EVERYTHING SMOOTHIE

I had to have an endometrial biopsy following an ultrasound to confirm my PCOS. Shadows, thickening of the lining, etc... Still haven't got the results on that, but should sometime this week.

Bloodwork results are in, confirming PCOS through insulin levels. Everything else-- and I do mean everything was tested-- is back negative or normal. The prescription is...my old standby, the low carb diet. Plus a diuretic and an upped dosage of metformin.

On this low carb diet, which is a glorified Atkins Maintenance diet or a glorified Weight Watchers Power Foods diet, I'll be having vegetables and fruit in addition to low-fat meats. I already know how this works, and how this plays out, and told the NP this. But she insisted on speaking on and on about the benefits of a low-carb lifestyle. Duh. Got it. Lemme go... Please! :)

We know I won't be eating my veggies or fruit without the proper method of delivery. I'll eat just meat and nothing else, or mess up and end up grabbing something from the restaurant. So I, not being one too keen on eating my veggies and a very busy person of late, dragged out my blender. This will be a green smoothie jumpstart to my weight loss adventure.

I looked up recipes and such, bought a crap ton of healthy stuff, prepped and froze and prepped. Dragged out my new blender. Trucked it all to my tattoo studio. Ignored the recipes for now... Made my first "everything" smoothie.

EVERYTHING SMOOTHIE:

1c Water
1 tsp Ginger
1 tsp Cinnamon
2c Kale
1 Rome apple, cored
1 Granny Smith apple, cored
1 Orange, peeled
2 Bananas, frozen
1c strawberries, frozen
1c blueberries, frozen

Blend it forever, way longer than the couple minutes I did, adding ingredients in that order, until it's super smooth. Mine had some green bits that weren't quite ground, but it has a pleasant taste. Gotta get over your texture issues! :D

Next time, I'll play with another recipe. It was a weird experience, but very filling.

The Next New Thing

SparkPeople.com is a free website that operates like Weight Watchers, generating goals and storing tracking data. I think I like it so far! Today is my test-drive of their program, along with my Simply Filling Power Foods list, real cheeses, real butter and real mayonnaise. 

I had 476 to 826 calories left on my SparkPeople.com plan, and burned 464 calories today! I did a full half hour of aerobics and 15 minutes of crunches and weights. :) And I feel great, so far!

I'm still following my Weight Watchers Points Plus Simply Filling foods list so I don't have to count calories, and letting SparkPeople do the calorie calculations. I don't think I can use all the daily calories they allow to reach their 100lb December goal, but I can edit the amounts once I show some progress. 

I still hold that the WW Simply Filling Plan, South Beach Diet, and Atkins Diet are essentially the same diet, with few exceptions (most involving use of fat and portion control). I own all three book sets for all diets, so they've got their money outta me. I find that some elements from each work very well. As of now, I've abandoned Atkins except for the "pure fats" allowance, except I measure and note serving sizes. The only notable difference between Simply Filling and South Beach is South Beach's 2 week Induction (nearly identical to Atkins' Induction). I'm not doing an Induction at this time, and for the first time in a long time, I'm not aiming for some level of ketosis. I'm tired of the gimmicks and misconceptions for all the diets. This isn't a one-upmanship contest. I'm trying for something sustainable.

Hoping the 1 week weigh-in is encouraging.

Cuddles,

Tamara

P.S. Weight Watchers posted a useful Power Foods list: http://www.weightwatchers.com/images/1033/dynamic/GCMSImages/Food_List.pdf

295.6

295.6 lb. I hit that number today. After my last whine-fest on here, it was clear to me that I wasn't even trying anymore. (Or just discouraged or something. Dunno.) I updated that post and also provide this new one.


Today is Day 1 of the Tamara Coffey "The Scale says WHAT?! If it's not lying, I must be slowly dying!" health improvement venture. Not Atkins, per se. Just cutting out processed sugars and other simple carbs. You will not hear about my daily or weekly progress after Week 2. You will only hear about certain breakthroughs. Promise!

Please encourage the Tama with "Atta-girls" and "You can do its!" Please do NOT feed the Tama! (Unless it is un-breaded meat, non-starchy vegetables, real fats or REALLY dark chocolate! The four food groups, right?)

Cuddles,
Tamara

Week 6: The Punchline

This week, four overall statements can be made.

1. Between restaurant food, visiting, snacking, and stress, I only ate Power Foods for about a third of each day.

2. My featured dieter Donna did pretty dang good this week, with only a couple oopsies along the way. :)

3. I did not lose weight this week.

4. I'm feeling the wooziness of some blood-glucose issue, which I intend to remedy with Atkins Induction.

I grocery shopped yesterday, tired of the slim pickins at the house that were anything but slimming. And as I shopped, I gravitated toward Atkins-friendly food. I know I said I'd transition over to a pseudo-Atkins diet in time, but I'm trying it a month or so earlier than I planned. The Franken-Diet twist is that I'll have lean beef, chicken, fish, and eggs with pure fats (lean meat instead of ANY meat I want). I bought some salad things and avocados for veggies, and some low-carb snacks (pork rinds and jerky) which I already portioned out into serving sizes. I'll have eggs for breakfast, snacks at work, a hamburger or chicken salad for lunch, a salad with avocado and pepperoni for dinner. I used my buddy Ryan's grill-n-freeze method for fresh tasting hamburgers without having to make 'em each day. I'm counting portions and carbs, and only eating when I'm hungry. I'll be keeping my daily carb count at 20g or below and testing for ketosis at the end of the week. Ketosis has been my Achilles' heel. If I can get in, I'll be fine. I'm sure I was just screwin' up the last time I tried this version of the Franken-Diet.

