I went back to Sarasota yesterday and this time I was persistent and by the end of the day I had a handful of new designer tops, pants, a light jacket, and even a purse! Woohoo-success at long last! And I didn't break the bank along the way either.

new top and jeans!

This top and jeans are a couple of my finds. The consignment store top was $7 and the designer jeans, which have an incredible embellished design along the seam (not visible in this photo) were brand new, marked down from $89 to $45. I haven't spent money on jeans for two years now and this pair more than makes up for the savings. They are tight to zip up, but very comfy. I have lots of room for these jeans to just fit better and better.

We went back to the consignment store we had been in a few days earlier and I found a bargain blouse for $8 there. A second consignment store was much more fruitful with lots of options and bargains including a Talbot long sleeve blouse for $5. I found a beautiful a-line coat reduced from $350 to $175, but I'm not spending that kind of money on a coat that will be too big next winter. It was gorgeous though.

I went into an Eileen Fisher store for the first time. Wow - the fabrics are so incredible, as are the prices. I had no intentions of buying anything, but I was excited that the were things besides scarfs that fit. Next winter perhaps, but. to this year. Besides, one scarf there cost more than all the items I
bought combined.

There's a lot of work in this journey that requires a lot of patience and also a lot of humor. I was looking at bathing suits and at one point I had on a size 16 and the cups were at my waist and wouldn't go any higher! I cracked myself up laughing rather than crying. A dew days later, I saw myself reaching for size 24 suit and I decided the shorts and t-shirt I've been using all week will work just fine for one more week.

It's easy to get caught up in the moment and become frustrated that I'm not the size I want to be "yet", but it's much more useful to pause and remember how far I've come. I am on program, exercising daily, and I feel fantastic. I need to go easy on myself and continue to choose the rights foods. The body will follow soon enough.

December 23, 2012

It is a beautiful quiet morning on the canal here in Punta Gorda, Florida. Along the horizon and far behind the houses across the canal, the sky is a soft morning pink haze that blends into light grey. Birds coo and chirp from tall palm trees near and far. A few feet from me, fish jump and splash in the canal. After a long pause, the pink finally gives way to the sun, as it burst onto the scene.

On the road with Arlene.

At 3 am Saturday morning, I jumped into a maroon PT Cruiser in Rhode Island and headed to Florida with my sister-in-law, Arlene, and her 93 year old mother, Rita. My brother Carl arrives tonight to join us. Arlene prefers to stop only for restrooms, gas, and water; real meals only happen when we stop overnight or arrive at her Florida home. So, I packed sliced salami and several packages of beef jerky to make sure I had my protein fix anytime I needed it.

After 16 hours on the road, we stopped overnight In Savannah, Georgia. Arlene and I settled Rita into the room, changed into capris and short sleeves, and then walked to Lady and Sons, where in 1996,  Paula Deen leased the old Sears & Roebuck building in Downtown Savannah  and opened her restaurant.

We had an incredible southern style dinner; we both chose the specials, as we had heard this was the best way to go rather than the buffet, filled with all things fried, crusted, and smothered in butter or gravy. No thank you! After dinner, we walked for about an hour and took in historic Savannah's night life. There was a fabulous band, in their late teens or early twenties, playing rock and roll from the 70's outdoors to a large crowd. We window shopped as we meandered back to the hotel. Everyone was fast asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.

Up at 6:30 am, Arlene and I walked for two and a half hours, taking in the gorgeous gardens. We packed up our stuff and Rita and then had a fabulous breakfast along the riverfront before hitting the road.

I've taken a number of vacations since starting this program two years ago and I have never gone off program. I recall Julie giving explicit instructions about how to handle vacations, but I always told myself, "that's for other people, not me. I have too much weight to lose to take that risk."

But I own this program now! At dinner and again at breakfast, I chose to step "out of the river." This is the first time I've done this and I was not at all nervous, as I knew I could do this right. I'm on vacation and I took the opportunity to have a few special foods, confident that I would get right back on program. I did not have desserts or sugars. I made sure I had a lot of protein with both meals and as we left the restaurant, I went back "into the river." The rest of the week, I loaded up on meat and stayed on program. I'm so happy that I was able to have the special meals and get right back on program.

Yesterday Arlene and I met my boss for lunch in Sarasota and then we went shopping at an incredible thrift store where rich women donate beautiful expensive designer clothing and household items. They are seasoned shoppers, who are steady in their size, and know what they like. Me - not so much. I wish I had more time in that thrift store, but I did find one bargain blouse, which had a red tag - half price. I was extremely pleased with my $11.75 find.

This is the kind of thrift stores deals some of my friends rave about. Now I understand the fun in finding such bargains. I can see that this will be more fun when I'm down a few more sizes; right there are less choices for me at my size. Rich bitch clothes run small (or perhaps more true to size).

