meeting
Today was my first Weight Watchers At Work meeting. There were 28 employees at the meeting, each with their $130.20 check in hand for a 17-week series of meetings and e-Tools.

My company is picking up the additional 30% that Weight Watchers would normally charge. I work for an awesome company! Of course, it's in their best interest that we all get to a healthy weight to keep our insurance costs down, as well as take fewer sick days. Smart move on their part, and I get to benefit from it.

I'm very excited about this meeting. I'm not new to Weight Watchers. I've been going to meetings for three years non-stop. It annoys me that I haven't reached goal yet, but I also know that without the meetings I'd definitely be back up to my high weight of 240 pounds, plus a few extra for good measure. Going to two meetings a week is sort of like AA, where the alcoholic goes every day if possible. Like an alcoholic, I have a serious problem.

I weighed in at home this morning and was appalled I saw184 pounds. I decided to eat breakfast, have my cup of coffee and drink water all morning like normal. I'm not going to starve myself or go without water because I have a noon weighin.

The official weighin (are you sitting down because this is rather shocking):

187.4 

Now I could make all sorts of excuses, I was wearing "heavy" clothes or I'd had food and water during the morning, or there was something wrong with the scales the leader brought to the meeting. That can't be my real weight! Seriously folks, it's my real weight. As real as it gets. 

My plan isn't to dwell on how horrible this is or how mad I am at myself for letting this happen. My plan is to get down to business and lose the weight!

I have my regular Weight Watcher meeting on Saturday, which I pay for online so I'll have two official weighins a week. I know that sounds kind of crazy, but I'm kind of crazy. My eating has become totally out of control with no accountability.

Now that I know how fat I am, I need to fix it.

Lemongrass Pork Chops (Vietnamese cuisine)

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredient for the pork chops

• 3 tbsp lemongrass, minced
  
  


• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  
  


• ¼ cup shallots, minced
  
  


• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
  
  


• 2 tbsp Asian fish sauce
  
  


• 2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
  
  


• 1 tbsp canola oil
  
  


• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  
  


• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  
  


• 4 (5 oz.), thin-cut ( ⅓” to ½”) bone-in center-cut pork chops
  
  


• Low fat cooking spray
  
  

Ingredient for the carrots

• ¼ cup white vinegar
  
  


• 3 tbsp plus 1 tsp sugar
  
  


• ¼ tsp salt
  
  


• 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 2” matchsticks (about 2 cups)
  
  

Preparing

• Combine lemongrass, garlic, shallots, dark brown sugar, Asian fish sauce, soy sauce, canola oil, sesame oil, and black pepper in a food processor or blender; process until combined.
  
  


• Place pork chops in a large zip-top bag, add marinade, and gently massage into both sides of chops. Seal bag and refrigerate for about 3 hours.
  
  


• Meanwhile, prepare the carrots. In shallow bowl, combine vinegar, sugar, and salt together, stir until sugar dissolves. Add carrots, tossing well to coat. Cover and set aside, tossing once or twice until pork is ready (about 1 hour).
  
  


• When ready to cook pork, discard marinade and brush excess off meat. Heat a grill pan over medium-high. Spray pan lightly with low fat cooking spray and grill pork until just cooked through (about 2-3 minutes per side). Transfer to a platter, tent with foil, and let rest for about 5 minutes. Serve with the carrots.
  
  

Nutrition score per serving (1 chop, ½ cup carrots): 255 calories, 7 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 24 g carbs, 23 g protein, 2 g Dietary fiber, 45 mg calcium, 1 mg iron, 1,177 mg sodium

Safflower Oil Study

A few people have sent me a new study claiming to demonstrate that half a tablespoon of safflower oil a day improves insulin sensitivity, increases HDL and decreases inflammation in diabetics (1). Let me explain why this study does not show what it claims.

It all comes down to a little thing called a control group, which is the basis for comparison that you use to determine if your intervention had an effect. This study didn't have one for the safflower group. What it had was two intervention groups, one given 6.4g conjugated linoleic acid (CLA; 50% c9t11 and 50% t10c12-CLA) per day, and one given 8g safflower oil. I have to guess that this study was originally designed to test the effects of the CLA, with the safflower oil group as the control group, and that the interpretation of the data changed after the results came in. Otherwise, I don't understand why they would conduct a study like this without a control group.

Anyway, they found that the safflower oil group did better than the CLA group over 16 weeks, showing a higher insulin sensitivity, higher HDL, lower HbA1c (a marker of average blood glucose levels) and lower CRP (a marker of inflammation). But they also found that the safflower group improved slightly compared to baseline, therefore they decided to attribute the difference to a beneficial effect of safflower oil. The problem is that without a control (placebo) group for comparison, there's no way to know if the improvement would have occurred regardless of treatment, due to the season changing, more regular check-ups at the doctor's office due to participating in a study, or countless other unforeseen factors. A control group is essential for the accurate interpretation of results, which is why drug studies always have placebo groups.

