My European vacation offered me the opportunity to confirm that I own this program. I had opportunities with each meal to decide how I want to live my life. I chose to live life in balance and to follow the program as Julie taught me.

Tea with my friends; I declined the chocolates.

In the photo above, the sisters (Andrea took the photo) and I enjoyed the one day it was warm enough to sit out front of Andrea's house (in France). We enjoyed a pot of hot tea; I declined on the chocolates. I was amazed how they eat chocolate every day and still keep in good shape. I also realized it's not my fate to indulge this way; daily sweets led to my obesity. As they enjoyed these afternoon treats, I pushed away thoughts of indulging; "tap it away" Julie would say.

I arrived in Amsterdam on a Sunday morning and 24 hours later Helena and I were on a flight to the south of France. After a week at her sister's, we returned to Helena's home where I enjoyed three full days in Delft before I headed to Rome. We spent one day partying with all of Delft, as Queen Beatrice abdicated the throne.

While in Delft, I continued to enjoy life like a local, as we did in France. We went out for coffee in Delft a few times and the day before I left Holland, we went to my favorite place Café Vlietzicht.

Café Vlietzicht

Café Vlietzicht has a variety of places to sit, including an anchored boat, which is where I love to sit. It was so cold that we needed our to keep our jackets on as we listened to the call of birds across the water, watched ducks and sailboats sail by, and enjoyed our coffee.

Scene sitting at Café Vlietzicht

By this time  in my vacation, I was used to giving the cookies they placed on the plate next to the coffee to Helena, as I had done this the whole time while we were visiting her sister in France. This was the "cultural experience" her brother-in-law felt sad that I was "missing" out on - going to wonderful café's and not have the special treats. I didn't feel sad at all, as I've had enough sweets to last me a lifetime.

I have a couple more posts about my vacation that I'll finish and then move on, but I wanted to share photos and talk about my food choices and lessons learned along the way. I hope to help you to think about how you'll handle your vacations.

Two years ago, after a couple months of following Julie, I was going to southern California for vacation and I was nervous about how I would handle my vacation and stay one program, so I went for a refresh. I didn't go for a refresh because I was off program and needed help, but because I wanted reinforcement to stay on program during my vacation. It was wonderful to take this European trip confident that I would stay on program and returning more confident than ever that I own this program. I made choices I feel good about, as I applied what I learned from Julie.

It's been two weeks since I've been home and I feel great, but I've slacked off on my walking. After all that walking, walking, walking that I did in Rome, I've gone in the opposite direction. I can blame this on the fact that I bought a Smart TV a few days after I returned, but there's no good reason for me not to walk daily. I'll write more about walking in Rome in my next post and about how I got back into walking  again. Mind you-this is an affirmation, as I type this has not happened yet!

Meanwhile, here are some more photos I took while celebrating Queens Day in Delft. We watched the actual ceremonies on TV at Helena's, and went into Delft to join in the festivities and then again for dinner. It was wonderful to partake in a part of history that I would have missed entirely had  been at home.

What's a party without music?

The children joined in the celebration too!

Helena enjoyed the celebration too.

The town of Delft was full of treasures for sale too.

Yes, it was this cold. Yes, I still need to lose weight!

And what's a celebration without a clown?

 

May 28, 2013

If this is a dream, I do not want to wake up!!!

Let me continue sleeping, this is such a wonderful dream!!!!

I wasn't going to post about this, but decided I have posted about all the other times, so WHY NOT!!!

I want you all to look at my skirt!!

YUP, just look at it!!!

What size do you think that skirt is?

Come on now, what size?

I'll give you a hint:


DID YOU HAPPEN TO CATCH THAT HINT!!!!!!!!

Let me give you another hint:



May I show you another picture please!!!



I really have nothing more to say as I keep tearing up... an absolute miracle, that about sums it up!!

Julie if you happen to read this post, from my heart, the words Thank You just don't say enough...

