Celebrating Scale and Non-scale Victories

I'm celebrating two victories today, but the NSV (non-scale victory)  is the one that excites me the most.  I've dropped from a sz 16 to a sz 12 in jeans in the last 12 months, and those quickly became looser in the waist, and now I have a little wiggle room in the thigh and butt area too, although they still fit ok. I tried a couple different sz 10 recently and they didn't work out, so figured this was it.  And I was ok with that.  As I mentioned in a previous post, if I never dropped another pound, I'd be perfectly content.

Well I was able to check that box this afternoon when I put on a sz 10 and they fit perfectly! Bonus: Found them at the thrift store, so they only set me back $3.89. Also grabbed three tops and a denim blazer, for a grand total of $21.89 with tax. I couldn't have found just the jeans for that price, so you know I'm a happy girl all around.

In fact, I was so excited about the jeans fitting that I took pics in the dressing room, LOL. Hair is a mess and needs to be dyed, no makeup, and I'm barefoot. Don't judge!

And for those of you who might be thinking that all the walking/running/biking I've been doing is the reason for the weight loss, and you can't physically do what I'm doing, you'd be wrong. Before starting this particular journey, I was running anywhere from 3-8 miles almost every day (usually 5-6), and it made little to no difference either in the way I looked or on the scale ... I still stayed between 185-200 flipping pounds. I was killing myself for nothing, because you can't outrun a bad diet. I used to have big goals to reach a certain number of steps per day, usually over 25,000, and often reached 30,000 or more. I still get 20,000 or so sometimes but that's not a goal. More often lately I'm averaging 10-15,000 steps per day, and when I first started making changes, I was only walking a mile or so here and there, choosing to focus on other changes first. I still lost weight in those first weeks, and even with that pretty significant decrease in the amount of daily activity these last months, today's scale smiled back at me with 144.5, my lowest since before retiring from the Marine Corps more than 24 yrs ago.

It's all about nutrition. I'm not taking any pills or following any fancy program that will do little except take my money. I'm eating REAL food, not packaged junk, and have eliminated sugars (except natural sugars from fruit). I'm staying low carb (because of the past threat of diabetes), but even without that, just saying no to the processed crap found in boxed and convenience foods has made a tremendous difference. Decades of that junk will kill you! I don't feel deprived at all, and trust me, I eat plenty! I just make sure it's the right stuff ... meat, fish or other seafood, vegetables, cheese, fruit, either fresh or frozen. And I snack on nuts throughout the day. That's it! It's not rocket science.

I've lost a chunk of weight a couple of times in the past, but deprived myself of too much and wasn't able to sustain it for more than a few short months at best. It was a struggle, and for what? As soon as I deviated at all, the weight came back with a vengeance. Last year I decided instead to just eat healthy to stay healthy and not focus on my weight, yet the weight-loss has been a very welcome by-product. It's been almost a year and I still don't feel like I'm missing anything; when I dine out with friends, I do sometimes allow myself a little something from my 'no-no' list, but I don't go crazy with it. I'm pretty confident now that what I'm doing is sustainable for the long term.

I'm not pushing my lifestyle on anyone, but if you want advice or to hear more about how I got here, I'd be happy to answer questions, and can point you to some eye-opening reading material that made a big impact on my decision to stay processed-food free. Again, I'm not following any costly program or taking any supplements or buying foods touted by a specific company ... I'm just being careful about what I put in my grocery cart, bring into my home, and put into my mouth.

~ Marie Anne

How I prepared my body to complete my accidental marathon, Part I - Fat Adaptation

If you haven't read my earlier post about how I completed a marathon I didn't know I was going to run, please do that first so that you have the background on how it came about, and understand why what I'm going to share today is so impactful.

So I completed a marathon the other day (I won't say I 'ran' a marathon, because much of it was at a walk, but I did complete the distance).  At 63 yrs old and still overweight (for now), with various injuries under my belt and at risk for more, completing even a half-marathon was only a dream.  

In recent years I'd been running off and on, sometimes doing between 3-6 mi almost daily at a slow run, but never really improving in speed, and it didn't help with weight loss.  They say you can't outrun a bad diet, and I'm here to tell you that is the absolute truth.  You could run a marathon every week, but if you suck in the nutrition department, you won't realize much benefit from it.

I don't know where it first started, but in following some running and general fitness blogs and podcasts, I landed on the term fat adapted, which in general means re-training your body to burn fat while exercising, and not to rely on carbs for energy. You've likely heard about carb-loading before a race (the traditional spaghetti supper the night before), and most people carry gels and/or carb-laden snacks for fuel during a race.  Until a few weeks ago, I was one of those people.  But the problem with relying on carbs for fuel is that your body will burn those up quickly and need refueling often if you're going any distance at all.  If you keep replenishing carbs as you burn them, guess what?  You never get into fat-burning mode, and if weight loss is your goal, you're probably not going to see much for positive results.  So you probably tell yourself you need to work longer and harder, and since you're still adding the wrong type of fuel, the cycle continues.  Sure, you're burning more calories, but only those you just added when you scarfed down that energy bar.

I've been pre-diabetic/insulin resistant for years, and a sugar/carb addict (yes, it IS a thing).  I've never been able to go a couple of hours without eating something, and the thought of working out before breakfast, or without at least some sort of bar or snack seemed unattainable to me.  Running on an empty stomach?  I'd never make it around the block!