What we can say is that the safflower oil group fared better than the CLA group, because there was a difference between the two. However, what I think really happened is that the CLA supplement was harmful and the small dose of safflower oil had no effect. Why? Because the t10c12 isomer of CLA, which was half their pill, has already been shown by previous well-controlled studies to reduce insulin sensitivity, decrease HDL and increase inflammatory markers at a similar dose and for a similar duration (2, 3). The safflower oil group only looked good by comparison. We can add this study to the "research bloopers" file.

It's worth noting that naturally occurring CLA mixtures, similar to those found in pastured dairy and ruminant fat, have not been shown to cause metabolic problems such as those caused by isolated t10c12 CLA.

hmm

Things are plugging on as normal around here.Nothing much to report on the band front, or the weightloss front except that I am probably eating too many calories... I think I should be eating about 1600 per day to lose a couple of pounds a week.... so going by that I figure that I must be exceeding this somewhat! LOL

I haven't really lost any significant weight, and you can see by my updated photos that there isn't much of a difference to the old carcass either. I can kind of see some movement of blubber on my back, but lets be honest... you have to really try hard to see the difference!

Oh well, I am not worried about it and I am happy in my very very slow progression or 'turtling' as Tina might say. I am certainly not going up so PHEW!

I currently have other annoyances. Check these out. I am flummoxed to say the least. I have lupus right... however, I have never had a rash with it, and my bloods are all fine showing no inflammation and my ANA test is also fine. So what the heck are these bad boys?

and a close up:

another, just like it's brother but smaller:

One that is a trinity of scratchyness:

and one that's on the return - by tomorrow it will be a horror on the bra line:

I have obviously consulted many many a photo on google of discoid lupus rash and this is pretty much the same. It has been scraped *wince* two times and analyzed for bugs or microbial pests, does not respond to steroid creams of varying strengths, fungicidal creams of many varieties, antihistamines or a fucking good scratching.

Its a pest and a thorough annoyance. Two of them are in really 'wrong' areas. as a teacher it is not the done thing to st scratching yourself in lessons, but even more so on your bikini line or bra line! The big nasty back one is fair game though as is the one on the other side.

all of these weird arsed things are on my trunk so I just don't know what they are but I have had them for about a year now in varying degrees of size and they are multiplying at about 1 new one every 3 months or so.

So there you go. any ideas on a postcard to

"Run Rabbit Run, The Warren, Bunnyville, England"

Thank you.

Shrimp & Avocado Rolls With Dipping Sauce

Serves 4

Prep time: 45 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredient for the rolls

• 2 oz. thin rice noodles (also called rice vermicelli)
  
  


• 4 lettuce leaves, center rib removed, halved
  
  


• 16 fresh mint leaves
  
  


• 16 fresh cilantro leaves
  
  


• 1 ripe avocado, flesh cut into 8 wedges
  
  


• 12 cooked shrimp, halved lengthwise (For a vegan version replace the shrimp with shredded carrots.)
  
  


• 8 8” round rice paper wrappers
  
  

Ingredient for the dipping sauce

(called nuoc cham, can be made ahead and refrigerated; it will keep for a month.)

• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  
  


• 2 tbsp sugar
  
  


• ½ tsp red pepper, crushed
  
  


• ⅓ cup hot water
  
  


• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
  
  


• 2 tbsp Asian fish sauce (The sodium counts for these recipes do take a big bite out of your daily recommended maximum of 2,300 mg. The culprits: soy sauce and Asian fish sauce. They're essential to the flavor of these dishes, but even low sodium versions have at least 550 mg per tsp. So on days you make one of these recipes, cut back on other sources of sodium.)
  
  

Preparing

• In a medium-size bowl, place noodles and cover with hot tap water; let soak until softened (about 15 minutes). Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Drop in noodles; cook for about 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cold water; drain well again and set aside.
  
  


• Arrange lettuce, mint, cilantro, avocado, and shrimp assembly line-style on a large platter. Gently squeeze noodles in paper towels to further dry them, and add to other ingredients.
  
  


• Fill a wide, shallow bowl with warm water and set it next to a cutting board. Gently slide one rice wrapper into the water; let sit for about 20 seconds to soften. Transfer wrapper to the cutting board (it will still be a bit firm); pat dry.
  
  


• Place 1 lettuce leaf half just below center of wrapper. Place a few tbsp of noodles and 1 avocado slice over lettuce; top with 2 mint and 2 cilantro leaves, then follow wrapping directions.
  
  
  • Arrange lettuce, noodles, avocado, and herbs just below the center of a rice wrapper.
    
    
  
  
  • Tightly fold the bottom of the wrapper up just to enclose ingredients. Place 3 shrimp halves in a row, pink side down, above the fold.
    
    
  
  
  • Fold in the sides and roll up to the top of the wrapper to form a cigar shape; press lightly on seam to seal.
    
    
  
  
  • Set the spring roll on a platter, seam side down, so shrimp shows through the top.
    
    
  
  


• Repeat with remaining ingredients to make 7 more rolls. Cover with a damp kitchen towel until ready to serve, or refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 hours.
  
  


• To make the dipping sauce: Use the back of a fork to mash garlic, sugar, and red pepper to form a grainy paste. Scrape paste into a small, heatproof serving bowl. Add hot water; let cool slightly. Stir in lime juice and fish sauce. Cut the rolls on a diagonal and serve with sauce on the side.
  
