Tuesday, February 28, 2012

YUMBILINA

Made a delightful conncoction tonight... . 

5 oz white wine
1 pound of shrimp
 half a sweet onion
 2 green onions
1/2 a red pepper
1/4 cup mushroom
1 zuchini
2 tablespoons roasted garlic
a few handfuls cilantro
a lime
2 roma tomatos
salt and pepper to taste

spray pan with  pam olive oil
when pan is warm  add shrimp
wine and garlic saute Do NOT overcook SHRIMP
remove shrimp from heat reserve any left over liquid and pour back in pain

prior to this I used my ninja chopper,  on all the veggies..
I then took the mixture with the resevered liquid from the shrimp and put it back in the pan and sauted the veggies up.. it took about 5 minutes as the veggies were finally chopped.. then I added the shrimp back in warmed it all up.. served steaming hot in bowls.. and it was a wonderful dinner...

Other wise its all good.. my last day of pt was today and tomorrow at 530 I am up and ready for the gym..


Sunday, February 26, 2012

NEW ADDITIONS

As I mentioned before I am loving my sports blender.. serious passionate love..

I am even more in love with my new Ninja Chopper...  I made a wonderful strawberry and mango puree ( the mango was frozen cubes... and with the fresh strawberries created a slushy natural delight... Steve and I shared it.. and he loved it.. I loved when he said you know we now have all sorts of possibilities with this not only with fruits but think of the salsa we can make to accompany chicken  or something  there are a world of possibilities... i was just thinking more of an easy chopping device.. Gotta keep my hands of the jalepenos... no more chemical burns for me... and I was thinking of the fruit and other veggies too..

We took a great motorcycle ride around the city .. it was fun.. and came home.. doing the usual house stuff now and taking it easy..
Been a sweet day..

Othewise back to the grind tomorrow...
starting the day with the gym and a homemade smoothie.. and then its off to workie we go..



Friday, February 24, 2012

POSITIVE THINGS

It is always good to do positive changes... .  When I go to the gym which is now 5 day  a week.. .or 3 days if I am going to PT as well... because I exercise in PT as well.. bike  etc...   I strive for better goals each time... Yesterday at the gym .. I had a great work out.. everything was in my favor..  7 miles,  great on rpms and heart rate up for over 20 minutes as well as increasing my time by 5 minutes.. 35 minutes now.. Eventually I will be riding the bike 45 -60 minutes..   Doing more stretching and yoga style moves to help with my balance issues and build strength in core muscles..  I feel pretty good.. have had some pain issues.. but we did some new therapies today and I feel a bit better... All in all its great...
I am enjoyng my Oster sports blender.. made a  great smoothie for breakfast... 195 calories of pure goodness... good alternative to the premade shakes~

In other news.. life is good.. and happy its Friday!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

A WHOLE MESS OF STUFF ..

Sometimes I get so amazed that a simple movement can relieve pain.. I had PT early this morning and we went over some new stretches and exercises to help me build strength... Already sans the leg brace about a little over a month now.. I can walk down steps using both feet instead of just leading with the right foot.. that is  a nice acomplishment.. my pain levels in my foot are now managable.. the neck and shoulder are getting better.. I have a 4 hour pain patch on now... and will take that off this afternoon... I have new posture exercises to work on... and for the first time in about a year I am going to take one of my pups for a short walk... ( don't want to press my luck too much)  ..
I am really enjoying these shakes   ~ 150 calories and 13 grams protein make for a good breakfast.. ~ courtesey of my buddy ALLAN 


 He is a super person in my opinion...  he is my go to person for ideas that might help make this journey just a little easier.. He is is smart guy that has lost ... well.. lets just say he has lost a person in size.. well over 150 pounds... so in my book he is a good resource... and he is no bullshitter so if you are afraid of the truth... don't read him... if you like wit and honesty... then he is a great read.. I wish he did  not feel he had to explain himself all the time..  I feel bad about that for him..but I guess he just wants to make it clear where he comes from.. and what you will get if you read him......