But you know what?  Our bodies are amazing works of creation!  We're adaptable, and with minimal effort, they can be trained to do all sorts of things we didn't think we could do.  And honestly, I don't think we were originally designed to have to eat something every few hours, or require sugar for energy to carry us through a race.  Did our ancestors carry energy gels or Honey Stingers in the pockets of their leggings to get through a day's work plowing the fields, or stalking prey for hours to bring home dinner?

Hardly.  They ate real food, and I seriously doubt it was every few hours or full of carbs.  I could go on about this for pages, but I'll limit this post to just share what I've been doing, and point you to some good information from the experts out there. (I am not a medical professional in any capacity, nor do I have formal training in nutrition or fitness.  I just follow some professional, very knowledgeable people, and am living proof of the benefits of what they preach).

My usual routine of late is to have cup of black tea when I get up, then do a one or two mile walk (if barefoot), occasionally 2-3 miles at either a fast walk or walk/slow run (if wearing shoes). I'm an early riser, so all that takes place well before sunup at this time of year (and yes, I'm wearing appropriate safety gear).  When I get back home, I'll wait an hour and often two before fixing breakfast, which usually consists of a smoothie and a hard boiled egg.  (See what I put in my smoothie here).  My body has adapted to this just fine, and I haven't yet felt the urge to eat something before heading out the door.  Even if you don't work out every morning, you can still enjoy some of the benefits of fat adaptation by delaying your first meal and encouraging your body to be fueled by your fat reserves.

How this helped me get through my unplanned marathon 

I'd been following this morning routine for just a couple of months, and because I had been going such short distances (intentionally ... again, a topic for another post), I wasn't sure what I might need to carry me through whatever distance I ended up doing Saturday morning.  I had eaten a light dinner earlier than usual the night before (chicken vegetable soup with a homemade bone broth base, no rice or noodles, and a small bowl of salad greens), so when it was decided that a couple of us were going to be up very early to help a friend with his virtual marathon, I figured I'd better pad that a little, so I drank a small smoothie before bed.  I had peeled two hard boiled eggs to have ready for Saturday morning pre-run, but only ate one of them about 4:30am.  I loaded my camelbak with a small amount of water, and tucked a snack-sized baggie of mixed nuts, and a couple individual packets of trail mix (with the little M&M-like candies) between the bladder and case and called it good.  Oh, and I found a Honey Stinger Waffle in there from a previous run months ago! 

We set off Saturday morning around 6am or so,  and I didn't take in anything until I think around the 17-18 mi mark, which was hours later because we were going so slow.  I ate a handful of nuts then only because my legs started to cramp and I wasn't sure of the cause, because I'd never pushed my body that far and experienced that before.  The weather was perfect and I never did break a sweat since we were going so slow, so I don't know if I was lacking sodium, but whatever the reason, the nuts apparently helped, because that cramping sensation went away shortly afterwards. I never felt tired or that I couldn't finish because I'd run out of gas at any point during the 26.2 mi.  I was on my feet for probably 12 hrs before all was said and done, and still wasn't hungry!

Read that paragraph again.  An overweight, senior, pre-diabetic woman who has been prone to carb binges (and I mean REAL binges) for decades, completed 26.2 mi and a total of 12 hours on her feet on just a hard boiled egg pre-run, and a handful of mixed nuts halfway through, and never felt hungry or felt any loss of energy.  Meanwhile, my partners in crime had snacks at several intervals ... energy bars, granola bars, gummy bears, energy gels, etc.  I'm not bashing or shaming them; they gave their bodies what they needed, and it worked for them.

By working on the fat-adaptive approach recently, I had been training my body for this event without even knowing it. If my experience that day isn't testimony of what eating right and teaching your body to use proper fuel can do for you, I don't know what else would.

Now for acknowledgements - my biggest influence while following the fat-adaptive regimen has been Dr. Mark Cucuzzella - Physician, Professor of Medicine at WV University School of Medicine, Air Force reserve Lieutenant Colonel, owner of Two Rivers Treads, author of Run for Your Life, Executive Director of the Natural Running Center, race director, and competitive runner for over 35 years with 24 marathons completed in under 2:40.  (None of these are affiliate links; I'm not compensated in any way for sharing them).

In addition to the above, you can find a vast amount of nutrition, running, and general health information by searching Dr. Mark's name to find articles, blog posts, and podcasts where he has been a guest contributor.  Warning ... there are a lot of them, but all worth a read/listen. 

That's Part I of what got me through my first marathon experience.  Stay tuned for further installments on how good nutrition, and footwear (or lack thereof) made it all possible.

~ Marie Anne

Breaking out and trying new things

Thursday morning at MA's house started off with black tea, a 1.6 mi barefoot walk, then my usual smoothie (I forgot my hard boiled egg ... oops!).

I mentioned in an earlier post that I bought a mini air fryer and that I was loving it so far.  This morning I picked up a couple of chicken breasts (with rib meat and skin on) and threw one in the fryer to fix for lunch.  I just added a little seasoning (no breading or oil) and let 'er rip.  It came out amazing!  I ate several bites of it as soon as it cooled enough, and just threw the other one in the fryer and will use it and the rest of the first one for homemade chicken soup (after I eat that yummy, crunchy skin) .  I'm fixing a small salad to round out lunch.