May 24, 2013

Linda shared this recipe and I went right home from work today and made it. It's not French cuisine, but i really enjoyed it. It's simple ingredients and easy to make. Be careful that your balance of meat and veggie is good when you make this.

Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 - 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2-3/4 cabbage, chopped
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Preparation

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. 
2. Add the ground beef and onion and cook, stirring, until ground beef is no longer pink and onion is tender. 
3. Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute.
4. Add the chopped cabbage, tomatoes, tomato sauce, pepper, and salt. 
5. Bring to a boil. 
6. Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until cabbage is tender.

May 22, 2013

While on vacation with my Dutch friend Helena, I spent a few days in Holland and then we went to her sister's farm in France for a week. I had a cottage all to myself and I went to a  car show where you park along the side of the road and watch 200 plus antique cars speed by! We went to the car show in her brother-in-law's 1948 Bentley. Life was good in France.

I stayed in the cottage on the left

The food in France was good too. My friends were accommodating and provided the right foods for me. We went out to eat a few times, but most meals we made together and enjoyed at their beautiful dinner table. When it was warm enough, we ate outside.

We picked these wild flowers on the farm.

Helena and I wanted to treat her sister and brother-in-law to a special dinner to thank them for sharing their home and hospitality. They talked about wanting to go to a special place where the main course is duck, but I don't like duck.

 This is how good 66 and 76 years old looks

One day the sisters and I had lunch out and I took the opportunity to taste Helena's duck. A mere two years ago I didn't like meat, but this program changed all that. I figured it was time for me to give duck a try. I took a bite and I discovered it was delicious!

Abba restaurant where I had lunch with the sisters

In fact it was at this same meal that I had my first taste of celeriac - from Andrea's plate. She had been worried about what I would have with her beef stew, instead of rice, and after she discovered I liked celeriac she bought some at the fresh market to serve with her stew.

Andrea's beef stew with celeriac, roasted eggplant, and tomatoes

Having confidence in my taste for duck, a few nights later we went to their favorite place for duck. It was an incredible dinner, duck and all.

The main duck course was served on a  platter with roasted veggies. Potatoes are for maintenance.

Top: Andrea and Jen (pronounced "young")
Bottom: Helena and the Chef

 This is where we had our duck dinner

Now that I'm home from my vacation, I'm at a loss for what to eat, as my usual foods taste bland. Before I left I was focusing on switching up my meals to avoid repeating the same meals again and again. It seems my taste buds have changed and the time has come to put these words into action by finding some new recipes.

Coffee served after our duck dinner

Even my home brewed coffee doesn't taste the same to me. I had some wonderful cappuccinos while in Europe. I didn't like cappuccino until this trip, but I am hooked now. I'm not sure if I need to buy a cappuccino machine or just give it a few more weeks for my taste buds to adjust.

Coffee at the fresh market

At our last dinner, Jen commented that it's sad I couldn't have the real cultural experience in France, because I didn't have pastry with my cappuccino a few days earlier, or the first strawberries of the season with them that night. I didn't say anything, because I didn't know where to begin. I understood his meaning, but he didn't understand my way of eating and it seemed futile to try to explain.

Jen may not understand a sugar-less diet, but he sure knows how to drive a Bentley!

I've have had a lifetime of (over) eating sweet things. I know what they taste like. I know what I'm missing. I know this way of eating is how I'm going to reach my goal size and then learn how to maintain my goal size. Someone who has never had a weight problem can't relate to they way I eat or how I became so obese. People who do have weight problems don't always get this either. 

Here's a 15 second video from the car show. Click in the bottom right corner to view it full screen size.

And what's a vacation without a little shopping...Helena and I bought this same blouse and Andrea took a nice photo of the three of us having a good laugh...

May 21, 2013

I'm back from my three week vacation of visiting friends in Holland, France, and Italy. I walked so much every day that my legs ached every night, but then I got up and did it all over again the next day!

On the shores of the Mediterranean, Ostia Antica, Italy.

Thank you Linda and everyone who contributed to this blog during my absence. Linda's great sense of humor and her "tell it like it is" style of writing was entertaining and right on point!

