Down 25 or so pounds

Well, I'm down 25 pounds. I did the whole Medifast thing for a while, now I'm on high raw vegan. I just made us some yummy raw vegan stuffed mushrooms. My fiance even loved them! He said if I keep cooking like that, he'll definitely be more open to the raw vegan lifestyle.
I'm currently at an overweight weight, but not much. I'm 5 foot 8 inches, and 175 pounds. I am still losing now after the Medifast.
I picked up a new exercise/obsession: boxing. I go three times a week right now, but will go more once the next semester starts. Oh, the news on that front: Ivan, my little one, qualified for preschool 5 days a week from 12 to 2:30. He will get all his therapies, occupational, physical, and speech there at the site. And he'll be in an integrated classroom with normal kids and developmentally delayed kids.
I have changed my major for school as well. I just didn't see a market for a gym teacher out here. They are laying off gym teachers and having one teacher cover two or three schools. SO....I am now an education major with a biology/science emphasis. I will eventually become a high school science/biology/chemistry teacher! Ha. It was a whole situation with talking and talking and talking some more. I have always thought of teaching, just never actually thought of pursuing it. So next semester I will be taking *drum roll*........precalculus 1, modern biology 1, western civ, and world regional geography!!! Woo hoo! Can't wait....

Day 4

Day four, down 4 pounds!! Yay!
It was hard the first few days, but now I'm getting in the groove. I have nutrition class tonight. I'm looking forward to turning in my nutrition tallies for the three day intake. I did ok. Need more fiber, but most numbers were good.
Yoga is getting better, although last Friday we did all balancing poses. If you ever wanna feel inept, try that! I still feel like a loser in that class, but less so. And I keep chanting to myself, "It's not a yoga competition. It's not a yoga competition....."

Biting the bullet

Well, I did it. I finally reached my breaking/desperation point. After much research, I ordered my first 5 weeks of the Medifast plan. I just really need something I don't have to worry or think about too much. Obviously, me being in control of my food is not working for weight loss. So I'll put it in someone else's hands for a few months. From what I've been reading, a lot of people who need to lose about 40 pounds like me do it in 3-4 months. Once it's off, I just know I can keep it off, since I'm not gaining now and haven't for a while, other than the odd two or three pounds up and down. I work out every day in some way, so exercise isn't something I'll need to worry about once the weight's off. I already have the habit.
However, looking at some of the ingredients is a little scary. Frankenfood. The 'eggs' are not real eggs. The first ingredient may indeed be eggs, but there's a whole plethora of junk after that. The good thing is that almost everything is fortified w/ vitamins and minerals. I think that's a good thing, anyway. I figure I may not have the whole-foods way of life right now, but I know that after the weight comes off, I'll go back to my sometimes-raw-but-always-healthy-and-whole-foods self. I'm just so damn desperate to get the weight off. I'm grasping at straws. I know this. But something's gotta give. My mother had good results on Medifast years ago. I know, she may still be obese now, but back then she wasn't nearly as big as she is now. She can't exercise due to her hips (she is in a scooter-chair), and her diet is poor now. So she didn't really stick to a healthy lifestyle.
Oh, I got a great compliment from my mom in an email. She was saying she was regretting a comment that she made about me looking like her Aunt Carolyn. I replied back, "What an apple on two toothpicks???" I thought it was a funny moment, but she felt bad for commenting on my shape and said she didn't mean to hurt my feelings (which she didn't). Well, she said in her email that I looked "awesome" and that she wished she looked as good. That blew me away. She's never ever said anything like that to me. It was a big encouragement. It lets me know that even though I may be overweight, I'm generally happy and am taking care of myself. I haven't given up on me. I hate when people fall into self-hatred and low confidence just because they are out of shape or overweight. I mean, we all have our pity party moments, but in general I like to dress nice and do my hair and makeup still. There's no reason to stop loving yourself just because of your perceived 'flaws'. You need to treat yourself nice and do whatever you need to do to feel good about yourself, whether that's eating healthy and exercising, or finding clothes that flatter you.
Ok, this was a lenthy post. I'll get off my soapbox now. Wow, this was like a pity party and cheering session all in one! I feel better now. I've purged:)

I'm baaack

We got back from Portland last Tuesday. Everything went well. My sister looked beautiful. I'm very happy for both her and her new husband. My boys were the only kids at the wedding, so we left after we ate at the reception. I couldn't really watch them because I was at the wedding party table and they were with DH at another table. He really took one for the team this trip. He basically was a chauffeur and a babysitter the whole time. He was good about it, though. I felt bad for him.
I gained two pounds during the trip, due to only fast food and restaurants the whole time. I am considering it a victory, however. It was only two pounds when it could have been more.
Now that I'm back and settled in, I'm tweaking my diet again. I'm poring over my raw food cookbooks again. Or is it un-cookbooks since there's no actual cooking involved? I am juicing every other day, because those juices can be pretty high in calories, so every other day evens it out a bit. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself:)
Yoga is going well. I didn't hurt nearly as much after last Friday's class. In speech/communications, I have actually gotten up and spoken two times. For me this is crazy! And for my nutrition class, we have a project involving keeping track of our intake for three days, two of which must be Saturday and Sunday. We have special software that came with the text, and all these reports to print out and hand in along with two questionnaires about our results. I'm looking forward to this project. I've already done my three days of food intake, and am just waiting to do the questionnaires.
According to The CR Way, I should be consuming 1600 calories a day for a 20% reduction in calories. They have me set for my age and activity level at 2000 calories as a base. So figure subtract 400 for a 20% reduction, making 1600. I don't know, that seems high to me, but then again, I've been trying to lose weight forever, so maybe I've been going too low. Anyway, I'm going to set my goal for 1600. I'll report back on how it's working out.

Ouch

Yoga is hard. I am in pain. Everything hurts. My butt, my back, my arms, my abs.... and this was from Friday, and it's now Sunday! I tried everything in class, couldn't do some things, but it was great. I'm going to love Friday mornings I think. Hopefully I won't be in as much pain next time.
I'm currently hovering at 190. Just one more pound and I can officially be in the 180s!! I'm sticking to my calorie goals, exercising, and drinking lots of water.
I'm still lifting weights three times a week and the yoga once a week. I'm still not feeling the treadmill just yet. I'll add it, just later. Trust me, it'll be there when I'm ready. It's just sitting there, taunting me.
I'm making a crockpot dinner tonight. Eggplant and pea curry over brown rice. Sounds yummy, we'll see how it comes out. Last night was salmon with potatoes and spinach.
School is going great. I even stood in front of my communications class and introduced another student! I'm pretty shy and introverted, so this was hard for me. But I'm glad I did it. The professor has us getting up and speaking in every class, so I'm happy I jumped in and didn't die or anything:) I'll hopefully get used to it. I'm thinking this semester I might be able to pull off straight A's. That will really help my GPA.
Well, that's it from my side, hope everyone who reads is doing well!

Packing

I know it's still a week away, but I'm almost done packing for the trip to WA for my sister's wedding. Hey, with two kids, I just know I'm going to forget something, and if I pack it all early, maybe I'll remember by the time we leave!
I'm doing well. Eating is good. Still struggle with the night time some days, but not most. About 2 times a week. I'm sleeping better. Exercise is spotty, at best. I attack with fervor some days, and can't be bothered others. Oh well, I would say I do get exercise most days.
I've been sticking to a calorie level of about 1400 a day. Sometimes higher, usually a little lower. Fat is at around 20 percent. I'm eating a lot of plain yogurt, cottage cheese, fresh fruits and veggies (green smoothies), and dinner is the usual lean protein and some sort of veggie. Last night I made a crockpot full of black beans, served with brown rice. My kids don't even know what white bread and rice is. And that's just the way I like it:) Well, the older one knows about the yukky stuff now that he's in school. Thank you, school district!
My older boy just started first grade yesterday. I didn't get emotional this year like I did the last two years for kindergarten and preschool. I was a wreck for preschool. We walked there, and I bawled the whole way back. Then kindergarten was a little better, just sniffly. But this year, no tears, no eyes welling up. He came back in a great mood and excited. He said his teacher is 'super nice'. I'm enjoying the freedom, even though my 2 yr old is still home. It's much quieter around here.
I'm back in school too. Yoga's great, I think that Friday morning is a perfect time for relaxing yoga stretching. I get to it before my day even starts. Nutrition was good, a little easy. Since I'm so diet-conscious to begin with, I didn't learn much about reading food labels that I didn't already know. Hopefully I'll pick up some new stuff. The teacher is nice, she is also the mother of all boys, so thus the only woman in a house full of boys. We bonded. The class is mostly young men, all athletes. I felt A) FAT and out of shape and B) OLD:) I got over it though. I'm a work in progress, baby! Come see me this time next year!

Fell off

Well, I fell off the wagon and gained two pounds back. But I'm back now and my resolve is renewed. I was feeling very frustrated and defeated last night and indulged myself by complaining to DH. He was so supportive and helpful. It was sweet. You see, my mother is morbidly obese, can't even walk anymore, and she's only 51. So of course I've got that in the back of my head constantly. Now I have my sister's wedding mid-September, and I just know I'm going to be the biggest one there, and there will be comments behind my back. Something along the lines of, "She's going to end up just like her mother..." or something like that. I just seem to have a harder time than others losing weight. Most people just 'cut back' a little on the food and start exercising and boom-- weight loss. I think my thyroid problem is part of the problem, and I don't sleep well, which is linked to obesity. It causes the brain to secrete more of a hormone that causes us to feel hungry and store fat. I don't remember the exact name of the hormone.
So I'm back on the strict CRON-o-meter monitoring and I've decided to shake up my workouts again. The treadmill walking is drowning me in monotony. Seriously, if I have to get on there and just walk at my same old pace (which is pretty fast, 4 mph), and listen to my same old workout playlist, I'm going to scream. I just can't do it 6 days a week anymore. It's killing me!!! So, that being said, I'm trying some weight training 3 days a week. I've found some routines online, and I'll lift the most weight I can lift for one set, and we'll see if that helps. I need to be challenged. Luckily, DH has all the equipment I need. We have a bench, some barbells, and lots of dumbbells. Should be enough to train with.
We're still enjoying our CSA produce. I'm loving figuring out things to make out of what we get. We also had a little surprise with last week's haul. A yellow watermelon! I've never seen that before. It looked the same on the outside, but inside was a bright canary yellow. It was so shocking to cut it open and see the two halves fall open and then you have this gorgeous yellow color. The kids were skeptical, but loved it. My older one even said it was better than the red kind.
Well, that's all for my confession and whine-fest. Hope all are doing better than me recently:)

Down another pound!

