Although my weigh-ins are on Mondays, and the beginning of a week is really Sunday, MY week actually really begins on Friday, because that's when I get paid, so each Friday is when I go for my weekly grocery and produce haul. For Produce we tend to go to a local place called Produce Junction because the prices there are less than half what you'd find in a regular grocery store, even on the discount table. And the food is great, we never have any real quality issues, plus they sell in bulk, which is great when about 70% of your diet is fresh fruits and veggies. The rest of our shopping is split almost entirely between the Giant near my job, and the ShopRite near where we live. We decided to stick with Skippy Natural for our PB, despite it having Palm Oil in it. It's one of the concessions I'm making being that none of us are rich and the eating plan is barely sustainable on my part-time minimum wage salary as it is. But anyway, I digress.
Every week I'm making a point of getting at least one new fruit or vegetable that we haven't tried. Last week was the green Sierra Figs, and the week before was Turnips. This week I got fresh Beets. I've had them out of a can a million times, they're one of my favorite salad toppings along with chickpeas, but I've never eaten them fresh. I'm sorry I didn't try it sooner! Hands down one of the best veggies I have ever tasted in my life. It's finds like this that assure me I can never get bored with this way of eating. There are so many different things to try, and so many different ways to flavor and prepare everything! I also found fresh off the vine Sugar Baby Melons, I can't wait to try the one we picked out. Next week I'm hoping to try a Canary Melon, as well as revisit an old favorite, Spaghetti Squash.
The grocery store find for the week was dried Lentils. I've had them in prepared foods and out at restaurants, but I've never prepared them myself. I'm planning to use them in a soup on Tuesday involving Lentils, Beans, Potatoes, Turnips, Carrots, Cabbage, and Ground Turkey. The other find was Herbal Tea with Honeybush, Orange, and Mandarin. I'm trying to try new teas every week as well to liven up my drink selections.
What I'm avoiding, even in the least processed and most natural forms, is things like pasta and bread. While I'm not going gluten free like my companion is, I still avoid these foods for a very simple reason. They just aren't they nutritious. I'd much rather have a potato of some sort, or other starchy vegetable, or a fruit, as opposed to what amounts to mostly empty-calorie filler-food. I was pretty hungry for most of a week eating the way I am, and found myself needing to nibble at something every 2 hours, 3 at most. But now that I'm more used to it I'm fine with going longer stretches. I don't need the bread to make my tuna or chicken salad filling, just the salad and some fruits and veggies are fine. So, I avoid it. It's a personal choice and not entirely necessary, but I know that personally it is helping me cut down calories drastically. Keep in mind though I am not cutting them out entirely. I've had pancakes for breakfast twice now, and tomorrow I plan to have Hot Cereal for breakfast with some berries and cottage cheese. But I don't eat my eggs on wraps anymore, I don't eat sandwiches, I don't have toast with breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and pasta for dinner with a nice chunk of Italian Bread on the side, and a cupcake for dessert. I don't even eat some form of bread or pasta everyday. Just a couple times of week. The key is really moderation. I'm just trying to keep at least 70% of my diet fresh fruits and veggies, and at least another 20% protein, roughly. And not always on a daily basis, but at least overall.
Coming Up: My Ground Turkey Veggie Soup and my Turkey-Veggie-Quinoa Balls, as well as coping with Monday's impending Bus Trip to Atlantic City!
Friday, July 25, 2014
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Healthy Dessert Figs (Recipe)
This is by far my favorite way to eat Figs. It's somewhat similar to my Peaches and Cream Recipe, being it involves fruit and dairy and is simple and quick. Seriously, you HAVE to try this!
Cut your fig in half. Put about 1Tbsp of Farmer's Cheese on each half, and either drizzle with honey or sprinkle with some Maple Sugar. Enjoy! This is seriously one of my all-time favorite desserts. It is AWESOME!
- 1 Fig (Sierra's are my favorite, they are the larger bright green ones, but Black Missions are good too. I haven't tried any other varieties yet)
- 2 Tbsp of Farmer's Cheese (Friendship is the only brand I've ever seen this in. It has a consistency like Ricotta Cheese with a nice mild flavor and is low in calories and fat. Just don't get it Salt-Free!)
- Honey or Maple Sugar
Cut your fig in half. Put about 1Tbsp of Farmer's Cheese on each half, and either drizzle with honey or sprinkle with some Maple Sugar. Enjoy! This is seriously one of my all-time favorite desserts. It is AWESOME!
