Week twelve

I really need to start the tank blog. Maybe I'll have time this week. It's crystal clear and doing well. Can't wait to start adding fish and corals. I've added some clean-up crew, but waiting for it to finish cycling. Ammonia is zero as are the Nitrites. Nitrates are still a bit high and I think I'll do a water change tomorrow, change the pads and work on the rock formation. I think it needs a bit of tweaking.

Still not doing well with the exercising. Have walked a couple times in the past week, but not long enough to call it legitimate.

The Garden

I'm still waiting for the tomatoes to ripen. The leaf lettuce is doing well enough for several salads a week. Not so for the spinach; I seem to get about one use a week. Will have to plant the spinach in a larger bed so more will be available.

Dinner

Actually had time to make a menu for the week. Tonight's dinner--Cauliflower Soup. Smells great. I can't wait until all are home so we can dig in. I used the slow cooker instead of cooking it on the stove and plan on using the potato masher instead of the blender.

We ate Taco Pie for dinner yesterday. I tried this recipe because it used mashed potatoes for the crust. I boiled potatoes and mashed them myself and then made the crust. I used ground turkey instead of ground beef. We also use Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream. I then used the potato water to make homemade rolls. Dinner was great and brought lots of compliments.

Weigh-in

Week twelve--162.3 pounds Week eleven--164 pounds Beginning weight--188 pounds. One week loss--1.7 pounds. Total loss--25.7. Average 2.14 pounds per week.

Benefits moment:

Peaches--Juicy succelent peaches are packed with Vitamin C, beta-carotene, and antioxidants. They are quickly joining the ranks of the ususally purple antioxidant-rich superfruits!

The process for choosing peaches and nectarines is almost identical. Buy fresh over frozen or canned if you can, and never buy canned peaches that have been packed in syrup. The best peaches will be fragrant, soft, and free of bruises. Ripe peaches should be eaten as soon as possible.
(copied from the Nutribullet pocket nutritionist)

We added peaches this week, but I think we didn't choose well as they didn't really add their flavor to the mix.

Happy healthy eating, back to thinking about exercising, losing weight and becoming healthier. 

Week eleven

Tank is doing great. Hope to get its blog up this week.

I finally took a good long walk with our daughter and dogs. We adopted a little one in August and his belly is a bit chunky. He needs the walk as much as I do. The only complaint I have is that part of our neighborhood is unsafe to walk due to an aggressive dog. I need to find out its home and complain. It attacks and there's no way I can protect our dogs from it. I'm afraid it'll attack me since it has attacked our children when biking and chases vehicles. Calling for someone to pick it up doesn't work because they don't arrive in time to see it and no one seems to know where it belongs. Anyway, we took a walk, hope that's a start toward our exercising as well as eating better.

The Garden

I pulled the spent bean plants and am preparing to plant again. Growing season is almost done, here. Still waiting for the tomatoes to ripen so I can taste fresh tomatoes. We tried a couple of varieties I've never had before, so I'm looking forward to seeing them ripen and tasting them.

Okay, my promised happiness:

Saturday I stepped on the scales and they showed a two pound drop. I wasn't sure if I should believe it, so I waited and three days later it was still true.

Weigh-in--Beginning weight 188 pounds. Week eleven--164 pounds. Weight loss week ten to week eleven--three pounds. A total loss of twenty-four pounds in eleven weeks. That's a little over two pounds a week loss for the last eleven weeks. Yes! It is recommended one loses two to three pounds a week and I'm right there. My weight loss is doing well and as I remarked earlier, it feels great to be pulling up my pants.

Benefits Moment:

Papayas--Colorful and buttery-smooth papayas are renowned for their digestive benefits. They are also rich sources of antioxidants, folate, potassium, fiber, vitamin E, and vitamin K. These nutrients promote cardiovascular health and help protect against colon cancer.

Papayas with reddish-orange skin are ready to eat; those with yellow patches will take a few days to ripen. Avoid any overly soft or bruised papayas. Eat them fully ripened for the most antioxidant power!
(copied from the Nutribullet pocket nutritionist) 

I read that eating papaya seeds has benefits too, so I've been adding them to my drink when I add papaya. Check out this article, "The Surprising Health Benefits of Papaya Seeds," and  make sure you check out, "Papaya Enzyme Side Effects and Warnings."

Happy healthy eating, finally exercising, losing weight and becoming healthier. 

Wow! Can you say plateau?

