I'm the $@*!

This morning, while on my way to get a coffee from the Timothy's at my office building, a feeling came over me that was a bit familiar, although it had been so long since I felt it, I wasn't quite sure what it was at first.
I finally realized what it was when a few random people walked past me and I didn't get my normal nervous fear of someone seeing me. Although the feeling only lasted for a brief few minutes, there it was! I was walking with my manager and I said 'You know I feel different today. Not like I have an attitude, but its something else. I feel like.... I'm the shit'.
I was actually walking with some confidence and it felt wonderful! For those few brief moments I felt deserving....and looked good enough to where if I was told a hot brother was checkin' me out I would actually believe it. Over the last few years if I ever heard 'Oh look, he's checkin' you' I would have an extremely difficult time believing that. (Maybe I was even walking with a strut. For those of you who know me personally, you know that I absolutely do not have a strut. I fear that I come across as looking as though I'm constipated. Fingers crossed the hot strut comes soon! LOL)
Like I said, it only lasted a few minutes but it put me in such a great mood today!
I know that I am doing something right. I know that my mind is changing, my way of thinking is changing. I think that is such a huge part of the battle right there. When you can alter your thinking and accept that nothing is just straight black and white, you are doing great! You are going in the right direction!
Black and white thinking is very hard for me to let go of. It's just the way my brain automatically is geared towards. I am feeling very optimistic that I am still on the right track and my journey to my new life has fully commenced!
So...YAY ME!!

I wanted to give you guys a few healthy tips that I find helpful. Remember, I am doing this in baby steps for the time being. Once I learn more and am more mobile, I plan on kicking this into high gear! After all, I have a 5k run to train for.

*Track what you eat. Everything. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks....Everything. There are so many apps for your cell phones that you can download for free that provide you food trackers. I use Spark People because they have an app for BlackBerry users. I know a lot of people who have iPhone's use Lost It! I was tracking for a few weeks straight and was doing so well, but began to get lazy with it. I started it back up today and writing down everything I put into my mouth!!

*Don't eat after 7pm. For me, since I try to be in bed between before 11pm I do my best to make sure I don't eat anything after 7 o'clock. If I am starving then I will limit myself to a piece of fruit.

*Fill your fridge with fresh fruits and vegetables. This is something that I still struggle with but when I am able to do it, it does wonders for the entire week of eating. On the Sunday before the work week begins, cut up all your fresh fruits and veggies and pop them in the fridge. Make individual baggies of them so you can just grab and go. The more easy you can make eating healthy the better. How many times have we all said, I just don;t have time to eat a healthy meal or have time to cut up snacks for work in the morning. If you can set aside 30 minutes on a Sunday, you can eliminate all of the excuses for the rest of the week.

*Freeze some grapes. Sweets are a major downfall for me. I have found an awesome snack that gives me my sweet fix. It's as simple and washing a handful of grapes, putting them in a baggie and popping them in the freezer. Once they are frozen, they are the best yummy snack. Love them!!

*Make changes gradually. Set small achievable goals. We all want huge results fast. But that just doesn't happen for most people. If you are like me, setting small goals that are in reach you will get better results. I have gone gung ho and many things, and after a week or two it fizzles out. I would much rather take my time and see continuous results. It is so much more rewarding!!

I hope you find these helpful and useful and by all means, if you have any tips that you would like to share, please please do!!

I have asked a friend of mine who does quite a bit of healthy vegan cooking to give me some of her recipes. I will share those when I can.

Thanks for tuning in lovelies!! Until next time...

Misty
xo

1 donut, 2 donut, 3 donut...NONE!

Cough cough sniffle sniffle. I am still under the weather however feeling better today then yesterday. I came down with a nasty cold and cough a few days ago. My mom was here visiting me for a few days over the weekend and go figure, the day she leaves I get sick. And I'm not ashamed to admit, I asked her to come back and take care of me! You guys know what I'm talkin about. Moms just know how take make the sniffles better. She didn't come back mind you....no really I'm fine, the tears dried up last night.
With having this cold I haven't had much of an appetite which could be a good thing but at the same time I know I'm not getting enough nourishment. I was a little hungry today so I did alright with eating proper meals.

Now here comes the dilemma. Since feeling a bit better today, I thought about walking up to the Tim Hortons to grab a coffee, and no sooner did that thought come into my mind, so did the thought of getting a few donuts too. Before I go any further, let me just say that I didn't. Here is where the difficulty of being a food addict comes into play. When my mind gets wrapped around something like food there are times where it is hard to let it go. I have used food as my drug of choice for many years and its not something that I can easily get past. Its going to be hard, there will always be hurdles infront of me. instead of going to booze or drugs, I just always turned to food. I actually just read an article not too long ago that said there was a study being conducted which stated that foods high in fats, sugars and carbs can potentially give you the same response in the brain that we see from drugs like cocaine. This makes total sense to me because I can see how this can lead its way into compulsive over-eating. You need to keep eating to try to reach that ultimate 'high' again. Scary I know and some of you may totally disagree with this. That's fine, I just ask that you keep an open mind. The way many of us deal with stresses are different, much like the way we each deal with addictions are different.

