ISRAEL BOUND and other Friday news..

I am so excitedly excited.. We are taking a trip to Israel in March.. this is going to be the COOLEST OF THE COOL.. the BEST OF THE BEST.. and uhmmmm no we are not riding the motorcyle there.. We are going with Steve's brothers .... I am going to start walking a lot more now.. so I can be prepared for all the walking we will be doing once we are there... I will take pictures galore you can bet on that....

Why is that when I google healthy blogs I simply bring up garbage for the most part.. nothing interesting.. or at least interesting to me??? Now if I type in weight loss blogs.. there are many... hmm still not a lot but more too choose from... its a fairly quiet Friday and thats fine by me.. We tried a new recipe for Whole Wheat apple pancakes last night... One word.. YIKES!!!!... this might have been better had we gone with the first idea... which was following a different recipe.. however.. we decided to be more health oriented and this was a total FLOP.. Never doing those again... We do a fabulous blueberry version that is really good.. but for some reason these apple ones.. just were low on the taste chart...
I saw something recently that lit my fire a bit.. its an old post on the Junkfood Science blog.. it talks about how it should be considered a crime to have obese children.."The intervention of social services in what was previously regarded as a private matter is likely to raise concerns about the emergence of the “fat police.” Some doctors even advocate taking legal action against parents for ill treating their children by feeding them so much that they develop health problems."
The post went on .. and it said there is only one word to describe this.. PREJUDICE... .Prejudice against those that are overweight and have children that are overweight too.. I don't thing that obese parents should lose their children who are obese .. I do think ... that the correct response is to educate people.. I am not saying obese people are not educated.. but maybe they do not see this as a problem.. or maybe they don't know how to change it or have the tools.. .. it would be a very sad world if children are removed from loving homes because of obesity....
I feel when it comes to families.. that healthy eating is a FAMILY ISSUE... even if just one family member is carrying the extra weight.. this is a family issue.. I think when you have the support of your family you stand a greater chance of long term success... Now I know a lot of you out there who have healthy kids and let them pretty much eat what they want.. have to deal with junk food in the house... well what if.. you slowly started replacing the junk food with faux junkfood.. lowfat microwavable popcorn.. or a better version of pretzels... or homemade healthier versions of cookies in the cookie jar... etc... to me.. if I were a mom it would make it easier on me not to have the junkie stuff in the house but provide alternatives.. maybe though thats just me..

I was perusing the google world and found an interesting site.. called SIZE WISE..
http://www.sizewise.com/ .. I like to find these fat acceptance or size acceptance sites.. I find them informative and interesting...

As I was perusing .. along... I found some new healthy recipe sites too:
http://www.medicinenet.com/recipes/article.htm

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/lf_health/

I always forget about this website and I LOVE IT : http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/

That's it for Friday..

Wish me well
Wish you well too
Have a wonderful weekend

POSTING A LOT TODAY

Its one of those days friends... so I am posting a lot... today will be a long day.. I am food prepared.. I just have to get exercise prepared I think it would help me manage stress better..
My new favorite snack. .Craisens and a handful of Pistachio nuts.. its interactive in that it takes time to crack the shells of the pistachios open so it take more time to eat and its yummy..

Some folks have already posted about Nancy the woman who lost 530 pounds she is amazing here is a link from Oprah :http://www2.oprah.com/health/weight/slide/20071128/slide_weight_tows_101.jhtml

Truely a THINSPERATION if you ask me!!!!!!!!!

My Steve is wonderful.. during the week he usually prepares the most heavenly hot meals after work.. I like to cook on the weekends when I have more time.. I find it theraputic ...
I wish everyone a great and peaceful Thursday..
That shopping mall massacare in Omaha really had me bothered..
If I were Christmas shopping I would be ordering everything online...
There are so many scary people out there .. it is amazing... in a very pitiful way...
I still can not believe that this jerk just murdered 8 people for no reason ... and at the holiday time yet... I feel so sad for those families.. to have to suffer any time but especially at this time of year.. and yes that man is jerk.. or worse... I don't care how bad your life is .. or how bad you feel.. there is no excuse .. there is no reason to take another life.. Take your own if that is what you must do.. but never another life like that...... oh well
God be with them..
God be wtih us too..
Wish me well
Wish you well too..

