The Rooted Pasque

Nothing but a link today.... You Know that Driver You Flipped Off.....

2011-08-07T12:45:00.000-05:00

Nothing but link today to the Star Tribune.
You Know That Truck Driver You Flipped Off? Let Me Tell You His Story.......
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/otherviews/126619568.html

If you want to be a better person.... start by being a better customer....
I know situations like these are dangerous and freak people out, but if you surived that means you have the capabilty to forgive.

Being Late Everywhere You Go-- Get Off the Defense

2011-07-30T14:20:00.003-05:00

Most of the trick is to say what you want to say without a defensive heart so it doesn't sound like your a snot. Its not like your trying to find joy in this situation. Your not being gleeful about them being inconvenienced. Yes, your reputation is taking a hit, and your just as unhappy as they are about you being late. But. But, you don't want to add ass or idiot on to that image either.

Let go of the defensive protection that you so badly want to put up. Eventually you want to get to a place where you show no fear. Hopefully by the time you get to that spot you will have drastically reduced the amount of times that you have been late. If not... finding that place of "no fear" will help you be in a better position to handle any angst that comes your way.

This can be kind of hard if the person you answer to has issues and think they earn their paycheck by asserting control, and have a need to say those words that they say to ensure that they continue to get paid. Let them say it. Be polite. Be honest. Use less words. Be direct. Keep it short. Remember to not give them any ammunition. Drop the competition. All actions should be based on trying to get out of the situation and not make it worse. Do not attempt to improve the immediate situation. Just get out of it. Its not going happen by being witty, proving up on them, getting the best of them or winning the showdown. Improvement comes from somewhere outside of this confrontation, not within it. Improvement in this area has nothing to do with your boss. Its a personal adjustment. Do not start munching on any carrots, grab any ropes or get yourself hooked on any bait. Let them say what they think they have to say. Pay your consequences and move on.

Your not naughty, naughty, naughty. Your an Adult. Your an Adult who was late. Act like it. If you get written up or any black mark is taken against you, stand there and take it. You knew it. You saw it coming. It will all be over soon. You will recover.

Being Late Everywhere You Go-- Patience

2011-07-28T10:56:00.000-05:00

Immediately after getting a grip, be patient, and wait for any dialog to come your way. Get Busy. Don't stand there like a target. Get to work. Start the activity. Participate in the party. That is why they want you there. That is why you stopped what you were doing to go there.

Don't lean over to your coworkers and rehearse your explanation before the big boss comes. Do Not clue in your buddies or start culling your pity defense team. I understand that nerves are going to run high. You will be so pissed or nervous that paper will shake in your hands. The need to seek control is going to peak til it almost hurts. The trick is to say minimal, speak only when spoken to and stick to the truth without getting personal. Your always told to leave your personal baggage at home. Why, oh why, do they demand that you bring those bags along when you are late? Again, I'll say, there is no good enough excuse. Stuff came up, you handled those and now you will handle this too. Either that or you were dragging butt and being lazy because you need a break.

So give yourself a break and do your part in keeping it short.

Yes and no answers are the best. Anything after that is elaborating and sounds like an excuse. Most likely they have quit listening to focus internally, and have started working on their rebuttal. Don't believe me? The next time you continue on with a bunch of supporting sentences, watch their eyes. When you stick to monosyllabic answers, you aren't handing over ammunition for them to come back and corner you.

Use less words, so it doesn't sound like you are trying to escape the consequences. Your trying to improve the situation, not make it worse. Truth is, you have no real excuse for being late. At least not one that is different than anyone else. Why have your co-workers been late? Why was your Boss late? True, they might not be habitually late, but they have been late before and your reason isn't anymore creative or outstanding than theirs. They all have laundry, kids, parents, phone calls, appointments and a social life. There is no I'm special here and you know it. You know it even when you're trying playing that card. If you don't have a good enough answer? Say that. But before you do, you really need to know and believe that everything will be okay, even if the unexpected comes up. You need to know, so it comes out sounding like the honest answer that it is, rather than some snotty quip played on the defense. You know your not supposed to be late. You need to figure out how not to get yourself into this position before you get yourself into this position.

I have no idea why they think they are the secret cure to your habitual lateness. Seems sort of presumptuous doesn't it? That your not late anymore because they said...threatened...embarrassed. So keep it short. Drop the competition to get ones goat. Minimize the confrontation. Be polite. You do not want to be in this position. End it. And try again tomorrow.

Being Late Everywhere You Go-- Getting A Grip

2011-07-26T11:29:00.001-05:00

In an overloaded lifestyle anything can send anyone into a tizzy. Its a little more to it, than just being on time, or the common advise to learn to say No, or suggestions to be more efficient. Its a little more than just making up your mind to never do it again.

Everyone has convictions and will power. There is a whole bunch of stuff to take into consideration before you fix being habitually late. There are things like taking a look at the modern 24 Hour Day. Questioning if we are an Adrenal Nation? Learning How to Enjoy the Mundane. Keeping it real doesn't always mean to show off your worst self. People Pleasers don't recognize themselves as People Pleasers, so quit saying it. Right now I'm saying that when you are at your worst it might be best to not aim for perfection. Let go of the chase for that stuff called happiness. Sometimes its best to try and not being your worst. For example, if your completely defensive when you walk in from being late, try some of these.

Don't say word.
Watch your body language, be open.
Be polite
Be honest
Use less words
Be direct

Don't be chipper
Don't fake it until you make it
Don't appear to be indulging yourself in evil tendencies to be a pain in the butt to everyone else.
Do NOT beat them to the punch and rattle off long nervous sentences.
Don't automatically hand over any excuse.
Do Not wonder what you are going to say, give any thought to, create, or come up with any excuses while you are in transit of being late.

Why? Because you aren't going to say anything. Once I started keeping my mouth shut, I figured out they quit asking a long time ago. Yes, it is quite excruciating to start work thinking that they are going to ask at any minute. But you will get through it and you will live. If you were going to get fired for being late they aren't going to fire you for your lack of words this time.

If by chance you do get fired, its because they made this decision the last time you were late and in most cases you probably already know. You will have to trust that it may ultimately lead to options that will bring about a better lifestyle.

I know the next time you are late nerves are going to be running high and you aren't going to remember most of this. Get a grip and remember you aren't in any contest to provide the most winning excuse. Use less words.

Being Late Everywhere You Go-- Introduction

2011-07-24T12:47:00.000-05:00

A few years ago I heard a behind the scenes story of Meryl Streep pulling Lindsay Lohan aside during the filming of Prairie Home Companion to instill within her the importance that You Do Not Be Late for this Director. Then she was never late again during the shoot.

At a separate time, Oprah recanted how she was once late for someone or other. This person distinguishably chastised her and pointed out that being late was an act in disrespect. After that she was mindful and made it a priority to never be late again. For anything.

REALLY?? Just flip a switch and magically your never late again? WoW!

Actually, when I coupled these thoughts, I got a sinking feeling that some kind of cause for me being late was that somewhere along the line, I was the one being disrespected.

For years. Years. I was one of those who was late every where I went.

If you're 10 minutes late you are right on time?

If you're 20 minutes late your late. Just like everyone else...but later?

Its always, get that one load of laundry in? Get that dishwasher unloaded? Then maybe re-loaded?

Get those forms filled out?

Make sure everything is in the backpack and make sure the back pack goes with, or you will have to find a way to get it there later.

How about that last phone call before you leave the house?

Or, any other unpredictability that sends you searching?

The misplaced keys?

Why is one shoe always put away and the other is behind the couch or upstairs?

Someone moved your stuff! That perpetual search for the stuff you had ready to go and now your wasting time looking for it? Which is the reason why you got it ready in the first place. To avoid this!

Once you leave the house it continues.

