delicious string beans!

is it "string beans" or "stringed beans"? i'm not too sure. either way, this recipe is an absolutely delicious and easy one that i stumbled upon one day while frustrated with canned beans, and finding a lone pack of frozen beans in the back of the freezer just waiting to be experimented with. after this, i will NEVER go back to eating ANY string/ed beans out of a can again! these are so tasty that i'll make up a batch every now and again just to munch on when i'm hungry.  they are that good (and healthy for you too!) you will need:

1 bag of frozen string/ed beans

2 tbsp butter

salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

in a sautee pan, OR a regular frying pan (which i use cus i'm not fancy) simply thaw out the beans over high heat and once the water is mostly evaporated, add butter. stir well to coat the beans with butter, and then add the seasonings to taste. cook until slightly crisp, about 5 minutes over high heat. serve immediately.

you can always cook the beans longer to make them crispier, or shorter to make them softer. i like a really crisp bite to mine so i actually cook mine until a few of them are overcooked (about 7 minutes in all on high heat), then i just blend them all well and serve. delicious!

it looked so good i had to take a picture!

today's lunch was a veggie burger with mozzarella cheese on a 100 calorie bun with a dab of ketchup, romaine lettuce, tomato and onion. i also had a drop of italian dressing on the side to sop up with my veggies. it was delicious. my only regret is that i didn't have another--altogether the entire meal was only 250 calories and after about 2 hours, i was hungry again. LOL. but it was good. i really love the morningstar farms veggie burgers simply because at bj's they are very affordable (9.99 for a box of i believe 20 burgers). i eat them for lunch maybe three times per week, and they are satisfying, even if digested pretty quickly. and for only 100 calories per patty, i don't feel cheated.

good news to report! i'm down 8 pounds in 2 months, 6 of those pounds can be attributed to me following the carbohydrate addict's diet (which i have tweaked some and it really works well for me). i refuse to sit around starting any new habits that are uncomfortable for me or long term "undoable", and this "diet" has proven to be the first one i've ever been on that does not feel like a diet AT ALL. so needless to say, i am very happy to have been blessed by learning about the diet.

now i just have to incorporate more exercise into my regimin and i believe i will be good to go. i have been searching but so far have not been able to find a dance video that is easy to do and fun on my cable network. i'll definitely keep looking though...i'm on a roll and don't want to stop!

the carbohydrate addicts diet.

so, i picked up from my freecycle list, the book "the carbohydrate addicts diet", upon the recommendation of the freecycler that it may help me in my weight loss journey, as her husband has been able to keep 50 pounds off his frame for well over two years with it. so i thought i'd read it, and if it sounded feasible for me, give it a shot. why not?

the basis of the diet is changing around your eating habits so that you consume all carbs at night, therefore curbing hunger, overeating and fat storage by preventing carbohydrates from triggering the release of the hunger signaling chemical insulin. eventually the benefits of the diet lead to insulin being properly produced and used, less sugars in the blood, and weight loss and better health. i've read over 100 reviews about the diet and it seems possible and sound for many people, especially those who like me, have a dependency on carbs. it makes sense to me.

today was my second complete day of following the diet. i will admit, already the idea of no carbs for breakfast and lunch was a huge turnoff...which is probably just a testament to how utterly addicted to carbs i truly am. both days i had a bacon and egg breakfast with a cup of coffee (ok i cheated and added 1 tsp of sugar to my coffee) and a bottle of water to wash everything down with. the meal filled me for about two hours, and then i was getting really hungry again. but since i eat breakfast around 10am...i only had an extra hour to go until lunch, and it passed quickly.

at lunch today, i had a HUGE salad of lettuce, olives, red beets and 1/2 a tomato sliced. i added my usual amount of dressing (which was the standard serving size). i know cottage cheese has carbs, and the book says that as long as the carb amount is below 4g per meal, we can wing it. so wing it i did. i had about 1/3 a cup of cottage cheese with my salad, which was about 3g of carbs. and i topped it off with deli ham. it was delicious and actually filled me up. or maybe i was just that hungry (when im hungry liver tastes delicious). i drunk 2 more cups of water and felt pretty good. i was thinking of adding tuna to the mix, but since i had tuna and asparagus YESTERDAY, i didnt want to eat it again. too much tuna is really no good for anyone, with all the chemicals in the waters these days.

so anyway...i made it for another 2 hours or so, and then i was really getting hungry again. it's interesting how i can be really full, and then the food just seems to burn off instantaneously, leaving me feeling REALLY hungry. anyway...after another hour, i felt as if i hadn't eaten all day, so i made another salad...same exact way. so yeah, that gave me 6g of carbs for lunch. not too bad, it still only amounts to about 2% of the daily recommended intake. another 2 glasses of water...and i was held over just fine until dinner.