The real challenge of any low-carb diet is the first two weeks, when the rules are more stringent. Other than very limited food options (a plus for lazy me!), you've got the carb and caffeine withdrawal. And you've got the higher cost of so-called "real" food that is eaten in larger quantities.

So this week's diet felt more like a bad joke. The punchline? Feeling sick AND disgusted with myself are surefire ways to make me go low-carb. :) (Oh, come on. The punchline to a bad joke isn't SUPPOSED to be funny!)

Cuddles,
Tamara

FEATURED: Donna's Path

Meet my coworker Donna. She's a real sweetheart who gave her permission for me to do an ongoing feature on her in Tamara Henson's Health Overhaul. I have permission to display, GASP, her REAL WEIGHT!!! I'll give updates on her progress periodically.

You see, I've suckered her into getting healthy with me, following my very simple plan. Now, I'm not a doctor and she knows it. :D But she can't deny that the simple mishmash known as the Franken-Diet will at least be easy to follow, if a challenge to continue. We suffer from the same pitfalls of cravings, so I really understand where she's coming from. So here's my interview with her, to get us started:

1. What health problems do you have?

"Asthma & Bronchitis, Bulging disc and arthritis in my spine due to a fall in 2008"

2. Why do you want to lose weight?

"To better my health and and view of myself. To make a better me!"

3. What is your food poison?

"Chocolate!" (Yeah, Donna. Me too!)

4. What are your current eating habits?

"1-2 times a day, whatever I want" Includes regular Mountain Dew, various sugary snacks, highly processed  convenience foods, fast food, and the candies!

DONNA'S HEALTH PROFILE:

Height: 5'6"
Age: 33
Highest weight: 357 pounds
Current Weight: 357 pounds

GOAL 1: 300lb (Timeframe, unknown)
GOAL 2: 275lb (25 pound mini-increments)

ULTIMATE GOAL: 200lb

PROCESS: Donna begins her diet today, using my Simply Filling Power Foods list and also my recipes.

This is what I told her:

"1. Eat whenever you're hungry, as often as necessary, for these first few days
2. Eat as much of the approved foods as you want until you're no longer hungry
3. Eat at LEAST 3 times a day, whether your meals are small or large. Or two meals and a snack. Every time you put Power Foods in your mouth, you rev up your metabolism.
4. Measure servings of everything, even if you eat multiple portions!

Because you're used to high calories in smaller meals, you'll want to eat more low-calorie foods to make up for it, so you don't get faint and end up sick from changing your eating habits too quickly."

I'm excited for Donna!

If you want a feature on my blog, and you're ready to do your own Health Overhaul, copy and answer all the questions and profile items and send them to tamaravmhenson (at) gmail (dot) com. Attach a photo, if I don't already know you through Facebook (where I can snatch my own pic). And if you freak out about the world knowing your weight, just enter pounds you want to lose! :)

Cuddles,

Tamara

PROGRESS: Week 5

Holiday damages aside, I honestly didn't get focused well enough to do the diet all that well this week. Candies finally dwindled to nothing. Other junk foods did the same. Restaurant food was eaten once or twice. Hot chocolate sustained me during my cold (which is also dwindling, but still present). Hot Chicken and Pasta sustained me at lunch. And sometimes at dinner. I even had a couple caffeine-free regular Pepsis. So I expected my weight to go up, not down. I did the weigh-over I usually reserve for when I think I should weigh LESS! :) And the third weigh-over of relative confusion...

Weight Last Week: 279.4
Weight This Week: 277.2

That's 2.2 pounds lost. I'll take it, and actually update the ticker so it'll be accurate.

Good Things I Ate This Week:

1. Chicken and Pasta
2. Baked potatoes with fat free sour cream

Here Are Some Things I Did:

1. Prepared the soup ahead of time
2. Baked stuffed peppers last night
3. Dutifully ate oatmeal, cinnamon and Sweet N Low for breakfast this morning
4. Otherwise, not much!

Things I Plan To Change This Week:

1. Decided that oatmeal is kinda unappetizing to me. Will probably eat some type of protein for breakfast instead.
2. WW Simply Filling is the focus of this week. I can't cheat if I don't have the food in the house to do so.