Navratan Korma (Recipe)
Here is a delicious Indian dish that you absolutely have to try. The name means 'Nine Gems' and it refers to the nine vegetables that are typically used in this dish, but feel free to mix and match and add as many as you want. Here is the recipe we used that came out spectacular:
5 Carrots, coined
1/2 Turnip, diced
1/2 Onion, Diced
1 Can Mixed Veggies
1 Can Cut Green Beans
1/2 Head Cauliflower, small chunks
1 Can Chickpeas
1/4 Medium Sized Eggplant, peeled and diced
Couple Cloves Fresh Garlic, Diced
1 Can Unsweetened Coconut Milk
1 1/2 Cups Milk
3 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
1 Beef Bouillon Cubes
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Curry Powder
Garam Masala Powder
1 tsp Sugar (Brown or Maple is best)
Couple Pats of Butter
Splash of Light Cream
(Possibly if it needs to thicken)
Corn Starch
Milk
You want to pre-cook, at least partially, the Carrots, Turnip, Onion, Cauliflower, Eggplant, and Garlic. I did this by steaming it in the microwave for about 12 minutes, but you could also boil or saute it, or even roast it.
Next you want to mix your Can of Coconut milk, 1 1/2 Cups Milk, Beef and Chicken Bouillon Cubes, butter pats (I used about 4), spices, sugar and splash of cream in a pot big enough to hold all the veggies you'll be using. If you sauteed the fresh veggies you could start with a pot big enough and just add the other ingredients to it. I like heavy spices so I never include spice amounts in recipes. Just start light and keep going until you get the flavor strength you want. Once the milk and spice mixture heats up a bit add the Can of Mixed Veggies, Can of Green Beans and Can of Chickpeas followed by your precooked fresh veggies if you didn't saute them. Let the mixture come to a boil, stirring just enough to keep from sticking. We found ours needed to thicken, so we added about three teaspoons of Corn Starch mixed with just over an ounce of milk. Add this after mixture is boiling, stir in well and see how it goes. To make the thickener, mix the Corn Starch into a little milk, about 1/3 to 1/2 an ounce of milk, until it fully dissolves, than pour into your Korma and stir.
And now you should be ready to enjoy delicious Navratan Korma!
5 Carrots, coined
1/2 Turnip, diced
1/2 Onion, Diced
1 Can Mixed Veggies
1 Can Cut Green Beans
1/2 Head Cauliflower, small chunks
1 Can Chickpeas
1/4 Medium Sized Eggplant, peeled and diced
Couple Cloves Fresh Garlic, Diced
1 Can Unsweetened Coconut Milk
1 1/2 Cups Milk
3 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
1 Beef Bouillon Cubes
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Curry Powder
Garam Masala Powder
1 tsp Sugar (Brown or Maple is best)
Couple Pats of Butter
Splash of Light Cream
(Possibly if it needs to thicken)
Corn Starch
Milk
You want to pre-cook, at least partially, the Carrots, Turnip, Onion, Cauliflower, Eggplant, and Garlic. I did this by steaming it in the microwave for about 12 minutes, but you could also boil or saute it, or even roast it.
Next you want to mix your Can of Coconut milk, 1 1/2 Cups Milk, Beef and Chicken Bouillon Cubes, butter pats (I used about 4), spices, sugar and splash of cream in a pot big enough to hold all the veggies you'll be using. If you sauteed the fresh veggies you could start with a pot big enough and just add the other ingredients to it. I like heavy spices so I never include spice amounts in recipes. Just start light and keep going until you get the flavor strength you want. Once the milk and spice mixture heats up a bit add the Can of Mixed Veggies, Can of Green Beans and Can of Chickpeas followed by your precooked fresh veggies if you didn't saute them. Let the mixture come to a boil, stirring just enough to keep from sticking. We found ours needed to thicken, so we added about three teaspoons of Corn Starch mixed with just over an ounce of milk. Add this after mixture is boiling, stir in well and see how it goes. To make the thickener, mix the Corn Starch into a little milk, about 1/3 to 1/2 an ounce of milk, until it fully dissolves, than pour into your Korma and stir.
And now you should be ready to enjoy delicious Navratan Korma!
Reporting Success!
