The Simple Life - A New Month A New Challenge

 This is me this morning, October 15, 2017 at 142 lbs., and the one on the right is me at the beginning of January of this year, at 181 lbs.  It's where this journey began.  I hate that right photo and I hate having to look at it.  But right now I need it.

Anything worth having is worth working for.  Loosing weight in my 50's is challenging on all levels.  It's not impossible but it's very difficult.  Last week I celebrated reaching my goal of loosing 40 pounds this year.  A week later I've gained back a pound and I'm strategizing about how I will not only not gain back any more weight but how I will loose another 20 pounds.

I've decided that I need to make my weekends more like my week.  I've spent this year going hard for five days and then relaxing for two.  I don't have any exercise plan for the weekends and I don't stick to any eating schedule or plan.  I'm still vegan Saturday and Sunday, but I tend to snack alot.

So, starting with this weekend I've tried to stick to no snacking.  I made a big salad yesterday and that's what I had for lunch and dinner.  I had some of the soup I ate all week left so I ate that Saturday and today for breakfast.  When I felt like I was going to snack I ate only fruit.  I paid off because this morning I was almost back down that pound I gained last week.

It's no fun having to be strict every day with no break but if that's what it takes then so be it.  I began this journey with "No Matter What" as my mantra and I just need to push forward and continue to embrace that theme.  No Matter What.  It's the only way I'll get where I want to be and stay there. 

Here's what I ate this last week:

 Breakfast this last week was soup.  It was delicious and I posted the recipes in recent posts.  Unfortunately, I loved it so much that I think I overate.  These soups are very thick and rich and I shouldn't have eaten more than 4 cups. 

 Monday - Wednesday I had salad.  This is really the perfect lunch because I can pack in the greens for very few calories.

Upon arrival at home after work I had pears with a dollop of vegan mayo and some shredded vegan cheese.  I should have just eaten the fruit and not added anything.  I'm gong back to that.  Fruit is very low in calories but when you start adding things the calories can shoot up quickly.

I ran out of salad fixins so for Thursday and Friday I took a combo of mixed veggies, rice and vegetable broth.  Very good and very light in calories.  I liked it so much that I'm taking this for my lunches next week.

THE SIMPLE LIFE - POTATO CORN CHOWDER

This is the kind of comfort food that I love.  It's creamy, thick but still chunky and it contains potatoes.  I love potatoes in any dish, but especially soups.  They add substance and creaminess.

This is another of my recipes that don't require any measuring.  You really can't do this recipe wrong.  The ingredients are simple and easy to find and prepare.

The Simple Life - Mexican Veggie Soup

This soup is perfect for Fall mornings.  I eat it for breakfast and I love it.  Pair it with some vegan, fat free cornbread and you've got a meal.

 

All instructions are in the video.  This soup is easy to make.  You don't really have to worry about measuring anything.  Just put lots of the ingredients listed in your biggest stock pot.  This soup freezes well so you can make extra to eat  a later time.

The Simple Life - Weekend Hike

I'm trying to incorporate some exercise into my weekends.  It's not something I really want to do  because I spend all week exercising twice a day.  But, it's one of my goals to do some sort of exercise Saturday and Sunday.  So far I've been able to accomplish it on one or the other but not both.

Today we went for a hike over at an area that's located in Polk county, between Winter Haven and Lakeland.  I took mostly pics of flowers and a few of the lake that we walked around.  I find that photography takes my mind off of the exercise.  It makes the task more enjoyable.

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 - What I Ate This Week ( Vegan Diet Over 40)

I keep it simple during the week.  I do most of my food prep on the weekend so that I don't have to think about what I'm going to eat during my work week.  For this week I made a big pot of Tuscan Vegetable Soup that I ate for breakfast each morning.  For lunch I had roasted vegetables over couscous.  Finally, I had a little fruit salad that I put together from stuff leftover in my fridge.

I lost two pounds this week so my food and exercise plan definitely worked.  I try to stick to a whole foods, plant based diet.  Mostly I eat fruits and vegetables.  I also throw in some starches for satiety.  I also stay away from fat whenever possible.  I eat big for breakfast and lunch and keep it light for dinner.

 Above is the Tuscan vegetable soup.  It has carrots, spinach, celery, zucchini, tomatoes, onions and white beans.  I toasted two slices of Ezekiel bread and crumbled them into the soup.  Very satisfying.  I like soup like this because it's not only really good, but it keeps me full until lunch.

My lunches consisted of roasted carrots, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, bell peppers, squash over a bed of couscous. 

In both cases I ate mostly vegetables that are low calorie dense with some starch added.

I had a bag of apples and bunch of single serving flavored apple sauces left over in the fridge.  To those added a single serving of dried mixed berries and a tablespoon of flax seeds.  This is the perfect little meal before I do my evening exercise.  After this meal I start my fast that goes until breakfast the next morning.