In normal circumstances, getting a coffee and a donut are not a bad thing. I'm not about to deprive myself completely of the things I want, but ensuring that I can maintain control is also important. As I sat on the bed, contemplating, I told myself to be real. Could I really only get one donut? Would I be satisfied with just one? And sadly, I knew the answer. I knew that I couldn't buy just one so the best thing for me to do was not go at all. If I went in there with a different mind set, then I would have been ok. But on this particular morning it wasn't an option for me.

I wonder, is this going to be something that I have to deal with for the rest of my life? I think so. I think that I will learn as I go and my choices will become easier as I go along, however, like an addict, I will always have temptations and my job is to fight them and learn that I can overcome them.
I know that I am by no means alone in this battle. There are so many who struggle the same struggles when it comes to food. We all just have to learn what we can do to jump over the food hurdle. I just wish that it wasn't a cupcake looking back at me when I jump over it!

Because I scared myself a little this morning, I though I had better get my ass on the treadmill. I haven't been on all week on account of being sick. I stepped on today but couldn't last even a minute on account of coughing and hacking. I do feel on the rotten side that I haven't worked out all week but I know that I have a valid reason. This just makes me look forward to when I can again.....WHOA...did I just say that? I think I did. I think I am excited to climb back on the beast and give him a what for! Fingers crossed I can get back to my routine in a few days.

I'm just 1.5 lbs away from hitting my 20 pound weight loss mark. Hopefully will hit that soon and I will be sure to let everyone know!! I'm always looking for tips and healthy snack options. If any of you know of any and would like to share, please do so. I will share some of mine next time too!

Thanks guys for tuning in!

Misty
xo

Eating vegetarian can be so YUM-O!!!

Coming off of a great weekend with my mom, I thought I would take a few minutes and post a few YUM-O recipes that we had. My mom is a pescatarian like me but for different reasons. I was strictly vegetarian for over a year but have recently become pescatarian when I did that detox cleanse last month. My last doctors visit, she instructed me that I had no choice but to start eating meat again. I told her that I couldn't do that so she said that I had to at least start eating fish again. I wasn't getting no where near enough protein and I had to make revisions in my diet to compensate that. I read a book called Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. It left such an impression on me that I gave up meat at that moment. As much as I hate the fact that I am eating fish again, at this point there isn't much I can do. But I am going to attempt the true vegetarian lifestyle again in the future. At the end of the day my health has to be more important.
For those who are either already vegetarian, on the verge of making the transition to it or are curious and might be swayed, I strongly recommend reading Eating Animals.

www.eatinganimals.com
Ok, a plug for vegetarians...check! YAY Vegetarians!!

Now on to a couple delish recipes!! Even if you are meat eaters you will love these!! I promise!!

Roasted Portebello Stacks - 2 servings
4 portobello mushrooms
1 roasted red pepper, sliced in strips
1 mini eggplant
1 small onion, sliced, you only need 1 slice for each mushroom
goat cheese
olive oil
thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
Clean and de-gill mushrooms. Cut out stem. Slice veggies. I like mine really thin but its up to you. Toss oil and thyme with veggies. Line on parchment paper. Roast 30 minutes, turning half way thru. Once roasted to your liking began stacking. First place a portobello on plate, then eggplant, onion, goat cheese and red peppers. Season with salt and pepper of you like.
Trust me, so yummy! My mouth is watering right now!

Spinach & Pea Salad
Lg container of baby spinach
1 pkg sugar snap peas
1 pkg frozen peas, cooked and cooled, about 1 cup, but more if you like
light ricotta cheese
mint, chopped, a few sprigs
1/2 c olive oil
1/4 c lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
Mix oil, lemon juice honey and salt together. Assemble rest of salad and pour dressing over top. Add a few dollops of ricotta cheese on top and serve.
Again, so tasty! Yup...mouth watering again!

Aside from my own personal beliefs about eating meat verses not, ensuring that you add as many veggies to your diet is so crucial to a healthy lifestyle.

I tip my hat to the chef. I know these recipes are pretty simple and straight forward but there is something about moms and when they cook it always tastes better. My mom is so great with finding new and mouthwatering recipes to try out.
She takes such good care of me! I'm lucky to have her support. We actually had a bonding moment a few weeks ago when I went down to the Falls to visit her for a mother daughter weekend. I have always prided myself on how open our relationship is but there were things that I was uncomfortable to tell her. My weight was the main one. Because of my utter shame in it, I didn't think that I could tell anyone. But after the last month or so and losing **17 lbs** now ( gained a few lbs back after the detox but lost those plus another one) I was feeling even more optimistic and a little more positive so we were chatting and I tearfully opened up and told her what my highest weight was. I of course broke down in tears and could feel a lump in my throat, and without skipping a beat she came over and took my hands and I told her. Baby steps. Telling someone how much you weight may not be a big deal for some people, but for others whose weight has controlled their lives for so many years it can be one of the hardest things to utter from your mouth. I am so thankful to have the love and support from her who gives me inspiration, unconditional love and never ending motivation along this my new journey. Love you lots Mama Bear!!

So, great food plus an awesome weekend equals a tired girl on a Sunday night!

Thanks for tuning in guys. Have a great rest of the weekend.

Misty
xo