Hey everyone, sorry this update was so long in coming, please do forgive me :) I return reporting success. My weigh-in on Monday had me down just over 7lbs, to exactly 216 now! A pound per day isn't bad considering I've had essentially no increase in my exercise whatsoever so far. Still going strong with cravings in check, although I did break down and eat a Apple Turnover at a family dinner on Monday. That being my only breakdown in over two weeks isn't TOO terrible though, and this whole way of eating is definitely a work in progress. I'd love to eventually go totally organic and chemical free, but I think I'll need to at the very least quadruple my income before that happens.
In other news, the Maple arrived on Monday! We chose to go with Mount Mansfield Maple, and we placed our order just after midnight on Friday. I couldn't believe it when my package arrived late Monday afternoon. We started with a 11.3ox jar of Maple Sugar, a 6 oz jar of Maple Cream, and a half lb of the small Maple Candies. This stuff is totally to die for! As far as quality it is all excellent, and it's been so useful! I'm finding that a half teaspoon of the Maple Sugar has been more than enough for anything I've used it for as an individual serving, which comes in at only 1.5 carbs. Usually, just a pinch does it for me, honestly. It's amazing how much and how quickly my taste buds seem to have rewired themselves. I'm not craving sweet foods at all. Even the fruit seems too sweet for me now and I can only take a couple bites before I'm satisfied.
Another thing I find amazing is how little caffeine gives me a giant boost after being on this diet for two weeks. I was accustomed to drinking an energy drink before every shift at work before, and if I didn't I felt totally sluggish. My legs, ankles and feet hurt after just a couple hours on them, so I usually took ibuprofen before most shifts at work, especially if I had to work a full 8 hours. I noticed an improvement in my pains within a week, and today I had just a cup of Harney and Sons Holiday Tea before work, no other caffeine, and I couldn't believe the boost it gave me! I felt better than I ever did drinking any of the energy drinks.
So, to sum up the journey so far, I am having significantly less pain and feel significantly better overall, I seem to be losing an average of a pound a day as of now, my cravings are so far non-existant. So far so good!
In other news, the Maple arrived on Monday! We chose to go with Mount Mansfield Maple, and we placed our order just after midnight on Friday. I couldn't believe it when my package arrived late Monday afternoon. We started with a 11.3ox jar of Maple Sugar, a 6 oz jar of Maple Cream, and a half lb of the small Maple Candies. This stuff is totally to die for! As far as quality it is all excellent, and it's been so useful! I'm finding that a half teaspoon of the Maple Sugar has been more than enough for anything I've used it for as an individual serving, which comes in at only 1.5 carbs. Usually, just a pinch does it for me, honestly. It's amazing how much and how quickly my taste buds seem to have rewired themselves. I'm not craving sweet foods at all. Even the fruit seems too sweet for me now and I can only take a couple bites before I'm satisfied.
Another thing I find amazing is how little caffeine gives me a giant boost after being on this diet for two weeks. I was accustomed to drinking an energy drink before every shift at work before, and if I didn't I felt totally sluggish. My legs, ankles and feet hurt after just a couple hours on them, so I usually took ibuprofen before most shifts at work, especially if I had to work a full 8 hours. I noticed an improvement in my pains within a week, and today I had just a cup of Harney and Sons Holiday Tea before work, no other caffeine, and I couldn't believe the boost it gave me! I felt better than I ever did drinking any of the energy drinks.
So, to sum up the journey so far, I am having significantly less pain and feel significantly better overall, I seem to be losing an average of a pound a day as of now, my cravings are so far non-existant. So far so good!
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Of Turnip Bakes and Shopping Lists
So, exercise didn't go as planned thanks to Mother Nature causing
some local flooding and insane Thunderstorms. Hopefully next week will
go better for that. I"ve also decided that when we can't get out of the
house to exercise we can walk laps around the house for set periods of
time, starting with 20 minute intervals. Also, I have Kinect, so there
is that too. Better luck and dedication in the future, hopefully.
