Going Back to What Works

Since I last posted I've struggled, I've floundered, then I dug down deep and I've found a way to win the war.

Once I reached 137 I plateaued.  I was stuck and I couldn't figure out a way to loose any more weight.  Then I started gaining weight.  Slowly the pounds started coming back.  I could see it in my belly and I could feel it when I tried to squeeze into my clothes.

I couldn't find any motivation to exercise at the level I did while loosing.  My heart wasn't in it anymore.  Every day I promised myself that I'd work harder and longer. 

Two weeks ago I made the decision to go back to how I was eating while I lost weight last year.  I put that off thinking I could exercise the extra calories off.  That doesn't work.  It never has for me and it never will.  It has to be 80 percent diet. 

The major change that I've added back in is fasting.  I've never strayed from my commitment to veganism.  I was just eating too much.  Too much of anything is still too much. 

Fasting is really just a eating schedule.  My schedule looks like this now:
Saturday and Sunday I eat what I want (that's vegan).  After dinner on Sunday I fast till Tuesday breakfast; about 32 hours.  Tuesday - Thursday I fast 18 hours, with an eating window of 6 hours.  After lunch on Thursday I start fasting till Saturday Breakfast; 42 hours.  So I have two longer fasts and three shorter ones. 

I'm at the beginning of my third week with this schedule.  I'm at 131.  My goal weight is 125; 6 lbs. to go.  I expect it will take me two more week.  Once there I'll evaluate how my eating schedule needs to change for maintenance.  I expect that I will need to keep fasting as part of my lifestyle permanently.  Veganism has given me my health back but fasting has enabled me to attain and maintain a healthy weight. 

I don't feel any different at 131 then I did at 137 and I don't expect that will change once I get to 125.  My main reason for that goal weight is to give myself some room to fluctuate.  It's my safety net.  I know that once I try to start a maintenance program again my weight is bound to go up and down a little while I figure out exactly what my eating schedule needs to be.

Wouldn't it be great if I could just eat a healthy vegan diet and weigh exactly what I want to weigh.  Unfortunately, life, my life isn't like that.  I've come to some conclusions about my weight and one of them is that I will have to have periods where I'm a little hungry in order to maintain my slimmer body and my better health.

I'm not trying to go back to the exercise level I had during my weight loss.  I just don't want to spend two hours every day exercising.  What seems to be my new normal is 1 mile of walking, then 1 or two miles of jogging each morning.  In the evenings I've been doing 30 minutes of step.  Today I'm changing that to 30 minutes of my strength building exercises: squats, sit-ups, etc.

So this is my new life.  My second attempt to get to maintenance and actually maintain. 

The Simple Life - Breaking Through my Plateau

 We did a hike at a local park today and here are a few photos.

This morning I weighed 139.  I've finally made it through the 140's.  It took me two months and a whole lot of hard work.  I credit my plateau breakthrough with the "make me skinny" salad that I posted about last weekend.  I'm not eating 2 pounds of vegetables every day.  To that I add my starches; hummus and a lentil/rice/mushroom mix.  Vegetables are so low in calorie density that it creates a calorie deficit and thus, weight loss. 

One of things I've been looking for was a fat free, sugar free topping for my salad.  I do heat my starches and dump them over the salad most of the time, but sometimes I want to eat them separate.  I can use salsa and I have, but that's not my favorite topping.  It's best to use a topping that's made from vegetables so that the whole dish is vegetables.  Well, I found these:

Wickles Spicy Red Sandwich Spread - it's made from roasted bell peppers and chilis and onions.  It's fat and sugar free; the perfect topping.  I also found Chow Chow.  I remember my grandmother making it during my childhood.  It's cabbage based.  It's also fat free and very low in sugar.  I've already tried it and I love it.

I'm thrilled with the loss and to be back to actively loosing weight, but this is a whole new ballgame.  Eating that amount of vegetables every day takes a lot of food prep and time.  Because I'm using fresh greens I am making my salads the night before.  I don't really want to do food prep every night but it is what it is.  If this is what it takes then so be it.  "No matter what".  That's my mantra with diet and exercise.  I will get down into the 120's and I will maintain it, no mater what.  If I have to eat like a rabbit the rest of my life to stay within a healthy weight range then so be it.  There are enough different vegetables and enough different ways to prepare them that I'm confident I can come up with a short list of ways that I enjoy to eat them.  As long as I have a little bit of variety I can do it. 

