Quality Counts

A year ago, my friend Melody told me that she started ordering from a company that provides restaurant quality, top grade, portion-controlled, all-natural (read: no hormones and other junk!) meat.  We decided to call and find out how the program worked.  Let me just say, Five Star Home Foods is "Da BOMB!"

This is a picture of our freezer after a delivery.  Isn't it awesome?!

We knew when we placed our first order that we wanted to start eating better.  But, I didn't know that a year later I would be doing Take Shape for Life, where each day I would need to prepare a delicious lean and green meal for my family.

It has been a pleasure to go to my freezer and choose from some of the best quality, lean meats available.  Their flavor and texture are unbelievable! 

No, I'm not a walking....errr, blogging...advertisement for Five Star.  I just am posting about this today because we place another order tonight and I can't wait to get my new freezer full of foods in a few days.

Eating GOOD food has been just as important as eating HEALTHY food.  And, no, the two things are not necessarily the same for people.  We have splurged on items to make sure we are getting top quality meats and vegetables.  We've also changed the quality (and content) of the food we serve to our kids. 

Just say no to "High Fructose Corn Syrup."  That thing is NOT our friend.  Neither are saturated fats, trans fats, and lots of added preservatives.  In the end, quality really does count.  And, obviously, from my previous post, it doesn't have to break the bank.

Here's to quality meats!  Now...it's dinner time.  Let me go check my freezer and see what we're having tonight.

Cutting Pounds Is Cutting the Budget

WOW!  I just had to share this...

So, one of the biggest objections to ordering the food for Take Shape for Life was the expense.  We looked over it and thought, "Wow--this is NOT cheap, but this is what we need to do, so we will make the sacrifices necessary to make it happen."

I just looked over the past year's finances.  I added up our dining out catagory and came up with what we spent on eating out in on average each month.  And then I did the same with groceries.

This month I spent a TON of extra money at the grocery store buying food for the holidays and for baking cookies and providing meals for other people.  But guess what?  Even with the extra food that was purchased...and even after placing my big ol' Medifast order...we actually saved a little money on our food budget this month.

Can't wait to see how this plays out in the future months.  I'll keep you posted. 

But I don't think anyone can use, "I just can't afford it" as an excuse to not make this change if that's what they need to do.

Reflections on Week 4: Eating Discontentment for Dinner

So, it's been 4 weeks since I started.  I can't believe it.  It has gone really quickly.  Which is good.  That means I'm not hating every minute of it.  Quite the opposite.  I like it.

I made the banana pudding this afternoon and then put it in the freezer for a few hours.  YUM!  It was like a little banana Italian ice.  It's fun to find new things to do with the Medifast foods.

So, the biggest thing about this past week--other than I made it through the holidays without cheating at all!!!--is that I have been faced with my own discontentment.

I was mad again today.  Mad that this is the last day of Dan's vacation and that it didn't feel much at all like a vacation to me.  I still had to cook and take care of little people and hubby was on a "we're clearing out the basement and getting rid of all of our stuff" kick.  The laundry still piled up.  The toilet still needed scrubbed.  The dishwasher needed to be emptied and refilled more than usual.  The coffee pot was always empty.  Someone was always being too loud or crying about "who took what and wasn't sharing" or because "I left the paper airplane in the house and I wanted to take it with me in the car!!!!" 

I'd like to say, "Calgon, take me away!" but have you seen my bathtub?  Gross.  We live in an older house and the drain doesn't drain properly--so even after I just spent a half hour scrubbing on my hands and knees, the second someone uses it...there's the same filth I thought I had just washed away.  Blech!

When I was cooking today, all of the baking sheets fell out of the cupboard because we don't have ample space in our kitchen to store all of my very essential cooking apparatus!  (I might have cursed when this happened--but, for sure the cat scurried away like a black streak.)

I don't count my blessings.  I just don't.

