Today, I'd like to tell you about a secret happening in your life. You may not even be aware of this yet, but I want to encourage you to pause for a moment to see what's happening. If you just started this program, you may not have experienced this yet, but you will.
You are the driver in your life - you choose what direction you want to go!
After a few months of applying what you've learned on Julie's program, without being consciously aware, your life takes on a new direction. As we lose weight, we focus a lot of time and energy on the changes is our size. All the while, things are changing in ways you may not see: your habits have changed over time in subtle ways.

Think about this: how many of those hard program concepts are now autopilot actions for you? Remember all those foods did you thought you could never give up - how long has it been since you thought about them? What's it like when you eat out now? Perhaps you order a sandwich and toss the bread (or ask for it without bread). Or you order black coffee or add whole milk instead of half and half. You tell the wait person not to leave the bread or chips. Pause for a moment and think about what else is different in your life today that you hadn't anticipated?

I no longer ask for a seat belt extension when I board a plane. I don't have to scan a room to make sure there's a chair I will fit into. I sit with my legs crossed. There are many other ways I've changed, including how I order food. I ask a lot of questions when I order out "is their any sugar or flour in that?" or "how is that made?"

I often order off-menu when I eat out these days. I view this part of myself like the character Sally in the movie "When Harry Met Sally." I used to feel uncomfortable and aware that others in line may be listening in, but I don't anymore. It's how I live my life: on my terms.

I order a sandwich and automatically tell the clerk "I know the price is the same without the bread. Just let the cook know 'no bread' and ring it up like a regular sandwich."

When was the last time you did something that made you realize you did it automatically, without thinking about it or making an issue? Success on this program is measured in many ways.
This video accompanied an online article from Upworthy:

She Had A ‘Pretty Woman’ Moment At A Dress Shop, But Her Response Is Way Better Than Julia Roberts’

What do you do when a dress shop manager basically tells you that you don't belong there because you're too big? Well, if you're Clare, you cry a little bit, and then you do a TED talk.

Get ready to cringe and get angry at 3:00, when you hear what happened when Clare went prom dress shopping. But no worries, by 6:08 she's singing Lady Gaga and showing us all how to love ourselves... no matter what anyone has to say about us.

Here's another one of those recipes for seasoning blends I wrote about a few days ago. This seasoning blend is delicious on steaks, burger and chops. I haven't mad this yet, but when I do, I'll add a photo!

Janie’s Gourmet Pepper Rub

¾ Cup Three Color Peppercorns
¼ Cup Pink Peppercorns
1/3 Cup Coarse Salt

1/3 Cup dehydrated Garlic Flakes

  1. In small batches, grind all ingredients, coarse to fine, your preference. 
  2. Combine all ground ingredients. 
  3. Store in air-tight container. 
One of the focuses of this blog is to look at the positive changes our weight loss journey has brought into our lives and to shine a light on them. These moments in time, where we discover a change in our lives directly related to our weight loss, allows us to reflect on how far we've come in more ways than dropping sizes. 
photo by Theresa
Our stories are not all the same, but sharing and celebrating such abstract moments, moments Oprah refers to as "ah ha moments," inspires the rest of us who are on this journey. Linda's recent posts have been about these kinds of moments in time, moments where she discovered a positive change in her life that resulted from her weight loss journey

Yesterday Linda wrote "I think we all need to look at positive changes in our behaviors and current sizes and remember where we have come from" (see Positive AHA Moment - Doctors Visit).

Today's moment in time story comes from Jennifer. She shared this story this morning and I immediately asked her permission to post it here.

Jennifer's moment:

I went in to CVS this evening to pick up a few things.

A nice woman who works there handed me a coupon for the nail polish I was buying.

She says "I just bought this bag of crunchy candy blahblahblah, would you like a piece? I don't know why I bought this huge bag-it was talking to me I guess!"

I say "no thank you."

She proceeds to say "Oh come on, one piece! It won't hurt you!"...............

I look her in the eye, and say "70 pounds" (I really don't know my weight, this is a guess!), and "yeah, it can hurt me. I don't think it would be worth me eating it-I'm not giving up those 70 pounds for a piece of candy!"

She says "yeah, I wouldn't eat it either! Good for you!"

Ladies (and gent) THAT was a TEST! lol!
I went to my doctors a few days back. I had some questions.

I had some lumps and bumps that I JUST didn’t know if they were normal or not and was worried about them. By the time I got to my appointment, I was convinced I had bone cancer, cancer or whatever diseases came to mind. (yes I am one of those worriers)

I got weighed in backwards, this office is wonderful! VERY respectful of me not wanting to know my weight!!

When my dr. came in she was VERY pleased with my weight and we talked about it. She was thrilled with my weight and while talking she realized she has a few patients doing Julie’s plan. She asked for Julie’s number so she could talk with her, so she could legally recommend her program to patients.

Then I proceeded to show her my lumps, bumps, tumors what have you!

As she was checking each one with a deadpan face I was convinced I was going to get the death sentence.

When she was done she turned to me and smiled a great big smile, I wondered what is up with this.

