Meet my new friend Ashley..................

A while back I mentioned that I hoped to be able to share something a little more interesting in the near future. My intention was to change things up a bit. Since I get a little weary writing about what I eat or don’t eat every month and how it affects my body weight, I am pretty sure a reader might feel the same way. I thought that this month I might tell you about a remarkable young woman that I met at a group run recently. 

As I was nearing the end of a 12 mile training run my path connected with the path that Ashley was running on. I had seen Ashley at the start of the group run on several occasions; however, didn’t really know her and doubt if we had said more than 5 words to each other.  As we ran along on the same path, I introduced myself and we talked a bit about running, kind of the usual small talk, why we run, how long we have been running, you get the idea. It was during this small talk that she informed me she had lost a significant amount of weight through diet and exercise after a warning from her doctor.

Now she had my interest. It turns out that Ashley was told by two doctors in the same week during June 2010 that she was morbidly obese. In the world we live in today it would have been very easy for Ashley to look around, find several people the same size as her or larger and rationalize her excess weight as being normal.  Well she didn’t do that. She listened to that little voice inside, a little voice we all have, and she decided she had to take action.

We got about this far into the story and it was time for Ashley to make the turn and head back to Jacksonville Running Company where the run had started. I had started my run at home so I let Ashley know I would like to continue the conversation in the future and then kept heading west on Gate Parkway.

Over the course of the next several weeks I would often get a chance to chat with Ashley for a little while during the Sunday group run. As I learned more about Ashley’s journey and compared it to mine, I realized there were many similarities. The most prominent being that we both lost a significant amount of body weight, around 100 pounds, in our late 20’s and left a sedentary lifestyle behind to become a runner and athlete. I also recognized two main differences.  Ashley of course is a female and her late 20’s came 3 decades after mine.

I finally told her about this blog and that I had been thinking I might write a little about her journey some time. After giving her some time to look the blog over she seemed willing so I sent her a list of questions. She replied with very thoughtful answers. Her answers were quite personal and very revealing of the kind of determination it takes to have success at losing a significant amount of body weight.

In my questions to Ashley, of course I asked what she had done to lose weight even though I was pretty sure I knew the answer. I assumed she had done as I, restricting and counting calories as much as possible and staying as active as possible to burn calories. Boy was I wrong.

For those that don’t know me well, I am not a TV person. I don’t watch it except for a very few times of the year, all of which involve some sporting event. I’ve even been known to watch football games with the volume off because I don’t want to hear the nonsense the commentators are blathering about. I am also quite sure the worst thing to ever happen to TV programing is the proliferation of what is known these days as Reality TV. When I read that Ashley was a big fan of the show Biggest Loser and had bought their cookbooks I had to change my opinion. If someone can follow a show such as the Biggest Loser, buy their cookbooks and use this information to create positive change in their life, hand me the remote. (Which button controls the volume again?)

The second or third time I ran with Ashley I asked what she felt was the most important thing she did that helped her lose this weight. Again, I thought I knew the answer, again I was wrong. For me, I’ve always felt writing down everything I eat to be the most important thing I can do when trying to lose weight. The rational being that I won’t eat something if I know I have to write it down. For Ashley, it was advance planning. On Sunday, she would plan all the meals for the week, do the shopping and then come home and do all the cooking. So after a long day, when she got off work, dinner was ready and waiting.

I want to wrap up this month’s post with a couple tips from Ashley’s comments. When asked about what an indulgence might be these days I found out that she likes sweets. Well no surprise there. Who doesn’t? The thing is she will have a Weight Watchers single portion sundae and eat it slowly with a CHILDS spoon. Thus, the sundae lasts longer and is usually satisfying.

I also asked what snack or treat is satisfying and does not cause regret. Her response, Apples, is one of my favorites. The combination of crunchy and sweetness is what does the trick. She suggests a good firm apple of any variety. She said that an apple will satisfy even if she is bored hungry. Now bored hungry is a term I haven’t heard before but I can sure relate to eating as a result of boredom. I even caught myself doing it the other day after first seeing the term in Ashley’s response.

I think that is about all I can fit in to this month’s post. I think next month I will share some of the tips and tricks that Ashley has used to keep herself on track and motivated. There is some good information there; in fact I have already borrowed some on a recent run of mine.  

Ashley and I at Jacksonville Running Company on 4/27/2014

My recent weight history from April is in the right sidebar. So I am wishing all a healthy and happy month of May until I again weigh in at Fear No Scale around the first of June.

