Monday Musings: And how the food goes

It's with great trepidation I talk about this.  How the diet is going and the weight loss because  I've been so against dieting and I'm not all that fat phobic.  I disagree with most of the standard medical info that fat is bad or being fat is bad.  I don't necessarily think  just losing weight is necessary to be healthy.  Eating healthy and being active is the most important part of the equation. I don't think model thin has to be the goal. It certainly isn't my goal. Despite all that I'm going to share how much I weighed and how much I lost.

My goal was to get from 190 pounds to 170 pounds and possibly a few more than that since things are going well.  I'm exited to report that I have lost 13 pounds! I am down to 177 pounds. Only seven more pounds and I have reach my initial goal.  I might need to sacrifice something to the adipose gods for the ease in weight loss so far.

I'm torn about the focus on the weight.  I'm frustrated because "Why haven't I gone down another pant size yet !?"  Yet the size 14 jeans I wear do fit and the skirt I bought a few years ago fits again as well as a pair of shorts I was about to send off to the thrift store.  That's the challenge with a diet is how to balance out the goal of being slimmer and not getting all caught up in the body image bullshit.  Because if I don't focus on the size I do feel better and feel lighter now that I have lost some weight. I'm a bit giddy about that.

I remind myself weight loss wasn't the entire goal.  The other goals was to eat three meals, at least three cups of veggies a day, eat delicious food, and eat until I am satisfied.   So far I'm making that happen. There were a few days when I thought, "Oh crap meat and veggies again???"  Yet what else is there? Food is food and we need to eat.  So that's just something to get over.  It was probably a busy stressful day that I just hadn't planned well for.


Sauteed  peppers and basil, roasted eggplant, Anasazi beans, grilled steak

We started out not eating any grains, starchy veggies, fruit, and most dairy during the week.  I did use milk in my one cup of coffee in the morning.  I changed when I drink my coffee to after breakfast as a mid morning treat so now I really get to enjoy it.

Every night after dinner I have a glass of wine and a small bit of dark chocolate.  I love that! I added a smaller glass if wine while I cooked dinner  as well.

As the month progressed I was getting hungry late in the afternoon so I needed something to take the edge off so I could eat dinner with Stephen.  I found I enjoyed crunching on some nuts but they didn't seem to satisfy the hunger.  So I started having a small amount of Greek yogurt late in the afternoon.  Then later added about a 1/4 cup of raspberries or blueberries to the yogurt for a bit of  sweet.  That helps and I like too.

Starting in September we added back in the cheese.  It's been lovely to have some in an omelet or some feta cheese sprinkled on some veggies.  It adds a bit of punch to a meal. I love melted cheese!


Grilled chicken thighs, zucchini pappardelle topped with walnuts and feta cheese.

I am getting a little tired of eggs in the morning for breakfast.  So I might change it up with some yogurt, nuts and fruit  or something more like a lunch meal a few times a week. I was eating three eggs in the morning and I have cut that back to two.

Over all I like how we are eating now. I've learned about the foods I really truly enjoy like avocados, feta cheese, roasted okra,  kalamata olives, and japanese eggplant.  So eating and cooking has been more fun.


one of my mexi bowls 

I like our indulgence day.  The first few Saturdays I did indulge quite a bit: cheeses, desserts, bread.  But as the month progressed  I found I don't like feeling so full all day.  So I want to make those indulgences incorporated into more of a meal and plan of some sorts.  I'm sure to keep this day as my main dessert day and maybe forever.

Stephen and I are walking three days a week and I walk whenever I need to do errands in my neighborhood.   Now that we have a new bike pump we can get some air in the tires and start biking to the farmers market in Saturdays.   I really don't like to exercise to exercise but I do like to move and feel good moving so this is perfect for me.

So so far so good. Bon Appetit!

Monday Musing: Food Rules

I came across this list recently on a message board. I don't agree with everything on the list.  The main reason I don't like is how it's phrased in the negative.  I do like the idea of creating some food rules to live by.  Although I am in weight loss mode I want to have some patterns set in motion so I can maintain my goal weight. 

