Jan. 1, 2010 - Happy Clean Year!

I always feel the itch of anticipation on January 1st. It is the day of the year that anything seems possible. I feel like I can make big changes on this day.

This year is different. This year, I did not wait for a particular day to change my life. I decided in one emotionally-wrought moment that life was going to change and I was going to be the force to make it happen.

I am going into this year with my fresh start already begun. My resolve is even stronger than when I began this lifestyle. I feel like a different person than I was just one short month ago.

So first: Results from the previous month:

STARTING WEIGHT: 210

ENDING WEIGHT: 199

CHEST: -2 inches

WAIST: -2.5 inches

HIPS: -3.5

~The jeans I was bursting out of fit me comfortably now and I don't have to do gymnastics maneuvers to get them up.

~ My depression and anxiety has greatly improved.

~ I am making good food choices because I want to, not because I have to.

~ I began an exercise program and am sticking with it.

~ I feel great - high energy, less tummy problems, and fewer aches and pains in my joints.

~ I submitted a magazine article.

I feel great when I look back on the previous month. I know there will be setbacks but I feel better equipped to handle them. The biggest difference between this and the million other times I have tried to diet is that I have been journaling. I am learning about myself and the connections I have made with food. I know now WHY I am fat, with a deeper understanding than "I eat too much."

I'm not making a big pile of resolutions this year. My only one is to set frequent goals. Achievement through small steps is lot easier than looking at the big picture - I still have 35 pounds to go.

So this week's goals:

1.)Continue working on the current article I am researching.

2.) Find some part time employment to help ends meet during the slow time of year at the store.

3.) Work on my patience - count to 10 before speaking.

4.) Keep it clean this week despite some personal issues that are going on - bingeing will NOT make me feel better.

5.) Clean out my pantry.

6.) Work on my fitness room.

JANUARY'S Goals:

1.) Submit at least one article

2.) Blog daily

3.) Lose 6-8 pounds

4.) Get fitness room up and running - I'll post pics - hold me to it, everyone!

5.) Continue converting my kids to the Eat-Clean lifestyle.

I'd love to hear your goals too!

What do you guys have planned?

Dec. 31 - New Year's Eve Party

Tonight is our annual New Year's Eve party. A few years ago I decided to make it a tradition to throw a NYE sleepover for my girls on this, the most dangerous driving night of the year. Hopefully they enjoy it so much that we continue it until they are adults (I know, overprotective mommy!)

We have around 5-6 girls expected for the sleepover, plus a couple of kids from the neighborhood that may drop in for some goodies and fun.

I'm getting rid of all the crappy food in my house today! Hooray - we will be squeaky clean after this party! I'm also offering some healthy options, because I don't want to feel like crap on the first day of the year! Clean(er) options are denoted by a *

PARTY MENU

Multigrain tortilla chips*

Commercial salsa

Guacamole*

Angus Meatballs in Honey Garlic sauce

Build your own pizza toppings bar*

Greek pitas for pizza bases

Potato Chips

Yogurt and onion soup mix dip

Pineapple cubes*

Fudge, Peanut Brittle and Christmas Cookies

Cherry tarts

Soda pop

Bottled water*

I think I can find enough healthy stuff to eat to avoid going totally off the wagon. I am having a pizza (despite the white flour base) with healthy toppings, a couple of meatballs, some chips, guacamole and tortilla chips and pineapple. I'll stick with my usual water bottle since I'm not much of a drinker. The toughest thing for me to avoid is the ships - I love salty foods. I'm going to lean on the guacamole and the tortillas to get me through it.

Wish me luck in staying up until midnight. I have a great quote for NYE that sums it up for me!

"Youth is when you are allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve; middle age is when you are forced to." Bill Vaughan, American author and columnist, 1915-1977

Have a safe and wonderful New Year's Eve!

Tomorrow is a fresh new year!

Dec 31 - Bring on 2010!!!

I'm ready!!! This past year was not a good one for our family. The next one is going to be my best, healthiest year ever. Tomorrow I am writing a detailed plan, but for today I'd like to publish my general goals for the year:

1.) Break things down week by week - each week I am going to make a list of mini goals to help me get to my bigger goals. Expect that list on Sunday of each week
2.) Keep eating clean - that is the best thing that has ever happened to me
3.) Help my kids embrace a clean lifestyle - one of my kids could be a bit healthier and I know this is the road for her if I can get her on board
4.) Get my finances in order - I've gone into massive debt to open my store - I need to come up with some additional income to pay off debt and get out from under some of it
5.) Submit a minimum of one magazine article per month - I always said I wanted to be a writer and had some success in the past but this year I am going to make that dream a reality. This is going to be the year that I can say I am a freelance writer.
6.) Continue this blog - writing down my failures and successes helps me more than I ever thought it would. It keeps me accountable and helps me not to make the same mistakes over and over
7.) Embrace fitness! I want to get back to the point where my body craves activity. I was there just a year and a half ago. I know I can get that feeling again.
8.) Incorporate activity into our family life - This year I want us to have active weekends: the indoor water parks (all those stairs), hiking, white water rafting, swimming, indoor rock walls, museums and nature centers. Ontario is full of all sorts of wonderful active things I can do with my kids!
9.) Become more active in our church community - We joined a church in August after my father passed away - it was the last thing he asked of me. He was so wise. I feel happy and recharged every Sunday. I want to incorporate that into my daily life a little more by becoming more active in the community. I'm considering home visits or something along those lines.