I don't put noodles or potatoes in my soup (those carbs, ya know?), but onion, broccoli, cauliflower, and maybe a small amount of carrots usually make it into the pot, along with the chicken, my own bone broth, and some Better Than Bouillon. As I was cruising the produce aisle this morning trying to think of something different I could add, the bok choy spoke to me.  Mind you, I've never cooked or even tasted bok choy in all of my 63 years (not knowingly, anyway), but I thought it looked pretty, so into the cart it went.  As soon as I'm done typing this post, some of it will be chopped up and added to the soup, which is already simmering for tonight's dinner.  I've got some pretty red, orange, and green peppers to brighten it up too.  I'm making a good sized pot, so it will carry me through several more meals.

I need to get out and rake leaves, but it's windy today, so I might wait until more of them have fallen and just do it once.  Maybe I'll get to them tomorrow since it's an off day as I'm meeting a couple of Team RWB comrades Saturday morning for a walk/ruck/run/whatever, and I don't know how far we'll end up going.  I'm learning that taking a break and not working out every day is better for me, and probably you too, and I'll expound on that another time.

So what will I fill up the rest of my Thursday with?  An exciting load of laundry, and likely TV and crochet.  

I hope your day is blessed!

~ Marie Anne

Hump day ramblings, and tip of the day

Happy Hump Day! The day of the week hasn't really mattered for me for a good while since I'm retired, and I'm sure some of you who are out of work or working from home due to the COVID thing can relate, but I needed an opening, so there you have it.

Today's fun started off with a 3.2 mi slow run after my morning cup of black tea but before breakfast, keeping an eye on my heart rate (more on that in another post).  I wasn't shooting for any speed records, but although I had been walking/running anywhere from 3-6 mi almost daily, I've changed things up lately (more on that later too) and haven't run even 3 mi in a while so wanted to take it easy today.

After settling in for a few minutes, I blended a smoothie for breakfast, out of:

• Couple of ounces of almond and coconut milk (no added sugar)
• Few shakes of ground ginger and cinnamon
• About 3/4 scoop of vanilla protein powder
• Small handful of mixed salad greens
• Chunk of zucchini, avocado, and cauliflower
• A few frozen blueberries and strawberries

I got my fruits and veggies, (good) fat (from the avocado), and some of the protein there, and had a hard boiled egg for more protein, and to have just a little something to chew.  That's pretty much my standard breakfast on most days, although I do change it up once in a while.

Once the intense fog burned off, it turned out to be a beautifully sunny day, so I hitched up the dogs and got another half mile walk in, this time barefoot (that's one of those things I figured some of you might freak out about, but I promise, it's a good thing, and I'll relate more about that later too).

Lunch was a plain hamburger from grass-fed ground beef, cooked in my new mini air fryer along with some frozen mixed veggies, with a pat of butter (from grass-fed dairy cows).   There's not enough fat in that small amount of butter, so a small handful of mixed nuts rounded that out.  I'm not sure yet what dinner will be, but will likely include some of the remaining beef.

If I expounded on all of the 'why I'm doing this' things in this post, it would be pages and pages long, so I'm being considerate and making a list of topics for future posts.  I've added a half dozen things just while typing this one, so now to make sure I follow through.  I guess if you want to know the background on some of the oddball things I'm undertaking, you'll have to keep reading this blog.  😀

Now I'm enjoying a mug of green tea, and contemplating what to do with the rest of my day, which will probably include TV and a crochet hook at some point, and maybe just a little light weights to work on arms.

Tip of the Day:  

I eat a lot of mixed salad greens, and usually buy the large plastic containers of whatever is in season.  I find that, even though I pick through them to find the one with the latest date, some of the greens still get soggy and icky even after the first day.  Every time I use some, I shake the container to try to aerate it a little better, but had an a-ha moment the other day and decided to store it upside down.  Each time I use it now, I shake it a bit and alternate between putting it upside down and right side up.  So far, so good!

What good things are you doing for a better you today?

~ Marie Anne

Do I Need to Drain Cucumbers?

Because of their high water content, cucumbers are a great low-calorie vegetable to include in side dishes or eat as a healthy snack.  That same water can wreak havoc in a recipe, however.  So should you drain your cucumbers before you use them?  In depends on what you're using them for, and how quickly they will be eaten.

If you're going to just slice and eat your cucumbers as-is without adding anything else to them other than salt and pepper or vinegar, or tossing on top of a green salad that will be eaten quickly, then do just that - slice and eat.  Since they won't be sitting in any other ingredients that will get soggy from the extra water, there's no harm to be done.

If, however, you will be making a cucumber salad or anything where they will be combined with other ingredients in a sauce or dressing of any kind, you might want to drain them first.  If the dish won't be eaten within an hour or so, the water content of the cucumbers will drastically change the consistency of the dressing, making it appear curdled, or at least watered down.  It's not something I would find appealing, and certainly wouldn't want that unwelcome surprise if serving guests.  Cucumber sandwiches will also get soggy quickly, as the bread would soak up the water, so make sure to drain first before making finger sandwiches, or your appetizers won't be very appetizing.

So how do you drain cucumbers?  It's very simple.  Peel (if desired) and slice your cucumbers, then layer the slices in a colander, sprinkle salt over them, and let them sit.  You won't see the water come pouring out from the cucumber like you would when emptying a can of vegetables, but it will drain slowly - 20 to 30 minutes should be sufficient.  When done, you can layer the slices on a sheet of paper towels and pat lightly if you want.

Will adding salt to the cucumber alter the dish you're preparing?  Not significantly.  Most of the salt will drain out with the water, but I always taste-test as I'm cooking, so would know whether my cucumber salad needed less salt than usual.