1. We should not live to eat, but eat to live.
2. We should not focus on deriving pleasure from eating.
3. We should not indulge at any meal.
4. We should not reward ourselves with food.
5. We should not pamper our moods with food.
6. We should not feel deserving of food in excess of needs.
7. We should not sacrifice our food quality due to time restraint.
8. We should not view a craving as something normal and give in to it as though it has to be attended too...
9. We should not starve ourselves to a point of destruction.
10. We should not deprive ourselves from proper nutrition.

So below I changed it up a bit and came up with some rules I'd like to live by. My rules are in black. 

1. We should not live to eat, but eat to live.

1. Eat to Live.

2. We should not focus on deriving pleasure from eating.

2. Enjoy eating simply.  Everyday fair can be tasty and enjoyable.

3. We should not indulge at any meal.

3. Eat until I'm satisfied.  I'm eating smaller amounts. I'd like to get smaller plates.

4. We should not reward ourselves with food.
5. We should not pamper our moods with food.

4. Enjoy on occasion decadent, rich, flavorful foods I really want. This is when a cheat day is helpful or what I plan to call indulgence day. I like the idea of calling it an indulgent day as opposed to a cheat day because cheat sounds like I am doing something bad.  I don't think eating something rich or sweet occasionally is bad.  During the week I'm not being good I'm just enjoying my simpler yet tasty food. 

6. We should not feel deserving of food in excess of needs.

See number 3

7. We should not sacrifice our food quality due to time restraint.

5. Make time for making real food.

8. We should not view a craving as something normal and give in to it as though it has to be attended too...

Seen number 3 and 4

9. We should not starve ourselves to a point of destruction.

6. Eat satisfying, simple and healthy meals daily.  My goals is 3 meals a day with minimal snacking.

10. We should not deprive ourselves from proper nutrition.

See number 6

7. Only eat when I'm hungry.  

One more time all in one place:


1. Eat to Live.

2. Enjoy eating simply.  Everyday fair can be tasty and enjoyable.

3. Eat until I'm satisfied.  I'm eating smaller amounts. I'd like to get smaller plates.

4. Enjoy on occasion decadent, rich, flavorful foods I really want. This is when a cheat day is helpful or what I plan to call indulgence day. I like the idea of calling it an indulgent day as opposed to a cheat day because cheat sounds like I am doing something bad.  I don't think eating something rich or sweet occasionally is bad.  During the week I'm not being good I'm just enjoying my simpler yet tasty food. 

5. Make time for making real food.

6. Eat satisfying, simple and healthy meals daily.  My goals is 3 meals a day with minimal snacking.

7. Only eat when I'm hungry.  


Do you have any food rules?   Michael Pollan has some good food rules here and here.

Monday Musings: Snacking, treats and enjoy it

I'm not really craving bread or pasta or potatoes.  But I do miss crunchy salty things like popcorn with lots of butter or chips with salsa or lunch.  I do dream about desserts and cheese a bit.  I don't crave it as such.

So to deal with this if I am hungry between meals I snack on tamari almonds or pumpkin seeds.  Sometimes if I am really hungry I eat a spoonful of peanut butter.  The peanut butter tastes almost sweet so it really hits the spot.

If I am having a really hard time, I write things down I want for my cheat day.  So  I made a great pica de gallo a last week and wanted more I could eat with some chips.  So for one day I enjoyed crunchy chips with fresh pica de galo. I really didn't eat that much.  My body has gotten used to eating smaller meals I don't want much.

My idea of a treat has changed a bit too.  Food was sometimes this reward for a stressful day.  Now it's hey I really miss that flavor or texture, when can I enjoy that next?

A few weeks ago just before cheat day I was dreaming of corn tortillas.  So we had beef tacos with corn torts for lunch on Saturday.  I made some fresh chips from the rest of the torts to eat some guacamole.  It was divine I tell.

(edited for clarity)

Monday Musings: A Confession

So I must confess. I am on a diet. Some of you know me and know I am anti-diet.  Ideally we make lifestyle changes and lose weight slowly.  I am making those changes. Yet, I am aware that I do want to lose at minimum 20 pounds. So it's there.  I need to be honest about that while also focusing on the healthier eating habits I learned from Mindless Eating.

