C25K: Day 2

Day 2's run was a billion times better than day 1! Seriously! I didn't make it through it completely, however I did so much better than the first run. I had energy, I didn't hurt as much, I paced myself better. Everything was better. It was fun and everything. I'm looking forward to my third run. I was going to do it today, but the weather was not very conducive to being outdoors. I might have to come up with an alternative place to run when the weather is icky. OR just come up with a different type of endurance building workout - like crossfit, P90X, etc.

My total was 1.8 miles for the walk/jog. I actually feel pretty decent about it. I know it's slow, but I still feel good about it!

Mmm...fake cauliflower pizza crust turned lasagna!

For dinner tonight, I thought I'd try a version of cauliflower pizza crust that used fresh cauliflower and didn't need a microwave (we don't own one!)

I baked the pizza crust and the center was still gooey but the underneath and corners were burned. I thought maybe if I put the toppings on and bake it at a lower temperature maybe it would be okay. Well. It wasn't...

That on top of my daughter fussy from teething and being extra needy put me over the edge for a moment. Then my mother-in-law said, I bet it's still good, we could try it and see how it goes. This statement saved me from turning to real pizza from our neighborhood italian restaurant! (Although, I was almost hoping for a good excuse to go for it!)

So I slopped it on my plate and it ended up tasting like lasagna without the noodles. I used Ricotta cheese in the cauliflower crust (which is probably why it wouldn't turn into pizza crust) and the mixture of cauliflower, Ricotta, oregano, basil, and garlic tasted like lasagna filling Topped with baby tomatoes, onion, and mozzarella. It was delish! Since I'm not cutting out fat, it was all whole milk cheeses so it was ultra delicious.

The only problem I faced was my own intolerance for dairy cheeses...I'm going to try and make some cheese (such as mozzarella and ricotta) from raw milk in May so maybe I'll be able to handle some of the delicious cheeses better!

I found the basic recipe on Sparkpeople recipes and made only a few changes. Here is the link to the original recipe: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1606756

Here is the recipe I followed:

1 Cup Cauliflower
1 egg
1 Cup Ricotta Cheese
1 tsp Oregano
4 fresh basil leaves (I freeze my spices so I don't have to worry about them going bad)
2 garlic cloves

If you have a vitamix, throw all the ingredients in your blender, and blend at 4 for 30 seconds. If not:

Either put your cauliflower in a food processor or shred it using a small grater. Add egg, ricotta cheese, and spices and mix.

Put on greased pizza crust (we use either butter or coconut oil for high heat cooking; Macadamia oil should also work well) and bake for 12-15 minutes at 450 degrees.

After the crust has baked, add toppings - we used mozzarella, onions, a tomato sauce, and pre-cooked chicken. But be creative, the original recipe has lots of creative suggestions.

If for some reason your pizza crust turns out to be pizza crust, just put the pizza back in the oven and put on high broil for approx. 3-4 minutes. If not, bake for another 8 minutes until ingredients are melted. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Scoop the cut pieces onto your plate (trying to leave the pizza topping on top for appeal). We added a little salt and pepper and a yummy side salad.

Turned out delicious - love it when mistakes turn out to be wonderful!

C25K: Day 1

So I got out there. I walked outside and pressed play on my C25K training app. "Begin walking." Then I started playing dance music to get me going. The intro of the song had an anticipatory beat and I felt like I was the only one there on the street about to burst into a full on sprint. I could barely hold myself from running until the app said it was time to start jogging. Finally, the app said, "Begin jogging." I took my first pace and my foot hit the ground. Suddenly this momentum that had been building in me felt clumsy and slow and the ground felt hard. The cool air that once felt like a gentle breeze felt more like frozen ice in my throat. My skin began to itch and freak out from my body not used to movement and cold air...

While I was jogging I saw these two women walking a sweet little dog. My imagination started to picture what they must think of me. This overweight woman running clumsily down the street, panting at 3 miles per hour. They had to think I was foolish, or ridiculous. But then I said, maybe they think I'm brave. Maybe they think, would I have the guts to do that? Then I thought about a month or two down the road. When my body is more limber and strong, running past these same two women, and them turning their heads n disbelief. THAT would be a complete victory for me.
In spite of my clumsiness, my fear, my self doubt, I did it. I may not have run as long as the app said to run, but I got out there and moved the whole time. It will get easier, I will get stronger. And I can see her. This woman...running to the dance music - strong, proud, slender, and graceful.