Draining cucumbers does take a few minutes, but the process itself couldn't be easier.  If you set them up to drain while fixing the rest of your meal, it won't add any prep time at all other than the minute to peel and slice.

~ Marie Anne

MA's Cucumber Salad

Courtesy of Group-Ethnographies

I'm not much of a pickle eater, (except sweet gherkins), but I love cucumbers, especially when made into a cucumber salad.  I fell in love with this concoction a number of years ago when my former mother-in-law made it, and it quickly became a staple in my own home.    I probably don't make it exactly as she did, but her two sons who often ate it at my house swore that my version was better than their own mother's.  I don't know if that's true or not, but they couldn't get enough of it, often fighting over the last slices in the bowl, and I wasn't going to argue with them.

I'm no gourmet cook and don't measure things when I throw them together, so I'll give you the list of ingredients, and you can probably wing it as good as I can from there.

Sour cream
Mayonaise
Miracle Whip (generic is fine)
Cucumbers
Onion
Vinegar
Salt and pepper
Sugar

To make it, simply -

Combine sour cream, mayonnaise, and Miracle Whip in a medium sized bowl in approximately equal amounts.  (Even if you hate Miracle Whip, trust me, mixed with the rest of the ingredients, it makes this dish).  I use the largest spoon in my silverware drawer and start with one heaping spoonful of each, then add more depending on how many/how large a cucumber I'll be adding.

Stir together until smooth (a wire whisk is handy at this point), then pour in just a tablespoon or two of vinegar.  Cut onion into chunks and add that to the bowl, then a pinch or two of sugar, just enough to offset the vinegar, but not make it too sweet.  Top off with salt and pepper to taste, and maybe garlic salt or whatever other seasonings you might like.

Peel a cucumber and cut in half, then into quarters, then into chunks.  (I like to cut mine into slightly thicker chunks rather than slicing thinly so that it doesn't get soggy too quickly).  Add the cucumber to the prepared dressing and toss to cover completely.  Serve immediately, or chill slightly to serve no more than an hour or two later.

If I'm making this for myself, I only use half of a large cucumber at a time, as leaving the cucumber to sit in the dressing for more than a few hours will water it down and make it soggy or appear curdled.  (Cucumbers have a very high water content which will break down the rest of the ingredients the longer it sits.  To combat that, you can drain the cucumbers first).  I'll eat half the cucumber, then cover the dressing and refrigerate to use for the other half the next day.  Leftover dressing will keep for at least 2-3 days in the fridge, so I add another dab of each ingredient if necessary to give me enough to cover the second piece of cucumber.

If you want to make this salad ahead but don't want to drain the cucumbers, make the dressing first and add the cucumber shortly before serving.

This is another of those foods that I think tastes better with onions in it, but I don't actually eat the onion (I don't mind onion flavor, but can't stand biting into one ... ick).  If you don't like onions either, try it anyway; I don't think this cucumber salad is as good without it.  Also, I don't like tomatoes, but my brother-in-law loved chopped tomatoes along with the cucumber in his.  The red 'maters added a nice pop of color to the dish too.

This is a quick throw-together side dish that can round out most any meal.  If you don't mind eating the peel on a cucumber, you can save a few seconds more by not peeling it first.  Play with this and tweak the ingredients to suit your own taste.  I'm sure it'll be a hit at your house too.

~ Marie Anne

Make Ahead Hamburgers Save Prep Time for a Quick Meal

(Courtesy of simplyscratch.com)

Since I live alone, I seldom cook a 'real' meal ... too much trouble for just one person.  Still, I'm trying to eat healthy, so I need to come up with ways to make things that I can throw together easily so that I don't end up eating something I shouldn't, just because it's convenient.

One of the ways I do that is by making individual hamburger patties and seasoning them before putting in the freezer.  Sometimes I'll take regular ground beef and form my own patties, but since coming back to NC, I've been finding pre-made fresh hamburger patties at the commissary in the 'manager's special' bin that are marked down,  so I grab them whenever I see them.

When I get home, I take each individual patty and season it with ground black pepper, onion salt, garlic salt and just a dash of Worcestershire Sauce, and then freeze them individually. By doing it that way, I can easily take out one burger at a time for lunch or dinner, and even if I forget to do it earlier in the day, it doesn't take much time to thaw a single hamburger as it would a whole package of ground beef.  If you're making your own patties, just put the ground beef in a large enough bowl that will allow you to season it all at once and then form the patties.

I was freezing them in small round plastic containers, but as often happens, some of mine seem to have disappeared, so until I buy more, I've been putting each patty in a sandwich bag, then putting all of those bags into a gallon sized freezer bag.  That way they are more protected from freezer burn, but still easy to take out and fix one at a time.  I can also reuse the larger bag since no food actually touches it.  I want to go back to packaging them with less waste, so I'm thinking about buying a hamburger press set which also has the container to freeze them in.

Tonight's dinner consisted of one such patty that I fried in a small skillet, topped with a sliced fresh mushroom, with a side of MA's Cucumber Salad.  It was very satisfying, and the burger took literally no prep time, and the salad only a minute or two to throw together.

I don't like spending a lot of time in the kitchen, so anything I can do to cut down prep time and still eat healthy is a win.

~ Marie Anne

P.S.  Here's another tip on saving time and money by prepping vegetables ahead too!

Do You Waste Money Throwing Vegetables Away?