Update:

I've heard concerns about this post, which I fully appreciate and I thank you for your feedback and concern. I haven't gone rogue. I am not advocating others should follow the choices I describe in the above post.

I didn't feel comfortable sharing the details of what I leaned from Julie about going on vacation because Julie doesn't teach the vacation piece anymore, as too many people were going "on vacation" and then not getting back on program or going in for a refresh for her to fix them.

You should know that I walked a slippery slope here. Nothing sweet touched my lips. I made a conscious decision to have carbs, no sugars, with my dinner and breakfast, and then I got right back on program. You should also know that I did not follow the rule of having a potato when first stepping out of the river. See, slippery slope for someone not on maintenance yet.

I've been on this program for almost two years now and I have only slipped once when I had too much to drink one night. I was horrified the next day and I got right back on program and never missed a step since. This week was the same; I got right back on program and am moving full-steam ahead.

I wrote this piece because after being on program for nearly two years, I feel confident about what I'm doing. I wasn't being cocky or in denial. I own this.

In fact, I went to see Julie for a refresh before I went on all my other vacations to help keep me strong while on the vacation, not because I went off and needed help getting back on program.

So please, if you're going on vacation, don't tell yourself "we'll, when Theresa was on vacation..." Do the right thing for yourself. Don't trick yourself into believing a vacation is an opportunity to go off program. Remember, this is a slippery slope.

December 21, 2012

After I went to a refresh a few weeks ago, I went to the Facebook page and proclaimed "Once and done. Great refresh! Not going back because I got it." A few people have asked me what I meant by this and I've been meaning to write about this, but I'm heading off for the holidays tomorrow and I haven't had a spare minute to write.

Image source: calbuz.com

The bottom line is that I finally get the "once and done" concept and I have never felt more confident about where I am on this weight loss journey and where I'm heading. Julie's refreshes are incredible and while sitting in the refresh class a couple weeks ago, I realized "I know everything she's saying and I own this!" I believe all of you do too.

I proclaimed I'm not going back because one of the foundations of this program is that you only have to do this once and then you're done; it's not like any other diet. I have many more thoughts on this I want to share, but you'll just have to buy my book...just kidding. I will write more on this when I get a chance during the holidays - I promise.

Meanwhile, I would love to hear from some of you about what it means to you when Julie talks about:

• compromise
• sacrifice
• example
• free will

These words are key to understanding the core concepts of this program. Let's get a conversation on this going...

December 13, 2012

A group of us from this blog met up for meat crust pizza at Capa di Roma in East Hartford a few nights ago and we had a blast! Between bites of delicious meat-crust pizza, buffalo wings, and salad, we exchanged stories, recipes, and many good laughs.

Meat Crust Pizza

We ordered the pizzas a few days ahead for the group of us, as they need 20 pounds of meat to make these four pizzas for us. We had enough leftovers for each of us to take home pizza for another meal! One can never have too much pizza!

Emilia is another Julie follower with great success story. She shared her inspiring weight loss story with us after dinner and some of her favorite recipes. Last night I made an incredible Shepherd Pie based on her suggestion to use butternut squash in place of potatoes. Linda was so inspired by the nut-free pesto Emilia gave each of us to take home, she did a Google search to find an easy-to-make nut-free pesto recipe.

It was great to catch up with everyone. There were a few new faces in the group, but if you look through theses photos you will see some serious weight loss! It was inspiring to see how well Jennifer, Suzanne, and Amelia are doing on maintenance.

Capa di Roma will make this special meat crust pizza for you if you ask for Emilia when you call and order it a day or two ahead. Avoid calling at lunch or dinnertime when she's the busiest. On your way out the door, be sure to buy some of her delicious jars of homemade tomato sauces; Julie approved. They sell them in grocery stores too.

Here's a video ad with Emilia talking about their family recipe sauces

Meanwhile, you can see my homemade version of this meat crust pizza if you want to make this for yourself.

I encourage you to connect with one or two others who follow the program; it's great to have this kind of additional support. Introduce yourself while waiting for a refresh with Julie.

December 09, 2012

This dish comes from a recipe Emilia shared with us when we were at her restaurant, Roma (in East Hartford, CT). Her recipe uses butternut squash instead of potato and this dish is incredible!

Shepherd's Pie with butternut squash instead of potato

As always, watch your meat-veggie ratio (more meat or equal meat-veggies).

Ingredients

• 1 small butternut squash
• 1 medium onion diced
• 3-4 cloves of minced garlic
• ½ cup shredded carrot (or 1 carrot sliced; optional)
• 1 1/4 pound of ground beef
• ½ cup frozen corn
• 1 tablespoon butter
• salt (optional)
• black pepper

Adjust these ingredients to suit your needs. My mom never added carrots when she made this dish, but I liked this extra flavor. Anyway you make this dish, be sure to have an equal amount of meat to veggies or less veggies than meat.