  

Nutrition score per serving (2 rolls, 2 tbsp. sauce): 236 calories, 6 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 41 g carbs, 6 g protein, 4 g Dietary fiber, 33 mg calcium, 2 mg iron, 780 mg sodium

Back to square one

Now that the glow of the Big Climb has worn off, and I can't use the stress of the event as an excuse to eat, it's time to get back to basics.

Tomorrow is my first Weight Watchers at work meeting, which means I'll have my first official weigh-in in weeks. Even though I've been faithfully going to my Saturday meetings I haven't been weighing in. I weigh at home, but it's just not the same. I need the accountability of the Weight Watcher weigh-ins.

I also haven't been to the gym for five days! A new record for me of being absent from something I was doing almost every day without even thinking about it.

I didn't mention this but last Tuesday I hurt my bad knee going down the 37 flights at the Sheraton (I used the elevator the second time). Going up the stairs doesn't hurt my knees at all. In fact, I've read that stair climbing is one of the lowest impact exercises possible, even lower impact than walking. Going down stairs is really hard on the body, especially the knees and hips. For stair climbing they always recommend using the elevator for going down. Except when I hurt my knee going down the stairs, it really starting hurting going up the stairs too. Not good.

After my workout last Wednesday where my knee was hurting pretty bad, I took off Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and Sunday (Big Climb day) from the gym. I only had an hour long walk on Thursday, but it was down and up a very steep hill, one mile each way, walking super fast with a coworker. It killed my knee. Luckily it was healed by the Big Climb on Sunday. Yesterday I was just lazy and skipped the gym.

It's 5:04 a.m. right now, and I'll be out the door in about 15 minutes heading to the gym. Back to my regular workouts.

Tracking my food and following the plan
I also haven't been tracking my food the last few days, and I even went out to lunch yesterday. Thai food, Cashew Chicken with white rice! I ate the entire thing. There must have been a lot of sodium in it because I was dying of thirst all afternoon and could barely get my ring off last night.

I haven't done anything like that in years. I'm always really careful when I eat out, ordering the lowest calorie item and only eating half. It was like the old me was back, and I don't really like the old me. The one that ate whatever and whenever she felt like it.

I'm nipping that in the bud. Back to healthy food, and tracking every bite.

Killing the nighttime eating monster
Anyone that's read my blog for a while knows I have a terrible time with eating late at night. Last night I decided that has to stop. It's been out of control lately. I decided that once I go to bed, that's it, I am done for the day. The restaurant is closed! No more getting up in the middle of the night and eating. I didn't use to do this, and I'm not even sure how it got started, but for the last year or so it's been my demon.

Even if it's healthy food, it has to stop. Last night was night number one of my new "rule". I thought about getting up a few times when I woke up at midnight and again at 1 a.m., but I didn't. I stayed in bed and eventually fell back to sleep. A little self-discipline is good for the soul (and the waistline!). It wasn't really that hard last night, but of course, I'd eaten much more than normal during the day. I know it'll be a lot harder now that I'll be back on plan.

Back to square one, what's always worked in the past will work again in the future.

Now for the gym!

Minestrone Soup

(makes 4-6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups water
  
  


• ½ cup chopped carrot
  
  


• ½ cup chopped celery
  
  


• ½ cup chopped onion
  
  


• 2 cloves finely chopped garlic
  
  


• 1 tsp crushed basil
  
  


• 1 tsp crushed oregano
  
  


• ⅛ tsp pepper
  
  


• 1 (15 oz.) can red kidney beans
  
  


• 1 (15 oz.) can chopped tomatoes
  
  


• ½ cup coarsely chopped cabbage
  
  


• ½ cup sliced zucchini
  
  


• ½ cup uncooked pasta
  
  

Preparation:

• Combine water, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, basil, oregano, and pepper in a large-size sauce pan. Heat to a boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
  
  


• Drain can of red kidney beans and add red kidney beans, tomatoes, cabbage, zucchini and pasta. Return to boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until pasta is tender. Serve immediately
  
  

Make 6 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (203 g)): 128 Calories, 6 g Protein, 26 g carbohydrates, 4 g Dietary Fiber, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 418 mg sodium

Day 80: Crazy, insane virus that's going around.

About a month ago I saw some posts on Facebook from friends that their families had been knocked out by a virus.  It certainly happens, especially when you have a handful of kids. What caught my attention though, was that the illness came in waves.  I knocked on wood and hoped my family would be spared.

Wishful thinking.

Two weeks ago, the youngest and my husband started to show signs of illness. Nothing major, just mild fevers and a cough.  Nearly a week went by and no one else had symptoms. I was feeling quite hopeful the virus was contained to them.  Of course, they got worse just as my daughters and I started to feel under the weather.  Knowing it was likely the virus I had heard about earlier, I didn't push through my symptoms like I typically would. I took the opportunity to take it easy and get caught up on my reading and cuddle with the sickies since we all had the same thing. After a couple of days of not feeling so hot I started to feel better, figured my time had passed.

Then it hit.