I promise to post stories about my discoveries and my journey soon.

Meanwhile, I just read Things to Do When You Find Yourself on a Plateau, which is a perfect piece to share with all of you as it uses "being a tourist" as a metaphor to stay on program. It's an inspirational read.

May 15, 2013

I talked a few days ago about fad diets, today I am hitting the crazy exercises that were and are out there.

Again, I admit to falling for many of these. The concepts were great, the promises were wonderful, but, again, if it is to good to be true…

Wrap your self up in saran wrap, exercise and you were supposed to loose inches fast! We went through a lot of Saran wrap, and it didn’t work.

I never bought a Mark Eden’s bust developer. BUT my steno teacher did. She was teaching us about check book registers and passed her’s around. Need I say more! LOL! The poor lady didn’t live that one down!! Anyway, lots of good advertising there. Showed lots of women with beautiful busts. But never showed the product or even explain how to use it.

How many had that small wheel with the 2 handles.? You would put your feet under the couch and hold the handles and roll out from the couch and roll back to the couch. VERY HARD!!! Many times, fell flat on my stomach as I couldn’t control the wheel to stop. Quite hilarious!! Even funnier was my sisters and mom and I would use that green face mask stuff and then exercise with that on. As the mask dried it would harden and we couldn’t talk to good! We were sights to behold!! My dad would just walk by and shake his head.

Another exercise I remember growing up, one my mother taught us. We had a long hardwood floor hallway. And we would sit on our butts and butt walk down it. Your legs would be on the floor and you would use your butt and legs to propel you to walk. At different times during the day myself or one of my sisters would be butt walking down the hall. I do remember my mom doing it at times, but mostly us girls. I often wonder now if this was supposed to be a legitimate exercise or was mom just getting the hard wood floor cleaned and polished!!!

Hopefully my sisters and my mom don't read this post!!

People had machines or went to places like a gym that had machines with a belt. You would put the belt on around your waist, turn on the machine and it would jiggle you like crazy. Not a pretty sight if someone had a lot of jiggly fat on them. Was supposed to shake your weight off.

sauna suits You could buy a suit that would make you sweat. Or we had an inflatable belt thing. We would put the belt on, blow it up and exercise. Was supposed to melt the fat off. Another hysterical moment in our house when we were growing up!

All the ads for 6 pack abs in just 8 minutes of exercise - YEAH RIGHT!!

Exercise in a bottle, don’t I wish!! Take a pill, will make your body re-act like you just exercised, the fat will melt off! Without sweating!!

toning shoes, came in a few different styles. I remember as a teenager the Doctor Scholls sandals. Tuning up your legs as you walk around with these special sandals. They were quite the rage. He made a lot of money!! He has nice stuff, but those shoes were something…

I have to say, in my adult life I bought a Suzanne Somers thigh master. I am embarrassed, but I did! I wanted thighs that looked like hers!! I can dream can’t I! The concept was good, but, well, lets just say that I still don’t have Suzanne Somers thighs!

The electronic Ab exerciser would send an electrical current into your abs which would make them contract and release. That was supposed to make them burn body fat. OUCH!!!!

Phiten Carmelo wouldn’t lie— would he? These celebrity-backed titanium bracelets are supposed to reduce pain and fatigue, improve strength, and aid “bioelectrical flow” Don’t even know what bioelectric is? Am I supposed to have it?

Dumbellutensils look ‘em up on google. Yup, dumb bell utensils. You get a work out while eating. Forks, spoons and knives that are dumb bells. The only dumb bells I can figure out are the ones that bought them. ( sorry if you did! I fell for many promises too!)

Then there is the face trainer. Technology Face Training, and endurance based high repetition form of resistance training for all 44 bilaterally symmetrical muscles of the face and neck. The face trainer fits firmly against the skint o provide resistance and help to build muscle and tone. Ooookkkkkkk….hmm

There are so many to good to be true exercises out there, always have been and always will be. Just like all the fad diet plans.

