Like many of you, I have times when I am impatient with my weight loss process. I feel like my hips are not changing at all. I just had this photo taken of me so I can compare how this blouse looked a few months ago to how it looks today. I can't deny the change that has happened!
05/05/12        |        01/16/12
I'm still not happy with how big my hips and belly look, but I know this will change if I keep doing what I'm doing. I try to focus on my success rather than wishing to be my ideal size. Being present is an important part of my journey. If I can accept where I am today, I can and will move forward.

Recently someone asked about having vivid dream while on this program. I've always been able to recall my dreams and they are quite detailed. That said, I definitely see a correlation to going in for a session and vivid dreams.

Speaking of dreams, I've been dreaming about fitting into three pair of size 20 blue jeans, which my friend Aime gave me many months ago, but each time I tried them on I couldn't pull them above my hips. The night before last, I had a dream that I tried on the blue jeans and they fit. I had forgotten about my dream until I was getting dressed; I decided to give them a try.

I tried on the first pair. I pulled them up over my hips (YAHOO), zipped them up, and then I sat down in my office chair for a few minutes.

They did not pass my "can I sit in a chair and be comfortable?" test, so I tried the second pair.

I was uncomfortable sitting in the second pair as well.

I moved on to the third pair and (drum roll please) they passed the test! I wore them to work and I felt fabulous all day!

Patience pays off. If  I keep moving forward and doing the best I can to stay on program, regardless of how much time passes, I will reach my ideal size. This doesn't happen on a calendar that I have control over, in as much as I want that kind of control. So, I let go of the controls and keep moving forward.
May 04, 2012
Ok everyone out there-big question of the day: Can we have avocado?
April 28, 2012
In one of my beginning classes with Julie, I remember her saying that our dreams could become very vivid. WOW! She wasn't kidding! Has anyone else experienced this?

And I am curious, why do you think this happens? It really is amazing to me how vivid my dreams have become. Last night I dreamed someone close to my family gently yelled at me in church, I was in the front bench with another friend and she made a comment to me during the service and this other friend reprimanded us, in front of many people, for talking during the service. I actually could feel embarrassed and mortified. When I woke up this morning I really had to think about it to realize that it didn't happen.

Or I have had dreams about cheating on this plan. Now I have never cheated. But sometimes I really think I could feel and taste whatever it was I was eating in my dream. The next day I would get this feeling over me like good grief how could I have eaten that, I blew it, and then realize it was a dream. I don't know if I am explaining it right, maybe even dumb examples, but so real, my dreams have become quite intense. Anyone else??????
April 28, 2012
Good evening everyone!

I have a pearl of wisdom that I heard from a co-worker who has been able to keep her weight in check, and not "listen" to the "food-talk." One sentence, and very powerful one more for us to tuck away and use when we need to: "I don't need to eat that, because I have tasted it before, and I remember what it tastes like"

It really hit home with me.  I do remember what food tastes like, and I am glad I have my memories of them....So, I think about it, and then move on!

I am now into month 2 of maintenance. I am eating more potato-I have had fried, mashed, puffs, baked, and some sweet potato. Just a little, with less veggies to compensate, and more meat. I still eat the Siggis, once or twice a week, and I am exercising maybe 1-3 times a week-I am really still struggling with fitting it in, but I am working on it.

This weekend hubby and I are going to Maine for a couple of days-Watch out lobster, cause here I come! lol! I am not one bit "afraid" of going away and eating out in restaurants, because I have found my "voice" to let the waiter know exactly what I want. If they look at me funny, I just say I have a lot of allergies-which is not a lie, if you think about it, because I have bad reactions to lots of food-meaning, I blow up like a balloon. But, there are so many true allergies out there, that they will never question you anyways.

For those of you that may be worrying about maintenance, DONT! I still have no food talking to me, I still enjoy what I eat, and I still check myself with my "measurement" ribbons to make sure I am still on track. For the most part, they show me that I am not gaining or losing.  Success! I have no interest in stepping off and eating things that I shouldn't, I still use my "don't wanna want it" mantra. It really works! I am very satisfied with the meat-veggie rule, and stepping off onto the potato shore 3-4 times a week. I am focusing more on living, not what I am going to eat.

