It's good to be able to see the many ways our lives have changed from losing weight. Aside from the obvious visual changes, there are many situations that we can look back at and see the pain we were in, pain we were not even aware of until it's gone and we bump into again.
Oh happy me at a great conference
I've been out of town at a conference this week and it is at this conference that I bumped into an old pain and a new non-scale victory. Perhaps some of you can relate.

I was running late to one of the workshops, and when I entered the room the speaker was already well into his intro speech. I quickly scanned the room looking for a place to sit, the room was pretty full and there weren't a lot of empty seats. I like the front row and so I wormed my way to the front of the room and slipped quietly into one of the empty seats in the first row to the right of the speaker.

I then settled in, pulled out my laptop and focused on the topic of the hour. A few moments later, I became aware that the guy next to me was spilling over to my chair. I realized that that was me 2 years ago. I sensed he was uncomfortable in his chair, as he fidgeted most of the 45 minutes we were at that workshop.

Two years ago, I too spilled over to the chair next to me in these kinds of crowded rooms. I would also be wiggling around in my seat and so aware and embarrassed that my body was covering part of the seats on both sides of me.

I also realized that two years ago I would never have chosen a front row seat, not after the speaker had begun. I would have found a seat in the back, or if there were no seats that I could get to without having to push my obese body through a row of seated people and “bothering” someone, I would have left the workshop. I may even have gone to my hotel room and had a good cry.

Not spilling over to the seat next to me - non-scale victory – indeed!
October 10, 2013
Just had this for dinner. 10 mins. prep time, then throw it in the crock pot. Leave for work and it's ready when you get back.

2 large cans Hunts whole peeled tomatoes
1 small can of Hunts tomato paste
1 lb ground pork, browned and drained
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 medium polska kielbasa, cooked and cubed
2 green bell peppers
1 medium yellow onion
1 C cubed turnip (about 1 small turnip root)
1 T chili power
1 T garlic powder
2 t ground cumin
1/4 C chopped parsley
1/2 t kosher salt
1/4 t ground black pepper

1. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste to the crock pot. Mash with a potato masher (it's good to know it can still be used for SOMETHING) just until they're flat, not until they're crushed. It's a texture thing.

2. Add the meat and veggies along with all the seasonings.

3. Give it a good stir and let the magic happen.

Set the crock pot to low if you have more than 6 hours to wait for it. I start mine on high and turn it down to low after 3 hours. The end result is savory, soupy and has just the right amount of heat. Every bite has a nice balance of meat and veggies, just like we like it. If you are so inclined you can use a packet of chili seasoning from McCormick or Old El Paso and add extra cumin and chili powder to taste instead of fussing with individual ingredients.

I use Hunts tomatoes because they taste the best and they aren't stewed or peeled using chemicals. Probably not organic but better than any other commercial brand.

Enjoy!



October 02, 2013
This past Saturday I found myself in a unique spot.

I had two meetups: one in Salem with a meetup group then one in southern Maine, about two hours further away, at night with another.

The one at night began with a potluck.

Do you see where this is going?

My standing rule is that when attending these gatherings, I bring something I can eat and I bring a lot to make sure I get some.

Well, that's hard to do when you have to leave food sitting in your car all day, especially meat.

I know *I* wouldn't eat meat I knew had been sitting in a car for 10 hours.

So I bought salad and dressing and threw it in a cooler bag with some cold packs.

It worked. It was nice and cold and crisp and I could say I contributed something.

Here's the problem: there was no return on investment.

There was literally NOTHING on that table I could eat.

Nada.

Niente.

Usually *somebody* brings some wings or meatballs... SOMETHING.

But there was nothing.

It was about 8:00 PM.

I had last eaten at 2:00 PM.

I would not get to eat again until after 7:00 AM the next day due to where we were and what we were doing there.

No one would have blamed me for taking a hall pass.

The pasta looked good.

So did the pizza.

The pies, donuts and cakes looked divine.

It was the birthday of the group leader. Was I really going to insult her by not sharing a piece of cake?

Well, I'll end the suspense. No, I did not eat that night.

Truth be told, I wasn't all that hungry. I had water. I had coffee.

When I got up in the morning I wasn't particularly hungry either.

I felt like I could eat, but it wasn't crucial.

In fact, it was another two hours before I would find something to eat and by the time I did I was contemplating continuing on home because I wasn't *that* hungry.

The only reason I stopped was because I had only slept about four hours and I had three hours to drive home. I wanted to make sure I had enough energy to make it.

So I ate.

The best part was being told, "You look incredible. You even move lighter. I see no pain in your face anymore. You don't wince when you stand up. Your eyes are wide open and there are no dark circles, and even your voice and demeanor are lighter. You are losing emotional weight along with physical weight."

Being told that made that little forced fast worth it.