Go here. Do this before you go there?

It took longer than you thought?

The train that always comes through when you are late? Never. Ever, on the rare moment when your early?

Someone else is late and making you wait?

Can't say anything because your always late?

Nothing to do but sit here and stew?

Whew! I'm glad they were late, because I was late too?

Someone passed the buck and you got caught without a choice but to make it stop here.

That plea, that you are needed. "Your the last resort. Everyone else said no."

"Why were they the ones that were allowed to say no?"

"Do this. Do That."

"Why do I have to?"

"Because I want You."

In an overloaded lifestyle anything can send anyone into a tizzy. If you are one who is living proof that being on time is possible and your voicing out that its not that hard. Make sure the one you are complaining about Is Not the one you depend on the most. If it is .... your just going to have to wait in line. You've got yourself a responsible person there, and other people are depending on that person too. That is why they are late all the time. But its more than that, if you stay tuned, you might be of some help to someone who is habitually late. If you are the person who is habitually late? Stay tuned I went from being 10 minutes late all the time, to being 20 minutes late everywhere I went, to being a pretty steady 2 minutes early. Sometimes even 5-10 minutes early. That is till rare though.

Here is a little tour in how I come around to a better way of thinking.

2011-07-20T11:00:00.000-05:00

I'm getting sore about walking.

When I say sore, I mean downright mad.

I haven't lost any weight. I'm still hovering around 197 to 201 lbs. I think what I did lose was just the usual summertime loss. Which means if I don't lose more, I will just gain it all back during the winter and I'll be in the same spot next year, if not a pound or two heavier.

I don't think gaining muscle has anything to do with it, although I do like how some things are shaping up. A curve on a calf here and line on the thigh there. One would think that after 3 weeks to a month of walking that there would be some steady decline. I thought that by adding something new I would see more changes. But No.

I've been "focused" since April 4th. Its July 12th! Eleven pounds in one month is something to celebrate. That was done just by changing my meal plan. Ten pounds in three months is called maintaining. Maintaining is something you do when you are 125-135 lbs. I really thought that by adding walking to my diet, I was going to lose a solid 5 lbs more. Now all I want to do is kick and scream bullshit! Good! Maybe that will do it, because I WAS SKINNIER WHEN I WAS ANGRIER AND FULL OF PRESSURE! Just throw one big calorie burning shit fit!

When I start thinking about then and now is when I really, really start to get pissed. Five years ago I was on a starvation diet. Not because I thought it was the thing to do, or because I was a fashionista. Far from it. It was because I was overworked and stressed out. I had completely lost touch with cooking and housekeeping. I wasn't sleeping because I would get home late from one job and would have to wake up early for another. Stress was tantamount. If it wasn't about work it was about the stuff that I wasn't doing because I was at work. If it wasn't about that, it was because I was in that limbo of too tired to get up and get things done but not tired enough to go to sleep. It was all about being really pro-active in getting stuff done and out of the way to have fun. Here's a little side note. You know why there are more fatalities during holiday travel? Its not because the percentages go up since more people are on the road. Its because people go to bed at 4:00 am after getting everything ready and then get up at 5:30 am to leave. No statistics, no references. Its only... "I said." Because I did. And I did several times. Before I became one of the underemployed, I lived in fear of falling asleep at the wheel.

That is, that high strung mentality. It was a steady diet of coke and cigarettes. Real Coca Cola too. Not that diet stuff. We always had pop in fridge. It was nothing to put a six pack away. Eight or nine was more like it. Back then I was 140 lbs. I thought I was big enough and could lose some weight. 160 lbs. I thought I was big and needed to lose weight. Before I quit smoking I was 190 lbs and knew I was fat and that smoking wasn't keeping me skinny anymore. 210 lbs. That's it. I'm fat.

So now 5 years later, I'm better off because I sleep on a regular schedule and I'm focused on the family and home. I eat 3 meals a day, have increased my fruits and vegetables and quit eating my high fat saucy, one pot meals. Since I started eating regularly, I quit eating until I was stuffed until it hurt. I quit drinking the pop, and its been a year since I quit smoking. What now? Everything is all better except for being fat and broke?? I am listening. I am doing. I am applying. I have made all these changes and things get worse. I think 5 years is allowing enough time to see results from change.

Back to my current issue from walking for about 45 minutes 4 days a week. There are a couple of things that I can gather for why its not working.

1. I quit eating right away in the morning.
My new routine is to roll out of bed, brush my teeth, put my hair up and get my water. Some days I don't have to get dressed because my Jammie's look like yoga clothes, so I just put on my shoes and go meet my neighbor.

2. Routine is messed up.
I'm not getting to the things I want. At first when I got out and walked, I had more energy, I would go right to cleaning house and getting ready. Then I'd have to go to work. The result is that I started skipping breakfast again as it gets later and later my breakfast actually becomes my lunch.

3. More Stress.
Since I don't do my sedate things like my writing and my neighborhood stuff in the morning anymore I'm not getting to them in the afternoon either. That is when I'm up and running around the house or doing errands or visiting. Since I get the routine done in the AM instead of my computer stuff. I welcome more interruption. Until I notice that days are starting to pass and I'm not doing my stuff. I don't want to say that there is a loss of happiness, because I'm still doing the thing, where I'm not trying to achieve happiness. I'm trying to go about things without getting pissy or gloomy about it. Now, since one is getting left out, I do get pissy or glum while doing the other.

Plus I'm fat and broke. The stress of the underemployed is that you are slowly strangling yourself. I'm good for a few days, because I'm finally living the way I think life should be, then something happens and all the needs and wants get a hold of me and come and stay for a while. I'm pretty content with the day to day operations around here. I have to say that I'm better off than I ever have been. I'm so very blessed because the kids are still at home and not on their own. So that they can get to know the real me instead of the perpetual worried, bitchy me that I used to be. So I keep going because I know that going back to my prior activities wasn't the answer either. But still even as anti-girl I am about shopping, a girl can still only go so long without.

4. It may just be my Google settings so I don't know about anyone else but I'm seeing a new rash of headlines on the sleep and weight connection. Which explains my little rant. I feel I have personal proof that less sleep, less calorie intake, increased stress, and anger, equals burning an excessive amount of calories for weight control. Although NOW, that I'm done ranting and ready to rationalize, when I stop to think about it, I'm getting less sleep since I started walking. Did I do a trade off? I've been getting up earlier because that is when my neighbor wants to do it. I thought that I would start adjusting and go to bed earlier. But it ain't happening. So now I'm seeing a difference in getting 8 hours of sleep and 6 1/2 hours of sleep. My new question is, if it is the difference between losing and maintaining the weight? I'm going to see if she would have time to do it a little bit later. Then hopefully I would gain an answer to my even newer question. If I get another 1 1/2 hours of sleep per night, would I find the energy and therefore the time to start and additional exercise routine?

Wished I would apply my little adjustment of using less words here. But, its a process.... This is what 1,468 words look like.

The Rooted Pasque

2011-07-11T10:44:00.001-05:00

This is a Pasque Flower from my own garden. I've been wanting one of these for years. I thought that they were on the States endangered species list because of diminishing prairie grass. I was worried about getting busted if I dug one up or captured some seeds. Lets say I wasn't sure if I should be worried. I didn't know anything about it. Then, they started cultivating them. Oh! So I finally was able to buy some.

I hope this little guy takes because he didn't do his "second bloom" with the seed.

I love these little guys that are in season during my birthday. These hearty little guys will poke through if there is late snow on the ground, so they are a true sign of spring and warmth and speak of what is yet to come. I planted it last year and this is the first bloom where it has rooted and come back on its own. So I had to get its picture and now I'm finally making the time to get it downloaded. Yea!

To Complain Is Not To Brag.

