Its the most wonderful time of the year!!

Wowzers, its been  how many months since I last blogged?!! 3 months!! Geez louise, time does fly. In the last 3 months so much has changed...I've gotten married, am a step mother of 3, amongst other things... whew! So I got married this past November, and now it's that time of year again where we're embarking upon the holidays and festivity seasons.... seems like celebration after celebration!!

Now in speaking about the holidays, one lady asked me how do I stay on target or continue with my healthy living with all the cookies and pies around. She went on to ask me, could I get rid of all the cookies for her. I told her I can't get rid of the cookies but I can tell you how to eat them. She looked at me with a blank stare. LOL. But honestly that's all I can do. I don't believe in denying oneself our guilty pleasures, but I do believe in balance, moderation, and planning for them.

After all, that is how I survived Thanksgiving and Christmas, and New Years. I did indulge in my favorites, but I had a plan as to how to indulge and not feel guilty. It dawned on me that the same holidays come around the same time every year....and....i generally like the same stuff every year...not that much has changed...lol..so knowing that, I can plan accordingly.  So here are my little tidbits that have been helpful and that I'm going to use again.

Question to ask: What things am I looking forward to eating during these occasions? How can I spread the love? (meaning how can I have them but maybe not have them all in one day). *sidebar*And if your doing weight watchers (like I am), I would find out the point plus value for each and already subtract them from my target:) I would use the remaining pointplus values to eat:)

So for me...what I do is I make up in mind...is today going to be a treat myself day...if that is the case then I'm going to go with the more filling foods for that day until I get to my treat surprise. Let's use a celebration that I am looking forward to....Christmas Eve @ Mom Montgomery's!! Wee hee!! (mouth has begun to salivate already)

My highlight for that day is the sweet potato cheesecake:) ooh yum and some other sweets. lol
So on the day of Christmas eve....I'mma do a light breakfast (maybe some yogurt, a banana,  and some tea,) lunch I'll do either a filling soup and salad with fruit and water, snacks in between maybe some string cheese,  fruit, and water....  (when you eat light little things before the throw down you can make better choices...because you arent' starved lol...meaning your stomach isn't eating its lining lol)

MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE:  
not eating the entire day before you go to the shindig...that will set you up and your most likely to overeat...and its not good for you anyway.
not drinking water  (throughout day..keeps your stomach feeling full and ensures you don't get dehydrated)

Okay back  to the food plan...after I eat light..then its Mom Montgomery's house oh yeah. My plan is strategic:)
1st. plate:) veggies first (why, because they are a good foundation for the tummy and they fill you up)....and drink some water.
2nd. plate little bit of turkey, lil ham
3rd. plate  desssert wee hee...a lil slither of this. a that not a full slice...then my glory sweet potato cheese cake.  *side bar* and the thing is because i had that foundation of veggies..i won't eat as much of the cakes and pies...i will still have some but not as much.
4th plate (desserts to go)...and freeze them for later:)....that way i can always have the holiday treats even after the holidays

Last years' goal was to not gain 20 lbs (that's how much I would normally gain from Thanksgiving to new years)...and i gained 3lbs (a drastic improvement)
This year's goal is to maintain...and I've already started to prepare by doing some extra workouts lol....cuz that sweet potato cheesecake is getting in my belly lol!

I said this all to say find a plan that works for you!! Also, remember this, what you don't have this year, will be there year after year!! This will not be the last time you eat during these holidays!
If others have plans that they've used post em up!

Miles and Miles for fresh food?!! Are you crazy!!

So it was two weeks a ago, a  dreary  Thurday  evening in DC, and I was on my way to meet up with the girls to attend my first Mystics b ball game (shouts out to Jeree). While I was walking thru 8th street NW to get to my destination,  I noticed that there was a crowd of people with stands and food. Did someone say food?!! Lol..of course I had to do a quick check of the viddle situations before going to the Verizon center...and what did I find?!! Fresh fruit and vegetables, and cheese, and meat...and a whole bunch of other home grown things.  I was like a kid in a candy shop as I 'm always willing to try different things. So I went to my go to foods (the fruits)...I knew there were going to be chips and other tempations at the basketball game...and I had already set in my mind to not get involved in those fiascos lol...so I got some fruit. I brought some peaches from a farm and some asian pears (which I Love asian pears lol)....and let me tell you...this was the best fruit I've even had in my life. Grant it, I've only be alive for 30 years (31 years tomorrow) lol...but still. My tastebuds were doing a little jig after having a peach.  Then, I made the mistake of sharing my fruit fortune with the kiddies...who took the fruit down without any second thought..lol..I guess its best that they love fruit rather than candy lol. Not only did the kiddies take the remaining fruit down...they pressed me almost everyday..where are the asian pears?..did you get anymore?...when you going back?...where is the farmer's market? Can you go there today?...and so on and so on. Needless to say, that next week, I was back at the farmer's market coming home with more fruit lol ( I found out that they are there every thursday).  I traveled from White Plains, Md to NW DC, just to experience that sensation again...to awaken my tastebuds so they could do that jig again...and also to shut the kiddies mouths up for a little while lol. 

