Spaghetti Squash with Pesto

I finally decided to make spaghetti squash! I've been wanting to try it for a long time, and finally had a little extra time tonight. I found a recipe to make it with pesto and thought I'd photograph the process. 

First, cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and insides. 

Brush some Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the squash and place on a baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. My recipe said 45 minutes, but it was a little on the crunchy side, so next time, I'll bake it longer. 

Once baked, gently scrape the insides out with a fork, and into a bowl.

There are plenty of recipes for home made pesto, but I opted for the convenience of buying it ready made. I LOVE the sun dried tomato flavor. 

Mix some pesto in with the squash, add chopped tomato, avocado, and shredded Parmesan cheese if desired. This is an easy recipe that looks and tastes great! Take the time and enjoy!

Just Keep Going...

It's only been a few days since I'm started; this blog, being healthier, etc. I'm down 1.6 pounds. Some folks may not see that as a lot, but one thing I always remember is a Weight Watchers sponsor telling us at a meeting years ago; look at a stick of butter. That's a 1/4 pound. So again, 1.6 pounds may not seem a lot, but it's slightly more than 6 sticks of butter. Use that as a little perspective the next time you're not happy about a small weight loss number. Just keep going. I know I need to. 

Where's Your Will Power?

Good Afternoon, All! So I went grocery shopping the other night, and it just reminded me HOW EXPENSIVE healthy produce costs! Oh, my word, I don't make a ton of money, so this will be another challenge all on its own. :) I bought some good stuff, though.

My sister has been raving about this fresh salad she has been making. I tried it out myself, and it was delightful! I ate the whole thing, which is okay since it's a very healthy and filling meal. It can be split in to a couple different meals, though, too.

Here are the ingredients:

Any type of tomato
Avocado
Cucumber
Feta Cheese Crumbles
Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Chop the ingredients to any preferred size, and mix together with the Feta and the dressing. You can eat straight out of the bowl, put it in a pita, or a wrap, or I put mine on a big lettuce leaf to have as a lettuce wrap. If you'd like, you can add green onions and alfalfa sprouts, too.

I have always had the habits of overeating, and late night eating. I still struggle with it at times. I live alone, so when I cook a meal, it seems to be fit for an army of people. I guess I get that from my mom. She likes to prepare big meals for the family and then there are leftovers. Leftovers are great, unless you are me. I have this weird habit of making, for example, a big pot of Chicken Broccoli Alfredo, and I would eat 1-2 servings at first, put the rest away, and it always seems like an hour later, my brain is centered around this delicious dish in the fridge and I feel like I have to eat more. I want to quit this behavior for obvious reasons, so I have done a few things to hopefully help me out:

I began buying various "detox" items to put in my water. Apparently lemons/limes are good for suppressing your appetite. 

I found this list of benefits on Pinterest (Such a useful and addictive site!)

I also made this "Motivation Board." I put it right next to the handle as a visual reminder if the importance of staying on track. Another idea from Pinterest. :)

And I haven't actually started this yet, but I will also be tracking my progress visually with jars and stones...

...and my "Pounds to Lose" jar will be much fuller at the start. :)

Those are just a few thoughts for the day. I am very fortunate to have such a great support system in my family. I talk to my sister daily, and it's great to have someone to discuss this with and not feel like I'm being judged. So no matter how you feel about yourself, remember that no one loves you as much as your family. Don't try this alone. Involve them. Let them know your goals. They will be there as your support system, too, because your health is what is important to every member in your family. If you have kids, grandkids, anyone you love, get started and you'll be around a long time to come. 

No More Excuses

Another excellent motivational piece. Look for more motivations and healthy recipes as I find them.

You ARE What You Eat

I have always been a person who would hide what I was eating from people. It was something that I would stupidly rationalize; "If no one sees me eat it, then it's like I didn't actually eat it." Like eating healthy in front of others was enough, but when I was alone, I threw all good sense out and binged. Bad move. I recently found this saying and LOVE it! It's so true!

Let's Get Started...AGAIN!!!

I am starting this blog to help track my struggles and thoughts as I embark on my weight-loss journey...again. 

Here's a little background on me:

I am that girl. The girl who grew up being bullied for her weight. The girl who has struggled since childhood. The girl who uses the pain from her past as an excuse to hide from her future. 

I don't want to be her anymore. I recently read a packet from a program for losing weight and the main question this program asks is "What is your why?" In other words, why is losing weight important to me? I have so, so many reasons. The first? So I can finally stop hating myself. 

All those years back in school, elementary, junior and senior high, I felt inadequate. I was made fun of for being fat. I had been dubbed several hurtful names, like "Porky," "Big Bertha," and "Maier, 95 Acres" (this name came from the slogan of the department store, 'Meijer, 50 Acres', my last name is 'Maier', and the 95 was from wearing my brother's hand-me-down jacket with his graduating year '95 on it). Nice, huh?  I thought so. I did my best to ignore it, but unfortunately, I grew to believe they were right. Going through my final years at DHS, I was a size 14. At the time, I felt fat because that's apparently how everyone felt. Now, I wish I was that size again. I grew over the years to a size 20, and only a short time since graduating high school nearly 14 years ago did I lose weight and get back to that size 14. I was working at a year round special needs camp, 14 hour days, with non-stop activity. I cut out my biggest problem, which was/still is late night eating, never took second helpings for any meal, and I completely cut out sweets. I lost 52 pounds that first year. I ran a mile non-stop for the first time ever in life at the age of 25. I pushed myself. I was swimming a mile a day in the indoor pool, running up to six miles at a time. I completed my first and so far ONLY triathlon. I felt great, I told myself to remember that feeling. I told myself to never let it go...

Then I moved to another camp back in my home state. The stress was unbelievable. I saw my family less living an hour from them than when I was 10 hours away in another state! I turned to food. For stress relief, for comfort, whatever the reason. I lost my way. 

I ended up moving back to that special needs camp and dropped weight again, not as much this time, but enough that I was feeling a little better about myself again. I stayed a total of eight years at this place and though I don't regret going there at all, my final two years there were not happy ones. I was promoted, but not receiving benefits to all the extra work I had to put in, and the stress began to pile to levels I couldn't comprehend. It was depressing and my health was not getting better, but worse. My finances were suffering, as was my credit score. I would be on the phone with various family members daily, crying my stress out. There were days I dreaded my job and stopped giving the 110% I had always given before. That was the moment I knew. It was time to move again.  

I have been home for a little over two years now. My weight has come to an all time high, but other aspects of my life have gotten better. I love my job. I work for the family business, a driver education school as the Office Administrator, and I am also a certified instructor and teach classes whenever I am needed to. Sure, there are days of stress, but it's manageable. In just the short time of being back near family, I have improved my credit score. That's a wonderful feeling, because I am actually making enough to keep up with my bills! I have flexibility in my life. I have moved into my grandmother's house and will be attempting to take out a loan this spring to make it an official purchase. Hope that credit score is high enough! ;) Otherwise, my amazing family is allowing me to make "Rent-to-Own" payments to them, so even if I'm not ready for the loan yet, I am still buying this house. 

I can happily say that since so many parts of my life make sense now, it's time to focus on the only two things that I am unhappy with; my weight, and my love life. I know now that my weight is a crutch, and I use it as an excuse to lock myself up away from meeting new people. It is time for a change. And this change I speak of brings me back to my reason for starting this blog. If I am successful, I hope this will help to motivate others to make similar positive changes in their lives. If I'm not, maybe others will learn from my mistakes. So thank you for reading, thanks for your support. I hope to reach those of you out there who think you are alone and to tell you that you are definitely not.