Slow and Steady

They say slow and steady wins the race and I'm holding on to that thought. I weighed in today and since my last weigh in two weeks ago, I lost 1.4 lbs. Now there are some hormonal factors (sorry if that's too much information) that may be affecting that number a wee bit too.

I worked for that loss this past week, the week before was here and there, but this past week, I wrote down everything, hit the gym twice and drank lots of water. I'm still feeling strong and loving the way my body is feeling already, just feels a little less toxic. I'm looking for a new recipe to try this week and am planning on making another big pot of soup this week. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thai One On

So I said I'd share the soup recipe and after eating the soup again for supper tonight, which tasted just as good as the first day, here are the cast of characters:

2 tsp butter or olive oil

1 cup each chopped onions and red pepper

3/4 cup chopped celery

2 tsp minced garlic

4 cups peeled, cubed sweet potatoes (about 2 large)

1 tbsp grated ginger root

3/4 tsp each ground cumin, ground coriander and curry powder

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 cups chicken broth

1 can (14oz/398ml) light coconut milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

3 tbsp each chopped fresh cilantro and fresh basil leaves

2 tbsp light peanut butter

1 tbsp brown sugar (which I just realized I forgot to add to mine oops)

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

1 lb (454g) cooked medium shrimp, tails removed (thaw first if using frozen)

And now here's what you do with all that yummy goodness:

Heat butter/olive oil in large soup pot over medium heat. Add onions, red pepper, celery and garlic. Cook and stir until veggies start to soften, about 4 minutes.

Stir in sweet potatoes, ginger root, cumin, coriander, curry powder and cinnamon. Cook and stir for 30 more seconds. Add broth, coconut milk, salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, just until sweet potatoes are tender.

Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return pureed soup to pot with remaining soup. Stir in cilantro, basil, peanut butter, brown sugar, and lime juice. Mix well. Add shrimp and heat for about 2 more minutes, just until shrimp is hot.

Makes 6 servings

239 calories, 8.2 g total fat, 3g fibre

If you make this, let me know what you think of it. Oh and be like me and just slop it in the bowl, I'm losing marks for presentation. Oh well, at least it tastes good.

Confessions

So last week didn't really get back on track and I was out with girlfriends for nibblies, drinks and a few bites of dessert Friday night, so weighing in on Saturday morning was not my idea of a good time. I don't like paying for a gain and I was pretty confident I'd be up a little, if just from the night before. But that didn't stop me from getting back on plan and I've journaled every bite the past three days, including the delicious supper including dessert and drinks at Horizons last night.

One of the things that I love when I'm on plan is that I get an increased interest in cracking open my recipe books to cook new things. Tonight I made a delicious soup from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry called Thai One On. It's described as an "exotic sweet potato and coconut soup with shrimp. It has quite an extensive ingredient list, but it was easy to make and was ready in half an hour. It works out to 5 points a serving and serves 6, so I have four more servings in the fridge and freezer for upcoming days. I should have considered making a big salad or buying some chewy rolls to go with it, but we had a slice of bread with butter with ours.

Doug wasn't a huge fan of the flavours, but he didn't dislike it either...me, I loved it and can't wait to eat another bowl. I'll try to get the recipe up on here in a day or two. Oh and I also hit the gym this morning for a quick 20 minute bike ride and some weights. I usually go to the gym Monday nights, but can't because of a doula meeting, so I fit it in somewhere else (I am appearing to becoming more committed to this change).

Anyone else making any changes out there? Is anyone else out there? Am I in this alone?

Damn Halloween Candy

So I was on track yesterday, eating fruits and veggies, took my vitamin, drinking water, had a healthy supper, then I got into the treats again. I know why, it's because I was soooo tired. I should have gone to bed, but even my children weren't in bed yet.

I know that my weak times are when I'm tired. If I'm tired I eat high sugar foods, so how do I resolve that? I have to get more sleep at night. So last night I climbed into bed just after 10pm thinking I'd read for half an hour and be asleep by 11. My alarm was going off at 6:30 this morning and 7 1/2 hours of sleep would be great. However, I started reading my November book club book The Book of Negroes, by Lawrence Hill, and couldn't close it for the first 100 pages. It was an easy read, but gut renching and I couldn't close it until I found some peace (and little peace it was, but it was some).

So today I'm back to journaling, eating my fruits and veggies and will hit the gym again tonight. I'm sore from my Monday night work out, so I don't know how much I'll do weights wise, but I'll be doing some cardio for sure.

Officially Back

I weighed in at my meeting on Saturday morning and realized I hadn't been there since the middle of September. Although I hadn't been journaling, I was making conscious decisions to eat better and getting a little bit of exercise, so I was down .6 from my previous meeting. So I officially weigh 168.8lbs.

You'd think that that loss would have really motivated me to keep it up and start journaling, but nope, instead I ate halloween candy for three days. I did get to the gym with Jacq and Leanne last night and that felt great. I know that when I'm active, I eat better, so now I'm committed to journal again today. Again I'm keeping my pts low to make up for the treat intake the past few days because I'm weighing in on Saturday I want to see a loss again.