Spoiled vegetables tossed in the trash - I know I don't have the market on this wasteful behavior.  I have the best of intentions when I go to the grocery store and buy vegetables, yet often still end up throwing some away ... and I'm ashamed to admit that sometimes more gets tossed than eaten.  What a waste!

I'm getting better, though.  One thing that really helps me is to cut up the vegetables when I get home so they're handy to throw into a meal or grab a quick snack.  It only takes a minute or two, and I have a really big glass bowl with lid that will hold a whole head of chopped cauliflower and bunch of broccoli crowns.

I often make a 2-egg omelet of sorts for breakfast, and it's easy to grab a hunk of cauliflower and broccoli to chop into smaller pieces and scatter over the eggs as they cook, usually adding a chopped mushroom and bit of shredded cheddar cheese.  Yum!   The chopped vegetables also make it easier to toss into a stir-fry dish, making a healthy, tasty meal in minutes if you have pre-cooked chicken or beef on hand.

Watching TV and craving something crunchy?  Your bowl of chopped veggies will be sitting there, all ready and waiting.  Drizzle a little salad dressing over a small bowl of vegetables, or fix an easy dip with sour cream and herbs and spices.  It's a healthy way to get your crunch on without the carbs and processed junk in chips, pretzels, or popcorn.

If things are a bit crazy when you get home with the groceries, at least try to get the vegetables cut up before you go to bed that night.  Do it often enough and it will become a habit - a healthy one that you won't mind your kids picking up.

~ Marie Anne
 

Ghee, it's not so hard to make after all!

My biggest problem with the Whole30 program is still getting enough fat into my meals.  Sounds like a good problem to have, right?  But it's not.  I need GOOD fat, and there's only so much olive oil and coconut milk I can handle.  It's easy to add nuts to the mix and get the fat in there, but you're supposed to use nuts sparingly on the Whole30 plan, and I've been trying to stick to that.  I knew I needed butter to put on my potatoes and other vegetables, so that meant making my own ghee (also called clarified butter).

I'd have made it earlier this week when I started the plan, but I didn't have anything to strain the milk solids out of the butter with.  They say you can use cheesecloth, but I didn't have any, so I ordered some nut milk bags from amazon and they came in today.  I couldn't wait to rip open the box and put them to use.  I needed my ghee!

© Marie Anne St. Jean

The Whole30 book says to cube four sticks of butter, but I didn't see where it would make any difference how much you used because you're just melting the butter by itself, not adding anything else where a ratio of one ingredient to another might matter.  Not wanting to waste a whole pound of butter if I messed it up somehow, I decided to start with just two sticks.

So... here's how to make your own ghee.

Simply cut the butter into chunks and put into a small saucepan and melt it on medium/low heat, and don't stir it.  Once it melts down and starts simmering, white stuff will float to the top - that's the milk solids that you DON'T want, as they're not Whole30 compliant.

© Marie Anne St. Jean

After it's simmered for a bit, take a spoon and skim the white stuff off the top of the melted butter and discard it.  That should get rid of most of the milk solids, but you'll still need to strain it good to make sure you got it all.

© Marie Anne St. Jean

My nut milk bags were kinda stiff, so I had to think about how best to approach this step of the process.  I decided to try putting the empty bowl to catch the butter inside the nut milk bag and pour it through that way.  It was a bit tricky as it wanted to roll around on top of and off the side of the bag, but as soon as I poured it on top, I lightly pressed a spoon down over the bag to make a slight indentation, so that it would flow through that spot over the bowl.

© Marie Anne St. Jean

It might not have been the best solution, but it worked.  As fine a mesh as the bag was, it didn't seem like it caught much of anything, so I drained it through a second time.  It still didn't catch much, so I guess I must have done a good job when I first spooned out the solids.

After straining, I poured it into a glass measuring cup to make pouring easier, and put it into a large baby food jar to cool.  The two sticks of butter that I started with yielded slightly more than the baby food jar full.  I still needed to make something for dinner, so I used what little was left in the measuring cup, so I didn't need to scramble to find another jar.

Here's the clarified butter just after taking off the stove -

© Marie Anne St. Jean

And after it settled for just a few minutes.  You can see at the bottom of the jar that it's already starting to solidify.

© Marie Anne St. Jean

After more cooling and settling, into the fridge it goes, ready to add to my next meal!

© Marie Anne St. Jean

It really is as easy as that.

• Cut butter into chunks
• Melt and simmer slowly until white stuff appears
• Skim white stuff and discard
• Strain to get rid of more white stuff
• Pour into glass jar
• Allow to cool, then refrigerate

I'm so happy that it's such a simple process, because I doubt I'd make it the full 30 days of the Whole30 without it.  This solves a huge problem for me, and I can't wait to try ghee on my breakfast veggies in the morning!

~ Marie Anne

Whole30 R1D1 Done!

Woo-hoo!  I completed Round 1, Day 1 of the Whole30 program, and lived to tell about it!  It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be.  I've done the (extreme) low-carb thing in the past and the first few days were pretty rough, but I didn't have any major issues yesterday at all.  My biggest fear was that I'd run out of energy, and I had a fitness goal to meet.  Thankfully, that never materialized.  I got two decent treadmill sessions in and logged a total of 83 active minutes, and managed to get almost 15,000 steps (6.2 miles) in before the day was done.  Go me!  I didn't feel overly tired or hungry at all, which really surprised me.  I know that can change drastically as I move forward with the program, but I'm ok with it.  I know this is where I'm meant to be right now, so I'm going to see it through.

