Sunday, October 31, 2010

Halloween Tricks and Treats

Artficial Sweeteners are a NASTY business!
 The good the bad and the ugly lowdowns on everyone's favorite sweeteners here on Halloween as you sort through all those goodies in your trick or treat bag..

Things to remember: Aspartame causes cancer.
Splenda   is a chlorocarbon (a chlorine containing compound)  Chlorine, as in BLEACH.  And you're putting that in your body everytime you consume it.

High Fructose Corn Syrup   is a hidden sugar that can cause problems with diabecs who arent' payign attention to what is in their food. 

The good stuff?  Honey, the darker the better, though it does cause a temporary spike in blood glucose levels, it isn't as dangerous as sugar.

Agave, a 32 on the glycemic scale whereas honey scores a 58, and granulated sugar (table sugar) score 65.

So pick your poison.  I prefer granulated sugar to artificial sweeteners, at least it won't cause cancer.  I use a lot of honey and have recently started using Agave too.  I like them both.

How's that for short and to the point?

Updates on weight and measurements on the 9th!


Me in all my witchy, windblown glory.  Okay so I cheated and got out of my black pants that were uncomfortable in favor of a pair of well worn, comfy jeans. and I lost my hat to the wind lol!  Hubby said I won the boob appeal award.  I think I look fat (I know I am, but this just made it look worse!)

Sunday, October 24, 2010

So I'm a chocaholic =)

Melissa's Brownies

This makes a very heavy/dense brownie chock full of protein, omegas, high lignans, and fiber.


INGREDIENTS


2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter, softened, plus 1 tablespoon, melted
2/3 cup honey or agave (adjust according to your taste)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup  cocoa powder
3 tablespoons milk
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I usually just use the whole bag =) )
1/2 cup old fashioned oats (not the 1 minute kind)
1 brick silky or extra firm tofu (pour juice off, let tofu sit on paper towels while preparing batter then dice up for easier mixing)
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 tbsp grapeola (grapeseed oil)
1/2 tbsp flaxseed oil


PREPARATION

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 9-inch baking pan.

2. In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together the flours and baking powder.

3. In a large bowl, cream together the 1/4 pound of butter, honey, and oils until smooth, then add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and tofu along with the wheat germ and ground flaxseed and blend well.

4. In a small bowl, combine the cocoa with the melted butter and the milk. Pour into the honey mixture, blending well. Whisk in the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting into bars.


I'm going as a witch for Halloween this year, same as last year, with a more modern twist.  the much lighter hair is throwing me because I had a much darker look in mind, kind of like the witch from that old television story The Trouble With Miss Switch (aka Miss Switch is a Witch)I'll post some pics of me in my outfit while I'm learning to make my 'look' match what I have in my mind's eye and then the final product on Saturday. Wohoo!

I'm painting faces on Saturday at KMart in Athens from 1-4 if you want to come by and bring your little ones for a little 'magic transformation) Hehe, my magic wand is a paint brush.

I'm not the best face painter but I love doing it and the kids dont' care if it's perfect or not..

Friday, October 22, 2010

You Have My Permission

Whoa!  Three posts in one night!  Don't get used to it.

One thing has been bothering me, beside food police.  It's the sheer number of people who seem to want or need permission to do something for themselves.

Sure, I'll give you permission.

1) You have my permission to not be fat anymore.
2) You have my permission to eat better.
3) You have my permission to feel good about yourself no matter what.
4) You have my permission to not clean your plate.
5) You have my permission to color your hair.
6) You have my permission to buy clothes that you look good in. Notice I didn't say that look good on you.  There is a difference.
7) You have my permisssion to do your diet/change of lifestyle your way.
8) You have my permission to tell Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, and Jenny Craig that their cookie cutter diet program doesnt' suit you that your life and your body doesn't fit in with their cookie cutter mold.
9) You have my permission to totally screw up your 'diet' as long as you eventually get back on YOUR program
10) You have my permission to a design it yourself lifestyle change.
11) You have my permission to exercise as much or as little control as you wish over your lifestyle.
12) You have my permission to not feel guilty around me while you're eating chips and I'm munching on carrots and hummus.
13) You have my permission to indulge in whatever you like.
14) You have my permission to call my lifestyle change a diet.
15) You have permission to quit/give up at anytime, just don't expect sympathy from my corner