I've been watching my weight go down, ever so slow. I've been thrilled because of my lifestyle and half-hearted attack at my overweight condition--I'm not exercising along with my control of eating. Saturday I stepped on the scale and received a great surprise. I didn't want to say anything because it was that much of a surprise. Thought I'd give it a day or two to say, 'ha ha, just kidding.' Well, it still says the same thing--165.2 pounds.

If you remember, I weighed in at 167 on Friday and had lost .4 pounds week 10, .5 pounds week 8, 1 pound week 7, etc. So slow, but going down. Well, Saturday morning showed a 2 pound loss and this has been maintained, even to this morning. It felt great Saturday having to constantly pull up my pants. I've officially lost enough weight to need a replacement.

Couldn't wait until Friday to give you this update. See you later.

By the way, the Gnocci Soup was wonderful. Will have to do that one again.

Benefits moment:

Oranges--Renowned for their concentration of Vitamin C, juicy and sweet oranges contain healing properties that have been associated with a wide variety of phytonutrient compounds. Citrus appears to offer the most significant protection against esophageal, orophayngeal/laryngeal (mouth, larynx and pharynx), and stomach cancers.

Choose fully ripened oranges for the most potent antioxidant power. Buy organic oranges whenever possible and avoid those with soft spots or mold. In general, smaller oranges with thinner skins will be the juiciest. Choose oranges with smooth skin which seem heavy for their size.
(copied from the Nutribullet pocket nutritionist) 

Happy healthy eating, thinking about exercising (do you think it'll work like it does on the Jetsons?), losing weight and becoming healthier. 

Week ten

Yes, I can count. Missed last week for a couple of reasons. One--I received a call on Thursday that a 65-gallon reef tank was available. All I had to do was take it down. I made arrangements to pick it up Friday as I had to tutor Thursday and there wasn't enough time to take it down and put it back up. I did go over to the house and help pack and remove donations for a couple of hours. Friday I spent most of the day working on removal of donations, finally attacking the tank about 9 pm. We arrived home shortly before midnight and were in bed about 1:30 am. We set up the tank, added water and the live rock. It took a couple of days for the tank to clear so I could arrange the live rock and add the sand. That was the end of my abilities. Ended up hiring a maintenance guy to clear up the disastrous results of the dirty sand. The fish and live corals were added Wednesday evening. The tank is now beautiful. I'll add a link to Inspector Meiko Luv's blog when it's ready. Two--We woke up early Saturday morning to leave for Naples, Florida. We'd planned a weekend with friends. My husband insisted, "No work." So, I left the computer home.

We left early Saturday morning to travel to Naples with a couple we enjoy spending time and travels with. We visited the Flight 592 Memorial, Clyde Butcher's Gallery, The Pier in Naples and Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. I didn't bring my Nutribullet as I'm not yet sure of how to travel with it. I'm really pleased to say I only put on half a pound over the weekend. We brought sandwich stuff, I used a flour tortilla for my sandwich of thinly sliced ham and roast beef and ate mixed fruits. Dinner was ribs. Sunday we ate the continental breakfast--oatmeal, boiled egg, bagel and yogurt. Dinner was Five Guys Burgers.

I used a lot of greens from the garden in my drinks. Namely the spinach and leaf lettuce. I love fresh green beans and eat a large handful each day, uncooked, straight from the bush. The tomatoes are not yet ready.

One thing that has been on my mind is rut. I make great efforts to ensure I don't end up in a rut with my blasts. I keep a staple of spinach, lettuce, apples, pears, grapes, oranges and bananas. I add mangoes, blueberries, strawberries (I only add three and you sure can taste them), avocados, cantelope, papaya and raspberries as desired. I thought about peaches today, but decided I had a pretty good variety for now. Will add them next week.

Weigh-in--Beginning weight 188 pounds. Week nine--167.4. This week--167. A total loss of  21 pounds in 10 weeks. You may think I'm discouraged with only .4 loss in weight. But I'm not. If you remember, I put on a half a pound over the weekend. So I lost almost a pound. Any loss is going in the right direction and I know I need to exercise to make it stick.

Benefits moment:

Nectarines--Floral and juicy nectarines are loaded with antioxidants, which prevent free radicals in th environment from entering your body, prolonging the aging process and helping to maintain glowing skin and a healthy body weight.

Look for bruise-free nectarines with an even, deep red hue. The best fruits give off a sweet aroma and yield under light pressure. Their season lasts from late spring to early fall.
(copied from the Nutribullet pocket nutritionist)

What's for Sunday dinner? Gnocci Soup.

Happy healthy eating, thinking about exercising (do you think it'll work like it does on the Jetsons?), losing weight and becoming healthier.