Feb. 14

 

One day....I made it through one day of the "D" word.  Can't recall the last time I made it through a whole day of dieting before...in my life! 

 

That's what I thought after the first day of this lifestyle change.  But now, we're into the third week and I'm losing my way. 

 

Was religious about calorie counts...till a couple of days ago.  Just feel like my head's in a muddle.  Hate to be so vague.  Feel like I should be inspiring or something. 

 

Maybe these gloomy thoughts will pass.

 

Jo

~~~

Feb. 16

 

I'm struggling right now.  In the beginning, never thought I'd make it through a week of dieting, but this third week is proving much more difficult than Week One.

 

It's not like deprivation.  I don't feel deprived.  Been doing well (I thought) and yet, still feel like I'm in the back of the pack.  This period should be the strongest of times, but it's proving to be a huge struggle. 

 

Doesn't help that I've been fighting a miserable bout with Psoriasis.  It probably plays into this sour spirit.  No excuse, just fact.

 

Trying to be honest in these writings.

 

Jo

~~~

This soup has less than one thousand calories in the whole pot. 

Cumin is a very strong spice and may not agree with everyone's palate.  While I wouldn't eliminate it completely, you could begin by adding it into the soup in smaller amounts.  Frozen mixed vegetables are my own addition and can be omitted or changed. 

In some instances, after adding all the ingredients, I will heat a soup up to boiling and then turn off the stove flame.  This allows the soup to cook via it's own internal heat and you don't have to worry about watching the pot.  You can't do it with all recipes, but this soup lends itself to this method.

 

Spicy Tomato Soup

 

1 cup chopped onion

2 teas. ground cumin (strong spice)

2 teas. ground dry mustard

1 teas. ground coriander

1-28 oz. can plum tomatoes, roughly chopped

2 tabls. tomato paste

1 tabls. minced garlic

 

Place above ingredients in large pot and heat.

 

3 cups 1% milk

1 cup vegetable broth

 

Add to pot.

 

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables

1 cup uncooked lentils

   salt to taste

 

Add and simmer until lentils are cooked.

 

  

   The food regime I am following is basically a plant-based diet within the limit of 2,000 calories daily.  Kind of making it up as we go along so, the weigh-ins will define if I'm on track or not.  If not, I will go over my food lists and cut down even more.  The goal is to eat more nutrient-dense food to get the most bang for the buck.  Salads are a mainstay, but I love to cook and am always on the hunt for adaptable recipes.  

 

    One thing that is important for my personal success is our local food coop---Nature's Farmacy Food Cooperative.  While I do eat conventional vegetables and fruits, the ultimate goal is to eat organic whenever possible. 

 

 

Jo 

Brief bio that prefaces my blog states:

 

'...61-year-old Jo Schaefer of Mentor, who formerly owned a fitness gym, is geared up to join her husband on a journey to wellness. They pretty much gave up meat a few years ago, and now will get active as they try to lose weight together...'

 

For the sake of accuracy:

 

I formerly co-owned a gym with a wonderful gal. 

Regarding our meat eating:

We have no meat in our house.  When we go out for a meal, however, we are both free to choose meat or no meat.  It's a personal choice.

My husband really doesn't have a weight problem.  

 

Jo

   I've successfully made it through one week of dieting!  Actually, felt that I could never see a diet through for one day, more or less a whole week!  Want to work on getting the term "diet" out of my vocabulary, but when one is keeping a scorecard (calorie counts), it's hard to think of it any other way.  The ultimate goal is to make this into an eating lifestyle and something that can be followed for the rest of my life. 

 

   The eating plan is to record each food and calories consumed daily.  This aspect of the program can get pretty monotonous, but one positive thing that has come out of these written notations is the awareness of what I truly consume over a day's time.  You can't be this heavy and not suffer from a little self-delusion about how much food you actually eat.  In that respect, this process has opened my eyes.

 

   Last Sunday a goal was set of not eating over two thousand calories per day.  I went over that goal on Thursday by not doing the math correctly and also by taking a second helping.  Other than that blunder, I have been able to keep the counts lower than my set goal.  Of course, this is also the first week and I'm no fool regarding my own weaknesses; I'm riding on a high right now.  After seeing the write-up in the paper this morning (along with a photo...my WORSE nightmare!), it will definitely help in holding me to the grindstone for the coming week.

 

   As far as exercising goes, I've been doing the Wii Fitness Plus Program.  To be honest, this has not happened every single day.  However, since I'm working up to incorporating ANY exercise into my life, I view this "slow as molasses" start as positive progress.  In the past week I exercised four out of seven days.  Jo doing exercise???  Even I say--->Amazing!