Yay! I'm down another pound! I'm not sure of my total, but I think it's around 7 pounds lost since we got back from Florida (where I gained a few). I'm still just eating dinner and a few snacks. I've struggled with the late night snacking a few nights this week, but I'm moving on. It's a learning curve, right? I'm down to just a handful of times a month of midnight snacking, so I'm definitely catching on.
I've been doing my walking. Which, I must say, is really boring to me right now. I've tried downloading some new music but that didn't work to rejuvenate me. But at least I'm doing it. Even if it is mindless. I'm walking fast enough, but maybe I'll try adding some incline intervals soon.
I've been cooking a lot of casseroles lately, and making two at once so I have one to freeze for later. I've done a few mexican ones (burrito casserole, enchiladas) and some unrolled cabbage rolls that are so easy, way easier than rolling and cooking the individual rolls.
I've made a new workout top. It came out 'okay'. Not the greatest thing I've ever made, but good enough to sweat in and wreck. And it's a nice wicking material so my sweat will be 'wicked away'.
Farm pickup is today. I can't wait. We're really seeing the bounty of the harvest paying off. I counted 11 items in today's pickup. They send a newsletter out each Monday morning telling us what's in the pickup and what's coming up soon. I've been making so many fresh veggie salads and side dishes. I made a carrot and beet salad with a lime vinegarette (sp?), and a maize pudding, and some baked eggplant sandwiches. The sandwiches were delicious. They had eggplant 'bread' and provolone for the middle, breaded and baked. Mmmmmm. The pudding is cooking right now. We'll see how that comes out. It's crazy that I have my oven on when it's supposed to be the hottest day of summer here in NY. It's supposed to get to 90. Oh well, we can always hang out downstairs where it's cooler.
Here's to summer and good eatin'!!!

No more running....waaaah!

I went to the doctor for my yearly physical. He doesn't want me running anymore due to arthritis in my shoulders. He doesn't recommend running for women anyway, due to the stress on the hip joints, and I already seem to be getting some joint problems. SO...back to "rapid walking". BORING. But I'm doing it and I'm getting faster. I'm walking a 15 minute mile. Ok enough about that.
I'm down another half pound. I've been skipping food altogether during the day still. Just lots of water with lemon or lime or cucumbers in it. I really think that cutting out the aspartame did something to my hunger switch. Ever since I stopped taking that stuff in, I haven't struggled with hunger as much at all.
We are taking over the whole house now. We have an apartment downstairs and the tenant just left. It's so great for the kids to have a place to get all carazay!! It's turned into a whole project though. We are painting and taking baseboard heaters out, and getting molding and tables and fixing wall units and moving toys, oh my!! I now have a 'gym'. It's got my treadmill and the weight bench and some dumbells and barbells. I painted it orange. I love the color. I wasn't sure once I started to actually put it on the wall. I was like, "oh crap. Did I just make a huge mistake? What am I thinking going orange?!" But it all worked out once it was dry. It's so sunny and energizing.
I'm getting my own sewing/crafty area too. I've got a big table and my sewing machine's down there. I have little cubbies for my fabrics too. It looks so organized and nice now. Much better than having all these ugly brown boxes piled in the corner. I just made my first pair of workout pants. I can save lots of money making my own cool stuff out of high tech fabrics. Have you seen what stuff goes for in the stores?? I'm going to make another pair of pants and some tops too.
I'm having all this eagerness and anticipation for school. I can't wait. The school's online bookstore is closed right now, and I check every single morning in the hopes of getting my textbooks used instead of new so I can save me some money. But alas, as of this morning they are still closed. How nerdy is that? I am checking on textbooks like I'm waiting to buy tickets to System of a Down or something. By the way, they happen to be one of my most favoritest bands in the whole wide world:) Although Lady Gaga and Britney Spears are my go-to girls for the treadmill. Gotta have a good pop beat. And now I'm all stylin' with my new homemade workout gear!
Our garden is doing so-so. The tomatoes are as tall as DH. Couple of flowers but no fruit yet. The summer squash is blooming too. But everything else is dead or dying. Oh, the peppers are doing ok too. But the cucumbers and melons are gone.
The farm has me rediscovering my Moosewood cookbook. I made a zucchini and avocado salad, and am going to try a curried avocado soup tomorrow with a caribbean chilled striped bass. Mmmmm. I'm digging this whole cooking seasonally thing. We got some striped bass from a guy at DH's work who caught a ton and was looking to get rid of some. So I found a recipe for a fried fish that's chilled in a marinade. It looks great. That with a nice cool avocado soup will be nice when it's in the 80's here.
Well, I hope all are well and getting some support or inspiration from these words.

Down two more lbs!!!

I'm down two more pounds, yay! I have been working out 6 days a week, with 4 of those running days, and 2 walking days. I've also been mainly eating dinner as my one meal of the day. I'm whittled the midnight snacking to about once or twice a week, and then I try to make it fruit. I'm very pleased with my progress.
The running is getting harder and harder, though. I'm sticking to it. I had to wimp out a little the other day because it was so humid I was having a hard time catching my breath. I ended up doing 4 1/2 of the 6 running intervals. Not too shabby. We fixed the humidity problem by moving the treadmill into the downstairs where it's cooler instead of where it was in the garage where the oil burner is and it's at least 5 degrees warmer than the outside.
It's disgustingly humid here in NY. Gross. I haven't even worked out yet and I feel like I need a shower.
On a completely different topic, my little one fell yesterday and busted his lip open. It bled sooo much, but it wan't deep and didn't need stitches. He's got a fat lower lip now and some bruising on his chin.
My kids are great, but I'm getting to that "is summer over yet?" point. My big boy is going into first grade. We got some workbooks to keep his skill sharp over the summer, and he actually enjoys doing them. I will be very busy once school starts, since I'm taking 4 classes myself, two on the weekends, one weekday night in which I need a sitter for about an hour, and one online. I'm taking yoga, human communication, nutrition and human performance, and freshman seminar. The freshman seminar is sooooo ridiculous. I'm a sophomore, and have been in college part time off and on for about four years. BUT....it's part of my fitness specialist degree program, so the director of the program is making me take it. At least it's online.
It's so important for me to lose this weight by the time I graduate in two years. I need to be in tiptop shape in order to either do personal training, or work in a gym. OR do personal training in a gym:) I think about it every day. Will I succeed? I'm so scared I'll fail. I have it in me and want to be positive, but you get those nagging feelings in the back of your head, you know? No one's going to hire a fat trainer.

Start of Week 3 Running

I'm up to 6 minutes straight running, and one minute walking. I'm really enjoying the challenge of it all. I want to get myself a new pair of running shoes, but right now that's not possible. The running bit is getting easier, although the first mile is sooo hard mentally. I want to just stare at the timer, but that makes time go even slower, so I try not to do that.
Food is going great, but I have to cop to scarfing down a whole bag of Doritos in one day (not one sitting). My son found out that Doritos contain MSG and started crying, so I have officially sworn off of my favorite chips now. I really don't need them. I can't control myself. The salt in them made running so hard the next day, and I also bloated up two pounds temporarily. So no more, I'm going cold turkey.
I've taken to just eating dinner each day, with maybe a snack or two. One before dinner and one after, usually fruit or cottage cheese. I find it much easier to control my calorie intake if I limit food most of the day. I don't seem to suffer for it. I'm not cranky or tired. In fact, I would say I've had even more energy and motivation since doing this. I drink lots of water with lemon or lime slices. I used to drink this powder mix that you add to water. It contained aspartame. I decided I didn't want to have this chemical in my body anymore, and I think it has a lot to do with my hunger 'switch'. Since cutting out the aspartame, I don't constantly feel hungry. I feel great on little food. And it's healthier for all of us, since I just won't bring it in the house anymore.
Dinner these days is usually a grilled protein of some sort (chicken or beef or fish), and a large salad or veggie from the CSA. I don't have to worry so much about lowfat or fat free dressings and such, since I'm getting little to no calories throughout the day, I can afford the fat. I'm coming up nutritionally pretty good according to the CRON-o-meter, but I am coming up short on potassium consistently. I've read on the CR support group on Yahoo that some people use salt substitute like NuSalt to supplement potassium. I'm going to try this and see how it works.
That's all for me for now, have a great week everyone!

