An aloe from the Lower Garden. This photo almost makes me want to get out my pencil set and some paper, but in spite of looking everywhere, even under the couch, I have not found the time to do it.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
The Days Do Tend to Follow One Another
I find that I'm not coming up with ideas for here much. Some periods of life are like that I suppose, the struggle isn't so "struggly" I suppose. I've been posting at my Dryad Ranch blog with all of our weekend walks and the beauty of the place. I have been enjoying taking photographs and sometimes they just don't fit for Dryad, so what the heck.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
A Year Now Maintaining
It's been a year now since I hit my original weight loss goal and I am thrilled more than you can imagine that I've been maintaining that success. In fact, I'm actually about 13 pounds under that original goal now, depending on what end of the normal fluctuation I'm seeing on a given day.I still feel kind of half crazy about food and eating. And yet, it's only half crazy, which feels OK. It's not a hidden craziness any more if that makes any sense; when my brain starts trying to trick me into the old ways, I'm almost always able to call bullshit on myself before the food gets forked into my mouth.
Some things I've learned or that I'm starting to notice now:
1. It's not a great idea for me to get too hungry. I get crabby and I start feeling desperate even though intellectually I know starvation is NOT right around the corner.
2. I still love food and eating pretty much more than anything else. I think only half of that is related to the physical setup of being hardwired to enjoy taking in nutrients.
3. I'm comfortable enough in my ability to choose what I eat during any given day that I can start playing with my percentages - fat, protein, carbs - to see what works better and makes me feel stronger.
4. I still have a distinct and strong preference for eating until I have a full feeling. I haven't even come close to breaking this habit, I have to say I'm not really trying. I just use vegetables to get to the full place. I don't stuff any more even though there's the occasional impulse to just keep eating. I do sometimes find myself feeling a little sad when a meal is done and it's time to stop eating. I combat this by remembering how amazingly wonderful everything just was and reminding myself that in a little while there will be more.
5. I don't find sweets compelling any more. This is a huge relief. I still like the occasional treat and when I decide to have one I make sure to savor. I like to have some dark chocolate once or twice a week, but if someone brings something to work or there's just some run of the mill candy around, I'm indifferent to it. I never though I would ever be able to say anything like that, seriously. Indifferent.
6. I love my exercise now. I love the challenge of seeing if I can work just a tiny bit harder today and then succeeding.
7. Learning to cope with the emotional aspects of eating has helped me to cope with the emotions of the rest of my life, not that it ever was separate really. It's just that not using food to soothe or damp down the emotional upset of the day forces me to look at my life differently. Not that it's all perfect or anything, it's just more in the open.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
New Rules of Lifting for Women
This coming up Friday marks the one year anniversary of me having met my weight loss goal and maintaining a healthy weight. Wow, I never thought I would get here and stay here.
One of the things that I've taken up that has really helped me get to the goal and stay there has been weight lifting. It's not the first time I've tried it - unfortunately though I didn't stick with it and also didn't stick with the eating plan that time and gained all that weight, but I've found that now I've really come to enjoy it and look forward to hitting the gym, and hitting it hard.
At the moment, I'm following the program outlined in the book The New Rules of Lifting for Women, by Lou Shuler and Alwyn Cosgrove. The book lays out a well-structured program of building strength along with fat loss (not necessarily weight loss) strategies, specifically geared toward women. These workouts are almost all based on free weights exercises and are super-challenging. But I love it - I've seen my measurements improve even though my weight has not changed. And, my strength and ability has improved by leaps and bounds. Last but not least, my arms, which had been flabby, well er flappy if you know what I mean, are no longer so cringe-worthy, but are veritable works of art. Hyperbole aside, if it weren't so cold right now, I'd be going around showing them off.
I know that a lot of women are worried that they'll end up looking like hulking she-monsters but without the testosterone (and you don't want to be having any of that, right?) it just doesn't happen.
One of the things I love about doing this program is having found other women who are also working the program. There's a great online forum with lots of good advice, helpful videos and so on. I've also bonded with other women in the gym working in the "boys section" also known as the free weights area. Getting through this program - I'm starting the sixth stage out of seven - has also increased my mental toughness. Not that I thought I was soft before, but I did find that having to ask how to use equipment and how to do stuff and then making myself try it and push a little harder in an area that's maybe not so traditional has been a bit of a revelation for me.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Lemony Chickpea Stirfry: Cop-Out Recipe Post
Yikes, I've been a while posting. Got busy with other stuff and posting to the ranch blog and lots of other excuses. To keep this going just for today, herewith a new recipe I recently tried that ended up a keeper.
