having a plan.

I mentioned the diet goal a couple of weeks ago and I’ve been culling and compiling from a million pinterest pins and things I’ve done in the past in an effort to find something workable that will hopefully not just be something to help me lose a bit of weight and get back on track but be sustainable over an extended period of time (life time habits maybe). Here’s what I’ve got as my guidelines:

• 45 min exercise daily (15 min of strength training and alternating 30 min aerobics one day and 30 min yoga the next, resting on Sunday)
• 75+ oz water and/or herbal tea daily (a glass on rising, before each meal and as often as I need otherwise to reach the total ounces), no sodas, very limited juices
• alternate high protein/high carb every other day-I’ve studied various programs that talk about the way our bodies store different kinds of calories and need varied foods for ultimate nutrition. Basically each way of eating has its benefits. This program acknowledges that and shows that varying your diet every other day ideally keeps your glycogen levels in check and results in longer-lasting success. (If your glycogen levels are too full, as in a high-carb diet, your body converts the excess to fat. In a low-carb diet your body resorts to ketosis, fat-burning mode, ideal for short-term but if not re-balanced leads to fatigue and slowed metabolism. Besides the risks that too much protein often means a lack of necessary nutrients and naturally higher caloric intake.)
• Cut out processed, refined, and convenience foods. ‘High carb’ doesn’t mean I get to eat donuts ;) The goal is for natural, whole foods. My carbs will be whole grains, starchy veggies and beans, sweet fruits (foods with a naturally higher glycemic index.) Low carb days will focus on eggs, lean meats, non-starchy veggies, nuts.
• And because I’ve done a million cleanses and de-tox diets and allergy elimination diets and know what my will power can and can’t handle (plus, I’m not ready to give up baking now that I have access to a kitchen again, especially with all the great fall options on the way!) I’m allowing myself one splurge meal and one dessert each week. 

Hopefully this gives me enough variety and freedom that I can keep it up long-term and not feel as if I’m being deprived of anything. We’ll see if I need to be stricter in order to lose. I’ve fluctuated 5-10 pounds since high school but never really tried to lose weight before so this is all new territory and I know that age is going to play a part in all of this. My metabolism (among other things) just isn’t what it used to be!

The goal is to be down 20 pounds, lose several inches in various places, sleep better and have a bit more energy.  But honestly the biggest one is to be able to fit back into my pants since I’m too broke to buy new ones! I only have 2 or 3 pairs that I can squeeze into anymore and now that the weather is cooling shorts and yoga pants are out. ;) So, we’ll start with the above and see what happens. I’m planning to do a weekly check in and just tell you vaguely how I’ve done and hopefully how many pounds I’m down. I won’t subject you to my food diaries and all the particulars. But if I don’t make some decent progress I’ll probably solicit advice! Any favorite tricks or programs that have brought you success? I’d love to hear about them!

a taste of fall.

This past week since running my race I've fallen off the wagon as far as my healthy eating/diet is concerned.  I had been convinced that it hadn't made a huge difference. I felt a bit better but I wasn't necessarily getting more sleep or noticing any vast improvements and the emotional turmoil of avoiding so many things I enjoyed (including baking, social invitations and just plain old eating!) didn't seem to outweigh the slim benefits. So, I'd determined to add a few things back in but still eat primarily fruits and vegetables and avoid the processed foods and sugars in particular. Well, the best laid plans as they say...

I think I ate vegetables 3 or 4 times the entire week and let me tell you, it really did make a difference.  I feel super sluggish, I have much less energy and mental clarity and just feel overall bleh (yep, I just made "bleh" an adjective.)

This week will be a little crazy as we'll probably lose power so we've had to go the non-perishable grocery route but as soon as things are back to normal I vow to return to a cleaner way of eating. But, until then I've been enjoying some fall treats and they've definitely pleased my pallet, if not so much the rest of me.