Beginning Week 2 of Operation: Running

Running is going well. I'm up to running 2 minutes and walking 1 minute. I did this 10 times with a 3 minute warm-up and cool down period. I'm doing about a 13 minute 40 second mile. It's a little tough, I have to play little head games with myself so I won't stare at the timer. Like, I'll just run this half a lap then I can check the time. Still waiting for my runner's high, though. I'm pretty proud of myself for sticking to it so far. I know it's just going to get harder once school starts.
I'm sticking to the calorie goals I've set for myself. I'm still eating no more than 1500 calories a day.
I might get my own sewing area downstairs! We're thinking of not renting out the apartment downstairs and taking over the whole house for a play area for the kids, easier entertaining, and a sewing room for me. Right now, I sew at the dining room table with an extension cord running across the walkway, and my fabric and various thingies are stacked in the corner in cardboard boxes. If we took over the house, we could clear out the living room and the kids' room of toys and make a play area down there, making more living space for all of us upstairs. We just have to work out the finances, but we might be able to swing it. I'm already looking at paint chips and couches:)

Training in humidity sucks

Seriously, I was sucking wind today. I wanted to quit, but I didn't let myself go there. I just huffed and puffed in the sticky humidity. Oh, for clarification, my treadmill is downstairs in our garage, so I am subject to the outdoor temperature, and sometimes it's actually hotter in the garage. So today it sucked to be me. But then it didn't suck to be me because I'm a happy girl now that I got my workout in, and it's only 10am!
I'm down 3 pounds! Woohoo! I've just been sticking to my fruits and vegetables, light on the grains and meats, and staying at 1500 calories. I'm loving watermelon right now. There's half of a huge specimen chilling in the fridge as I type. The kids have had their fill, and I'm thinking of freezing some chunks til semifrozen, and whirling them in the VitaMix w/ some agave syrup and making a slushy sweet creation. Mmmmm.
I love blue cheese dressing. I have recently found a brand that is yogurt-based and has way less calories and fat than the regular kind. It's from Bolthouse Farms. It's in the produce section by the packaged salads where they have all the fancy refrigerated dressings. They have other flavors too, but I'm in heaven with the blue cheese.
The farm share is getting larger each week as the season progresses. We have red potatoes, napa cabbage, romaine lettuce, beets, scallions, garlic, zucchini, and cucumbers. It's so much fun finding recipes to use up all the great produce.
Well, I'm off to a doctor appointment and the drugstore for some shampoo....Good luck today everyone!

Running

On to another crazy idea....I'm starting an 8-week training program to get me running for 30 minutes straight. I got it from the Runner's World website. It starts with more walking than running and gets you to 30 minutes at the eighth week. I'm excited. I am just going to focus on this for a few months, instead of weights and crosstraining and all that jazz. Once I have the running down, I'll add some other activites, but it's going to take some time and dedication. It's also going to be particularly funny, since I'm about 40 pounds overweight:) Jiggle, anyone? lol
Food is going okay, but I'm still snacking at night about every other night, and it's adding anywhere from 100-250 calories to my calculated 1500 total. But I'm all about the self-acceptance, so I'm trying not to beat myself up over it. I'm trying to allot the calories for a midnight snack, but I have yet to master that whole brilliant idea. All in all, it's still not too bad, I'm staying at 1700 or less per day, and even though that's not strict calorie restriction, it's pretty good for dieting, since I'm at 195 right now (shhh...don't tell anyone).
Have you all seen the recent news clips on Calorie Restriction? I've seen two already. They spoke to people who practice it and had monkeys that had been fed 1/3 less than the other group of monkeys, and the monkeys who ate less were way healthier and lived longer. Hmmm....I wanna be a healthy, old monkey! Then the second story I saw had to make the brilliant claim that modern medicine was looking in to creating a pill that would mimic the results. Hmph. It figures. We're always looking for a pill to fix us nowadays.
I just got a great book on DIY cosmetics and cleaning and first aid. I've already gone crazy and ordered a variety of essential oils. I'm going to try the recipe for facial cleanser, moisturizer, spray cleaner, healing salve, window cleaner, and deodorant. The book is called Make Your Place: Affordable, Sustainable Nesting Skills by Raleigh Briggs. I ordered mine from buyolympia.com, but you could probably do a search and find some other places to order it from. This book was brought to my attention by Amy Karol over at Angrychicken.com. I have to give credit where credit is due. I love the whole DIY environmentally safe ideas. I'll post back what the results were.

On track

Well, I gained almost five pounds from our trip to Florida to visit DH's parents. Ugh. It was all restaurant food, too. Breakfast and dinner. They live in a retirement community and we ate in the dining room for two meals a day. Lunch was always light. Alcohol every night too.
SO...back on the wagon for me! I have been staying at 1500 calories and have dropped one pound already. I'm back on the treadmill 3 days, and weights 3 days. I'm not doing the wii active for a little while. I just don't think it's tough enough, and I need something to really get me in shape now. I'll save the wii for when I start dropping more pounds and can ease up on the workouts a little. When I do the treadmill, I have a graph that shows laps, so I do half a lap walking at about 3.5 mph, and then I run half a lap at 5 mph. I'm not really a runner, so this lets me get some running in and get better at it. The goal being to eventually run one, walk a half, then ultimately to run most of the way, if not all the way. I will also keep track of distance, working from my 2 miles right now up to maybe 4 or 5 miles. I like the treadmill because I find I can really get into it with my iPod. I love upbeat dancey type music for working out. It keeps me motivated.
The kids had a blast in Florida. We did the beach one day, then did the pool a couple of days. I got a little burned, but it went away really quickly. I had on 50 spf too. I just don't do the sun very well. My oldest is half Puerto Rican, so he got all nice and brown. My little one is very fair like me, with blond hair and blue eyes, so he had a hat and sunglasses on the whole time. He didn't burn, though, so that was good. They got to spend some quality time with their grandparents. It was nice.
I've discovered a new lunch combination that is great. Take Greek yogurt (plain, nonfat), and add about 2 tablespoons of apple butter and about 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds or wheat germ (I like the flaxseeds). It is so rich and delicious, with just the right amount of tanginess and sweetness. Yum. I'm also still doing the green smoothies once a day. I'm into the combination of spinach, banana, and blueberries right now. I have been juicing every other day.
Well, I hope all who read this are doing well and living healthy. Let's do this!

Healthy again

We're all over the flu now, but my oldest still needs breathing treatments for the next month. Geez. That's a lot of breathing treatments. I guess they really want to make sure the symptoms are gone.
Eating has been good, not great. I tend to not use the CRON o meter while my husband's home. Which is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. SO...I'm resolving to use it this coming weekend. I'm still not losing however, but I've begun working out again. I had to stop during the whole flu episode. I'm stuck right at the same number for a while now. I'm sure the key is the weekends. Not that I'm pigging out or anything, I'm just not as precise with my calorie intake.
I got my little one's pictures taken a few weeks ago. The photographers had me sign a release form because they want to put his pictures up in the studio, all blown up. I guess I got me a cute kid, or something! They were in love with Ivan, they kept asking me, "Are you sure he's two? He's better behaved than most of the two year olds we see. Is he for real?!" I don't know if they use that line on all the mommies, but I felt great:) I was going to try to keep my kid's' names anonymous on this blog, but I don't care now. My oldest is Jackson, and my baby is Ivan. I could have tried to give them cute little nicknames, but I'm just not that creative at this moment. Hopefully I don't have any stalkers out there!
We picked up from the farm yesterday. We got peas, broccoli raab, parsley, and lots of swiss chard. Oh and zucchini. But only two zucchini. I can make some yummy faux crab cakes out of the zucchini. It's easy, you just mix the grated zucchini w/ seasoned bread crumbs, egg, and some Old Bay seasoning. Then fry to golden deliciousness! Throw in some onion if you want. This whole farm thing is probably one of the highlights of the year for me. I get so excited to see what the spread will be and how to cook it. I am going to saute the broccoli raab in some onions and oil, then sprinkle some gorgonzola on it. Mmmmmm....... I've never eaten broccoli raab, but I'm sure it will be delicious. Everything's better with cheese on it, as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure most of you would agree. Who doesn't love cheese!! Well, don't answer that. I know someone out there is going, "Ewwww" over my ravings on cheese.
Well, that's it for me for now. Still plugging away at the healthy lifestyle. Hope all who reads this are well.

Influenza Virus A

Yep...flu A has taken out my family. My older son developed a bad cough and fever Sunday night. Well, we took him to the doctor yesterday, and he tested positive for flu A. Now, it could definitely be swine flu, however the doctor said that unless he was ill enough to be hospitalized we wouldn't know. I have symptoms, the baby has mild symptoms, and so does DH. We think the baby hasn't had much problems because he gets a steroid breathing treatment via nebulizer every night, which would reduce any inflammation and coughing. He did have a fever last night. They are both on Tamiflu. Which, just so you know, is INCREDIBLY expensive. My baby is covered by his dad's insurance and medicaid, so he didn't cost anything, but Jackson, my older boy, his tamiflu cost 86 dollars!!! With the insurance too, I might add. Aye, aye, aye....
I also found out that a good friend of ours has rectal cancer. He is interested in juicing and alternative therapies, so he wants to come over and check out my juicer and look in to some healthier nutrition. I've seen a documentary called The Beautiful Truth, which is about something called Gerson Therapy. Sounds incredible, but it's very healthy, and although I wouldn't say it can cure cancer definitively (what do I know??), it is very nutritious and includes juicing and raw foods. He's very eager to talk to someone about this. He has all these decisions to make and he wants to get some feedback from others. I think he's very scared and just wants someone to talk to. He's seen three different doctors and they all three had a different perspective and possible outcomes. He was supposed to come over yesterday, but we're quarantined here at the moment.
My diet continues to be pretty good. Not stellar sometimes, but every day is a new one, right? I've caved in to late night temptations a few times, but it's getting to be less and less. I'm into lowfat cottage cheese right now. I find that after my workout, it's what I want. I've also been digging honeydew melon. It is soooo sweet right now. I can't believe how sweet it is! Almost too sweet, but not really :) I've been having green juices about every other day. I find unless I put just the right ingredients in, I can't stomach it lately. This means lots of ginger and lemons and apples. I made some the other day with too much kale and it was awful. Kinda turned my stomach. What a turn off. I'm thinking maybe I'll dilute my juice with half filtered water to weaken the taste a little. My tastebuds just can't handle it lately.
Onward and upward! Well, if we're talking weight, then downward.....lol.