All I ask is that you refrain from telling me what my 'diet' rules are.
1) a: I don't punish myself for totally screwing up my meal and snack plans for the day. 
    b: I don't have actual written out meal/snack plans, just whatever is available and I feel like eating (within reason)

2) I don't call it a diet, because technically it isn't a diet per se, unless you want to consider food consumption a diet as in "Her daily diet consists of a lot of fruits and vegggies and whole grains" instead of "She eats a lot of weird stuff on her diet."

3) I don't fear failure. I just dont' accept failure. I get up and dust my knees off, or my ass, depending on which direction the blow came from and go at it again.

Anything else you  need permission to do, you have it.  Unless it's illegal, at which point, you're on your own.

WOW

Blogger has an interesting feature called stats, far better than the feed reader and feedjit. Apparently, in my blog's existence since August I've had 1072 hits.  It looks like I had the most hits when I posted my fat girl pics.  What anyone's obsession is with my terrible fat girl pictures is beyond me, but okay, whatever floats your boat. 

ONE  THOUSAND SEVENTY TWO HITS!  Mostly from facebook.  The number amazes me. Judging by feedjit and feed reader's numbers I thought I was doing a poor job of finding people to 'talk' to.  I don't feel so bad now.  I'll take the 1072 which averages out to a little over 300 hits a month or roughly 10 hits a day.  Not bad for a 3 month old blog.  Technically 4 month old blog, but the 1st month I don't think I published but maybe one or two things.

I just wish when people visit my blog that they'd drop a 'howdy' as they breeze through.  Don't make me feel like I'm talking to myself please.

Diet Police

If there's one thing I can't stand it's the diet police who are watching my every bite.  I never said I was on a diet.  I never said I couldn't eat whatever I wanted to eat.  What I did say is that I'm paying attention to what I eat.  I'm paying attention to the calories, salt and sugar in what I eat.  I'm not counting anything, it's too much trouble.  I don't punish myself for the days and times I stray from what I normally eat. I just wipe the crumbs off and try to do better.

I'm paying attention to my body's signals about the types of foods it will tolerate.  Right now, I don't seem able to tolerate most starchy carbs and I'm okay with that.  I was never a fan of potatoes or pasta or bread to begin with.

I have intense cravings for fresh vegetables (sweet green peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers mostly) and some fruits (blueberries) which sucks this time of year because they're not readily available or if they are available they're extremely expensive and the tomatoes taste grainy.  YUCK!

I have a  huge appetite for Lindt's Chili Chocolate, but I find I can eat it or leave it as evidenced by the not even half eaten bar still in the fridge.  One square does me just fine for the day.

I ate shepherd's pie for supper last night (without potatoes) Still full of calories, but minus the carbs, no salt!  I didnt' use salt!  and I still woke up one pound lighter. HA!

Oh, and weight as of tonight 204.2 I finally snapped that strangle hold of 205.  About time too. I thought I was doomed to 205.  How's that for a Halloween nightmare? 

I ordered my shirt for Halloween and now I'm afraid it's going to be too big for me.  Pants, well, I guess I'll be shopping Cato's and maybe some other specialty stores to see if I can find something that looks good with the shirt.  The leather that I wanted to wear escapes me this time due to finances and still being over the 200 pound mark I set for myself.  I know there are lots of women who are well over 200 who are wearing leather and um, yeah, we all know what that looks like...

I promised Shirley a brownie recipe and that ain't happenin' tonight because I'm being lazy lol.  I'll post it sometime this weekend, promise.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Fashionable disaster alert!