I had a fever of 103.6 at bedtime that night.  I don't remember the last time I had a fever so high.  My ears were ringing so loudly, I had a hard time going to sleep that night. The next day and for the remainder of the week, I felt like I did when I had mono.  No joke.  Even now, a week later after the fever, I still feel pretty fatigued.

I am happy to say that despite my disease, I worked out every day and I didn't let the virus keep me from my efforts. Of course I lightened up the routine, I didn't want to kill myself! I also learned that one of the best way to get rid of the chills is to exercise for five minutes.  Of course I felt like I got hit my a truck, but I was warm and toasty.  It's been a slow road back to the workout I was doing before I got sick, but with a little effort, I'll be back there in no time.

The most important thing about taking care of yourself is listening to your body. I know the last few days I wouldn't have been able to do a full workout, so I haven't. But that's the beauty of this goal, by working out everyday, it gets easy to read your body. There are days I feel I can do more then my usual routine, and I will endulge.  But other days, I feel like I need to pull back, and I listen.

Take care of yourself, the virus that's going around...it's a doozy. ;)

The Big Climb was totally AWESOME!!!

The Big Climb Seattle 2011

After all my worrying and fretting about being a Big Climb team captain, after kicking myself in the butt a zillion times because I didn't lose twenty or even ten pounds for the event, I would say today was one of the best days of my life!

My husband took a ton of pictures today (and many of them not at all flattering to me), but the one below is my absolute favorite.

The guy on the left is Steve, and our team was Alaska Airlines Climbing for Steve. Steve was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndromes (preleukemia) last August and had a stem cell transplant last fall. The guy on the right is one of our pilots, Paul. He was in the exact spot last year that Steve is now, recovering from a stem cell transplant after being diagnosed with MDS. This year Paul did the climb, and next year, both Paul and Steve will do the climb. I really love this picture. That's me in the back, on the right (with the bleached blond hair hiding behind people).

The anticipation and excitement was in the air when my husband and I entered the lobby of Columbia Center at 8:30am Sunday (my team's start time was 10:30am). It's a huge space, and it was packed with people, many wearing their team t-shirts. Most people were very fit and healthy looking. You could feel the adrenalin, as well as the fear that some of us first timers were feeling.

We arrived extra early because I wanted to make sure we had a space next to Starbucks on the main floor. It turned out not to be a problem because the Starbucks was located in an out of the way corner. I was a little worried no one would find us, but they all showed up.

Our company had two teams, my team, Climbing for Steve (since most of us knew him we wanted to honor him with a team just for him). The other team wasn't climbing for anyone specific. All together we had 60 people. Between the two teams we raised $8,500 dollars, which I thought was pretty good for a first time effort.

I was very surprised to see Steve show up to thank us in person. He had told me he would try to come, but if he wasn't feeling well, he might not make it. He's had a rough few weeks lately so I wasn't sure if he'd make it or not. Steve is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I've ever met. He made a little speech of gratitude to our team before we took off on our climb. It was very touching and made me cry.

As we were going up the escalators for our 10:30am start time I heard someone shout my name, "Diana!". I turned around and there was Alan from Pounds Off Playoff, with his wife and two kids. I recognized him from his blog picture. I yelled back a "Hi Alan, and Alan's wife and two kids!". I wish I could have spoken to him and his family. It's so cool to meet people that write blogs. It's like you know the person before you even meet them. But we were on our march to the start of the climb and there was no going back at that point.

I'm not going to kid you and say the climb of 69 floors or 1,311 steps was easy for me. It was not easy. It was hard. I slowed down a few times to let younger, more fit people pass me, but I never stopped and rested. My heart rate got up to 161 and stayed there for the last ten minutes. When I work out on the StairMaster at the gym (which is NOTHING like the real thing) my heart rate is usually in the 135-140 range, occasionally going up to 151.

A heart rate of 161 for ten minutes is extremely high for me, especially because of my age (55) my target heart rate (85% of maximum) is 140. I really felt like I was pushing myself hard, and I kept repeating over and over in my head, mind over matter, mind over matter...I can and will do this.

The hardest part was the first ten floors, because I knew how far I had to go and it seemed like a really long way to the 69th floor, the last ten floors were killer because I was exhausted! They number the last ten floors, each floor with a big sign, only ten more floors, only nine more floors, etc. Plus as you get close to the top there was a person at each landing cheering us on, saying things like "good job!" or "you're almost there!" The floors left numbers and the cheering really helped.

One thing that was so emotional for me was the big 8 1/2" x 11" photos on each floor. Several said "In memory of" and a name and date. Some said "In honor of" and a name. This gave me momentum to keep going. I couldn't help but think what each of these people and many others have gone through with cancer. If I could honor them by making this small sacrifice, then it was worth it.

The team t-shirt that really touched my heart the most was a team called Project Trevor. On the back of a bright orange t-shirt it had a picture of a young boy. Below the picture, it said "Dad, I have a question. Is Leukemia life threatening?" ~Trevor 2002. I saw some people wearing the t-shirt in the elevator and said to a woman, your t-shirt made me cry, but what a wonderful way to honor Trevor. She pointed to a man standing beside her and said that Trevor was his best friend's son. Then we all started to tear up a bit and someone said, "No tears here today! Only happy thoughts!" and we all laughed.

