Life With Frenchie

Yesterday, we didn’t go grocery shopping until the evening, so I did have chicken salad for lunch, but after that, I have made an effort to keep meat out of my dieat. Now, since I don’t have anything morally against eating meat, I am not cutting out eggs. I just am hoping that cutting out the meat will do things for my diet that will help me get in better shape.

My first step was making protein balls for snacking. I love those things! The recipe that I found was a no-bake recipe:

INGREDIENTS

1 cup chocolate protein powder
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup oat bran

DIRECTIONS

In mixing bowl, combine all ingredients thoroughly. Roll 1 tablespoon of dough each into a walnut size balls and place on waxed paper. You can roll ithe balls in extra protein powder, cocoa powder, or powdered sugar to make less sticky on the outside. You can also add raisins, mini chocolate chips or M & M’s, shredded coconut, chopped nuts, etc into the dough. 
Makes approximately 36 round balls

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 36
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 61.9

• Total Fat: 3.7 g
• Cholesterol: 4.8 mg
• Sodium: 33.1 mg
• Total Carbs: 4.8 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.6 g
• Protein: 1.8 g

So far, I think EP has eaten more of them than I have, but they turned out good. The protein powder was what hurt the most! It was $23 for a big bottle. UGH!!!

For dinner, I made a veggie pizza with bell peppers and mushrooms. And, for breakfast this morning, I made pancakes and eggs. So far, so good!

Several years back, I was very overweight. I’m a very short woman - just 4′11″. At my last checkup before having MM, I tipped the scales at 191 pounds! YIKES! I always joke that I was nature’s example of a perfect sphere. LOL When I was pregnant with MM, I was a receptionist and admin at a collection agency. I sat up front, all by myself and didn’t have much to do once morning reports were run, so I ate. I had a set routine; I would stop at McDonald’s and get a sausage biscuit with cheese meal. I drank soda with my breakfast. If I didn’t go to McD’s (and sometimes, even if I did go) I’d have a pack of those mini-doughnuts. I drank soda with my breakfast (noticing a pattern yet??). So, it’s easy to see how I ballooned up. I’m not saying I was all that skinny before, but seriously, I wasn’t helping things!

The Spring after MM was born, I had gotten down to about 173 pounds, but almost all of that was what I lost immediately following MM’s birth. I decided to do something about it and joined Weight Watchers. Over the next year or so, I dropped about 50 pounds. I amazed myself at how healthy my eating habits became. One of the things I did was cut beef and pork out of my diet. And, even though I still ate chicken and fish, I began to load up on the veggies. That diet had me feeling wonderful! I went over 2 years without eating any beef or pork. I satisfied my burger cravings with Boca products, and even substituted some of their products for chicken as well.

A couple of years ago, I began eating beef and pork again and my diet slowly became not so great. I have gained about 15 pounds back and have remained there. I can’t seem to find the motivation (or time) to go back to my healthy lifestlye. But, hopefully, that will change.

I think I am going to have to kickstart myself with a little shock to my system, and I think I’m going to try going completely vegetarian. I can easily do the all vegetables part of it, but I know it’s more than just that. I need to start researching alternatives to replace those vitamins and nutrients that I won’t get any longer without any meat in my diet. I can’t live on protein balls and vegetables alone!! (Although I do love protein balls..) If any of you have some yummy, yet not too complicated, tips for me, pleaase share!

Like I said - I can’t find #2

A heart-saving story about women and heart disease—straight from a survivor.

Brought to you by the American Heart Association and Go Red for Women

Today’s message is from Brenda Harper-Davis, who suffered a heart attack at age 52.

Three years ago, I attended a free CPR training class my employer offered. I have a family history of heart disease and thought I might need CPR skills someday to save thelife of someone close to me. I never imagined my own life was in jeopardy at that very moment — I had a heart attack later that night. I’m alive today because my daughter took quick action and called 9-1-1.If you or someone close to you experiences the symptoms of a heart attack — pain in the chest, back, neck, jaw or stomach, as well as shortness of breath and lightheadedness, nausea or breaking out in a cold sweat – don’t waste a single second.

Call for the help that could save your heart and your life. Look for these symptoms:

* Chest discomfort that feels like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.

* Discomfort in other areas of the upper body, such as one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.

* Shortness of breath, with or without chest discomfort.

* Breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.

Please share this lifesaving message with at least one other woman today.

Take action to love your heart!

A friend of mine who graduated high school with me is a doctor and recently, I’ve started receiving these heart health tips from her. Instead of deleting them, I decided it’s probably a good idea to actually read them (novel idea, I know..) and better yet, share them. I can’t seem to find the second one, but here’s the first of three so far:

Love Your Heart

A heart-saving story about women and heart disease—straight from a survivor.

