Recipes! Finally!

So I have been meaning to post recipes lately and not finding a lot of time to actually sit and do it. I have also been feeling super, duper, uber guilty about my transition into the 3rd cycle because I am not loosing any more weight and the scale is becoming a big disappointment. But I am not done yet! [I think] I know what I need to do and I am going to try harder than ever to do it. I need to get back to the roots of the diet, drinking tons of water and getting more exercise. I also need to really concentrate on eating a wide variety of fruits and veggies. Lately I have been rotating the same ones over and over and I got bored. Boredom leads to dissatisfaction with my food, which leads to cravings, which leads to cheating instead of treating.

This weekend will be a true test of my willpower and determination. I am going to be away from home and I am not sure how many meals I will eat in restaurants, but we will be on the road for many hours and convenience stores and big stops are not the best place to find a healthy snack. It's like finding a needle in a haystack, except you're looking for a bruised apple in a pile of slim jims and potato chips. I will at least have supportive people around me and hopefully they will help me make good decisions!

To help myself (and anyone who reads this) remember that healthy food is good food, tasty food, delicious food, I think it's time to share some recipes. I have picked three recipes for today- a snack, a meal, and a dessert. They do not all need to be eaten in the same day or at the same mealtime, but they are all delicious! The dessert is really a once in a while treat for the 2nd and 3rd cycle dieters, but it is much healthier than alternatives!

Snack Time! -or- "I can smell that pepsi, and those chips, and that damn chocolate bar, and I hate you for it. I need something to eat while watching tv or  I might steal the candy right out of your mouth"

Kale Chips are lovely. Really. You wouldn't necessarily think crispy cabbage leaves are going to be so delicious. But Curly Kale is just that. It's in the cabbage family and is a cousin to broccoli and collard greens.

Kale Chips

Ingredients 

1 bunch of Curly Kale
Olive oil
salt
pepper

Directions

So it's pretty simple. Preheat your oven to 275 F. Take as many stalks or leaves of Kale as you want to make yourself a nice snack. Kale keeps very well, so you don't need to make it all at once if you don't want to eat a lot of it, I usually do about 4 cups at a time, so 4-5 leaves. Rinse the leaves well under running water, opening up the leaves up a little as sometimes gunky sandy bits hide in there. Shake the leaves dry or pat with a clean towel so that they don't have much moisture left on them.

Use scissors or your hand to cut/rip the leaves off the hard stalks and then cut /tear the leaves into bite sized pieces. Place these in a large mixing bowl or right on a big baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil (1-2 teaspoons is plenty) and toss with your hands. Love that Kale. Massage it. Get in there and make sure that the leaves are decently coated and that everybody has a little olive oil shine on them.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and spread the leaves out into one layer on the baking sheet.

Bake for about 12 minutes, then toss with tongs or hands (don't burn yourself and don't worry if every piece doesn't get turned over) and bake for another 12 minutes or so until all of the Kale pieces are lovely and crispy and maybe a little golden on the edges. Toss these into a serving bowl (or the big mixing bowl you used to give them the olive oil rub down) and enjoy!

What's for dinner? -or- "Oh Dear God I am SO freaking sick of Chicken and Fish, and I still have 10[feels like 10 million] days to go on this Stupid Diet, I am going to DIE or go on a Village Destroying RAMPAGE if I don't eat something Wildly Delicious RIGHT NOW!"

Many people think they don't like Eggplant. Maybe you don't. But maybe you haven't tried it in all of it's lovely ways to find the way you like it most. Me? I tried it first in a restaurant where it was prepared by people who were used to working with it and prepared it in the most delicious of ways. And I fell in love. Eggplant, bamboo shoots and other veggies in a delightful silky Thai Red Coconut Curry spooned over heaps of steamed Jasmine Rice? Heaven. Eggplant sliced thin and dipped in light tempura batter and then fried to a delightful golden brown, crispy on the outside, creamy and luxurious on the inside? I'm salivating at the thought of it (should have had breakfast before writing this, I guess). 