And the diet I'm on is fairly drastic and a bit crazy especially for me.  We are loosely following the 4hour diet by Tim Ferris.  This web page here gets you the basics. You don't eat any grain carbs as well as fruit and cheese. Some nuts are good for snacks. You can eat beans, meats, eggs, and veggies.  On cheat day anything is fair game.  I picked this one as a starting point because I want see how I feel if I don't eat wheat in particular.  I tend to go for starchy and grainy snacks if hungry.  I've been feeling bloated and lethargic.  I can over due the dairy as well.

I admit I am a bit hungry in between meals.  It was worse the first week but easier the second week.  Since I believe in changing the rules  if I want to I do have 1/4 of greek yogurt during the day to curb hunger if I need to as well as a handful of almonds or pumpkin seeds. I can have a piece of chocolate and a glass of wine in the evenings too.  I do use milk in my coffee as opposed to cream. I've dropped the amount to 1/4 cup this week.  I might up it to 1/3 cup again as it's just not as satisfying. Food should be satisfying or why bother?

The hunger I have is different than the sugar crashing hunger I got before.  I'm hungry but I don't feel like I have to eat right now or I will die.   Now that I don't eat cheese every day when Stephen makes me an omelet on Saturday the melted cheese is divine. Everything I eat just tastes better.  Some of it could be all the great local produce.

I'm not craving the breads or cookies even.  Last Saturday Stephen made one of our favorite oatmeal cookies and I had one.  I didn't want another.  He did take the rest to work on Monday so we wouldn't be tempted. The kids made brownies and it wasn't a hardship to say no. I except that I hate to say no to my kids when they cook!

What was hard to not do was to nibble the crumbs in the pan.  That wasn't because I wanted the crumbs it was habit. I love to nibble.  Even though I don't want to go have a big bowl of pasta with sauce.   I find it really hard to not toss two or three pieces of the pasta in my mouth when I put the pasta away if the kids made some.

So one of my new food rules is to only eat when I am hungry and only if it's on the list.  So I only snack if I am hungry.  The other is eat more veggies at least 3 cups a day. Which I need to do on this diet but I want to keep doing forever.  The last one is kind of two rules together eat until I am stated by eating smaller amounts.  So I'm putting less on my plate than usual.

It sounds like my meals could be boring and bland but I promise you they are not.  So I'll be sharing what I eat.  I'm a foodie at heart.  I love food.  I take it as a challenge to make simple everyday fair delicious.

Monday Musings

It's a been a while.  I've been doing lots of stuff but not taking the time yet again to blog about all the happenings. I plan to again over the next few weeks.

Just a few hints to wet your appetite.

The boy kid and I went swimming regularly until it got so hot out it wasn't even fun going to the pool. The girl spent most of her free time helping at Theatre Lawrence.

My husband Stephen and I tried to get a garden going but the heat kicked us in the ass.  There is always next year!

Stephen was let go at his job but he got a new one, thank the gods with a nice pay raise so even better.

I've been working on my sweater yarn.



Eating healthier and walking at least 3 times a week.



Yarn Bombing, hanging out with my fiber friends, and knitting sweaters.  I know crazy in all this heat.  I was actually cold this morning eating my breakfast on the porch.



Last week we finally caught up with some homeschooling friends.  During the summer it just wasn't happening.

Monday Musing: Math

I will come out of the closet to say I like numbers.  I wish I understood the principles and patterns of  math stuff better.  So I find it really cool when I come across different ways to do things like multiplication.

This method I first learned as a Japanese method of multiplication but have since learned it's Vedic.  

More on Vedic Maths can be found here.  I'll leave you with one last math magic video:

Monday Musings: The Marilyn Monroe Meme

On facebook Marilyn Monroe has been hailed as an example of beauty that counters the love of  the thin model..  I do think she rocks but this blog post here suggests we need something even better to counter society's shackles. Do we want anyone telling us what is beautiful.  Do we want to compare ourselves to each other?  Read the blog post she has some good points.

I think Dar William sings it up in her song Cool as I am 

 "I will not be afraid of women."