Lemony Chickpea Stirfry
Got from this blog. Used tempeh instead of tofu and spinach instead of kale. Added garlic because I cannot cook without garlic.
3 servings
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onions, minced
1 1/2 cup chickpeas
3 zucchinis, chopped
3 cups spinach, raw
4 ounces tempeh
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest
4 cloves garlic, minced
Cut up the tempeh into one inch slices and put into a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, and the lemon zest. This needs to marinate a bit before putting into the skillet so do this first and then get the chickpeas going.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in the onion and chickpeas.
Saute until the chickpeas are deeply golden and crusty. This will take a good 10 minutes or so. When everything is just starting to get to the crusty stage, add in the garlic and continue to saute, stirring. Bits will start to stick to the pan, which is good. Make sure to scrape up the crusty bits and keep it in the saute because they're yummy.
Stir in the tempeh and cook just until the tempeh is heated through, just a minute or so.
Stir in the spinach and cook for one minute more.
Remove everything from the skillet into a large bowl and set aside.
In the same skillet heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, add the zucchini and saute until it starts to take on a bit of color, two or three minutes.
Add the chickpea mixture back to the skillet, heat for a minute and remove from heat.
Stir in the remaining tablespoon of lemon juice.
Put back into the bowl and serve family style.
Per serving: 388 calories, 18.1 grams fat, 2.5 grams saturated fat, 42.6 grams carbohydrates, 12.4 grams dietary fiber , 6.7 grams sugars, 17.7 grams protein
Lemony Chickpea Stirfry
Got from this blog. Used tempeh instead of tofu and spinach instead of kale. Added garlic because I cannot cook without garlic.
3 servings
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onions, minced
1 1/2 cup chickpeas
3 zucchinis, chopped
3 cups spinach, raw
4 ounces tempeh
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest
4 cloves garlic, minced
Cut up the tempeh into one inch slices and put into a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, and the lemon zest. This needs to marinate a bit before putting into the skillet so do this first and then get the chickpeas going.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in the onion and chickpeas.
Saute until the chickpeas are deeply golden and crusty. This will take a good 10 minutes or so. When everything is just starting to get to the crusty stage, add in the garlic and continue to saute, stirring. Bits will start to stick to the pan, which is good. Make sure to scrape up the crusty bits and keep it in the saute because they're yummy.
Stir in the tempeh and cook just until the tempeh is heated through, just a minute or so.
Stir in the spinach and cook for one minute more.
Remove everything from the skillet into a large bowl and set aside.
In the same skillet heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, add the zucchini and saute until it starts to take on a bit of color, two or three minutes.
Add the chickpea mixture back to the skillet, heat for a minute and remove from heat.
Stir in the remaining tablespoon of lemon juice.
Put back into the bowl and serve family style.
Per serving: 388 calories, 18.1 grams fat, 2.5 grams saturated fat, 42.6 grams carbohydrates, 12.4 grams dietary fiber , 6.7 grams sugars, 17.7 grams protein
Saturday, October 18, 2008
More Obesity Studies
I am quite interested in a lot of the studies that keep being published about obesity, genetics and so on. I read about one yesterday that looks at a genetic component that decreases the pleasure some people get from food, which may impel them to eat more to get more pleasure. Here are some quotes from one of the better articles about this, from WebMD. This discussion actually reminds me a bit of the articles about ear infections being related to obesity because they damage the taste nerve. Of course none of this absolves us of the responsibility of paying attention to what we put in our mouths, it's just adding another piece to the puzzle about why it's so hard to maintain a healthy weight, especially if you've already let yourself get overweight.
--------------------------------------------
"Some people carry a variant gene that dulls dopamine responses. These people, Stice found, are more likely to be obese. And even if they are not obese, they get less pleasure from eating -- putting them at risk of overcompensating by overeating.
"People with the most blunted reward circuits are at the most risk of overeating, and the more they engage in eating, the more you see downregulation of their reward circuitry," Stice says. "They eat more to get the same reward."
"Of course it is a vicious circle," says Pothos. "A person says, 'I do not get pleasure from high-energy food, so I am eating even more but getting less pleasure, I don't know what to do. So obesity and weight gain may result from what we may call addiction to high-energy food."