I tried a couple times to cook eggplant and I wasn't enjoying it as much as I wanted to. I tried to make Ratatouille with eggplant in it, I followed the recipe and everything. But I didn't care for it so much. Truth be told the eggplant was a bit rubbery and undercooked. I tried to make Thai Coconut Curry too. That also was not as good as the restaurant curry. And me and deep frying.. well lets just say that if I did succeed at making fried tempura vegetables I would have to lose a LOT more weight, so I didn't even try.

I did however reach a breaking point and decided to try eggplant one more time after reading the Eggplant Parmesan recipe in the 17 Day Diet book that sounded scrumptious. I made it once according to the recipe and have since altered it to be faster and a bit easier to clean up afterward. If you are completely and horrendously opposed to the idea of eating Eggplant, or are having a hard time finding it, you may substitute chicken/turkey breast cutlets instead, as I did for Robert.

Eggplant/Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

1 large Eggplant
Low fat or fat free shredded parmesan cheese (not the stuff from the dry shaker in the pasta sauce aisle. REAL Parmesan cheese)
1-2 Tbs Olive Oil
Garlic powder or roasted garlic paste
Salt and Pepper
1 Cup low carb/no added sugar marinara/spaghetti sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F. Peel the eggplant and slice into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Preheat 1 Tbs Olive oil in a non stick frying pan over medium high heat. Season Eggplant with salt and pepper and saute 4-5 minutes per side until golden brown and slightly tender. Do this in batches so that you get a good sear and don't overcrowd the pan. Transfer cooked eggplant pieces to a baking sheet that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray. Top each eggplant round with a sprinkling of garlic powder or a smear of garlic paste and some parmesan cheese (I would say about 1 TBS per large slice). Bake for 5-10 minutes until parmesan is melted and bubbly. Top each round with a spoonful of marinara sauce, spreading to coat them. If desired, sprinkle some more parmesan cheese on top of sauce. Bake for 20 minutes until everything is hot and bubbly and delicious.

Serve this with a salad, and/or if you are trying to be friendly with starches and carbs serve it with spaghetti squash or whole wheat pasta. I love spaghetti squash myself, and you get more bang for your buck as 1 cup of spaghetti squash is worth only 1/2 cup of cooked spaghetti. I also like to sometimes saute sliced peppers and onions and put them in with the sauce for added veggie goodness.

Dessert. -or- "The part we have all been waiting for, and guilt tripping ourselves about. Dessert. It should be a four letter word. It's almost scandalous" (especially for those trying to eat healthy or lose weight)

I sat at my desk one day and I didn't particularly have any cravings, but I was thinking 'fall flavours are yummy, what sounds like good fall food?' And I came up with the name first before I had anything else. I knew that I had not invented anything new, but I was instantly excited and decided that I needed to make this a healthy recipe. And so I did research and used my baking know-how to adapt a recipe into this, and it is delightful. I put up the original recipe and my adapted recipe so that you can see the changes I made.  The directions are for the adapted recipe

Apple Cinnamon Spice Cake With Maple Cream Cheese Glaze

Apple Cinnamon Spice Cake

Ingredients- Original Recipe

Ingredients- Adapted Recipe

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 large eggs 2/3 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt 2 tart apples, peeled and diced 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

¾ c whole wheat pastry flour ½ c rolled oats ¼ c all purpose flour 2 t baking powder ½  t baking soda 1 ¼ t ground cinnamon ¼  t ground ginger ¼  t ground nutmeg ¼  t salt ½  c unsweetened apple sauce ½  c agave nectar ¼ c granulated maple sugar 1 t vanilla extract 2 large eggs 2/3 c plain fat free yogurt 2 apples, peeled, cored and diced

Adapted Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray and flour an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan or line a muffin tray with paper liners. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through salt.) Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the apple sauce on medium speed and gradually add the agave syrup, maple sugar and vanilla. Continue beating on medium-high speed until well blended and light, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after adding each egg, and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the yogurt in two additions. Mix just until blended. Turn off the mixer, add the diced apple and stir in by hand.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake cake for about 30 minutes, or cupcakes about 12-15 minutes, until the top is light golden brown and a toothpick or skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool completely on a rack, and turn out onto a serving platter before you frost it, or wait to frost until just before serving. 

