A "Cheat"

Today is my 11th day of SANEity.  And tonight, I "cheated." Honestly, it wasn't a cheat, as this is not an all-or-nothing diet plan at all!  It's very flexible, and you make it as healthy and free of inSANE foods as you want.  It's all in your power, which makes this such a fabulous plan.

But in most diets, people speak of "cheat days," so therefore I am calling tonight a "cheat" just to utilize a term that is easily recognized and relate-able.   Tonight my daughter wanted frozen yogurt, and my boyfriend decided that was a good idea.  I could have easily declined to accompany them, but I made the decision that having a small treat was not going to derail my eating plans and that I was going to just enjoy it.  So I went to the frozen yogurt place KNOWING there wouldn't be anything there that was a fully SANE option.  And I was okay with that.  :-)

I was actually very good compared to the way I used to think of my fro-yo treats.  I looked over the options, comparing carbs and sugar grams, and found that they were all similar enough that my choice wasn't going to make a significant difference, so I opted for the flavor that sounded best - caramel fudge turtle.  I got the smallest container they had available, and only put in what I was gauging to be about a half-cup serving.  Then at the toppings bar, I selected only about a tablespoon of chopped pecans.  My total cup weighed in at under three ounces!  Previously, it's been at least six, and then there are all the sample cups to take into account....I usually have at least 8 ounces, I'm sure.

The cool thing was, I truly ENJOYED that small serving of frozen yogurt.  I felt no guilt about having it, and I savored every bite.  The amount was plenty to make me feel quite satisfied, and I'm not dealing with any of the guilt that I've had with past "diets" when I had a cheat food or day.  It's a wonderful, satisfying, in CONTROL feeling.  I like it.  I like SANEity.  It fits me....unlike most of my jeans lately.  ;-)

Until next time, enjoy the SANEity!

Janelle

A victory...and appetite changes

It was a week ago today that I began to follow (for the most part, though I'm far from perfect) the SANE lifestyle of eating.  In that time, I've not eaten much processed sugar at all, although I did partake in very small amounts of the absolutely amazing brownies my daughter made last weekend.  I had a fraction of what I would have eaten in the past, but I DID eat some of them.

Today, I am very proud of a decision I made at work.  Since today is "Pi Day" (3/14), a couple of ladies with whom I work brought in celebratory pies to enjoy at lunch today.  We had French Silk and Berry Pies, as well as Blue Bell Neopolitan ice cream.  Oh, MY!  Good stuff, right?  Well, I ate my usual large salad for lunch, and couldn't even come close to finishing it.  I was so full that I didn't even have the desire to enjoy the pie.  So I politely declined.  I sat there while everyone else dined on these delicious pies and ice cream, and somehow I did NOT feel deprived.  I'm so happy about this!  I didn't even bring any slices home to try later. I really didn't even want any, even though French Silk is one of my all-time favorites, and I could eat just pie crust all day long in my former life. :)   This experience was a non-scale victory!  I might just go celebrate it with some celery...lol.

This positive experience also led me to reflect on my appetite.  I know I've only been "Being SANE" for a week, but I have already found that I don't eat as much.  I used to down my salads every day - every last bite of them.  And I would crave the fresh-baked cookies we have at work as well.  But I don't anymore.  I eat my breakfast (see my prior post for what I've enjoyed the past few days), and by lunchtime, I'm not all that hungry.  I have been bringing a bit of cottage cheese (mixed with just a tiny bit of vanilla protein powder and some cinnamon - yum!) along with my salad, and I manage to eat that, but I'm down to only needing about half the amount of salad before I'm quite full.  And here I sit, 4 hours after lunch, and I STILL feel full!  It's amazing....and even more so how quickly I came to this point.

In the past, dessert in the evenings has been a staple - I was always hungry for it, and often continued to be hungry enough to eat a snack a bit later.  But while I've been eating SANEly, I haven't even had the urge for dessert.  I did enjoy the brownies (a VERY small piece each day) last weekend, but that was all I had after dinner.  And I don't wake up famished, either.  Truthfully, I never feel extremely hungry lately.  This is amazing, because I've always been starving half the time on past diet plans.  There never seems to be enough food to be satisfying.  But eating SANEly, I find that it's difficult for me to even consume the amounts of food that I am supposed to eat!  If I can't even finish a salad at lunch, that's saying something.  Obviously my body is not in need of as much food as it used to be.  Such a strange and fascinating phenomenon....