So at the PTs office today I was realizing that a simple move.. a simple action can create relief.. you can apply that too food as well.. any simple action you make regarding eating can create relief... by that I mean if you chose not to eat something that is n ot healthy for you and opt to eat something that is healthy .. you give your body something needs.. if you give your body something it needs.. something with vitamins in it.. or fiber or protein then your body repays you by working better.  It is the small things that lead to the bigger things I do believe.. Again I will use my progress in the last couple weeks as an example.. last week my hip was causing me horrible pain... it was do to over extension when exercising for cardio on the bike... but doing stretches specifically for that area.. consistently over the past week.. has helped relieve this issue..Everything leads to the big thing... feeling good...

I Love to peruse blogs... sometimes I leave a comment something I just read... sometimes I am baffled.. and sometimes I am impressed...   I am impressed by those who have lost and successfully kept of a good amount of weight...  I am baffled by those that are morbidly obese yet they still think even a child size milk shake is an okay food to eat... .. just cut down but eat the same pollution they have always eaten... I am not saying they won't lose weight.. but slowly I am learning.. that when you eat the healthier foods .. the more volume rich foods ... like a good arugala salad with chopped veggies an a light dressing ... how filling it because you are chewing and crunching ( NO CRUTONS !!!!  VEGGIES) .. and getting filled up on good things.. I prefer a low cal and low fat ranch dressing... and I also like balsamic vinegarete as well...  I love to eat sugar snap beans and carrots... I love the world possibilites in working with raw and frozen veggies... early peas in said salad...  edamame in said salad.. etc.. all good for you and filling...

The reality is when you drink that milkshake.. or eat those fries.. or that honeybun or whatever.. it just goes in and comes out and leaves artery clogging residue behind.  ..
I am living to not be a statistic...
I am Fighting to manage pain..





Monday, February 20, 2012

IF ONLY

IF THIS WERE REALLY TRUE  and I do not doubt that  iin some way it might  be true.... how nice it would be  EAT YOUR CAKE AND LOSE WEIGHT  oh and here is more .. uhm  food for thought....
These theories are shaking up the diet industry .. I have often talked about Fork over Knives..  ( check it out on the internet if you have not seen it...FORKS OVER KNIVES  anyways one of the doctors featured in the documentary is Dr. John Mcdougall..   here is his lastest book that  will be out in May... I think a lot of people will be freaked out by this info.. especially those who are huge Adkin's believers.. etc...  Dr. John McDougall    check his website out... We are not ready to be Vegans yet.. so we try to stick to a more plant based diet .. and  meats are smaller portions..

GOT UP this am.. did the gym... had my breakfast ( Carnation NSA  Essentials premade shake)   .. we went chinese for lunch I ate chicken and veggies.. was not super hungry so I did not eat too much.. Tonite we are creating Chicken with Zuchini and bowtie pasta in a light tomato sauce... its more of a summer dish but I like how easy it is to make..  here is the link to the recipe  SHRIMP WITH ZUCHINI AND BOWTIE PASTA

  LOOKS GOOD !

 I have become a huge fan of  arugala and chopping up all types of veggies to make a rockin' salad... might pair that with dinner tonight or save it for tomorrow night.. so Yum...

Staying in the 1200 to 1300 range... don't feel that comfortable with the exta 100 calories but I am trying to stick to the test results and see what happens.. if I keep feeling this way I am going to ask them to revise things a little and ..  just keep it at between 1100 and 1200..

Hope Monday is treating you well...

Friday, February 17, 2012

ACK JALEPENO DISASTER

Made a great dinner much to my detriment...   from now on... I wear gloves when working with these deadly little green things... I had never used them before.. tonight was the first time.. so I had no idea what  a raw Jalepeno could do to me... I cut up two of them.. washed my hands about 3 times.. about 30 minutes later my fingers were on fire.. two hours later the inside of my nose was on fire.. ( apparently I had inhaled some of the oil from the back of my hand when I  rubbed my nose...
Eventually found that lime juice and greek yogurt helped significantly with the  pain.. both up my nose.( minute amounts) and slathered all over my hands... shit I was a mess... the dinner was suberb though but not sure if it is worth the pain lol...