I like to cut this cake into 9 or 16 pieces (4x4 or 3x3 squares are easy to cut while the cake is in the pan or after it has been turned out onto a platter). The 16 piece size is about one serving of grains/starch, but the 9 piece size is not really much bigger and the argument can be made that you will eat it faster and be less tempted by it if it is in bigger pieces. :)  

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting/Glaze

Ingredients- Original Recipe	Ingredients- Adapted Recipe
6 ounces cream cheese, softened 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger pinch of ground nutmeg pinch of salt 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (I like to use Dark Amber/Grade B) 1 cup confectioner’s sugar	6 ounces low fat cream cheese, softened 2 T fat free evaporated milk 2 T pure maple syrup ½  t vanilla extract ½ t flax oil pinch of salt optional: 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger pinch of ground nutmeg  skim milk powder to thicken consistency

Adapted Directions

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and evaporated milk on medium speed until smooth. Add the vanilla, maple syrup, flax oil, salt and optional spice if desired. Beat on low speed until all ingredients are well combined. Turn speed to high and beat until mixture is light and creamy. If you find the consistency too runny or want more of a frosting than a glaze, add skim milk powder in small increments and beat on low- medium until the desired consistency is reached. Beat until well blended. 

I did not care a whole lot for the thicker consistency with the skim milk powder, I prefer cutting the cake and plating it and then drizzling the cream cheese glaze over top just before eating it. Another option is to make whipped cream with 1-2 Tbs of maple syrup and optional spices, although that is a higher fat option (I used it once because someone I was serving was allergic to cheese products, and this made a lovely alternative. I let everyone serve themselves the whipped cream so that I could control how much I got and didn't eat too much) 

This cake is moist and delicious and has an amazing aroma as it bakes and cools in your kitchen. And it should be a GUILT FREE treat because you worked so hard to cut out tons of fat and extra calories, and added extra fiber and nutrients from the oats and apples.  

I hope you enjoy these recipes and by between the lines rantings. Happy Eating! 

Sometimes I Fail. Sometimes I Win!

Lately I think I have been cheating too much on this 17 day diet healthy eating/living plan and it shows in how I feel today and it showed when I stepped on the scale this morning. Ugh. Needless to say, sometimes I fail. It's not easy, this path I am on and I am still working to build up good habits and banish bad ones.

Sometimes I fail, and it looks like this:

- I don't always drink enough water, and I get dehydrated easily.
- My sleep is broken and sometimes I don't get enough of it.
- Sometimes I don't get 17 minutes of exercise every day, which is going to make it really hard to get even more on the next cycle.
- I often eat fruit and carb servings after 2 pm. I don't typically beat myself up over this, but I am on a roll.
- I have a very hard time controlling portion sizes for natural starches/carbs. 1/2 cup of rice is not much to look at on a plate.
- I have not been getting 2 full probiotic servings each day. I am getting bored with fat free sugar free super sweet sugar substitute sweetened yogurt.
- I have little to no willpower to resist certain snacks when they are offered to me.  Case in point- the chocolate milk and chocolate bar I shared last night.

Really these things boil down to a simple truth. I am a Carbaholic. And a Sugarholic. I am recovering, or trying to. If I fall off the bandwagon and assault you in a super hyper or terribly trantrum-ish way, I apologize. I imagine it would be something like getting drunk-dialed at 3 am.

I also look at these things and see ways that I could improve my odds. I can try harder to drink more water of course. I should start a better morning routine to ensure I get enough exercise into my day. I can go to bed earlier at night. I can hide the larger measuring cups to ensure I only eat a half cup of rice, and use a smaller plate so it looks like more. I can try new things with my yogurt. I really should start drinking smoothies again.

Now that I have noted my failures and have disappointed myself I have a bit of a plan or better idea as to how I can avoid these bumps in the future. This post will also serve as a reminder. I have also been looking through my food journal and healthy living notes, and I see ways that I am succeeding on this adventure, and I need to be reminded of those things, too.

