A Hodge-Podge Saturday Morning

When I was little, Mom claimed Saturdays as her day to sleep in, which meant my brother and I spent the morning with Dad. It was awesome. We got to wear anything we wanted – stripes on plaid, Friday’s underwear, one blue and one green sock – and the only mandatory rules were to brush our teeth, wash our hands and flush the toilet. We didn’t even have to brush our hair!

Dressed and unkempt, we’d pile in the car and go to the bakery. Dad bought us whatever donut we wanted (as you can guess, anything with chocolate icing was OK with me). We’d eat our donuts while Dad drove the station wagon through the car wash, then we’d go home and watch cartoons.

When my girls were little, Saturday mornings were my day to sleep in, too. At least until Pee Wee’s Playhouse came on. The girls woke me up for that. But beforehand, they’d get up and “make” their own breakfast* and I let them wear whatever they wanted. As long as they brushed their teeth, washed their hands and flushed the toilet, they could watch cartoons all morning.

(*The night before, I’d place a box of cereal on the counter along with two bowls. I’d pour milk in two plastic cups and juice in two other cups, cover them in plastic wrap, and set them in the refrigerator. The next morning, the girls poured their own cereal and added the pre-measured milk. It was their first cooking lesson!)

As I write this, my hair isn’t combed and I don’t have any one thing I want to address in this morning's blog. So in the tradition of my hodge-podge Saturdays, I offer the following observations and a very tasty recipe:

1. You know how I said a few blogs ago that I was going to be more mindful and to not wish away moments? Well, tell me if this is cheating: I acknowledge that it’s 7 degrees outside, and while I don’t like it, I accept that there’s nothing I can do to change the weather. That’s staying present, right? But in defiance of the thermometer, I made a pretty spring-colored breakfast:

A raspberry-banana smoothie with chocolate soy and Greek yogurt and a cup of Spring Cherry green tea. And even though I shivered in front of my space heater, eating tropical fruit and thinking of cherry blossoms kept me warm in my mind.

That might be cheating a little, but it was a very good moment within a moment.

2. Cammy at Tippy Toe Diet posted a great blog yesterday about how jam packed the grocery stores get whenever the weather’s about to turn bad. What is it about predictions of snow and ice that cause people to suddenly need copious amounts of milk, bread and eggs? It’s like snow causes masses of people to crave French Toast!

3. Sometimes it takes more than will and intention to get me on the elliptical. That’s when I rely on my favorite workout shirt for motivation (you know, the pink one?). But when I put it on this morning, I realized it had already seen its last workout. It’s been washed too many times; shrunk up and threadbare. Goodbye, old shirt. Thank you for the great workouts.

4. Two things I love: Middle Eastern spices and simple recipes. My Moroccan Stew is inspired by two recipes, one from Weight Watchers and one from Taste Of Home. You can make it in a crock pot or on the stove.

1 C onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped or minced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½-inch chunks
2 C carrots, roughly chopped
1 C celery, chopped
2 C canned crushed tomatoes
1 C veggie broth
1 cinnamon stick (or ½ t ground cinnamon)
1-2 t cumin (depends on how much you like cumin)
½ t chili powder (you can also use red pepper flakes if you like it a little hotter)
15 oz canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Sauté onion and garlic in a pan coated with cooking spray until slightly browned. I also add a tablespoon or two of broth which prevents burning or drying. Throw the onions, garlic and everything else in a crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or in a stock pot and simmer for an hour.

5. If you want to join Lynn’s Weigh on Facebook, click here. We’re a fun little group of losers…and I mean that in a good way.

Wear what you want, don’t worry about your hair, just enjoy your Saturday. See ya’ll Monday!

It’s Still Plenty Good…Even With Accoutrements

When I was a kid, I’d jump on a horse by grabbing its mane and throwing my legs over its back, and we’d run through a field or down a dirt road with no tethers. No saddle,  no bridle. Just me, the horse, the wind, and oh-my-god freedom.

When I was a kid, I’d ride my bike down a hill at breakneck speed, sitting straight up on the seat. Look ma! No hands! Just me, the bike, the wind, and oh-my-god freedom.

When I was a kid, I threw a softball further than any girl before me – almost as far as the record-holding boy – and held the grade school record for more than 10 years.

When I was a kid I walked everywhere. I played cops and robbers, kick the can, flashlight tag, and kick ball. I loved jump rope (Who put the cookie in the coo-cookie jar?), cheerleading (I was the back bend/cartwheel/handstand queen, not to mention I had a set of lungs that could outscream any “We’ve got the spirit” taunt from the other side), soccer, broom ball, ice skating, snowmobiling, and swimming in the lake (actually swimming, not skinny dipping, which came later in my childhood...:))

When I was a kid I could do most anything without assistance. To borrow Great-Great-Uncle George Gjertson’s review of most things in life – including lutefisk and unwashed underwear – my body was “plenty good.”

Now? Well…my body is still plenty good. It just needs some assistance.

As you know, I only mention products here that I believe in, and I’m not paid to say what I say. In fact, none of the manufacturers have a clue that little old blogger me is even talking about them! I just like to pass on my experience with the stuff I love and loves me back.

Right now, I’m really loving my Pattstrap. Because of my arthritic knees (which, for those of you new to my blog, need to be replaced but I’m biding my time), I’ve developed a fun little disorder called Iliotibial Band Syndrome, which in turn aggravates my tensor fasciae latae muscle, giving me a true honest-to-god pain in my ass.

To combat this, I use and ADORE the Pattstrap, a simple little piece of non-latex band I wrap around my thigh or just below my knee, depending on which part of the tendon is hurting. It’s a godsend.

I also use a tennis ball to work out the kinks in my ass, often stopping during a cardio workout to roll around with it on the floor, as dirty nasty as that sounds. But it works! I’ve also stopped a bike ride and sat on a rock or a metal guide post along the road to work out those ass kinks. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do when the pain strikes, you know?