i have to interject here. technically, by eating the second salad, i broke the rule of strictly 3 meals a day. but reading the thyroid diet (you can purchase it here), i learned that (and tried and find that it works for me) people with hypothyroidism (me), should always eat at least 5, preferably 6, small meals per day. so i did not feel bad for tweaking that part of the book and eating the second salad.

so dinner came, and because my husband was late coming home today, dinner was not made. it was supposed to be fried fish, green salad and spanish rice, a dish that we absolutely love. since i cannot fry fish, it was up to him to do it...he came in too late so dinner plans crashed. tomorrow ill just bake the fish. anyway, that left me getting really hungry. so i decided to just make my favorite immediate fix--a good ole bowl of frosted flakes. i had the normal amount i eat, one full bowl. i topped it off with 2 cookies and a half glass of milk. because i didn't eat any fruit, i also chomped into a big ole wedge of delicious pineapple.

now, for those who dont know, i have a steel plated stomach. i can eat a myriad of foods in one sitting and not get sick. so pineapple, cereal, cookies, milk, seltzer water and olives all on the same plate is right up my alley.

i felt stuffed afterwards. this was at about 8pm. since the diet said to make sure to finish everything from the last meal within the hour, i did that, and felt pretty ok.

now, i'm slowly starting to feel myself get hungry again. eek! i know im going to break the one hour rule, just because i can't go to bed hungry.

as i see, im the person that cuts corners. due to my thyroid illness, i have to be careful with the way i eat. so i figured maybe (as many of the reviews i read suggest), that i could tweak the diet to fit my individual needs. instead of eating meat and fat all day, the idea is to eat my meat and eggs for breakfast, and once every few days, have a slice of low carb bread with it, and some butter, and maybe a touch of low sugar jelly. then to eat a huge thing of veggies for lunch, with lean meat, or seafood. this way, i am not depriving myself of my veggies for the day. then, when the evening comes, have my dinner early (this is easy because its summer), flesh it out really well, add at least 4 servings of fruit to it, have my regular meal and whatever goodies i want without the guilt. despite switching the meals so that carbs are always saved for the end of the day, i have to make sure i eat veggies and fruits too.

someone in one of the reviews said that she could not go absolutely with no carbs all day long, so she tweaked it to have a small serving of carbs for breakfast some days, and then none for lunch, and only a small serving for dinner on the days she had them for breakfast. on the days she has no carbs for breakfast, she treats herself liberally for dinner. she said this satisfies her way more and she's still maintaining her weight loss. so it can be an idea that if this works for me, i can have some tweaking too, with strict moderation, just to keep my thyroid at a healthy place. since there are some limitations to what i can eat anyway with thyroid issues, a menu is paramount daily.

also, the book has recipes for low carb breads, which are just fine to eat during the day. i find that in general, it's a great idea to REALLY start experimenting with recipes on this sort of lifestyle change. there are TONS of recipes that are low carb that people can eat for breakfast and lunch. and considering that most americans eat no fruits and veggies daily, it wont exactly kill them to hold off with eating certain veggies and some fruits until dinner.

i know two people personally (not including the freecycler who gave me the book) who have been on similar menu plans and it has worked for them. one person is an old college teacher, who lost 190 pounds on this exact diet, and has kept it off going on maybe 15 years now. the second person is my neighbor, who says she follows the diet and she feels alot better, at the recommendation of her doctor (who did not recommend the book, but recommended a similar style of eating--limiting carbs to 1 meal per day). she admitted to falling off the 1 carbie meal per day bandwagon, but is now considering trying it again).

this may not be such a bad idea for me.

my results are especially promising. between yesterday and today...ive lost 1.4 pounds. today was the lowest weight reading ive had in WEEKS. and i had to lose the weight because i weigh myself wearing the same thing daily, and the scale has never been so low. also, i immediately noticed that i have more energy. im not sluggish and i dont need naps during the day anymore. also, i know this is tmi...but im going to say it anyway. today my bowels moved the best they have in months. this is an immediate change.

the only downside is that i have to break up the strict 3 meals per day rule. i simply have been advised NOT to go that long between meals, it can wreak havoc on my metabolism. so i will not. still losing 1.5 pounds and cutting all of the corners i did yesterday sounds as if i can definitely tweak this diet.