2011-07-04T10:22:00.001-05:00

I just had a little tiny insight that I needed to jot down. Especially for us mid-westerners who take out our accomplished people just when they've had a taste for the top, because we all think they are too big for their britches and someone needs to take them down a notch. (Senator Daschle) I mean the only time I've seen a Rolls Royce around here is when some guy was driving around a fixer upper. So one of two things happened. He never got around to fixing it up just like everyone figured he wouldn't, so he didn't amount to much. Or, he did get it all fixed up and then it wasn't socially acceptable to drive around in it because it meant that he was squashing all the little people around him on his way to the top.

Renting limos around here is acceptable. But no one owns any! Except for the people who are in the business of renting limos.

I had just admitted in another post that I sure do enjoy talking about what I have accomplished over what is going wrong in my life right now. I just came right out and admitted it, unabashedly and without fear. Because the focus is on the positive and not the negative. I finished the post. Edited the post and I published it. I re-read it. (That is usually when I find all my punctuation mistakes, even though I'm no expert on punctuation.) Then I found it. Isn't that a little bit on the bragging side?

To talk about all the good and what is going right in life, is it all to make the other person green with jealousy and to earn a tight lipped, "well, that is good for you." from them? Really? Is that what its for? So if we complain about all the complainers what do we want them to do? If you can't brag and you can't complain, what is left to talk about?

So I think I'm going to keep an eye out for this. If I can remember. I wonder if I can do it if now that I'm aware. The next time I catch myself complaining during idle chit chat, with nothing good to complain about. Is it because I'm trying to shy away from bragging? Am I complaining because I've been thought to not toot ones own horn? Am I complaining because I don't want to step on my friends and treat them like the little people of the world? Am I complaining because I fear their jealousy is as strong as my own, if not stronger?

There is a bible verse somewhere in the new testament that if you find a lost coin you are supposed to call your friends and neighbors to help celebrate. Can you imagine being the person to make this call? Can you imagine being the person to receive this call? I know we would all like to see ourselves in the positive, but really, but seriously, when you think of other conversations and how you would have like them to have gone and how they have ended up. I'm sure we have had real life applications with this scenario many times and have had both positive and negative outcomes. I suppose we do this already on some level when we play, "find a penny, pick it up," I suppose it could mean something entirely different like most bible verses do and its meant to say that you aren't supposed to keep it and that you are supposed to spend it on others. For this conversation I'm asking. Is to complain not to brag? What does this do for your stress level? Does it affect your outlook of having a good day or not?

Snapshot in the Timeline.

2011-07-02T10:10:00.000-05:00

People judge a good day with what is beyond our control. A customer who is having a bad day comes through and decides to share and try to wreck our day also. A friend who is moody and decides to share and wants you to join her in her misery. Why is keeping it real only about your bad self? Why is any exclamation about I want people to know the real me is only about leading with your rotten angry foot.

If everyone's bad-ass attitude is driving you nuts including your own, the one thing to keep in mind while everything is so cram packed and jammed together is to remember that it won't be this way forever. It will change. It will change with the season. It will change with the age of your kids. It will change with the age of your parents and siblings. It may not change for the better or the worse but it will change. It matters if the kids are toddlers or if they are in school. It will change when they start driving on their own. Your own activities will change. Your job may change. If the place doesn't change, it will change as you climb the ladder or make a lateral move or your leadership will change. So as bad as things are, remember that it won't be this way forever. Give it about 3-5 years.

This blog will be taking a look at some other things that can be done without shoving some things aside and making some room for it. I've got a series I'm going to start posting. We'll see how it goes as I haven't even kept up with weighing myself and posting it every day. That is another blog post... So anyway right now just wrap your head around the fact that IF you are staring down the tunnel of a lifetime of permanence, that it is not permanent. Be okay with it. Be comfortable with it. Even if it seems permanent, something inside of that permanent feature will change. Don't fear it. Don't grumble about it. No ya buts, ands, or ifs. Just okay.

Water Week

2011-06-28T11:18:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post to keep the blog updated.
This week is water week. I'm still walking with my neighbor. Earlier in the week I weighed myself without much change. There is something that is changing though. I was able to put on my pre-quitting smoking pants. YEAH! I tried this right before I started this blog and I couldn't get them past my hips and now I can without much change in weight. So something is going on or shifting around, er something.

So this week is water week. There is no real demand on sugar. I watch it, but I'm not concerning myself with any amount of control over it. It is a treat. It is stationed in the treat category. I'm not deprived and I have no overwhelming need for it. Although the message senders like to lump it in one category, I'm not including fruit in any of my no sugar weeks.

I also understand that this is easier for me than some because I quit drinking pop long before I quit smoking. I started out replacing it with coffee and tea. It took me longer to get used to the iced tea. It was more like I chose tea because I wanted tea. It wasn't really working as a source to replace soda pop. In the end I feel like I cheated. I was down to one cherry coke a day. That was my treat. Then I went in to have my appendix out and pop has tasted like crap since. Every once in a while I'll have a sprite or a root beer float. So no real advice on quitting pop other than what I just stated.

This week I put a pitcher of water in the fridge and I'm trying to see if I can finish it. So far I've drank most of it. Not all of it. Nothing but coffee, water, and milk for all week. We'll see if that gets me any where.

Underemployed Doesn't Necessarily Mean Underworked.

2011-06-18T13:46:00.000-05:00

Boy what a week!

It all started with the announcement of new findings between weight gain and quitting smoking. So I went back to my quitting smoking book to refine the chapter on eating. (and now this single spacing is kind of throwing me off a bit, here) I also refined some edits elsewhere in the book. That dang thing is perpetually almost done. Then when it is actually done it will get handed over to an editor andthenitwillbe back to being almostdone.

Okay, I went back to my book on quitting smoking. Then I went and raided a couple of gardens with our gardening group to install flowers at a neighborhood park. This took up three evenings of splitting my own plants and running them to the park, running to a neighbors house and then running to the park, and running to another neighbors house and then running to park. Now that all plants for the garden are donated and in one place we will all meet and rearrange. Then there are two more gardens.

Okay, I went back to my quitting smoking book, I raided gardens 3 days in a row. I think I made a new friend. The president of our association and I met with a neighborhood business and it will lead to future collaborations with their business and our projects. We hit off immediately. I'm looking forward to meeting with this person in the future.

Ookay, I went back to my book, I raided gardens, attended a meeting where I think I made a new friend. I'm starting a new neighborhood project where we are going to install some Home Ec type classes in the neighborhood. Its not to replace anything that the school is doing. Its a little bit more of bringing what the kids know and sharing with the parents, but that isn't exactly it either. So, This Week, I have been at work on gathering specialists together to see if I can give a little bit better explanation of what the final product will be. I have also been thinking about creating a syllabus so that we can have a common reference place or something... but I don't know if I should have it as a page, make it as it own blog and link it with this one, have it on its own, or if its just going to be a lot of work without any real need. I don't know. Lots to think about.

Okay, I went back to my book, raided some gardens, I made a new friend, Networked for a new project. I went to the Dr. I'm not going to reveal any personal medical information, except that this is my third attempt at antibiotics. This is the one I've been waiting for as a blog post because I think it will be the one to kick it in the butt. Whatever "It" is. To tell you the truth I'm not exactly sure myself. The first doctor threw some words around and I repeated some of those words to this new doctor and the new one gave a look and said. "Okay, this is what we will do and I'll see you back here in 6 weeks." She didn't say and I forgot to ask. So anyway. Before I went to the first doctor anytime I heard Dr. Oz say inflammation and pineapple and reduce inflammation... it would just resonate. I would perk up to listen. Now along with the Metamucil and the no bread, pasta and sugar the times where I took the antibiotic seemed to be most efficient with weight loss. So yesterday I weighed in at 199.2. Dang digital scale. Plus I gained. So, but that is not all. Its not something that I will be able to prove here because of what I'm going to say next. But! It does give way to the idea if something rings out, to pay attention, listen to yourself, listen to your body and take heed. Even though I do cheat on my diet, I do think it could probably come down a little bit faster or possibly hold a bit more steady. Unless, I am inflamed, swollen or bloated.

