Invasion of the body snatchers!!!!! Yippee!

Jody

Active Member
Almost 6 weeks ago, a friend and I decided that everything hurt to bad, to not do something about it. I hit bottom in the terms of pain. I decided to do something about it. I started to eat healthy, and eliminate all processed foods, fast food, msg, artifical sweeteners. I added hemp seed and flax seed to my diet. I began to eat things like, greek yogurt, soy milk, tofu, eggs, vegetables, and fruits. I eat a full bag of spinach everyday, either for breakfast or dinner. I crave it. I don't eat much in the way of starches at all. I fix brown rice occasionally and have a wheat tortilla shell and wheat pasta, but not often. I have lost in 6 weeks 29 lbs. I have never been hungry and have been full. I am eating so much protein and fiber, it's keeping me full. Oh yes, I have also added fruits (I used to hate them). I cannot believe the change in how I feel and I am so happy to be feeling like this. I am not fatigued, or aching from fibromyalga, no chronic fatigue at all. I have more energy than I think I have ever had. Oh yes I used to drink a two liter of regular soda a day. I haven't had a soda in over a month. I think that has made a big difference. No high fructose corn syrup. I have lost weight before and gone right back to my old ways. This time it's different. it's a plus to lose the weight for sure, but it's not my focus. Being strong and not tired and feeling bad is. I find out what foods I need to combat what problems that I have and eat those things that will make me feel better. Food is Medicine. I think I've had an invasion of the Body Snatchers. About this time of the day, I'de be waiting till 11 am so I could go get my lunch, a big mac meal, fries, and a regular soda. Today, I am having beans wrapped in a wheat tortilla with spinach and salsa, and an apple for desert. Yum.
 

shellyd67

Active Member
Wow Jody !! Good for you girl !

I have been eating really well myself due to a gallbladder attack a few weeks ago.

I also quit smoking cold turkey 3 weeks ago as well.

I had some serious health scares recently and decided it was time to get my sh** together (lol)

It has felt really good to eat well and to be able to say "outloud" that I am now a non-smoker.

Now if I could just get myself on the treadmill ....

Keep up the good work Jody !
 

Jody

Active Member
Oh Shelly,

That is wonderful!! I quit smoking 6 years ago and know how difficult it can be!!! Great job. I think sometimes we just have to hit rock bottom, to get ourselves in gear. I always say that about my difficult child, that she has to learn everything the hard way. I guess in some ways I do too!!!! I had my gallbladder removed. I am glad that I did. It was supposed to be an outpatient surgery and you go home that day. That didn't work out. I ended up there for 3 days, due to extreme build up of gas from the surgery. Now that was not fun. They kept giving me morphine while all I needed was an antacid. Glad I had it done, as those gallbladder attacks are no fun whatsover.

it will be a little bit before I get on the treadmill, I have 100+ pounds to lose and it's hard to do a lot of exercise with all of my medical issues, but I am doing some everyday and getting stronger so that will help me be a lot more active. Looking forward to it. Going to go horseback riding something I used to love, and I am goint to the amusement park with my daughters and ride all the rides that I can stomach. LOL. Can't wait.

Keep up all the good work!!!! We are on our way to good health!!!!!!
 

Wiped Out

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Jody-Good for you!! You have so much energy in your post!!! Keep up the great work!

Shelly-glad the not smoking is going so well:)
 

shellyd67

Active Member
Jody, I have 100+ lbs to lose as well. I have made so many life changes recently and really hope and pray I can stick to them.My husband is on the thinner side and can eat whatever he wants (for now) and both kids are thin as well. But healthy eating will benefit ALL of us.I am a fairly good cook and love to try new recipes so that is a plus.husband was a pepsi-a-holic and he gave that up and he also quit smoking. You would think the two of us would be going rounds in the ring, but so far we haven't freaked out on eachother.I think it will be fun to keep eachother updated on our progess.
 

Jody

Active Member
You can do it Shelly. I used to like to cook, and then with so much going on, I only cooked on the weekends and froze everything. I love to cook now. It's really fun to plan a healthy meal and delicious. I look at my plate and I think this is so much better than a fast food sandwich that I eat in five minutes. Last night I had two zuccinni and a handful of mushroom, three cloves of garlic cooked with a little olive oil and then I had a very large turkey burger with no bun. It was delicous and very filling. I absolutely love zuccinni. That meal was around 400 calories and I had a whole plate of food. Wow giving up pepsi and smoking together. I could not have done that. No way, I would have had to be imprisoned to accomplish that. LOL. Keep up the good work, you can stick to your new changes!!!!! Do it for a while and it becomes a habit. This 6 weeks has made it so that I can barely stand chicken. I only eat ground turkey and seafood. For some reason it's the consistency of chicken that is turning me off. Got up this morning and I did not hurt. That is worth it.