Eating is still going strong. My veggie supplies are starting to dwindle, but thankfully tomorrow is Friday and time for a Produce Junction and Grocery Store run. I am craving Red Peppers like crazy, and I ran out of the last of my Green, Yellow, and Orange ones last night. Cauliflower and Carrots in the mean time. My favorite breakfast right now is eggs scrambled with spinach, tomatoes, and diced onions, with just a little cheese sprinkled over the top. I've lost my taste for our wraps, because unfortunately we didn't read the label to see how processed they were when we got them in our early excitement of dieting, but that's alright it makes them healthier anyway if I cut out the excessive carbohydrates. I have nothing against gluten and flour (unless it is bleached and processed) but I do prefer to get my carbs from potatoes, corn, beans, and other veggies. I also find I'm able to tell if food is processed just from tsting it, or at least some foods. The wraps as mentioned, also our cottage cheese that I didn't think to look at, but has artificial flavoring and other chemicals in. So, yay for that improvement I guess :)
We made the Turnip Bake last night. It was, okay. I think I'll stick to recommendations that suggest mixing turnips with other vegetables like potatoes, cauliflower, and carrots in the future. By themselves they do have a rather off-putting bitter taste, especially when I don't want to add a lot of sugar to them to counteract that. But, it wasn't terrible. I can't say I dislike turnips, but they certainly aren't my favorite vegetable. Next time I'll be putting them in a mash with potato, celery, carrot, onion, and cauliflower. Maybe that recipe will be good enough to post up here :)
This coming week I plan to make Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf Cups, which is basically miniature Turkey Meatloafs with chunks of veggies inside them, maybe some Vegetable Chili, and I am really excited for the Curried Vegetables Simmered in Coconut Milk I have planned :)
Here is what my Grocery List for tomorrow looks like:
Produce Junction:
Kale
Carrots
Tomatoes
Butternut Squash
Cauliflower
Red Peppers
Onions
Coconut
Avocado
Strawberries
Blueberries
Cilantro
Basil
Garlic
Grocery Store:
Bananas
Mixed Nuts
Canned Green Beans (I still can't stomach these fresh or frozen)
Canned Beets
Canned Beans
Canned Sliced Olives
Ground Turkey/Chicken
H2O
And of course I will be ordering my Maple supplies as soon as my check is posted to my account tonight :)
Eating is still going strong. My veggie supplies are starting to dwindle, but thankfully tomorrow is Friday and time for a Produce Junction and Grocery Store run. I am craving Red Peppers like crazy, and I ran out of the last of my Green, Yellow, and Orange ones last night. Cauliflower and Carrots in the mean time. My favorite breakfast right now is eggs scrambled with spinach, tomatoes, and diced onions, with just a little cheese sprinkled over the top. I've lost my taste for our wraps, because unfortunately we didn't read the label to see how processed they were when we got them in our early excitement of dieting, but that's alright it makes them healthier anyway if I cut out the excessive carbohydrates. I have nothing against gluten and flour (unless it is bleached and processed) but I do prefer to get my carbs from potatoes, corn, beans, and other veggies. I also find I'm able to tell if food is processed just from tsting it, or at least some foods. The wraps as mentioned, also our cottage cheese that I didn't think to look at, but has artificial flavoring and other chemicals in. So, yay for that improvement I guess :)
We made the Turnip Bake last night. It was, okay. I think I'll stick to recommendations that suggest mixing turnips with other vegetables like potatoes, cauliflower, and carrots in the future. By themselves they do have a rather off-putting bitter taste, especially when I don't want to add a lot of sugar to them to counteract that. But, it wasn't terrible. I can't say I dislike turnips, but they certainly aren't my favorite vegetable. Next time I'll be putting them in a mash with potato, celery, carrot, onion, and cauliflower. Maybe that recipe will be good enough to post up here :)
This coming week I plan to make Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf Cups, which is basically miniature Turkey Meatloafs with chunks of veggies inside them, maybe some Vegetable Chili, and I am really excited for the Curried Vegetables Simmered in Coconut Milk I have planned :)
Here is what my Grocery List for tomorrow looks like:
Produce Junction:
Kale
Carrots
Tomatoes
Butternut Squash
Cauliflower
Red Peppers
Onions
Coconut
Avocado
Strawberries
Blueberries
Cilantro
Basil
Garlic
Grocery Store:
Bananas
Mixed Nuts
Canned Green Beans (I still can't stomach these fresh or frozen)
Canned Beets
Canned Beans
Canned Sliced Olives
Ground Turkey/Chicken
H2O
And of course I will be ordering my Maple supplies as soon as my check is posted to my account tonight :)
Monday, July 14, 2014
Healthy Peaches and Cream (Recipe)
This is a great easy and quick little dessert recipe that is about as healthy as possible. I actually just tried it tonight and it was wonderful.