Natural Food Store Haul

I went to our local natural foods store and picked up hemp tortillas, organic bulgur wheat, gluten free mini pizza crusts (4 in pack), and my usual liquid greens supplement. This new liquid green supplement also has the superfruits in it. You know, noni, acai, etc. We'll see how this works. The hemp tortillas are particularly interesting to me. I'm wondering how I'll like the taste. I'll let you know when I know.
Food plan today: cottage cheese, pineapple, green juice (apple, romaine, cucumber, kale, lemon, ginger), hamburger on whole wheat bun, homemade wedgie fries, and of course my daily dose of quesadilla on whole wheat tortilla. Can't do without that these days. I'm having a hard time getting all my carbs in on the CRON-o-meter. I get the protein and fat, but with my calorie range it's been tough to fit in the carbs. I guess I could add in some brown rice or something, but that's pretty calorie dense. Hmmm.
I did workout number three of the 30 Day Challenge today. It had some tougher stuff in it. I did combos like bicep curls w/ shoulder presses, and there was also some plyometric side to side jumps, which my fat ass had a hard time doing. I did all the reps though, so I'm celebrating it as a success! Then the cooldown was this hilarious dance thing. I had a lot of fun doing the shopping cart:) All in all, a great purchase. It's even better with the Wii Fit balance board.
I have a busy day tomorrow. My oldest has his first field day at school, so I have to go cheer him on. I'm thinking he's going to have a meltdown. He's very hard on himself, and everybody's parents will be there, no pressure or anything, and I'm afraid if he doesn't do to well on something, he's gonna lose it. My little one also has pictures tomorrow. He hasn't had photos since the Christmas card. I want to do a little beachy theme with him. I'm putting him in little shorty overalls that are plaid. I will have him barefoot too. I can't wait to see how it comes out. Being the only girl in a house full of boys is very interesting. DH doesn't understand the need for pictures. I'm like, "Hello. He's only going to be this little and adorable for a very short time. When he gets older he'll get the usual school pics, but these will be special." He got all quiet and said, "ok." I've also become an expert burper, and can talk farts with the best. Totally gross, I know, but I'm a lone estrogen creature in an all testosterone environment.
Oh, my oldest has recently become interested in taking showers for some reason. Well, every time he gets in he states, "Aaaahhh there's nothing like peeing in the shower!" Only in a houseful of penises will you hear this;)

Quesadillas

As in, what have I been craving the most? Quesadillas. I've been having one a day for the past few days. I use whole grain tortillas, and low fat colby/monterey cheese. I'm still interested in the raw foods, but I'm thinking that 100% is not for me right now. I crave ooey gooey cheese and warm pastas too much.
The farm haul yesterday was great. Spinach, strawberries, something called a garlic scape (basically a tendril from a garlic plant, tastes like a cross between garlic and a scallion), lettuce, and salad mix. I still haven't used up all the arugula from last week, so I'm thinking I'll make some arugula pesto with what's left. Mmmmm.
I just started exercising again yesterday. I was on death's door from Wednesday til Saturday. I'm still not 100%, but good enough to exercise. I started the 30 day Challenge over AGAIN. That's 3 times, I think. I'm sticking to 1500 calories a day and have lost 2 pounds.
My DH and I went to a concert on Sunday. We saw Street Sweeper Social Club, Nine Inch Nails, and Jane's Addiction. Good stuff. I have seen Nine Inch Nails 6 times now. Will probably see them again. I'm getting old. You know you're getting older when the band says, "Thank you for supporting us all these years." Geez. Oh well, it was great seeing Jane's Addiction reunite for this tour. Perry Farrell (lead singer) actually said that the last time they played NY together was in 1991. They sounded great, like they never broke up.
The food for today: Green juice (romaine, cucumber, kale, apple, ginger, lemon), cottage cheese, quesadilla, tilapia, sauteed arugula with garlic and oil, and maybe some fresh strawberries for dessert:)

Awesomeness

The awesomeness I refer to is me:) I didn't snack attack last night, and I got my work out in. I stayed at 1500 calories for the day (actually just under). I just generally rocked it out yesterday!
I am having green juice for breakfast today (after I work out), cottage cheese and fresh cut pineapple for lunch, and homemade pizza with whole wheat crust and turkey pepperoni. I know, I might as well just have the regular pepperoni for all the good it'll do me, but I still cling to the notion that it's somehow healthier, even though loaded with salt and preservatives. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither are my eating habits. So there.
My youngest son and I are both sick. I can't figure out if it's allergies or a cold. We both have sore throats, sneeze a lot, and have watery eyes and runny noses. My son's boogers are clear, and from what I've heard, clear nasal discharge is a sign of allergies. All I know for sure is that it sucks!
Today is Day 2 of the 30 Day Challenge on my Wii Active. I think tomorrow is a rest day. I did a lot of different moves yesterday, running/walking, squats, bicep curls, bent over rows, side lunges, and kickboxing. The running kicks my butt, and it's a little strange running in place in my living room. I didn't wear the right bra, and my boobs were hurting. I'm a 40D, so my cup definitely runneth over, and I practically need scaffolding to stop them from bouncing. That's one area I don't lose weight in, my chest. I'm not sure if it's a blessing or not. Some days yes, and some days, when I want to wear cool halter tops or tube tops, it's NOT. I have yet to find the right strapless bra. They all seriously lack in the support department. If anyone out there knows of a good brand, let me know!
Oh, we picked up at the farm yesterday. We got swiss chard, arugula, butter lettuce, and rosemary. Kinda light, but the season just started and we have til October to make up for it. We had a head of the butter lettuce with our grilled pork chops last night, and poor DH had a little sandy dirt in his salad. I only had one or two bites that were gritty. I just washed them under the tap real well (well obviously not that well) and put them in the spinner. I think next time I'll make a bath for them in the sink and swish them around, and then do the spinner.
So that's the rundown for me. Hope today's as good as yesterday, so I can get some momentum goin'. Hope all who reads this is well and healthy.

Still here

Well, I'm still alive, if not thriving quite yet. I'm starting today with my exercise again. My foot is totally healed up. Okay, it hurts very little, and I'm going to favor my other foot.
Food has been angelic during the day, and very devilish at night. I undo all of my good eating at night. Again, I don't sleep well, so I'm up every few hours. This is another issue that has to be dealt with, I know it's not optimal for losing weight. SO, any ideas on what to do when I wake up in the night? What the heck should I do, read? Watch some tv? Help!
So that's it for the Debbie Downer section of this blog entry.
We pick up our second batch from the farm today! I'm so excited. I wonder what we'll get. I am thinking probably more of what we got last time plus a new thing or two. We will go after my oldest gets home from school and finishes his homework.
Our garden...hmmm...it's surviving and not thriving (like me, lol, must be contagious). All of our plants from seed died, and DH bought seedlings already grown and put them in. We now have tomato, cucumber, zucchini, some hot peppers, and melon. This whole gardening thing is really a pain so far. We're thinking DH put the garden in an area where it's not getting enough sunlight. It gets sun, but not as much as we think it probably needs. Oh well, it's an adventure.

Local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)

I'm so excited! We joined our local farm co-op! We get a share each Monday til October. The first pick-up was yesterday. We got arugula, salad mix (like spring/mesclun mix), spinach, mint, and chives. The first pick ups are light, getting heavier as the season progresses. Everything is locally grown and organic. We pick up at the farm, which is about 4 miles away. We are so lucky to have this near us. The fun part is getting veggies you may not be familiar with and finding recipes to make out of it. Like the arugula. We don't really eat that too much, but I've already found a few recipes to try.
As far as CR goes, I've been off the wagon since Saturday due to the holidays. I've got to learn how to work my CR in to gatherings without seeming like I'm being fussy or weird. I've gained 5 pounds. I really have to get myself under control. I'm starting fresh today, I've already put my food for the day into the CRONometer, and will be sticking to it, come hell or high water. Or doughnuts....hehe.
My foot is mostly all better, so I'm going to start my workouts again. I'm planning on the doing the Wii Active. Someone commented about the Active pack, asking if it was the same as the Fit. It's not the same. We have the Fit, which is a game and a balance board pack, and the Active is separate, with a game and a leg strap and resistance band. You don't need the balance board to do the active, but it is balance board compatible. Meaning, you can use the board, but you don't have to have it. I use it, might as well, we paid enough for it:)
Oh, I saw a really good documentary about aspartame. It was called Sweet Misery. If you have Netflix and can watch movies instantly on your computer, it's on the instant watch list. It freaked me out. I know that these kinds of tales have two sides, but I agree with the movie. It's some freaky bad shit. I won't feed it to my kids, and I won't eat it anymore. We also avoid MSG now. Not that we ate a lot of it to begin with, but whenever we order chinese take out, which isn't often, it's got loads of it. Did you know that MSG is also in my favorite splurge food, Doritos??? Yeah, I remember being heartbroken when I was pregnant cuz I couldn't eat my Doritos:( Waaaaahhh.
Well, that's it. Newfound resolve (again), no aspartame, and buckets of fresh organic produce!!!!

Wii Active

I went and bought the Wii Active pack yesterday. It's a Wii game, a special legstrap, and a resistance band. I really liked it. Unfortunately, I'm out of the race today. I've been ordered by DH to stay off my foot. It felt worse after working out yesterday. The game is neat. You make your own profile and customize the looks, weight, height, age and stuff. Then you can do a workout with specific goals like burning a certain amount of calories, or a certain time, or cardio or strength. There's also the 30 day challenge, which is what I went for. It trains you everyday, includes rest days, and trains different parts so you don't strain any one body part. You strap this leg strap to your right thigh, then put one part of the two-part controller in the pocket on the strap. Then you can do all sorts of things, like boxing, inline skating, and traditional calisthenics like squats and lunges and bicep curls with the band.
I think exercise is the missing piece for me. Any time I've ever lost weight doing any sort of diet, it only starts kicking in once I'm doing moderate exercise. So I'm back on track. I wish my foot was though. I'm sticking to 1500 calories a day, but struggling with food at night, AGAIN. I'm eating fruit, which is probably the lesser of all evils I could be eating, but still. I scarfed down some pineapple and cantaloupe at about 2 am last night. I think it's cuz I don't sleep well. And since I'm up and awake, I feel hunger. If I was asleep I'd bypass the hunger til morning. At least, that's my theory. I'm going to try the valerian root I bought about a month ago but never took. I just forget to take it.
So I'm trying to follow the food combining rules. We had burgers and cucumber salad for dinner last night, and I skipped a bun for my burger. Just protein and veggies. It was tough though:) I love me some juicy burgers on a bun. Who doesn't??? Ok, don't answer that. I'm aware that there's people out there who don't do meat. Fine by me, leaves more for me:) I actually only eat meat at dinner, and we usually do meatless days once or twice a week. Beans or pasta.
It's so nice here finally. The sun is shining and it's nice and warm, but not too warm. I don't do well in the humid heat of the northwest in summer. This time is nice for me.