I'm anxious to get my stick blender in today so that I can make some dump dressing and mayonnaise that I can use as my fat on vegetables and such.  Right now I'm struggling to get enough fat in my meals because I don't have the means to make my own ghee (clarified butter) yet either (my nutbags to strain the milk fat out of the butter will be here tomorrow, I think).  I'm using coconut milk and olive oil where I can, but don't really care for the taste of either of them plain, so I'm using them sparingly.  I've added a few nuts (pistachios, almonds, or walnuts) to round out my meals if I feel I haven't added enough fat elsewhere.  Nuts are supposed to be eaten in moderation, but are ok here and there, but I want to avoid using them as a crutch.

Breakfast this morning was a small hamburger patty fried in a little of the fatty solid of coconut milk, a two-egg omelet (frittata?) with a bit more coconut milk, fresh mushroom, and broccoli.  Extra broccoli on the side, a few almonds, and half of a fresh pear completed the meal, washed down by a cup of tea with a splash of coconut milk (which I don't care for, but wasn't really spit-it-out gross, so I'll suck it up).

The photo isn't pinterest-worthy, 
but the meal was tummy-worthy!
© Marie Anne St. Jean

I made country style pork ribs with roasted red potatoes yesterday for dinner, both with drizzled olive oil and chopped garlic, and there's enough left for at least one more meal, maybe two, accompanied by another vegetable, so the rest of today's fare will be a little easier to put together.  I'm going to try to do as much prep ahead of time as I can, especially cooking meat that will last for a few meals.  I can throw white or sweet potatoes in the oven at the same time, and that will help too.

So ... R1D1 is in the can, and I'm ready for day two food-wise, and will hit the treadmill for my first session shortly to take care of the fitness end of things.

~ Marie Anne

New Year's Day and I've Already Failed?

I'm putting myself on report.  I just made a resolution yesterday and have already blown it within the first hours of New Year's Day.

Ok, maybe not a failure, but at least a setback.  And to be fair, I do have a valid reason.  A couple of them, actually.  Let me explain.

I blogged yesterday that while I've increased my walking/jogging mileage greatly in the last couple of months, the weight still wasn't coming off, so I was going to make a concerted effort to cut back on the junk food (easier said than done when you're a true carb addict, but I digress).  That part of my resolution still stands.

Later in the day I learned about the Whole30 program, which is much more strict and cuts out just about everything except fresh meat, fruits, and vegetables with no added anything.  Convinced that this is what I need to do, I went on record with a second blog post about Whole30 and was going to start it this morning.

After some voracious reading about the Whole30 plan last night, I realize that starting the full plan today isn't the best idea for me.  I have several foods in my house that I thought were on the Whole30 list of acceptable foods, but I was wrong.  Money is more than tight right now and I can't afford to not eat this food that I already have, at least the stuff that's barely been opened.  I'm still going to get rid of the true junk food (no candy, cookies, etc), but will finish eating the small amount of cheese I have, and the big bag of frozen breakfast sausage patties I just bought a few days ago.  I just can't afford to replace those items right now with something that is on the Whole30 list.

I thought the sausage patties were going to be ok, but the ingredient list does show a small amount of sugar.  The Whole30 plan doesn't allow for ANY cheating whatsoever, no matter how insignificant  you think it might be, so I'm doomed before I even start.  They recommend you plan ahead before starting the program, and get rid of things that aren't acceptable, and stock up on those that are so that you're ready to go on Day 1.  I'm not ready.  Rather than say I'm going to start today and then lie about it (which won't do ME any good, which is the goal here), I'm going to put it off for a few days.

So my new resolution is to avoid the really bad stuff altogether, but finish up some of the stuff that might not be so bad, yet isn't allowed on the Whole30 plan.  I might not wait until the whole bag of sausage and every loaf of bread is gone, but I'll see where it goes.  I won't have any extra money available until later in the month to stock up on the good stuff, but will be able to pick up a few necessary items in the next few days, so I'm going to do a modified plan for now and pick a firm start date when I reevaluate what I have in my cupboard and freezer.

I really want to follow the plan exactly as it's designed for the full 30 days, and if it takes pushing back Day 1 for several days or a week, so be it.  I don't want to set myself up for failure right out of the gate, and I want to be true to the Whole30 program's design.

I did throw away the rest of the chocolates I got yesterday, though.  Go me!
(I won't tell you how many were left, however).

~ Marie Anne

Is Whole30 for me?

I was chatting with friends in my Leap4Life Facebook group about changes we're hoping to make in 2016 to help us get/stay fit and healthy, and one friend mentioned that she's going to do Whole30 in January.  Not being familiar with it, I looked it up, and wow, what a program!  It's similar to a paleo diet, but even more strict and requires that you follow it religiously for a full 30 days, with NO cheating whatsoever, not even the tiniest little bit.

I've done the low-carb thing in the past and lost a lot of weight in a very short period with virtually no added activity, so I know this would work for me, but I'm not sure that I'm ready to tackle something with that many restrictions again.  Still, what I'm doing now (which is really nothing!) isn't working.  As a carb addict, I can't control myself and I have no one here to keep me accountable.  The dogs don't care if I sit and eat a whole package of cookies in one day.   I've increased my activity level considerably in the last few months, but it hasn't helped yet, and won't as long as I'm binging on junk in between walks.  I've got to kick the addiction, and the only way to do that is cold turkey.

