I apologize to Theresa for taking so long to put some thoughts and pictures down on my trip to Montana, September 2013. Can I start by saying it was one of my most memorable trips ever?

If you have never been to Montana, might I suggest it? If you want to spend time in a rural, rugged area with beautiful scenery and a peaceful way of life, then Montana is the place for you.

I got to go with my husband when he took a business trip there-spouses were invited, and I have been different places with the same core of people many times. Each time it is like the spouses picked up where we left off...totally enjoyable. Two of the girls and I have stayed in contact, and it was good to see them again. The only difference this time compared to the last time I saw them? My weight. And my zest for life!!!!! 
This picture is from our Newport Rhode Island Trip in August 2010.
This is me (on the right) 10 months before I went to Julie.
This is us in Montana, September 2013, me in the middle
Me ziplining!
We stayed in a beautiful resort 6500 feet above sea level on a mountain called Lone Peak in the Southeastern part. The ladies and I got to do some really fun things such as ziplining, which I never would have done before my Key way of life. Not only was it scary but fun going down, it was quite the terrain climbing UP to get to where we were going. Hiking up the mountain to the zip line was tough and challenging, but I DID IT!!! The whole afternoon adventure was SO freeing and exhilarating, and exciting! I NEVER would have thought I would EVER have done this! And I WILL do it again!!!!
Me at Lone Peak
We took an expedition trip to the top of Lone Peak (11500 feet above sea level) and enjoyed a view I have never ever experienced before, seeing 2 other states (Idaho and Wyoming). It was chilly, but an event I am thrilled I got to be a part of. A little scary taking the tram and the expedition truck, but I never worried once that  I was out of my "league" or that we would come across a challenge I wouldn't be a part of. Also, I had to really find my "trust factor" to take the above picture because standing out on that metal ledge, there was nothing below me, and that is my biggest fear of all!
Lone Peak
No one believes this is not a photo shopped picture
My husband and I had a day to travel to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. On our drive in the park, we came across a lone bison (there are no buffalo in the US, only American Bison) happily having lunch by the side of the road. I had hubby turn our vehicle around, and I got out because I wanted a picture-My husband wouldn't get out to take it! A nice gentleman who was also snapping pictures took this "one and done" picture of me. My favorite picture of all!

I stayed on program the ENTIRE time. I had duck bacon, elk chili, walleye trout, and bison-I had NO problem explaining what I wanted wherever we went, and everywhere we went they were VERY accommodating. We had a kitchen in our room, so we were able to have food readily available for "just in case", but I never needed it. My husband and I made sure we walked every day-the weather was wonderful, and the mountain air was amazing.

I hope he is chosen to go this coming September to the next business/pleasure trip-it will be in Rockport, Maine, and it looks like it will be held at a beautiful coastal resort-this weekend trip is always in some pretty nice places-and now I jump right in and join in whatever activities they have planned. 

Vacations are different now! I look for things to do that I wouldn't do if I was home. I love being included, I am not (as) afraid, and I feel like I fit in! Thank you Julie!



March 08, 2014
This delicious recipe and photo comes to us from Lou.
Sausage Casserole
Ingredients

Add what you like or have available - here's what Lou used:
  • 5 pounds of link breakfast sausage
  • 15 eggs
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1/2 large onion, diced
  • About 1 cup shredded cheese (your choice - I used Colby jack and mozzarella)
  • 2 tablespoons Parmesan
  • About 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • Pepper to taste
Directions:
  1. Cook sausage links.
  2. Sauté onions and pepper in a little olive oil. Once cooked set aside.
  3. Beat the eggs and add the garlic powder and Parmesan mixing well.
  4. Drain the sausage and cut into chunks and add to a baking dish. Mine was about 16/8 and 2 in deep. 
  5. Add the onions and peppers.
  6. Pour in the eggs and add your shredded cheese.
  7. Bake until solid - about an hour at 350.
March 02, 2014
Craving something sweet? Stuffed red peppers to the rescue! I basically used my meatball recipe, but instead of rolling up the meatballs and cooking them all day in the crock pot, I stuffed them into peppers and dinner was ready in about an hour. Here's my yummy recipe.
Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
  • 4 large red bell peppers (or your favorite kind of bell pepper)
  • 1 small jar of tomato sauce (or homemade tomato sauce)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 lbs ground beef 
  • 6-8 cloves of fresh minced garlic (or garlic flakes or garlic powder)
  • Fresh chopped basil (add enough to suit your taste)
  • 1 cup minced onion
  • 1/3 cup breadcrumbs (I use Progresso Italian Seasoned)
Directions
  1. Cut the bell peppers in half length-wise and remove seeds and ends.
  2. After cutting the peppers in half, find a baking dish all the peppers will fit into.
  3. Cover the bottom of the dish with tomato sauce; the sauce doesn't have to be deep. I did not use the whole jar of sauce, but sometimes I do.
  4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs.
  5. Add the ground beef, garlic, basil, and onions in the bowl with the eggs.
  6. Add the breadcrumbs on top of all the other ingredients.
  7. Use your hands to mix all the ingredients together.
  8. Stuff all of the meat mixture into the peppers and then place the peppers in the baking dish. You may top with more sauce. 
  9. Cover or don't cover, they turn out delicious either way and the dish burns either way.
  10. Bake at 400 degrees until the beef is cooked all the way through. I didn't watch the clock, but it was about an hour. I slice into a pepper to see if it's cook enough before serving.
 07/17/14 Update