STRESSFUL DAY = HIGHER CALORIES for me

IT is going to be a stressful work day so I upped my calories a bit.. 1,402 instead of my 1200-1300 range... I was afraid if I did not do this that I would let lose tonight I planned comfort food ( I love cheese toast 1 oz of a hard cheese melted on whole grain bread) for dinner tonight...with a nice hot cup of Steve's coffee.. I have a patient coming into that was not .. well.. the nicest thing over the phone.. those patients stress me out to no end.. he will be the type that will come in this afternoon and get mad at me because he has paperwork to fill out.. I had him on the phone yesterday and he cut me short while I was trying to get his info.. I did not even bothering asking him if he wanted me to fax his paperwork to him.. so i am sure he is going to pop a gasket when he sees he still has paperwork after the info I collected over the phone.. ASSHOLES make the world go round I guess.. thankfully most of our patients are amazingly sweet .. and so much fun to work with.. I guess thats why we need the jerks every so often to always help us appreciate even more the sweeter ones..
Wish me well
Wish you well too..

A BOWL OF CEREAL OR A CUP????

SO we sit there... knowing exactly what we should do.. yet do we eyeball it.. or do we take an exact measurement? chances are your morning is hectic so you are going to eyeball putting that cereal in that oversized bowl.. covering the bottom of the bowl ( you say to yourself..surely I can have more than that).. 1/4th of the bowl is full now.. and the serving still looks skimpy to you.. .. so you sprinkle in more cereal.. the bowl now is 1/2 full.. you pour in your fat free milk ( HEY ITS FAT FREE IT IS OKAY) again using the old eyeball trick.. the bowl is 3/4th full.. you shrug and add some more cereal.. NOW YOU HAVE A BOWL OF CEREAL.. or better yet.. you keep it at 1/4th of the way full.. add your milk. and after you have eaten the cereal you notice there is milk still in the bowl.. you shrug and add more cereal.. eat it.. and there is still more milk left so you add more cereal.. until every last drop of that liquid is gone.. So you started with good intention.. but somewhere you healthy cereal breakfast went off track.. Here is the reality... DONT USE A BOWL.. save bowls for salad... or soup.. Take a small coffee cup.. get your measuring cup out.. read the back of your cereal box.. see what a serving size is.. and commence to using that size.. in some cases the serving will fill the cup up.. or it might only fill it half way but if you add milk .. the cup is full... and if you got a whole coffee cup of measured cereal and u add milk your cup will be overflowing REMEMBER THE KEY >>> SMALL COFFEE CUP.. not a oversized mug!!!! in your minds eye.. you will think hey .. I am not being deprived.. this is a nice serving.. as opposed to the bowl you just can't seem to get to look satisfying until you over do it... Look for high fiber cereal. BUT the key here is finding tasty cereal that you get a nice serving of... Most sugared cereal is based on 1 CUP measurements.. THATS A MEASURING CUP SIZE not rounded... not over flowing but EVEN!!!.... Most Fiber rich cereals.. over 4 grams ... give you anywhere from 1/2 of a cup to one cup.... depending on the sugar content.. Truthfully, its all about comparing labels.. and finding what works for you... Sometimes I like to mix my cereals up.. I might start out with HEART TO HEART then sprinkle in a 1/4th cup of Kashi GO lean crunch... or I might have weight control oatmeal if I want a HOT Cereal... but if I am sticking with cold I usually mix it up... that way allowing for different textures.. good crunch and a longer eating time... When I am banking calories.. I always look for the biggest serving , most fiber, least amount of calories.. many things out there I pass on... because the serving size is very small.. compared to the calories or if the serving size is large and it has a fiber content of less than 2 grams.. per serving I usually pass on that too ... Thats another reason i tend to lean towards fresh fruits and veggies.. I can have unlimited veggies and a fair amount of fruit.. spending my calories on these things is not only filling but good for me as well..
If you are banking calories and counting them.. ( I love this method.. its like a game to me) then you are always making an investment in yourself.. if you want to use calories towards a treat.. fine... but balance it with good nutrition too.. I think what I like so much about this method is that it is a limitless in what you can do.. Okay.. I know what you are thinking.. .. Honi .. you are trying to stick with 1200 calories... a day.. thats very LIMITED... I disagree.. the calories might be limited.. but I can have fun with in those calories.. finding new healthy recipes.. revamping old recipes.. concentrating on what a serving size really is.. and deciding is that serving size really going to work for me or would I rather try something else... Yes.. you have to think about food... Yes you have to plan and be organized.. but once you figure it out.. then it becomes second nature.. and you do not think about it... I tend to be a creature of habit and for the most part with variations eat the same meals during the week.. I like to get creative during the weekends.. for example I will save my eggs usually for the weekends.. ( I keep my eggs to no more than 4 a week so I do that on weekends in some form.. ) What ever plan you are following in most cases.. it encourages portion control.. USING THOSE MEASURING CUPS... use the smaller plates.. play games with yourself so you do not feel you are "cheating yourself" .. and always remember.. that the first bite tastes the same as the last one... so if you want to indulge.. do it with thought.. and enjoy your food.. don't just woof it down because its there and everyone else is doing that..
.
Thats another thing.. stop and watch people it.. watch the large people eat.. watch the smaller size people eat... note what people do different.. that might sound strange.. but I watch people eat.. i watch how folks load up their plates.. and what they load up on ( call me a freak ) .. I watch what the more fit people do .. and truthfully a lot of times it inspires me to eat healthier.. ( so I might mimic their plates.. or take a bite of food when they do.. ) just to see whats different than how I have eaten.. I study it because I want to learn now.. how to change all of this.. the one major commitment I made to myself when I started this program was that I would NEVER GO BACK TO WHAT I WAS.. I WOULD NEVER BE OVER 200 pounds again.. I am well under that now.. 182.2 and I still have 50 pounds to go ... but its like my cousin said.. just focus on one pound at a time.. it makes it easier..