DAY 2 DONE...

 feel good... and feel focused.. that being said.. believe me it would be far easier to feed my pain right now.. have had a rough pain day today .. lots of chest pain ( part of fibromyalgia)  I have great excuses to eat things that will not benefit my body..  oh and for the record I just read that the Jalepenos are great to reduce inflammation and help with  ta da  FIBRO .. shit.. no thanks.. LOL... anyways.. as I was saying.. I could do so much more damage to my body if I wanted... the reality... feeding this old body of mine healthy food.. is a good thing... trying new recipes... with my husband ... is actually fun... seeing him enjoying new dishes.. makes me happy..   We are making a keepr list  of recipes... tomorrow we go back to the  store to reload on our cilantro .. tomatos and other assorted  veggies.. made a fantastic salad tonight arugala  red peppers  scallions, cucumbers brocoli slaw...  dressing on the side... have plenty for tomorrow nights meal... either salmon , chicken or turkey burgers not sure which we are doing...

For Steve's  60th bday in May .. I bought him an early gift a  Traeger Grill   ... YUM  have had some great chicken off of this.. even tasted a steak that Steve made... totally delicous... looking forward to trying fish on it next...  and grillling lots of veggies on it too .. .

Here is THURSDAYS DINNER CILANTRO LIME SHRIMP

TONIGHTS MENU   CILANTRO LIME TILAPIA TACOS 


Thursday, February 16, 2012

YAY FOR THURSDAY!!

So I went to my meeting  and took the RMR... it came across with some suprising news  in fact so suprise my doc was even surprised as well as the nutritionist.. too.. she is a tiny little person and told me my metabolism was better than hers even... So this was a positive.. everything else came out as expected.. still have to keep up with the potassium supliments as well as getting 76 grams of  protein and including extra  potassium rich foods in the plan... to make it really simple.. we decided that I will count calories and  protein... keeping my calories at 1300 or below and making sure to get in the protein in that calorie range which  is easy..


was glad to hear I can still use plant based protein  as I digest that so much easier... so I am working with that as well.. all and all it will not be an easy road.. goals are set... I am focused and I feel good...

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

YIPPEE FOR THURSDAY

SO I was asked if I was going to have a special last meal.... I kinda snorted and said... uhmmm No... why would I have  a special meal its not like I won't be eating real food I am just substituting a meal or 2 with a liquid meal replacement.. and we are not even sure about that until after I have the tests tomorrow..

So I am looking forward to learning what program I will be doing. I will either do the Mayo Clinic program.. or a new program that just came out..which incorporates liquid meal replacements.. I will be logging my food and exercising.. as well... Looking forward to this new begining...

GOOD WEB MD LINK   :    FOODS THAT WRECK A DIET

Monday, February 13, 2012

COURAGE


COURAGE FOR ME IS FINDING A WAY TO BE STRONG ENOUGH TO OVER COME THE PAIN  AND TO STAY THE COURSE NO MATTER WHAT.. TO BE CONSISTANT EVEN THROUGH PAIN  WILL TAKE COURAGE..

SUCCESS


So how many times have you said to yourself .. this is it.... this is my time!... and in your heart you really mean that...  so time goes on... and on and on..and you are keeping your promise.. and then something happens.. be it a family event... a tragedy... a job change... or whatever... something rocks your world and you open the hatch and let it all go... all you have worked for over the last few months , eating well, establishing a regular fitness routine... etc... all gone... something rocked your world and made you let go of your goals...  so you create a failure ... and the key is not letting it hold you down in the muck that it is... You have to get up.. dust off and move on... and that is where it is the hardest... but once you do it.. you move forward...

So here I am again... so here you are again....    aiming for sucess.. and not letting the failures define us.

Got 6.13 miles in today on the recumbent bike...  146 calories burned.. (that alone is a great food stopper to think it took me 30 minutes and 57 seconds to burn off 146 calories...  why would I let myself down by making unhealthy choices when it takes that much effort to burn a measly 146 calories... ) its makes you think thats for sure...