Now this farmer's market is a bit far from me...but there are homegrown products and farmer's markets within the vincity of our homes.  I encourage you to test them out:) some are less expensive then the produce at the actual grocery stores. Have you ever tried a farmer's market and their produce before...let me know your thoughts!!

Afterall, The FOOD thats ALIVE (literally causing your taste buds to do a jig) is worth the DRIVE:)

Bored with food?!! Challenge!!

So this past Monday, I was able to catch up on  some of the show Criminal minds ( i really like that show)....and the episode I was watching was about this serial killer who started a routine of toruturing one female to death...but then became bored with killing one female a day...so he doubled up and killed two a day. I was like wow...he became that bored and challenged himself to see if he could get away with 2 a day...and he got away with it (until he wanted to give himself away). So I started thinking ...hmmm i should do that too!! Not kill people of course lol...but when things get boring..challenge myself and try something different to keep me interested.

So I thought...hey I often get bored with foods sometimes...so let me try something different. For some reason challenges keep me engaged and keep me striving towards something.  So for the next couple of days...i'mma challenge myself to do the simply filling technique (a technique from Weight Watchers) where you eat mainly power foods. (fruits, veggies, low-fat milk/ cheese, beans, etc). I'mma try it for the next couple of days and see how it works out. I have realized thru this process that I am goal oriented....and that it helps me to set weekly goals so I can strive towards them. When I write down a goal and set my aim towards I find that I am most successful.  I'll let you know how it goes...or you can join with me:)

Experiment with different foods:)

So I regretfully say this (as I know this increases my geek status)...but I read cookbooks for fun lol. I'll read anything...even when I was younger i'd sit on the toilet and read all the ingredients to every bottle under the sink lol... I know I know TMI (too much info)... but you get my drift, LOL.  Anyways, becaues I read cook books for fun, I don't remember half the time if  I came up with recipes myself or if its a combo of something I read....nonetheless here it goes.

So last week...I decided I was going to try to do something different with food. I mean last week I was in a slump and was just finding food to be boring. So I decided that I'd create something to stimulate my tastes buds:0) and it worked. Okay, so I made a pizza using a portabella mushroom (no bread) :) wee hee. So this is what I did...you can try it too or dock it up for your liking:).

I got a Portabella mushroom from Sam's (its huge) and it served as my pizza circle (ha ha the foundation of my pizza) and then I sauteed some spinach, mini sweet peppers, and onions. I cut off the stem of the portabella, added the topping, and then added some low-fat mixed cheese and put in the broiler for a few and voila:) home-made goodness:)


Oh and I liked it so much that I made it again a second time (in fact the next day lol)..adding a little bit of prego spaghetti sauce before I added the toppings:) Delicious!! So I encourage you to switch it up!! Ooh you could prob add some baccon bits, or chicken lol!Try this or try something new to keep it fun and interesting:) Experiment and or get some cook books!! wee hee!!

April Showers Come May Flowers!!

Wee hee the seasons are changing, the seasons are changing...can you feel it?! I know it has its ups and downs...cold rain here, and sun here and there, etc, but I don't care tho, cause I know whats a coming lol!! Soon it will be summer and with summer comes my favorite fruits!!

I hereby confess that I am a fruit-a-holic.

Check out this uber sexy asian pear!! Am I the only one who gets turned on by this lol!!

Okay back to the subject at hand....alas the seasons are a changing and I realize that for some reason, I tend to want to eat lighter as the seasons change. Anybody else feel that way? So here's a simple fruit roll call for ya.  What are your favorite fruits and veggies and how do you dress them up (you know, make eating them fun)?

Like for me, I love my blueberries in a cup of cottage cheese or in plain greek yogurt (sweetened with splenda).  Oh...and dipping bananas in chocolate and freezing them!!
Sometimes I make a pine-apple and banana smoothie ....
Or I eat little fresh apricots...

