Recipes

I would like to remind you guys about my recipe blog:

http://runningthroughmeadows.blogspot.com/

I havn't been posting much here, but the recipes are churning out now with the help of Emealz.  It's worth every penny!

How's school?   Princess seems to like it though she's feeling pretty overwhelmed by the prospect of once again attending an advanced math class, potentially picking up the violin (dare we?????), learning cursive, attending activity days with her younger youth group at church, and joining a program called Girls Rock! that our friend started at another school on post.  This program includes self esteem workshops and a fitness program culminating in a 5k race called the Turkey Trot.  I'm proud of her for tackling all of these projects!  She's packing her own lunch with an eye toward healthy living, choosing water over gatorade and apples over chips.  She's still reading quite a bit, winning an award from our post library summer reading program.  She was 2nd place out of all the readers for most pages read, at a staggering 6,700 pages!  A medal with her name has taken up residence on her desk. 

Tag.... oh, Tag.  After getting over the shock of landing in the class with the teacher who "makes everyone write a lot" has settled back into being a pleasant goofball.  He wants to do basketball this winter, so there's some scrambling involved with getting a physical right when everyone else and their cousin is getting one.  I'm hoping that some more consistent, fairly challenging physical activity will show us if his asthma is progressing or not.  At his physical we found that his right eye (the one that turns in) is doing pretty badly.  So back to ophthalmology he goes and I just pray he won't need surgery.  He has been asking for contacts though.  He might end up with them sooner than we hoped, depending on his prescription, any diagnosis, and prognosis.  sigh.

Pebbles is FINALLY in pre-K.  She had a conference last Monday followed by a staggered entry day on Thursday.  Tuesday is her first day of consistent class and she has long given up hope at going regularly.  She doesn't believe anyone when they say that soon she'll go every day.  She's making more friends at church and we're trying to get her more time with them.  She is so eager to spend time with them that she didn't want to come home even after 5.5 hours at a friend's house on my first day of classes. 

Frieda has a new hobby of stuffing toilet paper down the bathroom sink.  We've gotten pretty good at applying Drano and the plunger to that poor sink, and I'm having a hard time being firm with her without making her fear hand washing.  She is now 100% potty trained and doesn't even use one of those crazy seat adapters.  A friend watches her during my daytime classes which is an enormous relief to me.  I was terrified at the thought of leaving her with a stranger.  She has a couple of little Chihuahua's and a young son, tons of toys and a park just down the road.  She's happy to come home at the end of the day but very happy to be dropped off as well. 

My classes are going well.  I greatly like my Sociology professor who is equal parts keen observer and humorous guide.  The schedule is a little crazy but that was totally expected.  I'm still loving my new meal planning strategy (obviously, if you look at the recipe blog) and still very slowly losing weight.  Slow is ok though, as long as the scale keeps going in the right direction! 

Man continues to be kept busy at the office, continues to read whatever self help book his therapist has given him, and has acquired a very strong following of people in a game called Aion.  He is what is called an Abyss leader, or a general who plans and executes strategy to help the "good guys" win territory.  There are literally hundreds of people who look to him for leadership in this fairly complex game.  He wasn't promoted there officially, no one hired him, he just sort of naturally took that position after demonstrating a clear understanding of the rules and terrain, making successful suggestions, and slowly becoming recognized.  So, all of that keeps him pretty busy.  We havn't heard back from the medboard people yet, but we have hope that he'll be able to start an internship soon, which may actually lead to a job as a civilian.  There are no many unknowns at this point that we aren't making plans of any kind. 

So there's our craziness.  Maybe I'll get around to pics at some point as well.  ;)

Changing the way I eat

I can't call it dieting anymore. Because it needs to be a lifestyle.

I was typing out a post for my sister on Facebook but thought it bore sharing here:

[following a brief discussion of what I could eat after going in for fasting bloodwork]

Carbilicious things: potatoes, corn in any form (whole, creamed, cornmeal, cornbread), peas (canned, frozen, or split), lima beans, wheat in any form (noodles, bread, dumplings), milk, yogurt, fruit of any kind except tomatoes, beets, rice of any kind (both white and brown), any kind of sugar in any form, and cheese.

I can have these things, just 45 carbs at each meal, which is actually not bad at all. I need a min of 15 carbs per meal just to stay the sweet tempered person you know and love.

The following are things I can have without counting carbs: beans (pinto, black, garbanzo, navy), vegetables, limited amounts of winter squash, lean meats, limited amounts of nuts, tomatoes.

So, if you look on my recipe blog, you'll see some of the dinners I eat. It isn't too bad. I just have to measure out the rice -- no more than 1 cup per meal, but with a big pile of yummy veggies on top it isn't so bad. Taking a big drink of water after each meal is also helpful, as is sugar free gum.

I've lost another 4 pounds since the 17 at the nutritionist's office. My pants are getting loose. You should see what 20 pounds of fake fat look like! I was shocked at how big it is. The first few weeks were hard, but keeping things like sugar free jello (which is completely free!!!!) and sugar free gum on hand at all times, and planning out my meals make all the difference for my success. I went clothes shopping and even though I'm not going down in sizes much yet, I definitely look better. I can actually see my biceps now and I'm getting a hint of a collarbone back.

E-mealz has been a Godsend, literally. I keep cans of soup on hand for lunches for days when I don't have leftovers to fall back on, though I need to get back into making my own (cheaper, healthier, just the way I want it). We actually get 7 nights of homecooked dinners again, and it's all from scratch. Breakfast is easy with eggs and veggies, and salad with plenty of addins (including beans and eggs!) is a no brainer.

Looking back, I think insulin resistant behavior is something I've had for as long as I can remember. Or maybe I'm confusing that behavior with normal kid cravings for junk food. Who knows? I asked Ms Reed (my wonderful dietitian) whether I would always crave carbs as much as I do, given my genetic predisposition and poor health up to now. She said that, now that I know what it is my body is doing and how to anticipate and thus control my cravings, I'll be more free than I ever have been. I had banana bread for the first time in a long time a little over a month ago and it was like drugs. I felt ill and irritated and a little dizzy. I used to put myself through that every single day.

I can't say that I have a whole lot more energy yet, but that's my own fault for having bad sleep hygeine. My craving for sugar is diminished but bread still calls my name.

A friend just called me this past week and said that she's been diagnosed as pre-diabetic. She's starting Body For Life this coming week complete with five meals a day, whey protein powder, and two workouts a day. I find myself grateful for the wakeup calls I've had that kept me from quite getting there. My grandpa has been a great example of a man who has decided to lose weight and exercised what I now consider to be Herculean discipline in doing so, quickly and for the long haul.

I'm just relieved to finally be making desperately needed progress on my health. I've been without my reflux medication for a couple of months now with only one episode of heartburn. So, one health issue is crossed off the list (in pencil, but there you go). I look forward to my slow but steady progress.