Three years ago we were looking for a house and were repeatedly heart-broken when our offers were rejected or the finances didn't work out.  Then, miraculously, God provided us with this beautiful little home.  And I complain about it every single day.

I was single for 33 years.  When I was 26, I met this amazing man named Dan that I fell in love with almost instantly.  For seven years I wanted nothing more than to be married to this kind and gentle man.  Then, he finally asked me to be his wife and on Saturday we will celebrate our 7th anniversary.  Still, I get mad at him and frustrated about things he does or says (or doesn't say).  I never wish I would be married to anyone else, but I can be ungrateful for the wonderful man God gave me.

And then the children...Well, I was 34 years old when I held my son in my arms for the first time.  It was the most profound and miraculous moment of my life.  I never thought God would bless me with children.  And then, there was Kate.  Oh, how I wanted her.  I couldn't wait to get pregnant again after having Jude.  But now--I am so easily tempted to anger with them or boredom with their play or impatient with their childish ways.

In all of these things, my default comfort has been food.  But it's time to eat discontentment for dinner and be done with it.

What are some fun and inexpensive things you like to do with your family? (Remember, our children are currently 3 & 5)


What do you like to do for fun?


How do you remind yourself of the truth when you're faced with your own discontentment?


I want to count my blessings instead of complaining.  I want a more thankful heart.  I think this is a big part of the journey for me in my goal toward optimal health and glorifying God with my body.

Welcome to the New Year!

My Take Shape Pantry--which is starting to get organized.  This is my safe cupboard where anything is up for grabs--choose one every 2-3 hours, five times per day!  Love it!  Notice the brownie and the soft serve ice cream vying for center stage.

When I was thinking of starting Take Shape for Life, I asked Shirley (who is now my health coach) if she thought I would just be setting myself up to fail if I started before the holidays.  I mean, in the past, the holidays would have just been a great excuse to exercise my food addiction in front of the world.  Don't we all love to overeat and blame it on "the holidays"?

Shirley said, "Well, would you like to go into the holidays down 20 pounds by the New Year or would you like to start the New Year with an extra 5-10 pounds that you'll need to lose?"

I chose to start it with the 20 pounds down.

The only problem is...Shirley was wrong.

Today is January 1 and I thought I would weigh myself, just to see what my weight was on the first day of 2012.  As of today...

I am down TWENTY THREE* pounds.  

HOOOOOOOOO HAAAAAAA!!!!

Take THAT, Holiday Binging!

My 2012 will be like Shirley's 2011.  Yesterday she said to me:
Your 2012 will be like my 2011. I started the year saying that I thought it would be quite a year. It was, but I couldn't even imagine how wonderful it would be, in more ways than I could have dreamed.

It's great to have a coach that understands where I have been, who identifies with the tears that have been shed and the hopelessness that had overcome me.  It's also great to have her example of how TSFL really does work and does change lives.  She is an inspiration and I am so grateful that God brought her into my life for this time.  Love you, Shirley!  Thanks for all you've already helped me accomplish.

And, much thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ for His unbelievable love for me. This truly has been OUR journey from the very start. He led me here when I was unable to even get up out of the mud and mire of my own life.

So much more to experience in 2012....can't wait!

*Not my official weekly weigh-in, as my weigh-in days are Wednesday--but sure is fun to know!

Some Incentives

Today I found a document from a few years ago.  It outlined incentives I wanted for losing weight in 10 pound increments.  There's some really good ones here!

A romantic night out with Dan

Get a massage

Take a creative writing class

Go back to Savannah

Wear the jeans I've been saving

Run a mile

Go to NYC with Dan to see a show

Have another baby*

Visit New England

Take a dance class

Audition for a show

Hike in the Rocky Mountains with the kids

Plan a trip to Hawaii

Go to Hawaii (This was for when I reached my goal.  Maybe we could change this to the Bahamas, since our best friends are moving there this summer!)

*Hmm...not sure about having another baby right now, but all the rest of these are GREAT ideas!