I love Perform Better’s foam roller and am considering investing in this Trigger Point Performance massage ball. I’m pretty sure my butt and thighs will hate me for a little while, but they’ll thank me later. Especially when I go to bed and they’re happily at rest on a pillow and warmed by a Thermaphore heating pad.

On to the arthritic wrists and “tennis elbow” (again, both wrists need to be replaced or fused, which would make me look like a mannequin…although without the anorexic skinny part and jutting nipples). I use (on the bad days) what my kids call “floaties” and wrist splints. I look tough with my wrist splints on, but I can’t type for crap. It takes awhile to get all the Velcro in place, but once I’m dressed and ready to go, I’m feeling fine.

I’m telling you all this in hopes that someone reading this is looking to re-inaugurate their body as “plenty good.” We age, we get arthritis, we aren’t kids anymore. I’m not a cheerleader in the physical sense, but I certainly know how to shout out to my weight-losing friends. I would love to ride a horse again, but not with the same abandon as when I was 10. I can’t throw a softball a gazillion feet, but I can toss a ball to my grandkids. I ride my bike with both hands on the handle bars and thank god I’m still able to peddle 10, 15, or 20 miles. I don’t skinny dip or ice skate, but I trust my grandchildren to do that and tell me not to tell their mother.

With the help of a few “friends,” I can still be active. Some day those friends might include a cane, a cast, and even a few bionic parts. Whatever. I trust that even then my body will still be plenty good.

Staying In the Moment, Even in the Snow

I am a most forgetful ZenBagLady/quasi Buddhist. One of Buddhism’s tenets is staying present in the moment and being curious about/mindful of/attentive to what’s happening, and not wishing away the moment.

Yet that’s exactly what I do more often than not, particularly this time of year.

Last week I wrote about Seasonal Affective Disorder (see Four Little Words: A SAD Remedy) and how when I feel the most depressed this time of year I think about when things aren’t so gloomy. While I’m all for looking on the bright side of life…

(Sorry…couldn’t resist)

…seeing and experiencing what’s going on here and now doesn’t have to be such a dreaded thing. 

Never was this more apparent than when I went hiking on Saturday. Yes, hiking. With bad knees in western Pennsylvania in January. And I thought hiking in November in our little piece of nowhere was decadent!

Larry bought me the perfect Christmas gift:

 They look like ballerina legs, don’t they?

They are LEKI Makalu Trail trek poles. I expected to use them in non-snow conditions, but when the temperature edged up to near 40 on Saturday – and suffering from a huge dose of cabin fever – I suggested to Larry that we go hiking. In the snow. He said Why not? and so we bundled up, packed up the poles and some water, and headed to the Longfellow Trail in Cook Forest

As we hiked up to the Ancient Forest, the recent melting and refreezing made for a treacherous trek, at least for Larry. My spiffy poles kept me from wavering. (For the record, I offered him a pole, but being the macho hiking man he is – he’s hiked several mountains in the Adirondacks, after all – he declined.) Except for one set of “stairs” that I had to sit down on my bum (instructions I give my grandkids all the time) and maneuver to the bottom, my poles kept me upright and, more importantly, free from knee pain and injury.

In the last few days, it’s occurred to me that I could have wished for the things I thought were exclusive to my hiking happiness: flowering rhododendrons, fawns bounding through the forest, chirping summer birds, the smell of decaying leaves, the warmth of summer sun. But then I’d have missed the beauty of the ice along the path, the sun shining through leaf-bereft white ash, black cherry and red maple trees, the paw tracks of winter-hardy wildlife, the contrast of water flowing freely through Tom’s Run with the snow on its banks, and the new challenge of winter hiking. I had no idea winter hiking could be so fun and rewarding.

This has me thinking about other things I want but aren’t present here and now; situations and experiences that may not be ideal but are what they are in the moment and require an open minded approach to resolution. SAD and an unexpected weight gain…is it possible to just let them be what they are and investigate my feelings before moving on to solutions? Can I take a step back before lunging into the future, to be present right now?

I am a forgetful Buddhist. I am restless and wanting. It’s the end of January and I have SAD. Things are what they are. So without judgment, I think sit on the old cushion, breathe, and meditate on the Longfellow Trail. It really was a wonderful hike. In January. In the snow.

32:6

2004. I needed something to wear to a friend’s wedding. When every 28 I tried on didn’t fit, I tried 32. I walked out to the 3-way mirror, looked at myself, and thought, “This is nuts. I can’t do this anymore.”

Three years later, I was a size 6.

2009: I opened a letter from one of my credit card companies. They said, cryptically, that even though I was a “valued customer,” they were raising my interest rate to 32 percent. I thought, “This is nuts. I can’t do this anymore.”

As of yesterday, I’m paying 6 percent.

32 might be bigger, but 6 offers a lot more breathing space.

For me, being morbidly obese is a lot like being in debt:

• Size 32: I had no idea how many calories I consumed every day.
• 32 percent: I had no idea how much money I spent every month.
• Size 32: I masked emotional issues with overconsumption of food.
• 32 percent: I masked emotional issues with overconsumption of goods.

Just like five years ago when I confronted my weight, confronting my financial situation wasn’t as scary as I’d imagined. The process also feels familiar because debt reduction takes the same kind of commitment and persistence as weight reduction. I have to get all mom on myself, use tough love, and find alternative rewards for goals, but the freedom that comes from being on a cash-only budget is like knowing I can fit in an airplane seat or won’t be winded climbing stairs. It forces me to be more creative and a better planner. Mostly it’s helping me to better appreciate what I have as opposed to mourning what I don’t.

But familiar doesn’t mean easy. Nothing life-changing is ever easy. Becoming debt free doesn’t happen overnight and it’s taken me into the path of some degrading people. Explaining my personal finances to someone who doesn’t give a ratsass and only wants me to pay my *bleepin* bill feels a lot like being called a fat name when I was 300 pounds. I guess just as people have a million excuses not to lose weight, they have a million excuses to not pay their bills and it’s not easy to know who is sincere. Still, to assume everyone’s lying isn’t fair either. But I digress…

Remember how you felt the first time someone noticed you lost weight? I do and it felt really good. I had the same feeling last week when my change in attitude from “I have no idea how much I spend a month” to hard-core financial diva caught my husband’s attention.