Looking forward to Thursday ... looking forward to my succss and like it says above.. SUCCESS is never final.. its reaching the goals you set for yourself and developing new goals through out your life..
To our mutual success!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

MIRACLE

Always remember this no matter how hard it gets... the difference between giving up and moving on.. creates that miracle... We all have short and long term goals.. focus on the short term... climb each hill , each change you make and you keep.. is part of that miracle...
I can only tell you from my life experiences what I have learned... and I have learned that we all have something we have to "DEAL" with ..  so whatever your "DEAL" is... the only way things will every change. is to really make that concrete decision to make it happen..  NO MATTER HOW OLD YOU ARE~

 So for me my Miracle will be the steps I make every day towards getting stronger.. being focused when managing my pain.. and making my body healthier so it can handle and process the pain bettter...  I have dropped the ball many times because of Fibro.. I have shrugged things off  because I just wanted to sit curled up in a chair and not move thinking the pain would somehow stop... and what I came to realize it... it simply does not matter what I do.. I am always in pain.. that being said... and that being my number one challenge I have to fight it every day..  .. a PT once said to me... You know Honi it simply does not matter that it hurts anymore.. because no matter what you do you will have pain so why not exercise.. its not going to make things worse .. So tomorrow  I moisy into week  3 of gtting to the gym at 6 am... tomorrow I have a series of stretching exercising to do and then will do the bike for 30 minutes.. I must believe I can achieve this.. even though I go forward with a weary heart... Thursday we finalize the eating portion.. and then combine both the exercise and eating together.. so hopefully each week I will have more and more miracles.. I wish the same for you...

INSPIRATION





Thursday, February 9, 2012

A THOUGHT

I saw a great tee shirt today when I was on the bike at the gym... . I never saw the front of the tee shirt but the back said.. DO YOU KNOW WHO & WHERE YOUR OPPONENT IS?  that made me think.. I realized I am my own opponent.. all this time I was blaming it on pain.. but it is really me... I choose how I deal with it.. I can whimp out and give up  which I am ohhh so good at.. because sometimes just giving up and giving in seems to be the easiest thing to do.. .. or I can fight it.. I choose to Fight it...

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

ALL THINGS IN GOOD TIME

Well.. I am getting antsy.. still  have not recieved the paperwork for the EAT RIGHT PROGRAM YET.. I was suppose to get it 2 weeks ago.. I called last week and the lady said if I do not get it by Monday the 13th to please call back.. WTF is up with that.. I am anxious enough to get started on this.. and you guys won't even let me get a head start on the paperwork.. so... me being the anal woman I am ... I am gioong to start logging my food ( AGAIN) ... on lose it... that way I will have the log on my phone when I go for the testing and meeting with the doctors.. I read some things on line that you are suppose to start logging your food on their form 4 days before your testing... and I still have plenty of time ... but my thinking is.. since I am already going to the gym and doing the recumbent bike 5 days a week now ( second week and still hanging in there) ... that I should work on making the logging a habit again.. I have a wonderful cousin who did WW  years and years ago... and the way she has kept all I say all 80 pounds off is to this day she logs her food and I think she uses lose it as well.. and she lost her weight in the late 80s... so  I am just going to put my patient face on... wait until next Monday to see if I get the packet in the mail.. and start my own logging including my exercise... I think it will be good to be one up on them...
The new pain management seems to be helping a little in the shoulder and a good bit in the foot.. its only temporary though I was free of the foot pain for 6 hours and I am also out of the leg brace almost one month... YAY ...  I am really pleased with the bike work.. and look forward to returning to the pool in March...  Otherwise its all good... perusing blogs... lurking a bit.. thats about it...

Sunday, February 5, 2012

JUST A THOUGHT


SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

We decided to make our own Pizza from scratch .. since that was what we both wanted but wanted to make it a bit healthier ..however healthy it can be ... I think we did a good job.... we have done it before... but not for a very long time and we took a different process this time... I posted photos on FB...  it was tasty.. and filling with all the veggies on it...