Is this something I can stick with long-term?  I don't know, but the idea behind Whole30 is to severely limit the type of foods you eat for the full 30 days so that your body is starting with a clean slate, then you can reintroduce certain foods and see what you can tolerate.  It really does sound like a great plan and I think I've talked myself into trying it.  There are a few things I already know will be really difficult for me to give up (No cheese?  Yikes!), but if I just look at it for the short term, I think I can do it.  What's 30 days, right?

The other thing that I know I'll have trouble with isn't food related at all, but will still bug me - not being able to weigh myself until the 30 day period is over.  I always weigh myself first thing every morning and that will be a real change in my daily routine.  Still, if the program requires that I weigh myself the first day and not again until after 30 days, then I guess I'll just put the scale away.

If you want to see what it's all about, check out the Whole30 website. You can find the accompanying books that outline the plan as well as recipe books by following this link to Whole30 on amazon.

So I guess this blog post puts it on record, and I'm now accountable to all of you to at least try the Whole30 plan.  Wish me luck!

~ Marie Anne

It's Not Always About a Number on the Scale

I weigh myself every morning, and I never know what I'm going to see when I step on the scale  because my weight can fluctuate .5 to 1.5 pounds from one day to the next, for no rhyme or reason.  I'll battle that same pound for weeks at a time - up, down - up, down - so that when I do go down that half pound, I'm ecstatic.  It's often short-lived, though,  as I'll be back up a full pound the next day.  Frustrating!

I live in sweatpants and sweatshirts here at home, which is a good thing because I hate shopping for clothes.  No matter how much weight I might lose, I'll always have the big butt, so finding anything to fit even when I was a skinny chick eons ago was always a challenge, and of course it got worse the older I got and more weight I gained.

I did splurge on a new pair of jeans before visiting my son and his family in NC in September, and noticed yesterday that they were a little loose.  Not hanging off me or anything, but definitely not snug like they were when new.  I didn't think too much of it because jeans can sometimes 'give' a little the more you wear them.  

I'm headed to NC again this week to spend an early Christmas with them and wanted a decent-fitting pair of slacks for the trip, so I headed to Kohl's after church today.  After much frustration at not being able to find anything at all in a size 16 that didn't look like it was designed for someone in their 20s, I almost gave up.  I did find one rack that had a pair that I thought would be appropriate for a more matronly figure, so snatched them up.  On a whim, I grabbed a size 14 also and marched off to the dressing room.  Well whatdya know ... the 14 fit better than the 16.  I was jumping for joy!

I had put several pair of jeans in storage bags in the closet some time back, figuring that I'd never get into them again, yet still wasn't quite ready to part with them entirely.  I'd tried them on a month or so ago and couldn't even get my leg in them.  I dug them out tonight and ta-da!  The first pair I grabbed now fits (except they're very long ... rats) - in fact, since they fit so well in the butt, they're actually a bit loose in the waist!  I also found a pair of black semi-dress pants that fit well.  I haven't worn the black slacks probably since I was working 8 years ago or better, and the jeans even before that - probably 10 years!  It's a good thing jeans and basic black slacks don't go out of style.

The long-forgotten size 14 jeans fit great!
©Marie Anne St. Jean

If you know anything about me at all, you know that I hate having my picture taken because I'm not photogenic at all, so the fact that I'm sharing this selfie with you tells you just what a big deal this is for me.

I've not been so good about staying low-carb as I should, and I've had days where I didn't get my daily 10,000 step goal with Fitbit, but I haven't let it stop me.  I get my butt back on the treadmill the next day and do a little more.  Pushing myself up and away from this desk and doing some serious walking every day is definitely paying off.  It hasn't happened overnight, but it IS happening.  The pounds are coming off slowly, but to be able to put on the size 14 jeans that I never thought would grace these hips again is the biggest motivator for me, not a number on the scale.

So, fellow fitness fanatics and weight-loss wonders, don't get discouraged, no matter what your number is.  If you keep walking, jogging, swimming, or whatever your exercise of poison is, you will reap the benefits of better health, and you will look and feel better, and the numbers will catch up when they're ready to.  Don't be tied to that number on the scale, just know that whenever you move, you're doing something good for yourself.  And you're worth it.

~ Marie Anne

It's Past Time to Get Fit

Photo by Zenia Blanco

Hey stranger.

I let this blog go dormant because "I" went dormant.  The stupid knee injury two years ago had me sidelined for a long time, and it's still not healed properly yet.  Regardless, I've jumped back on the bandwagon, knee injury be damned! I still have bursitis in my knees but it's not as painful now that I'm walking more while still pampering them.

I'm not going to let that get to me, though.  I've invested in a Fitbit and love everything about the gadget itself and the motivational people and tools on the site.  I'm doing very well so far with keeping up with my daily goal of 10,000 steps and I hope to increase that as I start to drop some pounds and continue this journey to getting fit.

Have a Fitbit? Look me up and let's connect!

I'm also trying to stay low-carb again, so between that and the increased activity level, something should start happening soon.

I'll elaborate more about the knee injury and other things related to my diet, weight, and fitness shortly, so keep your eyes open and come back to visit often.  I'll share my progress, what's worked for me, and other helpful tips about nutrition and fitness.

It's good to be back!

~ Marie Anne


There are a couple of different types of Fitbit devices, but this is the one I have (Fitbit One) and I love it!

