LilySlim Weight loss tickers

Friday, December 16

I suck at this...

Yup! I've been missing. I had a grand time in Florida and kept planning on writing some amaze balls summary of events. HOWEVER life continues to be busy, TIS THE SEASON!!! (said with sarcasm through my gritting teeth).

So I'm not avoiding things any longer, so here's a quick rundown of the trip through pictures!!

Basically we drank. A lot. And drank some more. And took pictures of sunrises and sunsets. And yes, we brought our own umbrellas, so every drink was an umbrella drink ;)

Tuesday, March 15

lent

Life has been crazzzzy.

If you follow my other blog you know how stressful and upsetting my work life has been. Its not been good, and I've been very stressed and absent. Obviously. So......... Here goes...........

I know this sounds silly, but I've given up laziness for lent.

Things have been going well. I don't know about weight, or calories or food or whatever. But I feel more productive and that helps.

I'll keep you posted on life. Thanks for sticking with me!! :)

Lots of Love

Tuesday, February 22

Book Review: Real Food Has Curves

As promised... finally here's my book review of Real Food Has Curves

I really really liked this book! I randomly picked it up at the library when I was browsing for something new to read. What's funny about this book, is that there was absolutely no new information for me. Its really mostly common sense... and yet... I couldn't put it down!

Written by two foodies who write and cook for several different magazines and even Weight Watchers, its laid out in such a user friendly way it was a great resource. I even took notes and made several photocopies some of the 100 recipes inside, for future use. If I had enough money, I would totally buy this for a shelf reference.

Basically, they discuss how we've gotten to eating food that's not really "food" anymore. Highly processed, over sugared, over salted, over fattened food that has helped create the obesity crisis in our country. They offer easy ways to cut out all the crap we eat, and easy ways to bring real food back into our daily menus. They try to teach you how to get back into really enjoying what you eat, savoring, and taking pleasure in all the textures, flavors and aromas, that have made eating such a treat for centuries. Sounds great doesn't it?!

The main key is that they break down (and teach you to do it too) food into these categories. Here's also some examples of each to help you understand.

Food
Fresh pasta
Bone-in whole chicken
Fresh tomatoes
Almost Real Food
Dried Pasta
Boneless/skinless chicken parts
Natural, salt-free canned tomatoes
Barely Real Food
Frozen, cooked pasta
Canned chicken
Flavored, salted, stewed tomatoes
Not Real Food
Canned Pasta
Frozen, breaded chicken nuggets
Condensed tomato soup

I know it seems obvious, but the goal is to eat as much "real" food as possible. The next alternative is "almost real food" and of course, avoid anything deemed "not real food" as it has the most preservatives, added salts and fats and sugars, all usually used as preservatives, and all add unnecessary calories and bad stuff.

Another funny, and yet not surprising fact is that the "average" person only spends 8 minutes a day preparing their meals, down from an average of 72 minutes circa 1975. EIGHT MINUTES! Of course we don't have as much free time as we used to, but this doesn't mean we have to cut quite so many corners. This means that most of us are not cooking our food, or chopping veggies or deboning fresh halibut. Again, they make a plea/recommendation to take the time and effort to cook your own food and prepare. They gave a great example of how many parents use fish sticks as a quick "go-to" solution for their kids dinners. Thinking that they save so much time and money to do so. When on the contrary, they find that making oven-fried breaded fish fillets only actually take 4 minutes longer to prepare (28 minutes vs. 24) cost 20 cents less per serving and have 110 fewer calories per serving. The difference of course, isn't time, but EFFORT.

Finally, my favorite suggestion they give, which I'm going to try, is to try one new recipe or food item per week. Browse your grocery aisles and find some new sauce, oil, pasta, fruit, spice or whatever per week. It makes your cooking experiences more entertaining and engaging. And when you put more thought into what you eat, you'll eat less and less often. I think its a great idea, and can't wait to try some avocado oil, which they recommended as an alternative to olive oil in certain recipes. Sounds fun, right?!

So there you go. I highly recommend you check this book out and give it a read. It makes me really excited to go grocery shopping and spend some time planning fun menus and trying new foods! They also have a blog in which they try new recipes and give hints and tips also. So I recommend checking that out as well :)
Real Food Has Curves

Bon Appetit!

Monday, February 21

me and my couch: a love affair

They're back. Those dirty little crap-peddlers...
I'll admit it. I was weak. Its hard to say no sometimes.

Oh, and I also bought ice cream.

I've been having a pretty rough couple of weeks. If you read my other blog you know what I'm talking about. To summarize, the job market is rough, my money is running low, and I'm freaking the F out. And of course being stressed out does not bode well for dieting, exercising, or being healthy. I know, its no excuse, but its the truth, and that's what I'm all about here.

So most days, I lie on the couch. I know, I'm pretty much wallowing in self-pity, and that is not going to solve any of my problems. And I know I'd feel better emotionally if I physically worked out some of my stress. But its so counter intuitive, and its just not been happening recently. I know, I suck.

So there it is, my life in a nutshell. Keep your eyes out for the return of my self-esteem. Should be back here in a few days!! :)