 I made this recipe again last night for a friend and I cut this recipe in half. I served it yellow squash that I turned into noodles with my spirooli.

Same recipe, different day. Photo by Theresa.

Noodles made with yellow squash. Photo by Theresa.


March 02, 2014
How much time do you spend thinking about your size? Before I started Key Hypnosis, I didn't walk around thinking how obese I was; I was oblivious to my size. However, since I started losing weight, I walk around wishing I was a smaller size all the time. I need to figure out how to stop this obsession.
July 2009                                       Feb. 2014
Last Saturday morning a friend sent me this photo (above) from the summer of 2009. I looked at that photo next to the selfie I had taken the night night before (above) and I thought to myself "Well, Theresa, there is no denying that you are many sizes smaller today than you were in 2009 - just look at these two photos!"

I remember the moment my friend took that photo in 2009. I did not want my photo taken and I froze; hence the goofy smile. I remember thinking "well, at least I'm wearing my favorite blouse."

Instead of being happy she captured a fun moment in time, what I was wearing was paramount. Until the camera came out, I was having a wonderful lunch with a friend I've known since I was 6 years old. Stopping to take this photo disrupted my fun, because the moments before having my photo taken gave me time to pause and time to remember: I am obese.

It's 2014 and I'm no longer obese. I don't mind having my photo taken. In fact I take a lot of selfies. Looking back at where I was re-energizes me, motivates me, and allows me to feel proud of my journey. It also affirms I am smaller. Lots smaller.

Two days ago, as I was walking towards Tailgate, my favorite deli in South Hadley where everyone knows my name (Cheers), I ran into a colleague and that interaction gave me new insight into my obsession.

What's your secret?" my colleague asked me as she stepped up on the sidewalk and shut her car door.

"What secret?" I had no idea what she was talking about.

"How did you lose so much weight?" she asked.

It was a light bulb moment for me: I don't always walk around thinking about being a smaller size!

I started to tell her about the hypnosis, but she interrupted me.

"Oh no, I'm not going to do that. Just tell me what you eat." she said.

Sigh. Where do I begin? I told her I eat a lot of protein and...

"Oh no, I'm not going to do that either. Do you have anything written down?"

I gently suggested she pick up the South Beach or Atkins diet book. You have to be all in this program or it's not going to work.

I had locked into the idea that I was obsessed with constantly thinking about my size, only to discover, when my colleague asked me what my secret was and I clueless as to what she was talking about, that I wasn't as obsessed as I thought.

Author Rhonda Byrne writes about the stubbornness of thought and how once you think something, it's very difficult to eradicate that idea from your mind. The late, social psychologist Dan Wegner described this as "the great irony of mental control: in order to insure that you aren’t thinking about an unwanted idea, you have to continually turn your mind to that very idea. How do you know that you aren’t thinking of a white bear driving a red Ferrari unless you think about whether you’re thinking it?"

Source: "The Powerlessness of Positive Thinking," by Adam Alter, The New Yorker, 2/19/14.
February 28, 2014
For the past three February's, we’ve attended a large (300 plus) party, compete with a huge potluck dinner and band. In the past, I’ve left by 8:30, stuffed from food, feeling ill, and usually on the verge of a panic attack.