Fresh Peaches, cut in half and pit removed
1/4 Cup Greek Yogurt (blend with sour cream if you want, I did, and use Non Fat yogurt if weight is a concern)
1/4 tsp Maple Syrup (100% REAL Maple Syrup, or Honey, as is your preference)
Cinnamon (Cloves, nutmeg, ginger, etc. are all great additions too)
Just mix the Yogurt, syrup, and spices together, than fill the hollowed center of the peach with the mixture and enjoy! Simple, quick, delicious, and healthy :)
Fresh Peaches, cut in half and pit removed
1/4 Cup Greek Yogurt (blend with sour cream if you want, I did, and use Non Fat yogurt if weight is a concern)
1/4 tsp Maple Syrup (100% REAL Maple Syrup, or Honey, as is your preference)
Cinnamon (Cloves, nutmeg, ginger, etc. are all great additions too)
Just mix the Yogurt, syrup, and spices together, than fill the hollowed center of the peach with the mixture and enjoy! Simple, quick, delicious, and healthy :)
Healthier Veggie Dip (Recipe)
I LOVE raw veggies dipped in Ranch, dressing or dip. However, after taking a look at what is in your average bottle of Ranch, it went straight into the garbage, and I whipped up my own little thing instead. Now this is totally customizable to your own tastes and what seasonings you prefer, but here are the main seasonings I used. Is it Ranch? No. Does it taste good and serve its purpose? Absolutely. Is it healthier? By far. As an added benefit, using Greek Yogurt instead of Light or Fat Free Sour Cream gives you more protein, so it actually helps keep you fuller longer :)And if you can cut out the Sour Cream altogether, go for it, especially if you are concerned about weight loss. I personally like the extra creaminess and tang it gives. Also, I tend to over-season compared to the tastes of others, so while I am listing what seasonings I used I'm not saying how much. Everyone's tastes are different anyway :)
3/4 Cup Fat-Free Greek Yogurt
1/4 Cup Sour Cream
Dill
Basil
Parsley
Thyme
Rosemary
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Minced Dried Onions
Yellow Curry Powder
Paprika
Pepper
Salt
Lemon Pepper
4-6 Drops Malt Vinegar (This adds some tang and thins the dip a bit to make it go farther)
I've been loving this stuff on Baby Carrots, Yellow, Green and Orange Bell Peppers, and Cauliflower so far :)
3/4 Cup Fat-Free Greek Yogurt
1/4 Cup Sour Cream
Dill
Basil
Parsley
Thyme
Rosemary
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Minced Dried Onions
Yellow Curry Powder
Paprika
Pepper
Salt
Lemon Pepper
4-6 Drops Malt Vinegar (This adds some tang and thins the dip a bit to make it go farther)
I've been loving this stuff on Baby Carrots, Yellow, Green and Orange Bell Peppers, and Cauliflower so far :)
It Starts... :D
Hey everybody! So, basically, I am going to attempt to record my efforts to eat healthier and live a healthier lifestyle. Hopefully this will inspire me to stay focused and on track, and hopefully it will inspire other people who come across this to get healthier too. I like to live by the rule that if I help just one person my life was not lived in vain. So please join me on my journey, and let's see where it takes us :)
Some things you should know about me: My name is Jessica. I'm 25 years old, I am 5'7" and weigh roughly 223lbs. According to my admittedly crappy home scale, anyway. I have been a Type 1 Diabetic since I was 10. My lifestyle is currently pretty sedentary. I work on my feet as a Barista (aka Coffee Slinger) but besides that I don't exercise really. I tend to spend my free time writing, reading, playing video games, etc. I have been overweight my entire life, for as far back as I can remember. From what I have been told, I really started packing on the pounds when I was about 3 or 4. By the time I was in Second Grade, so 7 years old, I was pushing 100 lbs. I'm pretty sure I exceeded that before I turned 8 and went into the Third Grade. When I found out I was a Diabetic about 3 months before my 11th birthday, I was in the 220's I believe. As a teenager I thinned out a little bit, proportionally at least, but I remained over-weight. Throughout High School my average jean size was about a 16. Over the last 7 years since graduating my weight has fluctuated back and forth a great deal between a relatively slim (for me, anyway) 170's up to the 230's. The smallest jean size I can remember fitting in was a size 12, and that was about a year and a half ago. Right now I am size 18, pushing 20. I am doing this blog, and I am making this life change, because I want to live to see my golden years, and right now I won't. My last A1C was over 13. If I don't make these changes, I am going to die young.