I looked up Team Trevor's web page and this is what their greeting said:

Project Trevor is the Big Climb Team Honoring Trevor Price, a young man, lost to Leukemia at 12 years of age. We have been a a key team in the recent growth of this fantastic event. We are encouraged by a young man that will forever be 12 years of age; a young man that was always older than his years.

Here's a link to more about Trevor. What's even sadder is that he lost his life five months after he was diagnosed with leukemia, at 12 years of age. Team Trevor raised $15,808.59 for today's event. Wow.

Sorry, I digress. Back to the actual climb. First of all, I didn't run it, but I was in the "racer" group so I could be timed. When I got to the sign that said "Five floors left!" I could hear the Rocky theme music (Gonna Fly Now). That really helped. It got louder and louder as I neared the top. You know the music, where Rocky is running up the steps in the movie.

So, are you wondering about my results?

Time:  19 minutes and 38 seconds
Place overall:  2635 out of 3242  <---these were the timed climbers, there was another 3,000 untimed
Pace by sex:  1100 out of 1499
Place in my age group:  91/131

Now those numbers aren't super fantastic, but dang, I'm kind of proud of it for my first time. Especially considering that I'm 55 years old and at least 30 pounds overweight (but not next year!).

Are you wondering how the 80-year old woman placed? Actually, this year she's 81.

Shirley Lansing, 81, 36 minutes and 36 seconds.

I hope I do that well when I'm 81!

My goal for next year, 15 minutes! I saw several people in their fifties did it in 15 minutes or less this year. Imagine how easy it would be if I was thirty or even fifty pounds lighter?

Overall, I really enjoyed this event. I talked to the other team captain and we're already scheming how to have one big team next year of over 100 people. If we raised $8,500 with 60 people, we can raise at least $10,000 (or more) with 100 people.

Speaking of weight
I weighed this morning when I got up.

186.4

Holy Crap Batman!

I've been stressed out a little over the Big Climb. It had some sort of negative effect on my eating. I realize that doesn't make any sense but it's almost like I had this overwhelming pressure to lose weight. I mean seriously, the fat girl is going to climb 69 floors and not have a heart attack? The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to eat. It was really odd how it made me feel.

Looking through all the pictures my husband took of me today, I'm looking very fat. There's just no other way to say it, but I can really see the weight on my body and face and I don't like it one little bit. Not to mention hauling this body up 69 flights was a lot harder than it should have been for me.

We have a Weight Watchers at work group that just started, and I'm joining it. It's on Wednesdays at noon for 17 weeks. We have over 20 people signed up so we get an extra discount with Weight Watchers for having over 20 people, and our company is paying for 30% of the fee. Plus I'm staying in my Saturday meetings and paying my online fee. So I'll have two meetings and two weighins a week for the next 17 weeks. I feel really excited that I'm going to finally make some headway on losing weight again.

Battle: Los Angeles
This post is already too long, but I have to tell you about the movie we saw this afternoon. Battle: Los Angeles. I loved it! It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire movie. I laughed, I cried, and was thoroughly entertained for almost two hours (but it seemed like twenty minutes).

It's a sci-fi with aliens-war-suspense-scary movie. All the stuff I love rolled into one movie. I'm sort of a weird female because I love war movies. I'm sure it's from being married to a big history buff for the last 23 years. I've seen more than my share of war movies (but I kind of like them now).

Anyway, I loved it. I know the ratings aren't the greatest, but it's one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Definitely worth seeing on the big screen.

I must still be high from my climb. I'm a real chatterbox tonight!

Manhattan Clam Chowder

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 (6½ oz.) cans of minced clams
  
  


• Low-fat cooking spray
  
  


• 2 chopped stalks celery
  
  


• 1 chopped carrot
  
  


• 1 chopped onion
  
  


• 1 (8 oz.) can of clamato juice (combination of clam and tomato juice)
  
  


• 2 cups chopped red potatoes
  
  


• 1 tsp crushed dried thyme
  
  


• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  
  


• Fresh ground pepper (to taste)
  
  


• 1 (14½ oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
  
  

Preparation:

• Drain the clams but reserve juice from the cans into a measuring cup and if necessary, add enough water to equal 1½ cups liquid, then set aside.
  
  


• Spray a large-size saucepan with low-fat cooking spray. Raise heat to medium-high heat then sauté celery, carrot, and onion for about 3-4 minutes or until crisp-tender.
  
  


• Stir in reserved clam juice, canned clamato juice, potatoes, thyme, cayenne and black pepper. Heat to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are just tender.
  
  


• Stir in the tomatoes and minced clams, heat again to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 2-3 minutes before serving.
  
  

Make 4 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(¼ of recipe (379 g)): 128 Calories, 4 g Protein, 29 g carbohydrates, 4 g Dietary Fiber, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 3 mg cholesterol, 658 mg sodium

Zero days until the Big Climb

In about eight hours I'll be getting up and getting dressed for the big climb. In about twelve hours I'll be lined up to start the climb of 1,311 steps.