Okay, I went back to my book, raided gardens, made a new friend, networked for a project, went to the Dr. and think I received a fix. Now Father's Day is coming up. I have to shop and plan. Ohhh, yeaahh, I was supposed to go and help my mother, but my sister did it. Then I still have to do the minutes of the last meet for the next resident meeting on Tuesday. Then of course, (and you all can sing right along with me in your own version) All of this is on top of going to work, allowing time to Cook. Allocating time with the kids and allocating time with the hubby. Oh and the reason why I won't be able to prove if the antibiotic will be able to fix the stubborn weight loss? I agreed to start walking at 6:00 am with a couple of my friends. derrr.

I really need to dig out that 24 hour day and post it.

So now, as grateful as I am to be the recipient of such a gift, there are days when I would love to bop the women's movement outside the head and yell, Whoever told you that Women had the TIME to go to work.

Until something changes, I just keep mothering, doing and writing.

You Think It
You Create It

Capture The Idea
Seek The Solution
Live The Results

Automate Your Cooking Not Your Diet

2011-06-08T10:51:00.000-05:00

It seems as though nutritionists and the medical profession have a different take on the word Diet. They seem to use it in terms of intake and output.

Which is okay because it is what it is. A balanced diet doesn't mean that you are in a perpetual loss mode. That would be unbalanced, just as being in a perpetual gaining mode would be. So its okay, except for when the public seems to perceive it as, loss, deprivation, or something relentless that you have to do and control.

When Dr. Oz came on the scene one of his messages he was sending at the time was to automate your diet. What a wonderful idea. Learn three meals, Breakfast, Lunch and Supper and learn how to make them. Practice making them, start playing with them, tweak them, make them your own until the confidence is there. Then when you are satisfied or board, learn a couple more and rotate them with the ones you have already perfected.

The only problem that I had with it was, why not call it what it is and explain it as Automate your Cooking, instead of Automate your Diet? In fact, while thinking of it this way, it occurred to me that I was already doing this with pumpkin bread, pancakes and ways to use up fruit that was going to waste. I'd start with the recipe and then tweak it to make it my own. The next time I baked it I would try a little more of this and a little less of that. Then I would write down a permanent recipe to follow. I just needed to do it more often with meals, rather than every once in a while with baking treats. More recently, when The Girl brought the book, The South Beach Diet home, I didn't follow the diet. I chose some things to cook and I continued cooking them. I didn't follow Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 until phase 1 was over. I went to the grocery store and bought about 3 days worth of recipes with all intentions of going back to the store to buy the next 3 days and then I just got stuck practicing. It ended up being a good thing. Besides we are cooking for a family who is never home here. I wanted to make sure we ate the majority of leftovers before I purchased and cooked anything new. The South Beach Diet cookbook is also another example of this. From my own general public perspective I am South Beach Cooking and the Diet is the byproduct. Although I do understand that from a marketing perspective that using the word diet would attract more than foodies and people who already know how to cook. Using the word diet worked for marketing, it worked wonders for broadening the audience.

Ohhh, by the way... speaking of doing something with the fruit before it goes to waste..... I just boiled down some rhubarb that wasn't measurable for storage. You know not enough to start another bag to freeze. To much to throw away as scrap? Anyway.... I threw it in a pot boiled it down with some sugar till it was broke down and looked all stringy and thickened. Then let it cool to just above room temp and I ate it with some vanilla Greek yogurt. OMG.... (I can't believe they haven't done this yet!) It was really good. Really, Really Good. I may have used too much sugar. But still, I'll try it again next time. I'm having a no Sugar week and this was the worst thing to try before going into it. My saving grace is that I am saving it for The Girl to try. No water. Just cut up rhubarb and sprinkle some sugar until you feel you get enough for the rhubarb and not too much for your intake.

Did you see that?
Great segue to get back on topic. ;) I used the word intake instead of diet. ;)
So whenever you hear or are tempted to use the word diet, try inserting the word cooking instead, and see what that does to your perception of the whole deal.

Don't let any thoughts of going back into the kitchen will undo a millennia of woman's suffrage either. Because it won't. It doesn't change the fact that a person needs to eat and someone has to cook it. If you can't afford to have someone cook it for you, then you need to do it. Just relax and figure out what needs to be done. If you aren't eating correctly, does this little word play help you see what needs to be done? If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. For some people it may be distracting from the goal. Some people may not have a problem with taking the time to cook. If you feel pressured to be on a constant diet does this little word play help to remove the pressure and enable you to get to work?

An Empty Fridge Is A Good Thing?

2011-06-07T11:36:00.000-05:00

For those of us who were brought up in less than desirable circumstances and without giving it any thought at all, an empty fridge is a bad, bad thing. It means there is no food. No money to buy food. Now throughout my adult life I have poked my head into a few other refrigerators. Not many, but enough. Some of these are so cram packed that I start to wonder if I really want to eat any food that a comes out of that fridge. I do understand that there are some foodies out there who are really good at knowing what they've got and use it no matter where it is on the shelf. But then you would think that they are already in the frame of mind that if you bought it, you use it. Here in most cases I think the general rule would be to don't eat out of the back of the fridge. Stick to the front. Ewww.

So here eventually I discovered that I wasn't equating a packed fridge with success. I was equating it to something icky and unhealthy. I had caught on to the fact that you needed to see it in order to use it a long time ago. But I still wasn't johnny on the spot with throwing things out. I thought it was a money issue. I spent the money on it. I didn't use it. So now I'm throwing money away. (Well, its not earning interest sitting there in my fridge either.) When I did clean the fridge I wasn't getting any solace that I did my housewifely thing by ensuring a clean and healthy environment. I'd give it a once over to make sure I did a good job and then try to put it out of my mind. The problem? All the open space in there. Low-income people have empty refrigerators and empty cupboards. You know, if your cup is full, its relevant in the fridge. Right? It means your on your ready with hosting when company arrives. It means there is always something in there for the kids. It means you are going to make it until the next payday. If you can make it past pay day then you are doing really well.

So I figured that I needed to change my perspective on what an empty fridge means. While doing this I had automatically dumped the fear of there will be none later. Comfort is what I make of it. I found comfort in an empty fridge because...

I ate it all and now its time to shop.
The fridge is now clear for sorting and putting away new stuff. Less time. Less stop and go for rearranging.
If there is nothing to throw out, or if you threw out minimal, nothing went to waste and money saved. (doesn't mean you spent less, just means you didn't throw it away.)
You had success with the Plan. All went according to plan with what you thought you were going to cook and what you thought they were going to eat. Success!
If your goal is to eat all the food you buy, you are more apt for it to be Saved by putting it in the freezer then remember to eat out of the freezer every once in a while.
You trust the food that is in there cuz you know its only been in there since the last time you shopped. (save for a few of the bottled items)
No more doing the, I'll just leave it and let it go bad before throwing it out. cuz like no one just throws out good food! If you can't eat it and if you can't throw it, what is a person to do? So... before I go shopping give the fridge a quick once over and then either Throw It or Freeze It.

The Routine

2011-06-06T10:45:00.000-05:00

Here is the routine.

2 calcium vitamins
3 Omega 3's
1 Daily Multi
1 B-Complex (100)
3 doses of psyllium (Metamucil)

It seems I get better and a little more dramatic results when I stick to this. Problem is its a bit too much and its rare that I get it all in on a daily basis. This month I have proven that I can maintain pretty well without it. Usually though, its 1 or 2 of the Metamucil and I split the vitamins to keep the calcium away from the others as it may hinder absorption. And I do skip the other batch.