Here are a few of my favorites: *

Roasted Brussels Sprouts I left out the barley 'cuz I didn't have any, but otherwise a winner!
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas tonight's dinner, delish
Pumpkin Pie French Toast pumpkin? french toast? what's not to love?! I poured a bit of buttermilk syrup over mine (thanks M, for the recipe!) and it was divine!!
Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies Oh, my, word! There are no words for how delicious these were. Eat them fresh out of the oven when the caramel is gooey or top them with some pumpkin ice cream or dip them in dark hot chocolate....so tasty!

Now I just need to get me a salted caramel hot chocolate and a hazelnut steamer from Starbucks and I'll be ready to purge my system again!

What are some of your favorite fall foods and flavors? Anything I should squeeze in before I launch back into reality living?


*All of the recipes were found on Pinterest originally.  How did I survive before without it? I shudder to think!

discovering a new taste sensation.

Those of you who have been regular followers of the blog (are there really any of you? oh well, let's assume shall we?) will know of my struggles earlier this year with some health issues involving my sleep. I had a serious bout of insomnia for a couple of months on top of some exhaustion and things were not pretty. I've always had trouble sleeping and even when I do sleep I rarely wake up feeling rested. Anyhow, this has been an ongoing battle for most of my life but particularly the last few months as I've not fully recovered from the hoopla earlier. What this amounts to is some desperation on my part to try just about anything to get a good night's sleep. I've tried melatonin and various and sundry herbal concoctions. I've used chamomile and other teas. I've taken hot baths and sniffed lavender and even tried my hand at visualization. Everything works a tiny bit for a tiny while but nothing has proven to be a saving grace.

The latest venture is a diet plan that is designed to target your hormones in helping you to lose weight. I'm not too concerned about the weight thing (though who doesn't have a couple of pounds or inches they wouldn't cry to part with) but the hormone thing caught my attention.

Supposedly whichever hormone is out of whack affects where you carry your weight and/or what symptoms you have.  For the first two weeks you focus on healing your liver which regulates all the other hormones in your body. If you can get your liver functioning properly it should improve the other things (for me it would be sleep, skin, energy, breathing) as well as helping to boost your metabolism and lose weight. Basically you eat just veggies and most fruits-no grains, no sugar, very limited protein.  Sugar is the great evil and the body doesn't recognize the difference between a sugar cookie and a bowl of pasta, it all turns into insta carbs and elevates the blood sugar and this strains the liver which then messes up the hormones. Too much protein is hard on the liver as well and so many of them are treated with hormones (meat, dairy, eggs) that they cause their own issues. The goal is to be super strict for 2 weeks and then depending on which hormone type you are you can add a few other things in sparingly but mostly you just stick to the vegetables.

I'm running a 5K later this month and figured that was a good goal line to work towards and a little beyond the inital two weeks. After the run I can gauge how I'm feeling and if I think it's made enough of a difference for me to stick with it or throw in the towel. I'm about halfway through and so far no great changes to report. I'm still tired, still not sleeping well, my skin, digestion and other things are about what they were before as well (and my pants aren't any looser!) but I'm hanging in there. Hoping for the miracle while simultaneously craving bread and chocolate!

But on the upside, I've discovered some foods I would never have given much thought to. Like beets.  Who knew beets could be delicious? I've come across some fantastic (and super healthy) veggie recipes that I thought I'd pass on so you can share in the joy of eating some tasty, healthy foods as well.

• White Bean and Kale Soup
• Oven Roasted Cauliflower
• Balsamic Roasted Vegetables
• Various Spaghetti Squash Incarnations
• Kale Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing
• Roasted Beets with Lemon Vinaigrette

I'll revisit this after I've run my race and let you know what the final verdict is. But at the very least I'm practicing some self-control which I don't do often enough in my life. (I've even voluntarily eaten cauliflower three times in the past two weeks. That's huge!) Do you have any favorite veggie recipes you'd like to share?  I'd love to try them!!