“You’ve embraced this whole financial thing like you did your weight.”

Why, yes. Yes I have. *smile* Thank you for noticing.

The Great Lefse Experiment

After the Great Lefse Debacle last week (let’s just say there was a salt snafu), I was determined to reclaim my crown as Lefse Queen of Western Pennsylvania. (OK, so there’s no such thing, but I do – usually – make a mean batch of lefse. Minnesota worthy lefse, no less.)

Marie at Peas Pass the Beans left a comment on last week’s blog, “Lefse and Facebook,” and it was like she was reading my mind:

“LEFSE!!!! So good…If you ever try it with whole grain flour, let me know how it works. I’m tempted to try, but it’s so much work and I don’t want to waste anything.”

She’s right. Lefse is a LOT of work. You peel a buttload of russet potatoes, cut them up, boil them, rice them, let them cool, make the dough, roll out rounds, cook each one on a griddle, then let them cool under towels for several hours. And the flour mess! Goodness! No matter how careful you are, it gets everywhere.

Lefse is made from potatoes, butter, half-and-half, white flour, salt and sugar. The rolling is intense because you have to get the round paper thin or it won’t cook right. Whoever mans the griddle has to be sure to flip at just the right time to avoid crusty edges.

It’s a very intense process.

Lefse is usually at least a two-person job. But because I’ve been thinking the same thing as Marie about changing the recipe (which might be a felony in Minnesota) and using more healthy ingredients, I decided to venture out on my own, like Hermey in “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” After all, I had my reputation to mend. So today, unbeknownst to my lefse-making crew, I made a small batch using fat-free half-and-half, light butter, and whole wheat flour. I’m quite sure my Grandma Katinka rolled over in her grave.

Unlike regular lefse, these rounds popped a little as they cooked on the griddle because of the whole wheat flecks. Sounded like a soft crackling fire in the fireplace. Made me smile. I rolled and grilled and rolled and grilled while listening to Classic Vinyl on Sirius. (Nothing says lefse-making quite like “Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo,” right?)

After letting it cool for an hour, I tried one with a little butter and sugar.

It. Was. FABULOUS. (And hellyes I’m bragging!)

I’m talking I liked it better than the original. And I know good lefse and bad lefse. You don’t eat a food all your life and not be more than a little acquainted with it. Even my husband, who isn’t a lefse fan, liked it. This gives me hope for daughter Carlene, who obviously inherited her father’s Dutch taste buds because she doesn’t like lefse either. In fact, when I told her last week that I was thinking of making it with whole wheat flour she said, “Great. Take a bad food and make it even worse!”

Bite me, Carlene. This stuff’s goooooood.

Of course, selling the rest of the family on whole wheat/light lefse might be a problem. I’m the Mr. Jimmy of lefse. The supplier. The sole provider. I have a laundry list of people who rely on me for their lefse fix. That’s why I’m sending a few rounds to my little sister Emily in California for a taste test. Just as I’m the queen of lefse, she’s the queen of honesty. She won’t let me make a fool of myself.

I’ll still make the “real” stuff, but I think I’ll throw in a few whole wheat rounds in the next shipment. Call it a free sample. The true test will be my dad. If he likes it, I should probably market it. Dad is to lefse what Heidi Klum is to fashion. He should have his own show.

So do you lighten up your tried and true family recipes? Do you even dare? I mean, some things can’t and shouldn’t be messed with. But some foods, those cherished recipes from childhood, if we want to eat them responsibly, are worth trying to give them a healthy overhaul. If you do it in the privacy of your own home, no one would ever have to know.

Whatever Gets You Through Your Weight…It’s Alright, It’s Alright

Today I had another one of those “all or nothing” exercise days, like the kind I wrote about last month at Refuse to Regain. I thought I’d address it here to see if ya’ll have similar kinds of issues.
Here’s how I woke up today, as I do most days: I sat up, moved my neck in a circle (crack, crunch), twisted my lower back side to side (crack, crunch), stretched my feet (cramp!), stretched my arms over my head (oh THAT’S where that rotator cuff tear is!), and asked, “How do I feel today?”

I’d optimistically laid out my workout clothes on the dresser last night because, according to my Excel spreadsheet, I was scheduled to do 30 minutes on the elliptical and 35 minutes of strength training and core work.

But my plan didn’t take into account the pain in my left shoulder and worse, restlessness. My mind’s been going in all kinds of directions lately, and Advil doesn’t touch that.

Just to be clear, I realize when physical takes precedence over the need to exercise. I take pain and inflammation seriously. But in every instance I have to honestly assess if it’s real pain or my head making excuses for not wanting to work out. It’s that double-edged sword of arthritis. On most days, however (and once I press pass that initial discomfort), moving is of more benefit than the heating pad.

Convincing my brain of that before a workout is 99 percent of the battle, however.

Today I implemented the strategy I tried last month. Instead of doing everything or nothing I’d planned on my nifty spreadsheet, I’d do a little.

I told myself before I started that if I only got 5 minutes on the elliptical and half my strength training in, it would be OK. No beating myself up, no regrets.

I hopped on the elliptical and put “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” on the iPod. Last week’s Lucy Lawless “Not My Job” segment got me to 11 minutes on the elliptical – a full six minutes longer than I’d planned. Success! Old Me would have kept going even though I felt fatigued (having been a staunch supporter of the old “pain is weakness leaving the body” bullshit). Today’s fatigue had more to do with SAD than arthritis, and New Me was OK with that.

I moved on to push ups and some leg work. No problems. Got back on the elliptical for another 10 minutes. Felt much better than the first time. Finished up the workout with only a minor modification to the Thera-Band exercise that is killer on my shoulders. I logged 10 less minutes than I’d planned on the elliptical, but I felt, in a word, good.

