Our newest Neighbor, Lorri is our official 10,000th member of the LivingAfterWLS Neighborhood -- Welcome to the Neighborhood Lorri - You Have Arrived!!
Celebrate with Us
This is a wonderful milestone for the Neighborhood and a true reflection of the community we have here that is now 5 years old with a strong population of people from around the world doing our best with weight loss surgery!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Penne with Spring Vegetables
(makes 6 servings)
Ingredients:
- Non-fat cooking spray
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into small pieces
- 2½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 cups yellow squash, cubed
- ¾ cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 (16 oz.) package of penne pasta (cook according to package instructions, drain)
- 6 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
- Salt and pepper, to taste (optional)
Preparation:
- Spray a large skillet with cooking spray then heat over medium heat.
- Add garlic and onion then cook for about 3 minutes, stirring often.
- Add asparagus and cook an additional 3 minutes.
- Stir in the tomatoes and squash and cook for about 3 minutes.
- Add the broth and reduce heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered for about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Toss pasta with the vegetable mixture and basil then serve.
Make 6 Servings:
Weight Loss Recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (296 g)): 330 Calories, 13 g Protein, 66 g carbohydrates, 5 g Dietary Fiber, 2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 23 mg sodiumMonday, June 13, 2011
Blue Monday
Why a blue Monday you ask? Well...
1. My eating was a off this weekend. I felt like I was starving all weekend and overindulged in healthy foods. I gained almost two pounds. 189.2 this morning. Ugh!
2. After an awesome workout Saturday and a lazy day afterwards, I had a ton of chores to catch up on yesterday. I ended the day with some sort of hay fever attack (probably from all the dust as I cleaned like a maniac).
3. Because of the hay fever, which I couldn't get under control with Allegra, I took Benadryl (aka knockout drug). When I woke up this morning after a fitful night of nightmares, which included a continuing saga of dead and live mice, I woke up exhausted at 4:45am (my normal get up and get to the gym time). I skipped the gym this morning (shame one me).
4. The battle with the slugs continued yesterday. My two hanging baskets by the front door (purchased at Costco), look pretty good. The two I made myself that were pretty when I first hung them actually looked hideous. The flowers were getting smaller instead of larger. I took them down, had a look and they had slugs! Slugs in hanging baskets? I guess I planted slugs with the flowers unless they climbed up the side of the house and jumped into the baskets. Somehow, I don't think so. I replaced several of the flowers (after a trip to the nursery) and right now they're gorgeous again. I also added a dose of the organic slug bait, just in case. The flower beds look good, although I noticed the slug bait has what looks like fuzzy mold growing on it.
5. It's Monday and even though I'm not really dreading work, I have a ton of stuff on my plate. I'm just sort of dreading how busy it's going to be today. I'm exhausted from the Benadryl hangover and would really rather go back to bed.
6. I want to eat my egg/Canadian bacon/2% sharp cheddar cheese combo on a sandwich thin. I'm going to have a 300 calorie green monster instead. The life of a fat girl I guess.
7. It's 52 degrees right now and it's 7:30am. Seriously, I'm so freaking sick of this weather I could scream. The sky is dark gray and of course, we have the promise of "precipitation" today. I want to move back to San Diego. Yes, we have pretty mountains and it's gorgeous green in the Northwest. When the sun shines, it's the prettiest place you've ever seen. WHEN the sun shines, like almost NEVER.
8. I credit the above ranting about the weather and this looney tunes post to the Benadryl. It makes me tired and sad, but it stops the allergies when they go into overdrive like they did last night. I think I need a different drug for hayfever, which I'll ask about at my annual physical in July (which is about five months late).
9. Speaking of physical, this isn't going to be fun. I have to have my third mammogram in a year in a half (every six months whether I need it or not due to something they found almost two years ago). I have to have another ultrasound of my thyroid because of the nodules they found a year ago. My blood pressure is up because of my weight so I suspect they'll want to put me back on blood pressure medicine. It's been running around 149/90. Yes, I know, that's terrible. Lastly, I know I'm going to get talked to about my weight. I have a wonderful doctor but she doesn't mince words. Which I actually appreciate that she doesn't pretend the weight is okay, like a lot of doctors do. She'll say something.