I know I've posted a lot in the past 24 hours....more than I imagined I would.  I just have so many thoughts and questions about this new way of life I've found and I don't know anyone to discuss these things with.  So here I blog, and hopefully others will find this blog and we can share information, ideas, recipes, thoughts, etc.  I hope to keep on posting.

Until later, enjoy this wonderful day and your SANEity! :)

Janelle

My new favorite breakfast

I just finished breakfast, and I feel very satisfied...and full!  What I have been enjoying for my first meal of the day might be rather odd to most, but I absolutely love it!  My daughter told me it looked like a cross between dinner and breakfast and she deemed it "gross," but she isn't a veggie person (I'm working on this....).

Here's what I've been eating for the past few days:

Saute about 4 ounces sliced portabella mushroom in 1/2 - 1 t. of coconut oil until nearly softened.  Then throw in a handful of fresh spinach and finish sauteeing until the mushrooms are done to your liking and the spinach softened.

Meanwhile, cook about 12 spears of asparagus (I LOVE this stuff!).  You can roast it in the oven, or however you enjoy it.  Personally, I just steam mine in the microwave.

Once the mushrooms and spinach are done, plate them and cook 3/4 c. of egg substitute (you can also use eggs and/or egg whites...I just find the substitute fast and easy).  Since the skillet is hot, the eggs should cook up quickly.  And you can put in a little bit more coconut oil if needed to keep them from sticking and for flavor.

Enjoy!  This is a very SANE breakfast because the plate is about 2/3 full of healthy non-starchy vegetables, with a good amount of protein to finish it out.  And there is just a bit of healthy fat in the coconut oil.  I find that this breakfast not only fills me up, but stays with me well into lunch.  For the past couple of days, I haven't even been able to finish my lunchtime salad because I'm just not that hungry.  It's an amazing change from being starving by lunch time due to having a high-carb, non-filling breakfast.  I am really loving this change, and I hope you do, too.  Try your own combination of vegetables at breakfast.  It might seem very strange at first, since veggies are not really considered "breakfast fare" by the general population, but hopefully you will find it as refreshing of a morning meal as I do.

This is just an example of how to start your day in the SANE lane!  Please post a comment letting me know what YOU enjoy for breakfast.  I would love to get your input, as I am new to this and looking for great new ideas to try.  Have a wonderful, SANE day!  :-)

Janelle

So what am I eating?

I thought I might follow up my introductory post with one about what I have been eating for the past several days.  If you have read "The Calorie Myth," then you know the focus is on vegetables and protein.  If you haven't read it, you NEED TO!  I cannot begin to paraphrase all the information given in that wonderful book, nor will I try to do so.  Mr. Bailor spent a very long time doing a huge amount of research, and it is absolutely worth reading to absorb every bit of information.  So go get the book!!!  Read it...devour it....learn so much from it that you just can't believe it.  It just might change your life!

If you haven't yet read it, please don't be put off by the "protein" emphasis.  Trust me, this is NOT a low-carb diet....after all, the primary focus is vegetables, which are, of course, carbs!  :)

My first day of "weaning" onto the plan, I started off with a green smoothie.  I never thought I would enjoy such a thing, but I LOVED it!  And I could not believe how full I was, and how long the fullness lasted!  I made a simple smoothie with spinach, a few strawberries, and some strawberry protein powder.  It was delicious, and although I packed in a bunch of spinach, there wasn't even a hint of spinach flavor....just yummy strawberries!

Lunch was actually a minimal change for me.  I have been enjoying a variety of salads at lunch for several months because I enjoy them, and they are filling.  All I had to do was increase the protein.  I do enjoy my salads with various vegetables, and I will confess that I DO still have commercial bottled salad dressing.  The dressing is not a SANE food, as it is processed, but I limit myself to the 2 T. serving of a lite dressing, and that is plenty for me.  Mr. Bailor encourages everyone to find the right balance for him/herself....you don't have to be perfect at all!  So this is part of my balance, because I love salad dressing in small amounts.  This is perfectly fine, and works well with my lifestyle.  I just made sure my salad contained enough chicken breast to give me sufficient protein, as outlined in the book (and VERY well-explained as to why you need this amount!).