I will still schedule a refresher the next time I get a call-I last went in February, and put down for June. From what I have read on this blog, I am expecting maybe July, as it sounds like Julie is maybe a month off with not being well, and moving. I so highly believe in them, because you pick up so much advice, and I love seeing and listening to people-Anyone that has gone to her new place, tell us what you think about it. Then, I will stretch it out-6 or 8 months-so I can keep on doing this on my own. It is nice to know that Julie is there for us when we feel the need-

Have a great night,
Jen
April 24, 2012
I'm finally catching up on my photo uploads. We have a laptop upstairs, but that's a few years old. We have a new computer in the basement, and my husband is keeping the kids happy, so I am able to upload about 300 + photos that I never get a chance to. Kids! Anyways...Never in a million years would I have ever posted photos of myself. I'm the photographer. No one takes pictures of me! I was so disgusted with the way I looked, that was never going to happen! Now, I will oblige to photos, but generally grab a kid and have them right in front of me. Whatever works, right?!?

The first photo is from the summer of 2011. I was not yet on the Julie diet. This was camping with my family:


The next photo is about a month into the diet, taken in August of 2011:


This photo was taken around the holidays...November or so of 2011:


And this latest photo was taken last week(April 2012):


I'm thrilled with what I see to be honest. I look in the mirror sometimes, or I look down, and I still see fat. My ob/gyn says another 20-30 lbs to go. At that rate, there would be nothing left of me. There is no way I'm going to get to a 140, which is what I was in high school, since having kids, etc. Maybe if I have surgery to get rid of the excess skin, I could be a step closer. Time will tell. Now, I'm going for maybe another 10 lbs or so. I said a size 8. It's where I am. I want a lose 8. But maybe, just maybe, a size 6 is where I really want to be....
April 22, 2012
Life after the refresh is great. I went for a refresh over a week ago and I learned a lot. My biggest lesson: I was not looking at life through clear lenses. I could see progress from this program, but I was not seeing what I was doing to slow down my progress.
I asked about dried green beans and I learned that dried veggies are not on program. Julie reminded us that we can call the office if we're not sure about an item. I never thought to call to ask because I was living the good life, eating these beans along with meat thinking they were a great treat. All along, I was denial. There were many times that I ate the beans by themselves (no protein) and not just a handful, but an entire package. Yes, I was aware that eating them alone was off-program (equal portion of meat to veggie), but I was ignoring this fact, figuring it couldn't be all that bad. I knew something wasn't right that I was eating so many of them; I suspected they were carbs, but I ate them anyway.

Julie said I may have well have been eating potato chips. Ah, okay. Hmmm. I guess I was...there's that denial again...I was eating potato chips, as I had also been eating mixed dried veggies, knowing there were potato chips in the mix.

All the while, I was looking in my refrigerator for "grey areas" -- foods that were holding my back from losing weight. This is it right here-dried veggies. We're not allowed dried foods on the program. They are carbs and they  cause swelling, which is happening in my ankles. This is the biggest reason my weight loss has slowed. I'm off the dried veggies now! I've been on this program for fourteen months and I'm still learning new things from refresh classes. 

For the past few months I've been working on the balance between work and home life. Work won most of my time and things were out of balance at home. I was not having much fun and none of my home projects were making any progress.  Looking back, I'm happy to realize that when stress really set in, I didn't think about eating as a way to cope. As I wrote recently, in my post Game On, I no longer play the games I used to play; they are no longer part of the way I think. I'm so happy that I no longer am in the circle of using sugar to soothe me when I'm stressed.

Thinking back on the past few months, I realize I used those dried green beans and mixed veggies as a way to handle stress. I really didn't see this until now. I still feel good that I didn't go to sugar. I'm ready to move on now and begin to lose weight once again. I'm leaving stress and those dried veggies behind me.

Here's a couple yummy recipes I made recently...

Sausage with Onions and Peppers


For breakfast this morning, I cut three sausage links into bite size pieces and put them in a hot pan. When they were about half-way done, I tossed in slices of green, red, and yellow peppers that I had in the freezer and kept stirring until the sausages were fully cooked.


Rib-Eye Steak au Poivre  

I had hoped to post the recipe along with the video I made, but I just haven't had time, so I'm posting the recipe by itself. If the video ever makes it to a final cut, I'll post it.

April 22, 2012
 
Rib-Eye Steak au Poivre with Balsamic Reduction

Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
  • 4 (3/4-inch-thick) boneless rib-eye steaks (3/4 pound each)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
Preparation

Coarsely grind peppercorns with a mortar and pestle. Pat steaks dry and coat both sides with peppercorns, pressing to adhere. Season with salt.