I used to do a lot of justifying.

I would pull through the drive-thru and assure myself that "one more of these meals is not going to, by definition, make things worse."

I would make excuses like, "It would be rude not to try ______ after someone worked so hard to make it."

I also justified it by telling myself that I could be dealing wit my issues with alcohol or drugs but I choose to deal with them with "less harmful" things like toll house cookies and sour patch kids.

The cookies and junk food were killing me, just like alcohol or drugs would.

And, let's just face it. I was told that I no longer looked like a junkie. Seriously, just read it again. I was told that I looked sick and now I look well.

I was told that I once acted sick now I act well.

People who had seen me attack things like cake and pie were astounded when I didn't grab a dozen munchkins to eat with my coffee.

And those munchkins were in every. single. room. during that meetup. It was insane.

So, yeah. I missed a meal.

I survived.

And I have still never cheated on the diet.

It's not time to turn the "Days Without Incident" tracker back to zero just yet.

And I'm still losing weight.

Days without incident: 134
September 30, 2013
Here's one of the easiest meatball recipes ever. Remove bag from freezer. Open bag. Pour into sauce pan and top with a jar of your favorite tomato sauce. Heat for 30 minutes. Enjoy. Oh, for those of you with microwaves, it's even quicker!
Angus Beef Meatballs
I had these meatballs at a "friend of Julie's" house one sunny afternoon this past summer. She baked them in the oven and then served barbecue sauce on the side. They were yummy this way too - with and without the barbecue sauce.

For those of you with a spirooli, serve these meatballs on top of your zucchini "noodles."

Of course, I'm not saying these are better than my own homemade meatballs. No way. But they are delicious and it's great to have something you can pull from the freezer when you just don't fee like grocery shopping.
September 29, 2013
I talked about vanilla in my last post, Plateaus and Condiments, but I have a little more to say about vanilla. After reading the comment "Julie told my group no vanilla," posted after one of my recent recipes (a pumpkin drink with vanilla), I paused. What? Is this true - no vanilla? Yes, it's true: no vanilla.
Vanilla is not on program.
A week later at my refresher, Julie told us "no vanilla." I hadn't been to my refresher when I read the comment, so I turned to my key friends and asked them questions about vanilla. An interesting thread followed. Based on their feedback, I no longer post dessert-like recipes to this blog. I  also pulled the recipe for the pumpkin drink.

Why can't we have vanilla? We are heading for trouble when we have "dessert" type foods. After a summer of treats last year that I thought were "on program," I pulled a recipe that pushed the envelope: it contained half and half. I was so sure that was on program; half and half is not on program. I heard this directly from Julie too. I'm sure these kinds of treats put me into a plateau last summer. The key word here is treats -- we are not allowed treats. We're either hungry or we're not hungry. There is no snacking or treats.

Vanilla seems controversial among us, but since I heard "no vanilla" from Julie last week, I'm tossing my bottle right now. I did not toss it out with my condiments a few days ago, because it wasn't in the refrigerator. But I saw it on the counter while making coffee this morning and said to myself, take a photo for the blog and then toss it!

BTW, I reviewed my recipes, but if you find one with vanilla or any ingredients that you question we can have, please post a comment to draw my attention to review it.

Here are some of the responses from my key friends about vanilla and a few more things for you to think about:  
  • Julie told our group not to use it; something about the mind thinking it was a sweetener. 
  • Julie's assistant told me no vanilla. She said I was searching for a way to get my drink sweetness back.  
  • It goes back to "do what you heard directly from Julie." I remember her talking about the whisper game, where someone whispers a sentence into the first person’s ear, and that person tells the next person, etc. until it comes full circle. In the end, it's never the same sentence! 
  • Think about it: if we didn't have these groups or refreshers and were on our own, we would only be following what we heard in our first three sessions. Some of us go to refreshers and find that changes have been made. I believe that it's at that point when you need to do it differently. If you hear Julie say it's been changed, then it has to change. 
  • I have been to many refreshers where she changed things up a bit. I think the reason is because so many people push the limits and get into trouble. 
  • I believe that there has to be some level of self- honesty involved. If you are abusing ANY “allowed” foods, you are only hurting yourself and need to change that behavior, or it will lead you on a path of destruction.
So, I ask you: vanilla or no vanilla? Do you go with what you're hearing about vanilla now or what you heard at your session? Have things changed or has Julie just clarified things she's heard we are eating that we shouldn't be eating? We each have to decide for ourselves.