"The term "addiction" isn't a metaphor. Stice and Pothos note that the same vicious circle, involving the same brain circuits and the same underlying genetic susceptibility, occurs in people addicted to drugs.
"However, both researchers are quick to point out that a dysfunctional pleasure system is only half the answer to the puzzle of obesity. Metabolic functions that control body weight also play a major role.
"We don't want to say obesity is an addictive disorder and not a metabolic disorder. We just want to say, 'Pay attention to both,'" Pothos says.
"Stice is now looking at whether obese people who switch to a healthy diet can reset their pleasure circuitry. He finds that when obese people stop eating energy-dense foods, their craving for such foods goes down, not up.
"If we can get obese people to improve the quality of their diets and stay the course for long time, eventually they do much better in craving and their pleasure circuits should go back to their old balance," he says."
-----------------------------------
One of the articles said that exercise helps in decreasing the cravings because it activates the same dopamine pathways that eating does. The other way to avoid the problem is to not start eating the junky stuff to begin with. Ha ha, too late!
A couple of other links to articles about this: Link and Link
--------------------------------------------
"Some people carry a variant gene that dulls dopamine responses. These people, Stice found, are more likely to be obese. And even if they are not obese, they get less pleasure from eating -- putting them at risk of overcompensating by overeating.
"People with the most blunted reward circuits are at the most risk of overeating, and the more they engage in eating, the more you see downregulation of their reward circuitry," Stice says. "They eat more to get the same reward."
"Of course it is a vicious circle," says Pothos. "A person says, 'I do not get pleasure from high-energy food, so I am eating even more but getting less pleasure, I don't know what to do. So obesity and weight gain may result from what we may call addiction to high-energy food."
"The term "addiction" isn't a metaphor. Stice and Pothos note that the same vicious circle, involving the same brain circuits and the same underlying genetic susceptibility, occurs in people addicted to drugs.
"However, both researchers are quick to point out that a dysfunctional pleasure system is only half the answer to the puzzle of obesity. Metabolic functions that control body weight also play a major role.
"We don't want to say obesity is an addictive disorder and not a metabolic disorder. We just want to say, 'Pay attention to both,'" Pothos says.
"Stice is now looking at whether obese people who switch to a healthy diet can reset their pleasure circuitry. He finds that when obese people stop eating energy-dense foods, their craving for such foods goes down, not up.
"If we can get obese people to improve the quality of their diets and stay the course for long time, eventually they do much better in craving and their pleasure circuits should go back to their old balance," he says."
-----------------------------------
One of the articles said that exercise helps in decreasing the cravings because it activates the same dopamine pathways that eating does. The other way to avoid the problem is to not start eating the junky stuff to begin with. Ha ha, too late!
A couple of other links to articles about this: Link and Link
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Blowing It On a Phenomenal Meal
Sometimes, a meal is so amazingly wonderful that worrying about calories or fat content or anything "guiltifying" is out of the question. Last week, I traveled to Napa, California with a close friend and we enjoyed such a meal. We went to Ubuntu, a wonderful restaurant that prepares the best food I've ever had, all of which just happens to be vegetarian. Both my friend and I are vegetarian so we were really looking forward to being able to select anything from the menu.
They prepare what they call "small dishes" where a small amount of food is beautifully presented on the plate, and everyone shares and samples everything. I hope you're not too hungry, because I'm about to list the wonderful dishes we ate.
Fingerling potatoes, lightly smoked, sauce gribiche, ficoide glaciale (that's a green of some sort), black garlic, capers (vegan)
Cauliflower in a cast iron pot, roast-puree-raw "couscous", vadouvan spice (somewhat curry-like), brown butter toast. Pictured at left.
Pizza with local chevre, torpedo onions and a romesco of friarelli peppers (we each had a slice and topped out, my husband got the leftovers)
Two ridiculously delicious desserts, the first with lightly roasted strawberries, and creamy things (at right), the other a chocolate number to die for.
They prepare what they call "small dishes" where a small amount of food is beautifully presented on the plate, and everyone shares and samples everything. I hope you're not too hungry, because I'm about to list the wonderful dishes we ate.(The dish to the left is the fingerling potatoes.)
Chickpea fries with herbs and romesco sauce (vegan)
Heirloom tomatoes, assorted basils, 25 year balsamico, wild fennel crackers (vegan)
Chilled watermelon and lemon grass soup (vegan) - this was incredible.