Since calcium is so important for women I do take it all at once even though your supposed to spread it out. I will take one of the omega 3's with it so I'm not taking 5 pills in that other batch and so they get spread out a little more. I'm not sure if its doing any good or not, but I keep thinking for those who eat little sardines, er, with the little bones, umm, are getting all their calcium and omega's in at once anyway. So... Here are some reasons why I think it works.

You get your water in. The recommendation is to drink 8 glasses of water a day. The information that usually seems to be missing when this statement is made, is that its an 8 oz serving. 1 cup. A measuring cup that you measure flour and sugar with. A glass-glass, like a tumbler that you put ice in and drink out of is usually 16 oz. Maybe 20 if you've got something fancy there. But usually its 16 oz.

Go do it right now. Take your Pyrex measuring cup that says 1 cup (8oz) on it and fill it up with water and pour it into your usual drinking glass. Betcha you have to do it twice to fill it up. So every time you've gotten a drink, you've most likely have been automatically doubling your intake.

So with 3 doses of Metamucil a day you've already taken care of 3 of those 8 servings of water, but wait. There is a warning on the back of the label. It says there is a choking hazard if you don't mix it with enough water. That is because of what it is. It swells into this gelatinous blob which is what makes it do its thing as it goes through you. So I usually mix it with 12-14 oz of water. By the way the back of the label reads like this.

"Mix this product with at least 8 ounces (a full glass) of water or other fluid."

So you see they are using the US RDA guidelines to communicate with you. Not what is in your cupboard. This gets further confused when the message senders use the typical glass that is in your cupboard as a visual.

So anyway I mix it with more than the recommended water that is stated on the back of the Metamucil label. But then I will give it another shot and refill the glass with another 4-6 oz to give the glass and my mouth a rinse. Just to make sure its all clear. Yeah, I get a little paranoid. So roughly 16 oz per dose. 3 doses a day equals 6 out of the 8 servings of water. But wait! Metamucil wicks water away and redirects it to the bowels.

Really?? How much more water do I have to take? Well I don't know I haven't found that part yet. But wait. I also take the vitamins. I'm not a very good pill taker so I do go through a whole 16 oz. glass of water or more with each batch. So now that is another 4 servings of water. That puts me at 10 servings a day. IF I keep up on it. Now I also drink coffee, tea, milk and orange juice. Occasionally I will drink beer, root beer, lemon-lime soda, but not usually when I'm in active weight loss mode or the restrictive phase 1 on the South Beach Diet. By the way, Metamucil also prevents absorption of vitamins and minerals, so I try keep that separate also. That is why it becomes a lot and quite difficult to keep up on it. Or maybe its not difficult if you just aren't thinking about it. That is pretty easy then. Its easy to forget.

Now, I share this information with respect to you being a responsible person. No matter what Metamucil or psyllium is, it is still a laxative. the back of the label kind of sort it out as 2 doses a day is for lowering cholesterol and 3 doses is a laxative. I was under the assumption that it is what old people took daily to keep them regular. The key word here is Daily. Now as I'm reading it seems as though that is not the case. The product is still prone to abuse and extended use over time may actually even do damage. Then they could be overstating things, because you can't be too careful these days. So as with anything else, you are an adult. Make adult decisions. If you aren't an adult, act like one and Do Not go around acting like you've found the magic cure for weight loss. Metamucil is no secret, its been around since the 1930's. If it was the secret ingredient then we wouldn't be having an obesity epidemic. You are a wise one. Use it so.

No More Pyramid? Basic 4 Has Been Updated To A Plate.

2011-06-02T11:28:00.009-05:00

Wow I just got done saying when Dr. Oz loaded up a plate it reminded me of the Basic 4. Michelle Obama must have been thinking that too because now she comes out with a plate and cup! (nytimes) and (cnn)

I think she needed to leave room for desert. I think, if desert was incorporated it might eliminate the fight in overindulging.

I'm not exactly sure where the condescending tone is coming from. CNN kind of torqued me off in this piece. If my kids get the majority of their information at school and the schools use the materials created by federal agencies to teach the children and they are teaching my children the wrong stuff, you can kind of bet that I'm welcoming a change. These are the formative years. Believe it or not I do think back to what I learned in school when it comes to these things. When kids bring the pyramid home and say that you are supposed to eat more grains than vegetables, what do you think I'm going to think when the message senders start talking about an obesity epidemic?

Its not my fault! Even if I had time to cook and cook to my specifications and not the federal government's there is still school lunch which is following government guidelines. Day care providers who are trying to do the right thing. Or, how about when they go out on their own and choose meals off a menu.

If the repeated messages that are out there is to eat right. What is eating right? They ARE supposed to have all the scientific data to back it up, right?

Besides is not really about perfection in what to cook. Its about sitting down, looking at your plate and going, yeah, that is just about right. Or not, I've got to make up for it later. Whether it is portions, calorie intake, or limiting fats, sugars or oils. Its a quick snapshot without being obsessive about it.

Its passing good information on to the next generation. There are always going to be critics. They aren't done deciphering the code in food so there will be new science. I'm sure it will be tweaked in the future.

Right now I'm happy to see the plate.

Weigh In 6-1-11 9:30 pm

2011-06-01T11:08:00.001-05:00

Weight
201.2
Eating Scale
4
Activity Scale
2

I didn't documents yesterday's weight. It hasn't changed for the past 3 days. Umph... Interesting.... I've been kind of zoned out for the past couple of days. We had a pretty severe storm the other day. Although not as severe as in other parts of the country. I've just going to work and hanging out talking about gardening with the neighbors. I've even gotten lax on a couple of meals. Now I have to be in practice with being okay with that. I'm not going to be putting the same level of effort in cooking everyday. It will just have to be okay. Its not a bad thing.

There is so much I want to say, but now I am running into the time that I need to use get ready for work. So stay tuned for:

Just Eat Already
Just Cook Already
An Empty Fridge Is Actually A Good Thing
Adrenal Nation?
Enjoy The Mundane

Stress

2011-05-31T11:23:00.000-05:00

I'm about done with reading articles on stress.

Eliminate Stress! Read here to learn how.

Reduce the stress in your life.

Avoid Stress Now. Tips and Tricks to tell you how.

Then it usually tells you to do things that actually increase stress because you could have gotten something done in the amount of time taken to do the stress reducer. Like get massage. It may feel great but then I don't know about you but I don't feel like leaping tall buildings nor have the gumption of passing an endurance test after getting massage. I seem to take on a form of laziness where the things I want to get done are to read a good book. Finish off that bottle of wine and be done with that. Watch that movie that's been sitting around and get that returned.

I'm not talking about deserving. Y'all deserve a massage or a bubble bath. Y'all are worthy of your little indulgences. We are women and are pretty, and should continue to do pretty things. I'm talking about the suggestion that the solution is to add another thing to do, to all the other things to do. It seems to me every suggestion about stress is to avoid or to reduce it. I'm questioning. Aren't we looking for ways to cope with it? Aren't we looking for ways to be capable in handling a stressful situation? When I turn my attention to the message sender aren't I looking for a better way to deal with it all?

When your day is packed back to back don't you get upset and start feeling like crap because you still have more to do. Do you still feel like crap even though you are worthy and deserve, but its because the stress inducers are still there inducing their stress. So although you may feel better, things may actually be worse because everything got postponed until tomorrow, or now you have inflict all sorts of punishments to yourself to make up for the time spent on your indulgence like short yourself on sleep. But yet, we still deserve the treat! We don't want to stop doing the treat. So around it goes.

So I'm done reading articles on stress. Because I've could have taken care of the stressor in the time it takes to read the article.

