Good Morning!!

I have been so overwhelmed with all the response I have received on my pictures that I posted on Facebook. I'd like to thank all of my friends, old and new, and my family members for all of their kind words and compliments on my weight loss. I thought that starting a blog would better help answer questions, share ideas, recipes, etc.

I think I'll begin by answering the question I get most: "How did you do it?"
I have to give credit to my husband, Eddie ( Ed to most people), for getting me started. He and I both have struggled with weight our entire lives. He was watching Bill Maher one night and saw Dr. David Kessler on the show. Dr. Kessler is the author of, "The End Of Overeating". Eddie bought the book and read it. He then decided to make some changes in the foods he was eating. I saw the changes in him and thought maybe I should try it too. I kept talking myself out of it...for several days...before I finally mentioned to him that I thought I should make some changes as well. I had always been healthy, well, as healthy as one can be who is 100 plus lbs. overweight, but my blood pressure had started to creep up and I knew I was at risk for diabetes, heart disease and other health related issues. Our diet ( although I hate to use that word because I don't feel like we are on a "diet". ) consists of whole grains, lots of veggies, fruit, very lean chicken and fish, very little red meat and only lean when we do eat it, very low sugar, very low fat, water, and moderate exercise. Portion control is very important. I have to admit that I don't count calories. My son had a nutrition class last year and my husband kept track of his calories for one day and then used the online tracker that my son had as part of his nutrition class. My husband's intake was around 1800 calories. He and I eat basically the same thing, so I've never bothered to count them. I have hit weight plateaus a couple of times and when I did, I would try to just cut down on servings a little bit and increase my exercise. I've also been asked if I ever cheat. To be perfectly honest, the answer is NO! I am a food addict and I feel like I can't cheat or I will go right back to my old habits. You don't tell a recovering alcoholic they can have one drink a month or a recovering drug addict that they can do drugs one day a month. I feel like I'm in that same category.
I tend to be a creature of habit, so my daily food choices are pretty typical. The photo at the left is what I eat every morning. A bowl of steel cut oats topped with honey, a few walnuts and some fruit. I also add a little bit of sugar free french vanilla coffee creamer. For lunch, I usually have a salad. My salads are not just any salad...they tend to get out of hand...lol! Half the battle is to feel full so you are least likely to eat something you shouldn't. My salads keep me very full. I use a couple different kinds of bagged salad mix, bagged chopped cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, sliced black olives, pickles, banana peppers, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, salad shrimp, unsalted or raw sunflower seeds, black pepper, balsamic vinegar, and salad supreme seasoning. Instead of dressing, I use fat free cottage cheese. I use my veggie steamer almost every night. I bought it at Walmart for around $25.00. I steam anything from broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, squash, green beans, baby carrots, mushrooms...just about anything! I also love whole garlic cloves. I buy these at Walmart in the produce section next to the bagged salad. They are already peeled and bottled. Very convenient! Recently we took a trip to Montana to visit my father in-law. We went to the farmer's market and sampled some wonderful pickled garlic cloves. I bought a jar of the smoked flavor and have since ordered more from the woman who makes them. If anyone is interested, contact me and I will give you her information. They are $7.00 a jar, so a bit pricey, but so good in your veggies, salads or sandwiches. I also use my rice cooker a lot. I buy the Great Value brand brown rice. I put 2 cups of rice in the cooker and fill to about a 1/4 inch below the max line. It cooks for 50 min. I'm going to add a section on here called "product watch" with pictures of the products I use most. I usually don't have a morning snack, but if I do, it's usually a banana or a small bag of sugar snap peas. In the afternoon I usually have steamed veggies for a snack or I will save 1/4 of my salad and have that. Every night for our snack, we have a cup of fat free, plain yogurt. We add splenda and fruit. My husband also adds a few peanuts. For dinner tonight, we are going to grill chicken breasts. I buy the big 5 lbs. bag of skinless, boneless chicken breasts from Walmart. They run just over $10.00. For something different with your chicken breasts, brush with honey mustard when they are done and then add sauteed mushrooms and onions over the top. Serve with steamed veggies, topped with "I can't believe it's not butter" spray and Lawry's seasoning, brown rice and a whole wheat roll topped with sugar free jam. The portion size of your chicken should not be any bigger than the palm of your hand. I usually double up on my veggies so I'm sure to feel full.

I hope I haven't overwhelmed all of you with this posting...ha ha! I just got to typing and rambled on and on. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and I hope I touched on a couple of questions.

Have a wonderful Sunday!! =)