i'm going to shop later this week for the ingredients to make the low carb bread, and im definitely going to search around for low carb recipes. i have to flesh out my breakfast and lunch more if this is something that may help me out. funny, but ive been praying for God to help me find the encouragement to cook and dibble dabble with recipes more. welp, here it is--the perfect reason to do just that.

i would have NEVER thought my carb intake could've been the cause of alot of my ill. here i am blaming my thyroid for the difficulties losing weight. but the more i think about it, the more i AM recognizing a correlation between my carb intake and weight gain, exhaustion after eating and yes, being hungry relatively quickly after eating.

i will definitely be reporting my progress with this dietary change regularly. with the way i'm going, i may even add a new label LOL. "dieting101" or something LOL. anyway, i'm just thankful to God for allowing freecycle to once again be the way to a blessing. even if this isnt exactly for me (and ill know within a few weeks if it is or not), ill never look at carbs the same, simply because of how good i feel.

any feedback about this diet, or others like that is appreciated....i'm definitely going to see where this road takes me!

good eating...

requires good cooking. now i have to admit, eating a healthier diet not only is better for you, but it actually tastes better too. however, i'm still having issues with wanting to cook.

i've never been suzy homemaker in the kitchen, and that hasn't changed, even though i probably have more of a desire now than ever before to eat better. but unfortunately, i'm as allergic to cooking now as i've ever been. just the thought of being in the kitchen gives me the heebie jeebies. measuring ingredients, adding spices, watching cooking times and temperatures, blahhhhhh! if only i could find somebody to cook for my family, id be in healthy heaven.

or maybe i could just get up and try to cook.

i have to admit, i haven't actually tried to cook anything new and/or especially healthy. i just toy and play around with the idea. but thats as far as i get because i get freaked out.

i wonder, are there other people with a phobia of cooking? or am i the only one?

well, at least i did learn how to bake fish and make mashed potatoes, and we eat salad at least 3 times per week (as shown in my picture yay). and i am learning how to saute veggies since i got some great quality saute pans from freecycle.

i'm getting there. just pray for me lol.

The Maker's Diet.

this book is an excellent read, even for those who are not neccessarily religious but want to change the way they view their food and eating habits, and for those who want to change their way of life and eat healther, get in shape and be better for it.

i got so excited towards the end of The Maker's Diet that i went on a binge and threw away half of my kitchen. i don't really regret it--one read and you'll feel bad for eating non-organic, and feeding it to your kids, if you have any.

this book also made me revamp my mindset that i had about food before, as viewed in this post. not that i was wrong before, but i'd say more ignorant. there was a response given also to my post that i didn't quite "get" back then, but i get it now--thanks to the person that wrote me that post! now i see why pork is bad for you as well as other foods, and i understand that God's rules concerning food did not change. the only thing that did change is that now, eating whatever you want isn't a sin, but the bad for you foods still remain bad for you. you just won't go to hell for eating them.

i've decided to switch us over to a 50% minimum organic diet. this includes all dairy, fruits and vegetables. i'm aiming for all organic meats, but thus far those are expensive. for now i just try to get meats raised and prepared in the most natural, humane ways.

but what an excellent read it is...i got my copy for 99 cents off ebay *now you really didn't think i'd purchase this sucker for 15.00 new right?!* however, i've read in various places online that the author of this book, Jordan Rubin, offers free copies to those who are in financial straights but wish to obtain the information he provides.

i personally love the book. it's not gimmicky or weird and the rules really are simple and common sensical. of course those who aren't spiritually inclined will scoff at the more spiritual side of the book. and that's just fine. the rest of us appreciate his words and his relationship with God--i personally cried during a few pages.

we are making the transition to a naturally healthy lifestyle with this book and a few other resources i've obtained over time, and to be honest it's much easier than i imagined it'd be. i'm happy i'm doing it--my kids love organic 1% milk just as much as regular whole milk and the prices (which i'll blog about after my first full organic shopping experience coming up) thus far don't seem to be abnormally out of range. i paid 4.19-4.59 for a gallon of hormone/antibiotic laced milk, and now i pay 4.99 for a gallon of certified organic milk. well worth the extra few cents for the better health and piece of mind. now i feel guilty if i even think about getting my kids non-organic milk--like i'm purposefully giving them hormones and antibiotics in every cup of milk. we've even started on organic sugar (2.50 for 1.5 pounds). and that's not any fault at all of The Maker's Diet, i've been feeling this guilt trip rising in the back of my throat for a few weeks now!

