It has been a while since I have written on here, time has a way of flying by before I noticed. Time to slow down and 'smell the roses', so time just doesn't keep flying by.

Thank you to the people who were looking for me! Those words meant a lot more to me than you will ever know, I appreciate that tremendously.

One thing I am very pleased with is after almost 16 months on program, I have not strayed once. Did you hear that - NOT ONCE! Now if anyone knows me at all, you would realize that this is a major miracle!

I don't mess with the program at all! Like I once wrote in one of my blog posts: "If It Ain't Broke Don't Fix It" (June 28, 2012).

We are going on a 'honeymoon' in March. We like to do that once a year if we can and have done this for 4 or 5 years now. We go with other couples to places that are relaxing and tropical. It has been almost 2 years since we were able to do this. We couldn't go last year due to one of the couples' son was getting married during when we like to go, and we had a grandchild due.

So, 2 years ago, while planning the trip I was panicking! I had to go shopping because NOTHING fit! Everything was too small. It was horrid, humiliating and depressing!!! I couldn't find any skirts I could fit into, and horrors of all horrors, had to sew 2 of the same skirts together to make one that fit!! My dear friend was the only one who knew about that as she gave me one of the skirts. (I am sure my dear husband knew because of course the colors weren't exactly the same and it was quite obvious to me, but he never said a word)

My friend was having trouble finding stuff to wear too, but no where near as bad as I was!!!! It was 7 months after that last trip that I had my first appointment with Julie.

So now we are leaving in a few weeks. And guess what? I have to go shopping before we go! YUP, nothing fits me again, it is all TOO BIG!!!! I can't even imagine this! This is a dream come true for me! My husband has no problem with me buying clothes now! ( I am so thankful for Savers, great prices for on the weigh down!) I need a new bathing suit. Gulp! Still don't like wearing bathing suits, but guess what, I don't dread it this time. I think I am going to look for some exercise shorts that come down mid thigh and will hold me in, but not strangle me, and get a longer bathing suit top. This is so funny! I am actually looking forward to bathing suit shopping!

I have a couple summer skirts I can take in and use for the trip and I will have to get some tops, and a new bra! My new ones from a few months ago are to big already!

Got to get suntan lotion, and won't need as much because there isn't as much to cover!!!

And remember I told you about that skirt I had to make out of 2 skirts to go on my last trip? Well I burned it!

I may be loosing very slowly, maybe slower than others, I don't know. But at this point it doesn't matter, you see, I got to burn that stinking double skirt so who cares?
February 01, 2013
This is a great video about sugar. It's about an hour and a half long, but well worth your time.


In this video: Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, explores the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin.
    Dr. Lustig's book (released Dec 2012): Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease.
    Disclaimer: there is no affiliation between Julie and Dr. Lustig and the material covered in this video may not or may not align with Julie's program.
    January 30, 2013
    Two years ago today I started this program. Instead of writing a long post about all the things that are different in my life, I'm sharing these photos from 2011 when I wore a size 30/32 and a few from recent months. I wish I'd had my photo taken today, but such is life!
    May 2011
    October 2011 - this was my favorite blouse (30/32)
    November 2011
    September 2012
    December 2012
    January 2013 - this photo is blurry, but I'll take it!


    By the way, did you know you can click on a photo to see it larger? You also have the option to view the other photos on the page by clicking on the next image (when viewing the larger image, look at the bottom of the page for the next image).
    January 29, 2013
    Yesterday I was looking for a new meat recipe and I found just what I needed at Trader Joe's: Cabernet Beef Pot Roast. The roast is cooking in a crock pot as I type.

    Cabernet Beef Pot Roast - this was yummy!

    Cabernet Beef Pot Roast

    Ingredients
    • 1 Cabernet Beef Pot Roast from Trader Joe's
    • 1/2 cup of water
    • 6 carrots cut into thick slices
    • 1 large onion
    • small box of fresh mushrooms 
    Note: All vegetable are optional; add your favorites or just cook the pot roast alone with the water. The packages suggests browning the roast all sides of the pot roast in olive oil in a skillet, but I usually skip this step. I've done it both ways and I don't taste a difference either way.
    Trader Joe's Cabernet Beef Pot Roast
    Directions
    Add 1/2 cup of water to the bottom of a crock pot.

    Add the pot roast to the crock pot.

    Cut onion and carrots into slices.

    Top the roast with the sliced carrots and onions

    Cover the pot.

