What a feeling!

Good Morning!

Yes, I have been absent from bloggerland all summer.  I'm checking in today to tell you how incredible it feels to go through my closet and set asside all the clothes that are four sizes too large to wear for the donation pile. 

Since I began my Greed-Free lifestyle nearly two years ago, I have had a pair of jeans hanging over the back of my bedroom door.  They are wranglers, size 13.  I haven't worn them since my 4-H days circa 1997 (ish).  For the first year of the experiment, I would periodically try on the jeans, and frown in failure every time.  Last February, I gave up and threw them into a pile in the corner of my room.  Three weeks ago, I happened to be cleaning the house and came accross this particular pile of clothes, and decided I would pitch them.  Of course, I had to try one more time . . . . . miracle of miracles.  Not only can I get them all the way on, but they are actually too big.  The jeans sag in all the wrong places.  They wouldn't look good under any circumstances.  How cool is that? 

I'll be back soon:)

JamiK

Yeesh. It's already time for confessions.

I didn't even make it a week into 2011 without a flub.  I have a severe weakness for ethnic foods - spicy ethnic foods to be precise.  Pad thai is the most amazing dish ever concocted in my opinion.  So when girls night out was planned it was decided that we would start the evening at the thai restaurant.  My original plan was to eat at home before we met for dinner, and settle for a spring roll or two.  Unfortunately, I was running late and didn't make time to eat at home. . . . . thus, I found myself ordering that beautiful dish of very hot pad thai (I forwent the ecstasy of the thai hot version so as to potentially be able to taste again someday).

As I sweated through approximately one third of the dish I vacillated between food heaven and food remorse.  Every recipe I have seen for Pad Thai sauce contains sugar. . . so I shan't disillusion myself with the possibility that maybe this one didn't contain any of the crystalline drug.  Plus, the bloating that followed the meal confirmed my suspicions.  My jeans felt like they were too tight for the rest of the evening.  Was it worth it? I honestly don't know.  That flavor, that spicy taste bud high. 

So today, I planned out my meals for the next week - NO SUGAR ALLOWED. 

I have never cooked or even eaten spaghetti squash. I have also never turned down an opportunity to fill my house with the smell of garlic & onions. I found this recipe on a website promoting healthy recipes for kids. 

Spaghetti Squash with Onions and Garlic

Ingredients:

• 1 Medium Spaghetti Squash
• 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 2 medium Onions, sliced
• 4-5 cloves Garlic, pressed
• Salt and black pepper to taste

 Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove seeds and membranes.
• Place squash on baking dish and add 1 Tablespoon olive oil, half of the onion slices, and half of the garlic to each squash half.
• Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper to taste.
• Place in deep pan and add enough water to just cover the bottom of pan
• Cover pan with a lid or aluminum foil.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 60 minutes until the skin gives easily under pressure and the inside is tender. 
• Use a fork to pull out the spaghetti-like strands, onions, and garlic from the inside of the squash.
• Toss and Serve.

It looks just like spaghetti!  The original recipe called for half as many onions - but my squash was rather large, and I don't really believe there is ever such a thing as too few onions. 

  

Excellent flavor as well.  Next time I might add some curry powder to spice things up.

Honey is rather bored with this blogging business, so she declined to offer any consulting advice for today's recipe.  She's been snoring on the couch for the last hour.

Recipe's to come this week: 

Lemon Artichoke Risotto, Stir-fried Shrimp Scampi, Lazy Baked Greek Chicken.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

Avoid Sugar!

JamiK

Enough Already! - Back to Business.

When I posted in August, I committed to being back on track with my GREED-free lifestyle. Well . . . . I didn't succeed in living up to that commitment. I continued to allow special occasions and exceptions clutter up my meals because I just didn't feel like summoning the resolve to say no to foods that I enjoy despite the fact that I know how they will impact my health. The past couple of weeks have strengthened my resolve, and I can confidently say that I am back on track again . . . . for real this time.

What has strengthened my resolve?

1) Mother Nature kicked my derrière this month. I haven't had cramps like that since April.

2) My face looks like a war zone. I had almost forgotten about acne until one day last week when I woke up to a mine field on my chin. Not only does it ruin the aesthetic appeal of my face, it hurts like the dickens too.

3) I am finding it increasingly difficult to get out of bed in the morning - and when I do get up, I have very little motivation to get going.

4) I started gaining some of my weight back . . . made it all the way back up to 170 by the end of September.

I finished cleaning out my refrigerator and cupboards this morning to make sure that I eliminated anything that might cause me to stumble in a weak moment. As it stands, my greatest hurdle for the week will be coming up with ideas for dinner. I admit that I am not the most creative individual in the kitchen. Suggestions are welcome.

As I look back at the past couple of months and consider the things that kept me from my August commitment I realize that my greatest stumbling blocks have been my own lethargic willpower, and peer pressure.

Every time I was met with the decision 'to eat it, or not to eat it?' I found myself facing the age old internal arguments: 'Just a little bit wont hurt', 'My friends eat sugar and they are fit and healthy', 'I'll really get serious tomorrow'. Adding to that, the voices of my friends and acquaintances: 'As long as you eat it in moderation there is nothing wrong with eating sugar', and 'There isn't any reason to be so extreme'.