I've picked out what I'm wearing, black cropped workout pants, a black sleeveless, v-neck workout top, the kind that stays dry (you can't see or feel the sweat, it wicks away, whatever that means), my favorite workout socks, and my favorite workout shoes. I have my heart rate monitor ready next to my socks so I don't forget it. Plus my gloves to wear so I won't be touching the bannister with my bare hands (I have a slight germ phobia about public stair bannisters--they're gross!).

I picked up the racing packets for my team in Seattle this morning and they're in the trunk of my car.

I had my hair cut and highlighted today so I'm ready for pictures. I had about an inch cut off, and it's really blond again (almost need sunglasses to look at it). No reverse highlights this time, just two tones of blond. I'm thinking it's a little bit too blond.

And I'm nervous as heck. I don't really know why but I feel anxious about this event. I know I can do the 69 floors, but I know it's going to be hard. My bad left knee has been bothering me a little since I did the Sheraton stairs on Tuesday (37 flights twice).

Maybe it's because I'm team captain, and I know I'm going to have to be all smiles and friendly. Basically, I'll have to be "on" as I meet and greet people tomorrow morning. I keep telling myself not to worry, it's no big deal, and it'll be over before I know it.

It's for a good cause, raising money for a good reason, to help the people that have leukemiaia, lymphoma or one of the other blood diseases. I keep telling myself that this is nothing in comparison to going through cancer. If you've ever known anyone that's gone through chemo, you know a little about the agony of having cancer.

This is basically about 35 minutes of my life where I'll have some discomfort climbing stairs. Imagine months of chemo, daily doctor visits, hospital stays, losing my hair, feeling sick and weak all the time. Nauseousness from the drugs, throwing up. Those are the people that are the heroes in this story.

Funny, I suddenly feel better about this whole thing. I'll report back tomorrow how it went. Hopefully I can beat that 80-year old woman's time from last year, 35 minutes.

Lentil Soup

(makes 4-6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dry lentils, picked over and rinsed
  
  


• 4 cups water
  
  


• 2 finely chopped carrots
  
  


• 1 (15 oz.) can chopped tomatoes
  
  


• 3 finely chopped garlic cloves
  
  


• 1 finely chopped onion
  
  


• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, or ½ tbsp dried flakes
  
  


• ¼ tsp cumin
  
  


• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  
  


• ½ tsp salt
  
  

Preparation:

• Pour water in a large-size saucepan. Add the lentils, bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes.
  
  


• Stir in carrots, tomatoes, garlic, onion and seasonings.
  
  


• Cover and cook another until lentils are tender (about 15 minutes).
  
  

Make 4 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(¼ of recipe (284 g)): 387 Calories, 29 g Protein, 70 g carbohydrates, 32 g Dietary Fiber, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 594 mg sodium

Gazpacho

(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 3 large tomatoes, diced
  
  


• 2 cups chopped cucumber
  
  


• 1 cup chopped onion
  
  


• 1 cup seeded and chopped green bell pepper
  
  


• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  
  


• 2 tsp olive oil
  
  


• 1 chopped garlic clove
  
  


• 1 cup water
  
  


• Salt and pepper to taste (optional)
  
  

Preparation:

• Place tomatoes, cucumber, onion, green bell pepper, red wine vinegar, olive oil and garlic in a blender and blend until desired consistency.
  
  


• Place vegetable mixture in a serving bowl, add water and stir thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 60 minutes.
  
  


• Add salt and pepper to taste. (salt and pepper not included in Nutrition Facts calculations.)
  
  

Make 6 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (179 g)): 54 Calories, 2 g Protein, 9 g carbohydrates, 2 g Dietary Fiber, 2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 10 mg sodium

New Ancestral Diet Review Paper

Pedro Carrera-Bastos and his colleagues Maelan Fontes-Villalba, James H. O'Keefe, Staffan Lindeberg and Loren Cordain have published an excellent new review article titled "The Western Diet and Lifestyle and Diseases of Civilization" (1). The paper reviews the health consequences of transitioning from a traditional to a modern Western diet and lifestyle. Pedro is a knowledgeable and tireless advocate of ancestral, primarily paleolithic-style nutrition, and it has been my privilege to correspond with him regularly. His new paper is the best review of the underlying causes of the "diseases of civilization" that I've encountered. Here's the abstract:

It is increasingly recognized that certain fundamental changes in diet and lifestyle that occurred after the Neolithic Revolution, and especially after the Industrial Revolution and the Modern Age, are too recent, on an evolutionary time scale, for the human genome to have completely adapted. This mismatch between our ancient physiology and the western diet and lifestyle underlies many so-called diseases of civilization, including coronary heart disease, obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, epithelial cell cancers, autoimmune disease, and osteoporosis, which are rare or virtually absent in hunter–gatherers and other non-westernized populations. It is therefore proposed that the adoption of diet and lifestyle that mimic the beneficial characteristics of the preagricultural environment is an effective strategy to reduce the risk of chronic degenerative diseases.

At 343 references, the paper is an excellent resource for anyone with an academic interest in ancestral health, and in that sense it reminds me of Staffan Lindeberg's book Food and Western Disease. One of the things I like most about the paper is that it acknowledges the significant genetic adaptation to agriculture and pastoralism that has occurred in populations that have been practicing it for thousands of years. It hypothesizes that the main detrimental change was not the adoption of agriculture, but the more recent industrialization of the food system. I agree.