    Cook on low for 10-12 hours or high for 5-6 hours.
    Butternut Squash Fries with Cabernet Beef Pot Roast
    Related
    January 27, 2013
    Earlier this week a blog comment came into my inbox that I wasn't sure how to respond. I approved the comment, which posted to a blog post from May 2012. I decided it was a great question to ask myself: What is wrong with you people - be happy u are down 2 or 3 sizes.
    I'm happy to fit into three new pair of size 18 jeans!
    I am very happy with my success, but it's true - there are times I complain "when is more weight going to come off?" In fact, I wined about this a just few weeks ago and I've dropped seven sizes. I embrace this question. I accept the challenge! My old ways of thinking have been with me for a long time. Changing how I think takes time, but I am working on this change.

    It's easy to get caught up in wanting to be further along in our weight loss journey and to lose sight of the fact that this process takes as long as it takes. We want the weight to come off faster (as in NOW). Our weight didn't come on overnight and it isn't going to come off overnight. We don't want plateaus, but plateaus are a sign that our body is healing. This is a good thing. Plateaus may last a few weeks or even a few months. Meanwhile, we don't need to beat ourselves up because it's taking so long.

    We're all learning to have patience with this process, to keep applying what we're learned in the classes, and to remember that this weight loss isn't the fast fix other programs promise us. If we stay the course, we will reach our goals.

    In answer to the question, yes, we are happy that we're down 2 or 3 sizes (or more), but sometimes we get in our way and lose sight of what we have achieved. Nothing is wrong with us. We're learning to keep things in perspective, it's all part of the process.

    Thanks for the humble reminder to be happy about our success.
    January 25, 2013
    I  went with a friend to a Boston hair salon in March 2010 and I spent a lot of time and money with poor results: a horrible new hairstyle. What I realize now is that I was focusing my energy in the wrong place. A new hair style would never lead to the real change I wanted in my life. The real change I was seeking, came to me while following Julie's program.
    Left: January 2013
    Right: March 2010
    These changes came from the program, but I had a big part in this change too. There were promises I needed to keep, rules I needed to follow, and I had to keep out of my own way to let the process work. Recent comments on this blog inspired me to write about this important aspect of this program: rely on yourself - you have the answers to your food questions.

    Julie teaches us everything we need to know and how to train ourselves to stay on program. If you don't know the answer about a specific food, go quiet for a few moments and think about what you heard in class. I often ask myself "what would Julie say?" Using questions from those two comments, my though process would be to think along these lines:
    Can I have hummus? Hmm, what is hummus? Beans. Beans are dried. Oh yeah, we can't have dried foods. Okay, no hummus. What else can I have?
    What about coconut creamer? What is it? Half-and-half isn't allowed, so this probably isn't either. Also, since I don't read labels, I'm not able to really answer this one. Better skip this item. Milk (in any form) is a freebie, so I'll stick with milk. 
    I'm still having the urge for sugar. Do I blow my progress if I eat one lil chocolate. Will I stop losing? Oh yeah, I agreed not to eat sugar. Julie says that when I have sugar, my body wants more sugar. A trick she taught is to push the thought of eating sugar back each time it comes to me. [Remember the visuals she did when she talked about this.] The more I push back on the thought, the weaker it gets. Focus on protein for a few days and this craving will go away.
    Kefir is loaded with probiotics it's like liquid yogurt. It's a healthy choice and I keep it to a minimum. Oh, yeah, we're not allowed things that are "like" yogurt, we're only allowed (two per week and only with a protein) the brands Julie told us about. I really want the probiotics, so I'll look for them in another form.  [See recommendation by Nutrition Now PB8 Probiotic Acidophilus.]
    If you find there are too many things that you don't know if they're on program or not, you may consider going for a refresh. You don't have to wait until you are completely off program to go in to see Julie again. I went to see Julie to continue learning the program and sometimes to get an extra boost to help me before I went on vacation. At a refresh, you can learn, once again, what's on program, what's not on program, and why certain foods are not good for us to eat.

    There are times when I want to know how much weight I've lost. What is wrong with weighing yourself? A few things come to mind:
    1. We promised Julie we would not weigh ourselves. 
    2. Our body wants to know how much weight we've lost so it knows how much to gain back. If we don't know how much we weigh, then we're less likely to gain back that weight. 
    3. Like sugar, when you push back on urges to get on the scale, they will go away and most often a weight drop follows. Visualize the motions that Julie does when she talks about pushing back thoughts of sugar or going on the scale.
    4. Isn't reason number three enough to keep you off the scale?
    I too have been caught up in the idea to weigh myself on the one year anniversary date. As the date of my second year on program approaches (1/29/13), those thoughts surfaced once again. I shared my well thought out thesis, of why I should get on the scale, with one of my friends. She reminded me of how fatal knowing that number can be and I came to my senses before getting on the scale.