So then what do you do? When your stomach is sour because your back to back schedule has got you all high strung? What do you do when a cancellation brings relief because now you can do B. and C. but still aren't getting to D. and E. ?

I also just love it when a definition of a non-stress day means that everything is clicking along with no events? I get what I just said. But what I'm talking about is when one thing goes wrong the whole day is ruined? So what no kudos on recovery?

My question is... Can you have a bunch of things happen that aren't quite right and still end up with a good day?

Now the answer to that would be the stress buster solution that I'm looking for.

So the trick is to figure out how to reduce stress without adding another thing to do to everything else you need to do.

weigh in 5/30/11 10:00 am

2011-05-30T11:20:00.001-05:00

Weight
201.2
Eating Scale
8
Activity Scale
3

See what I mean? I'm back up over 200. So? I'm still not 211. I believe when I hit 195 that is when I can really start celebrating and saying that I'm not 200 lbs anymore. I don't know if you noticed that I was careful to say that the scale read 198 and 199 lbs. I knew that there was a chance that the scale could read 200 and above again. So I celebrated the fact that it read less. Today I'm good and looking forward to reading a lower number again soon.

Its Memorial Weekend. I sat in front of the computer all morning. I sat in front of the TV all afternoon. As kids my Mom used to take us camping. This weekend she took us out for Pizza. I made a Root beer Float. I ate a whole bunch of bread. White bread too. In the evening neighbors that didn't leave for the weekend had fire pits and were grilling out just as if they had left town for a campground anyway. So we all grabbed our beers and house hopped around the neighborhood. I had corn on the cob. It was grilled with the husks on and I ate it with butter and salt. It wasn't my butter. I had no control over it.

Oh, Yeah... almost forgot. My Mother-in-law works at one of the local Country Clubs. She has her own famous caramel rolls for Sunday brunch. She has been bringing leftovers over here for quite a while now. So I had some of those too.

Am I deterred? Am I wallowing in self-pity? Am I going to go and sabotage all my hard work and all that I have accomplished? No. Right now I feel nothing. Its just another day. I continue on. I cooked breakfast and ate it and there are pork chops to be cooked for the next meal. I continue on and I will still continue to lose. I don't have to make a big deal about it when I go out to eat. In fact its not even and issue. I know I've eaten correctly at home and I don't have to go broadcasting and doing a public demonstration of my diet when I'm out amongst the people. I am not guilty. I am not naughty, naughty, naughty.

It takes time and practice to get used to everything being okay and not being judgemental like we've screwed everything up and its all over. So when starting any routine if you are quitting smoking or losing weight this is the first battle. And it may not have anything to do with eating or addiction. It has to do with this sense of right or wrong and then the guilt screwing up. Then waiting for what ever comes so you can pay the consequences of it all. No, No, No. That is not the way it works. I will revisit this topic often, before you do any exercises just wrap your head around the idea of What if I didn't feel guilty? What if I didn't get into trouble? What if the consequences never come? Don't get too carried away. We still have laws in this country. Right now. Don't do anything. Just ask what if?

Weigh In 5/29/11 9:00 am

2011-05-29T13:23:00.000-05:00

Weight
199.2
Eating scale
3
Activity scale
5

See I've went up and all seems well. I've decided to add an activity scale. Again this about how I'm feeling about my activity level more than what it actually is. I have been kind of active the past couple of days and I'm sure the activity will change. In the following weeks I could be replacing weeding the garden for a couple of more hours of work or maybe even a day at the lake for a few weeks in a row. Who knows? So if I'm sitting in front of the TV catching up on all my recordings or watching all my movies before mailing them back, or if I'm sitting in front of the computer writing up minutes, agendas and communications for the association or if blogging, I can't say I've been very active even though I'm getting things done. Those days will be listed as 1. If I'm up on my feet and running around all day those days will be 10. I did mention that I do have the P90X in the house. If I actually pull it out and use it, I will probably say so. Otherwise at the moment I'm just trying to summarize a typical active Woman's day. Because I really think that going from overemployed to underemployed and functioning off of ones adrenals really makes a difference in calorie burning, no matter how stressed out you are. But those are later posts.

I also have questions. Like, okay, today I registered some extra ounces. From when? Yesterday? The day before? One day last week? How long does it take to go from the lips to the hips?

Another question would be... Are the increments in weight throughout the day the same all the time?
Okay. If you don't weight the same throughout the day are the increases the same? So on any given day if I weigh myself at 9:00 and I'm 200 lbs. I weigh again at noon and I'm 202 lbs. That is an increment of 2 lbs. If I weigh myself again at 5:00 and I'm 203 lbs. That is an increment of 3 lbs from that morning. So then is that increment the same from day to day? Would I be able to get on the scale tomorrow at five with a reading of 195 and then subtract 3 for an am weight and then see if I gained and lost from that figure?

I suppose some professional will laugh at me and suggest to just stick with weighing myself weekly. What if I think this is fun? What if it is motivational? What is wrong with figuring out your body? They suggest it all the time with sex. Why not weight? Its just jumping on and off the scale and documenting it. What, do they think I'm going to find out the answer and it bad? Its discouraging then I won't lose weight? Are they suggesting I'm that weak? It also has nothing to do with being strong enough to pick myself up and dust myself off. It would be " that's interesting". I found something out! So anyway. Its not something I'm going to do right off the bat. There might have to be some controls enacted and some variables to take into account. Right now I am content and quite at ease that I'm still under 200.

Stay Tuned.... More to come.
Empty fridge is a good thing?
Adrenal Nation?
I'm not naughty, naughty, naughty. I'm an adult.
Enjoy the Mundane.

Seasonal

2011-05-29T12:07:00.000-05:00

What is your season? I don't mean your best color either. I also don't mean in cooking. Which season is the one where you function the best. The one you most look forward to? And give it some thought before you give an answer that you were trained to give. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all look forward to running around half naked and jumping into the water. We all like that. It the reason why we all try to lose weight. Here, I know. When I mention skiing, which one do you think of doing. Snow or Water? Water or Snow? Even if your answer doesn't surprise you, slow down and give it some thought.

I live for Spring and Summer. This is when I'm most content. I move freely. I get more things completed. I'm generally happier. Even under duress I am better off. I don't think I have Seasonal Affective Disorder. Nope. Not more than any other South Dakotan anyway. Although that is kind of hard to get around because in the Winter the sun is out from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. In the Summer the sun is out from 6:00 am to 10:30 pm. Everyone. Everyone notices when the early news comes on and the sun is still out. I don't know about you guys but, fireworks don't start until 11:00 pm around here. Then after that it starts getting dark earlier. During the winter I don't move. I stand there all bundled up arms at my side, feet together. I bounce up and down like a plank bobbing in the water. I know I should move, open my gait, swing my arms, get moving and generate heat. But that gets too breezy. Oomph. I just turn around and go back into the house. Bake something. That sounds good. Get that oven going.

The Husband though is different.
Can you imagine? I think he actually prefers Winter?? While bundling up to go shovel snow he makes motions as if he's getting ready to go sledding. He has his four wheeler with a blade and he goes around the neighborhood pushing snow for the neighbors. I'm the household designer but he's the one that does all the outside Christmas Decorations. While I'm inside. Why? Because he LIKES it! I know isn't that strange? Him and the neighbor guy will still have a fire pit in dead of winter. They stand in their coveralls with their beers and turn around every once in a while to warm their backs. Us women have said that we are going to join them with some wine and some smores (doesn't that sound good?) but, we never do.