10. I need to put a smile on my face and get over this feeling. None of this stuff is life threatening (although that blood pressure might kill me). Trying to think happy thoughts. :)
1. My eating was a off this weekend. I felt like I was starving all weekend and overindulged in healthy foods. I gained almost two pounds. 189.2 this morning. Ugh!
2. After an awesome workout Saturday and a lazy day afterwards, I had a ton of chores to catch up on yesterday. I ended the day with some sort of hay fever attack (probably from all the dust as I cleaned like a maniac).
3. Because of the hay fever, which I couldn't get under control with Allegra, I took Benadryl (aka knockout drug). When I woke up this morning after a fitful night of nightmares, which included a continuing saga of dead and live mice, I woke up exhausted at 4:45am (my normal get up and get to the gym time). I skipped the gym this morning (shame one me).
4. The battle with the slugs continued yesterday. My two hanging baskets by the front door (purchased at Costco), look pretty good. The two I made myself that were pretty when I first hung them actually looked hideous. The flowers were getting smaller instead of larger. I took them down, had a look and they had slugs! Slugs in hanging baskets? I guess I planted slugs with the flowers unless they climbed up the side of the house and jumped into the baskets. Somehow, I don't think so. I replaced several of the flowers (after a trip to the nursery) and right now they're gorgeous again. I also added a dose of the organic slug bait, just in case. The flower beds look good, although I noticed the slug bait has what looks like fuzzy mold growing on it.
5. It's Monday and even though I'm not really dreading work, I have a ton of stuff on my plate. I'm just sort of dreading how busy it's going to be today. I'm exhausted from the Benadryl hangover and would really rather go back to bed.
6. I want to eat my egg/Canadian bacon/2% sharp cheddar cheese combo on a sandwich thin. I'm going to have a 300 calorie green monster instead. The life of a fat girl I guess.
7. It's 52 degrees right now and it's 7:30am. Seriously, I'm so freaking sick of this weather I could scream. The sky is dark gray and of course, we have the promise of "precipitation" today. I want to move back to San Diego. Yes, we have pretty mountains and it's gorgeous green in the Northwest. When the sun shines, it's the prettiest place you've ever seen. WHEN the sun shines, like almost NEVER.
8. I credit the above ranting about the weather and this looney tunes post to the Benadryl. It makes me tired and sad, but it stops the allergies when they go into overdrive like they did last night. I think I need a different drug for hayfever, which I'll ask about at my annual physical in July (which is about five months late).
9. Speaking of physical, this isn't going to be fun. I have to have my third mammogram in a year in a half (every six months whether I need it or not due to something they found almost two years ago). I have to have another ultrasound of my thyroid because of the nodules they found a year ago. My blood pressure is up because of my weight so I suspect they'll want to put me back on blood pressure medicine. It's been running around 149/90. Yes, I know, that's terrible. Lastly, I know I'm going to get talked to about my weight. I have a wonderful doctor but she doesn't mince words. Which I actually appreciate that she doesn't pretend the weight is okay, like a lot of doctors do. She'll say something.
10. I need to put a smile on my face and get over this feeling. None of this stuff is life threatening (although that blood pressure might kill me). Trying to think happy thoughts. :)
Pear, Walnut and Roquefort Cheese Salad
(makes 6 servings)
Ingredients for vinaigrette:
- ½ cup canned whole-berry cranberry sauce
- ¼ cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
- ¼ tsp salt
Ingredients for salad:
- 4 cups salad greens
- 2 ripe pears, cored and sliced
- 2 tbsp fresh-squeezed orange juice
- 1 small red onion, sliced
- ⅓ cup Roquefort cheese, crumbled
- 2 tbsp walnuts, coarsely chopped
Preparation:
- Whisk together all vinaigrette ingredients In a medium-size bowl.