I am thankful Julie isn’t a fad diet or a scam!! She is an answer to many desperate prayers!!

Do you have any funny exercise stuff you want to tell us about?

May 11, 2013

A while back Theresa posted a question about what those 3 words mean to us. After looking at Lynn’s tattoo I decided to bring it up again.

picture by Lynn!

Those 3 words, Example, sacrifice and compromise are such a big part of the program and we can never hear about them enough.

They are very hard to explain, I know in my heart what they mean, but to put the words on paper, well, that is a bit harder.

One of my friends asked the question again, and here are some of the answers she got:

I think sacrifice and compromise are easier for me. Sacrifice means I have to be willing to give up things in order to reach my goal. It could mean choosing to go exercise instead of eating out with a friend. It could mean going on vacation in the Dominican Republic and not having fresh drinks out of a coconut.

Compromise is a little harder for me. Like, I'll compromise and have the chicken but not the cheese. It's allowing myself to negotiate and work through my decisions in order to be healthy and go in the right direction.

I definitely had the hardest time with example. I *think* that it means that I do things to create the example and set new patterns for my body. The animal doesn't know, it just does. So, if I consciously set the example then the animal says, ok, and that's what we do.

Sacrifice means I will give up anything and do anything to reach my goal. YET it sure doesn't feel like a sacrifice to me!!

Example for me means hopefully others can see what I am doing, yet I am setting more of an example to myself. Every time I tap away a temptation, I am reinforcing in my mind that I really do not want it and am setting the blueprint for future behavior.

Some one looked up the definition of Compromise in the dictionary and this is what she came up with:

Compromise as a verb(synonym):

means come to terms

and I sure have come to terms that this way of eating is for the rest of my life.

as a Noun:

An agreement or a settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions.

I will order a hamburger, but hold the cheese and naturally the bun. Or please hold the mashed potato and gravy and I will have cottage cheese or extra corn. That type of thing.

as a Verb

Settle a dispute by mutual concession.

I want that cheese, I want it bad. Ok, well maybe I will get a cheeseburger, eat half the cheese and no cheese anywhere else for the rest of the week.

Synonyms

noun.

agreement - accommodation - settlement - conciliation.

Like the exercise challenges I have been trying to do. I hate exercise, always did always will, but I KNOW I have to do something, so walking and the exercise challenges at this time are my agreement to myself.

I don’t know if any of this will help you, but it helps me to put it all into perspective a bit more!

Do you have your own definitions or examples? PLEASE post them if you do!!! We are all in this together and we are all working towards that magic number and a healthier future!!!

May 08, 2013

Hi everyone.  I went to Julie in Jan 2012 and it has changed my life SO much.  I LOVE reading everyone's stories and find them encouraging and now it's time to share mine.

Like Linda mentioned in her last post, I too have tried everything under the sun including weight loss surgery over 10 years ago.  I had heard about this program and thought about it A LOT and decided to just call and get on the list.  I was extremely overweight and always worried about fitting in seats with armrests and was happy when I went to the sessions that they had chairs without arms.  By the time I went to my 1st refresher in March I didn't have to ask for the chairs to be changed and it felt GOOD!  I've gone down 5-6 sizes on bottom and about 4 on top, depending on style.  My shopping experience is VERY different now than it used to be.

I would say the biggest challenge has been in the Dr's office, not looking at the scale but that they write it down and leave it on the counter while they take my vitals, so at the 2 appts I've seen my weight.  I don't fret about it but the next time I'll ask they don't put it somewhere I can't see it.

This program has changed me in many ways.  One is that I got my 1st tattoo in Sept, I was always VERY afraid of needles and one day called, made the appt and went.  I say 1st because I just got another one with Compromise - Sacrifice - Example...that's how much this has changed me.

I've added a before & after picture (Xmas 2011 & Xmas 2012) and one of my tattoo.  I have to find some of full view to post later.
Thanks
Lynn

May 05, 2013