For today I close with this:

BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF
BE PREPARED
WATCH PEOPLE
LEARN YOUR SERVING SIZE.. ( THE REAL SERVING SIZE NOT THE SIZE YOU SEE ON TV OR THE ONE YOU EYEBALL)
BE AWARE
ENJOY WHAT YOU EAT by EATING SLOWLY

WISH ME WELL
WISH YOU WELL TOO

IT'S STILL CHANUKAH ( it will be until next tuesday) ..A TRIP TO THE BANK

Well here we are at the first Day of Chanukah.. tonight we light the second candle.. We skipped our latkas last night and are planning to do a brunch on Sunday.. I think we are going to ask Steve's son and daughter in law and grandson.. Now they celebrate Christmas.. (they are not jewish) so we thought this might be a fun way of sharing Chanukah with them.. thats when we thought we would do the latkas.. hmm I loved your comments from yesterday and Scale Junkie that Zuchini idea sounds super.. will have to try that..

Okay I went to the bank today.. not my regular bank where I have yet to change my name but Steve's bank were we share an account.. It is hard to remember to use the married name when I am there still LOL. I guess I will get used to that as time goes on.. anyhow.. I was riding a side road off the highway and I noticed all the geese around these man made lakes they were busy hunting through the grass for yummy bugs or whatever geese eat.. .. then I started thinking.. about all of us.. all of us on this planet.. creatures .. people .. anything with a mouth and a belly.. no matter what each of us.. from the smallest of us to the largest of us.. are always in need of this one thing.. some of us nose through grass.. some us hunt and eat wildly.. some us pick through trash.. some of us scream angrily until that bottle or breast is pushed into his or her mouth..or the spoon is randomly shoved in loaded with whatever green or orange goo mom could find for babies..some of us beg for it.. will do tricks for it.. some of us are starving for it.. Some of us have way to much of it.. or way to little of it.. Food.. sustenance.. excess.. however.. we can have it.. .. so amazingly food centric are we ...