For an afternoon snack, I made another green smoothie because I had so enjoyed the one for breakfast that I was craving another.  I didn't even want dinner until quite late because I wasn't hungry at all.

Dinner involved carry out, and I still adhered to the plan, believe it or not!  We got Jimmy Johns, and I ordered an "unwich" with one extra serving of meat.  I even got the avocado spread....it was GOOD!!!  I ate it along with some steamed asparagus (one of my favorites) and a small salad.

At the end of the day, I had consumed sufficient protein, about a serving of fruit, and 10 servings of vegetables. I never felt the urge to have dessert....I was plenty full and felt great!

This is just one day's example of how a person might choose to eat.  Since then, I have enjoyed a wide variety of tasty foods, including a wonderful vegetable and chicken stir fry with bean sprouts instead of rice that my entire family enjoyed, and some delightful muffins made with almond flour and flavored with cardamom, coconut, and cashews.  And did you know that coconut oil is absolutely delicious on roasted cauliflower??  I am loving trying new things and sharing healthy, SANE dinners with my family.  These are foods I can enjoy for a lifetime, and I can still enjoy dining out on a regular basis without any problem!

In case you are wondering, I have lost 7 lbs this first week.  That seems a little high, but I have always been the type that has 5 lbs that "disappear" at the beginning of any diet I've tried.  They come and go very easily, so I have lost 2 "real" pounds, which is perfect for a week of a new way of eating.  I'm very pleased with my results.  I keep meaning to take measurements, but that might never happen....lol.

I hope this food information is helpful to you.  So you know, as I type this, I am enjoying a Quest Coconut Cashew bar.  I am finding it absolutely fantastic!  And it is included as a SANE treat, as long as you don't eat too many of them, as a bar is definitely not one of the core foods that make up the program. For me, half of the bar is going to be enough, as I am already full.  The other part of my afternoon snack was raw broccoli dipped in a bit of guacamole (homemade....avocado, a little lime juice, and garlic).  So good!

Until my next post, keep being SANE!

Janelle

It all started at the library....

Just about a week ago, I picked up a book from the library that I had put on my hold list some time ago.  I had actually forgotten about placing it on hold, and I can't remember at all where I heard about the book and was interested enough to want to borrow it.  The book is "The Calorie Myth" by Jonathan Bailor.  When I got the book, I figured it was just another diet and I might skim through it, then return it and soon forget everything it recommended.  I figured WRONG.

I started reading bits and pieces of the first few pages and was immediately intrigued.  This wasn't just some random individual's personal journey to weight loss that chronicled what worked for him/her.  This was a book filled with scientific information that proved that most of what we know about weight loss is completely wrong!  I know you don't know me at all, but I am a very logic-minded person, and when I am presented with interesting information with facts and reason, I am much more attentive.  I ended up devouring this book in one evening, even going so far as to take notes.  I was fascinated!

Friday morning, I decided that I was going to start the process of moving toward this lifestyle, slowly moving away from starches and sugars and focusing on making better, healthier choices.  I found that it was actually easier than I anticipated!  Since last Friday, I have only had a few small bites of any sweet treats, I have eaten lots of lean protein and delicious vegetables, and I have NOT been hungry!  It's been an amazing week!

I have been looking online for blogs that outline eating SANE foods, but there isn't much out there.  I do thoroughly enjoy Carrie Brown's blog, Marmalade and Mileposts, as she has developed some wonderful recipes that are helping me a lot, but there are few other blogs out there that discuss SANEity.  So I decided to start my own blog.  Hopefully others will find it and perhaps we can share information and stories, swap recipes, and help each other with struggles.

I hope you will join me in "Being SANE," and leave me lots of comments.  I am excited to share this new and exciting change in my life with others who understand and share my desire to become happier, healthier, and just better!  I know I am a work in progress, with LOTS of room for improvement. I'm taking steps every day - sometimes backwards, but always moving.  And now I'm looking forward to the future...and being SANE!

Janelle