i'm going to complete the book again and then just start the diet (which comes in three different phases and levels), but i'm already eating better after the first read. now i know that there's a possibility that what we eat isn't as organic as it could be, even if it's stamped by the usda as organic, but i can taste the difference in the milk that we drink now, and i can taste the difference in the sugar and the vegetables. the flavors are smoother, more robust. i noticed the milk tastes creamier and lighter. the vegetables have a sweeter, stronger taste. so i don't know if it's psychological or what, but so far we're enjoying it and i figure it has to have LESS chemicals in it than non-organic, which is always a start.

finally, going to the gym.

if anyone has read...this current post is a follow-up to this post that i made a while back concerning my purchase of weight loss pills versus the gym membership card to use the treadmill.

well i got the card, thus me being able to go to the gym four times per week. oh ye of little faith in myself, because not only did i get the card and start going to the gym, but i never lost the desire to go in the first place!

anyway!

even though i haven't blogged about it at all...i've started faithfully going to the gym four times per week. i walk two miles at three miles per hour and i usually don't do an incline because i don't want very muscular legs. just a slight incline at about three inches.

tonight my mom said she noticed i was losing weight. my hubby has remarked also that when he hugs me he noticed i'm getting smaller. the girls still have "mommy's belly" jokes but they usually get hit with the "you came OUT OF THIS BELLY SO IT'S your belly too!" and that quiets them down for a few seconds until they can't help but to bust out laughing as they run out of the room. so two out of five ain't bad huh. LOL.

i personally am not noticing any weight loss, but then again usually those trying to lose hardly ever do until it's substantial. i also don't feel any healthier or lighter or more energized...it's odd. i've been walking for about three weeks now...going on a month.

what i do appreciate about the time at the gym is that it's my personal time. i brought a mp3 player off ebay (for 30.00--talk about frugal!) and it has been one of my best purchases from there. it helps me relax while i walk. if i don't listen to music then i watch CNN or MSNBC while i walk, and argue with the tv for the forty-five minutes to an hour that i'm there.

all in all, i never thought i would say this, but i am REALLY enjoying going to the gym. i only have eleven months to get it together for that sexathon coming up!

that daggone treadmill

i am SO wishing i would have brought that gym membership. *sigh*. i keep revisiting this topic because UGH! i want to get some exercise. hmph! and it's really on my mind. now wait until i get the card--i'm probably never gonna get on the treadmill.

buyer's remorse.

ugh...i am SO having buyer's remorse now. the itch to get on that stupid treadmill is bigger than ever...but *sigh* alas, i spent the money on those dumb pills!

grr. i shouldn't have done that.

well. i should have listened.

i was debating two weeks ago whether or not i wanted to take my last 100.00 and purchase a new gym card OR go to a weight loss specialist, who would prescribe me medication to lose weight.

as most people who know me know, i am, and have been, struggling to lose 30-40 pounds for a LONG time. whenever i do lose it, some life change happens (usually i get pregnant!) and i gain it back after the baby. well now, i've decided that i want to get rid of it ONCE and for ALL...which brought me to the major decision--gym membership or doctor?

i prayed on it, and asked God to lead me in the right direction. then i fell asleep. when i woke up the next day, i was having a feeling (no doubt an answer from God), that i should purchase the gym membership, and lose weight the "right" way. considering that i am clinically "obese", but it does not cause me any health problems, and with MORE determination 30 lbs is NOT alot to lose, i had been having the feeling that drugs weren't neccessary.

so i had my "answer", but me being human and deciding that i didn't want to listen to my heart, my mind, and most of all, God, but instead be human...decided to ignore all of my good judgement and prayer requests and go to the doctor.

so i took my last bit of money, and off i went to the doctor. everything went well...he gave me the prescription, a diet plan, a colon cleanser, and an appointment for next month. fine, right?

well, not quite.

the next day while going to pick up my meds, to my (not really) surprise, i found out that my insurance didn't cover one of the medications he prescribed me. that wasn't a surprise because i know my insurance HMO, have been with them for years, and i knew that they probably *weren't* going to cover any medications for weight loss *unless* the doctor confirmed with the company that the medications were a *major* neccessity to my health. well i knew this doctor probably was not going to do that for two reasons: 1. i am a brand new patient there and 2. i paid out of pocket for him, he is not even in my HMO doctor coverage area! so i'm screwed in that sense--one of the meds--phentermine--i had to purchase out of pocket.

not so bad, right? right. i've purchased meds out of pocket before.

so...i tell the pharmacist that i want to purchase the medication that wasn't covered by insurance. fine. she tells me that it would be 75.00*gawk*!! now i was NOT expecting it to be so much. already i spent 80.00 on the doctor, 15.00 getting to him, and now 75.00 on the medication that insurance didn't cover? that was a *lot* for 30 measly pounds! but...this would make my life easier, right? right.

