Begin Again Finnegen

Begin Again Finnegen   

Photo by i yunmai on Unsplash

I have been away for a while but in that while I got rid of 60 icky pounds of fat.  That happened recently (just this year) but it happened!  This gives me the motivation I needed to get back to a healthier lifestyle.
Any one who wants to join me in this weight loss journey is more then welcome. 

I was so floored when I had to go down a couple sizes in clothes.  It feels better getting dressed and I even have some clothes that I like now instead of just whatever fits me.

What caught me by surprise were the things I can do again.  Even though i have only lost 60 lb and have a way to go certain things are easier.  Life is more comfortable and it's easier to get off the floor

I went from 294 to 234 and i am pleased..

Make a Deal

Photo by patrisyu. Published on 04 February 2014
Stock photo - Image ID: 100232877 

I made a deal with my child if I go till her Birthday without overeating, she will do something that I really want her to do and that will be good for her.  So if I overeat she does not have to do this thing.  I just made a deal with my second child along the same lines as the first.

 

We have all chosen things that will be challenging for us.  By working together this way we can support each other.  My young adult (se child) came up with this idea.  They know that something I may not do for myself I would do for their well being.  We also all get a reward if we can do this.

SO I do something that is healthy for me, then my young adults do something that is healthy for them, then we all get a reward.  I really like this idea.  Very hopeful this will work out for us.  It is simple but insidious.  If I really want them to do these healthy things, I have to do my own healthy thing.

We also set it up for approximately 21 days.  The amount of time it takes to build a new habit. It is also not too long that it seems hopeless and we give up.  Success breeds success.  DO you have a person or two you care about?  Is there something they want to do (or not do) for a time that would make their lives better?  Is there something you want to do, and they would want you to do, that would make your life better?  In this case if we all three achieve our 21 days goal we all share the reward.

I have also made another deal with 2 different people.  We all have three things that we do everyday till March, and continue doing till May.  In this case we are all doing the same things, things others may not need inspiration to do, but we do.  We all get different rewards… one persons reward starts in March and continues on through May, one person gets their reward in May, and the other goes between the two.

I am going to get back to writing these out now so we all have copies of our agreements.  This way we can recall the specifics and have our rewards in writing.  We will also be able to keep our agreements near by, to help further motivate us.

Baking Again

Photo by Aleksa D. Published on 30 November 2015
Stock photo - Image ID: 100381167

I made my own granola/protein bars last night.  I found a recipe that used what I already had in the house.  They are delicious. The only problem being, one of the two people I made them specifically for, does not like them.  That’s okay though more for me. 

I also made them healthy and surprise, surprise they taste good.  I think I am finally picking up on some of the substitutions for common foods like butter, and sugar.  They were a whole heck of a mess and I have a tiny kitchen.  Still worth it.

I also made a bunch of brown minute rice, which is the healthiest rice around.  It has a lot of resistant starch which is very good for us.  I plan on making a healthy fried rice and rice pudding.  It’s strange I get away from cooking, and baking some times, then once I do it again it’s so worth it.

I am still relearning how to cook.  I need to learn the different spices and how to use them.  In the past I have often used premade sauces and spice mixes.  Since then I have found out how full of sugar and salt and fat most of them are.  Butter was a 'go to' for making things yummy.  Of course butter is also pure fat.

I love the taste of butter.  The only reason I would have potatoes, rice, or bread was for the taste of the butter.  Let me know if anyone has found a good substitution for butter.  In cooking I use a lot of coconut oil.  In some ways cooking and baking healthier is very rewarding.  In some ways…  I miss the butter, salt and sugar. 

It was so much easier cooking things from cans and jars.  Sure this will someday be the natural way to cook for me, but for right now I am still relearning and it feels odd.  How goes it for others and healthier options?  Is it awkward or already feeling like the good new way?

Too much eating!

Photo by vectorolie. Published on 09 April 2014
Stock photo - Image ID: 100254201

Too much, and the wrong foods, have left me tired, drained, stuffed.  I just feel drowsy now. and uncomfortable. after eating every wrong thing so far today.  The worst thing is not only am I feeling low; I want more junk food to pump me back up.

I have so many things I want to do today. Now I can hardly keep my eyes open.  All I want to do is lay down, and sleep.  The thing is, I didn’t really need, or like, or enjoy what I had.  I likely would have enjoyed having far healthier foods more, and I would be feeling better.  Blah!

   

Some times after I over eat I ask myself “Why did you just do that?”  Why did I just stuff myself with food; I neither enjoyed nor needed?  Obviously my body did not require it.  I did have healthier options.  What is going on?  Is it self hate?  What about Emotional eating?  Eating out of fear or needing to hide.  Did I eat it because, I have enjoyed that food in the past?  Or did I just need an energy boost?

No matter the cause, it is important to recognize that I ate crap, and I feel like crap, and I can do better.  If I focus on the end results rather then the initial impulse it may help.  Besides that I need to stop with the ‘just one last day’ stuff.  You know the ‘I’ll just finish this junk food I have left.’  I’ll eat healthier tomorrow.  There’s always another tomorrow.  Sometimes I think I may do this just so I don’t get started and I don’t fail.

