My dad, who was a professional painter, always said painting is the easy part, the hard work is all the preparation you have to do before you paint.
Last week, I started a really big home project: painting my kitchen. I've been thinking about my Dad all week, as I remove the cupboard doors and the hardware, as I move my china and tea pots from the shelves to the kitchen table, and as I fill the holes with wood glue. All this and I haven't even sanded or cleaned. Never mind that I have yet to open a can of paint! My dad was right: the hardest work is the prep.

Is it just me, or is the prep work the hardest part of this weight loss program? For me, staying on program isn't the hard part, it's having things lined up ahead of time: planning my meals, making a shopping list, going grocery shopping, preparing the meals, getting up early enough to have breakfast and pack my lunch before I start my day, and having something lined up for dinner before I get home. If I do the prep work, the program is so much easier.

During my prep work this morning, I had an "ah ha" moment. After filling holes, where the hinges used to be and a number of holes inside the cupboards, I climbed up and down the chair to clean the top of the refrigerator. As I quickly climbed the chair, I realized that I'd been up and down that chair for over an hour effortlessly! It wasn't until that moment that I realized why I had put off painting the kitchen for almost a year: it would have been  too much for me physically.

I never thought about all the restrictions that my weight placed upon me when I was heavier. It's when I encounter moments like this, that  I am reminded that this journey is a process of self-discovery. It's so easy for me to focus on not losing weight "fast enough" and meanwhile miss seeing the many positive ways my weight loss has affected my life. An hour of climbing the chair didn't draw my attention to how I could not have done this a year ago. It was when I climbed up and down from the chair four times quickly that I suddenly realized: hey - last year I couldn't get up on the chair once, never mind several times in a row - or repeatedly for a hour!

I look forward to many more new discoveries in my life!

Another great discovery - reconnecting with my inner runner. Last weekend I ran another 5k (which is a little over 3 miles). This one was in Amherst and it had killer hills. My total running time was the same as the Hot Chocolate Run in Dec., which was just under 45 minutes, but given the hills involved - this is great progress!

Here are some photos I took before and during the race...
Warm up before the race
I need to get a better running outfit!
Me on left; Aime on right.
Coming up to Emily Dickinson house and the last of the hills.
Self-portrait while running; me in yellow, Aime in pink. My favorite photo of the day!
May 05, 2012
Quick question: I have a flight coming up soon and it will be at an awkward time during the day, I don't eat breakfast, but get hungry around 11:00. I will be on a plane. Any suggestions as to what to pack to eat? Obviously I can't bring deviled eggs, I think I would get thrown off the plane!! LOL

I am afraid of beef jerky with all the sodium and then just sitting. Just looking for some ideas for a light meal that won't smell up the plane. My sister suggested ham roll ups but again, the sodium problem. Just wondering what you all would have in mind!
May 05, 2012
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