*Photo of Carl & Ellie dreaming together in Disney/Pixar's movie "Up"

Some of them seem a bit impractical, since they are very costly and we intend to send our children back to private school next year.  BUT...we can still add them to our bucket list and maybe start a jar of coins like Carl & Ellie did in the movie "Up."  Our own little savings toward Paradise Falls!  Wouldn't it be cool if we could just go to some of these places via our own house and a whole lot of helium balloons?

Other things on this list are completely do-able.  I should keep adding to this list.  I think I will.

What do you think I should add?

Who Stole My Fun?

My nephews.  Now they are 18, 19, 21 and 22 years old.

I babysat my four nephews for two summers in a row.  They were just little guys back then.  Maybe ages 6, 7, 9 and 10 years old?  Now one of them is too tall to stand in our basement!

There were two things Aunt Julie wouldn't let them say when we were together.

"That's so gay!" (For obvious reasons!  Who ever thought that was a good expression?!)

And...

"I'm bored." (You have got to be kidding me!)

You're bored? I would think to myself.  You are here with your aunt and your cousins and you have a million toys and a great backyard and...I already took you on numerous fun outings this week.  Do not even say you are bored!!!!

But, here I am...and I'm going to say it.


I'M BORED.

That's right.  I said it.

I couldn't count the number of times I sighed yesterday.

I woke up at around 7am and couldn't get back to sleep.  I came downstairs, made some Peach Oatmeal and a cup of coffee, grabbed my book and spent some time with God.  'sigh'  Turned on the Today Show at around 8am--flipped through channels numerous time.  'sigh'  Picked up my book again.  Couldn't focus.  Watched more TV.  Couldn't focus.

Tick, tick, tick...the clock was moving slowly and my family wasn't in a hurry to get up and get the day started.  Normally, I would have been thankful for that.  Quietness.  Alone time.  Things a mother relishes.

Then, once everyone was awake, I was immediately biting off their heads.  I definitely put on my grumpy pants. (Which, might I add, were much looser than a week ago!  Ha ha!)

Last night, once the kids were in bed, I finally said the words out loud.

"I'm bored."

There was no response.

This morning, I woke up and found myself immediately sighing again.  I was putting on my make-up and getting ready for the day when I said the words out loud again.

"I'm bored."

This time Dan responded.  "It's tough to realize how much of our entertainment has been derived from food, huh?"

At Max Brenner's Chocolate Factory in New York City while on our Foods of New York Tour that we hosted in July 2010.
 

I hadn't thought about that.  He was right.  I didn't realize that I was grouchy because I wanted to eat.  I didn't realize that I was hungry because I was bored and wanted something to do.  No, not just SOMETHING to do--I wanted to eat.  I wanted to go to a restaurant and order a five course meal and sit and linger over it with a glass of wine.  I wanted to come home and sit up for another five hours exploring the kitchen cupboards.  Wait...NO.  I didn't really WANT that.  I didn't even realize that was why I was upset.  I just realized there was a void.  And the void was food.  And...I was bored.

But you have to be kidding!  I am here with my husband and my children.  We are surrounded by toys and places to go and things to see and kittens to love and friends and family and a church and...

It's not so much boredom as it is discontentment.  I don't want those things.  I want something to entertain me and be easy and be mindless and be pleasurable.

 Just a few gals who know something about fun!  My 39th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese.

 It's time to redefine all of those things.  Food is not entertainment.  Food is not ease.  Food is fuel.  And it can be pleasurable.  But it is not my satisfaction and it does not bring comfort.  I have been deceived by my Food Idolatry for a long time.  I have to find a new way to live.

FOOD has stole my fun for a very long time.  Now, I need to rediscover what fun really is.  And be content along the way.


 Let the challenge begin!

Grouchy & Hungry=Blech!

I woke up in a lousy mood today?  Why do we sometimes just wake up grouchy?  I haven't been able to swing it all day.