If it sounds too good to be true……..

I was at the YMCA for my early morning workout recently and noticed a young man on a treadmill that I had not seen previously. He appeared to be college age; maybe a little older and also appeared to be someone like me who had struggled with weight issues, maybe for most of his life.  I was glad to see him taking action and figured I’d give him a little encouragement if the opportunity ever presented itself.

A little later as I was shaving this same young man went by me and it sounded like he was saying something about being too fat.  I poked my head around the corner as he was heading back toward the shower room just past where I was shaving. I said Hi, ah….. excuse me but it sounded like you said something about being fat.

He was holding one of the YMCA towels in his hand and said he was too fat for the towels. I told him I had seen him on the treadmill and that he was doing the right thing. I very quickly shared that I was 263 lbs. when I was 25 and tried to encourage him to keep doing what he was doing. I think he realized I was being sincere and he thanked me for the comment.  

After not seeing him for a few days, I did see him again near the end of last week so he is back at it.

I mention this incident because not long before this, I had heard a story about another young man, a very bright fellow who had graduated from UNF (the University of North Florida) and had gone to work for the family business. This young man, named Marty, had struggled with his weight; he smoked and had high blood pressure.

I assume that this young man, Marty, had tried to lose the excess weight. Maybe he had even used the same treadmill in the same YMCA. I understand that he had tried to stop smoking which might have caused him to eat more and aggravate the excess weight issue.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could enjoy all the rich decadent food that we wanted? We could even use food as a comforter on stressful days. When the inevitable weight gain turned into 50 or 75 or even 100 extra pounds we could just book a visit to the local liposuction clinic and have the excess pounds sucked away. We could then recover and continue to enjoy all the food we wanted knowing that another trip to the liposuction clinic was always an option to cure the effects of excess consumption.   

For some unknown reason, when Marty was 31 years old, he concluded that liposuction was the way to remove the excess body weight. He signed up to have all areas of his body done at the same time. A father to two young children, at 31 years old he passed away within hours of the surgery.

When I heard this story, I realized that it could have applied to me, or maybe even the young man I saw on the treadmill at the YMCA recently. Certainly; eating all the rich decadent food that one wants and just having the resulting fat sucked away and washed down a drain with no ill effects would be too good to be true for many people.

I understand this. Maintaining a healthy body weight is hard work. I know many people try and give up. But it can be done, the old fashion way, through diet and exercise. Hard work that will produce real results.

Eragrostis tef

Here it is the 10^th of March. I am finally getting around to updating my weight information in the right sidebar and general comments in the form of a blog post. As you can see from my weight history, since returning from a cruise in January that resulted in a bump up in weight I have for the most part been able to push my weight in the right direction. The drop in weight has just been excruciatingly slow.

I suppose you are wondering about the funny title of this post. Well, Eragrostis tef is a whole grain that is also known by the name Teff. I was reading about this whole grain recently because it is naturally gluten free which is a good fit for our primarily gluten free home.

Teff is an annual grass native to the Ethiopian Highlands of the Horn of Africa. The whole grain has an attractive nutrition profile, being high in fiber and Iron while also providing protein and Calcium. It is said to be similar to Millet and Quinoa in cooking; however, the similarity to quinoa, which I have cooked, was lost on me. The whole grain Teff seed is very small. (think poppy seed)

I also read that Teff is high in resistant starch, a newly-discovered type of dietary fiber that can benefit blood sugar management, weight control, and colon health. It’s estimated that 20-40% of the carbohydrates in teff are resistant starches.

So, after finding out that Teff is available as a whole grain or flour in either a brown or ivory color I came across information about its use. Turns out that Teff flour is used by Kenyan and Ethiopian distance runners to make injera, a traditional flat bread which is said to be a staple of their diet. Hummmm……

Teff is now being produced in the USA, primarily in Idaho, and I was able to locate a package of brown whole grain Teff at my local health food store. I’ve been experimenting with mixing it in my oatmeal for the past month or so. The ratio I seem to like the best is 3 parts Teff to 1 part oatmeal. I also throw in some chopped walnuts and diced dried apricots.

So, while Teff is an interesting little grain, I have to report that I am still running more like an elderly Hoosier than a Kenyan or Ethiopian.   

Hopefully, I will be able to share some more interesting information at the start of next month.

Calorie King vs My Fitness Pal

My updated weight history is in the right sidebar. Unfortunately, after spending the 3rd week of January on a cruise ship, where I allowed myself to enjoy all the fabulous food, my weight went the wrong direction.