Tell me some of your fruit or veggie concoctions!! Lets get it!

Oh side-bar, this past weekend I went to Weight Watcher BLS training (the training to become a fabulous and dynamic Weigh Watchers LEADER) in Boston...hung out with some cool peeps (incorparted them into lifelong buddies) but most of all I learned how to continue to encourage and empower people on this journey to healthy living tee hee!! So watch out world!! Meet the Boston's Best BLS Group eva coming to a meeting room in your neck of the woods!!

Something's Eating Me

My journey to healthy living did not  happen overnight and or turn on one day like a light bulb!! I wish I could say that I woke up one morning and said you know what, I'm tired and I'm going to just eat and live right. I didn't. It was over time that I realized that something literally was eating me...and I used my eating/ lack there of to cope with it.

After failing repeatedly with this thing. I analyzed every failure and set back..after all, I am a therapist, so I did some introspection. I've been really doing some serious self-discovery over the past couple of years. From my self discovery time, I noticed a pattern from re-reading my journal entries, poems, songs, etc. I found there was a specific time that I gained weight the most....in the winter. I found that during the  winter I was most likely to eat all the stuff I had worked so hard not to eat throughout the year. I was most likely to get involved in unhealthy romantic relationships, spend unnecessary money, etc. Needless to say I was most unhappy....and so i filled it with something unhealthy thinking that it would make me happy.

There's a term for this....and a lot of women and people overall do it. Its called emotional eating. When our emotions are stressful or when we're going through, we sometimes eat or don't eat which adversely affects us.  We eat cause food is good...so good at times and it helps us to cope with what is eating us. I'll be honest with you, there are certain foods for me (cakes and pies:), that i feel like i'm having an orgasm (ooh the coconut cream pie shake from Sonic! My God!!)...its just that good to me (sorry, but I'm being honest..u can bleep out that part lol). So I've been trying to do a better job at realizing when I'm emotionally just out of control...cuz that's when I go hard for sweets and whatever I can put my hands on. I haven't arrived yet, and am still working on it.  But self- awareness is key and learning how you cope with stuff helps you to be able to change it.

So here's this week's challenge: If you can journal for a week do it:) if you can only do 3 days do it.... do what you can.  Just jot down your feelings and what you ate for the day. Thats it...and lets discuss the findings (post your comments)

On the road...

This past weekend, I attended the International Soul Music Summit in Atlanta and let me tell you, I was a little nervous about the trip.  I wasn't nervous because I was going to meet other indie artists and would have to be ready to promote my craft on the spot...nope that wasn't it. No, the first thing on my mind was how am I gonna stay on track healthwise?  I thought about that 11-12 hour car trip to the ATL. I thought...I'mma miss my group exercise classes (thurs & fri) and then there's the food piece. Trapped in a car for an 11-hour ride to and from...how do I keep focused with all the twizzlers, chips, etc?

Before I let my anxiousness get me in a tizzy, I planned. I know that planning:) decreases anxiety:)

Since I've started this healthy living journey, I decided that when I go on trips and or on vacations, I take my workout clothes and my trusty sneaks with me...so even if I just go walking its movement/some type of activity. This time, for my trip, I took my workout clothes, my sneaks, and a jump rope (i.e. the world's cheapest gym). The jump rope gets ur heart rate up and its easy! Before you know it, your heart rate is up and your sweating like a cow lol! You should try it! I plan to put some movement in throughout my day!

Now for the food. I packed alot of snacks:) fruit, carrots, lean meat, english muffins, drank a lot of water etc. I like crunchy foods:) so I kept health crunchy things on hand:) It worked. While others were snacking on twizzlers, salt and vinegar chips...I had blueberries and my lil weight watcher mint chocolate cookie crisp:), and fresh veggies and I was A okay:) The people I rode with were like dag you came prepared:) yup (not to mention I took up some space lol)!! I planned to not go off the wagon during the trip by being unprepared!

You know sometimes any change in our schedules can throw us off:) but learning to adjust and switch up here and there helps out; (be flexible).  And its easy to say we don't have time for a gym workout...but we can use simple things like a jump rope to get in some physical activity or the steps out front :).  Also, if you know whats coming, plan ahead! Keep a stash of a piece of fruit or a healthy snack in the car:)

Challenge of the week: choose 1 or the other:)
Get a jump rope and do 5 min in the morn and 5 min in the evening:) workout out.. the time adds up:)

or

Plan ur snacks for 2/3 days:)

Let's discuss (leave your comments)