This is a picture of me living my dream of being Cinderella. I didn't want to mop the floors or take crap from a pair of ugly step sisters but I did want to ride in a beautiful coach and meet a handsome prince. Well at least I got the coach!

That was Saturday. A long but lovely day where I helped 10 families celebrate their daughters Quinceaneras Disney style.

Today was a different day.

Today was all about sweating. Sweating on the job during a video interview and then sweating at my workout.

What's so good about sweat? Is your workout better if you sweat? Are you sweating out toxins? Did my Secret hold up or as I write this am I smelling to high heaven?

If you know the answer to any of these questions I'd love to hear them!

Vacation Alert!

This photo was taken at Pepe's in Provincetown, MA yesterday, Saturday August 9, 2008.

My brother in law, Jonathan flew us to Ptown where my cousin Peter and his wife greeted us and gave us a fabulous tour of the town and of their fabulous shop, the Purple Feather. The Purple Feather is a dessert shop...being a food addict runs in the family. They make gelato, chocolates, fudge, coffees and also serve fancy desserts. The store is beautiful and there was a time in my life when I couldn't have concentrated on anything they told me while I was there. I would have been focused soley on trying to eat my way through the store!



It was a gloriously gorgeous and relaxing day. I've had a lot of vacation time lately...4 days in Biloxi, MS with my Mom, 5 days of Shakespeare with Heart theatre camp but yesterday was the first day that felt like a vacation. THANK YOU JONATHAN!



Now for my eating/exercising update...My food is all over the place. I've not been eating totally clean but I'm not eating my normal 3 meals a day with nothing in between either. Interestingly, I'm not feeling bad about it. I'm feeling like I'm doing the best I can without becoming a turbo charged anal retentive perfectionist...which is part of my addict self. I've often lived in the black or the while but not in the gray. Right now the way I'm dealing with my food feels very gray. I guess that can be a good thing but I also feel like I need to closely watch my carb intake. For me carbs are killers.

I haven't formally exercised since right before I went to Biloxi on July 24th.
I did bring my sneakers and work out clothes to MA so I'm committing right here and now to do at least two forty five minute walks while I'm here.

All in all, my life is good. I have family and friends who love me. I'm getting to see my sisters, brother in law, neices and nephews. I can't complain...and I can do it all while fitting into the airplane seat without a seat belt extender!

Brunch with the Smetheram Gals!

I love spending time with my friends.

Today I got to spend time with my dear, loving, powerful, forthright, exceedingly talented friend Alice (on the right) and her wickedly funny sister Helen. We went to Dexter's in Winter Park...very yummy but very loud! Lots of families with kids, the background music was loud and the overall acoustics aren't conducive for relaxed chatting.

All that said, it was still wonderful to spend time with Alice and a special treat seeing Helen but just didn't seem like heart to heart gal time. We had a lot of catching up to do.

Helen had a wonderful idea...I should include the recipes I've made and loved on my blog spot. I'll start today!

I found this recipe in the Rachel Ray magazine. I like 5 item recipes.

SPINACH RICOTTA PIE

10 oz frozen spinach thawed

15 oz part skim ricotta cheese

8 oz garlic herb spreadable cheese

4 eggs

1 can artichokes quartered (then cut smaller)

Preheat oven to 375

Spray a casserole or pie pan with Pam.

Put the thawed spinach in a kitchen towel and ring out the water, set aside.

In a large bowl combine ricotta, spreadable cheese, eggs, a pinch of salt and pepper. I combined these ingredients with the whisk end of my immersion blender or you can just use a hand whisk!

Add spinach and artichokes to the egg/cheese mixture.

Pour in the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes. The top edges should be golden brown.

YUMMY!

When I make it again I might add some cheddar cheese either in the mixture or on top.

This will be my meal this week. To make it easy on myself I make a meal on Saturday or Sunday and that's what I have for dinner the entire week...or until it runs out! Some people think this is crazy. For me it's idiot proof.

After work I go to the gym to work out, by the time I get home it's often 7:30pm. If I had to worry about what I was eating I'd grab something from a store or restaurant which wouldn't be as good for me or as economical. Now I make something yummy and I actually look forward to it every night that week. If for some reason I feel DONE with my weekly creation I will go out to eat but that really doesn't happen very often.

As for my eating today...

I am head hungry.

Head hungry means that my stomach isn't giving me the hunger signals but my mind and mouth are craving food. I want to eat. I want to snack. I want to graze. I have not given in to my head hunger.

My plan after finishing this blog is to clean a little, get ready for belly dancing and drink! I'm drinking sugar free, caffeine free iced green tea. It's really good. If I have time before belly dancing I might also go to Dunkin' Donuts for an iced coffee...I always consider my large decaf iced coffee with four equal and just a little cream as a treat! (Good info if you're ever looking to treat me to something!)

So I'm off to finish my day...clean, belly dance, have Morgan and AD over to watch a movie and eat some baked brie and spinach ricotta pie. That's the plan!

How are you doing?

Why a blog?

I've been thinking a lot about my weight lose journey lately.

Do I know anything that can help others?

Is there someone who can relate to me and my story?

In case the answer to the two questions above is yes, I've decided to start a blog.

I've lost close to 200 pounds...I say close to because from day to day the number of pounds lost can change! For the most part I've maintained a 190-200 pound weight lose since 2006.

How did I do it?

I ate right and exercised....

I also had the help of a gastric bypass.

Was the gastric bypass the cure?

NO.

The bypass gave me a head start and allowed me to have hope, but when push comes to shove and you're a few years post op the surgery does you little to no good. I'm constantly reminded that to be at a healthy weight the secret is not a secret at all...

I need to eat right and exercise!

I exercise 3 days a week at the gym and I take a belly dancing class as another form of getting my body and energy moving.

For the most part I eat right.

Today wasn't an "eatin' right" kind of a day.

I've nibbled tonight. For me nibbling is a sickness. I lose count of what I've eaten when I just keep shoveling little bits into my mouth.

I feel good about my eating when I eat what my body craves. For the last few weeks it's craved vegetables. I made a vegetable stew. I made my own cauliflower soup and braised cabbage. YUM.

I don't always eat what my body craves.

Sometimes I succumb to what my obsession craves. My obsession never craves healthy things. My obsession craves sweets or crunchy foods. Because there is so many sugar free options, I can easily feed by sugar craving. For the crunchy demon I normally go for nuts...very crunchy and I rationalize that they are also protein.

The surgery "fixed" my stomach but not my mind. The food craving...obsession is still there. I must deal with it on a daily basis. That's what this blog is about.