Having struggled the last several months since the move to Jacksonville, I haven't had much success getting my weight to where I am comfortable with it. I know that I will eventually find the key to move the number on the scale in the right direction. Maybe now that we are starting to feel a little settled here in Jax I will be able to give my food consumption the necessary focus.

For me, I have always felt that keeping a log of everything I eat to be a necessary component for weight loss. For years I have used the subscription CalorieKing program at a cost of $50 to $75 per year. Lately, I have heard that many people really like the free MyFitnessPal program. I decided to try a little comparison.

Since returning from the January cruise, I have been entering my food intake on both programs and making an effort to do some of the things with MyFitnessPal such as creating meals and recipes that I have done with CalorieKing. I have concluded that the free MyFitnessPal is more user friendly and has a larger database of the foods that I actually eat. The result is, I have already made the switch to the free MyFitnessPal.

I am now recommending the MyFitnessPal program for anyone that is interested in keeping a free food and exercise diary in an electronic/digital format.

Wishing all a peaceful and happy February until we connect again around the first of March.

The Start of a New Year...

2014 has arrived. Happy New Year.  After all the excitement of the last few years, I for one wouldn’t mind a little less during 2014. I could certainly do without changing jobs, moving across the country or a visit to a surgical suite. I am extremely grateful that our journey has brought us to Jacksonville where we have a comfortable home, I have found employment that seems to be working out and we seem to be receiving a little higher quality medical care.

I’ve written before about how much I like the start of a new year. 2014 brings a new beginning, a clean slate and a fresh start. These things hold the same promise and offer the same opportunities as always. I’ve spent a little time the last couple of weeks thinking about where I am and in what direction I would like the transition to 2014 lead me.

As you can see from my weight history in the right side bar, I was above my stated goal weight of 160 to 165 pounds most of 2013. Not by a lot, just enough to be slightly uncomfortable. My weight was above where I would like it to be for no other reason than I ate too much and didn’t exercise enough. I am responsible for eating an appropriate amount and getting an appropriate amount of exercise. I hope to do better in 2014.

That being said, I am not pummeling myself for my weight being a few pounds above where I would prefer for most of the year. After all, I had to go through what I went through to get to where I am today.

As I was sitting at home after surgery this fall I was pouting because I couldn’t exercise and reading the group exercise schedule for the YMCA. To my surprise, I found a yoga class on the schedule on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 6AM. I have tried yoga in the past and liked it so I started going to this early morning class at least once a week several weeks ago. I always feel very peaceful at the end of the class so I was not surprised when I read recently that yoga is actually a form of meditation.

Now, for the big news, since I seem to be getting so much out of the yoga classes, and since Jacksonville is one of the least bike friendly cities in a state that is not bike friendly, I’ve decided that now would be a good time to transition away from bike commuting and invest the energy that I might have spent bike commuting on developing a regular yoga and meditation practice.

As we move through the decisions and days that will comprise the year of 2014 I am wishing all a year filled with healthy decisions and happy days.

Cornbread Topped Casserole

My weight history has been updated in the right sidebar. Really not much of a change but at least headed in the right direction last week. The change has been I have finally gotten mostly compliant with filling out my food log. I have also consciously worked at restricting calories.

Really, the big news is the Cornbread Topped Casserole recipe that the little Mrs. found in Kathy Hester's Great Vegan BEAN Book. I swear, this is so good, it reminds me of a bean lasagna. The recipe follows:

Cornbread Topped Casserole

4 Cans of beans rinsed and drained (Black, Red Kidney, White Kidney, Pinto)

1 Can dices tomatoes – Red Gold Chile ready

1 C. frozen roasted corn

½ package Publix frozen seasoning blend

1 Tbsp Cumin

1 Tbsp Chile powder

1 tsp Chipolte powder

1 tsp Oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp garlic salt

Mix all together taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Pour into greased 9x13 dish. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare cornbread topping.

Cornbread Topping (if you like sweet cornbread add a little sugar)

1 ½  cups unsweetened almond milk

2 Tbsp ground flax mixed with ¼ cup warm water

1 cup cornmeal

½ cup gluten free flour

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ salt

Mix all wet ingredients together.  In separate bowl combine dry ingredients. Add wet to dry gradually to keeps lumps from forming and mix well. Pour evenly over filling in pan.

Bake for 45 – 60 minutes or until middle of cornbread is firm.

It makes 8 generous servings. We like to serve it with salsa on top.

 339 Calories per serving

If you make this, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.