Sunday, October 30, 2011

Great Resource

Whole Foods Advanced Recipe Search

I have recently discovered this amazing recipe resource. I love the advanced search feature, in which you can specify things like Vegan, or Gluten Free, or Sugar Conscious. This means you don't have to search through irrelevant recipes and you don't have to encounter tempting recipes with ingredients (like dairy or bread) that you're trying to stay away from.

Friday, October 28, 2011

This Puts it all in Perspective

I just ran across this on Huffington Post today. It's about a chef who lost his entire stomach to cancer. In spite of this, he still can eat (although only small meals), and he still works around food. He has found a way to still work in his vocation with passion and to help other people use food to fight cancer:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/28/hans-rueffert-chef-stomach-cookbook_n_1011680.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

Monday, October 24, 2011

ShouldaWouldaCoulda

I started this blog to chronicle my weight-loss and health journey, while focusing too on the environmental aspects of eating and shopping for food. During the past few months, I have done more to further the cause and keep in the spirit of this blog than I did in the previous three years.

To explain, I finally kicked (mostly) some bad habits and have consistently taken responsibility for what I eat, what I buy, for weight loss, and for my impact on the environment.

My best friend in the whole world, Ms. O., got married this summer. She was ridiculously organized about planning her wedding and insisted we order our bridesmaid's dresses in January (for a July wedding). She picked a gorgeous but unforgiving purple pencil-style shiny frock that I ordered in a size a little too optimistic for my own good. The dress came and it didn't fit. I could get in it, but no amount of stomach-suckage and gyrations made it zip, actually I made a tiny rip during these bi-weekly shenanigans.

Nordstrom's sold out of the dress, so even though I was tempted to just order the next size up at one point, by the time I decided to give in, they had sold out. No way out of it now. If I didn't fit in it, she would kill me, stone dead. I had no choice. I had to stop stuffing my face.

I started swimming last year, and have kept this up for over a year now, but I still regularly stuffed my face, so the weight loss (and gain) fluctuated. At one point, I found myself at 70 lbs overweight. You would think this would shock me into doing something, but ultimately, the visions of Ms. O. murdering me (or at least castigating me with a look of disappointment and disapproval) worked wonders for my motivation.

Before the wedding, I managed to lose about 15 pounds through giving up most meat, cutting down on dairy, eliminating bread, most sugar, and fat. I limited myself to 900 calories per day (plus booze calories a couple of days a week) and saw results fast. I knew I couldn't sustain this for the long haul, but the wedding day loomed and I was a desperate woman.

With the help of Spanx, a good strapless bra, and the dedicated work of the other bridesmaids, we managed to tuck me inside the dress (and I could still breathe). Thank goodness gracious.

When I returned home, I decided to continue all the good work and started working out often because I don't teach many classes in summer I had an excess of free time. I also watched a documentary called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, bought a juicer, and started what the movie calls "a reboot." I juiced for about three days, then started to eat only vegetables for a period of about five weeks or so. I currently have lost about 40 of the 70 pounds and am still going strong. I've introduced myself to all manner of new foods, have gone mostly vegan, and am eating better and feeling more satisfied and happy with what I'm eating than I ever have before.

More to come, folks!