Sweet Potato Spinach Skillet

On my birthday, just a week ago, I weighed in at 190 pounds. Sadly, on April 1, as I took steps towards a WholeFood approach to eating, my weight was just a bit over 195 pounds. I'm definitely not happy with that as it inches me closer to the 200 mark and I refuse to weigh that again.

April 1 was the day I intended to start a full blown Whole30 attempt. Whole30 is a 30 day program based around the Whole9 approach. Whole 9 is not a diet. The concept is based on eating real food and is closely aligned with eating a Paleo diet. I have researched and read a lot about both and feel comfortable this is the best way of eating for me. I know sugar, dairy and white carbs cause weight issues for me and I suspect they cause my Psoriatic Arthritis to be much worse than it would without them.

I have made a few soups and skillet meals lately as a test to see which ones we might like to eat on a regular basis. I make this skillet meal a few nights ago and we really liked it a lot.

Sweet Potato Spinach Skillet

It's a very simple one skillet meal.

First, mince four cloves of garlic and chop two small onions.  Add these to a medium hot skillet with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  While these cook, peel a couple of sweet potatoes and cube them for use later on. When the onions start to become translucent, add your meats.

I used half a half pound of  lean ground beef along with four Italian sausages but you can change the ratio or eliminate one if you want. Remove the casings of the sausage and break them up before adding to the skillet. I saved the remaining meat for another meal but you could make larger portions. Turn the heat up to brown the meat and season however you would like. I used salt and pepper.

If you are going to use frozen spinach, be sure to thaw it ahead of time and squeeze the water out so it doesn't make the dish soggy. 

Once your meat is almost done (not a lot of pink showing through), drain any excess oil and add the cubed sweet potatoes. Stir them into the meat mixture and add 1/4 cup of water and a tablespoon of allspice for flavor.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a low heat for about 15 minutes so the potatoes cook.   Once the potatoes are soft, add the spinach to the skillet and heat for another 5 minutes.

The kids ate this over rice. I had mine with some sliced tomatoes. You could serve this with a cauliflower rice also. I'll definitely make this one again and may try the same style of dish using a winter squash. 

I considered making today's title "Not Quite Whole30." I didn't quite get there. Even though I read lots of advice about being prepared for the change in eating style, I wasn't. I have veggies in the house and was prepared for the dinner meals but not for breakfast or for things to eat in between meals.

I didn't do horrible for Day 1 but at the end of the day I wound up snacking on a protein bar which had sugar in it.  I need to stock up on stackable items which are not loaded in sugar.  I also need to decide what "breakfast on the go" is going to be.

I did manage to get almost 80 ounces of water in me yesterday which is a huge accomplishment  since I have a tough time making myself drink anything.  I am hoping to do the same today.

Yesterday I had a small salad and some roasted veggies for lunch.  It did not wind up being enough since breakfast was only two bananas grabbed at the local gas station on the way to work.  For dinner, I had another salad but it was much larger with spinach and many veggies. I also had a boiled egg to go along with it.  I had uncontrollable hunger pains about 8pm so I had a protein bar. Tonight I hope to have planned better so I don't hit that point.April 2 Weight: 193

Exercise: None as of 1:30PM, hoping for an evening walk.

53

Yesterday was my 53rd birthday. I know my blogging stopped rather suddenly but didnt think about how long it had been since my last post till spammers hit me today and jarred me back to life.  I have not been here but I have thought about my goal of a 53 pound loss. Unfortunately, I didnt make it by my 53rd birthday. I can make a lot of excuses but the bottom line is I hit a very depressed state and did not stick with healthy eating or exercise.

Shortly after my last blog post, my sister died suddenly. She was two years older that me. I can't even begin to describe the spiral this started.  I spent a little more than a week at home helping with things and getting my mom to doctor appts because she was having respiratory problems. This all happened the end of October.  Sadly, my mother died on Christmas Eve.  It has been a tough few months for sure.

Yesterday I weighed 190 lbs. That is 35 pounds lower than my highest weight.  Today, I am at 192 since I ate a bit of higher sodium foods yesterday.  Looking back at my last entry in early Oct, I am the same weight as then.  So in spite of the tremendous stress and my lack of exercise, I have maintained.

I have decided to reboost my quest to be healthier.  I will even maintain my goal of 53 lbs.