    I don't post a list of program foods on this blog for many reasons. One reason is that Julie encourages us not us to think so much about the program. The thinking process I described above is about retraining our brains rather than getting caught in our heads. We need to re-program our brains to this new way of eating and we can find the answers within ourselves. We learned all we need to know if the first classes we took from Julie. Another reason I don't post a list of foods: I don't work for Julie and such a list may cause legal (copyright) issues.

    This way of eating is expensive. When I talk to my healthy friends, I find that their foods, which of late are quite similar to what I'm eating, are expensive too. Healthy food costs a lot more than package and fast food, but not eating healthy foods puts a big price our bodies. The high cost of eating well is more about government food pyramids and marketing than anything this program sells. Our economy drives the cost of food. It is wrong that healthy foods cost more, but if you do some research, you'll see why many of the "pyramid" foods are not good for our body.
     
    January 22, 2013
    Being the queen of foamy milk, when I saw this posted on the Facebook support group, I had to add it to the blog. I haven't tried it, but it sounds like an easy way to make frothy milk without needing a gadget, which may be helpful when traveling.
    Foamy milk; [ source

    How to Make Milk Froth without a Frother or Machine


    Ingredients
    • Fresh milk 
    Equipment
    • Small jar with a lid
    • Microwave oven
    1. Find a jar with a lid and fill it with as much milk as you normally like in your coffee (or other hot beverage). The milk should fill the jar no more than half way to allow room for the foam.
    2. Shake the jar with the lid on as hard as you can until the milk has become frothy and doubled in size. This takes us about 30 seconds.
    3. Take the lid off and microwave for another 30 seconds. The foam will rise to the top of the milk and the heat from the microwave will help stabilize it.
    4. Pour the milk into your coffee using a spoon to hold back the foam. Then scoop the foam on top!
    January 22, 2013
    A few months after I started the Key Hypnosis Program for weight loss (January 29, 2011),  I asked friends to take photos of me, so I could visually see my weight loss progress. I cringed each time my photo was taken, especially side shots in my gym clothes. I cringed again a few days ago when I had my photo taken in the yellow shirt (shown below). When I looked at my photo this time, I could finally see my hips are smaller!
    August 2012 | November 2012 | January 2013
    I remember dressing for work that morning and then looking in the mirror; I only focused on the roundness of my hips. I knew my hips were smaller than they were last year, but I was still not happy with how big they were. When I saw the photo of me in my yellow shirt, I saw victory! Hip reduction by me and mother nature - not surgery!

    This is what I was talking about yesterday, when I blogged about taking photos so you can see your weight loss progress. The photos I posted yesterday document my progress, but seeing my photos side-by-side, especially in gym clothes, really emphasizes my weight loss. Waiting for the inches to come off my hips has been one of the most frustrating parts of this journey. But I've been patient. I stayed on program. And it has paid off.

    For me to reach my goal size, I need to continue giving up those foods that made me obese. Is it worth giving up sugar, carbs, and all of what used to be my favorite foods? You bet it is! Before I started this program, I was skeptical about anyone being able to relieve me from craving chocolate, deserts, pastas, fruits, and foods full of sugars and gluten, but that's exactly what happened.

    I no longer ask "when do I get to eat XX again" because I know XX is what led me to becoming obese in the first place. When I look at food options in a restaurant, I don't wine about what I can't eat, I look for the foods I "get" to eat. A friend of mine, who has always been healthy, does this too. Sure, there are times when we think, for a moment, how nice it would be to have XX from time to time. But even my healthy friend says there are things she no longer eats, because it's not worth the end result: wanting more and more of XX and finding you are stuck in a circle (of overeating) that you can't get out of no matter what you do.

    This journey has taken far longer than I expected, but it takes as long as it takes. The bottom line is that it's working for me and my life is changed in so many ways. If I go back to eating the foods I once thought I would "miss," the weight will come back too. Feeling good and being healthier means making permanent change. Talk to others on this program and many will tell you we've learned a whole new set of favorite foods. Seeing your options instead of what you can't have, makes it easier too.

    For those of you who haven't started this program and are curious to know all the details, wait for the details to come from Julie. Once you attend her classes, you'll learn everything you need to know about to achieve success and to maintain your goal size.

    Meanwhile, you don't need to know anything about the program except that, for most of us, this program really does work. You may be on a long wait list, but your time will come.
    Same shirt, different pants, six months apart
    Left: June 2012 (size 22/24 pants)
    Right: Dec. 2012 (size 18 pants)
    January 21, 2013