I have changed up my exercise a bit.  I go really hard on my weight bearing exercises three days a week.  the other two days I still do them but not as hard to give myself a little bit of recovery.  I also decided to stop wearing the weighted vest.  It was causing me lots of shoulder pain.  If I were younger I'd probably push through but at my age I have to think about staying physically fit as long as possible.  So, I've gone back to my walk/jog routine.  I still do 3 miles every morning but without the extra weight.  My shoulder pain has disappeared.  I may alternate days with it because it really intensifies my workout but for now I'm letting my shoulder completely heal.

I'm thrilled with where I am and where I'm headed.  This has been a long year filled with the hardest work I've ever done on my own health.  I'm determined to stay the course.  The holidays are coming.  It's going to be challenging but I won't give up territory that I've won. 

The Simple Life - Reaching My Goal for the Year; Now What?

This is me this morning, October 8, 2017 and that's me about 10 years ago on the right.

On Friday I reached my 40 pound loss goal for this year.  At the beginning of the year I promised myself that I would would loose 40 pounds this year No Matter What.  After 25 years of yoyoing, and for the last ten years loosing the battle, my health was at great risk.  I literally spent the entire year of 2016 in and out of the doctor's office about my health.  My blood pressure was dangerously high to the point that I was having to go for checkups constantly.  At one point I saw a nutritionist; what a waste of time that was.  By the end of the year my weight was up to 185.  At that point my doctor told me that if I didn't start doing something to improve my blood pressure I would have to start on meds. 

That's when I made the decision.  At the beginning of January 2017 the journey that led to this day began.  I'm there.  Now what?  Actually I'm not there.  I'm almost there.  According to my doctor, I need to get down into the 120's to be at a weight that is in the healthy range for my size.  So I've got 20 more pounds to go. 

So now the rest of my journey begins.  I won't make it into the 120's by the end of this year.  I'm purposely trying to loose my weight slowly in the hopes that it will help me keep it off. 

So, that's where I am.  Now it's a matter of staying the course.  I believe I can do it.  It's not fun and it's not easy but I feel better and I like the way I'm looking as my body shrinks.  It's a good feeling being smaller.  I feel better about myself.  It's a good place to be.  Stay the course.

The Simple Life - Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Pasta Salad

I saw a real bacon version of this on Facebook and I knew I could do a version that was vegan that would be delicious.  So I did!  I used soy "bacon" bits and soy mayo.  It turned out perfect so I'm taking it for lunch all this week.  The zucchini pasta is very light and the overall dish is very fresh and perfect for my lunches.  It's a filling dish but I don't feel stuffed or bloated.  The best part is that it's so healthy. 

I'm taking this salad for my lunches this week so I prepared it in the containers.  I want it to be fresh so I only made up three salads.  On Wednesday night I'll make up two more for the remainder of the week.

1 head of iceberg lettuce, chopped
Romain lettuce, chopped
soy bacon bits
cherry tomatoes
1 box of zucchini pasta, boiled
1 packet dry ranch mix
1 cup soy mayo
1 cup coconut milk or almond milk

To make the dressing, whip together the mayo, coconut milk and ranch powder.  In a large bowl or smaller containers layer greens, bacon bits, tomatoes and pasta.   Drizzle the dressing over each serving.

The Simple Life - Weightloss Update - Listen to Your Body

 This is how I look when I'm at home.  I live in athletic attire.  The tee says "Stong & Fierce"  I definately feel like that these days.

Listening to your body is important; very important.  I've been in this weight loss journey for almost nine months now.  I know the feeling of loosing weight.  I can tell when I'm loosing weight.  I like the feeling of going to bed slightly hungry because I know that means I'm loosing weight.

So, why, after a week of going to bed hungry did I gain a pound instead of loose one?  I did everything right.  I stuck to my preplanned meals.  I worked out hard all five days.  How could this happen?

On Thursday I noticed that decimal number on the scale had gone up instead of down.  But it was only .2 so I ignored it.  The same thing happened on Friday and by Saturday I was up a full pound.

Why didn't I stop what I was doing as soon as I noticed that something was wrong?  Maybe because I knew I was doing everything right and I assumed the numbers would auto correct.  Wrong.