Coconut Flour Lemon Bread Recipe – First Attempt

Finished Coconut Flour Lemon Bread
©Marie Anne St. Jean

I’m still trying to get back on the low-carb bandwagon, and have been researching alternatives to baking with white or wheat flower.  I found organic coconut flour at my local Mennonite/Amish market, so thought I’d give that a try.  I don’t know how coconut flour compares to regular flour in carb count, but it is gluten free and likely better for me in that regard, so I figured I’d give it a try.  Paleo is another new dietary regimen buzz word, and I guess coconut flour fits into that program also.

I’ve never used coconut flour (or any flour other than made from wheat), so I did a little research first to see how it compares to white flour when baking.  I’m glad I did, because I found that it reacts so much differently than regular flour, and requires more liquid than you would think.   I searched for bread recipes with coconut flour and found several, and they took between 6 and a full dozen eggs – yikes!  Most called for a sugar substitute as the sweetener, with some giving directions for using white sugar, but I decided to try honey instead and added a little lemon juice to liven things up a bit, thinking since honey is more liquid than sugar, I could use less eggs.

I think what I came up with worked out great.  Coconut flour isn’t going to give you a real bakery bread-like texture, but will result in something more akin to cornbread.  Think of it as banana bread without the bananas – it’s not sweet, but not like ‘real’ bread either. This isn’t something you can make sandwiches with, but it’ll taste good with a pot of beans, or with a little butter and honey or jam with your morning coffee or tea.

Since the trick to working with coconut flour is getting the ratio of flour to liquid correct, I was surprised that I nailed it on the first try.  Here’s my recipe, followed by notes of what I might change next time:

Ingredients for Coconut Flour Lemon Bread

¾ cup coconut flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp sea salt

5 eggs

½ cup butter (1 stick), softened

1/3 cup honey

1 tbls lemon juice

Sift together coconut flour, baking powder, and sea salt in a bowl.

Mix together eggs, butter, and honey in separate bowl until well blended.  (If the butter is lumpy, use a mixer on low for a minute or so, and break up lumps as much as possible).

Add sifted dry ingredients to egg mixture and mix well by hand (a heavy spatula worked well for me), adding lemon juice.  Batter will be thicker and less liquid than cake batter, but not as stiff as cookie batter (it will resemble cornbread batter at this point).

Spoon mixture into a greased loaf pan (it doesn't pour well) and bake at 350* for 40 minutes.  Turn out onto wire rack to cool.

Mixture will resemble cornbread dough
©Marie Anne St. Jean

Notes: 

- I wasn’t sure how much honey would be needed as a sweetener, so I started with approximately 1/3 cup, but don’t think the result was quite sweet enough.  I’ll probably increase to ½ cup when I make this again.

- I also wasn’t sure how much lemon juice I should add, so I started with 1 tablespoon.  I didn’t really get the lemony flavor I desired, so will increase to 2 tablespoons the next time I make this recipe.

- Since bread made with coconut flour doesn’t really rise, it looked pretty skimpy in the loaf pan.  I think I’ll try using smaller loaf pans next time.  I might also increase the coconut flour to a full cup and add an extra egg, and increase the amount of honey and lemon by a small amount if using a regular sized loaf pan again.

Fresh out of the oven
©Marie Anne St. Jean

If you make coconut lemon bread using this recipe, please let me know how it turns out, and whether you tried any of the changes that I suggested.  I've already eaten half of this first loaf this afternoon, so I'll undoubtedly be trying the new variations soon, and will post my results again.

Now that I've tried coconut flour, I think I'll try making my own almond flour and see what I can do with that.

~ Marie Anne

(Yes, you can even buy organic coconut flour through amazon.com)

Another Low-Carb Trick - Cabbage for Lasagna Noodles

Photo by Eirik Newth

I made a post the other day about low-carb pizza crust made with cauliflower, and mentioned that now I needed to find a substitute for pasta.  Well Tay must have heard me, because she came up with a recipe to use cabbage in place of lasagna noodles.   I don't see how cabbage could work as a replacement for regular spaghetti, but lasagna works for me!

Her recipe doesn't include meat, but I would definitely add a layer of ground beef and sausage to make this more like a true lasagna.  I like my lasagna to have a thick layer of meat and honestly, the lasagna noodles are secondary to the meat and cheese, in my opinion.  Since both meat and cheese are ok to use while following a low-carb diet, I'm definitely putting this on my list to try soon.  I don't buy cabbage often, but I have a half head left from dinner the other night, but not sure I have any ground beef on hand, so it still might have to wait a few days.

I wonder how it would work with a layer of cauliflower in place of the lasagna noodles?  I'll give that a try too and report back!

What's your favorite part of homemade lasagna?

~ Marie Anne

Low Carb Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Photo courtesy of Taylor Rios

I fell off the wagon so hard that I hurt myself, and it's been a struggle to get back on.  I really need to buckle down and do the low-carb thing again, as it's the only thing that works for me since I have a true carb addiction.  Some of the things I really miss when following a low-carb diet are bread, pasta, and pizza.  My friend Tay has come up with a low carb pizza crust made from cauliflower, so this might be just the thing to encourage me to keep at it.

It doesn't take many ingredients, but I'll have to remember to keep grated parmesan cheese on hand as I don't use that too often.  I haven't actually tried the cauliflower pizza crust yet, but I have done mashed cauliflower in place of mashed potatoes and like that just fine, so I'm pretty sure I can take Tay's word on this one.

If you try out her recipe, please let me know how you liked it.

Now to find a good substitute for pasta ... still working on that one!

~ Marie Anne