- Arrange salad greens on six plates. Toss pear slices with the 2 tbsp of orange juice then divide pears and onion slices among the salad plates on top of greens.
- Top each serving evenly with crumbled Roquefort cheese and walnuts.
- Drizzle each plate with vinaigrette to desired amount.
Make 6 Servings:
Weight Loss Recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (113 g)): 158 Calories, 6 g Protein, 17 g carbohydrates, 3 g Dietary Fiber, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 44 mg sodiumSunday, June 12, 2011
Peanut Fruit Salad
(makes 4-6 servings)
Ingredients:
- 1 (8 oz.) can pineapple, crushed
- 1 cup carrots, peeled and shredded
- 1 cup apples (or pears), chopped
- ½ cup peanuts
- ⅓ cup plain low-fat yogurt
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- ¼ cup raisins (optional)
Preparation:
- Stir together the pineapple, carrots, apples, peanuts and raisins in a medium-sized bowl.
- Blend together the yogurt and peanut butter in another bowl.
- Add the yogurt dressing to the salad and stir to coat.
Make 6 Servings:
Weight Loss Recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (113 g)): 158 Calories, 6 g Protein, 17 g carbohydrates, 3 g Dietary Fiber, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 44 mg sodiumSaturday, June 11, 2011
Day 162: Hormones
Remember a few posts ago when I mentioned I was reading books by Diana Schwarzbein and that I would share things that were interesting? Well, here's the first post regarding my reading.
In my last post I talked about my youth and how my eating habits in high school, namely low fat/protein eating caused problems. In my reading today, it totally talked about it.
"Your hormones are the messengers between the different cells and systems of your body...for you to remain healthy, you need to keep your hormones balanced so they can communicate effectively with each other and with your cells, thereby keeping your metabolism working efficiently.
"In order to produce new hormones, you have to eat food that has the necessary material for your body to make them. Because hormones are mainly made from proteins, cholesterol and essential fats, eating a balanced diet that includes these nutrients is essential for life balance."
Is it any wonder why a low fat/protein diet is so damaging? I'm of course not advocating a high fat or high protein diet. No way! It's all about BALANCE!! You can't eat imbalanced portions of the macro-nutrients (fat, protein, carbohydrates) and expect to be healthy. It's impossible. Sure, you might lose some weight, but at what cost? If you damage your metabolism, it will come back to bit you in the bum. Literally.
In my last post I talked about my youth and how my eating habits in high school, namely low fat/protein eating caused problems. In my reading today, it totally talked about it.
"Your hormones are the messengers between the different cells and systems of your body...for you to remain healthy, you need to keep your hormones balanced so they can communicate effectively with each other and with your cells, thereby keeping your metabolism working efficiently.
"In order to produce new hormones, you have to eat food that has the necessary material for your body to make them. Because hormones are mainly made from proteins, cholesterol and essential fats, eating a balanced diet that includes these nutrients is essential for life balance."
Is it any wonder why a low fat/protein diet is so damaging? I'm of course not advocating a high fat or high protein diet. No way! It's all about BALANCE!! You can't eat imbalanced portions of the macro-nutrients (fat, protein, carbohydrates) and expect to be healthy. It's impossible. Sure, you might lose some weight, but at what cost? If you damage your metabolism, it will come back to bit you in the bum. Literally.
Weekend update / 187.4
Saturday!
It's Saturday! I love Saturday. It's my favorite day of the week. It's the first day of the weekend, with thoughts of relaxation and doing what I want, when I want to do it. Well, sort of. It often turns into housework, laundry, shopping for the week, and then collapsing at the end of the day.
Last weekend, by the end of the weekend I was drop dead exhausted from cleaning, normal weekend chores, and yard work. Sunday night at 6pm I decided to wash my car, which turned into a two-hour chore. This weekend I plan on doing the bare minimum of housework, and a lot of relaxing.