She proceeded to tell me what each thing was and how normal they all are and the reason I never saw or felt them before was because of my weight.

We had a good laugh! I was relieved I wasn’t dieing!!! LOL

So I guess my positive change is finding things on my body I didn’t know existed!!!

From a 26/28 sized woman to a size 12 woman, things are actually going to start showing that never ever were visible before or feelable before!

I actually have a collar bone, hip bones, bones in my hand, on my throat and other places!!

I am not at my goal size, and am really looking to find positive changes. I think we all need to look at positive changes in our behaviors and current sizes and remember where we have come from. WE will get where we are going, we are all just running a different pace race!

How wonderful for my body to be molding itself slowly to become more normal!
I was at a BQ party last night and had this incredible Mexican Corn Salad. They shared the recipe with me this morning and I'm adding to the recipes here because it's incredible. Remember that cheese is treated as a condiment and you must eat an equal amount of meat and veggies.
Mexican Corn Salad
Ingredients
  • 4 ears of corn, husked
  • 5 tablespoons mayonnaise 
  • 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1/8 teaspoon paprika
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 1/4 cup shredded Romano cheese
  • 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro plus more for serving
  • Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
Preparation
  1. Prepare grill for medium heat. 
  2. Grill corn, turning occasionally, until tender and charred, 8–10 minutes; let cool slightly. Instead of grilling the corn, you can toast the kernels in a dry large skillet over medium-high heat
  3. Cut kernels from cobs and transfer to a medium bowl.
  4. Whisk mayonnaise, lime juice, paprika, cayenne, if using, cheese, and 2 tablespoons cilantro in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. 
  5. Add corn and toss to combine. 
  6. Top with remaining cilantro.
Notes
  • The dressing may be made 2 days ahead. 
  • Cover and chill. 
  • Corn can be grilled and cut from cobs 1 hour ahead. 
  • Store airtight at room temperature.
This recipe was modified by my friend, but the recipe and photo originated from Bon Appétit
 
How spicy is your life? I'm not talking about your sex life--I'm talking about cooking with spices. Fresh herbs are best, but more often than not, I use package mixed, such as chili mix. There's another option: skip the mixes, which are full of artificial ingredients, and make your own seasoning blends.
Photo courtesy of Free Digital Photos
Years ago I did a lot of cooking with my friends and I learned how to make seasoning blends for my recipes from my favorite cookbook Healthier Eating Guide & Cookbook by George Matelan and Health Valley Foods. In this book, the author suggests using herbs as a way to reduce salt from your diet and add great flavor to your meals. The cookbook included a handful of blend recipes, but I mainly used the fish, chicken, and all purpose seasoning blends.

Having homemade spice blends cuts back on the prep time. Instead of searching the cabinets for five or six spices, opening each container, measuring, putting the lids back on, and washing all the measuring tools, you only have to find one spice mix to open/close and measure for your recipe.

It's time for me to get back to this kind of cooking again. Care to join me? An easy place to begin is to make your next batch of chili with the homemade taco and chili seasoning recipe below instead of a package mix. BTW, how old are the spices in you cupboards? Do you know they have an expiration date? They do!

Homemade Taco and Chili Seasoning
When making chili or tacos using one pound of ground beef, start with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the seasoning blend (below) and adjust according to your tastes.

Ingredients
  • 4 tablespoons of chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder 
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons ground cumin
  • 3 teaspoons sea salt
  • 4 teaspoons black pepper
Directions
  • In a medium bowl, combine chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, oregano, paprika, ground cumin, sea salt, and black pepper. 
Store in an air tight container at room temperature.
Yield: about 2/3 cup.

Source for this recipe: My Baking Addiction
The past few months I have noticed every time I get into my car, I have to move the seat up!! What in the world!!!

In the past, even when my husband drives the car I have never had to move the seat up, and if so, it was just a tiny bit.

I am getting aggravated and annoyed with him, can not even imagine why he would put the seat so far back lately!!

Today I got into the car and AGAIN, I had to move the seat up. So as I sat there fiddling with stuff getting ready to move my seat up I happened to notice something.

Something that made me smile and laugh out loud!

My stomach wasn't hitting the steering wheel anymore! WHAT!!!!

When my husband has been getting into the car, he is putting the seat back into it's normal position that we always used, AND I AM THE ONE MOVING IT TO A WHOLE NEW POSITION!!

I need the seat closer to the pedals and the steering wheel as NOTHING is getting in the way anymore! (or at least not as much is getting in the way now).

I am actually needing to be closer to the steering wheel as I am not taking so much room up on the seat!!

WHO WOULD HAVE EVER THOUGHT!!!

(I am hoping to start pointing out some NON weight loss changes in a few posts. That may help us to all realize that it isn't just about the weight loss, though that is the BEST part, but for some of us slow losers, we need to look at NON weight loss positives, no matter how silly they may seem)

Oh and by the way, even with the seat up where it is comfortable for me to drive, I want to announce: MY STOMACH IS STIL NOT HITTING THE STEERING WHEEL!!!