Sometimes I win, and it looks like this: 

- I have dropped a dress size.
- I have lost around 20 pounds.
- My skin is clearer and less oily.
- I am not as bloated or gassy as I used to be. Laugh all you want, but it's true! Everyone farts, but bad food= bad farts and good food= good, reasonable toots.
- I don't need to wear a bra extender in most of my bras anymore. The ones that still need an extender only need one more row of hooks, instead of four.
-I have encouraged (some might say forced) my fiancé to eat more vegetables than he is comfortable with. He even ate Brussels sprouts. I am still working on getting him to eat fruit that isn't jam, pie or cake.
- When I eat right I find my ankles and feet hurt less and are not as swollen at the end of the day.
- I am learning to adapt favorite recipes into healthier new alternatives.

I am supposed to move on to the 3rd cycle of the 17 day diet soon, but I don't feel as if I have fully mastered the 2nd cycle yet where I am having so much trouble controlling my starch portions and servings. I might stay on cycle 2 until the weekend and see how that goes. Or I might move on to Cycle 3 and find that it helps me regulate my carb intake even more by letting me have starches every day instead of every other day and widening the variety of foods I can eat which may help me stay satisfied.

The moral of this story is that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, but don't let the losses be the brick wall that stops you from reaching your goal.

17 Day Diet Cycle One- Accelerate

Before I get into it, let me say that I did not create this diet. I modified it to suit my lifestyle and needs while still loosing weight. The guidelines below and the suggested food list are from Dr. Mike Moreno's book titled The 17 Day Diet.  The other notes are my interpretation and implementation of a healthy eating plan based on the 17 day diet. For more information or to order your own copy of the book, click here.

The first cycle is meant to correct our digestion, clean out toxins in our bodies, and get us off our addiction to refined carbohydrates and sugar. It also is supposed to provide rapid weight loss results so that we are motivated to keep going through the cycles of the diet. It certainly has for me. For 17 days you eat only from foods on this list. You try to cut out as much sugar as you can from dressings, condiments and sauces that are only used in very small amounts. For example, try to use a low sugar or no sugar added spaghetti sauce if you make chicken parmesan or eggplant parmesan (I know most people don’t think they like eggplant, but eggplant parmesan is tasty!) and have it with salad with a low fat or fat free dressing instead of with pasta.

General Guidelines for the Accelerate Cycle

1. Follow this cycle for 17 days. If you reach your weight loss goal, move on to the 4^th cycle. If you have more weight loss to go or want further training on healthy eating and living, go on to cycle 2: Activate.

2. Your diet will consist of lean proteins, vegetables, low-sugar fruits, probiotic foods like yogurt and good fats. Starchy goods like potatoes, legumes, brown rice, corn and oatmeal are not permitted in this cycle.

3. Remove skin from chicken prior to cooking.

4.  About Eggs: You make eat up to 2 eggs with yolks per day. Egg whites may be eaten without restriction and if you have high cholesterol try to stick to no more than 4 yolks per week.

5.  Enjoy fresh vegetables and fruits as much as possible, but they must be unsweetened.

6. Do not eat any fruit after 2 p.m. Fruit is a carb. The timing of carb intake is important. If you eat carbs in the evening is is harder for your body to burn them off because you expend less energy in the evening.

7. Avoid alcohol and sugar.

8. Adopt a habit of drinking green tea, it contains some caffeine but offers compounds that help burn fat. Drink it without sugar.

9.  Eat probiotic foods, like yogurt with live and active cultures or food with acidophilus at least twice a day.

10.  Eat slowly and only until full; don't overload the stomach.

11.  Drink eight 8-oz glasses of pure water a day. Tea and coffee do not count, nor does fruit juice, which should be avoided. You may add lemon or cucumber slices to your water for extra taste. Lemon water also helps with digestion and cleansing

12.  Exercise at least 17 minutes a day.

Selina's Notes: I found that following this cycle of the diet exactly the way it is was very hard. The first week I was weak, shaky, dizzy, had headaches and always felt like I was starving. It’s because I was completely addicted to carbohydrates and sugar. I did not want to make myself sick from this diet and I didn’t like the way I was feeling so I “cheated” and had one serving of starch per day to keep me sane. I tried to keep these servings natural, having things like ½ cup of oatmeal, brown or basmati rice, couscous, a small sweet potato or regular potato, corn, peas or squash. If I was in a pinch I also would eat 6 low sodium crackers or a slice of whole wheat or whole grain bread (even though these foods aren’t ‘allowed’ until the 2^nd and 3^rd cycle of the diet). That is what worked for me and I got through the rest of the first 17 days much easier and happier and I still lost a lot of weight. (10.6 lbs the first two weeks!)