So there is the outline! This is my new life. Tomorrow, while all the kids are sleeping I'm going to put it in the format of a business plan - my new LIFE PLAN!!!!

In memory of my father

If you don't want to repeat a mistake, it's important to analyze it and figure out where you got off track. But actually, I don't want to think about my year from Hell. I just want to move forward. There comes a point when analysis is just painful. We as a family suffered a tremendous loss - my beloved father. I want to take a minute and write about the lessons I learned from him, not how I got off track through his long illness.

My dad was 86 when he passed away from congestive heart failure. He had suffered from heart problems for my entire adult life but he kept on moving until the end. The ice storm that struck the South last year left my family without power for 3 weeks, and that is when his health began failing rapidly. He spent the last 4 months of his life in nursing homes and hospitals.

Enough about his death - let's talk about his life. My dad retired in his mid 60s due to some back problems. He had been an optometrist and standing for long periods of time was too hard on him. He didn't stop though. He began taking classes at a local university and at the age of 66 received a doctorate in theology and became an ordained minister. Dad never liked extremes of weather, and 6 days a week, until about 5 months before his death, he went to Walmart early in the morning and walked a mile. He didn't have a rapid pace as he got older but he KEPT MOVING. His doctors were constantly amazed at the way Dad would go and walk, day after day, considering his heart problems and the arthritis that had settled in his spine.

He enjoyed reading, time spent with "all his girls" (my mom, me and my daughters), and looking out the window at the backyard he had turned into a bird sanctuary with feeders and birdbaths in clear view from the window. He kept his weight within 5 pounds of what he weighed in his 30s for his entire life, until illness made him dwindle away. Nutritionally, he didn't eat that well, although he did start every day with a bowlful of a fiber-filled bran cereal. Aside from that he was a fussy meat and potatoes kind of guy. He was the most loving and optimistic person I have ever known, and was and remains a constant inspiration to me.

The lessons I learned from Dad:

1.) Keep moving, no matter what
2.) Enjoy nature
3.) Keep learning
4.) Maintain a steady weight
5.) Be positive
6.) Let faith in God carry you through the rough spots

Those were the keys to his long life, which was a remarkably excellent one. I hope that when I am 86 I can look back and say I have accomplished as much as my dad.

We love you, Daddy, and think of you every day. I know you are watching me now, and you are smiling as you watch me pursue my dreams and re-prioritze my life.


No one has had a better teacher than I have. I want to honor my dad by incorporating his lessons into my life. He would be ticked at me for having succumbed to depression and letting myself get so overweight and out of shape. So now I know he will be happy to know that I've pulled it together and will continue to do so in his memory.

Dec. 30 - the Eats!

I almost forgot to list my food today! Well, had I listed it earlier it would have changed so that's probably a good thing. We had unexpected guests for dinner so I had to throw some stuff together that was less than clean. But, you'll see - I think I did pretty well and the leftovers will be great for our party tomorrow:

M1: WW toast, all natural pb, apple
M2: turkey breast burger on 1/2 whole wheat bun, baby carrots
M3: roasted turkey, roasted potatoes, green beans
M4: Trail mix
M5: Angus meatballs (frozen but no crud except excess salt) cooked in commercial honey garlic sauce (loaded with sugar - I let mine drip as well as possible), brown rice that I had made on the weekend, baby carrots and cherry tomatoes, 5 potato chips
M6: orange

Now the really cool thing about that meal # 5: I put everything out buffet style, and also on the buffet was dip made with onion soup mix (I tasted it to make sure the proportions were right and that was it!), fudge, and Christmas cookies. The kids had orange pop and I wasn't even tempted! The chips would have called out to me until I ate them so I had a small sampling. The dessert was not even tempting. And now I'm good, I'm happy and I have a feeling of accomplishment.

Tomorrow is all about the resolutions - and some party prep!

Dec. 30: My Kids and Clean Eating

One of my priorities this year is changing the family diet. I want my kids eating clean also. We are having a last hurrah New Years Eve party, during which the residual junk in our house will be eaten or disposed off. Then that's it - I won't be replacing that junk with more junk.