UPDATE: I entered my original weight of 300lb to be more accurate with total weight lost (not just weight lost since the blog started). And I entered my current weight for today. And I didn't cry. But here's the chart:



WHERE I'M HEADING WITH THIS:

I want to stick with Simply Filling for a month and see how much progress I make versus days on and days off. I then want to transition to an Atkins-style WW diet, incorporating my Simply Filling food list only and eating lean proteins and vegetables until I'm close to my goal weight. (Incorporation of several diets, hence "Franken-Diet") Then I want to transition again into a lifelong healthy eating habit as I shed the last few pounds. I expect my food list at that time to be the WW Simply Filling list I compiled, with perhaps pure fats and cheeses in moderation instead of unlimited fat free. That way, I'm eating mostly all natural foods that I could grow or produce on a farm. :)

I don't know how long this is going to take. I've piddled with it for a year, never really locking in a routine, even when the routine worked in the short term. So I'm going to say that in 5 months of diligence, I should be close. I'll gauge it again in a month. I don't want to wait another year to finish my health overhaul!

Cuddles,

Tamara

RECIPE: Chicken and Pasta Soup

This is an update to my Chicken Soup recipe. I made it right this time, which is to say that my noodles didn't disintegrate. My inspiration? Waking up sick and having to stay home from work Thursday. I expect this soup to be miraculous. :) 


POWER FOODS CHICKEN AND PASTA SOUP

It ain't pretty, but it's tasty!

4 Chicken Breasts
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 box wheat pasta (I picked rotini)Pepper, Ginger Powder, Italian Seasoning, Salt, Garlic Powder and Onion Powder

In slow cooker, cover chicken breasts with water (a few inches from the top of the cooker) and cook on HIGH until chicken is done. (It will sorta float!) This is the leave it until you smell it phase. I fished out the white squishy blobbies (technical term, folks!) with a fork. Tear apart chicken with two forks while still in broth. Or dirty a plate if you must. Add spices to taste, in the order they're listed, stirring chicken and broth. (I hold off on the salt as much as possible. I add a lot of pepper to cut through the cold. :D) Stir thoroughly. Add pasta and stir. Cook for about a half hour, stirring occasionally, until pasta can be easily cut with your stirring spoon but before it's gooey mush.


NOTE: I added Ginger on a whim, for it's good-health properties. And I can't really taste it much (can't taste much of anything at the moment) but it has added some extra good spiciness. I will add it to my broths from now on as the "What the heck is that good flavor?" ingredient. 


STYLE NOTE: Add celery and carrots if you must, early in the cooking process. I just didn't have any today. And other than aesthetics, the veggies don't entice me at all. With my cold, it's all about the chicken and broth. The noodles are just healthy carb filler. Adding anything else is just sneaky! :)


Sniffle-cough Cuddles,


Tamara, who gets frustrated when sick and does things like this instead of dosing up and sleeping

HOLIDAY DAMAGES: Week 4

A little late on this week's post. Today, I woke up with a cold, and feel bad, so you get the short, short version.

I weigh 279.4 today. Up about 6 pounds. Probably half water-weight, half new lard. :)

I ate sooo many good things that were bad for me. So many chocolate and peanut butter candies of different types! I did eat in moderation until the three day span of Christmas Eve, Day, and Day after, when I ate, ummm, heartily. The eating tapered off in the days hence, as the leftovers ran out.

Sick of junk food and holiday food. Making Power Foods meals for the rest of the week and beyond.

And here I am, eating chicken noodle soup. Sore throat. Runny nose. Lost voice. Hoping to feel like making some feel-good chicken and noodles later, as well as some salsa chicken with refried beans, rice and sour cream.

Cuddles,

Tamara

RECIPES: Venison

Now I should say I'm not a big fan of venison. The taste of wild deer, even when cooked "right" isn't my favorite thing. And I've eaten this critter in several forms-- jerky, steak, burger, AND stir fry. But it is very lean, therefore good for you, and if you disguise it just right... :D If you're brave, try my simple, very similar recipes and let me know how it goes! Don't worry. Bambi will forgive you!

VENISON BURGERS WITH PEPPERS AND ONIONS:

Skilleted!

4 Venison burgers (buy the meat, or get some FRESH from your father-in-law's recent kill!)
1/2 Green pepper, sliced
1/2 Sweet onion, sliced
Seasoning of choice (I chose Grippo's powder!)

Drain the burgers (lean meat = blood. Just sayin'!). Cook in skillet on low-medium heat until halfway cooked. (Just a few minutes, but I'm no expert!) Flip burgers. Dump in veggies among the cooked, ah, fat and juices (*grins awkwardly talking about blood again*). Stir fry veggies in and around the meat until onions gain some transparency. :) Turn up the heat. Flip the burgers. Liberally season one side and flip. Season remaining side and season vegetables. Flip burger. (Searing the sides a bit, to avoid the "boiled hamburger in the lunchline" look!) Move burgers to outside of pan to continue cooking. (I'd rather overcook a venison burger than under-cook it. Because it's ground meat, it doesn't become shoe leather like a steak!) Stir fry vegetables in center of pan until tender. Serve immediately. Tastes like... venison.

