A Few of My (new) Favorite Things

Sure, I love raindrops on roses, brown paper packages tied up with string, and snowflakes that fall on my nose and eyelashes, but, Stop-the-Presses!, I have a few new things to add to the list.  

This photo of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park 
is courtesy of TripAdvisor


 

First let me tell you about my green crocs.  Why yes, they do look rather like frog feet.  I first discovered how great they were when we took a trip to Glacier National Park.  We had a picnic by Lake McDonald. It  is fed by snowmelt (can we say c-o-l-d??) and, as you can see the lakebed is stone.  We were with Laura's family and, between the 8 of us, we had one pair of adult sized crocs.  That one pair got used by every single member of the party to wade out into the lake and play.  That same day, we found a dollar store in town and bought knock-off crocs for everybody.  Now we always throw them in the trunk when we travel by car, just in case. 

Last Friday I went shopping with my BFF.  We were going to a fairly upscale mall, so I didn't want to wear my white running shoes with good black slacks, so I decided to wear my new black leather sport shoes that I'd bought for just such a time.  We had a great time and I racked up lots of steps on my pedometer.  A couple of hours into the morning, I noticed that my heels were sore.  We stopped for lunch and then shopped for a couple more hours.  I definitely noticed the pain by the time we walked to the car.  By the time I got home I could barely walk.  Of course I found each heel had a huge blister that had rubbed raw through the skin.  I have lived in my green crocs since Friday, except for Sunday morning, when I wore ridiculously out-of-season black heelless sandals to church.  I even went for my walks with crocs.  They're amazingly comfortable.  The only annoyance is small gravel bits that sneak in through the holes and require a stop to shake them out.   

Green Tea.  I've never liked it.  The 17DD, however, does like it (it's apparently loaded with antioxidants) and calls for two or three cups a day.  I bought several types of green tea with added flavors to try.  Lipton's Mandarin Orange flavor was fairly good, but then I tried Lemon Ginger Green Tea (Stash).  OMG, this is a dynamo flavor combination.  I use one packet of truvia with it and it makes a wonderful cuppa.  I bought mine at Safeway, but I've seen the Stash brand at other stores, too.

And one other discovery from following the 17DD.  An egg white scramble makes a super-quick delicious breakfast.  Really, it's almost as fast as cereal. I bought a case of Costco's Real Egg (99% egg whites, but the traditional yellow color).  When I ran out I picked up a carton of All Whites (100% egg whites).  I like both, but the All Whites, with a strange almost water-like consistency cook up magically into something that reminds me a lot of the best part of a fried egg (the white part!).

I know you may have other things to do today, so I'll wrap this up with a progress report on my time on the 17DD and my weekly mileage.

I finished the first cycle (17 days) of the 17DD on Sunday.  My total weight loss for that time was 10.4 pounds.  While I've started the second 17 day cycle, I'm not sure that this is something I plan to do for life.  I love the jump start to my weight loss and have gained some insights during the process:  yes, I can be disciplined, at least for a short time; I don't have to have sugary "treats" every day; portion size counts; drinking all that water (and tea) is do-able and helpful.  I've discovered some great new recipes along the way.  I actually like the yogurt (never a yogurt fan). I missed the whole grains. A lot.  The yogurt may "help the digestive process," but my body needs more fiber than the first cycle provided. I'll see if this second cycle works better with my digestion.  Stay tuned.

The mileage for last week was right on track until I  developed those blisters on my heels.  Still, I totalled 22 miles for the week, bringing my YTD to a nice, even 150 miles!

For your viewing pleasure: My father, at about 5 or 6 years old (c 1922) with his sling-shot.  He was apparently pretty skilled. In his later years, my mother had to work hard to persuade him to use humane traps to catch the marauding squirrels in his vegetable garden rather than his trusty sling-shot.

Checking In plus 17 Day Diet Update and Recipe Ideas

I've been enjoying getting out to walk.  How did I let this "me-time" fall by the wayside?  I'm experimenting with a bit of running interspersed and might try out the C25K (again).  I'm still wearing my pedometer.  Last week I averaged 6K a day for a total of 22 miles.  YTD mileage 128.  Next week my goal is to avg 7.5K per day and work up within a few weeks to 10K.

Today is day 11 on the 17 Day Diet  (check here to see a description and review of the plan).  It's working for me.  After the first couple of days, I found my cravings for sugar and salty/crispy things diminished to negligible levels.  This is good!  I also think the variety of foods is okay (even on the first, most restricted, cycle).  I feel in control of my eating again and that's a super feeling.  Even when I spent four days in the hospital last week with my son, I was able to stick pretty much to my planned eating.  I'm getting my exercise back on track (aiming for 10K steps a day and my 2-3 circuit trips a week).  And, best of all, I'm losing weight.  After 10 full days on the program, I've lost 8.4 pounds.  :-)

I'm not bored with the food choices yet.  A friend asked what I found to eat for dinner.  I think she was imagining boiled chicken and celery sticks at every meal. Here are some meals that we've enjoyed over the last 11 days.

Soy Lemon Chicken (8 chicken thighs (bone in, skin removed); Marinade: 1/4 c each ls soy sauce and lemon juice,  seasoned w/  dash of garlic powder &  1/2 tsp powdered ginger and 2 thinly sliced lemons)  Bake 50 min in 350 oven or until done.  Turn pieces over, half way thru cooking.