At this point I would say my girls, ages 14 and 9, are eating about a 75% clean diet. There is still a little junk in my house. I have an evil plan to bring my kids over to the clean side, and here it is:

1.) I'm gradually making the switch. I've mentioned on my blog before that I did not do the big purge recommended in Tosca's Eat Clean Diet Recharged. http://eatcleandiet.com/splash/recharged/recharged_holder.html I think purging the house is a splendid idea in a perfect world, but as mine is imperfect I chose to go a different route. I purged my major temptations: chips, ice cream and cookies, and left the rest for the kids to thin down. This makes the changes more gradual. When the Skippy is gone, the only peanut butter option is my clean, all natural peanut butter. When the ketchup is gone it will be replaced either with the homemade version in the Eat Clean Diet for Family and Kids http://www.eatcleandiet.com/about_the_diet/the_books.aspx#The+Eat-Clean+Diet+for+Family+and+Kidsor with something organic and sugar free. The last lunch meat I ever intend to purchase was packed in a lunch box 2 weeks ago, and that has been replaced with thinly sliced turkey and chicken that I cooked myself. There are still some lunchbox goodies like Rice Krispie treats and Jello pudding cups. They will gradually be parceled out when school starts back up, mixed in with some homemade healthy muffins, bars and cookies. I feel that this method will forestall a potential mutiny!
2.) There is nothing else to eat. I am positive their sense of self-preservation will kick in long before starvation prevails, leaving them crawling weakly towards the pantry in search of a Twinkie. They may grumble and gripe, but they will eat an apple, some nuts or some tzatziki and pita chips before dying.
3.) Food is constantly prepped and ready to grab. It would rock their little fast-food worlds if they were required to prepare it as well as eat it. So when I come home from the grocery store I wash the fruit and put it in bowls on the counter or fridge. Veggies are sliced if they are to be eaten raw. There are jars of nuts, trail mix, and clean granola on the counter. Clean crackers and cheese are available. Pitas and tomato sauce are available for mini pizzas, and leftovers are immediately packaged in single serving containers for easy reheating, in the dire situation that a meal might be required.
4.) Clean up old favorites. I have come up with clean versions of many of their favorite "dirty" foods. Some of these are through recipes from clean eating books and websites. Others are trial, error and experimentation. A week's dinners might include:

Turkey burgers on whole wheat natural buns

Sweet potato fries

Steamed veggies

Chicken and broccoli stir fry with honey garlic sauce

"Fried" brown rice

Turkey tacos

with spinach, tomato,and low fat cheese

Guacamole

"Refried" beans

Whole wheat spaghetti

Turkey and spinach meatballs

Clean marinara sauce

Roasted chicken breasts

Roasted veggies: White potato, sweet potato, carrots, and cauliflower

Homemade pizza topped with

herbed tomato paste

grilled chicken and veggies

mix of feta and low fat mozzarella

There are a lot of recipes I am dying to throw into the mix from my Family and Kids Cook book that I just haven't gotten to yet.

And here is a quick list of the things I don't do.

1.) I don't restrict them when we are out. I hope that in time they will naturally make better choices.

2.) I don't preach to them about how "clean" something is.

3.) I don't cave on requests for "just this once" bringing unhealthy food into the house.

4.) I don't force them to have a completely clean menu on special occasions like birthday dinners, holiday meals and parties.

I'm seeing some progress. We have had a dozen cookies sitting in a canister on the counter since Christmas. There are 10 left but the fruit drawer is quickly depleting. When Dad took them to Wendy's last week my youngest ordered Mandarin Oranges for her side instead of french fries (yes, they are loaded with sugar but her head was in the right place.) My oldest has been looking through my cookbooks and Clean Eating Magazine http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/minisite/ce_index.htm and experimenting with some recipes. She was responsible for some spectacular sweet potato fries with dinner last night! By summer I expect to have more progress to report.

As I make these foods over the next week I will post some photos and some recipes.

Have a squeaky clean day!

Daisy

Dec 29 - Today's food

Yesterday went just as planned - I love it when that happens! Hooray! I am really working hard to keep it clean until our New Years Eve party.

I decided to plan my meal 6 every day and then eat it if I'm hungry, skip it if I'm not. Then when I do get hungry I'm not wandering around the kitchen poking my nose into all the containers and eating too much. Here is today's yummy food agenda:

M1: ww natural toast, all natural pb, apple
M2: Small Cabbage roll (homemade but not by me - moderately clean), orange
M3: Turkey, 3 potato wedges, green beans and carrots, all mised up w/ Mrs. Dash Spicy
M4: HM trail mix
M5 Turkey burgers on 1/2 ww bun, topped with spinach, onion and tomato, sweet potato fries, steamed broccoli
M6: apple or orange

I'm not sure that fruit is the very best choice for the last meal but I chose it because sweets are what I always want at that time of night. The natural sweetness of the fruit does the trick for me.

I love the new little grocery store we have begun using. It is a family store, and they buy as much as possible from the local farms. The produce is competitively priced, the meat, all free range is a little higher, and the bread is all baked there - no preservatives - yippee! And the bread is cheaper than the Wonder bread alternatives. They also have a hot food bar of homemade foods, so in a pinch I can get moderately healthy meals that are prepared. That is where my yummy cabbage roll came from - the kiddos had homemade pierogies for lunch.

I missed my workout today - I overslept and the kids were up so I had no place to do it. Still waiting and about to begin threatening for my workout room upstairs to be emptied of all DD14's stuff! Grrr. Break out the garbage bags! Today was also my first day back to work after all of that lovey time off. Ahhhhh....it's just heaven to take 5 days in a row to not work!

Have a great day, and thank you to all of you that read this, and especially the ones of you who are nice enough to leave comments!

Daisy