New motivation

Sometimes making a new commitment will help you reach your goal. Not necessarily a weight loss goal, but maybe a goal to run a half marathon. Instead of focusing on the weight focus on a goal that will help you lose weight but focus on something else.

Today I committed to run a half marathon on August 19th and raise $655 for World Vision. I totally believe in World Vision's cause and would love to raise so much more than $655 for children in poverty.

So, here we go! Ready to start training!!!

Self Talk

Sometimes the negative self talk is so defeating. Self-sabotage. Today was one of those "I don't want to look in the mirror because I make myself sick" kinda days... What to do on a day like this..

I'm hoping talking about will give me som release. If I ever heard my daughter talk to herself the way I do, I would be completely broken-hearted. That sweet little girl is going to be bombarded with negative self images right and left, and as her mommy I have to change, for her sake. I pray my baby never feels the way I'm feeling. "You're ugly." "You're enormous and obese and disgusting." "look at that figure, it's pathetic." "You should be embarrassed to go out in public." when is this going to sync in? I can't do this to myself anymore. How am I ever going to reach my goal if I don't believe I deserve it.

This week, I'm going to start positive affirmations and focusing daily in what my goals are. I'm still down 10 pounds, and I'm grateful for it. Maybe that's a third thing I'm going to work on...gratitude.

Take out the garbage in my head, fill it back up with positivity, gratitude and praying continuously. Maybe with those tools in my belt I'll start moving forward. Do I really want this??? What is keeping my where I'm at? It's time to let go.

Sourcing REAL FOOD

This past month my husband and I have cut out grains and dairy. Honestly, after awhile you don't really miss it. The only thing I've had trouble with is learning how to snack without grains and dairy. We've been eating a lot of eggs, squash soup (using homemade broth), juicing carrots and special delicious green juice, home-soaked and dehydrates nuts and meat.

HOWEVER - I really enjoy a good mocha or cappucino once in awhile. So I've sourced REAL MILK. Real raw milk! I'll be making homemade mocha syrup with out of maple syrup, water, and unsweetened cocoa and raw milk, with delicious local Dogwood coffee. Mmmm... I <3 Dogwood coffee..

How did I find real milk? Well, first I contacted my local Weston Price Chapter leader - who had no leads. He said that there were too many looking for raw milk so he had no resources to hook me up with. BUMMER. Then one day I had an epiphany. CRAIGSLIST! Craigslist has everything, right!?! They have to have people looking to sell raw milk! And guess what, I found my person! So next week, I'm heading to the farm, which shall be remain nameless since our government loves, loves, LOVES to attack local farms (search MICHIGAN & ORGANIC PIGS). A friend of mine and I will get about 4 gallons of milk between the two of us (she has 5 kiddos, so she'll be taking the bulk of it!) And the kiddos can check out the farm while we're there too!

So don't give up on finding real food - think creatively. Ask friends where they get their local foods (CSA's and farms); look on Craigslist, or hang out in the parking lot of Whole Foods...I think some suspicious Real Food selling may go down out there...

But yay! This is gonna be good!

Oh the lovely month of February...

So...February...This month is closer to the holiday season, than the actual holiday season...After 4...yes, 4...birthday parties and Valentine's day...I didn't lose much weight. I gained a few good pounds.

So this month, I worked on getting back to where I was at, at the end of February, and I am there! Thank goodness. I'm looking forward to losing a few more pounds the remainder of this month and reaching my first goal of 30 pounds in April....hopefully before my mother-in-law comes to visit.

We are following the GAPS diet - this diet helps with a myriad of issues - for me personally eczema and weight loss. For my husband, weight gain depression, and anxiety, We have been on the intro diet since March 1st, and are now on stage 3 - which means we can eat - homemade meat broth, boiled meats, well boiled vegetables, fermented vegetables, animal fat, ghee oil, egg yolks, just added egg whites, walnuts, and avocados! It's a pretty strict healing diet - aimed to heal leaky gut syndrome.

Honestly - I feel amazing. AMAZING! My husband has been in a good mood for almost a week. That relieves a ton of stress for us. My skin has not broken out in hives unless I eat something I'm not supposed to. We both have more energy, even when we're tired. It's been pretty great. It's a huge blessing for me when my husband comes home and says he had a good day. Not a fine day, or a blah day, but a good day. Ahhh...it's like a breath of fresh air!

I'm juicing now as well. We've been able to drink carrot juice...mmmm...and today I added lettuce, apples and half a lemon. Greenish-brown, but good!

So, yay for March and yay for fresh starts. Feels good!