Steamed Asparagus

Flash Cooked Collards w/ Lemon Juice  (I have good nonstick pans and half the olive oil worked just fine)

Slow Roasted Plum Tomatoes    These are yummy.  Make a lot. Again, I used about half the olive oil.

Stuffed Green Peppers  (I added some chopped fresh collard greens and mushrooms)  We had this for dinner tonight--YUM!

Baked Salmon w/ Apricot Mustard Glaze  (A Cooking Light recipe: substitute water for the 1/4 cup apricot nectar & Truvia for the honey)

Artichoke w/ olive oil/balsamic vinaigrette dipping sauce

Roasted Chicken Breast (Ina Garten recipe)--This is the BEST recipe for roasted chicken, it's very easy and makes it moist and delHicious and ready for using later if you need it in another recipe.  Remove the skin afterwards.

Roasted Broccoli (high heat, olive oil, S&P)

Stir fried pepper strips (green, red, & yellow peppers strips stir fried in canola oil)

Chicken Vegetable Soup (broth, carrots, onions, celery, mushrooms, chicken, cabbage)

Green Salad (cherry tomatoes, red leaf lettuce, cucumber, olive oil/balsamic vinaigrette)

Pan Seared Talapia (in olive oil,  w S&P, paprika) with lemon

Asian Slaw (cabbage, shredded carrots,  2 tsp canola oil,  1 T ls soy sauce,  3 T rice vinegar,  1 1/2 tsp truvia)

Chicken Stir Fry (chicken breast, canola oil, red peppers, yellow peppers, snow peas, celery, shitaki mushrooms, scallions, ls soy sauce, S&P)

For your viewing pleasure:  Grandson Jack (2 1/2) putting the finishing touches on his egg-carton caterpillar.  We had craft time after their naps this afternoon.  It's so fun to have them and to watch them learn and grow.

Thanks for your supportive comments last week.  Son Jay is sounding much better (cough-wise) and goes for his follow up appointment on Wednesday before he can go back to work.  He's getting bored being home, I think!  DH is fighting his own bout of congestion and cough plus flu-like symptoms.  Much chicken soup and tea.  I'm big into hand-washing just now and keeping my sickies away from the kiddos.

I'll miss my WI once again (3rd week in a row) because Jay's appointment falls smack dab during the meeting.  Maybe I can get to an earlier meeting . . . I'd like to go.  I do think that the 17DD fits well with the WW Simply Filling (Core) program.  I've tracked a couple days and am eating right at my daily target points.

Onward and downward!
Tish

Good News

1. I figured out how to insert one of my own photos via iPad.
2. Jay loved meeting the two therapy dogs who visited his room in the hospital.
And 3. We're HOME, and Dorothy got it right. There's no place like home.

Tish

No News is

[apologies in advance for typos, lack of links, and other format oddities]

Good News, at least on the fitness and diet front. I'm a bit late checcking in this week, but my report on my exercise and eating is glowing! I finally remembered how much I enjoyed my long runs on my favorite running path and racked up 4 three plus mile outings. I even ran a bit on a couple of them. My pedometer is happy to report 19 miles worth of steps for last week. Too cold for biking miles, so my yearly total as of last Sunday is 106.

I missed my WW meeting last week and today, but am doing very well and expect a very happy loss next week. After reading about Sharon's (Gains and Losses) and Tami's (Nutmeg Notebook) experiences with The 17 Day Diet, I decided to look into it. I think it tracks along very well with the WW Simply Filling plan (formerly called CORE and my plan of choice). I decided to follow it to see if I could jump start my weightloss efforts. What appealed most to me was the idea that a fairly short term of omitting all sugar and grains would erase a craving for those foods. I'm just finishing day 5 and can report that so far, it's been remarkably easy. Amazing. I totted up the points plus for one day and am just about exactly at my WW target. I'm getting fruits, veggies, lean meats, healthy oils, and dairy every day.

My reason for not posting earlier, for trying to create a post on my iPad, and for missing my WI today? That's the bad news. Our son Jay is in the hospital ICU with pneumonia, and maybe influenza. He may be 30 (!!), but he's my youngest and he wants me here, with him. This will be my second night sleeping in a chair near his bed. After a rough night last night, he's perked up a lot today. Here's a picture of him in his Darth Vader mask, waving to you with his bionic finger. We're in the brand new, state of the art military hospital near our home. He has a private suite and more high tech gadgets than you could imagine. He enjoyed a Percussive Vibration treatment this evening. The nurse pushed a button and his bed vibrated percussively(?) to break up some of the congestion in his lungs. It brought to mind the coin operated massage available in cheesy motels of the 60s and 70s. One of the best parts of the day, besides Jay starting to feel better, is when my BFF, Marilyn came to visit. She not only brought a mylar balloon for Jay, but she brought food--the kind I can have. Yogurt, oranges and hard boiled eggs. A veritable feast! Friends are a true blessing. We're hoping that he might be out on Friday. Well phooey! Can't add the photo either. Sorry. At least I can stay up late reading books on the Kindle App . . . .

Please keep Jay in your prayers. Back to our regularly scheduled program next week.

Tish

UPDATE: Jay's numbers look very good this morning and he may be graduating to the regular ward today! 😃