I gave Pedro my comments on the manuscript as he was editing it, and he was kind enough to include me in the acknowledgments.

Fish Soup Provencale

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 8 oz fresh or frozen skinless and boneless haddock or halibut fillets (thaw fish if frozen)
  
  


• 1 small fennel bulb, stalks discarded and bulb chopped
  
  


• 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  
  


• 1 cup chopped onion
  
  


• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
  
  


• 1 cup dry white wine
  
  


• 1 tbsp grated orange peel
  
  


• 2 chopped garlic cloves
  
  


• 2 cups chopped tomatoes or 1 (14 oz.) can of chopped tomatoes, undrained
  
  


• 2 tbsp fresh thyme for garnish
  
  

Preparation:

• Rinse the fish well then pat dry with a paper towel. Cut into 1” pieces, set aside.
  
  


• Rinse the fennel thoroughly then cut in half. Thinly slice the fennel halves lengthwise.
  
  


• In a large-size saucepan, stir in the fennel, vegetable broth, onion, zucchini, white wine, orange peel and garlic. Bring to boiling then reduce to medium-heat, cover and simmer approximate 10 minutes.
  
  


• Stir in the fish, tomatoes and thyme to the broth and cook until fish becomes flaky when tested with a fork (about 4-5 minutes), then serve garnished with extra chopped thyme.
  
  

Make 4 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(¼ of recipe (536 g)): 194 Calories, 18 g Protein, 15 g carbohydrates, 4 g Dietary Fiber, 3 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 18 mg cholesterol, 129 mg sodium

Three days until the Big Climb!

 Grace, Me, and Roxie at Palomino's in Seattle

Not my best picture but Grace and Roxie look gorgeous.

Tuesday I had a wonderful lunch with Roxie and Grace in downtown Seattle. It was the first time I'd met Roxie. She's exactly like she is on her blog, sweet, really funny, charming, beautiful and skinny too! I absolutely love her. Seeing Grace again was very fun. She and Roxie are very much alike, and I adore them both.

After our fun lunch I climbed the stairs at the Sheraton, twice. 1,154 steps up total. It was 37 floors to the roof, but their floors are weird. Some are 30 or 40 steps, but most are only 15 steps. On my way home I stopped at the gym for thirty minutes on the bike and a half hour of lifting weights. This morning it was back at the gym for 30 minutes on the StairMaster. I'm planning a regular workout tomorrow, a light workout on Friday, probably the elliptical and some upper body weights, then nothing on Saturday. A day of rest before the big day, the Seattle Big Climb.

I'm a bit nervous about the climb. I'm sure I can do it, but I know it's going to be difficult. Going up 37 floors at the Sheraton in eight minutes yesterday was difficult, but thinking about 69 floors without a break is a little intimidating.

My eating has been pretty good, but not perfect. No junk food, but a little too much chicken and fruit. I've been tracking my food, tracking both calories and PointsPlus. Yesterday was 1900 calories but only 17 Points (I'm suppose to have 29). The new Weight Watchers plan is a struggle for me, I can't seem to figure it out. I think it's best if I stick with calories.

I missed breakfast this morning because I was running really late for work. I rarely miss breakfast. I had lunch out today at Anthony's Seafood at the airport (my favorite Sea-Tac airport restaurant). I had Cioppino - Wild Alaska salmon, Manila clams, Puget Sound mussels and lingcod simmered in a savory tomato herb broth. I love this stuff. The last time I had it though it was super salty. I asked the waiter to tell the chef to go really light on the salt. It was perfect!

Well, it's past my bedtime (midnight!). I'm going through a really bad spell lately of not being able to sleep through the night. I can fall asleep in a flash, but I wake up several times during the night, finally getting up exhausted in the morning. I have my annual physical coming up in a few weeks. I'm going to ask my doctor if I need a sleep study or something because something is wrong with me and it's making me crazy!

Dal - Indian Lentil Soup

(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup red or yellow lentils, sorted and rinsed
  
  


• 3 cups water
  
  


• ¼ tsp ginger, crushed
  
  


• ¼ tsp garlic clove, finely chopped
  
  


• ¼ tsp red chili powder
  
  


• ⅛ tsp turmeric
  
  


• ½ tsp salt (or to taste)
  
  


• 1 tsp cilantro (to garnish), finely chopped
  
  


• 1 small whole green chili, seeded and chopped
  
  

Preparation:

• In the large-size pan, Bring water to a boil. Add the lentils, ginger, garlic, chili powder and turmeric.
  
  


• Let cook for about 15 minutes.
  
  


• Add salt, green chili and let boil for about 1 minute.


• Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.
  
  

Make 6 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (32 g)): 116 Calories, 5 g Protein, 20 g carbohydrates, 2 g Dietary Fiber, 3 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 64 mg sodium

Corn and Tomato Soup

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

• Low-fat cooking spray
  
  


• 2 tsp vegetable oil (or olive oil)
  
  


• 1 (10 oz.) package frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
  
  


• 1½ tsp dried basil
  
  


• 1 (14.5 oz.) can low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
  
  


• 1 (10.75 oz.) can low-sodium tomato soup
  
  


• ½ tsp hot sauce
  
  


• Salt and pepper, to taste (optional)
  
  


• Non-fat sour cream (optional)
  
  

Preparation:

• Spray a large-size saucepan with low-fat cooking spray then heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add corn, basil and sauté for about 2 minutes.
  