I knew that I was consuming too much salt.  I ate rice every day and I poured a cup of broth over it that was very high in sodium.  There was also sodium in the soup that I ate for breakfast.  Combined, I was consuming way too much salt and not drinking enough water to flush it all out.  The net result was weight gain even though I was doing everything right and I should have lost weight.

I knew it was happening and I ignored it.  I was so upset with myself on Saturday morning as I stood there on my scale a pound heavier.  I did it to myself.  A single pound isn't so much in the greater scheme of things but it reminded me that I have to listen to my body. 

The scale isn't my only tool, but it's important.  It helps me stay honest about where I am and what I'm dong on a daily basis.  So I lost a week but I learned a valuable lesson.  I don't have to panic when the numbers inch up, but I should take stock of everything I'm doing.  There was a reason the numbers went up even though I was doing all things.  There was one thing I wasn't doing right and had I paid attention I could have corrected it mid week and not been up that pound by the weekend.

Lesson learned.  Success, to a great degree is in the details.  It's a lot of little things that I do now.  It's all those little things that I've changed about my life that have gotten me where I am right now.  If I start ignoring enough of those little things, big mistakes can happen.  I don't want that.

On the fitness front I'm doing great.  As I continue to make my workouts a little harder I am strengthening my muscles and I find that I can do more.  I'm ready to add a little weight to my weighted vest so that will add intensity too.  I feel stronger and I can see the difference in my shape.  It feels good. 

My 33rd wedding anniversary is next weekend and I've bought a couple of new bathing suits.  I'm so excited about looking slimmer and feeling better than I did a year ago.  I continue to be excited and motivated to be the best that I can be.
This is me this morning, heading out to church.  These pants are very baggy on me now.  This time last year I couldn't even squeeze into them.

The Simple Life - Are Cheat Days Ok When You're Dieting?

Does having a free day while dieting ruin the diet?  Does a free day set you back while dieting?  What impact does a free day have on a diet?  Does a free day make it harder to get back on track with a diet?

I'm more than eight months into a year long diet with the goal of loosing 40 pounds.  I'm down 33 pounds and I see no reason that I wouldn't make my goal.  I plan to continue my diet after meeting that goal and loose another 20 pounds, putting me in a healthy weight range for my height and age.

I greatly relaxed my diet every weekend.  I push hard to loose weight for five days and then I take two days off of exercise and a structured diet.  I eat what I want, as long as it doesn't conflict with the general boundaries of my diet.  My general boundaries are that the foods have to be vegan. 

Monday through Friday I don't eat anything that is processed, I eat vegetables for breakfast because they are the least calorie dense foods, I eat a high starch lunch,  a small amount of fruit for dinner and I fast from 5 pm until 7 pm the next day.

On the weekends I might have oatmeal for breakfast instead of vegetables.  I might have a dish for lunch that includes processed soy products like a soy "meat".  And in the evening I might have some popcorn after my dinner.  None of these foods are bad or break my general boundaries, but if I ate them all the time I'd have a hard time loosing weight.

Ultimately, I don't believe that I could do anything in two days that would overcome what I do for five days.  This has been proven by my steady weight loss for eight months, regardless of the fact that I relax my diet on the weekends. 

I'm looking as my free days differently now than I did in the beginning.  Now I think about reaching the maintenance phase.  So, when I start the weekend now I look at it like a trial maintenance for two days.  I think the transition from weight loss to maintenance is important and I'm a lot more thoughtful now about what I eat on the weekends.  At some point I want my weekends to look like what my normal diet will be once I'm done with weight loss.  I don't know exactly when that will be, but I will get there and how I handle my food plan once I get there could make or break my long term success.

This is what I believe.  I've had eight months to think about how I will keep the weight off.  Statistically speaking, most people don't keep off the weight.  Most people gradually gain it all back.  When you stop doing what you did to loose the weight, it's just common sense the you will begin to gain weight.  That's why my break from my plan is important.  It's my testing time so that I can figure out what the rest of my life will look like in regards to what I'll be able to eat and maintain my smaller body.

I guess only time will tell if I'm right.  I hope I am.

The Simple Life - Weight Loss Update - It's Time to Buy New Pants

I thought that once I lost some weight and my clothes got loose I would feel great.  Initially I did.  But as my clothes have gotten bigger and I've gotten smaller I began to just feel frumpy.  That's not a good feeling when you're working so hard to be healthier and look better.  This last week I felt like I was bearing bags to work, belted to keep them on.  I've been trying to put off buying new work clothing because it's office attire that I only wear to work.  But by Friday I had decided it was time.