Speaking of yard work, can someone explain to me why my poor little flowers look stunted from the cold weather, lack of sun, and an over abundance of rain, yet the weeds are more prolific then ever?
My hanging baskets, that are usually in their full glory by now, look pretty much the same as when I bought them three weeks ago. I know it doesn't do any good to complain about the weather, but can we at least have a little sunshine and warmth? We've suffered through nine months of dark and rain, and I'm starting to think summer is never going to come to the Northwest.
With the nasty weather, the slugs have gone to crazytown. Last weekend I bought some organic, all-natural slug bait. It's not toxic to humans or pets, but it is toxic to the slugs. Later I read to use beer, which I was going to try if the slug bait didn't work. It did and we seem to be free of the little beasts for now. Although I had already picked about 30 of the slimy monsters off my Gerbera Daisies (slugs are so gross!). I put them in the recycle bin where they can much to their hearts content.
Great book
I'm reading a really book, Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. At work I get sent boxes of books every two weeks that were left on board our aircraft by our passengers and were unclaimed. I set them out on a table at work for people to purchase. All the money goes to an employees assistant fund at work. I limit my own purchases to two books per box (there are usually 20-30 books per box).
I've seen Lovely Bones come through several times and each time I'd read the back of the book. and think, this sounds way too depressing. It came in again last week and someone saw me looking at it and told me it was one of the best books they've ever read. So I bought it, and I could barely put it down. I'm about three-fourths of the way through it and I don't want it to end. Really good book if you can get through the first chapter (no details, but it's a little disturbing--but the rest of the book makes up for it).
Diet and exercise
Since this is a "weight-loss blog" I should say something about how I'm doing in this area of my life. I'm doing pretty good, not perfect, but much better than the past several weeks. I seem to have pulled out of my depression/pity party I was having for myself. I've been waking up happy and feeling like life is good. I'm not dreading my days or hating my job. Things are much better in all areas.
I only tracked my food one day last week, but I ate better than I have in weeks (no sugar). My weight this morning was 187.4. Not fabulous, but at least I'm finally going the other direction.
I seem to have gotten a handle on the night eating. It sounds sort of silly to say this, but I made up a rule for myself that seems to be working. When I go to bed, I don't allow myself get up to go eat. In fact, I try to not even go near the kitchen after I go to bed.
I don't know why this is working for me or what prompted me to just say enough with the night eating. Stop it. I actually listened to the voice in my head and haven't gotten up in the middle of the night to eat for several nights. I'm not saying it's a guarantee that I won't do it again, but I feel like I'm breaking the cycle I was in.
I didn't make it to Weight Watchers today, but I'm going tomorrow morning. There's a 9:30 meeting I plan on attending. It's not my favorite leader, but at least it's a meeting and an official weighin.
My exercise was good last week, and it got better as the week progressed. Yesterday was the best workout I've had in weeks. Even though I've been going to the gym or walking almost every day, my heart hasn't been in it. Last week I could feel myself getting my old enthusiasm back. I had a great workout yesterday. Thirty minutes on the StairMaster and a full forty minutes up upper body weights.
I've added a little twist to my workouts. I have to try out a new exercise or a new machine at least twice a week and add a challenge for myself at least once a week. Yesterday my challenge was to increase the dumbbell weight for my concentrated bicep curls from 20 pounds to 25. I had been completing three sets, 15 reps each set with the 20-pound dumbbell. I knew it was getting too easy, but I've been lazy and not interested in challenging myself. Yesterday I tried three sets of 12 reps each with the 25-dumbbell. It was hard, especially by the third set, but I did it!
I'm feeling very hopeful and happy. Life is good, and it's getting better.
It's Saturday! I love Saturday. It's my favorite day of the week. It's the first day of the weekend, with thoughts of relaxation and doing what I want, when I want to do it. Well, sort of. It often turns into housework, laundry, shopping for the week, and then collapsing at the end of the day.