Brought to you by the American Heart Association and Go Red for Women

Today’s message is from Sue Davidson. Sue was healthy, active and just 37 years old when she had her first heart attack.

I had a family history of diabetes and developed it myself when I was 10. If you have diabetes — or have a blood relative who has or had it — you’re at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Learn about the risk factors for heart disease and which ones affect you.

* Work with your parents and siblings to create a family medical tree, including relatives who live or have lived with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other associated conditions.

* Talk with your doctor about what this means for you and others in your family.

* Develop a prevention plan to manage your risk factors.

Please share this lifesaving message with at least one other woman today.

Put your hand over your own heart and promise to protect it!

Well, we made it home safely from our visit with the family. We got on the road around 5:00 PM Thursday and made it to my father’s house just after midnight. EP made it most of the way to Macon before I took over driving. I was worried at first because I was feeling pretty tired myself, but we stopped for gas and coffee and I was amazingly wide awake once I got behind the wheel.

Friday morning we took our time getting up, having breakfast and getting ready. We spent the early part of the afternoon visiting with my best friend from high school and her family. It was good to see them and just sit back and talk. Unfortunately, there’s so much to catch up on, even a few hours is nowhere near enough time. But still, it was great to sit with them for a while. It was even better to walk through the front door and have their two older girls run up and wrap around my legs yelling “Frenchie!!!” (and yes, they call me ‘Frenchie’)

After leaving their house, we made our way over to my brother’s place. My sister-in-law (SIL) was busy cleaning the house for the arrival of my mother (and for our arrival) and the kids, as usual, were everywhere! I LOVE their home!! We relaxed that evening and just ordered Pizza Hut (which reminds me, I need to submit my complaint to them because it was an AWFUL experience) and watched tv.

Saturday, we were up early to go get my mother from the airport. MAN! Has the Atlanta airport changed, or what? Luckily, we were in and out fairly quickly. The only snag was when we got back to my dad’s side of town, there was a motorcycle parade or something going on, so we got stuck in traffic as cops stopped traffic for, literally,  hundreds of motorcycles! UGH! We visited with my dad for a while then headed back to my brother’s place. EP and I promptly planted ourselves on the couch to watch some college football! He was particularly interested in the SEC Championship game since Tennessee was playing. After the first quarter, we made our way to the Japanese steakhouse where me, EP, mom, brother, SIL, dad, my friend, and her fiance celebrated that most glorious of events (c’mon! If you’ve forgotten already, shame on you!!). I had a great time. After dinner, my dad and my friends went their separate ways and the rest of us stopped at one of my brother’s employee’s house where they were celebrating the christening of their daughter. We left with all these neat keepsakes the mom made which, according to them, is tradition to give to the families that attend.

We left Georgia around noon yesterday and were home by 7:00 PM. We were all pooped, but it was very nice to get up to Georgia to spend some time with my family and friends. Needless to say, my eating this weekend wasn’t stellar. I did do my best, but I came back home two pounds heavier than when I left. I don’t think this week will be any easier with going out to eat with EP’s dad and step-mom and the office holiday party Friday night.

Oh, and yeah, there’s a point to the title of my blog entry…I think I got sick on the trip. My throat has been feeling not-so-happy since yesterday! I don’t want to end up getting sick!!! I escaped it last year when MM & EP both came down with miserable colds when we visited at Christmas. This can’t be my turn!! On top of that, I’m pooped!!

Sorry I have not kept everyone up to date on my progress so far, but I’m having a busy week!

Good news, though! I am down close to 10 pounds in less than 2 weeks! I know that it’s not going to keep up at that rate (at least it better not!) but it’s still a good start. I’ve cut out my bad snacking. I still snack, but on fruit and veggies now. I do have some sweet snacks for those cravings, but it’s the 100 calorie snack packs or fat free pudding.

I did have a challenge this week because we took MM to dinner for her birthday. The girl has expensive taste for a 10-year-old - she chose Bonefish. I did relatively well. I did enjoy the Saucy Shrimp appetizer. It lives up to it’s name because the shrimp are drowned in a rich cream sauce. I didn’t overdo it though. I also only had one slice of bread. My main course was the Pistachio-encrusted Rainbow Trout. I doubled up on veggies and had them put the sauce on the side. I ate all the veggies first, so I was relatively full by the time I got to the fish. Another good choice! YAY ME!! Dessert was my weak spot though. MM ordered Key Lime Pie, which I am physically incapable of passing up! I had about 3 or 4 bites. Yet, even with that night out, I still lost, so I’d say it was a success.