My husband  and I have decided to pursue the goal together.  We are going to approach this goal reasonably and set it as a pound a week. In one of the weeks, we will be hooting for an extra pound so we hit 53 in a year.

In order to accomodate both of our eating preferences, I am going to combine Scarsdale with the Whole30 plan.  We bought fresh veggies today and tomorrow starts a new week in my quest to step backwards.

Size Victories

I know I should not watch the scales as much as I do but it is tough not to. It hasn't budged much in August and Sept and October has been a slow loss month so far. Even though the pounds have not been falling off, I know my pants size has decreased. Last summer I was solidly into size 22 pants. In fact, I was so solidly in them, I considered buying a couple of 24s to be comfortable. When I started work at my new job last August, all the pants I bought were 22s with expandable waists.  Last week I knew I had to do something because, even with a belt, I was having trouble with my pants staying up. I can fold a large piece of them around me in the waist.

I tried going to Sears where I shopped last year but found nothing in plus size that I would even consider trying on. So this weekend I stopped by the Goodwill. I found two pair of size 18 pants and just for motivation I bought a 16 so I could work on getting into them. The 18s fit really well and surprisingly, I can get the 16s on also.  They are not comfortable but I can actually wear them if I needed to. This is the size I was wearing when I retired from the military so the size is coming off much faster than the weight. I dug back into my closet to the two suits I bought when I first went to work after retiring and I can wear those comfortably too. I am glad I bought the 16s to try. It gives me more assurance that what I am doing is working.

Looking back, I have been blogging for a little more than 4 months. In that time, I have lost 20 pounds.  If I am going to reach my 53 pound goal by my birthday, I have to pick up the pace a bit. I tried to do that through exercise tonight. I bumped the two mile walk up to three miles. I won't be able to do this every day but hope I can get three miles in a couple of times a week.

I also have returned to a modified version of Scarsdale. Today I had a piece of crustless quiche for breakfast, a salad for lunch and some ham, broccoli and another salad for dinner. I drank almost 64 ounces of water and hope for I can increase water intake this week also.

My current weight is 192.7. I have been this weight for three days. I hope tomorrow morning I can drop at least the .7.

//k//

S is for Staph Struggles, Sleepless, Stressed out but Still Here

August and September were just lousy months. I know that is not a great way to start my first blog post in a few weeks and it will probably seem like a bunch of excuses but that's how it is right now. First though, I am still here. I am still doing what I can to lose what I need to lose. I am holding my weight under where I was, and at times have even thought I might see 190 lbs soon...only to see the next day's reading up 3 or 4 pounds.

I got follow up results from the blood work I did and the white blood cells are back to normal or at least close to it. But I am still struggling with energy levels. My thyroid numbers are good and I am not anemic so the decision is that for now I just keep pushing forward and see if it gets better. The doc said I have to remember this was a major situation. I know it took me down hard but I am used to bouncing back faster than this. I also know that MRSA is no joke and often can linger in your system. I try not to be paranoid about it but the slightest little sore that doesn't heal quickly is a bit alarming to me still.

Top that concern off with extra work hours for year end, the stress of worrying about my mom's health (she did wonderful here with us and I will be so sad to see her go home),  woes from deceased job hours for the other half, and a rental house going empty. I guess it is no wonder I am not sleeping...can't sleep because I am exhausted and stressed and am more exhausted and stressed because I am not sleeping. It is a big circle that won't end.

But through all of this, I have maintained my walking as best as I can. Most nights, I try to walk two miles. My fitbit puts me close to 10,000 steps a day when I can get my head together enough to remember to wear it. Next week I am going to start walking in the time they will allow me to use during work hours because it is getting dark by the time I get home. If I were not walking with an infant stroller and a dog, I'd just take a flashlight but I think I will try the day time walking first since the weather is finally down in the 80s.

Sunday, my mom is going home. Sunday afternoon my plan is to hit the grocery store and restock the things I was eating on Scarsdale. I am happy I could hold my weight and not go up any further but not happy about so many weeks with no progression. I refuse to give up so the best thing for me to do is cut out the things which may be making my weight swing up and down and see if I can boost the loss again.

I will be back to regular daily blogging starting on Monday. Hope to be able to have positive results but need to be writing no matter what the result is.

//kj//