Plated!

NOTE: Venison has a distinctive smell when you add heat. It's the "game-y" smell that only goes away with the addition of onions and peppers, in my experience. My hubby says that onion "draws the wild out of it." I think you're covering it up with another smell, and they're cancelling each other out. Almost as soon as the onions heat up, the smell will dissipate.

VENISON STIR-FRY

4 small venison steaks, cut into thin strips

1/2 Green pepper, sliced
1/2 Sweet onion, sliced
Teriyaki sauce
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Rice wine vinegar
Sesame seeds
Prepared brown rice, optional

Rinse meat in water. Drain. Heat sesame oil in wok or skillet. Add venison and stir fry on medium-high heat. Add vegetables and stir fry until onions gain some translucency. Lower heat to medium. Add equal parts teriyaki and soy sauce to skillet (enough to thoroughly coat venison and vegetables, but not until there's standing liquid in the pan!). Stir until coated. Add a splash of vinegar to help deglaze the pan. Stir over medium heat until sauce thickens. It will incorporate with pan drippings to make a yummy thing! Sprinkle some sesame seeds over the whole thing. Serve over brown rice!

NOTE: Don't have a pic yet. But I like this recipe because you can insert your meat of choice and it'll turn out great! I usually make chicken this way, and have made pork and beef as well.

Cuddles,

Tamara

PROGRESS: Week 3, 100th Post!

Today I celebrate my 100th post with some positive progress and a little story about The Scale and I! Considering this is the week before Christmas and I've been making candy like crazy-- and only sampling tiny amounts-- it's a miracle I've gotten anywhere with it! But the period of time I'm calling "damage control" has yielded results:

Weight Last Week: 275.2
Weight This Week: 273.4

That's a difference of 1.8 pounds! With eating some of the candies for the babies of the peoples!

Good things I ate this week:

1. More turkey thin-bread sandwiches for lunch. Now I'm out of the bread, so I won't buy more.

2. Baked salmon for lunch once, breakfast a couple or three times. (Because the stink of it heating up for lunch that one time may have killed a few coworkers! :D So I made different lunches to replace those.) Pure protein goodness!

3. Power Foods Texas Hash from my recipes. With refried beans and melted Pepperjack cheese.

4. Stuffed peppers: cleared out my stock of frozen peppers so I didn't have to cook. Now will have to cook!

5. String cheese as snacks at work

6. A couple days of oatmeal with Sweet N Low and cinnamon. Meh. :)

Here are some things I did:


1. Avoided added salt.

2. Cooked Texas Hash and Salmon in advance.

3. Made sandwiches fresh each morning.

4. Measured portions for almost everything!

5. Snacked on candies in EXTREME moderation!

6. Kept busy with work or cleaning or creative pursuits. No time to idly eat!

Here are some things I plan to change this week:


1. Eat Christmas food on the day before, day of and day after, but not beyond. (No infinite leftovers!)

2. Pay more attention to the "full" feeling. Cut regular portion sizes accordingly.

3. A few rounds with an exercise video or two. Helps with health AND stress!

THE SCALE AND I-- TAMA SAYS:

Back in the day, in fifth grade, the teacher did weigh-ins in front of class. Not officially public, but may as well have been. My number (on the first digital scale I ever remember seeing) was 188. I looked at her and her assistant. They looked at me. Some kids snickered. Forget the fact that I was the tallest, strongest kid in class, an Amazon in comparison to the little boys. That was the first time I saw my weight as a health problem.

Sure, I got picked on before that day for being the poor kid, the smart kid, the shy kid, the tall kid AND the fat kid in class. But Mamaw always told me, "It's just baby fat. You'll grow up and it'll all be gone." In almost the same breath she'd comment on how so-and-so was "as big as you are, Tamara!" or "even bigger than you!" (A practice she continued-- among other unsavory ones-- until I just vacated her presence a couple years ago. Permanently. With little regret. And only the briefest meetings since.)

Regardless of the other things she said which I knew were instigating crap, I was gullible. I believed that bit about baby fat until I saw 188 on the scale. Then the struggle started. But when you're not paying the bills, you eat what you're given, which was sufficient. I hit a growth spurt after this, too. I outgrew my long hair, which "shrank" from my hips up to my bra strap. Big Macs went on sale around that time. I'd eat two in a sitting, with fries and a shake. I can't do that now! But I was literally a growing young girl.

By eight grade, I was fatter, but the weight was stretched out on a longer frame (I ended up at 6ft eventually). After a few diets-- the Grapefruit diet (blech!) and Atkins, to name a couple-- I was still overweight. Going into high school, I weighed 212 pounds. Going into college, I weighed 223-ish. (I didn't gain the Freshman 15 because I walked everywhere. I may have lost weight...) Coming out of 5 years on my butt in customer service, I weighed 275. And coming out of my one and only year of full time teaching, during which I was sick for most of it, I weighed 300 pounds. And by the time I started this blog... ummm Monday, December 27, 2010, to be exact... I was fully unemployed for the first time in my adult life and down to 291 lb. And I was finally ready to take control of at least one area of my crumbly future: my weight!