Juice Feast is soooo over

I ended my juice fast after day two. I had that barbecue to go to on Sunday, and I was craving some solids. I did enjoy it a lot though, and I think next month I will try to go more than 2 days, maybe (crossing my fingers) dare I say....7 days???
I am still doing mostly raw, and staying at 1500 calories, of course except for yesterday. I pigged out on burgers and dogs and chips. Oh well, life is for living, and I was just coming off the juice fast. Bad combination! But I had a great time, I caught up with friends I haven't seen for a long time. My family has sort of been off the radar the last year or so due to my son's complications from prematurity. We kinda fell off the face of the planet for a while. Now that my son is doing so well we are starting to catch back up with all our friends. It's really nice. It was our friend's son's second birthday. We were actually due with our babies about a week apart, but my son came in January, he couldn't wait til May! The conversation was all about my son for a while, which was weird since it was this other baby's birthday party. He really is a miracle.
I've discovered a new juice combo that I'm in love with. I love borscht and have tried a few raw versions, but this juice really tastes like the borscht I'm used to. I juice beets with the greens, celery, romaine, an apple or two, and then stir in some lemon juice. It's delish. My husband is half Polish and half Russian, so we know borscht, and this is the closest to the cooked version I've come across. Now if I could just have raw gawumpki (sp?) and raw pierogies:) Hmmmmm.....
I started exercising again today. I hit the treadmill, or did the treadmill hit me? I could only do a mile. I have had this pain in my arch and my heel for a week or so now, and it was uncomfortable after a while on the treadmill. I think I need to rest it by just putting my feet up and staying off it, but I'm stubborn and don't sit much during the day. If it continues, I guess I'll have to go see my doctor, but I'm hoping resting it will help. I'm planning on doing weights tomorrow, which shouldn't hurt the foot too much. Just the rest of me will be hurting:)

Day Two

I must say I feel better today than yesterday. The energy doesn't have that edginess to it, and I'm not hungry a lot. When I do feel hunger, a big glass of juice satisfies it. I went shopping today and got another pineapple, some pears, red cabbage, celery, apples, oranges, cantaloupe, beets, and cucumbers. The beets with the greens have a very earthy flavor that needs something. I don't know whether to go sweeten it up a bit, or to do the garlic savory thing.
I just had some spinach/pear/apple juice and it was too sweet, needs something, maybe less fruit and more greens, maybe some cucumber or celery to lighten it up.
I had to order my bridesmaid dress for my sister's September wedding, and I had to get measured today. Ugh. I was shocked by my waist size. Let's just say I'm not in the 3os anymore:( It was disgusting. I had to call in the measurements, and they added 50 bucks to the price of the dress because I was a size 22, and the plus sizes cost more. I'm the maid of honor, and I am hoping to lose a little weight before then. I don't need it to be drastic, but I want to be well on my way! Oh well, if I'm a cow, I'm a cute sassy cow:)

Juice Feast Day 1

I'm feeling good, a little edgy. Can't explain it. Maybe it's just more energy that I'll have to channel productively. I feel like I should be doing something.....weird.
I've had about 5 glasses of juice. I can't say how many ounces cuz I didn't count. I also didn't keep track of the combinations. I can say I've had beets, romaine, ginger,kale, cabbage, carrots, apples, pineapple, and lemons. Not all at once, but that's the veggies and fruit I've juiced today.
I'm already dreading feeding my toddler and DH. I want some solid, hot food. I am thinking of ways to distract myself, and I think I'll keep sewing today. I'm working on a shell, in a brown w/ cream flower knit. What the heck is a 'shell' anyways??? I think it looks like a sleeveless tee shirt really.
Tomorrow I think I'll hit the produce aisle in the grocery store for some more stuff. I have enough for another day, but I want some different combos. I'm out of beets and they were really good. I didn't care for the taste of the cabbage all that much, but I'm sure it would be good in a different combination than what I tried. I feel lighter. I'm looking forward to tomorrow and continuing the experiment. I do have a problem though. We were invited to a friend's house for a barbecue, and I don't want to have to sit and explain what I'm doing. People will think I'm weird (which I guess I am, but not because I do juice feasting!). Any suggestions on how to handle this? Or should I just break my feast on Sunday? I really wanted to go for more days though....help!

Inspired

I'm feeling ready to try a juice fast, or "feast". I'm thinking I'll try as many days as I can handle, maybe 7? I've been reading about so many successes and different combinations of juices, that it's inspiring me to try it as a sort of detox for spring. In my list of 20 things to do this year that I posted earlier, I wrote that a detox each season was a goal of mine. Well, I haven't done a detox yet for spring, so here goes nothing! I will start tomorrow. I have lots of fruits and veggies on hand for a few days. I will definitely post updates each day, so you all can see what the effects are. At least the effects on me. The hardest part I think will be making a nice cooked dinner for my family and then sitting down with them with my large glass of juice. It just seems weird.
I wanted to share something else. My youngest has had this weird rash on his cheeks forever. It's called petechia, and he even saw a hematologist for it, and they came up with nothing. It's not excema, it's not any kind of disease or disorder, it was just a mystery. Well, I didn't even notice this for a while, but it hit me one day that it's disappeared! Completely gone. And this rash would always get way worse whenever he cried, and he had had several crying fits and it never came back. My DH seems to think it's the green smoothies. It's the only thing new that's been introduced. I'm not so sure, but it kinda makes sense. Must be some enzymes in the raw spinach and fruits. My skin has improved, so why not his, huh? Weird and wonderful.
It's almost 1 here and I just now finished my breakfast banana basil smoothie. I will have a big glass of juice (romaine, kale, apple, lemon, and ginger) for lunch, and dinner is grilled chicken breast and corn. I haven't thought about snacks yet, but I'm probably going to have another smoothie of some sort or juice.
I looked on a calorie calculator online, and it said I should be having 1532 calories a day for fat loss. So that's my goal. I know in previous posts I stated that I was going to try 1400, but I never got there. I stayed at 1600. So I'm going to go for 1500 and see what happens.
Well, it's gorgeous here today and I'm going to repot my herbs and maybe plant some forget-me-nots in my flower box on my front stoop that I have yet to use. The DH made it for me, then we were too scared to actually put the herbs in there because we thought critters might eat them. The garden may or may not be a success. DH thinks the watermelon and cucumbers might make it, but the tomatoes are looking really sad and pathetic. He's mentioned that if they don't improve by this weekend, he'll hit the Home Depot and pick up some tomato plants and try that out.
Here's to happiness and health everyone! Let's do this!

Pissy

So I'm all ticked off cuz I typed out this long entry then hit some stupid button on my keyboard and POOF! it was gone. This was yesterday. So on with a new entry....
I discovered a delicious shake thanks to The Raw Epicurean. A banana basil smoothie. Omg, it is sooo delicious. I'm not even that big of a banana or basil fan, but whirl 'em together with some water and agave syrup, and boy what a combo. I put it in the fridge for about an hour to chill.
I'm still doing the raw thing during the day. I'm at 1600 calories a day and still not losing, so I'm going to drop to 1400 and see where that leads me. I've seen so many various levels, I guess it's a very personal thing. Some girls are at 1200 and some are enjoying 2000. I still have to consider my medications and thyroid problem. That, and obesity runs in my family. What a lovely mixture of variables, huh?
The sprouts are going in to the garden this weekend. Everything but the chives has sprouted. Two types of tomatoes, cucumber, watermelon, parsley, basil, and cilantro. I can't wait til harvest time! I'm an immediate gratification type girl, so everything in the middle is kinda boring to me. I'm sure the kids will get a kick out of it though.
I'm feeling all crafty lately. I'm working on embellishing some tank tops, and I just finished sewing a tunic top. I am going to start a maxi dress today. I have the pattern, I just need to pick a fabric...
I just got a new tattoo and it's all healed up now. I'm craving another one already. I just love body art. It's a large blue star with a trail of gradually smaller stars of various colors trailing down the center of my back, starting with the big blue star right on the back of my neck. I'll just post a pic. It's better than explaining it. Forgive my flabby back:) I'm working on it!
I registered for the fall semester. I'm taking a speech class (scaaaaary), yoga, and nutrition and human performance. I'm really looking forward to yoga on Saturday mornings.
I just ordered a new raw food cookbook. I know I said I'd review the two I already have, but I don't feel ready yet. I need to try more recipes. I also ordered the first of the Sookie Stackhouse vampire books that the show True Blood is based on, and.....wait for it....Twilight. Yes, I'm actually going to succumb to the teen hysteria. I guess it's nostalgic for me, because I remember reading the Anne Rice vampire books when I was in high school. I was so deep and brooding and alienated....lol.
Watched The Kite Runner last night. I actually read that book and it was awesome. The movie was good, although of course never as good as the book, right?
Ok, that's about all I'm up to lately. Happy Friday everyone, and here's to nutrition!

Good weekend:) Yay!

