Hello to anyone reading this - classmates or not!
June 13 was the one month anniversary for me of starting the 12-day program, and being compliant with food. I'm so very excited to have a full month (+ a few days) of TIME AND ADHERANCE under my belt! It's a start!
Potatoes continue to be my miracle food.
I'm on a cabbage kick right now, so for the moment, I'll call cabbage my miracle non-starchy vegetable LOL! I steam it in the microwave, then add the "table blend" version of Mrs. Dash, a small sprinking of regular salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Yum yum! I've been eating that first, (HUGE bowl!) and then my potatoes. There are other non-starchy vegetables sprinkled in, but I probably stick with steams cabbage about half the time.
Today I made something I've been wanting to try for breakfast. I've heard about people adding riced cauliflower to their oatmeal in order to follow the MWL guidelines, and just to lower the calorie density of the meal, even if not strictly MWL. I do not consider myself to be following strict MWL, although I think the majority of my meals probably meet the guidelines. At any rate, Jeff Novick is in my head suggesting I be mindful of calorie density, keep an eye on the healthy eating placemat, etc. So I made what used to be 4 servings of oatmeal (1/2 cup oats, 1/2 apple, 1/2 cup blueberries, 2 cups water per serving) and turned it into 6 servings by adding 2 pouches of steamed riced cauliflower to the pot. So the volume was the same or maybe a little more, but the calories and calorie density went down. I initially could taste the cauliflower, which was unusual for me in oatmeal. But I like cauliflower, so not a bad taste (to me). Just different. I think next time I will steam the cauliflower a bit longer to give it an even softer texture. Then I think it will blend right in and hardly be noticeable. Now that I've stuck my toe in this water, I can see myself trying savory oats, which I've never quite gotten the full desire to do before.
I should just put some potatoes in my oats!
Then I would probably want to add ketchup, and I think it would be downhill in a hurry after that!
I went out to eat on Monday while my brother was in town. My husband and I virtually never eat out, so that was a new adventure. Brother and I met up in a very small town that is about half way between where he was staying and where I live. So no many restaurant options. I could only find one where there was a hope of compliant food! I called ahead to make sure they would have a couple of baked potatoes with no oil on the skins for me, which they did. What they did not end up having once I got there were any cooked vegetable options (I don't eat salad because I have braces on my teeth). The waitress was SO nice and kept running back and forth to the kitchen just to make sure we explored all options and double checking about added oils/fats. So when all we could come up with was a baked potato, I gave her a huge smile, a huge thank you, and asked her to bring me a second baked potato. And ketchup. I LOVE EATING THIS WAY!
Exercise has been derailed the last couple of days due to my bad knee. Neither knee is great (both have arthritis issues) but one knee also has a torn miniscus. It was scoped, but I have continued to have problems so I don't think the job was done completely. So sometimes I will get really painful twinges. I have to just rest it for a couple of days and then it's better and I can resume. I probably pushed things a little too fast with distance. I hope to start back walking again tomorrow and I think I will stay in the 1 - 2 mile range for a while. I think the 3 mile day was the problem. What I DON'T want to do is use these occassional knee events as an excuse to just quit all together. Somebody please help me stay accountable!
I weighed in at 182.8 today! So continuing to make progress on that front. SOMEONE NOTICED TODAY! That was a first! "Have you lost weight?" That was music to my ears! I still have at least 30 pounds to go, and perhaps ideally 40 pounds to go (I am 5'9") but I'm so happy about this progress. And not being hungry! Miracle miracle miracle!
Well, that's it for today. With the toxic food world we live in, I am so happy that the fat I SEE is not the fat I wear!