I get different comments now when people ask my weight. "You don't look like you weigh that much." "You carry it well." I don't mind these as much. And if people know you're on a diet, they'll comment on how much weight you've lost. :) Even when you haven't. It's an attempt at encouragement that I would never discourage. Most people KNOW how hard it is to lose weight.

I can't see a weight change yet. Even in ten pounds, I may not notice. But I finally remembered why owning a digital scale made me feel a grain of hesitation, why it was so ingrained in me to buy one. A digital scale is where it all started-- the downfall and the climb back up. The number 188. I think I'll set that as Major Goal Number 2 when I knock off this 100 pounds. If I do that, I'll have come full circle. :)

RECIPE: Simple Texas Hash

As a former Atkins dieter, I'm wrapping my head around this one slowly. It's got potatoes, for cryin' out loud! The no-no food of the low carb world is scary. But WW Power Foods include potatoes as a permitted "free food" vegetable. (And I have to cook the leftover potatoes I have, or they'll go to waste!) Lunch at school this week will alternate between this recipe, and my baked salmon recipe. Let's see if I can lose weight this week, under the influence of the evil potato!

SIMPLE TEXAS HASH:

This is before the meal is cooked completely, but it only got prettier!

1 lb lean ground beef
1 onion, sliced in slivers
3 medium to small potatoes, thinly sliced or diced
1 can Rotel tomatoes and chilis. Do not drain.
1 can tomato sauce
Salt, Pepper, Garlic to taste
Seasoned salt
Olive oil

Optional:
Pepperjack Cheese, sliced thinly
Beans- Kidney or otherwise, drained
Fat free refried beans
Fat free sour cream

Brown lean beef over medium heat in a large pan. (Lean beef means you don't have to drain anything!) Move beef to outside of skillet and put some olive oil in center of pan. Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic in the oil. Dump in onions and stir until hot and aromatic. Pile in potatoes. Sprinkle them with seasoned salt. Cover and heat through. Stir the whole mess together. Add Rotel, liquid and all (this may have been a mistake, since I don't like my food TOO spicy-hot!). Stir into the mess. Add tomato sauce, stirring again. Simmer on low, covered, stirring occasionally until potatoes are tender. I let it go for about forty minutes without a problem. (I forgot it a lot, too!)

Serve topped with a slice of Pepperjack cheese, with refried beans and sour cream on the side... Or stirred in.

NOTE: My taste-test said this was spicy hot, a little more so than I go for usually. But other than the heat, it's pretty bland. Feel free to play with the spices and let me know how it goes!

STYLE NOTE: I have noticed that when eating only Power Foods, I like to make meals with chunky ingredients to keep it texturally interesting. You could dice the potatoes really small so they'd cook faster and look more like traditional hash, but you'll lose the visual appeal! :)

MY WORK MEAL LINEUP:

Top: Slabs of baked salmon, Bottom: Simple Texas Hash, beans and cheese!

PROGRESS: Week 2

PROGRESS AND NUMBERS: 

I skipped out on that doctor consultation today. Sleep has been too rare, almost as rare as my desire to pay the guy a copay to tell me what I already knew. :)

So I did my own weigh-in today. I'm at 275.2 lb today, which means it's holding steady, and that's just fine by me for this week. I checked my blood pressure the other day, and all numbers were within healthy ranges. I even got a 70-something on my diastolic number (if that's the bottom one).  

I didn't lose weight this week, probably because of my little novel-finishing celebration of Wendy's chili, a garden salad... and a small chocolate Frosty! I've also eaten chocolate every day this week, and one Arby's breakfast involving ice water, tater-hash-brown things, and a MUCH larger breakfast wrap than I expected (two servings-- breakfast and breaktime!). I also made Chicken and Dumplings for Brandon (clearly not permitted as Power Foods) and ate that for dinner for a couple days. Add a McDouble dressed like a Mac and a McChicken, plus one large sweet tea at some point, and that just about rounds out my week!

UPDATE PIC: My Celebration Meal

Here are some good things I ate this week:

UPDATE PIC: Those weird sandwiches. I ate two. I was really hungry!

1. Lunch at Work: Teriyaki Chicken (just add soy, teriyaki, and sesame seeds to chicken breast cooked in sesame oil) and Chicken Parmesan (I just made the stuffing for my Chicken Parmesan Peppers). Less than one and a half cups per serving. Three pounds of chicken spread over five servings. Around 6 bucks. 

2. Snacks at work: Materne GoGoSqueez AppleCinnamon Applesauce, to which I am addicted but intentionally ran out. And light string cheese sticks. Mmmm...

3. Fat Free deli Turkey on low-fat, thin wheat sandwich rounds. Added some thinly sliced pepperjack cheese, onion, and lite mayo.

4. A baked potato with fat-free cream cheese, lite butter spray (blech!), and Grippo's powder spice, AKA ambrosia of the gods.