Some things you should know about my goals: My goal is NOT to lose weight. I sincerely hope that is a side effect of my actions, but it is not my main goal. My main goal is to get healthy. To eat foods that are good for me, nutritious. Not empty calories, not full of chemicals, not processed or full of preservatives. I'm not counting calories, I'm not cutting fats. This is absolutely not a weight loss blog. My weight I have come to terms with, and if it were not adversely affecting my health I can't honestly say I would care about it at all. In a nutshell my goals are to eat healthier, and to live a healthier and more active lifestyle.
My Plans: Like I said, my plans include cutting out overly processed, preserved, chemical-filled foods. So, fresh fruits and veggies, fresh meat, fish, poultry, etc are in. Anything that comes in a box, has a bunch of things I can't pronounce listed in the ingredients, or contains tons of added sugar is out. I plan to get stricter with my diet as I go along, hopefully cutting out any products with added sugar. Also, absolutely no artificial sweeteners. I want to retrain my taste buds to appreciate what food actually tastes like when it isn't drowning in sugar and flavoring. I also plan to exercise more often, even if it's just walking around the mall for a couple hours. As far as I am concerned any improvement over how I am right now is worthwhile. So if I go walk at the mall for two hours tomorrow instead of sleeping till noon, than that's great. Little steps keep adding up over time :)
So far: I started cutting things out on Tuesday July 8th, 2014. This first step was to stop drinking artificially sweetened diet soda and juices. I switched to all water. And that was really the only major change I made for two days. On Thursday we went and got a big haul of fresh vegetables and fruits. On Friday I tried my first cup of tea with no milk or any type of sweetener. On Sunday I had Iced Coffee with only milk. On Friday we made Chicken Salad with Avocado instead of mayo, and on Saturday we made Tuna Salad the same way. Sunday I tried Acorn Squash for the first time. Today we visited a local farm for some fresh dairy, and made homemade Turkey Burgers over a bed of veggies with homemade Kale Chips and Couscous for dinner. So far, so good. The cravings are in check. The 'Water Detox' I did for two days seemed to help a lot, although I have a feeling that a lot of people would need something more like a week for it to be really effective. It helped get me out of the habit of having something heavily flavored and sweetened constantly. And honestly, it is AMAZING how much better tea and coffee is without being sweetened. There are subtle flavors and nuances that are completely lost when you dump the sugar or artificial sweetener in. I can't believe I ever preferred them with the sugar now, honestly, and I can't imagine going back to sweetened drinks even if I loss my motivation for this lifestyle change. Coffee was the biggest surprise. I've always drank it just for the caffeine while hating the taste and doing my best to cover it up. But drinking it unsweetened (admittedly still with plenty of milk though) it has this wonderful roasted, nutty undertone that sugar just annihilates.
What's Next: Tomorrow we're planning a trip to walk around the mall since I am off work, instead of sitting around the house all day and sleeping in way too late. For dinner tomorrow I am making a Turnip Bake, which will be my first experience with cooking and eating turnips :) And on Friday I will be ordering my Maple Sugar supplies for natural, healthier sweetening power when needed.
What to Expect: Recipes! If we create something tasty, it will be posted up here asap! You can also expect to hear more about my personal health journey, how my blood sugars are doing, blood work results, etc. so that you will be able to see the effect this way of eating is having on me and my health. You can also expect to hear more about my philosophy concerning this lifestyle change, and why I am choosing the foods that I am.