I went to my go store for buying cheap stuff; Walmart.  I'm in the loosing phase of my new way of living so these will hopefully just be transitional pieces to get me to my goal weight.  It's not the right time to invest.

Fortunately, Walmart carries a work attire line; George suiting.  I was able to find two skirts and three pairs of plants.  None of the pieces were over $15.  I wear a uniform shirt, so there's no need for me to buy tops.  I will have to request smaller blouses, but I'm not ready for that yet.  My uniform blouse can be tucked in and still looks alright for a while longer.  I'm pear shaped, so my bottom half was much larger than my upper body; hence the need for new pants and not new tops.

I worked very hard this last week during all my workouts.  I added weight to my weighted vest and I could feel it.  I'm still trying to make sure I make my workouts count every time.  I have a sitting job so it's essential that I really put all my effort into my exercise time because that's really the only time I move during the day.

I felt a little empty every night last week so I knew I would loose weight.  I'm at 148.  My goal for this year is 141, so I'm getting close.  I won't lie.  It's hard not to eat a real meal at night.  I've thought about it endlessly and there's no other way for me to loose weight.  I've spent eight months trying different plans, timing of meals, sequencing meal, you name it.  The bottom line is that I'm doing what I know will help me continue to loose weight.  Eating two good meals for breakfast and dinner and having something very light in calories when I get home, then exercising, works.  So for now I'm not going to try to fix what ain't broke.

I plan to continue with eating vegetable soup for breakfast, a high carb lunch and fruit for dinner.  I'm also still fasting from 5 pm until I eat breakfast the next morning.  I'm not going to add any weight to my vest for the next week.  I can really feel it in my knees so I want to take it slow.  I'm in a downward trend for my weight so I don't need to push it and end up laid up with a knee injury.

This is a time to just keep on keep'in on.

The Simple Life - Lentil, Potato and "Bacon" Soup

I love lintel soup.  It's a favorite comfort food of mine.  Since I'm eating vegan now I'm using a soy "bacon" product to help flavor this dish.  It's a hearty, thick soup that is easily done in the crockpot overnight or while you're at work.

1 Bag lentils
1 bag carrots, shredded
3-4 cups shredded potatoes
2 onions, shredded
1/4 cup soy "bacon" bits
Water to cover

Put all ingredients into crockpot and cook on low for eight hours. 

 I wanted all the vegetables to be shredded so I bought sliced carrots and then put them in the food processor for a minute.

 To make the preparation of this dish really easy, I bought frozen potatoes that were already shredded.  Great time saver.

 The "bacon" bits that I used can be found in the salad dressing section of the grocery store.  They really do add the flavoring needed for this dish.

The Simple Life - Fruity Cole Slaw (Vegan)

This salad is so good.  And the fact that it's super healthy just makes it perfect as a side dish or even a main dish.  It's not terribly low in calories because of the dried fruit, but it's top notch for being delicious and healthy.

1 Bag of cole slaw
1 Bag of shredded brussel sprouts
2 Apples, shredded
2 Pears, shredded
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup Vegan mayo
3 Tbl. coconut vinegar

Toss all ingredients well.  Refrigerate overnight before serving.  The flavors will blend and the result of sweet and zesty and crunchy.

 I used shredded brussel sprouts but you could also use shredded broccoli.  You can also substitute any fruit that you like.  I love the apple pear combo personally.

 If you've never tried vegan mayo, then you should.  It's at least as good as the regular stuff.  And the coconut vinegar is delicious.  I love it and I put it on everything I can.

 I used dried cherries that are lower in sugar by 50%.  It's harder to find but worth it to save the calories added by sugar.

The Simple Life - Mushroom Potato Cakes

These are so good I can't describe how good they are.  They melt in your mouth and go with anything.  I'm eating them this week for lunch with baked sweet potato chunks.  My husband, who is not a vegetarian, is eating these potato cakes with baked chicken.  Either way, these are perfect.