I suffered no setbacks this weekend! Well, I shouldn't say 'suffered', like it's something I have no control over, I should say, 'hey, I didn't screw up'. The DH, baby, and I even went out on Sunday to pick up some cds at Best Buy, then on to the bookstore for some raw food un-cookbooks (DH says how can they be called cookbooks when you are not really cooking anything??). Well, we ended up being too eager for a Sunday, and showed up about 20 minutes too early. There was a bagel store inside this particular strip mall, and we came 'this close' to going and getting bagels while we waited for the store to open. But there was a grocery store there too, so I remembered that I need a few things and just went in there for quick stop. So not only did I avert disaster nutritionally, but I actually picked up some fresh produce and vitamins for my 6 yr old.
Now I'm actually going to work out for the first time in about 2 months. Just walking. I told DH I want money for a new gym membership for Mother's Day. I have a treadmill in the garage, and weights and a bench, and various dvds, but I enjoy classes and find I work harder in a group setting. Maybe cuz I am not just answering to myself, but have this evil instructor there watching me. And this particular instructor is very evil:) I know her outside of the gym, so I am allowed to say that!
I think I haven't lost any weight due to not exercising. For me personally, the weight has always come off only when I exercise. The diet's important, but the exercise seems to be the key for me. I think once I get that ball rolling, the weight will start moving. Now I really have goals due to the fitness specialist program. I want to be ripped so I get lots of clients!
I got two new cookbooks at Borders. I will be back to review them in the next post. So far they look pretty good, and you don't even need that darn dehydrator for most of them! I want a dehydrator, but that's only if I end up committing to the raw food plan. It's not a necessity.
Happy Monday all!

So far, so good

This weekend is going to be a victory I tell you! I even passed up Doritos on sale at my grocery store....Doritos are my favorite junk food. I walked right past them to get to the good stuff. The kale, lettuce, lemons by the bag, apples, watermelon, avocados, and bananas. The good stuff:) I had green juice for breakfast, some guacamole salad and homemade tomato soup for lunch, and dinner will be whole grain pasta with meat sauce. No garlic bread, no parmesan cheese on top. And of course my snacks will be more green juice and a green smoothie.
I got a letter letting me know that I didn't get in to nursing school. SO...I went and applied for the fitness specialist program. This will let me be a personal trainer or instructor, and if I want to go further, even sports medicine or athletics. This is a good choice for me. I like sharing my knowledge and helping people. Now I definitely have to lose this weight, or I won't have any clients! No one wants to go to a tubby trainer, lol. I was very devastated at not getting in to the nursing program, but I decided to roll with the punches and whip up a Plan B. The first course in the fitness program is a nutrition and sports performance class. I'm very interested to see what they tell me. I'm not exactly coming at it without any knowledge of nutrition. I see some spirited debates happening.
Well, good luck for the weekend, everyone!

Pizza, and not the CR way:)

I not only had pizza this weekend, but I also ate another bagel with cream cheese at my son's soccer game. I've been stopping at Dunkin' Donuts to get my son's father and myself coffee. Well, I always get them a donut (my son and his father) and myself that darn bagel. I'm now newly resolved not to go off plan this coming weekend, and I have all week to practice and prepare! It's tough because the DH is also home for three days, he only works a four day work week, and I want to indulge a little. I'm going to try some new recipes this weekend. That will keep me busy as well as nourish my body.
I'm drinking my green juice right now. I'm loving it. It's so lemony and gingery and bright green...I wonder if chlorophyll can turn your skin green like eating too many carrots can turn you orange? If so, I'm going to look an awful lot like Kermit the frog soon:) I don't have a food plan for the day yet, as it's early morning here. I will bust out the CRON-o-meter and carefully plan today's food. I've been reading a little about food combining, or rather a monodiet (I think that's what it's called). I'm trying to stick to the rules and see if I notice a difference. One that I have a hard time with is not combining cheese and starch. I love to make little quesadillas out of whole grain tortillas and low fat cheese with homemade fresh guacamole on top. According to "the rules", this is a big fat no-no. This is obviously not raw either. I'm trying to stick to raw during the day, with a cooked dinner. I'm thinking I can come up with some sort of raw quesadilla....hmmm....the wheels are turning.
The sprouts for the garden are getting taller. The chives, cilantro, and parsley never germinated, but I used old seeds so I'm not too surprised. Does anyone know about cucumber sprouts? They got all tall and then flopped over. I don't know if they are supposed to do that, or are they supposed to stand up tall?
Ooh I made watermelon slushy/ice yesterday. I put fresh cubed watermelon in the freezer, let it get mostly frozen, then put it in the blender with some agave nectar and fresh lime juice. It was 85 degrees here on Long Island yesterday, and this was soooo refreshing and tasty. I ate a big bowl of it after dinner (whole grain rotini w/ pesto sauce). Try it out!

Laziness

I have some pictures of the new sprouts, but I'm too lazy to get them off the camera right now.
The cucumbers sprouted like crazy, you can practically watch them grow. The basil and both tomatoes are coming up too. It's been a real trip to watch my son get so excited over this whole process.
I got my Raw Food Detox Diet book in the mail a few days ago. I'm very motivated, and this book has lots of great food, and ideas for going raw. The book doesn't make you go all raw 24-7 immediately, it's a process, and I really like that the author did it that way. And the recipes for the dressings and sauces look mouthwatering.
I've been eating a lot of juices and green smoothies during the day, with a cooked dinner. Usually some sort of meat with vegetables. I might cook a starch, but I usually just do this for the family. I have been noticing so much energy. I don't need my morning coffee some days. I feel so "juiced" (lol) from the juice, I don't even want it. The DH was floored when I said that I didn't have any coffee yesterday. He was like, "REALLY???"
I made some gazpacho yesterday. Technically, this is a raw recipe. Yummy. I've learned from experience to only put in one clove of raw garlic, as that stuff tends to get stronger as it sits. I followed the recipe from the detox book, but added a little balsamic vinegar. I also made an 'Effervescent Cantaloupe Soup' from my American Heart Association Low Calorie Cookbook. Thumbs down. It would have been delicious had it not had ginger ale in it. I didn't care for the bubbliness. It felt like a burning sensation almost. Otherwise the flavors were good. There was some coconut flavoring, some lime, and fat free half and half. However, the family wanted nothing to do with it. Wouldn't even try it. So I'm afraid I won't be making it again.
The calories are staying around 1600. I'm not losing any major weight, but at this point in the process, I feel so good it's not a major issue. I just know that as the eating comes along and my nutrition gets better and my body detoxes, the weight is bound to follow. There's no way that a woman of my size can maintain this weight with 1600 calories. I do have other issues, I have hypothyroidism and am also on a antidepressant/antianxiety cocktail. Both of these things can hinder weight loss and even cause weight gain. So I have that going for me, right? lol

Garden

We started a garden this weekend! I'm so excited. We started the seeds inside in this little greenhouse seedling kit. There's cucumbers, two kinds of tomatoes, and watermelon. Jackson wanted watermelon. I also took the opportunity of all the space in the little kit to plant some more herbs. The ones I have planted on the living room window sill are looking a little sad, and the basil just never took off. I planted basil, chives, cilantro and parsley.
The grill also it's appearance this weekend. I made burgers on it last night. Yum. So begins the season of outdoor cooking. I love it. I need to get a fish/veggie basket this year though, because we are NOT eating steaks, ribs, and burgers all year, lol.
Eating was not right Sunday. I ate Doritos. Why do I feel like I'm in a confessional??? Forgive me readers, for I have sinned;) I not only ate Doritos, but I had a bagel with veggie cream cheese for breakfast. Instead of the usual green smoothie. I did, however, make some fresh carrot apple juice. So it wasn't a total wash. I'm happy to say the Doritos have left the building, so there's no more temptation. I should never have bought them, but I just had this craving for chips. Oh well, I'm human. I make mistakes. It's the journey, not the destination, right?
I've planned out my day today in the CRON-o-meter. Green smoothie, fresh fruit, grilled chicken and broccoli for dinner, and some healthy hot and sour soup. Much better. I have to atone for my indiscretions yesterday:) I'll be completely on pointe today.
On a lighter note, my son had a soccer game yesterday and just stood on the field. The ball went right by him along with a gaggle of children and he just stood right in his little spot on defense. Sheesh. We were freezing our butts off out there on that field watching him do NOTHING. Little rat. Oh well, maybe he'll decide to play next time, lol.

Down a pound!

Woohoo! Hopefully it's a sign of things to come, but I'm down one pound. I'm at 1600 calories a day and hitting all my nutrition targets. Fat is coming in anywhere between 10-25%.
We're having black beans made in the slow cooker tonight, with brown rice. I love this. I like to do vegetarian dinners a few times a week. I just threw half a pound of black beans in the slow cooker w/ some chicken broth, an onion, a packet of Sazon Goya w/ annatto, and some garlic powder. Set it to high and just walk away. A few hours later, when they're tender, I salt and then add some lime juice. The lime juice totally makes the dish. You can then mash them a little with an old school potato masher, or serve them as is.
I've converted almost everyone in the house to green smoothies. I tried them out on my 6 yr old today, nervously, and he loved it. But then again, he loves spinach. So both kids like them. I have yet to test it out on the DH. But I think he'd like them. My older one even asked if I could make them every morning for him before school! What a weirdo, but I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree:) Today we did spinach, papaya, purple grapes, and apple. Yum.

Save me!

Someone step in and tell me to step away from the chicken nuggets! Seriously, I'm making dinner right now (a yummy low cal mac and cheese w/ spinach, and meatballs), but I've had the most horrible protein cravings. I'm down to between 65-80 grams of protein a day, I wonder if that has something to do with it. I've also gone down to 20 percent on the fat. I'm thinking the lower protein and fat has kicked in some cravings for all things bad. Oh well, I'll weather the storm...at least for now....
I started the day with a green smoothie again. I'm in love. I'm not a breakfast person, but slurping down one of those things is so easy and refreshing. I don't care for apples or bananas on their own, but in the smoothie they become something tasty.
I made some healthy hot and sour soup for lunch today. I used beef and chicken broth, shiitakes, silken tofu, some carrots, rice vinegar, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, an egg swirled in, and of course I had to add some Mongolian Fire Oil:) It was only 66 calories per serving. I had 4! Well, two large bowls. The original recipe called for chicken, but I wanted to keep the calories and protein down. My 2 yr old liked it too. I swear, he just wants whatever we're eating. He doesn't discriminate.
Well, I'm off to check my balls. Meatballs, that is!