  


• Stir in chicken broth, tomato soup, hot sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  
  


• Bring to boiling then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve with an optional dollop of sour cream.
  
  


• Salt and sour cream not calculated in Nutrition Facts
  
  

Make 4 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(¼ of recipe (252 g)): 116 Calories, 5 g Protein, 20 g carbohydrates, 2 g Dietary Fiber, 3 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 64 mg sodium

You know what they say about weight loss bloggers that don't post

When a weight loss blogger stops posting it's almost always a bad sign. Boy, is that ever true for me!

Tonight I looked back at my draft posts from the past week. These were posts I wrote, but could never actually make myself hit the publish post button. They had titles like "Disappointed", "Depressed", "Struggling". Each time I'd write about my life and re-read it, I'd think to myself, who would want to read this depressing stuff? If you weren't depressed when you started reading it, you'd certainly be depressed by the time you were done reading it.

I've had a bad few weeks. Actually it's been more like a bad few months. Okay, several bad months. About a week ago I seriously was considering the following:  divorcing my husband, quitting my job, and completely giving up on ever trying to get to a healthy weight. I wanted to run away from everything, including myself. Definitely bad times.

I'm not getting a divorce, and I'm liking my husband a lot more this past week. I'm not quitting my job. Even though it sucks the  life out of me at times, it's not a bad job. I love the company I work for and the people I work with. I like the work I do for the most part, I just need to figure out the life-work balance thing.

Weight loss or lack thereof
About getting to a healthy weight and how I've failed. Where do I start?

The last six months of trying to lose weight has not been successful. Almost every day was perfect from the time I woke up, all day until about 9 or 10 p.m. Then I just throw away an entire day's hard work and binge. Maybe it wasn't always an actual binge, but it was always too much food.

Usually I'd overeat healthy food, but a few times I bought candy or some other junk food and ate it late at night, alone. I probably did that four or five times in the last three or four months. Mostly I'd eat too much fruit or too much chicken, or some other healthy food but in a large quantity.

The last two weeks my exercise, the one thing I was good at doing, went south too. I was going to the gym at least five times a week, but most of my workouts were a struggle. I knew it was my 180+ weight that was making everything so difficult. A few weeks ago I was up to 187. I still went to the gym, but my eating wasn't good.

I've been going to my Weight Watchers meetings but not weighing in, and I stopped getting on my own scales at home. Not weighing every day is really a dangerous path for me.

Fortunately, whatever had been going on with me seems to have passed. Like my mom use to always say when I was having a difficult time in my life, this too shall pass...and it always does.

On Saturday I started tracking my food again and counting calories. I'm still struggling with the new Weight Watchers plan, the zero Points for fruit and most vegetables doesn't seem to work for me. I'm doing a hybrid of Weight Watchers, where I'm trying to follow their healthy eating guidelines, but also counting calories. When it comes down to the bottom line, it's really about the calories.

This morning I stepped on my scales at home. 182.2. Not much I can say about it. True, it's just a number, but it's also an indication of how poorly I've been doing with my goal of getting healthy.

Fun news
Tomorrow I get to meet Roxie in person. She's here in Seattle for a workshop. Grace, another blogger, and I are meeting Roxie in downtown Seattle for lunch. I consider both of them great bloggers. I met Grace last fall at a Geneen Roth workshop and loved her. I just know I'm going to love Roxie too. I've been following both their blogs for a long time. I want to be them when I grow up (make that if I grow up).

Big Climb update
Five days until the Seattle Big Climb on Sunday. Obviously I'm not going to lose the twenty pounds or even the ten pounds I wanted to lose before the event. I've stopped beating myself up about it. I can't change my past behavior so there's no purpose served by crying about it. I screwed up. Plain and simple.

In preparation for the Big Climb, I've been climbing the stairs at the Sea-Tac DoubleTree on my lunch hours. Last week on Tuesday and Thursday, and again today. Fourteen floors, climbed six times, or 1,350 steps. I don't take the elevator down, but walk down the stairs. It takes me thirty minutes for up and down fourteen times, and burns 230 calories according to my Polar heart rate monitor. Plus I've been doing the StairMaster at the gym almost every day. I keep thinking it's going to get easier, but it's still a killer every time.

Tomorrow after lunch with Grace and Roxie, my plan is to climb the stairs in the downtown Sheraton, 34 floors. If I climb it twice it'll be 68 floors, comparable to the 69 floors in the Columbia Tower for the Big Climb on Sunday. I'm sure it's going to be a challenge but I want to see if I can do it without passing out. :)

Thankfully my workouts are back to normal. I feel stronger and have more energy. I'm starting to feel like my old self.

My plan
My plan for the next week is to keep exercising, keep tracking my food and get back to daily posts. Even if my life isn't going perfectly, it helps to write about it. I'm back.