Fingerling potatoes, lightly smoked, sauce gribiche, ficoide glaciale (that's a green of some sort), black garlic, capers (vegan)
Cauliflower in a cast iron pot, roast-puree-raw "couscous", vadouvan spice (somewhat curry-like), brown butter toast. Pictured at left.Local stone ground polenta, finished with corn pudding, 3-day tomato soffrito, fried peppers (vegan)
Pizza with local chevre, torpedo onions and a romesco of friarelli peppers (we each had a slice and topped out, my husband got the leftovers)
Two ridiculously delicious desserts, the first with lightly roasted strawberries, and creamy things (at right), the other a chocolate number to die for.
I suppose it was very very touristy of me to take pictures of the food but I wanted to remember it.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
31 Days of Gratitude
I keep a daily journal, and part of that is finding something each day to be grateful for. Some days are easier than others. Here are 31 days of gratitude:
1. I am grateful for back roads and red-tailed hawks on top of power poles.
2. I am grateful for Belted Kingfishers and interesting neighbors.
3. I am grateful for hummingbirds and my favorite coffee mug with my name on it.
4. I am grateful for the yellow roses that are blooming now, for the fall acorn crop and a quiet weekend morning.
5. I am grateful for my husband who is a pretty darn good listener.
6. I am grateful for breathing in, breathing out.
7. I am grateful for Emmy Lou Harris's phenomenal CD Wrecking Ball, what a balm for the soul.
8. I am grateful for my husband, my son, my parents, my sister, the ranch. I am grateful for my health and the fact that I have been able to cooperate with my body (and vice versa) to bring myself to health and fitness. I am grateful for my senses and the feel of cool fall breeze as I walked out to my car this morning. I am grateful for a boss that lets me talk to her about my frustrations at work. I am grateful for my copper tea kettle that whistles to me in the morning that soon my yummy coffee will be ready.
9. I am grateful for a celebration of women.
10. I am grateful for the tang of a changing season, a bit of crispness in the air.
11. I am grateful for washing machines, I just can't imagine how much work it must have been before.
12. I am grateful for this cozy house, even though it desperately needs cleaning. I am grateful for the back patio, even though it's looking a tad scruffy right now. I am once again grateful for almond butter and raisin toast, yum.
13. I am grateful for the musical genius of Frank Zappa, Dick Dale and Jimi Hendrix, and of course, that of my son Will. I am grateful for my son and I'm remembering that day 24 years ago when he joined us on this planet. I am grateful for silly birthday cards and ridiculous song lyrics.
14. I am grateful for my treadmill, it has steadfastly carried me through mile after mile, calorie after calorie.
15. I am grateful for the gardens at the ranch, the quince and pomegranate trees, and all the roses.
16. I am grateful for having this extra day off to enjoy here at the ranch.
17. I'm grateful for almond butter. I came to the conclusion yesterday that almond butter was my second favorite food now, after asparagus, which still rules my heart. So, I'm grateful for almonds, almond trees and the bees which do the work of pollination.
18. I could be typing for hours this morning listing gratitudes, I'm pretty much grateful for everything this morning. I'm grateful that scorpion didn't sting me. I'm grateful that the second thing I saw this morning (after first seeing my sweet husband's sleepy face, for which I am also grateful) was a cloud of hummingbirds sipping nectar. What the heck, I'm grateful that the New Scientist magazine showed up in the mailbox along with the Audubon Society's journal and Birder's World.
19. I am grateful for the prospect of a long weekend and enjoying the ranch getaway.
20. I am grateful for the beautiful home-grown pear that is sitting on my desk waiting for my afternoon snack.
21. I am grateful for the sweet (sorta) memories from my youth.
22. I am grateful for my women's group. I am grateful that my husband is doing so well with his exercise program and is enjoying it. I am grateful for the heat that actually feels really good right now. I am grateful that my company stocks Peppermint herb tea in the lunchroom and I get to have as much of it as I want for free. I am grateful that the rabbit hole goes up as well as down.
23. I am grateful for our spot in the middle of nowhere and all of our furred and feathered friends.
24. I am grateful for echinacea and zinc lozenges, and the prospect of going to the ranch this weekend for some artful rest.