And...I'm hungry today.  How can you basically eat the same thing every day and be fine, and then all of a sudden--hungry day! 

I don't like hungry day.  Or grouchy day.

I want a do-over.

Style Doesn't Have A Size

You know what I love about hats?  Besides the fact that I think they are just adorable, I love that it doesn't matter how big or how small your body is.  You can wear a hat!  Same with scarves.  One size kind-of fits all.

I had an amazing day today with my hubby, my nieces, my sister and my mom at an adorable boutique near Philly.  I got that brown, cute little hat I'm wearing in the above picture, along with a super-stylish scarf-like-accessory. 

I think we tried on every possible thing in the store.  No hat was off limits.  We laughed and made memories...went to lunch together and I had the BEST spinach salad with roasted red peppers, mushrooms and grilled chicken!  There wasn't anything I didn't enjoy about this day.

You know...style doesn't have to be limited to size.  Though I have continually packed on the pounds over the years, I have tried to remain stylish.  Sometimes that wasn't easy.  Like the time I went shopping for my wedding dress.  This is a somewhat sad, but somewhat amazing story that I will always remember.

We didn't have a traditional wedding.  Neither of us wanted that.  We got married at a beautiful bed and breakfast on January 7, 2005.  I wanted it to be magical, but not traditional.  I didn't want the big white poofy dress and long, dragging train and veil.  I wanted to be stylish and look like ME.  But, just to confirm, I visited a bridal shop with my girlfriend Katy.

It was an obvious disappointed, as none of the pretty dresses were available for my plus sized body.  I tried on what they had.  And...I looked like a jumbo marshmallow.  No thank you.

So, my soon-to-be husband took me shopping at King of Prussia.  Since it was right around the holidays, there were gorgeous dresses aplenty!  But not for me.  Sorting through the plus-sized racks would have been more successful had I been the mother of the bride instead of the bride.  I didn't want sequined jackets or lacy butterflies.  I wanted something elegant and sassy.  And I really wanted pants.  (Because, if you've read "My Story" you will know that I haven't worn a dress since...high school?!)  Anyway, I digress...

Discouraged, we made a final stop at Strawbridge.  While Dan hit the little boys room, I looked over racks of beautiful clothing.  Small.  Medium.  Extra small.  'sigh'  I saw a sales associate.  Being tired and already worn out, I simply asked, "Do you have any plus size party dresses?"  (Prepare for a scene right out of the movie Pretty Woman)  She literally looked me over and, in her snarkiest voice, said, "We don't carry anything in YOUR size."

Humiliated and so very sad, I waited for Dan and then burst into tears.

Now for the happy part of the story.  Through a crazy and unusual situation, friends of mine called a few days later and had heard about my wedding dress woes.  They offered to make me my wedding attire.  These friends are amazing!  And I got exactly what I wanted.  Exactly.  (Pants and all!)  And I felt amazing that day.  Everything fit me perfectly and there is not a single thing I would change about our wedding.

It would be easy for me to wish that I had been thin at my wedding.  But, you know, my struggle with my weight has only drawn Dan and I closer in our marriage.  He has always been my biggest supporter and encourager.  He has never given up on me.  Ever.  Even when I had given up on myself.  Sometimes God has bigger plans for us than we can see, and our weaknesses and suffering is part of that picture.  

Of course, I will feel so proud the day I stand before my best friend (I'm married to him!) with a smokin' body!  And it will be nice to go into a store and buy anything I want off the rack.  And it will be fun to see how my style changes as my body changes.  But listen...if I start wearing nail polish to match my lean and green meals--well, maybe I've taken my style just a little too far! 

 Umm...that's my niece with her Ice Burg Lettuce colored nail polish, I swear!!!  

I don't eat carrots in my salad!!!

Reflections on Week #3: Be Honest EVERY Day

My son and me--last Christmas.  Stuffing our donut holes!