For me, I'm not letting a little thing like vanilla get between me and my goal size. Not anymore! It's the little things like this that may have slowed me down on my journey and I'm not willing to be slowed down any longer.
September 29, 2013
How fresh are the bottles of condiments sitting in your refrigerator right now? Do you know if they're less than a month old? If your condiments are more than 30 days old - this may be the reason you're experiencing a plateau.
Condiments that I tossed out this morning.
One of the agreements we made in following this program was to toss our condiments 30 days after we open them. The preservatives that are on the inside of the cap causes them to break down after 30 days and that breakdown is NOT healthy for our bodies. I can't quote this in the full scientific way Julie does, but knowing old condiments can cause a plateau is reason enough for me to get back to making sure I follow this rule.

I was pretty sure I used condiments within a month, but yesterday morning, I was not so sure. So, I tossed all the condiments in my refrigerator, except the mustard I bought last weekend.

Starting today, I'm going back to a habit I dropped some time ago - putting dates on my condiments when I open them. Somewhere along the way I have forgotten to be firm with this rule. I'm firm from today forward.

Buying smaller bottles is also a good idea too. Having a plan to use those condiments is another good idea. Just like we have a plan to use the fresh meat  and veggies we buy, so we don't end up throwing it out, we also need to have a plan to use up our condiments.

And if you aren't sure about vanilla, let me help you with this - vanilla is an extract, not a condiment, and it is not on program.

At the refresh I went to this week, someone asked if they could add vanilla bean to vodka to give as a gifts for the holidays. Yes, we're allowed to give it as a gift. No, we are not allowed to drink it. Vanilla bean is not on program.

If something looks like a desert or tastes like a dessert - we are to avoid it, as it's a slippery slope when sometime tastes like a desert we may be triggered to go for something sweet. I deleted the pumpkin drink from my recipe collection. Long ago I also deleted the recipe using Siggis yogurt and cream, because we are not allowed half and half or cream. Somehow I missed this information, but I heard "no half and half or cream" from Julie, so these items are out of my life too.

Speaking of yogurt, I'm off this for a while too. Yes, it's allowed 2-3 times a week (NOT per day), but if you're experiencing a plateau, stop eating it for a while. I'm off it until Nov. And be sure to eat yogurt with lots of meat; it's not a snack. We don't snack anyhow. You're either hungry enough for a meal or you're not hungry enough to eat.

It's all these things that may delayed my weight loss and I am taking the straight road to reaching my goal size:

  • I'm tossing the condiments in my refrigerator after 30 days - I'll know they're 30 days old because they will have the date I opened them on the labels
  • I'm tossing the bottle of vanilla that I sometimes added to hot milk
  • I'm eating cottage cheese again - with lots of meat
  • I'm no longer eating cheese in chunks or slices (only 1-2 times a week as a condiment)
  • I'm avoiding anything that resembles a dessert
What about your condiments? How old are they? Not sure? Toss them! Who wants to be on a plateau because of a lousy bottle of ketchup?
September 27, 2013
Cheese is a condiment - use it as a condiment or be in a plateau: the choice is yours. If you're eating cheese rolled up with deli meat or in slices by itself, you're probably experiencing a plateau.

Cheese Warrior Theresa

I'm determined to become a cheese warrior - I will conquer cheese!  

I really get this - CHEESE IS A CONDIMENT - and I am treating it as such. I no longer eat slices of cheese, unless it's on top of a burger, mixed in a salad, or on top of a dish.  It's OK to have cheese a couple times a week, but I'm even pulling back from that for a couple of weeks. Why? I'm glad you asked...

Cheese is probably THE thing that has kept me from reaching my goal size. Cheese isn't allowed in the way I was eating it - by the slice or in big chunks. I was reminded of this rule a few weeks ago and I put this concept back into my life full-force a couple weeks ago.

I swear I can feel the difference after just 2 weeks. Those jeans that I had to lay on my bed to zip up last December, well they fit rather nicely now, thank you very much. I just moved a ton of capris and tops that I wore all summer into to the bag of clothes I'll be giving away because they're too big now.

Cheese is a BIG THING for many of us and we have to put a stop to overeating it NOW!

Cottage cheese is a different story. We can have cottage cheese, but we must have it with lots of meat. I had forgotten the rules on cottage cheese, so I stopped eating it and I'm happy to be eating it once again - with meat of course!


September 26, 2013
Here's an update from Jill, who used these photos as motivation to feel good about her food choices, as others around her shared dessert recipes.
Before June 2012 vs today
It seems like everyone on Facebook is posting dessert recipes and talking about going to DD for their fall treats.

I wanted to make their chatter quiet down, so I found 2 stuffed sausage size 18 pictures of me and put it next to me in my new size 6 skinny pants I wore today.

A pumpkin muffin does not taste as good as thin feels, so shhhhhhhhh....


Read Jill's Hero Story What a Difference a Year Makes, and more Hero stories, or share your weight loss story with us. Send me (Theresa) an email by clicking on my photo in the left column of any page. We love to see photos, but if you don't want to share them, that's OK, but we would love to hear your story.
September 25, 2013