Here’s how I see it. My old workout formula was:

“Lynn + Laying Off = You’re Weak and Lazy and Will Gain All Your Weight Back!”

This formula for “success” often left me in pain. Stupid, I know, but I’m still (after how many years?) coming to terms with arthritic reality.

So now I’m slowly adopting this formula:

“Lynn + Laying Off = No You Won’t Gain 170 Pounds Overnight AND You’ll Feel Better The Rest of the Day and Tomorrow AND You’re No Longer Causing Irreparable Damage!”

The same holds true with restlessness. Compassion is the common denominator. I can only concentrate for 10 minutes? No problem. After 10 minutes of cardio, do a strength training circuit. Repeat when willing. What I’ve found is that not only does this break up the workout, it demands more concentration, thus disrupting that restlessness, at least for an hour or so.

Never thought there was a middle ground between pain/restlessness and doing nothing/ doing everything. I think it’s because I have an over abundance of leftover fervor from my weight-loss phase. I was DETERMINED to lose weight and now I’m HELL BENT on not gaining it back. Even though in March I’ll mark three years at goal, I’m still that 300-pound woman who decided five years ago that, by god, she was going to lose weight. I appreciate her chutzpah, but 130-pound me needs to tell her it’s OK to ease off just a bit.

Whatever gets you to your weight, it’s alright, it’s alright…

Four Little Words: A SAD Remedy

When the view from my kitchen sink looks like this:

I think about when it looked like this:

Photos from last summer’s flower gardens line the walls of my office/exercise room. It was my new offensive to stave off or at least ease Seasonal Affective Disorder. For awhile it worked better than doing nothing, which is what I usually did every winter other than grin and bear it, you know? But last Sunday, I was given a new weapon in my anti-SAD arsenal: Four little words uttered for the first time by g-baby Claire: “I love you, ‘Rammy.”

Just typing that gives me happy tears. Take THAT SAD!

Claire was here last Sunday for a sleepover. Cassie and I made the swap at 10 a.m. at a gas station in Kittanning. It was bitter cold and snowing, but somehow the sun was out. I guess it was winter’s version of a sun shower. Claire and I talked and sang all the way home, even though I didn’t catch 90 percent of what she said because she was in the back seat. Back in the day (yes, I’m going to be old for a moment), my kids were legally allowed to sit in their car seats in the front seat. I know, I know…air bags and all that. But how many accidents are caused by parents and grandparents looking at and fussing with kids in the back seat while driving? Probably an even accident swap, I’d guess.

We stopped at the grocery store for some Claire essentials: oranges (which she insists are peaches), yogurt, whole wheat elbow macaroni, orange juice, a potty seat attachment (she’s 99 percent potty trained), and stickers:

She puts them everywhere, obviously.

When we got home, we went to see Mew, the stray kitty who came to visit me one day in November when I was sitting on the porch. I couldn’t keep Mew because I had (at the time) three large dogs. But my next-door neighbor Paula adopted her and Claire’s been visiting ever since.

After dinner, Claire watched a Wow Wow Wubbzy DVD while Papa Larry watched the playoffs. Good thing I had dishes to do. When I was done, Claire wanted to listen to Old MacDonald and Jingle Bells. I found the least irritating renditions I could on YouTube, and Claire started to bounce her bum:


Before long it was bath time. After some ice cream and the book “Hop on Pop,” Claire headed to bed. I tucked her in and turned off the light. I laid down next to her and she told me all about snow trucks and mail trucks and big long choo choo tunnels. Not sure where that one came from since she’s never been on a train. Then, just before she went to sleep, she put her hands on my cheeks and pulled her face real close to mine and said, “I love you, ‘Rammy.”

In the history of all my happy moments – from the birth of my children to walking Cassie down the aisle – this one ranks right up there with the best moment ever. Ever, ever, ever.

AND…I have a real grandma name. Claire used to call me Mum because that’s what her mother and aunt call me, but now I’m ‘Rammy. And Claire loves me. SAD can kiss my arse.

I wonder what Luca will call me? It’s possible I’ll find out during the 2011 SAD cycle. It gives me hope.

SAD is a real and debilitating disorder. Do you suffer (or suspect you suffer) from Seasonal Affective Disorder? If so, what is your plan of action?

Why I Went Vegetarian: An Evolving Tale

Three questions I get asked most are: 1. Do you have loose skin? 2. How did you get started? 3. Why are you a vegetarian?

Answers: 1: Yes (see “Closer to Accepting The ‘Flabby Bits’”). 2: See “How, When, Loving Yourself, and Other Thoughts” (scroll down the page, it's there toward the end). 3: It keeps evolving. Here’s why.

By the time I ate meat for the last time (a strip of Trader Joe’s turkey bacon) nearly two years ago, I’d come to realize how meat-centric I was, focusing entirely too much on tuna, chicken, turkey, and the occasional pork product. I felt confined in my eating habits, merely glancing at black/cannellini/garbanzo/soy bean recipes and thinking about trying curry and other non-staple spices. I was stuck in a “meat box.”

I loved vegetables, but never ventured far from the usual, and only to cook them by boiling the crap out of them before throwing some butter and pepper on top. Not that there’s anything wrong with that if that’s the only way to get you to eat veggies. But for me, the rotation of peas, carrots, corn, broccoli, peas, carrots, corn, green beans, peas, carrots, corn, Brussels sprouts was making me bang my head against the refrigerator.

My food choices were as boring as our dog Mathilda, whose idea of fun is to roll on dead fish at the lake (true story). Meat mind overshadowed a world of alternative foods and spices. This is in contrast to the many people I know who eat meat and still think broadly about their food choices. I’d just never grown out of my meat-and-potatoes roots until I went vegetarian.