As of this morning, I am down 18 pounds.  What is so significant about 18 pounds? (Other than it is incredible weight loss in three weeks time?!)

When I joined Project Pounds Away at my local YMCA last September I worked out like a crazy person.  When I had hardly seen results after the first 10 weeks, I joined it a second time.  I was LIVING at the gym.  My life was out of balance.  My family was suffering.  My housework was suffering.  I was exhausted.  Instead of believing in what God could do in me and through me, my faith started to pale.  I finished the second season in April--having lost 18 pounds over eight months.

I'm not saying PPA wasn't a great thing or that my trainers didn't do their job.  Those experiences were part of a greater plan for me and my two trainers were amazing people who really believed in me and pushed me to be the best I could be.  But I left them broken.  Which is good, in a way, as I needed to be confronted with my brokenness. 

I was beaten down.  I didn't know if I could get up again. 

Or if I even wanted to try.

Why couldn't I lose weight?  Other people were losing.  What was wrong with me?  Why wasn't God helping ME?  Didn't He know how hard I was working?  Didn't He love me anymore?  Where was He?  Was I just destined to live my life overweight and unhappy?

Have you ever felt any of these things?

It took faith for me to start Take Shape for Life.  I just couldn't start another attempt that ended in failure or discouragement.  In tears, I asked God to pick me up from my desperate place and carry me wherever he wanted me to go next.  And that's exactly when I was introduced to my health coach Shirley--thanks to my pals Matt & Audrey who had enormous success with TSFL.

Today--only three weeks into the program, I have lost what it took me MONTHS to lose in the past.  Was it worth it to pass the food on Christmas without dipping into the carbs and sugars and processed foods?  You bet!  Does each day make me feel stronger and more encouraged?  Absolutely.

Does that mean every day is easy?  No way!

There are days that are hard.  Just because I baked cookies and didn't even feel tempted to lick my fingers doesn't mean that I can do that everyday.  Each day I need to be willing to ask myself, "Can I handle going to this party today?"  "Can I really be around all that temptation right now?"  "Is this the best thing for me to do/place for me to be...RIGHT NOW?"  And then, I need to be honest.

If the answer is "NO" then I need to make a phone call and say, "I'm sorry we can't come to the party tonight." OR  "I was planning on baking, but I just can't right now."  OR  "I need to go/stop what I'm doing...right now."  Maybe people will be hurt or offended that I can't do what they would like me to do.  But, again, just like the recovering alcoholic must be keenly aware of his/her weaknesses, so must I--and any recovering food addict.

What I am able to do and handle changes on a daily basis.  I cannot let down my guard.

I read something today that goes along with my post Think on What is True.


So...whenever you slip into thinking of yourself as useless, as worthless, as a failure, a hopeless case, or a loser, remember what is true:
* You are a child of God (John 1:12)
* You are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10)
* You have been bought by the precious blood of Christ (1 Cor. 6:20)


Oh how I want you to understand the importance of training your mind to think on what is true and real!  To love God with all your mind!  When you do, what happens?  You experience the joy and hope of being God's child.  And blessings upon blessings, you experience spiritual encouragement, powerful enablement, and fresh energy for handling life as the Holy Spirit uses God's Word in your heart and mind!

Elizabeth George, Loving God with All Your Mind

I need to keep being honest with myself--EVERY DAY!

Some Like It HOT!

I am really enjoying the Medifast Chili.  It definitely needs to soak so that you don't chip a tooth on the beans, but so far it is the best soup.  Especially when some hot chili pepper seasoning is added to it.  I don't know about you, but I think hot, spicy foods are more satisfying.  I know I tend to eat less when a food is spicy, because I can only take so much heat.  And I love the lingering way my lips and my tongue tingle.  Mmmm...

We're headed off to the movies.  I'll be packing some Medifast honey mustard pretzel sticks and my trusty water bottle.  I'm also smuggling in a snack for the kids.  No popcorn for us today. 

I love Christmas break!