5. Fat free milk over Kashi GoLean Crunch, of which I have no more.

Here are some things I did:

1. Exercise bands at work, between calls, a couple days.

2. Avoided salt, except for a few pickle slices and olives. And the Grippo's powder.

3. Cooked and prepared all lunches from work in advance for the entire week.

Here are some things I plan to change this week:

1. Eat oatmeal with Sweet-N-Low and cinnamon instead of the Kashi cereal. Even if I do a double helping, it'll cut my breakfast calories and carbs significantly.

2. Polish off those last four sandwich rounds, and probably not get more! :D

3. Keep string cheese as a snack; avoid buying the crack known as GoGoSqueez applesauce! 

In doing the above, I'm cutting sugary carbs and upping protein. I didn't have much of a problem with low blood sugar like last week, so it's time to start reducing my carb intake as well. 

THE SECRET:

After acknowledging the many ironies in my life here, http://tamarahensonstudios.blogspot.com/2011/12/180-degrees.html, I realized that I've finally developed the right mentality for becoming a healthier person. The big secret? I have promised myself to try AND do. Trying doesn't get you anywhere unless accomplishing follows. Or as Yoda says, "Do or do not, there is no try!" So what do I do when I have a snack or off-plan meal? I just barrel ahead, forgetting my failures and picking up where I left off at the next meal or snack. Obvious, right? But it's not always been easy for me. But here's why it BECAME easy:

If the Almighty Creator God of the entire universe can forgive me and erase my many sins from the face of all existence, then I must 1) forgive myself a slip up AND 2) try not to make it worse. In all areas, including my Health Overhaul. That's it! It got personal and spiritual. Letting go of the do-it-all attitude is hard to do. But I'm practicing not drowning, one meal at a time!

Cuddles,

Tamara

RECIPES: Chicken Parmesan Peppers and Tomato Beef Peppers

I'll confess: I'm addicted to the stuffed pepper dinner (or lunch, or breakfast) for a variety of reasons. Other than yumminess, I love the portion-sized convenience of it. I love a ready-made container that I can eat. I love that, with few exceptions, I can make them with all Power Foods. I love that they're freezable and nuke-able and that I can make them in large batches that will last for days. They're cheap to make for the number of servings I get. And that I sneak in vegetables without minding all that much! I'm even thinking about some venison peppers later on. (Brandon's dad sent fresh venison our way this hunting-holiday season!) Also considering making some deer jerky, if I can bring myself to it. :) Don't know how the leanest meat in KY will taste in a stuffed pepper, but I should be able to come up with something...

CHICKEN PARMESAN STUFFED PEPPERS:

UPDATE: A pic, in my lunch container!

2 Red (or other color) Bell Peppers, prepared and slit vertically
1 lb Chicken Breast, cut into 1in cubes
1 c Pizza sauce (low sodium, if you can)
1/4 to 1 whole small onion, sliced vertically into thin strips
2 tbs Olive oil
Italian Seasoning, Garlic Powder
4 slices Mozzarella cheese, fat free or low fat
Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup chopped pepperoni (optional, depending on points allowances)

Preheat oven to 350. Gut and rinse Bell Pepper halves and arrange in casserole dish. If you don't use glass, line the pan with foil. If your peppers won't stand up, prop them with small rolls of aluminum foil. Cram 1 slice fat free mozzarella cheese or 1/4 cup shredded cheese in pepper. Heat oil in pan on medium heat. Cover chicken in pan until sizzling. Pan fry chicken in olive oil, stirring frequently after the first few minutes. When chicken is done, add pizza sauce and stir. Then throw in onion, pepperoni and spices, stir. When sauce is hot and thickened, turn off heat. Stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Spoon high into peppers, pressing down with the back of the spoon. Pour in water bath halfway up the sides of the pepper for even baking. Add some salt to the water bath. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350. When peppers wrinkle at the tops, they're soft and done!

NOTE: I didn't freeze these. They were just too good. Plus, I didn't know how the chicken and sauce would hold up in the freezer. I didn't want to mess up the texture. If you try freezing them, maybe add more sauce to keep the chicken from drying out in the process.

UPDATE: Unfrozen, just nuke for 4 minutes. Sprinkle some Parmesan on top first.

NOTE 2: Points, spread across 4 servings, are negligible.

TOMATO BEEF STUFFED PEPPERS

4 Bell Peppers, cleaned and halved as above
1 lb lean ground beef
1 can Rotel, drained (mild to hot... whatever you want!)
1 can Tomato sauce
1 small onion, roughly chopped
Italian seasoning and seasoned salt
1/2 cup crushed crackers
3 tbs ketchup
Salt

Preheat oven to 350. Gut and rinse Bell Pepper halves and arrange in casserole dish. If you don't use glass, line the pan with foil. If your peppers won't stand up, prop them with small rolls of aluminum foil. Cram 1 slice fat free mozzarella cheese or 1/4 cup shredded cheese in pepper. Combine all other ingredients with your hands in a large bowl, making sure that beef is thoroughly broken up and integrated. Mixture will be very soupy compared to my other recipes because of the amount of tomato products. Split beef mixture among all peppers, pressing into all nooks and crannies. I just used my already-icky hands. Pour in water bath halfway up the sides of the pepper for even baking. Add some salt to the water bath. Bake for 1.5 hours at 350. Pepper edges should be wrinkly and cut easily with a fork.