 Talked with a friend who had done the Optifast program and she was very candid with me.. she felt they had dropped the ball with her.. seemed all of her class ( this was 2 years ago) dropped out of the program but her... she had lost 45 pounds.. and wanted to continue... however they did not want to teach just one person and wanted to transfer  her to not only a different class but in a different building with out the free parking let alone finding a parking place if she did not want to park in the garage... I think she felt they abandoned her by trying to pass her on to another group ... and then telling her she would have to come to them and get her shakes then go to the other buidling for her class.. she finally dropped the program.. she gained about 30 pounds back and is now following a program through her church... eathing nothing but fruit, veggies , seeds and nuts... no sugars , no processed and all raw.. she is going to start adding fish and chicken to her program too.. she lost about 7 pounds so far.. wishing her much luck on her road to better health... I am not going to let this shake me and everyones experience is there own.. I know what I want to do.. and if they push me towards something I do not want to do.. I will walk out.. non the poorer and find something that works for Honi.. hopefully it will work out like I want.. I can join the Lifestyles program and be on my way... Tomorrow I go to PT... Tuesday the gym.. Wed PT .. thursday the gym an Friday the gym... I think I am going to start logging my food too.. and see what really is going into this body of mine... 2 things I have learned I always feel better when I log my food it helps me keep it real and with this little lose it app on my phone .. tracking is a piece of cake.. ...

well back to the super bowl comercials..

Friday, February 3, 2012

Yay Friday

WELL ..  I am pleased with me.. been to the gym 5 days this week and as of today worked up up 6 miles on the recumbent bike .. 30 minutes and getting my heart rate up into the low 130s which is good for me ... for now... as  it gets easier to do.. I will have to increase things which is great..
Saw the doc today.. he was encouraging the Optifast program and to tell you the truth I am a bit fearful of that..
#1 it is $4000.00 ... so I ask myself is my life worth  $4000.00 of course it is..
but it is $4000.00.. big question mark financially  about that investment..
the Lifestyle 24 week program is about 300.00 ..
where my decision is falling is that I want to try the Lifestyle program. and with in a few weeks if I do not see some kind of weight loss and obviously if I follow it I will lose weight.. no rocket science there... but if I am not happy with what is going on.. then I would switch over to the  Opti fast program if that is even allowable and I assume it is.. 
I don't know and I am very undecided right now...

Well am on the road to recover and thats all that matters..

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

RAINY WEDNESDAY

I had a choice this morning... not much sleep at all... an encouraging thought from my wonderfully sweet husband helped me get myself to the gym by 6 am~ 5 miles DONE between SDAT and RB .. glad about the distance and working on bringing up the RPMs.. thats the good news... sitting with the compression ice pack on my foot.. I think I might have over done it a bit... ice is helping .. 


Sometimes the pain is so frustrating.. but I just have to work through it..
 Below is  is the story of our dinner last night.. I love to create  new recipes that my husband enjoys.. and that I enjoy too.. I like tilapia so much better than Salmon...
The above photo is dinner last night... 
here is how it went down.. I used a WW recipe for my base


They said use light mayo and 2 whole eggs


I used fake eggs and no light mayo


Parmesean  Italian bread crumb encrusted Tilapia  


I took Italian bread crumbs ( next time will use italian panko crumbs since they are finer)
a little bit of italian mixed light organic cheese.. ( next time will use just parmesean ) 
mixed that  together


In another bowl  i added  egg substitute


 I dredged  2 8 ounce  Tilapia fillets through the egg substitute
then I dredged them through the bread crumb mixture 
I baked on a convection setting of 350 in the oven for about 20 minutes .. checking occassionally to make sure I did not over bake...


I took 3 red skin potatos and quartered them  sprayed them with pam used a little garlic salt , pepper  , rosemary and malt vinegar.. I tossed the potatos around to coat them well.. then stuck them in the oven  at about 425 .. first in regular bake then convection at 400..  I took the potatos out ever 10 minutes and added more malt vinegar .. and tossed them around a bit to coat them.. then put them back in the over .. in total they roasted for about 40 minutes..
when the potatoes had been in the oven for about 10 minutes I put the fish in the other oven.. ( toaster convection oven) ..  I heated up some Victoria Marinara sauce.. just a little..
after the fillets where done and the potatos roasted... 
I plated  them.. and poured a little victorias sauce on  each fillet and sprinkled just a little shredded italian mixture cheese on each.. then I  added some delightful Israeli salad I had made earlier in the week.. ( the more it marinates the better it tastes) .. 
Tasty dinner.. next time I probably will do half the amount of fish .. I am guessing that when i start the program.. i will  have to back down on the portion size of the fish... I was okay with it last night since i had not had much for lunch because I was running errands most of the day.. 
Well time to get busy for the day..