The Simple Life - Skin Care After 40

I've tried a lot of new skin care products over the last couple of months.  Some of these products I've used up and either repurchased or switched to something else. 

 Differin Gel (Adapalene) - This product was previously only accessible with a prescription.  It's sold as an acne treatment but it's also used for wrinkles and fine lines.  It's only $25 and considering that's 1/4 the price of Retin A, I thought it was worth a try.  Of course I'll have to use it for many months before I can say whether or not is has helped, so I'll be posting on this product again, in about six months.

 Neutrogena Hydra Boost Water Gel and Hydrating Serum.  These two products were recommend by my favorite Youtube dermatologist, Dr. Dray.  If you haven't watched her channel I high recommend her.  She does all sorts of day in the life vlogs and reviews on skin care.  They are true finds.  I've gone through both containers and repurchased both.  I apply the water gel to my still wet face after I get out of the shower.  Once that sets I follow up with the serum.  They are both light and cooling and refreshing and hydrating.  I love them and I am now also using the Hydro Boost day time formula with spf 30 as well.  I highly recommend this line.

 Alba Botanica Ace Dote Deep Pore Wash and Face & Body Scrub.  This is another find that was a recommendation by Dr. Dray.  I've used up the tube of scrub, which I use in the shower.  I also use the pore wash in the shower.  These products are so refreshing and it really feels like they are doing something when I use them. 

Neutrogena Body Clear Body Scrub - When I ran out of the Botanica scrub I picked up this one to replace it.  There's no comparison.  The Botanica is much better.  The scrub particles are more dense and the Neutrogena products lacks the refreshing smell and feel.  I will finish up the Neutrogena products but I won't repurchase.

CeraVe Healing Ointment.  I use this on my lips at night.  When I get up in the morning I can still feel it on my lips.  They are soft and supple.  Dr. Dray recommends it because of the ceramides.  I have no idea what that is but this stuff works.  It's too thick and slippery to use during the day, but for night time use it's perfect.

The Simple Life - September 2017 Weight Loss Update

This is me today, Sunday, October 1st. I weight 143.  That's 2 pounds from my 141 lb. goal.


I haven't posted about my weight loss during September because I only lost 2 pounds for the whole month and I lost those two pounds in one week.  September was the hardest month since I began this journey in January.  I struggles and fought.  I was hungry most days and still I only lost 2 pounds.  I've been depressed and afraid that I might actually start gaining all the weight back.  At the beginning of the month we had a two day visit with relatives and I ate some stuff that I shouldn't have; namely butter.  For some reason that really turned on my appetite and I spent the month battling not to overeat. 

I'm not reevaluating my weekend "cheat days".  I never eat anything that's not vegan but I just eat way too much.  I know the cause is boredom so I need to come up with a strategy that will allow me some leway to enjoy the weekends but not put my weight loss in jeopardy.

To that end, I'm doing an extra batch of soup this weekend, that I will freeze.  That way, when the weekend arrives I'll have plenty of lower calorie soup ready to eat.  Hopefully that will help with my boredom eating.

I'm also making some changes in my exercise.  I've been having pain in my knees so I'm taking some of the weight out of my weighted vest this weekend.  I was up to 11 pounds in that vest and I guess that's too much for my old knees.  Since I know the pain is a signal that something is wrong, I'm backing off.  I actually didn't wear the vest much last week because I was whether or not I should just discontinue its use all together.  I'm not ready to give up on it.  I'll lessen the weight and see how that works.  If the knee pain persists I'll act accordingly since I want to be able to walk later in life.  The benefits have to outweigh any the negatives for me to continue to use it.  I think it's a great tool, but I may just need to lighten it in order to keep using it.

My evening exercise continues to get better.  As my strength grows I add movements that require more muscle.  I'm doing more situps than I thought ever possible.  My hip and thigh areas have really slimmed down.  As I build strength I enjoy this part of my workout more and more. 

I really want to get down into the 120's and now that I'm in the low 140's I'm looking at my eating plan and thinking about what I can do to continue to loose weight and keep it off.  Right my only changes will be to my weekend eating.  No more processed soy products on the weekends.  That stuff tastes great, but it's high in fat and calories that I don't need.  I'm also going to really try to stop eating at 5 pm on the weekends.  Yesterday that was a bust so I'll try today.  The weekends are tough because I'm mostly just at home, which puts me way too close to the kitchen.  My strategy is to fill the kitchen with low calorie foods that I I will be drawn to on the weekends.  I'm still working on this.

Overall I'm thrilled.  I'm smaller and healthier.  I look forward to my yearly checkup after the new year.  I'll have a full blood workup done to make sure I'm getting everything that I need.  And for the meantime, I stay the course.