NOTE: FREEZING: I didn't freeze these, because they're lunch for work this week. But if you do... Remove from water bath and cool at room temperature. Wrap completely in aluminum foil. Then refrigerate for an hour or more. Place in freezer bags and freeze. I can place several peppers in a gallon-sized bag and just grab what I need. REHEATING: If frozen, microwave on HIGH for 5-7 minutes. If not frozen, microwave on HIGH 3-4 minutes.

NOTE 2: Points, spread across 8 servings, are negligible. I actually only made four pepper halves out of this recipe, intended to buy more peppers and didn't, and ended up wasting a little under half the mixture. Shame on me!

Bloodwork and the Numbers Game

I decided that waiting to do cholesterol bloodwork was a bad idea. Y'know-- since I'm sick, miserable and overweight NOW!

Since I was already in for a checkup (Yay! Insurance!) I had them draw blood for a full blood-analysis-doohickey. I get the results tomorrow. I will know how truly unhealthy I am in the morning and do a quick update here. The not-too-promising stats from today kind of nauseated me:

Height: 6'00" (Okay... I already knew this one!)
Weight: 284.4 lb (Hey! I was wearing clothes and shoes and carrying my cell phone...)
Body Mass Index: 38.6 (Morbidly obese, I think...)
Temperature: 97.7 (Not dead)
Blood Pressure: 139/106 (Dying a bit, due to stress at work or something else)
Pulse: 81 bpm (Not dead)

UPDATE: My in-home weigh-in right after the doctor and before I ate and in my drawas says 280. I'm gonna keep that one.

UPDATE AGAIN: 12/2/11: My in-home weigh-in after a day of swearing off Pepsi, caffeine, excess sugar, and sticking pretty closely to the Weight Watchers Simply Filling program (except for a small Wendy's chili and a Little Debbie brownie, which will be counted as weekly points deductions) is:

276 lb. point-something-I-forgot

Preliminary discussion:

1. I am VERY overweight, but for my height and bone structure, NP says my weight would probably be good at around 200 lb, which is my Major Goal One.

2. I am to monitor my blood pressure regularly and report back if it gets worse or doesn't significantly improve. (*sigh* Killing myself with food really sucks! This is the first time my blood pressure has registered that high at the doctor! I think I bragged before about having stable blood pressure and a healthy heart for a big 'un. Well, it's a slippery slope right now!)

3. Weight Watchers Simply Filling menu has been approved. Atkins has not been approved... But if I eat mostly Power Foods I'll be on Atkins! In short, I am to stop eating junk. With the NP's and doctor's stern faces firmly in mind.

4. I am also to exercise, no matter how cruddy it looks outside. In the best interests of not dying, I will make an earnest attempt. Cue Eye of the Tiger! This girl's gonna get movin'!

5. The Clincher: They force-scheduled me for my annual consultation with the doctor in 2 weeks, to officially check for improvements in my BP and stuff. You know what that means? A deadline! Two weeks to get somewhere or risk Doc's scary face!

Not REALLY scared of the guy, but his scary face has my best interests at heart. He would like to keep my business. I would like to live a longer, healthier life. There are mutually beneficial payouts to be had. Since my progress in weight loss has reversed, I think I'll start a NEW new week 1, in light of my mean-face-imposed deadline. Not that the week numbers really matter. Just helps me track things. But in honor of my umpteenth restart, I might as well. Tuesdays it is. :)

UPDATE-- BLOODWORK RESULTS:

Apparently, the numbers aren't worth posting. Because they're all within normal ranges except a couple that won't kill me. My bad cholesterol is only slightly elevated and not enough to warrant medical action. NP says to watch my fats and sodium intake. Which I'm doing. My calcium is a couple points below the expected range. Big whoop. I'm drinking fat free milk now, so that should fix that.

I feel silly for being slightly disappointed in the numbers. I mean, I don't have anything I can significantly reduce other than my weight, which is my only major risk factor for disease later on (according to the bloodwork numbers). But because of the blood pressure scare, I will be cutting out a lot of salt in my diet, which will help me shed water weight, anyway.

Someone close to me-- a relative-- was just diagnosed with diabetes. The kind that is controlled with pills "for now." I'm going to drag this person along on my Health Overhaul, hoping that significant improvements can be made there as well. This is another strong push to succeed. I guess this brings me back to my original point: I'm generally healthy for now. I just so happen to be overweight by 80 lb. I do NOT want an existing medical condition to force my weight loss. So here I go...

Cuddles,

Tamara

Week 16, 17, 18 & 19: One, Two, Skip A Few...