Eating out again tonight and then going to a friend’s tomorrow to hang out for a while, so I’m sure there will be challenges there, but I’m determined to be good! I can’t negate the progress I’ve made so far.

I mentioned before that I am feeling (and looking) fat lately. Like I said, I was always the chubby one. A couple of years after MM was born, I finally decided to really do something about it. At that point, my little (4′11″) frame was up to 173 pounds! I had actually made it to the 190s while pregnant with MM. I went on Weight Watchers, took advantage of a free gym at my University and $10 personal trainer sessions from the Masters Physical Education students and I got myself down to about 120. Over the next few years I was up and down within a 10 pound range. I kept going to the gym, figured out I had learned to work the system too well with WW and went on Jenny Craig and even L.A. Weight Loss. I was down to about 115 at my lowest. But, a funny thing happens when you end up in a happy relationship — YOU GAIN WEIGHT! Okay, that’s not fair to blame it all on El Presidente. I am, after all, responsible for my own health.

So, this week, I went back on WW. Even though I still know how to “cheat” and stay within my points, I am vowing to be more honest with myself. Yes, I can have less for breakfast and lunch and still eat my ice cream sundae, but I’m not going to! Don’t get me wrong, I am not depriving myself. We still go up to the local pub and have a couple of beers during the week. I still have some sweets laying room to satisfy my craving. But, I am going back to counting my points and eating in moderation. I am not going to be giving into those temptations or eat for comfort. I will allow myself to slip up or leniency for things like Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, etc. but I won’t make excuses.

So far this week, I have done well. I am allowed 18 points per day (points are based on calorie, fat, and fiber content) plus 35 “flex” points to use (or not) during the week. I have only dipped into about 6 of my flex points in total since I started on Tuesday. I have allowed myself some beer and wine with a few meals, but I am accounting for them in my points. I have also cut out beef and pork from my diet again. I did it for a couple of years; not because I don’t think beef or pork are healthy, but I am not a big fan of either, so if I stick to my leaner turkey, chicken, and seafood, I’ll get my weight back down a bit faster.

I’m going to keep myself on track and accountable, mainly by broadcasting my success (and sometimes failure) here on my blog. Stay tuned. For now, it’s lunchtime!

One of my favorite places to go for quality information is the Actuarial Oupost. I am always guaranteed to find, if not useful, entertaining information. Today, I was pleasantly surprised to find something that might help me in one of my deficient areas - the kitchen. Apparently, if cheese can be put in a can, so can anything else.  I have always kept my distant from that delectable delight, but for this new product, I may give it a try. What am I talking about?

PANCAKES IN A CAN! Otherwise known as “Heaven in a Can” (okay, not really, but in my easily amused world, it is!). The site even provides a very helpful video demonstration of this amazing product. Honestly, it doesn’t look all that bad. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to be sold at any stores near me, so if there is a God, one of you will be near a store that sells this and I will receive a can for my birthday!

I’ve come to that conclusion. Well, it’s nothing new really. I have always been overweight. I got down to an acceptable weight over the past two years, but over the past year, it’s been going back up. I can’t seem to find the time I used to have to go to the gym and get active. My eating has gotten worse. I just don’t know what to do anymore! I think I just cracked the code to the whole Weight Watchers program, so that doesn’t work for me — I can figure out how to stay within my points yet still get more fat and junk than I should have in a day. I tried Jenny Craig at one point and that worked, for a while. It’s just a really expensive program when you still have to buy food for other people in the household. Finally, I also did L.A. Weightloss. That also worked really well, but they didn’t listen to me at my sessions. I told them from the beginning that I went to the gym every day and was running, on average, 4-5 miles a day, lifting weights, taking classes, and working with a personal trainer. When I got to a plateau, they wanted me to pay more money to continue. Again, expense became an issue. I’m at the point that I don’t know what to do anymore…well, I know what to do, but actually being able to do it an being successful at it is another story.

Any suggestions?

So I walked in the Breast Cancer 3-Day this past weekend. I did much better this year than last. I don’t think I’ll lose any toenails this year, my legs are fine, the only problem I had were sore, swollen feet. So, four days later, you’d think they’d be fine? WRONG! My brilliant self decides to get back in the gym and keep on track with my Couch-to-5K Running Plan. As long as I was walking or running, it actually was okay. It was once I was in the car that the pain started shooting through my feet!! MAN! Remember that scene from Misery where Kathy Bates’ character breaks James Caan’s character’s feet by hitting them with the sledgehammer??? I was actually hoping for that yesterday evening. OW! Well, I guess I’d better give the tootsies a rest today cause I’ll be back in the gym this afternoon.