I allowed my resolve to be swayed by the voices in my head. No more. I'm done.

Now - off to make some sugar free pasta salad.
I'll share the recipe once I make sure the idea in my head is actually palatable.

JamiK

Drum Roll, Please!!

Okay, okay, okay . . . . I'm a slacker. I have many things to share due to my long absence from bloggerland, so this is going to come in a couple of installments.

I shall begin this post with a confession. Since the beginning of July, I have not been particularly vigilant about the 'GREED' content of my food. July 2010 was literally the busiest month of my life to date. . . .

5 day Trip to Milwaukee to visit a friend. (one of these days was spent on a boat consuming pre-made sandwiches from the grocery store deli, chips & dip, and Summer Shandy followed by an amazing pizza on shore between the sun bathing and the fireworks)
7 day vacation / camping trip in Central Wisconsin (all the usual - hot dogs, brats, baked beans, pasta salad, breakfast bars, granola bars, and who knows what else)
Family reunion in Chicago (fried chicken, pasta salad, and lots of other fixins not prepared in a sugar-free restaurant)
3 wedding weekends (8 days counting travel and additional time at the various locales) . . . . one in Iowa, one in Wisconsin, and one in Indiana. (I can't even remember all the 'terrible' (aka yummy) foods I ate)

For a total of 23 days on vacation . . . . . . . I could get used to this. . . . . .

Now that the confession is out of the way . . . . . . At the end of June, I noted several things regarding my physical condition and then couldn't find my original notes to compare with. Thankfully, the notebook has been found!

-------------------01/03/10----------07/01/10--------Difference

Weight:--------------185-----------------162------------23 lbs
Pants size:------------16----------------10/12
T-shirt size:---------Large--------------Medium
Shirt Size:-------------14----------------10/12
Shoe Size:-------------9.5------------------9
Ring Size: I haven't gotten around to actually measuring this, but the size 7 CZ ring I used to wear as an engagement ring to scare off the crazies on the dance floor is now loose on my middle finger.
Measurements
Bust:-----------------42"------------------40"--------------2"
Waist:----------------34"------------------31"--------------3"
Panty line:-----------38.5"----------------36.5"-------------2"
Butt:-----------------44"------------------40"--------------4"
R Thigh:--------------28"------------------25"--------------3"
L Thigh:--------------28"-----------------24.5"-------------3.5"
R Knee:---------------20"-----------------19"---------------1"
L Knee:--------------20.5"----------------19"--------------1.5"
R Arm:---------------14"-----------------12.75"------------1.25"
L Arm:---------------14"------------------12.5"-------------1.5"

I'm feeling pretty darn good about myself right now. (despite the fact that you all now know how big my butt is)

I shall end this post with a committment: I am back to life sans sugar. As of Today, I am once again living inGREEDient-free. I even made some Greed-free ice cream tonight to kick off my return to a better lifestyle. (I totally made this recipe up, so I'm not sure how well the rest of the world might enjoy it)

Blend 1 quart Bolthouse Farms 'Purely Chocolate' Soymilk, and 2 cups of frozen mixed berries. Pour the mixture into the waiting ice cream maker, and churn away for approximately 30 min. Spoon it into a bowl, and place in the freezer for another half hour.

I call it "Berry Chocolate".

Sleep Well folks! I'll have more to share tomorrow:)

JamiK

Mulligan Day(s) and an Uncontrolled (aka 'out of control') Experiment

Whoever put money on April being the month I would 'cave' wins.

I am hereby declaring April 19th 'Emergency Sugar Intake Day' (for myself). Sunday night, my head got all stopped up, and I started getting super congested. After tossing and turning and coughing in bed for two hours, I realized that my normally hectic Monday was going to be unbearable if I didn't get some sleep. I then knowingly consumed sugar in the form of night-time cold/cough medicine. I did sleep, however, Monday was still insane. I got all of my invoicing tasks completed by 2pm . . . had too much left to do to go home and make something for lunch, and my stomach was eating my backbone. . . . . so I picked up a sandwich at the convenience store (sugar in the mayo and the bread). That makes twice in the course of a day that I knowingly ingested sugar.

After work, I hopped on a flight to the Southwestern United States. Thanks to my Chiropractor, the congestion is gone, and I can breath. Today, however . . . . . . I was still super tired after only five hours of sleep and seven hours with my clients, that I didn't have the energy to venture out and find acceptable dinner fare. I sat myself down at the hotel restaurant, and perused the menu. Thought about being a good girl and ordering a salad . . using my own dressing, and calling it a day. . . . but then thought 'I had sugar yesterday and I felt OK . . . . I wonder. . . . . '. So I ordered a chicken and pasta dish with a tomato based sauce. I didn't ask the sugar content. I ate about half the meal, including one piece of garlic bread. Right now, I am certain that I would feel better if I could throw up. I am so bloated that I am pretty sure I am not going to get any work done from the hotel tonight.

Sugar consumption - Fail.

Well, now I know better. Not that I didn't 'theoretically' know better before now. . . . . . but the way my stomach feels tonight, I am unlikely to repeat this behavior.

Here's to hoping you are wiser than me,

JamiK