Too much rice - or too much salt yesterday!

The streak hit a speedbump today - back up to 160.4 this morning.  Not that I'm fretting over a small variance in a day - but consider this to be the direct effects of eating rice for 3 meals yesterday and eating some fairly salty veges at a Thai restaurant. 

Today I pounded the water so we'll see how tomorrow goes! 

Success requires proper planning...

158.6 and still dropping!  We thought the roasted duck last night might have sabotaged the day's efforts - but lost another pound as of this morning.

Today was a day of distractions and projects and I'll admit it was difficult to remember to eat 5 times today, I can see why packing your snacks for the day is a must here!  I also didn't take out food for dinner so ate last nights leftovers for lunch and dinner today.  Probably not a good idea!

Looking back, when we were kids there was always a fruit bowl sitting out which we were supposed to snack from if we got hungry, we didn't have any soda in the house and we ate home cooked meals every night, and our freezer was always stocked with moose, caribou, halibut, salmon and pork from the pigs that we raised each summer.  Moral of the story - put good food in your house and you will put good food in your mouth! Go Mom!   

Another recollection on the subject of how we learned to feel about diet and exercise:

My high-school didn't allow us to take PE if we had already had 2 years of it, so I did not have a Physical Education class my Junior and Senior year.  Coincidentally, I also began making some babysitting money and started eating out of the vending machine every day - I gained 15 pounds in the beginning of my junior year.  Kids need that stress release in school and the calming effects of exercise don't hurt either!  And I always wondered why the vending machines were loaded with candy and chips and not a single healthy option.  

But at least McDonald's is starting to serve oatmeal... 

Okay, jumping off of the soapbox!

Down another 1.5 pounds this morning... amazing!

This plan is awesome! 

It is fun to look forward to the next new recipe because they have all tasted so good.  I have had no cravings for sweets, and other than feeling more thirsty than usual it's been pretty easy to adapt so far.   Surprising because the food isn't seasoned with salt or sugar, the recipes are designed using alternate seasonings that are also great for your body. 

This week's kitchen discovery - FENNEL - smells a little like licorice, but gives a unique semi-sweet flavor to baked chicken recipes.   

I joined the "Eat-Clean Diet Newsletter" online today to get some more recipes.  The before and after pictures on that site (www.eatcleandiet.com) are fantastic - looking forward to the same! 

So far, I would recommend this plan to anyone in a similar situation who wants a permanent change and not a fad diet.  Apparently there is also an "Eat-Clean Diet for Men" which would be worth a read.

'Till tomorrow!

OATMEAL AND CHICKEN AND GREENS - OH MY!

Ate delicions food all day yesterday, and lost another 2 pounds - 161.6 today!

The egg whites are delicious if you scramble them with cilantro, basil, chives and cayenne pepper - a pleasant surprise!  Made the chicken marsala for lunch with mixed greens, and for dinner... venison backstrap, over a salad of lettuce, mint, cilantro, red onions with a dressing of olive oil and lemon juice.  YUUMMM!

Don't think I'll be posting the photo of myself but thanks for the advice Net!

163.5

Like watching the stock market go up and down - this number has tormented me more often than not this winter at 6:00 am.... 

Today, it's a good number because it means that I am on the downhill slide!

Here we go...

Changing habits means paying a lot of attention to what you are doing while you are doing it.  This morning started with a "wrong number" wake up call - which is a frequent occurrence in Alaska primarily because of our time zone, and secondarily because folks think that AK stands for Arkansas.

Nevertheless, now that I an awake I tip toe down the stairs to the refrigerator to get a big glass of water - start the day off hydrating, change number one.  I'm hoping that by keeping a cold pitcher of lemon water in the refrigerator it will be easy to switch to drinking water vs. juice or coffee in the morning.  Substituting whole fruit for fruit juice, and drinking coffee black will be a snap since I gave up coffee a few months ago but I'll start with just the water today.

Breakfast... The menu: Steel-cut oatmeal, fruit, egg whites and more water.

I usually don't eat first thing in the morning because it makes sleepy, so this will be another adjustment, and I'm frankly not sold on the idea of egg whites but I'll give it a try.  You can buy a carton of "whites only" at the store which makes me feel somehow less guilty than I would throwing away all of those baby chickens every day.

Today will be off to the grocery store to buy a basket full of clean foods and a few of the supplements that I don't have on hand.  I love that the "Eat-Clean Diet" book has grocery lists included and lots of recipes to get you started.

Adobo Rubbed Pork Tenderloin is looking pretty good for dinner!

Do these snow pants make my butt look fat?

On December 30th in keeping with tradition I pondered over the list of items that would alleviate the most stress from my life in the shortest amount of time and decided that New Year's Resolutions in themselves are something of a self-sabotage mission as they are rarely kept and lead to an unhealthy dose of self-loathing.  Satisfied with my wise decision to scrap the whole thing I went about a search for my seldom worn snow pants so I could hit the slopes in Alyeska for the first time this winter.  

This leads me to the reason I am sitting here tonight starting this blog...  

After ripping apart a few closets and arriving at the pile of winter gear I pulled on the "longjohns" and the wool socks, then got ready to climb into my favorite black snow pants only to realize the horror that yet another year of slowly accumulating 4 or 5 pounds had finally taken it's toll and I could NOT zip up the bibs of my snow pants, and not only that but once I pulled them up over my size 10 arse, there was no way of sitting down in the things - which pretty much rules out downhill skiing. ARGHHH! The day when my volume becomes a logistics problem preventing me from enjoying my life is the day it's time to make a serious change - so the New Year's Resolution is now back on the table, right in the middle, served up on a large platter of reality bites! 

Being one to want to take responsibility where it fits, I pulled out my dusty copy of "The Eat-Clean Diet" by Tosca Reno, and made the commitment to myself to follow this plan until the same time next year, keeping track of the progress publicly to ensure a successful mission! There you have it, I have 35 extra pounds that I picked up in my thirties, and when I reach 43 I vow to be back to the level of health I enjoyed in my twenties, not just for the sake of vanity - but because life is too short and precious to be sabotaged by your own habits. 

So, if you care to join along, I'll be posting my experiences as I go through the challenge of reshaping they way I grocery shop, prepare meals, and feel about food in general.  It's not anything that hasn't been done by many other people before me - but an important issue that many of us struggle with that seems to be much easier said than done. I'm looking forward to this journey and I hope it is helpful at best, and entertaining at the least!

And in case you're wondering - I had a great time on the slopes in my rain pants!