To me winter is gray, dull, dreary. My husband makes it brisk, snappy, alive, and red! I do have an appreciation for winter. Its just not my season. Whats all this doing in a diet blog? Well, if you are going to lose weight, it gives something to think about. If you start during your season, and mine starts at about the end of February and lasts right before the 4th of July, the weight may come off a little more naturally and faster. It maybe a good motivator for you. If you know your season and its some time off in the future, you can kind of screw around with this and screw around with that, not really caring, but in the meantime you are learning and taking mental notes. If you can eat that one thing and maintain or still lose during your worst part of the year, and my worst months are September, October and January, that should be a good thing, right? (November and December are still pretty good for me) By knowing your season you can get into your groove and analyze things like, If I lose now, will I just gain later? If I lose now, I'll be expecting to maintain here and then start losing again here. If I lose now during the worst time of the year, I will really lose later during my best time of the year. Don't attach emotions to it. Don't insert fear into it. Just think.

So when I mention skiing. Are you thinking Snow? Are you thinking Water?

Message Senders

2011-05-28T11:31:00.000-05:00

Before you go thinking that I'm sitting here with aluminium over my head. I would like to take a moment to define the term Message Senders. I use it frequently to describe one and all of the ways we receive information.

Media is a huge part of it.
It could be Oprah, Oz, Anderson Cooper and Sanjay. It could even be Stewart and Colbert.
It could be an article from a magazine, newspaper or blog.
I could be an advertisement from the TV, Print, Internet or Billboard.

But, bring it in closer it could the part that has a more personal affect on you.
Your Doctor, Teacher and Local Personality

Bring it closer, make it touchable. Daily.
Your Co-workers
Your Friends
Your Parents
Your Kids
Your Spouse
Your cousins and Aunts and Uncles.

It doesn't even have to be words or images. It could be a look, a touch or even only a feeling.

Anyone from Anywhere that says you should, shouldn't, stop doing that and now do this.

I use it a lot when I don't have a specific link or we continually receive the information through multiple sources. I'm all for giving credit where credit is due, but if I need to get to the point. I need to get to the point.

And yes, I know that by putting my two bits in through this blog. I am joining the league of message senders that are out there. I already have just by being a Mother, Sister and a Daughter.

Weigh In Saturday 5-28-11, 10:00 am

2011-05-28T10:48:00.001-05:00

Weight
198.6
Eating Scale
about a 5

This is the first time I've been under 200 since before Christmas.

I am cheating that is for sure. This week its been Chocolate Chip Cookies from work. I'm also getting really board with my drinks. So I have been choosing raspberry tea. Not the fresh brewed kind either. Fountain drinks. The kind that comes out of a syrup box. Just like soda pop. I'll have to tell you that you get a different perspective standing back there looking behind the scenes at all your fountain drinks. The power drinks, fruit juices, tea are all treated the same. A huge box of syrup that feeds into a line that is eventually mixed with CO2 or Water on the way to the pop machine and then comes out the drink of your choice. I remember trying to assimilate new information the day we got a new system and we quit brewing iced tea like coffee and it came out like pop. I think I slightly rolled my tongue out like bleach.

I've been thinking of the weigh in. Although I've weighed myself I haven't opened up the blog to post. Also I wasn't weighing myself during the same time of day. I was just doing it out of curiosity. I didn't document it so its not accurate but it went something like this.

201 am
201 before noon
202 right before noon
201 am
203 afternoon
na
na
198.6 before noon

So I can probably celebrate being under 200 all I want but, it looks like maintaining to me. Then am I really under 200 if I am over 200 in the pm?

Yes, I am over thinking this. Thank you very much. I would rather be accused of thinking rather than not thinking at all.

But, I'm not taking this to heart. Its not throwing me off track. It just I'm not sure what to tell you, if I'm thinking that I'm not being honest about it. Especially when a message sender is all in their professionalism telling you to weigh yourself in the morning because that is when you will get your best results. Especially when all your healthy body images are in the evening with your sparkly and bling evening wear and luxurious come hither romancing are all done at the heaviest parts of your day? Really!?

So today is the first time the scale read under 200 lbs since Christmas. I'm loving it and I see progress.

The Basic 4 Food Groups

2011-05-26T11:14:00.002-05:00

A few months back I was watching Dr. Oz load up a plate as he was demonstrating what it should look like no matter what we eat. As he was loading up half his plate with green veggies and reserving a sliver for chocolate, I couldn't help but to think that if you turn that circle into a square you've got the basic 4 right there. "You know? Weren't people skinnier back when we were learning about the Basic 4?"

Then, since I posted a remark about Alton Brown I wiki'd him to make sure that he was really a red head and not one of those abstract blonds that have red headed traits. I figured if Anything was said Anywhere it would be on wikipedia. It wasn't. What I did find was that Alton lost his weight by going against present wisdom and creating something of his own eating plan out of the basic 4. Great! So I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

The Girl (my daughter) signed up to receive a newsletter that is an extension of the The South Beach Diet. "Diet and Nutrition from Everyday Health." This newsletter goes into our inbox, so I read them when something catches my eye. In an article that I received a couple of weeks ago Arthur Agatston M.D. was championing the fact that now the USDA or the FDA was on board with moving away from a low fat diet, because they changed the pyramid again to reflect a more protein and vegetable based diet.

I didn't even notice or care since I've already noticed that it has changed to many times in the past couple of years. I really noticed when it visually went from a pyramid of building blocks to something that looks like its trying to recapture Pink Floyd. That caught my attention. Then I started noticing that the width started shifting from color to color inside the prism. Now for me it has lost its cred. Why follow it? It is just going to change again.

Now when I started scouring the web to prepare to write this post... I found this.

Before the basic 4.... There was the "Basic 7".

Food guides have been around since the late 1800's with a food chemist named Dr. Wilbur Olin Atwater. The diet debate started when he put out the first government backed dietary guideline which focused on limiting fats and sugars. As science in food and body chemistry have advanced its been changing back and forth ever since. (I googled, basic four food group history)

I still think it all comes down to avoiding processed foods and the need to cook from scratch. But that isn't going to happen until we get a handle on our day.

If they really want us to start eating right. They need to stop telling us what to do and to start showing us how to go about it and get it done. When we stop buying it and go back to making it ourselves that is when the companies are going shift away from processing and preservative abuse.

Our generation has been handed down a whole lot of must do's and need to get done. It is way too much for one blog post. In short, I'd like to take a look at the old saying, "A Woman's Work Is Never Done". If it were possible to get a handle on this, I would like to see if a side effect would be weight loss. Even though I've never been this big before I've always been one that could lose 5, 10 15, 20 lbs. I've always had this nagging thought that, if I was doing it right I wouldn't have the weight to lose. I'd be just about right. Of course I'd have to allow some amount of fluctuation throughout the year, but I wouldn't have to worry about it.

While I don't think its real healthy to chase something perpetually elusive. I do think it would be a good practice to take a couple of months and give it a good shot. It worked for quitting smoking. Then again that was kind of a do once and be done type of deal.

It was rather long.

But compared to this project. Quitting smoking is a do once and get it over with type of deal. Eventually. So keep watching the diet guru's, this isn't that type of blog. I will venture into that stuff from time to time, but it will just be parroting the others. The nuts and bolts of this blog will be how to incorporate that stuff amongst all the other things that need to be done.

Stay tuned... More to Come.
Automate your cooking not your diet.
Just Eat Already
An Empty Fridge is Actually a Good Thing.
Being Late Every Where You Go.

Weigh Myself'

2011-05-20T11:36:00.000-05:00

I'm mulling over the idea if I should weigh myself daily or not. I know they say you aren't supposed to, but that is not what I'm talking about. I'm not so easily deterred by gaining a pound or two in the middle of losing and I don't think other people are so easily discouraged either. Like, I'm not allowed to get on the scale and pout for 2 seconds and get off to go about my day and figure out what I'm supposed to prepare for the next meal? That I'm automatically going to sabotage myself? I'm a bit stronger than that. I believe you are too.