2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and boiled
2 cans mushrooms, minced
2 packets dry mushroom soup mix
1 Tbl. dill
1 c. unsweetened coconut milk
vegan butter for frying (1 Tbl. per batch)

Mash potatoes.  Add all other ingredients except butter.  Form into patties.  Heat 1 Tbl. vegan butter in large skillet.  Cook patties on each side for 5 minutes or until browned.

This is my prepped lunches for the week with the potato cakes and sweet potato chunks.  I'll probably add some peas or beans too.

The Simple Life - 30 Pounds Later - Before/After Pics

This week I started hearing that little voice that starts when my resolve is failing.  It says, "you've lost enough weight, you look fine like you are, just eat what you want and enjoy life, not everyone is meant to be thin, you can't win this, you'll eventually go back to what you were eating and gain all the weight back." 
I've been fighting the same three or four pounds for the last month.  Up one pound, down one pound.  I'd get really excited and then I'd gain back the pound I'd just lost.  And when I looked at what I had eaten the week before I realized that it wasn't a food plan that I could live on for the long term. 

So, on Monday, instead of eating salad for breakfast I had a thick, hearty, filling vegetable soup.  It was actually store bought Campbell's Old Fashioned Vegetable soup.  One can is about 300 calories.  I put a can of green beans in a big bowl and poured the soup over that and then added a can of water.  It was at least four cups of soup.  For lunch every day I had home made vegetarian chili.  Some days I had it over greens and some days over rice.  For dinner every night I had fresh fruit.  I had tried this before; eating heavy for breakfast and lunch and very light for dinner several weeks ago.  I noticed that I was going to bed hungry and I abandoned it.  I don't like the feeling of hunger; it makes me feel anxious.

I know how to create a deficit so I went back to what I know will work.  Do I enjoy going to bed feeling a little empty?  No, but it works.  So, this week I'm down two pounds.  I have officially lost 30 pounds.  I started the year at 181 and now I'm 151.  I still have 10 pounds to go by the end of the year.  It's going to be a hard road.

To help with the continued loss I bought a weighted vest today.  I got it at Walmart for $38.  I'll start by adding just a couple of weights and slowly work my way up.  Now that I'm 30 pounds lighter it doesn't take as much energy during my workouts.  So, instead of working out longer, I'm going to work harder.  This will allow me to continue to burn calories without having to work out any longer than I am now.

So, that's where I am.  I'm thrilled.  I'll work the plan and hopefully the weight will continue to go down.

The Simple Life - Caribbean Greens and Beans Soup

The Simple Life - Vegan Banana Oatbran Bread

Stewed Apples Recipe

Starting The Starch Solution - Meal Prep

Along with going vegan I've decided to focus on starch.  It's a vegan plant based diet that is whole foods with emphasis on getting plenty of starchy vegetables.  The diet was developed by Dr. McDougal and after lots of reading and research it looks good so I'm giving it a try.

I will continue my intermittent fasting from 5 pm till 7 am.  It has become a habit and I believe it is helping me in my weight loss journey and improving my health.  I like giving my body a period of time to completely digest what I've eaten before beginning to eat again.  It's easy because 8 of my 14 fasting hours are spent sleeping.

So yesterday I grocery shopped.  I bought loads of potatoes, grains, fruit and green vegetables.  Here's some of my meal prep for the coming week:

 I bought three of these for convience.  You just pop this 1 lb. container of potatoes into the microwave for 5 minutes and then add the seasoning pack.  I ate one Saturday and it was very good.  Great for lunches too.

 I bought a big bag of hash brown potatoes with peppers and onions.  Buying potatoes like this make it so convenient and they turned out great.

 I bought a big bag of sweet potatoes.  I bakes half of them and I'll cook the rest as needed.  You can't go wrong with sweet potatoes.  They are perfect just plain with anything.

 This was a big bag of mixed vegetables.  I added an onion soup mix and boiled them.  I'll add these veggies to grains and potatoes.

 I bought several boxes of grains.  This is a wild rice mix.  I'll add veggies and even potatoes to my servings.

 I love baked green beans.  I'll chop these and add them to potatoes or cooked grains.

 This is two bags of a blend of brussel sprouts, kale, cabbage and carrots.  I added the soup mix and boiled it.  I'll be adding this to grains or potatoes.

 This is a container of fresh mushrooms with a packet of soup mix.  I mashed some of the red potatoes and added in the mushrooms.  So good.

 The above and bottom photo are both grains; couscous and quinoa.  I'll be adding veggies to both.