Anyway, here I am, two years into this no-meat experiment and I have at least a two-year backlog of recipes to try, thanks to a plethora of vegetarian cookbooks and bloggers like Veggie Venture and FatFreeVegan. There’s no room for meat in my diet for awhile.

I try to make at least one new recipe a week. This week I whipped up curried lentils. Next week, it’s Spicy Collards and Black Eyed Pea Soup.

I also make an effort to try new vegetables. I had no idea I loved fennel, bok choy or beet greens. Now, after flipping through Arthritis Today last week and reading “Weird, Wonderful Vegetables,” I’m ready to give Jerusalem artichokes, celery root, and kohlrabi a try. The article offers some general preparation guidelines, but do you have a favorite recipe?

I’m doing the same thing with fruit. Because I limit my fruit consumption to no more than two servings a day, I try to pick just the right fruit for my mood. After reading about ugli fruit, I’ve decided to buy one as soon as I find one. They’re in our local Wal-Mart – I’ve seen it – but like pomegranates and papayas and star fruit in the past, I ignored it because it was different. But since going vegetarian, I’ve found that different is good. Different is fun. Different can be exciting.

Are you now or have you ever been in a “food box”? Some kind of food rut? I’d love to hear your strategies for escape.

Lefse and Facebook

Just a quick checking-in blog. The new year has been (thankfully) pretty dull. Lots of snow, lots of exercise procrastination (ugh), and lots of layers of clothing. I’m very excited, though, to pick up G-baby Claire for a sleepover tomorrow. We’ll have 24 hours of Grammy/Claire/Papa fun before the crew arrives for a lefse-making marathon on Monday.


Making lefse is usually something we do before Thanksgiving, but that was NOT happening this last T-day. Lots going on, too much stress…you know the story. Sure, on Monday, it’ll be a little crazy with three babies and four adults (Cassie, Carlene and my friend Pam, who volunteered to help…god love her) roaming my teeny-tiny little house, but it’s so much fun AND we’ll have golden brown deliciousness to show for it.

FYI: A lefse round is 1 Point. I spread a sliver of butter and a sprinkling of sugar for another Point. It’s white-flour/white-sugar hell….but so very worth it. See? I’m not the purist some folks seem to think I am. At least during lefse season.

I taught Carlene and Cassie to make lefse last season. Carlene rolled out a “round” that looked like Jay Leno.

This is Cassie with yet-to-be-born Luca on board.

Carlene learning the perfect rolling technique.

And here’s me with flour-encrusted Claire who was “helping.” How little is she? Wow. How fast they change.

Maybe you’ve noticed, but I’ve changed the blog a little, adding a cool little search tool on the left and adding a “fan page” for Lynn’s Weigh on Facebook. (For the record, I hate the term “fan page.” It implies hierarchy and that’s just not my style. I’ll explain more later.)

Regarding the search engine, let’s say you want to know what I’ve written about hummus. Type in “hummus” and links to the blogs in which I’ve mentioned hummus will appear on the right. I added this feature mostly for my benefit, since I can never remember what I wrote when.

Regarding Facebook, my personal presence on FB is so I can keep in contact with my kids and a few close friends. I’ve had several requests from people who read my blog to be my “friend,” but I’m so terminally dull on my personal FB page that I decided to start a Lynn’s Weigh page just to shake things up a bit. No biggie and no earth-shattering insights, I assure you. But do you bloggers ever get a thought and think, “I’d like to share that on my blog” and then forget or it seems like not enough of a thought to turn into a blog? My Lynn’s Weight FB page will be that place I write down those things that pop in my head throughout the day. Well, the more interesting things anyway. I’m sure no one’s interested in my mundane thoughts like, “Do I feel like shaving my legs?” or “Where did I put the hammer?” or “Do I wear jeans or leggings today?”

Things like that.

Not sure how long the FB thing will endure, but for now, it is what it is and I like it.

Yoohoos! and WooHoos! and a Pilgrimage

I want to send a big old Lynn’s Weigh “Yoohoo!” to Sahar at Fat Fighter TV and thank her for the “WooHoo!” on her site. She made me sound and look gooood. Can’t wait to meet her and a whole lotta other bloggers at FitBloggin’10 in Baltimore in March. I haven’t signed up yet, but – god and weather willing – I’ll be there. Are you going?


Another “Yoohoo!” and congrats to Carolyn M from Georgia who won Joy Bauer’s “Joy’s LIFE Diet” book in my giveaway on Tuesday.


And another “Yoohoo!” to reader Tina from Lancaster County PA who sent me the nicest email the other night and like a bonehead, I erased it on my Blackberry which erased it on my PC. If you’re reading this, Tina, please shoot me another email so I can reply!


Now, about that pilgrimage…


In between weather advisories on Tuesday, I hitched up the Jeep and went on my bimonthly pilgrimage to Trader Joe’s and threw in a side trip to Whole Foods. I’ve been out of Shirataki Noodles since October (I’ve had an awful hankerin’ for spinach noodles Florentine), and – thanks to Kalyn at Kalyn’s Kitchen  – I’ve been wanting to try Spike and Za’Atar seasonings, things I can’t find in Podunkville.


Other things I can’t get in Podunkville: chickpea flour; tarragon vinegar; lower (really lower) sodium soy sauce; hearts of palm; cheap(er) tahini; lower sodium pinto, black and garbanzo beans; light coconut milk; fire-roasted tomatoes with no salt added; frozen cherries; Fage; Skinny Dippers crackers (which are being discontinued…*tear*); tuna steaks, turkey bacon, and nan (for hubby); organic honeycrisp apples, Swiss chard, garlic and leeks; shelled edamame; TJ’s infamous low-fat/low-sodium parmesan ranch dressing; and of course:

Yes, I’m eating a bit of chocolate again since the scale is going nowhere whether I eat it or not. Doc says I’ve gained muscle mass and that was her final answer. This after I spent five minutes on Monday whining to her, “Why, why, WHY have I gained four pounds since May!” Have you been working out more? she asked. “Yes,” I said. “But…” Apparently there are no “buts.” So OK, I can live with that.