25. I'm glad that I still am on the payroll, seein' as how I have to go grocery shopping tonight.
26. I am grateful for muscles. Or mus-kels as my Dad always call them.
27. I am grateful for my family and friends.
28. I am grateful for my Mom and Dad.
29. I am grateful for questions, mysteries, conundrums and bits of circular logic.
30. I am grateful for this season's fresh peaches, which I had such cravings for through the winter.
31. I am grateful for lentils and all that protein and fiber and I'm also grateful for the folks who grow lentils. I'm going to be even more grateful for them when I'm having my lunch leftovers later on.
1. I am grateful for back roads and red-tailed hawks on top of power poles.
2. I am grateful for Belted Kingfishers and interesting neighbors.
3. I am grateful for hummingbirds and my favorite coffee mug with my name on it.
4. I am grateful for the yellow roses that are blooming now, for the fall acorn crop and a quiet weekend morning.
5. I am grateful for my husband who is a pretty darn good listener.
6. I am grateful for breathing in, breathing out.
7. I am grateful for Emmy Lou Harris's phenomenal CD Wrecking Ball, what a balm for the soul.
8. I am grateful for my husband, my son, my parents, my sister, the ranch. I am grateful for my health and the fact that I have been able to cooperate with my body (and vice versa) to bring myself to health and fitness. I am grateful for my senses and the feel of cool fall breeze as I walked out to my car this morning. I am grateful for a boss that lets me talk to her about my frustrations at work. I am grateful for my copper tea kettle that whistles to me in the morning that soon my yummy coffee will be ready.
9. I am grateful for a celebration of women.
10. I am grateful for the tang of a changing season, a bit of crispness in the air.
11. I am grateful for washing machines, I just can't imagine how much work it must have been before.
12. I am grateful for this cozy house, even though it desperately needs cleaning. I am grateful for the back patio, even though it's looking a tad scruffy right now. I am once again grateful for almond butter and raisin toast, yum.
13. I am grateful for the musical genius of Frank Zappa, Dick Dale and Jimi Hendrix, and of course, that of my son Will. I am grateful for my son and I'm remembering that day 24 years ago when he joined us on this planet. I am grateful for silly birthday cards and ridiculous song lyrics.
14. I am grateful for my treadmill, it has steadfastly carried me through mile after mile, calorie after calorie.
15. I am grateful for the gardens at the ranch, the quince and pomegranate trees, and all the roses.
16. I am grateful for having this extra day off to enjoy here at the ranch.
17. I'm grateful for almond butter. I came to the conclusion yesterday that almond butter was my second favorite food now, after asparagus, which still rules my heart. So, I'm grateful for almonds, almond trees and the bees which do the work of pollination.
18. I could be typing for hours this morning listing gratitudes, I'm pretty much grateful for everything this morning. I'm grateful that scorpion didn't sting me. I'm grateful that the second thing I saw this morning (after first seeing my sweet husband's sleepy face, for which I am also grateful) was a cloud of hummingbirds sipping nectar. What the heck, I'm grateful that the New Scientist magazine showed up in the mailbox along with the Audubon Society's journal and Birder's World.
19. I am grateful for the prospect of a long weekend and enjoying the ranch getaway.
20. I am grateful for the beautiful home-grown pear that is sitting on my desk waiting for my afternoon snack.
21. I am grateful for the sweet (sorta) memories from my youth.
22. I am grateful for my women's group. I am grateful that my husband is doing so well with his exercise program and is enjoying it. I am grateful for the heat that actually feels really good right now. I am grateful that my company stocks Peppermint herb tea in the lunchroom and I get to have as much of it as I want for free. I am grateful that the rabbit hole goes up as well as down.
23. I am grateful for our spot in the middle of nowhere and all of our furred and feathered friends.
24. I am grateful for echinacea and zinc lozenges, and the prospect of going to the ranch this weekend for some artful rest.
25. I'm glad that I still am on the payroll, seein' as how I have to go grocery shopping tonight.
26. I am grateful for muscles. Or mus-kels as my Dad always call them.
27. I am grateful for my family and friends.
28. I am grateful for my Mom and Dad.
29. I am grateful for questions, mysteries, conundrums and bits of circular logic.
30. I am grateful for this season's fresh peaches, which I had such cravings for through the winter.
31. I am grateful for lentils and all that protein and fiber and I'm also grateful for the folks who grow lentils. I'm going to be even more grateful for them when I'm having my lunch leftovers later on.
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