Green Smoothie

All I can say is yum. I whirled up some spinach, a banana, and an apple. I slurped it up and so did my little one.
The rest of the day is more fruit (melon), some cottage cheese, a smoothie, some fresh juice, and grilled chicken breast and a plain salad for dinner. Oh, and a sweet potato for breakfast.
I am feeling so good. I wake up with so much energy now. I don't know what to do with myself. I guess I'll have to focus all this into something productive.
I'm still waiting for some weight loss. I lost two pounds and that's it. I think I'm going to drop the calories. Today I'm at 1600. I'm noticing it really is about the food choices. I have had days where I'm starving and can't wait to eat more, then I have days when I feel satisfied all day. I have to focus on getting lots of those fresh fruits and veggies in. I went to the grocery store yesterday and picked up carrots, apples, oranges, bananas, spinach, celery, papaya, and cucumber. It was super cheap to just choose things that were on sale for the most part. People who think it's expensive to eat healthy are way off base. I've eaten healthy and junky, and eating healthy is much more inexpensive. I could see maybe the meat being an issue, but we just eat regular meat for now from BJ's. We just buy enough for one month. Ground beef, chicken breast, some kind of fish, and shrimp. I'm sure if you choose organic, free range meat it's more expensive. I am taking it one step at a time. Maybe some day we'll get the organic meat.
I've just ordered the Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose, and I'm sure to get some good recipes from that. I'm eating mostly raw during the day anyway. It's kind of easy with CRON. I didn't mean to do it, it just sort of happened that way.
Well, I'm off to start my day. I am hoping to get my letter of acceptance in to nursing school any day now. The anticipation is killing me! I just want to get through it and start working already. I've been a SAHM for 6 years now, and I'm ready to get back in to a career. By the time I'm through with nursing school, my little one will be in school.
Good luck to everyone today, be safe and healthy:)

OMG I'm addicted!

Fresh juice is sooooo fun! I've already made the carrot from the last post, and some cantaloupe, and a mixture of apple, beets w/ the greens, and some celery! I have a feeling I'm going to be spending a lot of time in the produce department, lol......it's so refreshing and yummy. Just wanted to update all of you on my new obsession. I've only had it 5 hours and I've used it three times:)

Fresh carrot juice owns!

I was IMing with my 16 yr old twin bro and sis last night. They are in WA and I'm in NY so we chat sometimes. My little brother kept saying that stuff "owned"....as in Metallica owns or Ibanez guitars own. I was telling him that we just got tickets to see Metallica in November at Madison Square Garden, and that we recently bought a blue Ibanez electric guitar that I have yet to touch.
I just got back from Target w/ the kids. We had to get sippy cups, as my toddler loves to chew the spouts til they leak and make a huge mess of strawberry milk on our floors and/or tables. I had a little birthday money burning a hole in my pocket so I'm now the proud owner of a Juiceman Junior juicer! I've been wanting a juicer for a while but they are a little expensive to just go out and impulse buy. So we made a batch of fresh carrot juice w/ a little parsley thrown in. I remember having these friends that were brothers when I was teenager, and their parents were hippies and always had some sort of carrot/parsley combination to offer me. I loved it.
Well, Jackson, my 6 yr old, loved the juice! He sucked it down and then got mad when there wasn't anymore. It was so fresh and sweet.
I also saw on Oprah the other day this green smoothie thing that Dr. Oz showed. It had celery, cucumbers, ginger, an apple, and spinach. I tried it in the blender/food processor, and it didn't turn out too well. BUT...now with the juicer I bet it comes out right:)
I didn't count calories yesterday. It was my birthday. This doesn't mean I ate everything in sight, I just know I didn't get all my nutrition in. I'm guesstimating the calories at maybe 1900. I had a wicked chocolate mousse cake for dessert, and a midnight snack of cheesecake. But hey, it was my birthday, so I let loose a little.
Today I've eaten the fresh carrot juice, a chilled soup made from buttermilk, radishes, and cucumbers, with a little sugar and rice vinegar, and will be having the usual smoothie, and tilapia and broccoli for dinner. I'm finding that I'm eating mostly vegetarian and raw during the day, and having a meat and cooked meal at dinner. It's working for me. I feel great. I've been in such a great mood lately. I feel lighter and happier. Laughter comes quick, and I'm making others laugh too. Although, whether they're laughing at me or with me is another question entirely.....
Here's a really cool photo of the orchid DH got for me. It's the best picture I've ever taken. I'm no photographer.

Sushi

I hope sushi is healthy, cuz I'm eating a bunch of it tonight:) My birthday is tomorrow, and we're having sushi tonight for my birthday meal.
I was given a really pretty orchid plant yesterday for my "birthday weekend". It's white and I'm sure I'm gonna kill it....any advice on orchids?????
I want to post pics of the roses I received from my dad, and the orchid, but I'm too lazy to do so right now.
I'm going to be 34. Hmmm....I was telling DH that I don't feel 34, I feel younger. Like I should be worrying about 34. Although when I turned 30, I didn't freak out either. I did, however, have issues with 28 for some reason. I still haven't figured that one out. Maybe nearing the end of my 20's?
My 2 yr old is "this close" to jumping. He's getting the momentum, but his feet aren't leaving the ground yet. We also put him in pull-ups today to practice a little potty-training. His potty sings this inane song that gets stuck in your head, and he just kept sitting on the potty to hear the song. I finally had to just turn the damn potty off. Bad mommy. Oh well, he'll have plenty of instances to be hating on me, it's not the first and it won't be the last....
I gots to go, it's almost time for Jeopardy! Oh yeah!

New Cookbook

Yay! I just received a new cookbook in the mail. I love when I get stuff in the mail. It's like Christmas and a birthday all rolled into one:) It's the American Heart Association's Low-Calorie Cookbook. It says it has over 200 recipes. Yum.
No snacking last night, hooray! I stuck to my plan and came in at around 1750 calories. I'm really struggling with where to go with my calories. I'm 5 foot 8, 191 pounds right now. I'd like to get down to 135. I'm trying to start out with 1800 calories. I've been reading other blogs and it's all over the place! I've seen some really low numbers and some lucky bloggers who can enjoy 2000 calories a day. I guess it's a personalized number based on what your body is comfortable at. So far I haven't lost any more weight. Just two pounds from the first three days. If I keep staying the same, I'll drop the calories another hundred and try out 1700. I'll give it another week or two. I'm really in no rush, since I know I'm much healthier, even if the weight doesn't come off so fast.
I've had a sweet potato, some cabbage with some grilled chicken and dressing, and we're having whole grain pasta w/ alfredo sauce and broccoli for dinner tonight. It's light alfredo sauce. And my usual smoothie's on the menu for a snack, but I honestly haven't been very hungry today. So we'll see.

Brewer's Yeast and Valerian Root

I just got my brewer's yeast powder and valerian root capsules from GNC. I've said in previous posts I'm not a good sleeper, and I don't like to take sleeping pills that knock me out because I have a two year old who sometimes gets up in the night. SO...I've had prior experience with valerian root tea and remember that it was quite effective so I went and got the 500 mg capsules. It's fairly inexpensive, I paid just over 7 dollars for a 100 day supply. The brewer's yeast stinks. It's a disgusting rusty color and frankly I'm a little scared! But it's all in the name of health. I just have to think of some inoffensive way of sneaking it into my food.....any ideas???
I pigged out last night at about 2 am. Oh well, I'm not one to beat myself up over mistakes, I just try to do my best. Not sleeping well contributes to snacking. Hopefully the valerian root helps. If one is asleep, one cannot pig out on salat tangiers in the middle of the night:)
Ok, the plan is at 1750 calories today. I mapped it all out on the CRON-o-meter early this morning. I happened to be up at 6am since my toddler is an early riser. The little bugger.
On to the list of things I hope to accomplish this year:
1) Grow my hair out....uh this one's a no-go, I just love short hair. I was growing it for the DH...
2)Get in to nursing school
3)learn spanish
4)have a movie night once per week
5)collect 50 state quarters
6)Get a massage
7)Go to a rock concert (I used to go quite a bit, but since kids this has dwindled)
8)Start a blog (DONE!)
9)Lose 30 pounds
10)read a book a month
11)do a detox each season
12)knit a scarf for my son and my father
13)go to a play (Done, saw Wizard of Oz w/ my son)
14)be in more pictures
15)take a vitamin every day
16)learn a song or two on guitar
17)accessorize more, or should I say accessorize at all...
18)Bike to the library w/ the baby once a month
19)Remember birthdays
20)do 25 pushups

There it is. What's on your to-do list?

