T-Day Plan

Everyone needs a plan. I have my Thanksgiving Day plan already in action. On T-Day I am going to eat anything I want and not worry about calories. Of course, since I have been slowly dwindling what I have been eating, I probably will not be able to eat nearly as much as I think. This probably doesn't sound like a plan. However, the plan really centers on the days surrounding the Big Day. I am lowering my daily calorie count for the days leading up to and a few days after T-Day. I started yesterday. I am still going to try my darnedest to get in exercise every day during the long weekend.

Speaking of exercising every day. I have now done 38 consecutive days of exercise. And, I have done 195 minutes of my 1100 goal, which puts me just slightly ahead of schedule.

Spaghetti Squash

I decided to give spaghetti squash a second chance. Ten years or so ago, I had it prepared by someone else. It was good. I tried to make it shortly there after and it was nearly inedible. I do not know what I did wrong or if, perhaps, the squash was just bad.

We have been eating quite a bit of squash type vegetables around here lately: Delicata, pumpkin, and spaghetti. It is a lot for us, anyway. I have a butternut waiting for me to take a hammer to it.

Since I am trying to cut back the number of calories I am consuming, I thought I might try substituting spaghetti squash for the pasta. I had serious doubts about this but I had one child who thought it was the coolest idea and was egging me on. I cooked some pasta just in case this grand scheme backfired.

I roasted the squash:

My accomplice separated and washed the seeds. We have also been consuming a fair amount of toasted seeds.

My accomplice scraped the strands of squash away from the skin/hull/outer layer. We served the squash with marinara, compliments of my wonderful husband. We also had italian sausage. I liked it so much that I did not even touch the pasta.

I did not feel cheated. And, I did not feel like I was eating something that was horrible just to save a few calories. Everyone else liked it but only my accomplice and I liked it more than the pasta. She immediately started to come up with other ideas for recipes and she decided she is going to grow some.

According to my research, one cup of spaghetti squash has about 40 calories. One cup of spaghetti pasta has about 200 calories. And, you know you do not eat one cup of spaghetti. When I measure out one cup of spaghetti, it looks pathetic. My kids ate more that one cup when they were two.

I definitely plan to do this again.

On the exercise front, I squeezed in 30 minutes of ice-skating today. Total: 75 minutes.

A Drop in the ol' Bucket

Forty-five minutes down. . . only 1055 more to go. Yea, baby.

My exercise challenge is also equal to just over 18.5 hours. Or, 66,000 seconds. Just in case you need to know that.

Only one taker on my invitation to join me, by the way.

44 Days Left in 2009

By my count, there are 44 days left in 2009, including today. My new fitness goal is to do 25 minutes of exercise per day. That would give me 1100 minutes by December 31. Since, holidays and family visits are on the horizon, I am certain that there will be a couple of days that will be nearly impossible for me to exercise. For example, we will be driving two days to visit family for Christmas. I am not sure how easily I will be able to exercise those two days. (er, four days with the return)

With that in mind, I am going to set a "minutes" goal, instead of a "consecutive days" goal. If I miss a day I can do extra minutes the following days. Twenty-five minutes per day seems reasonable and attainable or 1100 minutes before the New Year.

So, who is going to do this thing with me? 44 days to complete 1100 minutes of bone-strengthening, fat-reducing, heart-pumping exercise. You know you want to.

Challenge Complete

I did it!!! 30 consecutive days of exercise. Out of the thirty days, there were only about three that I did not get in 30 minutes or more. I wish I had kept better track of my total minutes.

I would like to be able to say that I lost ten pounds, twenty inches, and had to buy an entirely new wardrobe. The sad matter of the fact is that I did not lose a single pound. In fact, I think my weight may be slightly higher than when I started. Due to all the incredible, button-popping muscle I accrued, I'm sure.

The good news:

• I think I may have lost about a quarter inch on my thighs. A mere drop in the bucket, I assure you.
• I have decided to extend my challenge and just see exactly how many days I can log. In the past, I would have "taken a break". However, I have already done my Day 31 requirements.
• I also am almost starting to like exercising. . . almost. I have made a real effort to get in a few minutes, even when I did not feel like it. Even when it was raining.
• I do feel better, which is as important as the weight loss aspect.
• And, I have not had a serious headache. Before the challenge, I was getting some rather severe headaches. I am not sure what was causing them, but I did not miss them.
• Lastly, my kiddoes have been showing an interest in getting some exercise. I hope to provide a better example for them, than I have in the past.

I learned during the last 30 days that I have been consuming way too many calories. A no brainer, I know, but I started logging again and saw it in black and white. I kind of hoped I would be able to keep eating what I wanted and still lose weight if I exercised every day.