We as humans are suppose to provide for our young.. we are suppose to teach them the proper amounts of food to ingest.. we are suppose to lead by example.. yet we still for the most part have not learned.. and some of us have learned so well that we make our children OBSESSIVE about food. instead of letting them learn by their instincts .. when to stop eating.. or what to eat .. There are those that have managed some how to lead by example.. there are those out there who exercise and have given that love to their children.. those same people love to indulge too.. and they have taught their children that they can indulge in moderation .. and that good exercise leads to good health both mentally and physcially.. Truthfully that is who I wish i was.. I wish I was one of those type people.. granted I have no children to teach.. however I wish someone had taught me by letting me have a good example.. I did not have that growing up.. I had a dad that loved to indulge and he would let me indulge and I had a mom that was obsessive about my weight so much so that she put me on my first diet at 10.. what a horrible thing to do to a kid.. food was taken away from me.. i learned to be a fast eater and to hide food around the house for later.. I was always afraid I would not have enough to eat.. had I simply learned then what I have learned now.. things would have been different.. but I cant fault my parents for what they thought was the right thing.. nor can I fault the doctor who put me on diet pills at 13.. nor can I fault anyone.. 45 years old.. thats what I am .. and I am still learning how to manage my eating.. for now.. I am eating to lose.. eventually I will be eating to maintain.. IF I were a parent.. not only would I be teaching myself but I would work so hard to help my children.. be healthier wiser eaters.. and better exercisers... I would teach my children to be every thing I am not so that when they are my age.. they would not find themselves in my dilemmas.. hmm thats what I thought about today.. My reality is becoming that person I want to be.. a healthy nutritiously sound human.. who indulges every now and then.. but eats sensibly and enjoys exercise .. whatever that may be..
Wish me well
Wish you well too

CHANUKAH, HANNUKA, CHANNUKA, HANUKAH.. YOU CAN SPELL IT ANYWAY YOU WANT BUT IT'S CHANUKAH TO ME

WELL Chanukah falls early this year.. usually it is tied right in with Christmas... Chanukah is a minor jewish holiday but is a very familiar jewish holiday because it is the one most associated with Christmas because they tend to fall near each other.. However , since jewish holidays go by the jewish calender they never fall at the exact same time each year... Long story to be saved for another post... Hence, Chanukah starts tonight.. If I had kids we would have a bigger celebration.. so its just Steve and I .. we light our menorah.. and somewhere over the next 8 days.. we shall exchange chanukah presents and make our potato latkas .. (potato pancakes fried in oil) ( boy that stinks up the house in a oily oniony way ) Here is a healthier version of Potato pancakes in case you want to indulge in this once a year treat... this is from FOODFIT.com :
Low-Fat Latkes
This recipe serves:
8
3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
1 medium onion
1/3 cup matzah meal, or unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup egg substitute, or 2 eggs plus 4 whites
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
a sprinkle kosher salt or coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil spray (or 2 tablespoons olive oil)

Serve with:
non-fat or low-fat sour cream
applesauce

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place a couple of non-stick baking sheets in the oven and preheat to 450°F .
2. Peel the potatoes and onion and coarsely grate in a food processor fitted with a shredding disk or on a box grater. Grab handfuls of the grated vegetables and squeeze tightly between your fingers to wring out as much liquid as possible.
3. Transfer the grated vegetables to a mixing bowl and stir in the matzah meal, baking powder, egg substitute, parsley, and plenty of salt and pepper. (The latkes should be highly seasoned.)
4. Spray the hot baking sheets with oil (or drizzle the oil on it and spread with a wooden spoon) Spoon small mounds of potato mixture onto the baking sheet to form 2-1/2 inch pancakes, leaving 1 inch between each. Bake-fry the latkes in the oven until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes per side, turning once with a spatula. (When you turn the latkes, try to flip them onto spots on the baking sheet that still have oil.)
5. Transfer to plates or a platter and serve immediately with sour cream and/or applesauce.

192 calories I think for a couple of them..



I lifted this picture from AMAZON.. I prefer the mix... lol.. yeah call me cheap and easy.. I add an onion and a real potato to stretch it out a bit.. and its tasty and fine

about 160 for 4.. give or take a few calories






We have a unique menorah.. it looks like this.. : I bought that for Steve a few years ago for Chanukah.. we use it.. we have several others but this is the one we enjoy the most..


Eating for me is right on target.. however.. here is the big issue.. HONI IS NOT VERY GOOD EXERCISING.. does tearing apart the kitchen and putting everything back in with the wedding gifts count as exercising in sort of an untraditional way.. I know I know.. okay.. we have a great membership at this great club.. and we need to use it.. I called Steve this morning.. and told him as always how much I love him .. he asked me what he did wrong LOL.. I said nothing.. the only reason I was calling was to say how great our eating has been .. but that we need to incorporate exercising with it.. I told him we don't have to break our necks just something.. we do a lot of walking when we go to the flea markets.. so thats good.. but we need more.. so we are going to work on that ...
Well... all is well for a cold and Sunny Tuesday
Wish me well
Wish you well too

BUTT CRACK??? on a MONDAY.. why???