If I don’t start I don’t fail.  But I started a long time ago, this body did not just appear overnight.  It’s not going to just idle in the drive way till I get around to fueling

it properly.  I am doing it.  I am doing it now.  Each time I mess up I have an opportunity to do it right.  Every time I fall down, I can get back up.  Unless I leave it till it’s too late.  So I’m working my energy back up and, I am not going for a cookie.

Artificial Sweetners

Photo by holohololand. Published on 07 January 2014
Stock photo - Image ID: 100225601

I didn’t have a Hot Chocolate this morning.  I did buy one for someone else.  So I’m not sure whether that was nice or not.  I love the smell of Hot Chocolate.  I also started my day with a healthy green smoothie.  Yay me.  I need to celebrate and recognize every little triumph right now.

I did buy myself a diet soda.  Now I know diet sodas are just chemicals and could not by a long stretch be considered health food.  My conflict centered on how bad for you are artificial sweeteners.  Not if their good for you… chemicals not health foods. How bad they are for you.  In several otherwise well researched books I have read lately there has been a side note or paragraph saying splenda and stevia are bad for you.  Only there has been no research used to back this up.

Recently I did find out how bad for you sugar is.  It’s bad, really, really bad.  In my green smoothie in the morning I like to add a splenda or a stevia.  The question was whether I would have to stop doing this.  Does the bad out way the good?

Luckily from years gone by and university and other research papers I remembered I could do my own research.  One of the big questions with artificial sweeteners is the chicken and the egg question.  Which came first?  Did people use diet sodas because they were fat or were they fat because they drank diet sodas.  Again we know diet sodas are not good for you they are all chemicals and can crowd out healthier beverages like water.

I did find one scientific study (study not experiment) which suggested a correlation between artificial sweeteners and weight gain.  I also found a couple of more studies and experiments that were inconclusive.  They could not say one way or another.  I did find research that determined artificial sweeteners do not light up the addictive pathways or brain the way sugar does.  Additional experiments determined artificial sweeteners can be helpful in weight loss.  

So ya, I still need to way cut down on diet sodas, but I can now feel okay using the occasional artificial sweetener in my salad dressing or green smoothie.

Salad Dressing

Photo by KEKO64. Published on 7 Oct 2013
Stock photo - Image ID: 100206455

I just had a salad.  A very good salad, though I still add too much to it.  I like adding a little cheese, and often a protein.  Here is my concern:  Salad dressing.  How many salad dressings are there out there that don’t ruin or take away the health benefits of the salad.  I had an Italian dressing that was only ten calories but I doubt it was healthy and I can’t find it again.

I know that I am supposed to let my taste buds adjust and learn to like healthier things.  I just don’t know where or how far I want to go with this.  I know I want to cut out the whites (white rice, flour, potatoes, and sugar).  I also know that one of the best things you can do for your health is get as many photo nutrients as possible.  Photo nutrients are just plant nutrients.

A huge amount of research says eat your veggies.  Eat them raw, eat the steamed, eat them in a stream (if its summer).  Since all our streams are currently frozen. And I am not into making a lot of veggie soups or stews right now.  I want to have more salads.

I want to have more salads and I like salad dressing.  I think I could make a good tzatziki sauce that’s low in calories, fat, sugar, and salt and yummy.  However it would be using Greek yogurt and I’m unsure about how healthy milk products are.  Actually now that I’ve said that I think if I keep them to a minimum they could be okay.

I am so torn I have so much now knowledge that conflicts with my old knowledge.  I also know what I like now and what I like know is not healthy.  So eat more veggies is good, I got that much.  They are to be a primary food source.  Does anyone out there have good healthy salad dressing recipies? 

I am willing to eat large salads but I do want something on them.  I’m just not sure if that will be good enough to help me get as healthy as I want to be.  Any thoughts?

Eat your Veggies

Photo by KEKO64. Published on 28 November 2014
Stock photo - Image ID: 100299498

Eat your Veggies.  One of the few sayings that have stood the test of time.  We are beginning to see how poorly most of us in North America are eating.  We are also beginning to see the consequences of the way we're eating.  Not just in fat but also the sheer amount of health issues that come with poor eating.

A lot of the newest weight loss and health books agree on one thing.  That one thing is to eat your veggies.  There is literally a mountain of research that agrees veggies are healthy.

 I am trying to get to have a regular smoothie made primarily of veggies each morning.  I want to be having raw veggies as snacks most evenings.  I am starting to eat more salads (more on that tomorrow).

Now I just need to come up with the occasional soup, stew, casserole, stir fry or other made primarily of veggies.  We can eat a huge amount of veggies and fill up on low calorie options.  Not only are veggies super low calorie they also have a huge amount of nutrients.  Whenever people talk about healing foods they are usually talking about veggies.

I may start adding links to great recipes particularly those for veggies. Any one else want to start?  Here's to learning to love those veggies.