I usually do a new product report, but I haven't found one this week so no report. =)  I have new pics of me and the girls below.  Mine is not very good, but hey, you can at least see the weight is slowly going away.
I had three colors put in my hair, an eyebrow wax job, and a good trim. Gotta keep the length for the super sexy witch look coming up soon for Halloween.

How about instead of a new product report, I give a new Melissa's hair caretaker report lol!  Mike Miller is awesome! He rocks!  Not a stray eyebrow hair to be found.  Gorgeous color on my hair.  I'm not used to quite this shade.  It's a lot lighter than I thought I'd like but it's growing on me.  He has a wicked sharp sense of humor and took on the daunting project of doing three women's hair at one time.  We were all waxed and colored, washed, cut, styled. Sounds kinky huh?  NOT! We grew up with him.  He's a sweet guy.  If you're in Cleveland or the surrounding area and would like to have him treat you like a queen, email me and I'll give you his contact information, be warned, he is always booked!

My weight has neither gone up or down.  So no news is good news right?



Bobbie Jo FOILED AGAIN!


Alicia, Melissa, Bobbie, Mike


Alicia and her new 'rocked out' look.  Isn't she cute!


Bobbie Jo and her new, 10 years younger look!


Alicia, Melissa, Bobbie Jo, Jill


Jill, who *does* take a good picture


Alicia and Mike


Me with a good reason to wear make up.  Pasty pale is not a stunning fashion statement.













I bought a few new pieces of clothing  that fit,(ie those two shirts I'm wearing in the above pics), sort of, but I'm not terribly happy with them if that makes sense?  Those colors washed me out didn't they?  Ick.   My current size is too big and the next size down is too small. Grrrr. That size 12 is still eluding me.  I can still get in them and button/zip them but breathing is the issue.  That and the button that we might find in orbit if I move while the pants are buttoned lol! P-ching! and we have lift off!  Wonder if it would be considered an un-identified flying object?

Monday, October 11, 2010

Updates a.k.a Talking to hear my head roar.

Thought I would wait until this Sunday to put up new pics for a couple of reasons 1)I don't have any recent pics.  2)Saturday is Girls Night out and there will then be pics =) 

In the mean time
 My last Measurements are as follows               My Current Measurments

Neck 15.5                                                        15


Biceps 14 (woot muscle!)                                  14 (fat loss, more solid feeling, so muscle!)

Wrist 6                                                              6 (wondering why it was recommended I measure)

Bust 40                                                              36  WHOA! no wonder my bras dont' fit!  

Waist 36                                                             36  No change there doggone it!

Hips 47                                                                45.5 pants are a lot looser!

Thigh 27                                                                24  pants are a lot looser! lol!

Calf 17 (more muscle!)                                          17 no change.  No news is good news right?

Weight is at 205  grrr, I hate being stuck!    Time to change up the routine a bit I s'pose.

And on to other things.  Yes, I really do eat like this most of the time.  Tons of fruits and veggies. Nuts, berries, lean cuts of meats.  I crave them.  pasta and breads and potatoes make me soooo very tired and sleepy that I avoid them like the plague.  I don't get bored.  There are many variations of the same recipes that  won't force you to over indulge  There are numerous combinations of foods that work well together.  think about it.  What are you missing by substituting out spaghetti squash in place of spaghetti noodles?  The texture is a little bit different so I add extra oregano and garlic but you're loosing the carbs and the calories.  What are you missing by subbing out mashed cauliflower for mashed potatos?  You're getting more nutrients and less calories in the cauliflower. What are you missing by subbing Whole wheat non high fructose corn syrup bread slices in lieu of overly processed white bread?  The texture of the whole wheat bread is a bit heavier, it has the same calories but it packs more fiber. What are you missing y subbing out baked pita chips instead of potato chips? Tons of calories and less fat and less salt.  Make your own pita chips by carving up pita bread, brushing with grapeola a light sprinkling of sea salt or cinnamon and sugar put them in a 350 degree oven for about20 minutes or until they're crisp.  enjoy with hummus.

HEY!  What are you missing by subbing hummus for chip dip?  CALORIES!  And you get more fiber and less salt. 