OKAY.. so its pretty darn chilly here.. this morning I go down to the Social Security office.. .. yes I went last and they told me I would have to come back this week..... SHIT.!!!!!... When I get to the office I notice its fairly crowded but not bad... so I decide to take a number and wait.. well I sit down.. .. this older guy gets called to one of the windows... as he sits down his butt crack rises and his pants fall down.. HELOOOOOOOO PLEASE WEAR UNDERWEAR IF YOUR PANTS ARE TO DAMN BIG>>> OR BETTER GET PANTS THAT ACTUALLY FIT!!!! seeing your butt crack at 8 30 am is not my idea of happiness... his whole butt .. okay 3/4ths of his whole butt fell out of his pants.. I know what you are thinking.. why don't you just look away HONI!!! two reason. it was in front of my face and.. well you know when there is a wreck and you simply have to look for whatever reason....that was me... then .. they call the next number and so forth.. then I am sitting there 45 minutes later... my ticket was E 194 well a few minutes ago they called E 193 .. so it goes to figure that next they would call E 194.. right???? BUTTTTTTTTTTT NOOOOOOOOOOOOO they call E 195.. then E 196 I complain to the guard.. and he goes to the guys window to tell him.. and the guy calls me up.. and says I have no idea what happened to your number.. ( THATS NOT MY PROBLEM>> JUST HELP ME!!!! shhesh.. so that was a wasted 45 minutes because I DID NOT EVEN NEEED TO COME BACK THERE> .like that dummy told me I needed to last week.. SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHESHH>. So thats my morning... I hate wasting time.. I hate being told the wrong thing... Tell me what I need to do and I will do it.. but PLEASE DO NOT EVER TELL ME THE WRONG THING>>> !!!!! that just boils my blood..
Then to top that off.. Baz did not feel well this morning.. turns out the vet said he pulled some muscles.. so his arthritis is not acting up.. he just was too rambunctious over the weekend.. the poor doggie could hardly move this morning and getting up was such a struggle for him.. Steve thought he was in serious trouble... so they went to the vet.. but all is well there.. that was scary .. we just have to remember he is 7 years old now.. and we have to watch him... he is such a lover though.. I am so glad he is okay.. and that some asprin and not too much exercise should heal him right up in the next few days...
CHeck this site out.. its very informative : http://www.dietdetective.com/

Eating wise is good.. got some chili for lunch and beer bread.. its easy to make.. and its good with chili ....
Wish you well too..

PS.. no puppy hunt this past weekend.. we had to take the bike into the shop .. the front tire valve had to be fixed and then the guy found a bolt in the back tire... so it was too late to go on a puppy hunt.. HOPEFULLY this weekend...

A QUICK ONE BEFORE BED

Hope everyone had a great weekend... ours did not go exactly as planned.. No great Puppy hunt.. Steve found a leak in the front tire of the motorcycle.. we took it to the shop.. not only was the valve messed up.. but the back tire had a BOLT in it.. so they repaired everything but by then it was too late to take the trip to Collinsville so we will do that soon.. oh well.. I am always up for a good Puppy Hunt...

I decided to weigh this morning... 182.2 YAY one pound down..

SO thats good... Will weigh again next Sunday or Monday..



We did some baking tonite some Yummy beer bread.. to go with our lean chili.. and some Black Bean Brownies.. SO yummy.. uh huh.. a good treat..

I had weird dinner tonite.. a piece of beer bread 2 clemintines.. and a tiny square of a black bean brownie.. lol.. oh well..



I am beat.. spent the day tearing down the kitchen and finally incorporating the wedding gifts in... got rid of a lot too... YAY..

I also have my photos on disk to go get prints of for our weddng album.. so thats all good too...

Off to bed with me..

OHHHH I switched over to Slide .com and put up a new SLIDE SHOW above... I just put wedding shots.. I used to love that ROCK YOU site but it is not as cooperative as slide.com....
Night night more tomorrow..
wish me well
wish you well too..