Directions

1. Cook butternut squash and then mash; add salt and pepper to your taste.
   You may bake the squash and remove the seeds and then either mash the squash by hand or with food processor. I bought half of a large already peeled squash at the store, cut it into smaller pieces, steamed it, and then put it in my food processor.
2. Add the butter to a heated skillet and immediately add the diced onion, minced garlic, and carrot (optional). 
3. Stay with this and keep stirring. I melted the butter while cutting the veggies and had to toss the butter because it burned.
4. After the onion is cooked, add the ground meat and brown.
5. Drain the meat mixture and then place evenly in a casserole dish. There is no need to oil or butter the dish.
6. Add the corn on top of the meat layer. I only used 2/3 of the bag.
7. Spread all of the mashed butternut squash on top of the corn. 
8. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. I didn't cover the dish, but the edges did burn, so next time I'll try covering it, as all we're really doing here is heating everything.

It's hard to serve this dish without it falling apart, but it still tastes delicious! If you have deep individual casserole dishes this might be the time to use them instead.

I like to double the recipe and make 4 single servings and freeze 2 of them. If you freeze them, you don't need to bake them before putting them in the freezer.

Thanks  Emilia for your great recipe!

Shepherd's Pie

4 individual servings of Shepherd's Pie

 Variations 

• Instead of butternut squash, cook and mash cauliflower and then top with some butter and nutmeg.
• Here's another Shepherd's Pie recipe.

December 09, 2012

At Roma in East Hartford Thursday night, Emilia gave us a sample of her nut free pesto, DELICIOUS!

Nut-free Pesto

Linda Googled it and she found many recipes. Here is one that looked easy:

Ingredients

• 1 cup basil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. In a food processor pulse basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper until smooth. 
2. Slowly add the olive oil while pulsing. 
3. Store in a sealed container and refrigerate until ready to use or you can freeze this in zip locks bags to use at a later date.

December 09, 2012

Jodi posted this comment on a Nov. post:

I finished my sessions in August and have to say this was the best decision I could have made. Amazing! I have dropped 3 sizes and love the compliments and the many people who have noticed. My kids are in awe. I feel healthier. I rarely struggle though i still have dreams I have eaten dozens of cookies and have failed. i wake up happy knowing it was just a dream.

i am wondering how i get access the FB support group..i think that will help to support me.

I am also wondering about cream cheese in recipes, like in between chicken breast. I need to call the office but i keep forgetting. Do you know?

oh...and i hate yogurt but bought siggi's...oh my..in heaven..love the creamy thickness of it. Big Y has had it on sale for the past month. Got some tonight for 2/$3 on St james Ave. They just started carrying them.

Thanks for the blog...its been an inspiration.

Well Jodi - congratulations on your success! The food dreams are funny, but many of us have them. I figure it's life's way of balancing things, eating in an alternative universe while maintaining a healthy lifestyle in reality. HA!

Go to the Facebook group and you should see a link to click on in the upper right hand corner. I can't see it to tell you what it says, as It goes away when you join, but it's probably something like "request to join." If this doesn't work, send me your email and I'll ask someone to add you. You can email me by adding a comment with your email; I'll copy your email and delete your post so it doesn't go to the blog.

Cream cheese is to be used as a condiment, so as long as you keep the portions down, you should be fine.

I too love Siggis yogurt. Remember to have it with meat (never alone) and no more than twice a week.

December 06, 2012

Things have changed for me this week in a big and unexpected way.

A few weeks ago I looked at my flex spending account and realized I over estimated my projected 2012 medical expenses. I planned to see Julie 10 times and only went four times; what was I thinking? I changed my mind about a $1000 dental expense and I planned to have surgery on my upper arms this year, but I'm too far from my goal size to do that. I needed to spend almost $3,000 by 12/31/12 or, as the IRS regs state I needed to "use it or lose it" What's a girl to do? Lasik vision correction surgery of course!

I had the surgery done on Thursday and spent the weekend recuperating. All went well and I'm loving life without glasses. Well, except now I need to get used to putting glasses on to read (I used to take them off to read), but I will adapt quick enough. Woohoo! I have to wait a few weeks before I can resume wearing makeup; another minor detail.

The pain in my right arm is still present, but it doesn't burn as badly as it did last weekend. Physical therapy helps. I see an orthopedist the end of this week for a diagnosis and will proceed from there. Funny how my arm pain disappeared while having the eye surgery; all energies were focused on the eyes I guess. I knew I was past the surgery stuff when my arm pain returned Friday afternoon!

With all this going on last week, I wasn't able to do the hot chocolate run on Sunday. I need to fully heal from the Lasik surgery (3 weeks) before I resume my gym activities; although I did get in a walk late yesterday afternoon. I hope to work through this arm issue by then as well. Once I know what the problem is, I'll have a better idea of how to move forward. So, low key walking it is for now. I want to continue to drop weight during the holidays, so I'll aim for covering long distances rather than a fast pace.

December 03, 2012