Food List- Accelerate: First Cycle of Diet

PROTEINS- LIBERAL AMOUNTS

Fish                                                                                       Poultry

•       Salmon                                                                        •       Chicken breasts

•       Sole                                                                               •       Turkey breasts

•       Flounder                                                                     •       Ground turkey, lean

•       Catfish                                                                          •       Eggs (2 eggs = 1 serving)(max 2 yolks/day)

•       Tilapia                                                                          •       Egg whites (4 egg whites = 1 serving)

•       Canned light tuna (in water)

CLEANSING VEGETABLES- ALL YOU CAN EAT

•       Artichoke                                •       Cucumbers                          •       Onions

•       Artichoke hearts                   •       Eggplant                              •       Parsley

•       Asparagus                               •       Garlic                                    •       Scallions

•       Bell peppers, any colour     •       Green beans                        •       Spinach

•       Broccoli                                   •       Green, leafy vegetables
                                                             (beet/turnip/collard greens)

•       Brussels sprouts                    •       Kale                                       •       Tomatoes

•       Cabbage                                  •       Leeks                                     •       Watercress

•       Carrots                                     •       Lettuce, all varieties

•      Cauliflower                              •       Mushrooms

•       Celery                                       •       Okra

FIBROUS FRUIT- 2 SERVINGS DAILY- Before 2 pm!

•       Apples                                   •       Pears

•       Berries, all types               •       Peaches

•       Grapefruit                            •       Plums

•       Oranges                                 •       Prickly pear cactus

•       Prunes                                   •       Red grapes

PROBIOTIC FOODS- 2 SERVINGS DAILY

•       Yogurt, any type, including Greek-style, sugar-free, low fat (6 oz. container = 1 serving)

•       Kefir: similar to a drinking-style yogurt; great for making smoothies (1 cup = 1 serving)

•       Low-fat acidophilus milk (1 cup = 1 serving)

•       Yakult: (1 cup = 1 serving)

•       Breakstone LiveActive cottage cheese (1/2 cup= 1 serving)

•       Reduced salt miso dissolved in low-fat, low-sodium broth (1 tablespoon – 1 serving)

•       Tempeh (4 oz. = 1 serving)

•       Sauerkraut: (1/2 cup – 1 serving)

•       Kimchi (Korean Cabbage) (1/2 cup = 1 serving) Found at Asian supermarkets or natural food stores, and enjoy a small amount as a side dish with meals.

FRIENDLY FATS: 1 TO 2 TABLESPOONS DAILY

•       Olive oil                    •       Flaxseed oil

CONDIMENTS

Condiments and seasonings are allowed in moderation:

•       Salsa, low-carb marinara sauce, lite soy sauce, low-carb ketchup, fat-free sour cream, Truvia (a non-caloric sweetener made from natural ingredients), sugar-free jams and jellies, vegetable cooking spray, fat-free cheeses (i.e. Parmesan), fat-free salad dressing, salt, pepper, vinegar, mustard, herbs, and spices.

Substitutions for vegetarians:

• One-half cup of tofu (any type) 
• One-half cup of beans, lentils, or any legume 
• 1-2 vegetarian or black bean burgers (made from textured vegetable protein) 
• 2-4 ounces any vegetarian cheese, including soy cheese 
• 2 vegetarian “sausage” links (great substitute for eggs!) 
• 2 scoops vegan rice protein powder (great for smoothies, blend with 1 cup unsweetened almond milk and a fruit) for a quick 17-Day Diet vegetarian breakfast 
• Any type of vegetarian meat substitute made from textured vegetable protein (see package for serving size) 
• For yogurt substitutes, it is fine to use soy milk yogurt. These subs will work for all cycles as meat-protein substitutions.