This year, I was hungry an hour before the party, so I ate dinner at home. When we arrived, I wasn’t hungry, so just glanced at the long line of homemade food. (No exaggeration - when 300 people all bring a dish, there is a HUGE amount of food. The tables lined one entire wall of the hall) There were a few meat dishes and veggie dishes I could have sampled, but eh, I wasn’t hungry anymore. My husband enjoyed two platefuls, while I had some seltzer, and was perfectly happy. There was a plateful of cupcakes, brownies, and other sweets in the center of the table - I glanced at them, then noticed them no more than I did the silverware and napkins.

A couple hours after the dinner was served, I was watching a nearby group, and thinking how different my life is now. They each had platefuls of munchies and desserts, and passed them between them, exclaiming how yummy everything was. I’m not judging them - in the past that was me. That was how I enjoyed parties. That was what a party meant to me… how many different yummy foods were there to gorge myself with. I thought I was having fun.

This year, I danced every fast dance the band played. I was barely out of breath. I wasn’t overheated to the point of wondering if I was going to faint. People I knew came up me and exclaimed about the difference in me. They didn’t mean the weight, even though in the last seven months I’ve dropped 5-6 sizes. They meant the spark. They said they had never seen me so happy and having so much fun. Even my husband, who sees me every day, said he had never seen that expression on my face before. He said my face was lit up like a teenage girl at a high school dance. And honestly, that’s what I felt like. I was me again. I wasn’t paralyzed with embarrassment anymore. I wasn’t locked in that prison of fat. I had energy…I could move… I was having FUN!

This morning, I’m not even sore (thank you Zumba for the conditioning!) and the glow is still there. Welcome back, life. I missed you more than I even knew.

7 months with Julie - sorry for the blurry picture - I was in a hurry to go out!


February 23, 2014
As I sit at the foot of my bed on my cedar chest petting my kitty, I realize I would not have sat here eight sizes ago. Eight sizes ago I was too afraid my weight would break the cedar chest. But not today. Today I sit here without hesitation and focus only on giving Ginger kitty my full attention, which she appreciates.
Ginger kitty
It is in these brief moments of time that I appreciate changes in my life that I hadn't noticed before. I refer to these moments as a non-scale victories. In this moment, I pause to appreciate the size I am today and I'm happy right where I am in this moment.

I've experienced a gamut of non-scale victories as I dropped weight. Being able to sit with my legs crossed was a small victory compared to running a 5k. Both are on my victory scale.

I didn't run around to all my friends and announce:
I can sit with my legs crossed!
I can sit with my legs crossed!
I can sit with my legs crossed!
I wanted to, but I didn't. Instead, I posted that experience to this blog, because I know many of you can appreciate this kind of non-scale victory.

Today I embrace my size.

Today I will stop focusing on wanting to be a different size and use that energy in other ways.

I am not giving up my desire to reach my goal size. I give time to that in my visualizations and then I focus on other things in life. I no longer live in-between where I am today and where I want to be--I live in the moment.

What about the you? Have you had any non-victory scale moments lately? I'd love to hear them.

This video sheds light on embracing your size. I hope it inspires you the way it inspires me.

February 19, 2014
Instead of bacon, try...baked ham

There's a way to get hot, crispy slices of pork without all the fat:
  1. Lay slices of deli ham on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet; 
  2. Cover them with another piece of parchment; 
  3. Press another sheet pan on top, to keep the meat flat. 
  4. Bakes the ham at 275 degrees until crispy (about 25 minutes). 
It's perfect in an egg sandwich, or chopped and sprinkled over salad.


Recipe Source: Oprah
February 19, 2014
Looking for something to warm you up on these cold winter days? This spicy recipe may help!
Cauliflower Buffalo Bites
Ingredients
  • 1 head of cauliflower, washed and broken up into small florets
  • 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • 1 tsp. chili powder
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • 2 tbsp. of your favorite hot wing sauce
Directions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 425
  2. Toss cauliflower with olive oil and distribute evenly.
  3. Combine garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, and salt in a small bowl. 
  4. Toss spice mixture over cauliflower and mix well, making sure all the cauliflower is coated in the spices.
  5. Spread cauliflower out on a rimmed baking sheet a roast for 20 minutes.
  6. Toss with wing sauce and serve with your favorite blue cheese dressing for dipping.

Recipe and photo from one of our key friends.
February 19, 2014