hesitantly i tell her that i wasn't so sure if i was going to be able to continue to refill at such a high price. "well we offer a generic for adipex!" she quips. GREAT! she SO solved an issue for me. i know generics are usually up to 50% cheaper than brand names, and they work just as well! so i ask her how much it is for the generic. "34.99!" she pipes.

i LOVE it. i can afford 35.00 a month for this stuff, and from what i hear...it will only take me about 3 months to lose the weight! i might be my goal weight by the end of the summer...woohoo! i SO did the right thing by following my secular side on this one *teehee*.

fine. so i tell her i'll take that one instead. one more hour wait while they redo my prescription (lucky my doctor didn't check "no substitutions allowed" eh?? *wink*). i get my medication...at last! the fun begins!

or so i think.

i take the pill when i get home, as i am supposed to. i follow it up with the other pill, bumex...a diuretic, as i am supposed to. within 15 minutes, i'm using the bathroom and i feel like i've released a bucket of sea water into a huge ocean. great...it's working already! another 15 minutes, i go again...another...i go again! by that afternoon, i KNOW i've lost 4 pounds in water weight alone! i don't feel any negative side effects, i'm good, i'm gonna lose weight, life is grand...

the next day, i wake up and do my little routine...two pills and lots of water...then a bit of breakfast. i notice that i am not very hungry...blah! so i nibble here and there. even better. the meds are working.

by that afternoon, i'm peeing and not hungry at all...gooooood. but i notice when i run up the stairs...i'm tired. i mean. TIRED. and shaky. ugh. and out of breath...like i really did something. so i go on with my day. i reach up to get some tuna for the kids from the cabinet...i'm out of breath. i bend over to pick up a toy...i'm out of breath. *sigh* ok. this stuff...maybe it's a first few days use side effect?

the next day, i take my pills as usual, and drink the colon cleanser. i'm not too hungry, but i could eat. i noticed that although the meds don't get rid of my apetite completely because i am hungry normally, i am not AS hungry and i get full quickly. that's great. i go outside. it's especially hot. after a few minutes in the heat, i notice my heart is POUNDING against my rib cage like it wants to run away from me! i go back in and sit in the cool air. my heart calms down. i go back out into the heat...a few minutes later, sure enough...my heart is marathon running, i can feel my ribs moving out of the way! ok...not cool. i go back in, sit down, my heart beat returns to normal. i go upstairs...out of breath. go take a shower...out of breath while i'm washing up! this isn't cool. not only that...but i notice now a LUMP in my throat. that dang colon stuff. ugh. fine...tomorrow i won't take it, i decide. that night...the lump in my throat dissipates, and my sleep is good.

so the next day...NO colon cleanser, but i have a good poo! that's great because i haven't gone since taking that phentermine pills i noticed. i take my pills, and say i'll give it one more chance. maybe i was just having some flukie side effects. after a few minutes, i realize i don't have to peepee like the last few days. maybe my body is getting to it's excess water limit? who knows. but i notice that my throat lump is back after about an hour. and it's bigger than it was yesterday. ugh. now i'm getting agitated. i look at the side effects on my pill information phamplets. nowhere does it say, "lumpy throat" or "rapid heart beat". so...what gives? i look online...nowhere can i find any of those side effects either for the medicines!

this is gonna take some sleuthing! i go to my sleuth partner in crime, and together we decide to get to the bottom of this. by now, the lump in my throat is so large i can barely swallow. i can breathe, but i can't swallow. and it's starting to ache.

i come to a site called phentermine.com, and i flip vigorously throught the forums until i come across another woman who is having the same issues as me. come to find out...it's an allergic reaction. my throat is swelling shut because i am allergic to phentermine, or a compound IN it. *sigh* great, just fricking great. not only that, but my heart beat is racing because of it. ugh.

now i am looking at these pills...all of that money and work, BLOWN. *sigh*...almost 150.00 for nothing. i could have spent half of that and gotten my new gym card, and lost the same amount of weight in a week...2 lbs (what i lost on the phentermine)...by exercising. so my money, time, energy, hopes...wasted. i can't take the medicines because i am allergic to them. i have to pay out of pocket for some of them, and that specialist isn't covered under my insurance. i still have the lump in my throat. it's considerably smaller, but it's there still. i also haven't had a decent poo in days.

my hubby says it's ok...we all learn what we should know SOME way or another. he also tells me that i better not swallow another pill until i get to a doctor...which i had better be getting to in the morning.

i guess He let me learn my lesson the hard way.

i SO should have listened the first time around. next time i will.