Selina's Notes: It was a bit of an adjustment to this new eating thing. I was addicted to pop. The smell of it made me want to cry. And sometimes I did. Same with toast. I also don't like all of the foods on this list. So it can be limiting but it led me to be creative. I did try some of the vegetarian options as meat supplements (along with eating actual meat) when I got bored of other proteins. I stayed away from the legumes though. I tried sugar free jam. It was horrendously horrible. I have been playing with my yogurt. I hav ebeen trying the various fat free fruit flavored options out there. I am not good friends with aspartame or sucralose, but I do try to get along with them. I prefer instead to add my own berries or homemade low/no sugar applesauce and make parfaits with plain fat free yogurt. I also am not a big fan of grapefruit or prunes and prickly pear cactus is hard to find. So I eat a lot of apples, grapes, and berries with the occasional orange or pear. It was hard for me to stop drinking my morning apple juice (which has a lot of calories and sugar, even unsweetened) so I occasionally have a 'cheat treat' and squeeze some o.j. myself. I know you lose some of the fiber, but I don't strain the pulp out and it's way less processed than the other juices I used to drink and love. The veggies are about the same. Some I like, some not so much. I skip the boiled leafy greens and have Kale chips instead, or try to eat lots of salad with fresh spinach and dark lettuces. Probiotics are limited. They are hard to find without going to a specialty store, but I have enjoyed kefir, yogurt, and cottage cheese. Mostly yogurt.

I use a weekly meal planner and grocery list that looks like this along with a printed page of the foods listed above to track meals and figure out what I need to buy so I am not eating the same thing every day.  

I also use a daily meal planner to track what I am planning to eat and to track what I actually eat. It helps me monitor my little mistakes but also gives me a space to write notes and keep a journal of sorts about my adventures. Sometimes I write recipes and milestones, sometimes just what I ate or how I feel. I created both of these charts using tables in Microsoft Word. If you want a copy of the word document, send me an email and I will send it to you! 

It's Been a Long Time Coming

I haven't posted in ages. I know. I have my reasons. In the spring whenever I sat down to write a post I thought to myself "I am really busy right now, and as many good ideas as I have for this blog, marking assignments and doing lesson planning and a million other things is really more important, and I am being selfish and letting my students down by not marking their papers during my 'free' time." So I made a mental list of all my good ideas and started a post here and there and never got around to finishing them. I told myself that over the summer I would post more. But it was the summer, and going to the beach became more important than sweating in front of a computer screen. I also wasn't feeling well, and had some health problems over the spring and summer. I found I was losing my passion for food a little bit, and that made me sad. I think a lot of it was because I wasn't feeling well or like myself. But a few things did happen over the spring and summer that have given me a new perspective:

1- I got engaged. Eeep! It has been a long time coming, but at just the right moment, in front of a gorgeous waterfall in Cape Breton, we decided to make it official and spend the rest of our lives together. I knew then that I wanted to look fabulous and loose weight and be healthy for the wedding.

2- I spent some time in the Emergency room, scared out of my mind and in tons of pain. According to the doctors I had kidney stones. Two of them. A big one and a little one. Reality check for needing a healthier lifestyle. 

3- I had chest pains. I didn't go to the ER for this, although in hindsight I should have. I made excuses and told myself it was something else, no big deal, no need to worry. I had too much to do to be having a heart attack. But in my mind, I was terrified. I went to my doctor and got some tests done and apparently my heart is ok, but I was still advised that I needed to loose weight.

Ok, so this wasn't new news to me. I have been overweight my entire life. I was a size 12 before I was 12 years old. I was a size 22 before the age of 22. It was one of my greatest fears that I would keep going up in size with age. I tried to eat healthier and make better choices but the most I accomplished was maintaining my weight and not gaining any more.  I was also afraid of dying young, and not being able to successfully have children. I'm taking cholesterol medicine. I have been on it for a while now, and I fought with my doctor about taking it for the longest time, trying to get it down on my own to no avail. I fought and won the battle over blood pressure medicine and I wasn't forced to take it by my doctor but I knew in the back of my mind that my blood pressure was high and took some pretty abnormal spikes. There were times when I simply couldn't control it. I didn't feel stressed but my body was flushed and red and HOT (not in the sexy way) and I couldn't seem to cool down or sweat it out. It was a dry, scary inferno. I needed to do something.

