Kara's official measure-up #5

Still at 39 inches . . . no loss this week . . . no comment.
My goals this week are:
1) plan meals ahead of time
2) to track (write down) what I eat each day
3) be diligent about sticking to the Rule of 5's

Kara vs. frozen yogurt

Frozen yogurt wins.
:(
To be fair, when I first ate it, I didn't look at the label. Had I looked, I probably wouldn't have put it in my mouth to begin with. It was full of high fructose corn syrup and other terrible and addictive stuff. But, I dove in without checking the waters.
It was meant to be a semi-healthy dessert for our Father's Day dinner, and then the leftovers stayed in my freezer and kept calling my name. It wasn't until after my 3rd bowl or so that it occurred to me to check the label.
Once I checked, I immediately knew why I've had the blahs and why I've been wanting to eat everything in sight, but did that motivate me to trash the rest of the yogurt? Heck no! It was just too tasty!
Coincidentally, I also started reading the emotional eating chapter of "You on a Diet" this week. I learned a strategy where I'm supposed to rate my hunger level every time I'm tempted to eat. Then I'm supposed to consciously decide whether I'm truly eating for hunger or, rather, for emotional reasons. Finally, I choose to eat or not to eat.
So . . . . at one point when I was getting ready to open that freezer door, I remembered the strategy. I evaluated my hunger level and decided I wasn't truly hungry. I really just wanted the yogurt because I was a little bored and because the memory of the yummy yogurt was nagging me. But, when it came to making the choice -- I still opened that freezer door and ate a big serving of yogurt. D'oh! Frozen yogurt is just too powerful!
So, now I'm kind of in a bad place, where I'm craving all kinds of terrible foods, I'm feeling guilty and ashamed for my poor food choices, and part of me would love to just call it quits and pig out.
Well, the yogurt is finally gone, and I am not calling it quits. I do want to get healthy, and I do want to model healthy choices for my children. No one said it would be easy. I've learned an important lesson about label reading. Just because something is supposed to be healthier, doesn't mean it is healthy enough.
It sucks that I'm going to have to go through a difficult several days while my body detoxifies again, but if I keep my eye on the goal and remember how good I was feeling when I was eating right, I know I can do it.

Kara rates recipes

I haven't rated recipes in awhile, but I have tried a couple recently.
First, I made the Orient Express Salad with Chopped Peanuts from page 318 of "You on a Diet." I give it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. I really enjoy this salad. The dressing has a nice flavor, and the ingredients mingle well, but it seems like it is missing something. Probably what I'm missing are the bad for you things that they throw on otherwise good for you salads in restaurants, such as fried won ton strips, fried noodles, extra salt, or even MSG. Whatever it is, I feel like it could use just a little more flavor, but still I enjoy it.
This weekend, I made Lifestyle 180 Vegetable and Country Dijon Potato Salad from page 328 of "You on a Diet." Delicious!!! 5 stars! I made this as a side dish to go with chicken kabobs for a Father's Day dinner. I was a little concerned that it would in no way resemble traditional potato salad, but no worries -- it's just as good; and since it is healthy, it's actually better! It serves 14, so it is perfect for a big family dinner or a pot luck dish. The potato salad really has the taste of a traditional mustard based potato salad with a hint of sweetness. It lacks the creaminess, but you don't miss it. I loved it, and so did my guests!

Kara feels blah

I'm having a blah day - no energy. This past week was soooo busy. I was literally on my feet, working hard from morning 'til bedtime every day, and today I just feel exhausted. I managed to stick pretty well to the Rule of 5's even though I was so busy, but I did splurge a little this weekend. I had not one but two servings of cake at a baby shower Saturday afternoon (talk about feeling shame), I ate some foods with simple sugars at a party Saturday evening, and I ate two servings of full fat frozen yogurt Sunday evening. Maybe the splurging accounts for why I feel blah today -- sugar low. The worst part: the leftover frozen yogurt remains in my freezer, and I'm finding it really difficult not to go eat it. I feel like I'm being drawn to it, as if eating it would make me feel better, even though intellectually I know this is not true.
So, the plan for now is this: I'm going to go eat a healthy dinner in an effort to satiate myself. Then I'm going to clean up the kitchen. And last, I'm going to make a plan for what I want to get accomplished tomorrow. Hopefully, that will help me avoid two days in a row of the blahs.

Kara's official measure-up #4

drum roll . . . 39 inches! That's a loss of 3/8 of an inch this week. AND . . . I've officially lost one whole inch off my waist!
One month; one inch. An inch per month. I can live with that. It feels great!

Kara's official measure-up #3

I almost didn't measure yesterday. I was afraid I hadn't made any progress, and I feared that bad news would cause me to lose momentum. This blog is keeping me honest though. I said I'd measure once a week, and darn it, I'm going to stick to it.
So, drum roll . . . 39 3/8 inches; I'm down another 1/8 inch! It's not much, but it IS progress. So, I'm glad I measured.
When I stop to think about it, I feel pretty good about how I'm doing. I can't say it is easy yet, but I can't say it is torture either. This definitely is the easiest "diet" I've ever been on, which seems incredible because it is also the healthiest. I still have the tendency toward emotional eating. I'm eager to get to that chapter in the book to see what strategies Dr. Oz suggests.