Anyway….


Whole Foods is a foodie’s Disneyland (not to mention the good looking men who shop there…) and usually I can’t escape without dumping at least $100. Not this time! I faithfully stuck to my list and spent less than $100. My only complaint (other than the prices) at Whole Foods is damn do they keep that place cold! By the time I get to the bulk foods, my fingers are numb – and that’s BEFORE I hit the freezer case! Sadly, I look like Nanook of the North when I shop there and the before mentioned good looking guys tend to avert their eyes.


A few more things before I let ya’ll go…(and I consider this first one a WooHoo! since I love when you guys as me about vegetables…*happytear*)


Many of you asked about the roasted rutabagas in my last post. Here’s what I do: Spray a baking sheet with Pam, thinly (as in 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick) slice a peeled rutabaga (I used a mandoline http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandoline); lay the slices on the pan; sprinkle with pepper or whatever spices you’d like; spray with Pam; roast at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes (maybe longer depending on what meaty to crispness ratio you prefer), flipping them occasionally so they cook on both sides. That’s it. Very simple. I do the same thing with peeled beets.


Hope this finds you fully ensconced in your resolutions and the nutritional changes you vowed to make in 2010. I accomplished one of my resolutions already this year – to become a little, just a wee bit, more social. I’ve had coffee with TWO “new” friends (yoohoo! to Kara and Libby!).


Happy Thursday, everyone!

Decluttering 2009

Each new year I like to clear out clutter both in my house and on my computer. Make way for the new or at least an improved version of the old, I say.

I spent six hours taking down Christmas decorations on Friday and tweaking the décor of the living and dining rooms. I decided to keep the tree up, sans decorations, because it’s not really a traditional Christmas tree. It’s a tall, narrow fake pine with lights that I picked up cheap at a bargain-basement kind of place around Thanksgiving and it makes me happier than any fake tree I’ve ever had. I decided I’d decorate it throughout the year with holiday-appropriate decorations starting with Valentines Day.

I also took out a bookshelf, moved an antique desk, swapped out a chair for a table, and moved a few plants. Nothing major, but the rooms look just different enough to not feel like 2009. I would be the pessimist in this quote: “An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.” – Bill Vaughan

Buh-bye 2009.

Same kind of clean-out applies to my computer clutter. I had duplicate files of this and that, and several unfinished mini-blogs and accompanying photos littering my folders so I decided to combine them into one big blog.

Let’s start with this photo:

These carrots look like deformed outcomes of atomic testing. I bought them from a local organic farmer back in August. Makes me wonder what animal's manure he’s using.

If the second one from the left was a person, I’d want that ass. See how perfectly round it is? A far cry from my flat ass, which leads me to the carrot on the far right, which I’m sure is what my real butt muscles look like after a day of hiking.

So much for squid-looking carrots. On to the next photo:

We spent Christmas, as always, with the kids in Pittsburgh. In preparation, I asked Cassie to buy cinnamon rolls – a traditional opening-presents fare. If I don’t make them from scratch, we buy the frozen Rhodes’ cinnamon rolls (nutritional facts: 200 calories, 5g fat, 230mg sodium, 35g carbs which equals 4 WW Points). While they aren’t something I’d eat regularly, I’m OK making for the family on Christmas and eating a few bites while we open gifts.

This year, while shopping, Cass had the kids with her and was in a hurry and instead of Rhodes, picked up the mother of all instant cinnamon rolls: Pillsbury Grands (nutritional facts: 310 calories, 11 g fat of which 2.5 are trans fat, 650mg sodium, 54g carbs which equals 7 WW Points). Yikes!

Here’s what Pillsbury says its “homey” rolls:

“There is one thing we all as families have in common: our hectic schedules. A leisurely weekday breakfast with your kids and family dinners seem to happen less and less. Sundays are a perfect opportunity to reconnect and spend quality time together. Why not take time out to create a sweet moment with your family with our cinnamon rolls and turn Sunday into Funday?”

Sounds like a Sunday morning gastrointestinally arteriosclerotic nightmare to me. I know life can be hectic, but let’s not equate hectic with “Toss something nutritionally shitty in the oven.” Why does sugar and white flour always get associated with warmth and family? What’s wrong with fruit, oatmeal, eggs, and whole wheat toast? Food companies have the ability to change public perception of what constitutes “homey” foods. Oh, but wait, Pillsbury Grands rolls probably cost a fraction of a penny to manufacture. Fruit and other healthy breakfast food would cut into the company profits. Silly me. When will I learn?

Stepping off the soap box….

I like this photo:

They look like potato chips, but they’re rutabagas. Thinly sliced, roasted rutabagas. My new favorite roasted veggie.

My favorite photo and not-long-enough-for-a-blog topic is this one:

My office doubles as my workout space. In one corner is my computer desk, another is my elliptical (actually, that takes up an entire wall) and another is my recumbent bike (which is a fold-up type so it takes up very little space). A workout bench and assorted hand weights line another wall. Grandbaby Claire loves to rearrange my workout space. She picks up every hand weight - not including the 10-, 15-, or 25-pounders, although she tries - and places them in the middle of the room. She decorates the elliptical with Thera-Bands and plays with the exercise ball pump because it squeaks and blows air on her face.

Claire also loves stickers. She puts stickers everywhere: my face, my hands, my shoes, her face, her hands, her shoes, on Christmas cards, the refrigerator, her little brother and, as you can see, the exercise ball.

My new year hair:

I was beginning to look a little like Andrew from “Family Ties” (specifically, the young Brian Bonsall, not the now Brian Bonsall with the tattooed neck and criminal record). Between the holidays and time constraints…you know the routine…I couldn’t fit in a trim.