Quadruple Whammies! When I hit a rut, I really hit hard!

Week 16 was the week after the Halloween party. Didn't have company after Wednesday, and back to work that week. Good company still equals bad eating, though, for both Susan and myself. I laced my Power Foods with junk food and party leftovers and fast food.

Week 17 led up to my wedding, with a household shower and no hope of eating intelligently. Susan came back to be all Maid of Honor-y. :) The wedding went well, by the way. Only a few fat-tuck issues with the pictures. I'm a wife now, which is a weird feeling!

Week 18 was the week after my wedding, during which I subsisted solely on cheeseball and leftover red velvet wedding cake.

Week 19 is Thanksgiving week, during which I know I will eat heavily on three different days, with leftovers. I still want to try some of the Power Foods replacement meals for Thanksgiving. But poor Brandon wants "real" food. And he'll "waste away" on what I eat. :)

My weigh in will not happen until the end of Week 20. I know it's bad. I just can't do it this week.

So what's the plan? All joking aside... Well, first I briefly considered bulimia. Then I realized how hard of a time I have setting up routines, how much I hate to waste things, and how much I hate throwing up. Then I considered liposuction, zip-zap, all done. Then I realized I am essentially poor and that lipo is not a viable option at this time.

So I decided the following instead:

I'll give myself until Week 20 to eat bad-for-me stuff. That's next Monday. I will try to sneak in a few healthful meals between now and then, and try to lean toward the good for me stuff. Then on Monday morning, I'll weigh in. And probably cry. I'll dive into the Weight Watchers Power Foods Simply Filling program again. It'll be all damage control until Christmas, when I'll pare down my holiday food intake even more, perhaps not even breaking the program this time. Then it's more damage control until the New Year.

At that time, I'll take my progress (or lack thereof) to the doctor and get a full cholesterol and bloodwork profile made. We'll discuss what I'm trying and what's working or not, and see what he can do for me in the way of support or maybe even meds, short of stapling my stomach. It'll be interesting to see where this goes...

And then, depending on the outcome and suggestions that arise from that, I'm going to do something drastic. I'll do a fast of some type. Perhaps that nasty juice fast I tried. Depends on my activity level at the time. I'll do it for a week, two weeks, a month... However long it takes to get my body ready to process fat, and how long it takes me to get over the silly cravings of addiction. Don't worry, I said "drastic", not "stupid." I'll not do anything that would hurt me more than help.

See you at the end of Week 20!

Cuddles,

Tamara

RECIPE: Beef & Bean-tastic Chili

BEEF & BEAN-TASTIC CHILI

 In the pot, ready to simmer....

... and in the bowl, with cheese, on the chili-covered counter!

1.5 lb lean ground beef

1 medium- large onion, diced

1 can light red kidney beans, drained and thoroughly rinsed

1 big can Bush's seasoned pinto chili beans

1 can Rotel chili-fixins seasoned diced tomatoes

1 medium can tomato sauce

1 tsp Mexene chili powder

1 tsp Ground cayenne pepper

1/4 cup fat free shredded cheddar

Crackers if you're splurgin' (count the points!)

Combine everything but onion, beef, cheddar and crackers in a medium sized slow cooker and stir well. Season to taste and to the desired heat. Turn on slow cooker to "high" setting and replace lid. 

Brown beef in a large skillet on medium heat. Do not drain if you use lean beef... not enough fat to bother! Push the beef to the outside of the pan and dump diced onion in center. Use the tiny amount of fat from the beef to cook the onions until just translucent. Dump it all into the slow cooker and stir thoroughly. Simmer on High for an hour, stir, turn down on low and cook for two more hours. Stir occasionally. 

Dip into bowl and sprinkle on cheese. Devour!

Note: This is a mostly-Power-Foods recipe, but some seasonings in the prepared beans and tomatoes should be noted as costing points. I'm experimenting to see if the cost is negligible. So I'm officially saying a cup of this stuff, with fat free cheese and no crackers is made of all Power Foods and shouldn't be much of a "cheat". Now, seconds and thirds are a different story... :)

Note 2: COST-- For a 3.5 quart slow cooker full of chili, it cost about $13, which is a splurge for my budget all at once. But considering for a moment that, if I didn't have company, 3.5 quarts of chili would last all week, it's a pretty sound investment...

Note 3: This stuff could probably freeze really well, in meal sized portions!

Style Note: If you're a spaghetti-in-your-chili person (weird to me, but tasty, I guess...), then cook some whole wheat pasta and throw it in there. Or pour your chili over it. Or whatever you guys do... :D

Style Note 2: I made a very mild chili with a lot of good flavor. Plus, I cheated by using pre-made, pre-seasoned ingredients. If you pay close attention to your Power Foods list, you can make it all from base ingredients instead. You'll end up with a more true-to-Simply-Filling result by controlling all ingredients. I could have cooked dried beans and painstakingly seasoned them in measured portions, diced real tomatoes, pureed them and made a sauce. Like I'd do that on a Tuesday. Bah! ;)