After getting engaged I made a plan to go to the bookstore and buy new cookbooks with healthy recipes in them. I wanted one book in particular- the "Eat Yourself Thin" cookbook. I have watched the show on tv that uses this book. It converts favorite high fat and calorie dishes into healthy and delicious alternatives. The bookstore didn't have it. No bookstore in the area had it. It's apparently a very popular book. I was devastated. But I looked around the store and perused other cookbooks and books in general and I stumbled upon a 30% off diet book. I was skeptical. These books don't work. They all advertize the same things and don't deliver. Or they offer a fad diet that is sure to leave you malnourished and then have you gain the weight all back as soon as you stop. But I was desperate. I haven't been able to do this weight loss thing on my own, and even a dietician didn't actually help me all that much. But I took the book and found a bench in a private-ish corner of the store (away from the Starbucks where everyone else was reading and drinking expensive, sugary, delicious coffees), and I sat down and began to scan through the book. Then I began reading some of it. And it made sense. It wasn't a completely crazy idea, and It seemed like sound eating advice. It read kind of like a conversation. That's when my relationship with The 17 Day Diet began.

I bought the book, took it home, and began reading. It was something I could do. But did I really want to? Would it really work? Could I handle the disappointment if it didn't? The basics boiled down to these three steps for me:

1- The diet would cleanse my system and set me free from my horrible addictions to sugar and processed carbs

2- The diet would re-start/jump start my metabolism to help me loose weight and develop healthy exercise routines and eating habits.

3- The diet would teach me a new way of eating and living that would allow me to develop, implement and maintain a healthier lifestyle while still enjoying some of my favorite things. 

So I planned to start and eased myself onto the diet and then finally jumped in with both feet and said "okay, I am doing this now."

I have been on this new Healthy Living Plan (as I call when I don't want to just say "I'm dieting" because it is really much more than that..) for 32 days. I am almost done the second cycle.  It's called the 17 day diet because you do it in cycles of 17 days each. There are 4 cycles in the book but you can also tailor it to your needs and weight loss goals. I will explain how later. 

What you need to know now is that in 32 days I have lost 18.6 pounds, including a bad week where I fell off the bandwagon and gained 4 pounds back, and then had to loose them all over again. I did. And then some. You should also know that in addition to my weight loss number, I am down a dress size and wearing size 22 jeans, and size 2x tops for the most part. I also rarely have to wear a bra extender and I don't get red raw lines around my sides after supporting the ladies all day with a too tight bra. And my fiance hasn't complained yet about them shrinking (and he better not!)

This diet is working. I occasionally fail, but it is always my own fault and my poor choice to fail. It isn't the diets fault, and it isn't really my fault either. It's life. Life happens. And I just keep going and trying my best and eventually I will get there if I am determined enough.

Every day and every meal is a new opportunity to make healthy and better choices. If you start choosing what you eat or how much of it you eat from about 15 years old, and you live to be 100 years old, and you eat 3 meals a day, you have about 93,000 opportunities to eat healthily or make a better choice than the one before it. More if you count snacks. That being said, I love the 17 day diet because it is trying to teach people how to enjoy the foods they love responsibly, not give them up all together. In the words of my wonderful Mom, 'If you want desert, have that piece of pie. What you have to do is not sit there and eat the whole damn pie!'

Also being on the Healthy Living Plan for me is about life. I want to enjoy more of it for as many years as I can. I want to pass on good eating habits and happy eating habits to my future family. I don't want to pass on high cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes,which already runs in the family.

I know a lot of other people are also trying to loose weight. And some of us are struggling. Some of us need support (I know I often do!). I am not a success story yet. I am a big girl with big dreams and I have set the bar high for myself. I learned this week from Facebook that there are many people out there who are trying this and other strategies to loose weight and get healthy. And I learned that it is good to share our ideas and thoughts and feelings because it means we are not alone, and we have hope and we can do this.

I have been on this new plan for 32 days. I have re-ignited my passion for food and cooking in a new way. I love to come up with new recipes and I love to find my own ways of making delicious food healthy. I also love to share it with people. So this blog will now be dedicated to my foodie adventure in loosing weight and creating a healthy lifestyle for myself. I will share my 'secrets' and how I have tailored the plan to suit my needs. I will also share recipes and celebrate my milestones here. And I look forward to hearing from other people about their secrets and recipes too!

 These pictures are me at my heaviest. They will be a reference I guess for when I take new pictures. We will see what happens!