I didn’t think I could go shorter, but apparently I can. This style is something I’d never have considered at 300 pounds when I didn’t care much about me, let alone my hair. Cared as in I stopped taking it to a stylist. Salon chairs didn’t comfortably accommodate my 54-inch hips, and I didn’t like looking at myself in the mirror for very long. Most of the time I trimmed my hair when necessary and threw it back in a scrunchie.

Now…well...I’m all about flat irons and “product.” My hair is even easier to style this way, physically and emotionally. Hair comes with its own baggage, just like weight.

Goodbye 2009. Hello clean computer and a partially redone living room and a partially renewed doo. Hope this finds you all ready to tackle 2010.

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NOTE: You have until 6 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5, to sign up to win a signed copy of Joy Bauer’s book “Your Inner Skinny: Four Steps to Thin Forever.” Click here to read my interview with Joy for the details.

My New Year’s Interview with "Today Show" Nutritionist Joy Bauer

Before we get to the meat (or tofu since I’m a vegetarian) of my interview with nutritionist Joy Bauer, I want to mention that I was not paid nor do I receive compensation for my participation in Joy’s book, “Your Inner Skinny: Four Steps to Thin Forever” (previously published as "Joy's LIFE Diet"). I simply believe in Joy’s message. Her commitment to and passion for teaching and supporting healthy food choices and good nutrition is – in a word – infectious. The minute I met her, I knew I’d met a kindred spirit.

Joy Bauer is the nutrition expert for the “Today Show” and founder of the Joy Fit Club, of which yours truly is now a member. Joy is also the nutritionist for the New York City Ballet, author of several bestselling books and a contributing editor to Parade magazine.

Even if you’re already following a weight-loss plan or are maintaining your weight, “Your Inner Skinny” is full of no-nonsense nutritional advice, recipes, and – my favorite – real-life success stories that can inspire you, especially after the glow of starting a diet has waned. I’m honored to be one of those success stories, but mine isn’t the one I read when I’m not feeling the maintenance love. I read the lessons learned and words of wisdom from folks like Veolia, who lost 252 pounds; Howard, who lost 219 pounds; and Mary, who lost 177 pounds and says this about maintenance: “Once you get to your goal weight…you can’t revert to what you did before. It’s not a free pass…it’s a gift. No one can take it away, but you can choose to give it up and put weight back on.”

Ah…choice. That’s what it all boils down to. What we put in our mouths is always a choice. Cake doesn’t leap into our mouths. Fattening sauces don’t sneak out of nowhere and slather themselves on our pastas. So “choice” is how I decided to start this interview.

Lynn: So glad to have you on my blog, Joy!

Joy: Hi Lynn! I'm honored to be here! I love your blog. It's the perfect blend of wisdom, humor, and fun. You are an incredibly talented writer and one true inspiration. Thanks for sharing your life (and the trials and tribulations of weight maintenance) with all of us.

Lynn: I love this quote from your book: “Maintaining weight loss is about understanding the power of choice…(T)he commitment to maintenance and good health has to be as strong as the commitment to shed pounds. Stronger, even!”

So what is it about maintenance that either trips people up or emboldens them to be even more determined? Do you counsel people at the beginning of their journey that they need to rethink their entire way of eating now and in the future?

Joy: Yes!! In my experience, it’s so hard for people to adopt that mentality of permanence – that, in order to lose weight and keep it off, you have to make a lifelong commitment to eating healthy.

People like to view a diet as a short-term deviation from their “normal” eating habits, because then there’s always the promise of returning to all the junk food, take-out, and restaurant food that they know and love. But we all know this strategy never works. Successful maintainers are those who develop a completely new outlook on healthy eating, and adopt it as part of their everyday routine. So many of my Joy Fit Club members and personal clients tell me that they’ve grown to love the crisp, fresh, clean taste of fruits and vegetables, and actually prefer the taste to the heavy, salty, fatty food of their “before” days. And although it’s perfectly normal to crave fattening fare from time to time (let’s face it, we all do), the payoff we receive from fighting that urge and not eating junk on a regular basis is well worth the fight!

Lynn: In my experience, “It takes a village” to lose weight. We need role models whose eating and exercise habits we aspire to emulate. The weight-loss successes you feature in your book are extraordinary, and yet their stories reflect the stories of everyone who deals with weight issues.

Joy: I agree 100 percent. Research and personal experience has shown me over and over again that having a strong support system in place (whether its friends, family members, co-workers, or an online community) is crucial to weight loss success. These people don’t necessarily have to be health role models; they can simply be supportive people, generally speaking, who are there for you no matter what goal you’re working towards. Of course, they can also be people who are in the same boat as you and can help you creatively troubleshoot solutions to your biggest dieting challenges.

Reading others’ success stories can be incredibly motivating, especially if it’s a person whose story you can relate to (they come from a similar background or shared similar childhood experiences, for example). That’s why I love inducting new Joy Fit Club members each week. I feel like every time I share another person’s unique story, I reach another pocket of viewers at home who are watching, desperate for inspiration to make a change.

Lynn: We’ve all heard the statistic that 95 percent of people who lose weight gain some or all of it back within five years. While this stat has been proven to be not completely accurate, the odds are still pretty high that people who lose weight will gain some back. For someone starting a weight-loss program for the first or tenth time, this can be daunting.

Joy: Unfortunately, weight regain is a common problem. But you never know which time your weight loss efforts will finally “click” and you’ll finally understand and accept what you need to do to stay slim and fit forever. Just look at the Joy Fit Club members I’ve inducted over the years, nearly every one of them was a chronic yo-yo dieter who had tried and failed on dozens of diets in the past. Yet, for each one of them, something about their last attempt was different, and they finally found their weight loss groove and stayed there permanently.

At the start of the journey, it’s really hard to predict when people have found the resolve to stick with it for the long haul. Ultimately, I think it’s important to be losing weight for the right reasons if your want to make a permanent lifestyle change. You have to really want it, you need a significant and enduring source of motivation for finally losing the weight, like being around to see your grandkids grow up or preventing another heart attack. Superficial reasons like fitting into a dress for a special occasion or getting in shape for a beach vacation tend to work for the short-term (and they certainly serve their purpose), but they can also set you up for weight rebound. Once the event or vacation has passed, your inspiration is gone and you slip back into bad eating habits. I’m all for making short-term AND long-term goals.