Last weekend, by the end of the weekend I was drop dead exhausted from cleaning, normal weekend chores, and yard work. Sunday night at 6pm I decided to wash my car, which turned into a two-hour chore. This weekend I plan on doing the bare minimum of housework, and a lot of relaxing.
Speaking of yard work, can someone explain to me why my poor little flowers look stunted from the cold weather, lack of sun, and an over abundance of rain, yet the weeds are more prolific then ever?
My hanging baskets, that are usually in their full glory by now, look pretty much the same as when I bought them three weeks ago. I know it doesn't do any good to complain about the weather, but can we at least have a little sunshine and warmth? We've suffered through nine months of dark and rain, and I'm starting to think summer is never going to come to the Northwest.
With the nasty weather, the slugs have gone to crazytown. Last weekend I bought some organic, all-natural slug bait. It's not toxic to humans or pets, but it is toxic to the slugs. Later I read to use beer, which I was going to try if the slug bait didn't work. It did and we seem to be free of the little beasts for now. Although I had already picked about 30 of the slimy monsters off my Gerbera Daisies (slugs are so gross!). I put them in the recycle bin where they can much to their hearts content.
Great book
I'm reading a really book, Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. At work I get sent boxes of books every two weeks that were left on board our aircraft by our passengers and were unclaimed. I set them out on a table at work for people to purchase. All the money goes to an employees assistant fund at work. I limit my own purchases to two books per box (there are usually 20-30 books per box).
I've seen Lovely Bones come through several times and each time I'd read the back of the book. and think, this sounds way too depressing. It came in again last week and someone saw me looking at it and told me it was one of the best books they've ever read. So I bought it, and I could barely put it down. I'm about three-fourths of the way through it and I don't want it to end. Really good book if you can get through the first chapter (no details, but it's a little disturbing--but the rest of the book makes up for it).
Diet and exercise
Since this is a "weight-loss blog" I should say something about how I'm doing in this area of my life. I'm doing pretty good, not perfect, but much better than the past several weeks. I seem to have pulled out of my depression/pity party I was having for myself. I've been waking up happy and feeling like life is good. I'm not dreading my days or hating my job. Things are much better in all areas.
I only tracked my food one day last week, but I ate better than I have in weeks (no sugar). My weight this morning was 187.4. Not fabulous, but at least I'm finally going the other direction.
I seem to have gotten a handle on the night eating. It sounds sort of silly to say this, but I made up a rule for myself that seems to be working. When I go to bed, I don't allow myself get up to go eat. In fact, I try to not even go near the kitchen after I go to bed.
I don't know why this is working for me or what prompted me to just say enough with the night eating. Stop it. I actually listened to the voice in my head and haven't gotten up in the middle of the night to eat for several nights. I'm not saying it's a guarantee that I won't do it again, but I feel like I'm breaking the cycle I was in.
I didn't make it to Weight Watchers today, but I'm going tomorrow morning. There's a 9:30 meeting I plan on attending. It's not my favorite leader, but at least it's a meeting and an official weighin.
My exercise was good last week, and it got better as the week progressed. Yesterday was the best workout I've had in weeks. Even though I've been going to the gym or walking almost every day, my heart hasn't been in it. Last week I could feel myself getting my old enthusiasm back. I had a great workout yesterday. Thirty minutes on the StairMaster and a full forty minutes up upper body weights.
I've added a little twist to my workouts. I have to try out a new exercise or a new machine at least twice a week and add a challenge for myself at least once a week. Yesterday my challenge was to increase the dumbbell weight for my concentrated bicep curls from 20 pounds to 25. I had been completing three sets, 15 reps each set with the 20-pound dumbbell. I knew it was getting too easy, but I've been lazy and not interested in challenging myself. Yesterday I tried three sets of 12 reps each with the 25-dumbbell. It was hard, especially by the third set, but I did it!
I'm feeling very hopeful and happy. Life is good, and it's getting better.
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