Now that we have all learned that our bodies fluctuate in weight by the time of day, or the fact that it just decided to hold on to a bit more water that day, or if we weighed ourselves with our long hair all wet without even giving it a thought that it would make a difference. I don't think we're that weak. I think we can handle it. Yes, it sucks when you see it. So. It sucks and you move on.

Disappointment and discouragement comes in all shapes and forms. Its more work to be actively involved in avoiding, than it is to just let it feel what it is and then move on.

If anything, reading those two pounds should be encouragement to stick with it, and better make it a day to not cheat, rather than give up on the whole thing. Watching two pounds appear one day and disappear two days later is a whole lot better than watching 5 pounds appear a week later and to only lose 2 of them the following week. It makes the diet seem rather... elusive.

Accountability is a whole other blog post. In short I don't need you to apply negative pressure to get me to lose weight. I'm not blogging in an act to lose weight by avoiding your negative pressure. I'm not worried about losing face on the Internet because what I was doing wasn't working. Not to mention that its not my face. A. Dakota is screen name. Who really cares? You don't really know diddly squat anyway. Its the Internets! I could be Kelly Johanson and I could be a 135 pound guy who wants to be a 200 pound woman for all you know. So in the end, who really cares. I'm not worried about being accountable.

Here is my dilemma Since I'm not really caring about blasting my weight all over the Internets, I think it would be cool to post my weight everyday and document the fluctuations of gaining and losing. The problem is I'm not in the practice of weighing myself every single day. When thinking about my real day, every day. I'm just not sure if its going to get done.

So I think I'm going to do it and then if it doesn't get done that day, it just doesn't get done that day. After all I'm not naughty, naughty, naughty. I'm an Adult. I make decisions. If it doesn't get done, it doesn't get done. Do I really need to enact a whole lot of guilt and self-loathing punishment because I said I was going to do something and I just didn't get to it? No.

But then still, it would give me something to post, when I have nothing to post. So I think I will post my weight then along with it I'm going to post a number on a scale of 1-10. The number 1 would be if I'm staying true to what the diet is supposed to be and number 10 would be if I'm thinking that I'm cheating to the extreme. You and I will be on different diets so this number can't be anything about the diet or the food. Besides there are different forms of cheating. It could be the food or it could be about portions so on and so forth. It will just have to be if I knowingly cheated. The number will be more about attitude. How many times did I say f*&k it and just went ahead and ate something. If I'm tired of dieting and just want to eat. If my day was crammed and I forgot to leave time to cook. So the number scale is about my thoughts and my attitude on if I'm sticking to the parameters of the diet.

So today's weight is 201.0
Yesterdays number on a scale from 1-10 is 8.

I did not eat at home at all yesterday. I had a meeting in the morning where they served breakfast. I went right to work and ate my next two meals there. So that means that I had fast food for 2 meals along with pie and ice cream. So no. I was not good.

Thankfully today is another day.

Future posts.
The food pyramid vs the 4 food groups.
Getting used to the idea that an empty fridge is a good thing.

The Diet

2011-05-18T11:29:00.000-05:00

As is always the case, time is getting short and I wanted to sit down for a quick word on why I chose the South Beach Diet as the diet of my choice. Its pretty much because I think its titled wrong and should be called South Beach Cooking.

I just only newly discovered the diet for myself. Well, okay. My daughter discovered it for me. She is the one who bought the book and started buying and cooking the food.

Oops did you see that? That right there is why I avoided it. I thought it was the same program as every other diet out there in a different package. You buy their diet food and follow their rules. Which is not the case. I can't tell you how many times I have rolled my eyes and shrugged it off every time I heard the title. Whatever.

About two months ago my daughter and I were watching a segment about it and we looked at each other and started talking about how we didn't realize that it was about real food that leads towards the natural tendencies of cooking. So a few weeks later she brought the book home and I read it. The reading part talks about what food triggers a diabetic response. The cooking part is what I am most interested in. Its pretty much a vegetable based diet that puts the treats back in the treat category and gets you back into cooking and preparing meals that should be cooked in the home. (home cooked meals)

That is not to say I endorse this diet. There are holes in it and I intend to punch some through in this blog. For one it is expensive. For another, I'm not a fish eater. I will kind of force it down without complaint and enjoy the rest of what is on my plate when the fish is served, but I don't go out of my way into making it a special meal. That is a Father/Daughter activity. Although I'm not a fish eater there are no foreign foods on that diet. In fact they pull out some oldies but goodies. Do you remember, or did your Mom ever pull out the bologna, slather some mayo on it, roll it up, stick a tooth pick in it and called it an appetizer? Yeah. Wrap that in some lettuce and that is your snack.

So don't think of it as I can't eat this or low carb. Think of it as something else to eat. Besides the diet part is only two weeks. Then you start phasing some of it back in, so its not like you are on a diet. There really isn't much difference between Phase 2 and phase 3.

The food is real, the concept seems sound, and I have proof that it does provide results. I did lose 10 pounds last month. My son ordered cheese cake for his birthday. I made it. I had a piece every night for about 4 days in a row. I had soft serve ice cream probably about six or seven times during that month. I had Easter Candy. My Mom bought me a whole bag of Russell Stover individual wrapped chocolates. Caramel and Pecans.

The program is in 3 phases. The deprivation part is really only 2 weeks. No bread, no fruit, no refined sugar. With as much as I cheated, there is really no difference between phase 2 and 3. I think the diet says a lot more about processed food and additives than it does about the glycemic index.

But all in all, no diet will work unless you take the time to prepare let a lone the time to eat. So no matter what diet you are on. That is going to be the focus of the this blog.

More to come...
Food pyramid vs the basic 4
Automate your diet vs. automate your cooking.
Just eat already.

I'm Back

2011-05-17T10:21:00.000-05:00

I'm Back. New blog. Same name.
The name just seems to suit me so I kept it. The last blog seemed to be kind of scattered and I deleted it. I found that I missed it and decided to try again. I think in demo's anyway and I find that blogging is kind of suited towards that way of thinking.

During that time I quit smoking and wrote a book about it. Its not on the blog because I haven't finished it yet. Even then I'm not sure if it will be on here because it will be a lot of repeat stuff. Like the book, the weight loss will be how I get from here to there.

Here. Right here, is 201 pounds. When I started on April 4th, 2011 I was 211 pounds.
I am not a 211 pound person. Woman. Person. Woman.

I don't think you are either when you hit or surpassed 211 pounds. If you did.
Well unless maybe you are a guy.
Even then. I think they are supposed to be 190 or so....

There. Over there is 140. 145! 150. 140. ya, ya, ya. 140.
I'll let you know when I get there. Its about how I feel and not a number.
As of April 3, 2011 I'm 41 years old.

The diet and exercise program aren't mine.
The diet is The South Beach Diet
The exercise program is P90X (My daughter bought it. Its the program that's in the house.)
I Love Alton Brown. Gotta love those science minded red heads.
I watch Dr. Oz (not every episode)
My neighbor reads Prevention and we talk about it.
Who knows maybe I'll be the new show on Oprah. (roll eyes and snort) HA! But, gotta keep all possibilities open.

Yes, A. Dakota is a pseudonym. I might be outed when the quitting smoking book is published, but until then its nice to just blog while being someone who is a bit freer than April is. With that said this is still an image that I care about. Because I post under a fake name doesn't mean that I have a licence to go on a rampage and attack others and leave a wake of discouragement. A. Dakota is still April who wants to present herself well, be inviting, put the best foot forward and let a rant fly when needed. All I'm trying to do is practice Internet safety.

So all in all, in getting from here to there is going to be more about lifestyle, generational differences and capability. I am woman hear me roar, because we've come a long way, baby.