McDonald's

I took the kids to McDonald's for a treat. I know it's not good for them, but we only go once or twice a month. My son is aware that we only eat fast food once in a while because it's junk. I am always having conversations about food with my 6 yr old. He's very receptive to it, and I want him to know what is healthy and that you can have the junk sometimes, but you need to take care of yourself. I ordered an iced coffee for myself, nonfat milk and no sugar. I felt so proud of my choice. My DH even asked what I got for myself when we spoke on the phone, and when I told him just an iced coffee, he said, "Wow. That's some will power!"
Tonight we are having whole wheat pasta with meat sauce. I'm becoming more aware of how often we eat red meat, and I think it's time to cut it down to once a week, with the goal being even less than that. DH is a big fan of the red meat. But he's told me more than once that he'll eat whatever I put on his plate, so we'll have to put that to the test I suppose:)
I'm thinking of visiting the local GNC and picking up some brewer's yeast. I don't know exactly how it will benefit me yet, I just know it's nutritious. If I can get the kids to eat it while their young, they'll just grow up with it. I've read that it tastes yucky though. I'm willing to try it.
I've read several different theories on fat ratios in the diet. I'm keeping it at about 25 percent, but have seen some people and books recommending as low as 10 percent. If one of my goals is weight loss (along with the optimal nutrition), I wonder what the pros and cons of the two are. If anyone has any advice, I'd sure appreciate it. Is it healthier to be lower, or can one be just as healthy at the higher ratio???
DH has been thinking of starting a garden this year. We've never done it before, and time is running out, so if he's gonna do it, it better be soon....we were thinking of tomatoes, zucchini, and maybe peppers. It's going to be his and the kids' "thang". I don't do outdoors very much, even though I know I should, and I don't do insects. I'm terrified of everything creepy-crawly.
I was reading on Nenette's blog (http://www.lifecandy.net/) about her f*** it list, and it made me think of something I did a few months ago. I made a list of twenty things I wanted to accomplish this year. In my next post, I'll list them. One has already been laid to rest, growing my hair out, since I just chopped it all off again. But hey, no one's perfect, and it is a woman's perogative to change her mind, isn't it? I think it's great to have goals in mind, even small ones, to work towards and give you a sense of purpose and satisfaction. Being a stay at home mom, sometimes I lose sight of "me". I become all about the house and the family. The list reminds me that I am a separate entity w/ things I want for myself.

Salat Tangiers

Here's what we'll be having with our baked tilapia tonight. It's from New Recipes from the Moosewood Restaurant Recipeasel (book that's also stands on the counter on it's own), from 1996.
1.5 c couscous (I use organic whole wheat)
1.25 c water, or to your couscous' instructions
1 c diced carrots
1 large red or green pepper, diced
1 c cut green or wax beans (I use green)
1/3 c chopped red onions (I use more because we like it)
1/3 c currants (I use raisins)
1/2 c almonds (I used walnuts, but I've also used pecans)

Dressing:
1/2 c veg oil (I use less)
4 T fresh lemon juice (i use more)
salt to taste
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 T orange juice or apple cider
4 T fresh chopped parsley
1 T fresh mint (I use more)
pinch of cayenne

Make the couscous and put in a large bowl. Steam carrots, peppers, and beans. The instructions tell you to steam them separately, but I just chuck them all together and it's fine.
Add to couscous. Stir in red onion, currants, and almonds. Whisk together dressing ingredients, toss with couscous mixture and chill for at least an hour to let the flavors develop. This will serve 4-6, more as a side dish.
Give this recipe a shot. The flavors are so good together. I don't even care for green beans, but I gobble them up in this salad. As always, feel free to adjust anything or substitute things. I think this might taste good with dried apricots in it as well, instead of the raisins.

I've eaten cottage cheese today and some fresh cantaloupe. I'm lucky I got any cantaloupe at all, with my two children swiping chunks from my bowl:) But let me try to serve them some cantaloupe in their own dish and I bet you they wouldn't touch it, lol....
The food for the rest of the day is another smoothie, but with light vanilla soymilk (my local grocer was out of the light chocolate), baked tilapia, the salat tangiers, and steamed broccoli. I still have another 200 calories to go according to the cron o meter, but I'm saving that for tonight's snack, we'll see what I come up with. Apricots?? Blueberries?? I dunno yet.
It's very difficult to keep my protein as low as the CR Way recommends. I'm coming up a little higher, like in the 80-90 gram range.
I've been so into taking good care of myself lately. I used a clarifying detox facial mask when I got out of the shower today. It's from Boscia, and I got it from Sephora. It's made in Japan, and I have sensitive skin and it doesn't bother me at all. In fact I've used it twice a week for two weeks now, and my pores look smaller and my skin seems brighter. Just a dab'll do ya. I put it on very sparingly cuz it wasn't cheap.
On another topic, I want a hat. Just a little beanie to cover my hair on bad hair days or when I don't feel like styling it. As you can see from my profile, I wear a short bob with straight short bangs. SO...I'm feeling crafty and going through my knitting and crochet books. I've also looked online a little for free patterns. Since it's spring, I don't need a wool yarn or anything, I'm using black plain cotton. I'll post photos when I'm done. I'll also try to get a picture of dinner tonight! Gotta give a visual.

Eggs???

Yes, I had three delicious whole eggs for breakfast. With cheese:) It was glorious.
I've hit my targets in the cron o meter, however, I just read in the CR Way that women shouldn't eat over 60 grams of protein, and I've heard elsewhere that we should eat much more. I'm going to try to keep it at 60 for a week or two and see how that affects me.
I am feeling great today. The hunger hits but doesn't bother me at all now. In fact, it feels kind of good, like energizing. I made the Miracle Soup out of The Anti Aging Plan today. Thumbs down! It was like a big bowl of plain boiled veggies, and not even my favorite veggies. Yuck. I strained out the veggies from the water, and have them in the fridge. I figure I can have them cold like a salad w/ some dressing. Don't want to waste precious veggies!
I had some low fat cottage cheese and cantaloupe for lunch. Made the smoothie again. And dinner will be some simple grilled chicken breast and oven roasted asparagus with an olive oil and balsamic dressing. Lots of fresh garlic too.
I'm down two pounds already, so if it keeps coming off this quickly, I will have to increase the calories. Although it's very tempting to keep going when you see weight loss that fast, but I know it's not healthy, and I'm all about the health! Since it's spring break and my older son's home, I had to share my smoothie with two others instead of just the baby. They love it. I like giving them something so healthy too.

Better:)

Not as hungry today. Had a bagel w/ veggie cream cheese for breakfast on the way to my son's soccer game. Not the most nutritious choice, but I'm making up for it the rest of the day w/ a smoothie, asparagus, and fresh cantaloupe. I'm going to buy low fat cottage cheese today to for more protein, which I'm struggling to get enough of each day.
As for the hunger yesterday, once I just got used to the feeling, I was ok. I knitted a lot and just kept myself occupied. But I sure did enjoy my dinner! lol
I've had a problem with snacking at night. I'm not a good sleeper and I tend to munch on things like pretzels or string cheese late at night. I'm hoping the sleeping will get better on this nutrition plan. I haven't snacked at night for two nights now. It's almost like I don't feel as hungry for it now that I'm not eating as many calories. Like maybe my body's adjusting to the lower calories. It's weird, I can't explain it, but I haven't been craving a snack.
My plan is to enter some custom foods into the CRON o meter today or maybe tomorrow. There's a few things I eat that aren't included in the database. I'm also going to add my multivitamin.
Today is day three. I'm feeling good after a mild struggle with hunger pangs. I'm victorious!!!

Hunger today

Omg...I'm feeling very hungry today. I don't know why, but I'm suspicious that it may just be out of boredom. The baby's asleep right now, and my two bigger guys are off fetching groceries at BJ's (super club like Costco), and I'm feeling restless. SO...I'm trying to keep my mind off the kitchen. I took a nice shower, painted my toenails, and playing with my current knitting project, which is a scarf for my 6 yr old son. He won't get to wear it til next year, but oh well. He didn't tell me he wanted it til about a week ago, so he's just gonna have to wait. Or maybe just rock the scarf look for spring, lol.
Food today: I had another smoothie today at about 11am. Same as yesterday. Delish. My two cups of coffee with light chocolate soymilk, no sugar or cream. Lunch is going to be a sweet and spicy cabbage slaw, w/ oranges and sesame oil and chili flakes. Dinner will be the most mainstream, whole grain pasta with meat sauce. I'm using 90% lean beef and regular jarred marinara sauce. Could be healthier, but I'm trying to use up the stuff I have on hand right now.
Update on the moussaka: I liked it except for the eggplant, which came out bitter in some bites. It had kombu in it and I was very nervous that everyone would hate it, but you couldn't even taste it. Kombu is a great source of vitamin D. However, the recipe was very complicated, w/ lots of different components, and it was just "okay", not great, so I don't think I'll make it again. I'm eyeballing the 3 bean chili in the Anti-Aging Plan book. We'll see....for now it's just a process of trial and error to find what works for my family. My 6 yr old HATED the moussaka. He even gave up the prospect of dessert to avoid eating it, which is downright shocking!
So now I'm off to make myself a nice cup of green tea and watch some trash on tv. I'm addicted to reality shows on VH1. It's my guilty pleasure:) How do you fight hunger? Do you get hungry, even? How long before you got used to the lower calorie levels?

First post

I just started CR yesterday. I've read the Anti-Aging Plan and The Longevity Diet, and I've decided to do the rapid reorientation, as I'm way too impatient to log in three to seven days of calories to find an average.
My first "CR" dinner was not a big hit. My 6 yr old son is now fighting me on it. I made the moussaka recipe from the AntiAging Plan book. I can see that there's definitely going to be an adjustment period.
My BF is totally on board for whatever I need to do, so that's good to have the support. He wants to be healthy too. BUT...when it comes down to what we really need to do to live the lifestyle, I don't think he's got the guts! LOL. We'll see....
I didn't get hungry til about 11am, and I had 2 cups raw broccoli slaw mix, w/ 2 tb goddess dressing. My 2 yr old was loving it and kept coming back for more when I shared bites w/ him. Then I got hungry again at around 2 and made a smoothie from fresh strawberries, frozen unsweetened peaches, plain low fat yogurt, and light chocolate soymilk. Again, my 2 yr old son loved it and I had to share. Then the moussaka.....I haven't tried it yet, dinner's coming up. We'll see....
I'm using the CRON-o-meter for keeping track and so far I've stayed within 1700-1900 calories, with deficiencies in Vitamin D. I'm working on getting more.
Well, that's it for the first post. What do you guys like for breakfast? I hate breakfast and prefer savory over sweet.