Just for clarification, if I had been running or doing some other intense workout, I am almost certain I would have lost some weight. Much of my exercise was done on the Wii Fit. I also walked, ice-skated, cycled and did a very little jogging. I have used the Wii Fit to help me get in the habit of exercise. I intend to do more "real" exercise and less Wii in the coming months.

I have the holidays in front of me, and I am going to try not to let that affect my fitness routine. I have been hoping that I will form a habit that will transcend holidays. So, for my next challenge. . . I'll be thinking about that. I leaning towards 60 consecutive days or a certain quota of minutes. Who's in with me?

Pumpkin Pie Tutorial

The following recipe is based on Paula Deen's recipe. She is a Southern Lady and we Southern Gals have to stick together. I've got your back Paula. Now, Paula, she knows about cooking. If it is at all possible you should have a stick of butter and/or a block of cream cheese in any given dish. That's what I am talking about. (Hang on, wait . . .I almost forgot. This is a weight loss blog.)

Actually, despite the fact that this pie is high in calories, I assume, I have no qualms about eating a piece for breakfast or supper. Forget supper, just eat the pie. Which is exactly what I did. I used 2/3 whole wheat flour in my pie crust. Making it without sugar makes it virtually guilt free in my book.

And, because I was feeling Southern and like a Super mom, I started with a real pumpkin. A pie pumpkin:

I cut that bad boy in two.

Scrape out the insides. This, I found, is not nearly as easy as it sounds.

The seeds came out lickety split but the stringy remains were being somewhat tenacious. So, I just left them there to see what happened. As luck would have it, once it was baked it cleaned out as easy as . . .well . . . pie.

Place two halves on a pan or pans. (And, you should only have two halves. A little math primer for you.)

Cover your pumpkin with aluminum foil. Or, as some say, tin foil. Pop them in the oven and bake at 375F for about an hour. The instructions I found said an hour and a half but mine was done well before that.

While the pumpkin is baking, start working on the other parts to the pie. Or, you could stare numbly at the pumpkin innards and ask yourself if toasted pumpkin seeds are really worth it. They are. We cleaned up the seeds and toasted them. Yum.

Now, if you are feeling like a real keener, and I was, make yourself a pie crust.

Gather your other ingredients for your pie. If you do not want to fool with a real pumpkin, talk to Ms. Libby; she'll help you out.

I made a few changes to Ms. Paula's recipe. I used dates instead of sugar. I also used evaporated milk because I did not have any half-and-half. But, I am sure half-and-half is the way to go. And, I added more spices. I doubled the cinnamon. I tossed in a dash or two of nutmeg and allspice. I find this helps when not adding sugar.

Dates from Costco. (anyone noticed how often Costco comes up on this blog?)

One of the first things I do, when I am replacing dates for sugar, is to "soak" the dates in the liquids I am using. I put the dates in my blender and pour the milk over them. I think this softens them. This may be purely a figment of my imagination.

If you have made a crust and gathered your other ingredients and your pumpkin is still cooking, you have amazing kitchen prowess.

Carefully peel the pumpkin and remove the stringy bits. Also, blend the dates until no big chunks remain. (I left my oven on so I would not have to preheat it again.)

With a mixer or stick blender, mix the cream cheese and pumpkin. Add the salt, eggs, and melted butter. Pour the date mixture into the pumpkin mixture. Mix well. Add the vanilla and spices.

Pour the magical batter into the pie crust.

The recipe suggests cooking for 50 minutes at 350F. My was not done by then. Pumpkin pie is never done to my satisfaction with suggested cooking times. I am probably eating overcooked pumpkin pie.

I am sad to say that my camera battery died during this process and the pie was gone before I could get more pictures.

Making your own whipped cream will allow you to leave the sugar out of the topping also.

Calorie Shock

For many moons now, I have been "trying to cut back" and "cutting portions" and "watching what I eat". I have been a calorie counter and thought I knew how much I should be eating. The last two days I hit 2000 calories and that was "watching it" and being conscious of the fact that I would be logging it on FitDay. I have doing really well with breakfast and lunch, but I totally lose it at supper.

I just looked up some calorie counts for pizza. Ouch!

I have been fighting keeping a food/calorie log for quite a while. I know calorie counting works, but it is not fun. I am glad I decided to jump back in. After a few days or so, it is not too bad, and almost becomes a game.

My calorie intake goal is 1500-1600 per day. If that does not work, I will readjust. If I consistently eat 2000 calories, it is no wonder the pudge has been so tenacious. The last time I was faithful to count every calorie, I lost weight consistently every week. Imagine that! Hopefully, once I get those numbers back down, I can make some progress.