Maria's Waist Measurements

My waist is 46.5 inches

I'm tired.... that s all I have to say.... More later when my job slows down and I have time to blog at work, because otherwise, as you can see I don't have time.

Kara struggles

O.K., so a few days ago, I had a really bad eating day. It all started with a muffin . . .
To make a long story short, I started the day off eating simple sugars and, quite predictably (as I've learned from Dr. Oz's book), so began the simple sugar rebounding effect.
After eating said muffin, (or corn pops, or my son's leftover chocolate chip pancakes, etc., etc.) I'd feel good for maybe an hour, but then I'd feel blah (because my blood sugar had plummeted), and I would crave more sugary foods. I kept eating to try to make myself feel better, but my food choices were actually the culprit -- the reason I was feeling so sluggish, so I basically felt like I needed to eat all day.
So, what now? I learn from it: I did not enjoy myself at all on the day I binged. I did not feel good. I did not have fun. So, why do it again? It just doesn't make any sense.
Will I fall off the wagon again? Probably. But I feel certain that it will happen much less frequently than it used to. I am making progress, and I am feeling good about it.

Kara rating recipes again

I've made a couple more recipes out of the "You on a Diet" book. Both of them turned out well.

A few days ago I made the Lifestyle 180 Vegetable Rice on page 351 as a side dish to go with salmon patties. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. It was delicious and not that hard to make, but next time I will leave out the lemon zest. It made the whole dish taste like lemon peel -- kind of bitter. I think we would have been able to better enjoy the other flavors if we weren't being bombarded by the lemon.

This evening I cooked Apricot Chicken and Green Beans with Almond Slivers from page 335. Superb! I loved the chicken and the beans. I definitely have to make this for Maria and Aaron next time they come over for dinner. 5 stars!

Kara rates recipes

Well, I said I was going to make 3 recipes yesterday. 2 out of 3 isn't bad, right?
I had trouble getting motivated yesterday. I kept procrastinating on getting started on things, so I waited too long to make my salad for lunch, and I just ended up eating some leftover green beans almondine and some cashews instead.
I ended up snacking on cashews later too. Ah, cashews . . . probably the tastiest but least healthy nut. I'm sure I ate WAY too many. But, Dr. Oz reminds us that we all make mistakes. I can't let it get me down. I just need to make a YOU-turn and get back on track.
Eventually, I finally got around to making my first recipe: Carrot, Raisin, and Yogurt Slaw, on page 322 of "You on a Diet." Before I rate it, I have to be honest and say I didn't follow the recipe 100% exactly: I used regular fat-free plain yogurt instead of Greek yogurt, and I eliminated the cilantro (which I think tastes like soap). Anyway, I can only give this recipe 2 out of 5 stars. It just doesn't really do anything for me. I have to eat it in really small portions. Unfortunately for me, I thought the recipe sounded really good, and I doubled it when I made it! I'll definitely be giving some to Maria on Monday. She's a better cook than I am. Maybe she can find some way to "fix" it.
Luckily, my second recipe was much better: Lifestyle 180 Rutabaga, Carrot, and Potato Mash on page 354 of "You on a Diet." I give it 5 stars! A sapid and dulcet dish, it would be suitable as a side for the fanciest meal you could serve your guests, but it was also delicious with my baked catfish dinner last night! A word to the wise though: this is a very time consuming recipe -- definitely a weekend adventure.

Kara's official measure-up #2

Drum roll . . . 39 1/2 inches. So, I went down another 3/8 of an inch this week. I'm satisfied. I'm presently wearing a pair of pants that were very tight on me a month or so ago, and today they feel pretty comfortable. I think when I lose another half an inch they'll fit perfectly.
I started up our family Wii yesterday to do Wii fit and nervously stepped on that balance board. It had been 98 days since my last workout. The Wii jokingly called me by my cat's name! Anyway, I weighed a little less yesterday than I had 98 days before, so that felt good.
This week I want to focus on getting more exercise. Dr. Oz says that walking for 30 minutes EVERY day needs to become part of our routine. That's going to be tough for me. So far I've only been able to get it in 2 or 3 times a week, max. I'm going to shoot for 4 times a week, minimum, this week.

Kara's week in review

Wow, it was a super busy week - thus, the lack of posts; but I have to sing the praises of my new healthy lifestyle! Even though I was busier than usual this week, I could feel that I had more energy. I also find that I have more mental clarity and a more positive mental outlook.
As I was getting dressed one morning this week, I caught myself smiling in the mirror, and I thought, "Things are getting better. I feel healthier already. This is really good!" (And I am normally NOT a morning person!)
It could be my imagination, but I think my face looks thinner and my stomach looks a little smaller. Tomorrow is measure-up day, so I guess we'll have some real data then.
Today I'm going to make 3 more recipes out of "You on a Diet" -- a salad for lunch, and a slaw and a rutabaga, carrot, and potato mash as sides to go with dinner. I'll let you know how they turn out.