The results are in!

So, I went to the dietitian yesterday, and now I can relax! According to her scale, just like mine I lost 4 lbs in the last 4 weeks! That is exactly the pace I want to be going! Part of me was secretly hoping it was going to be more, but it's ok! I am happy with that amount off of my body for good! I feel great! I feel healthy, and that's about all I could ask for!
After everything was done yesterday, before I had to go into work, I took a nap! (Hence the choice in picture!) It was so nice to catch a nap! I have been running myself ragged, and I need to slow down a little!

Getting a little nervous.....

Ok, so I have my 3rd meeting with the dietitian tomorrow. I feel like I have been doing great this month! Let's hope that her scale shows it! I have been trying to eat good, but I have to admit that I haven't been doing very well the last week or so. I've been doing a bit of stress eating, due to everything that has been going on. I've not eaten as bad as I know I have in the past, so here's to hoping that it turns out better than I think it will! I am ready to feel good about going to the dietitian again, not nervous. I haven't been following my plan quite as closely the last week, but I hope I did enough working out to counter balance it.

EXHAUSTED!!!!!!!!!!

So, this picture is how I feel right now! It seems that I just can't get enough sleep, and I run myself ragged! My poor hubby doesn't know what to do, because I am so tired when I am at home. He keeps thinking I am mad at him! I'm really not, I am just exhausted, trying to wind down so I can get some sleep! My way of escaping lately has been to read. It's been nice to do that, but my hubby feels like I am shutting him out. I'm not intentionally trying to do that. I felt so bad, because I got home a little after 10 last night from my long day, and one of the first things I do as I come through the door is jump at him over something stupid. I felt SO BAD!!! I really don't do that! Bottom line, I need to make sleep more of a priority in my life again!

T-Tapp

So, my friend Carrie introduced me to the at home workout T-Tapp. The Basic Workout is a 15 minute workout meant to detox your system. It was designed for people without thyroids. Teressa Tapp has a Dr. degree, and she designed this system herself, because a lot of people with thyroid problems are very overweight. It is truly fabulous! In the 15 minutes it takes to do this workout, I am pouring with sweat! Check it out! I am a huge fan! t-tapp.com

Article Time!

So, being that my husband lost his job, I have been looking for ways to make healthy meals fairly inexpensively. I found an article about rice and beans, and thought that I would share it with you all! I think my brother and his family who live in Brazil will enjoy it!

(NaturalNews) Failing economies and rising food prices are getting a bit scary. Then there is the talk of food shortages looming, which is scarier. It is time to discuss beans and rice again for inexpensive, tasty, filling, and nutritious food staples, which can also be easily stored for extended periods.

Buy Bulk

Avoid packaged rice and canned beans. The least expensive and most nutritious way to buy and store rice and beans is to buy organic from the bulk bins. Indian basmati rice can also be purchased in large sacks from specialty stores or online. Ironically, Ayurvedic (India's traditional medicine) doctors recommend white basmati rice over brown because it's easier to digest and almost as nutritious.

All the dry beans you buy bulk will require soaking before cooking, which is a good thing if you're concerned about phytic acid. Phytic acid (phytates) is in most grains and legumes (beans) to varying degrees, which is why some oppose a diet of mostly grains, beans, seeds, and nuts. Phytic acid tends to block minerals from being easily absorbed. (Source 1 below).

But the other side of this controversy claims that concern is exaggerated. Phytic acid helps block radiation, which is now more of a pressing issue than ever. (Source 2 below) Either way, soaking beans or rice for several hours prior to cooking does reduce phytates sufficiently, but not completely.

And it just so happens that most beans worth eating need to be soaked the night before cooking. This also results in a much shorter cooking time, a half hour or so. Brown rice can be soaked through the night also, but basmati white rice needs only to be thoroughly rinsed until the water is completely clear prior to cooking.

Lentils don't need to be soaked prior to cooking unless you're very concerned about phytic acid or phytates. In any event, whatever is soaked should not be cooked in the same water. Remove grains or beans from the soaking water and replace that water for cooking. Of course, we're talking pure water with most of the chlorine and sodium fluoride removed.

Preparation

There are several ways to boil rice that is not sticky. You can Google those methods or simply invest in a steamer that doesn't use aluminum. Beans, except for lentils, need to be soaked for eight or more hours. Overnight is efficient. You can tell when they're ready to cook because you can bite through them easily after sufficient soaking.

After you change the water, bring the beans to a boil then simmer until soft. Usually this takes a half-hour to 45 minutes max. The rice needs to simmer with a lid on it for some time, whether using a pan, rice steamer, or cooker.

This writer likes to use black beans, chick peas (garbanzo), or lentils. Basmati white rice is used most often with the black beans while garbanzos and lentils are used with brown or white basmati. Basmati rice is a long grain rice developed in India and South Asia, but grown in the USA now as well.

Parboiled white basmati is an excellent choice. Parboiling is a process of removing the husks efficiently while retaining most of the nutrition and divesting a lot of phytates. Don't confuse parboiled rice with processed instant rice. Parboiled rice takes just as long to cook as any other, 30 to 45 minutes on average. (Source 3 below)

Rice and beans combined offer a lot of nutrients, including protein, along with a healthy, high fiber content. There are many ways to put together fulfilling, tasty rice and beans dishes. (Source 4 below)

Sources for more information:

(1)http://www.westonaprice.org/food-fe...
(2)http://www.naturalnews.com/031902_g...
(3)http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-par...
(4) http://www.naturalnews.com/028007_f...
http://www.livestrong.com/article/2...

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032396_beans_rice.html#ixzz1VrCMR28O

Good, cheap food! I'm all over it! Time to get our stock back up, and we can live off of it for a while! :D Good thing my hubby likes beans and rice!

Stress Level

So, my stress levels were SKY HIGH this last weekend. Friday night, we find out that my hubby has lost his job. We are without his income, and all of the finances have now fallen on my shoulders until he can find something. He's going to try a couple of temp agencies to try to help and see if he can bring enough in to help with our rent.
Saturday, I had a lot of stress going on at my work. I'm a manager, and I had two employees who weren't getting along. I'm not going to go into the details of what and why on that subject, but I came home from work on Saturday, and my hubby didn't know what to do to help me. He is a good man, and he let me have a moment in his arms, and then I was so exhausted from all of the stress of the previous couple of days, that he let me take a small nap. Once the work stuff was all resolved, I felt much better about things, but I still wasn't eating a lot, so I'm glad that I was too exhausted to work out all weekend. I ate like a bird, just kind of picking at my food. Usually in this situation, I would have eaten everything I could get my hands on.
So, even though my stress was high, I didn't emotionally eat, which makes me proud of myself. I know I need to be careful with that, and make sure that I am eating enough. I know better than to intentionally starve myself and kill my metabolism.
So, here's to a week where I can handle stress better! (And find ways of extra income!)

EXCITED!!!!!!!!!

I am happy to announce that I have lost another pound! I'm really chipping away at this extra weight that I have been carrying around! It makes me very excited to see that on the scale. The more exciting thing, is that I am feeling it in my clothes! I'm about ready to buy new pants for work, because I have been wearing skirts all summer! A couple more pounds, and I should have to buy a new pair of pants! :)