One Last Thing: I am by no means an expert. This is my journey, and I will be learning throughout the course of it. So if you have health concerns, please make sure you are talking to and seeing a licensed professional :)
Some things you should know about me: My name is Jessica. I'm 25 years old, I am 5'7" and weigh roughly 223lbs. According to my admittedly crappy home scale, anyway. I have been a Type 1 Diabetic since I was 10. My lifestyle is currently pretty sedentary. I work on my feet as a Barista (aka Coffee Slinger) but besides that I don't exercise really. I tend to spend my free time writing, reading, playing video games, etc. I have been overweight my entire life, for as far back as I can remember. From what I have been told, I really started packing on the pounds when I was about 3 or 4. By the time I was in Second Grade, so 7 years old, I was pushing 100 lbs. I'm pretty sure I exceeded that before I turned 8 and went into the Third Grade. When I found out I was a Diabetic about 3 months before my 11th birthday, I was in the 220's I believe. As a teenager I thinned out a little bit, proportionally at least, but I remained over-weight. Throughout High School my average jean size was about a 16. Over the last 7 years since graduating my weight has fluctuated back and forth a great deal between a relatively slim (for me, anyway) 170's up to the 230's. The smallest jean size I can remember fitting in was a size 12, and that was about a year and a half ago. Right now I am size 18, pushing 20. I am doing this blog, and I am making this life change, because I want to live to see my golden years, and right now I won't. My last A1C was over 13. If I don't make these changes, I am going to die young.
Some things you should know about my goals: My goal is NOT to lose weight. I sincerely hope that is a side effect of my actions, but it is not my main goal. My main goal is to get healthy. To eat foods that are good for me, nutritious. Not empty calories, not full of chemicals, not processed or full of preservatives. I'm not counting calories, I'm not cutting fats. This is absolutely not a weight loss blog. My weight I have come to terms with, and if it were not adversely affecting my health I can't honestly say I would care about it at all. In a nutshell my goals are to eat healthier, and to live a healthier and more active lifestyle.
My Plans: Like I said, my plans include cutting out overly processed, preserved, chemical-filled foods. So, fresh fruits and veggies, fresh meat, fish, poultry, etc are in. Anything that comes in a box, has a bunch of things I can't pronounce listed in the ingredients, or contains tons of added sugar is out. I plan to get stricter with my diet as I go along, hopefully cutting out any products with added sugar. Also, absolutely no artificial sweeteners. I want to retrain my taste buds to appreciate what food actually tastes like when it isn't drowning in sugar and flavoring. I also plan to exercise more often, even if it's just walking around the mall for a couple hours. As far as I am concerned any improvement over how I am right now is worthwhile. So if I go walk at the mall for two hours tomorrow instead of sleeping till noon, than that's great. Little steps keep adding up over time :)
So far: I started cutting things out on Tuesday July 8th, 2014. This first step was to stop drinking artificially sweetened diet soda and juices. I switched to all water. And that was really the only major change I made for two days. On Thursday we went and got a big haul of fresh vegetables and fruits. On Friday I tried my first cup of tea with no milk or any type of sweetener. On Sunday I had Iced Coffee with only milk. On Friday we made Chicken Salad with Avocado instead of mayo, and on Saturday we made Tuna Salad the same way. Sunday I tried Acorn Squash for the first time. Today we visited a local farm for some fresh dairy, and made homemade Turkey Burgers over a bed of veggies with homemade Kale Chips and Couscous for dinner. So far, so good. The cravings are in check. The 'Water Detox' I did for two days seemed to help a lot, although I have a feeling that a lot of people would need something more like a week for it to be really effective. It helped get me out of the habit of having something heavily flavored and sweetened constantly. And honestly, it is AMAZING how much better tea and coffee is without being sweetened. There are subtle flavors and nuances that are completely lost when you dump the sugar or artificial sweetener in. I can't believe I ever preferred them with the sugar now, honestly, and I can't imagine going back to sweetened drinks even if I loss my motivation for this lifestyle change. Coffee was the biggest surprise. I've always drank it just for the caffeine while hating the taste and doing my best to cover it up. But drinking it unsweetened (admittedly still with plenty of milk though) it has this wonderful roasted, nutty undertone that sugar just annihilates.
What's Next: Tomorrow we're planning a trip to walk around the mall since I am off work, instead of sitting around the house all day and sleeping in way too late. For dinner tomorrow I am making a Turnip Bake, which will be my first experience with cooking and eating turnips :) And on Friday I will be ordering my Maple Sugar supplies for natural, healthier sweetening power when needed.
What to Expect: Recipes! If we create something tasty, it will be posted up here asap! You can also expect to hear more about my personal health journey, how my blood sugars are doing, blood work results, etc. so that you will be able to see the effect this way of eating is having on me and my health. You can also expect to hear more about my philosophy concerning this lifestyle change, and why I am choosing the foods that I am.
One Last Thing: I am by no means an expert. This is my journey, and I will be learning throughout the course of it. So if you have health concerns, please make sure you are talking to and seeing a licensed professional :)
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