Heat oil with 1 tablespoon butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Reduce heat to moderate and cook steaks, 2 at a time, about 4 minutes on each side for medium-rare.

Transfer steaks to a platter. Add vinegar to skillet and deglaze by boiling over high heat, scraping up brown bits. Simmer vinegar until reduced to about 1/4 cup. Remove from heat and whisk in remaining tablespoon butter until melted. Season sauce with salt and drizzle over steaks.

Okay, so I did this video and still didn't remember to turn the camera, so it's all very narrow. I decided to upload this clip for the fun of it, but I probably won't pull the entire video into one story.



April 22, 2012
First off, call me Meaghan. Twinglesmomma...what was I thinking?!?! LOL! I will be the first to admit, veggies were my demise prior to starting this diet. After having kids, I started to eat a few more than usual, to at least set a good example. However, the extent of my vegetables were: peppers, raw carrots(with dip!), cucumbers, green beans sauteed with shallots, frozen squash, and eggplant(my mother in law is Italian, and an amazing cook).

That said, I have a few new recipes that I now swear by! One of them is butternut squash CHIPS! I know Julie recommended this to someone in a refresher class. I don't know the exact way she said to cook them, I know she mentioned a fryolater and Crisco. I bought a small fryolater and used canola oil and fried some up. Oh my word. HEAVEN! Remember-I only ate my squash from the freezer section-no spices, nothing! These are delicious with burgers on the grill, or anything really. If you are missing that crunch-these are a great alternative! I maybe make them two to three times a month now.

Last week, on the suggestion of some friends, I tried acorn squash. Oh my word. This was absolutely amazing!

Cheesy Acorn Squash:

  • 1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pinch ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
  • 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Place squash cut side down in a glass dish. Cook in microwave for 20 minutes on HIGH, until almost tender.
  3. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and add celery and onion; saute until transparent. Stir in mushrooms; cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parsley. Divide mixture in half, spoon into the squash and cover.
  4. Cook 15 minutes in the preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and put back in the oven until the cheese bubbles.


Now, when I made it, I read some of the reviews prior to baking it. Some suggested cooking off a little bacon, and then sauteeing the vegetables in the bacon fat. So I had some turkey bacon I needed to use up, and did that and added a little bit of butter, as there wasn't much fat from the bacon. It was amazing. The flavor left me wanting and yearning for more! I was a bit disappointed that we weren't going to be home for the weekend(we were camping)! I'm actually making it again tonight for my sister in law, who is also on the diet. This time, I'm going to add hamburg and/or sausage to the mixture. We had this the other night with a steak. Oh, and I omitted the mushrooms as I don't like them.




My husband, who I should add is also on Julie's plan(along with his mother and his sister), is a big fan of the grill. He's always looking for new recipes to try out, especially while on the diet. Two weeks back, he found, ala Bobby Flay, a grilled zucchini salad with a lemon-herb vinaigrette. The recipe called for pine nuts, we just left them out. I should mention, I do not like zucchini. It's mushy and tasteless to me. This recipe however, it was good! Again, great side to burgers/steak on the grill. Or even chicken. If I like it, then you are guaranteed to like it! HA! Although, my sister in law said she wasn't crazy about the lemon flavor. I enjoyed it though. 


Grilled Zucchini Salad with Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette

  • 2 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise into thin strips
  • Canola oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • Honey
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus leaves for garnish
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Wedge Pecorino Romano, for shaving
  • 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
  • Fresh mint leaves, torn

Directions

Heat the grill to high heat. Brush the zucchini on both sides with canola oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Grill for just about 1 minute per side (until slightly charred and wilted), then remove them to a platter.
Whisk together the Dijon mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, to taste, and salt and pepper, to taste, and parsley in a small bowl. Slowly, whisk in the olive oil until emulsified.
Drizzle the vinaigrette over the zucchini and let it marinate for 15 minutes at room temperature. Top with shaved cheese, pine nuts, parsley and mint leaves.

That's all from me for now. I will post an update on the acorn squash with the meat added in. Oh, and some before and after pictues. It will help some of you new to the journey to keep on going! Not to give up, or get discouraged. You will get to your goal. Patience is key. And we all admit, to not having the best patience at one point or another, myself included! 

April 22, 2012