I'm all about less salt.  It's a sneak attack.  Look at the diet foods labels.  Sure, they have less calories, less sugar less fat, but HOW MUCH SALT?  I nearly dropped a Healthy Choice Frozen Dinner last week when I saw it had 1150 mg of sodium or something along the lines of 52% of your daily recommended allowance of salt.  In that one meal.  And they had the nerve to call it a Healthy Choice?  Lean Cuisine was just as guilty in their dishonesty about their dinners being a better, but more expensive, choice than the Banquet spaghetti and meatballs dinner sharing the same freeezer for 88 cents with only 25% of your daily allowance of salt.  Disgusting isn't it?

Observations:

My husband made an interesting observation about the magazine covers I pointed out a while back.  If only everyone did exactly as those magazines said, no one would ever be sick, depressed, or fat again.  Boy isn't that the truth.  The experts know no more than the common person.  you have in your head an ingrained knowledge of what is and isn't good for you.  It's what you do with that knowledge that sets you apart from everyone else. I just decided it was time and there was no going back. 

I walked through the nursing home and saw people in all kinds of conditions.  I can't do anything about aging.  I can't do a lot about what might ail me as I grow older in terms of parkinson's, alzheimer's, and other forms of dementia.  I might not be able to prevent a heart attack or stroke from happening to me, but I can do more for me now so that on down the road I won't weigh 500 pounds and be dependent on someone to do everything for me and be afraid I might hurt them if they try to lift me or if i fall on them.  I don't have to be overweight.

Losing weight doesn't mean not enjoying food, I do enjoy food.  I'm just picky about it.  I can't afford to not be picky about it.

I have arthritis in my hips and knees and ankles.  It hurts like...there's no worrds to describe that hurt.  But as I've lost weight, the pain has lessened, m joints don't have as heavy a burden to support.  And I like not hurting, enjoyit as a matter of fact.  My heel spurs dont' bother me much anymore nor does the plantar's fasciitis. (muscle strain in my feet)  I can actually get away with wearing those cheap cute shoes with no arch support. Well, for a little while I can.

I got out in the sun today and soaked up a bit too much as my face (specifically my cheeks and bridge of my nose) are a tad on the red side.  Hopefully that will soothe on out by tomorrow.
I can feel my muscles under the remaining fat on my arms.  That's something I haven't done in a long long time. Oh and I can barely see my collar bones now. Yeah yeah, Weird, I know.  I just never realized that I was so fat my muscles and bones were hidden.  Kind of a disgusting thought huh?

I'm on day 7 of the Pilates 30 day challenge. I needed a break for a couple of days.


Anything else?  Ask.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

You can have Chocolate!

Lindt Excellence

I am female.  I love chocolate, especially certain times of the month.  I discovered quite possibly the best source of chocolate outside of Godiva, in the world.  And this chocolate may even be good for me lol!

Lindt Excellence Chili Dark Chocolate. 

Dark chocolate has all kinds of Benefits 

Apparently the higher the cocoa count the better it is for you.  The one caveat, the higher the cocoa count the more bitter the chocolate becomes.  The suggested cocoa count is 60% or higher.  It is also suggested you not eat the chocolate with milk as milk cancels the healthy benefits.

But wait!  Add Chili pepper to your dark chocolate! (Actually, just about ANY *HOT* pepper)
capsaicin-7-powerful-health-benefits-of-the-stuff-that-makes-peppers-hot

While probably not enough of either in this particular candy bar, but enough of the two to still provide a little 'good for you' benefits,( if you don' t eat the whole thing, at 190 calories, in one sitting.) 

It also puts a dent in PMS (at least it did for me lol!)

I'm on day 3 of my 30 day Pilates Challenge despite my feeling like death on a stick (read mild stomach bug, if I could just vomit I think I'd feel much better, sigh)

Went to the Pellisippi State hot Air Balloon Festival yesterday and ate Nachos Locos which probably contributed to my stomach illness.  Perhaps a good night's sleep will help, but I'm running a low grade temp too so I doubt it.