Lynn: You’re fit and look great! I assume you practice what you preach?

Joy: Thank you!! It’s definitely something that I work at every day. And please know that I am not one of those “genetic lean machines”. In fact, after each one of my three pregnancies it felt as though I was left with 10 pounds of cement – had to fight like mad to get it off.

Currently, I walk on my treadmill most days a week for at least an hour. I’m a huge multi-tasker, so I use the treadmill time to catch up on emails, read new nutrition research briefs, or take conference calls. Lately, I’ve been increasing the amount of strength training I do as well. I aim for at least 20 minutes 3 days per week. And, of course, I make healthy food choices 95% of the time, but my soft spots are ice cream, red wine, and cookies (crunchy kind only!).

Lynn: I love many of the recipes in your book, particularly the Maple Dijon dressing, Thousand Island dressing, Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Caps, chocolate pudding, popcorn ideas, and cauliflower mashed potatoes. How do you create your recipes, and do you experiment on your family?

Joy: I personally love to cook! I am constantly experimenting in my kitchen and testing the results on my husband and three kids (plus their friends, extended family members and neighbors). I also work with talented chefs, often budding young culinary students in the New York City area. I give them specific guidelines when it comes to nutrition and ingredients, and they never fail to impress me with their creative and flavor-packed recipes.

I have a new cookbook coming out in April 2010 called “Slim & Scrumptious” and it’s filled with tons of recipes geared towards satisfying kids’ palates (as well as adults) with healthy, nutritious food. And yes, I tested every single recipe on my kids because they always give their honest opinion! Some of their favorites in the new book include Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Spicy Shrimp Jambalaya, and Double Chocolate Pancakes. There’s even a recipe called AJ’s Mac-n-Cheezy, named after and developed especially for my youngest daughter, Ayden Jane. It took me a dozen tries before I earned her 5-star rating! I am really excited about this new book.

Lynn: My granddaughter calls mac n’ cheese “doggies” because the pasta she likes best is shaped like dogs. I’ll definitely try AJ’s Mac-n-Cheezy “doggies” out on Claire. The Double Chocolate Pancakes, though? They’re all mine.

Joy: Claire will be in cheezy heaven! Promise! And I hope you love the pancakes. Any excuse to have chocolate for breakfast, right? You'll have to let me know how they turn out.

Lynn: What projects are you working on for 2010?

Joy: At the moment, I am very excited about my paperback release “Your Inner Skinny” and my website, http://www.joybauer.com/. The website currently provides a comprehensive diet program for a small weekly charge, and a daily newsletter called “The Daily Plum.” However, in a few months, JoyBauer.com will be expanded to provide massive amounts of free nutrition content on everything from lowering cholesterol to managing migraines, arthritis, blood pressure, osteoporosis and much more. I am really looking forward to getting science-based nutrition information out there (for free!).

Lynn: I’ll put up a link here when it’s up and running.

So…you’re a nutrition expert, you help people get healthy, you work at 30 Rock several days a week, but I know you have a family and a life beyond all the grit and glitz. Care to share the “softer” side of Joy?

Joy: Definitely! There's more to me than meets the eye.....and I bet you laugh out loud when you hear some of my out-of-the-box details.

A few JB fun facts:

I was in a rock band in both high school (called Eclipse) and college (called The Space Sharks). I played keyboards. Thankfully for our fans, I did not sing!!

I was a competitive gymnast from ages 11-18 and spent most waking hours in a gym.

I am only 5 feet tall and still praying for a growth spurt!

Lynn: Yes, I can attest to that. You make me feel tall at 5’5”!

Joy: I was a hostess, waitress, and even a hat check girl in multiple restaurants throughout high school and college. I was NOT very good (lousy tips validated this!)

While getting my graduate degree in nutrition from New York University, I was a personal trainer and aerobics instructor – all over town. This is how I managed to make enough money to support myself while I was going to grad school. My undergraduate degree from University of Maryland was in kinesiology (combo of anatomy and exercise physiology), so I had the appropriate credentials and loved every minute of it. Go Terps!

Favorite book: “A Fine Balance”

Favorite movies: “Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory” (original version), “The Godfather” (all of them), “Shawshank Redemption,” and “Thirteen Going on Thirty.”

Lynn: Oh…Thirteen Going on Thirty. I watched that movie when I was on vacation in the Adirondacks in 2004, just a few months before I decided to lose weight. I spent the week contemplating whether I wanted to stay the weight I was or lose it. I had to make a choice because I was so emotionally conflicted. That movie touched something in me, something that said, “You can change and yet still be, at your core, the same person you always were.” Fun movie, but very personal for me.

Joy: I completely understand what you mean. For me, the best part about “Thirteen Going On Thirty” is that the entire Bauer brood loves it. And believe me, it's a feat to get all 5 of us on board wit the same flic!

And as far as my biggest food vices (because I know you're going to ask about that!): hard/crunchy sugar cookies, ice cream, red wine, and frozen peanut M&Ms. I am also a true nut-a-holic – I love almonds, pistachios and cashews.

Lynn: So even Joy Bauer has food vices :)

Joy: Of course! I've always supported a 90/10 philosophy: make 90% of your food choices healthy and treat yourself the remaining 10% of the time.

Lynn: Thank you for spending time with me here on my blog. Best of luck to you with the book!

To win a signed copy of Joy’s book, write a comment or send me an email at lynnbering@verizon.net. I’ll draw a winner on Tuesday, Jan. 5.

I hope this finds you all inspired for the new year and ready to begin or continue on the path to good health and nutrition. I meant what I said earlier, it takes a village to do this. I know you’ve all helped me more than you can ever know. My hope is that my blog helps you in some small way on your own journey.

Happy 2010, everyone!