Sharon-Thank you. I can't wait to show my daughter when she comes back from college in Indiana in November the change in her mother. She is extremely health conscious. She runs 8 miles everyday. 4 in the morning 4 at night. She's a very healthy vegetarian. I got on the scale this morning and I lost another 2 lbs. Weight is falling off and I have never been hungry. It's strange how I have heard all about nutrition all of my life and never really listened and put into action any plan to make myself feel better or get strong. I think stress was my issue like so many others!!!!
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
WAY TO GO!!!!!

About that spinach craving... It's probably the iron... It sounds like you don't eat a lot of red meat (which is good - though occasionally, it won't hurt). As a child I adored cooked spinach, HATED it raw. Now? I like it raw, too - it's good on a sandwich, instead of lettuce... or as a salad with almonds and balsamic vinaigrette. And I am anemic, so spinach is good for me.

The fiber is also a great thing, it not only is filling, but it will keep you "regular", Know what I mean?? ...Do you like oatmeal? I adore it. I also like whole-grain breads and like to eat cereal with no milk as a snack. I think this is what kept me from getting stopped up while I was on the progesterone. The nurses were amazed...

So anyway, I think you are doing AWESOME! Just remember to have a splurge every now and then!
 

Jody

Active Member
Step- I love Spinach raw too. I don't eat the other lettuce, just spinach. I put it in my eggs like an omelet with no cheese with mushrooms, onions and red pepper. So good. I have hated oatmeal all my life, but started eating it 4 days ago and love it. I put apples and blueberries and cinnamon in it. It's delicious. I can't figure out why I didn't like it, plus it keeps me satisified. I eat one cereal and that's Fibre Plus, yogurt Berry Crunch in the red box. It's sweet and so good for you. I splurge with Jello Chocaolate pudding sugar free. I put some ground flaxseed in it and pour a little soy milk in the container. It is delicious. Sometimes I have two if I want. They are only 60 calories. Plus I get my chocolate fix and the ground flaxseed makes it healthy and filling. I don't eat read meat, I used to like hamburger, but then had the ground turkey and it just tastes better to me. I'll never be a vegetarian because I like it too much. I like Tilapia. Someone told me to try Mahi Mahi. I don't know if that's right but have you ever had that? We get shrimp here at Walmart 5.00 bag. I put some of that on a salad or cook with brown rice. Have you ever used tumeric? I bought some of that because it's supposed to be very good for you. I can't stand the smell. Haven't tried the taste yet.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
I'm not sure I'd survive if I was trying to drink soy milk and eat flaxseed. But that's me. I'd rather do things for the taste - and, quite frankly, home cooked food "from scratch" tastes so much better than junk. I don't really like frozen pizzas, chicken nuggets, etc. I do, however, like white pizza - so I use Greek yogurt to make alfredo sauce, my own dough, and I go from there. Chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, olives... I tend to eat fairly healthy without even trying. It's just tastier. And cheaper... Usually.

I love love love salmon. Broiled or baked. Mahi Mahi is good, but it's kind of expensive. Tilapia is rather bland - this is the kind of fish I put lemon pepper on. Shrimp? Are just yummy.

One of husband's ideas that I now love - angel hair pasta with pesto sauce and shrimp. Yummmmmmm!

Hamburger is the least healthy of red meat; in fact, any ground meat is, because there's more surface area to be contaminated. That said - I prefer a lean steak over hamburger. Turkey burgers taste just fine to me - but turkey bacon is nasty.

And venison sausage tastes incredible - and is very, very lean...
 

Jody

Active Member
I never liked milk much, but I love the SILK Soy Milk. It is more expensive, but it is delicious. My mom used to make pudding on the stove and then we would let it sit for a little bit but it would still be warm so we put just a little bit of milk on it. Strange but it was good. That's what this reminds me of but of course with instant pudding.

I definately put some lemon juice and pepper on my tilapia. Can you give me the recipe for the pesto dish. Sounds delicious. Your white pizza sounds delicious also.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
3/4 cup chicken broth - low sodium is best
3/4 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese (fresh best)
3/4 cup greek yogurt
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Heat chicken broth in a saucepan on low. Very slowly whisk in the cornstarch (it will lump otherwise). Once this has dissolved, add olive oil, yogurt and cheese... Turn heat up to almost medium, and continue to stir until smooth (it takes a while for the cheese to melt and mix in). Salt and pepper to taste. You can use this on pasta or pizza crust. And it's very low fat. And TASTY!!!

The pesto... I cheat. I buy packets of Lawry's or Knorr's pesto and follow the directions on the package. But... Here is Mom's recipe:

3 cups packed fresh basil leaves
4 cloves garlic
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Put in a food processor and blend.
 
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