Eat to Live not Live to Eat Day 3

I must say I'm a little disappointed. Weighing myself this morning wasn't what I expected. I thought I would be down another pound. I wasn't. I stayed the same. Still, I'm down 2.5 pounds for the week. In Dr. Fuhrman's book, some people have lost up to 10 pounds in one week. I also read a blog about a woman who lost 7 pounds in her first week. This was what I expected when I began my journey two days ago. Now I know I shouldn't be tied to the scale, but I'm afraid if I don't weigh myself every day I might slide in the wrong direction. I need to be more patient. It is only my third day.

I wonder though if the Kind Nuts & Spice bar, the salad dressing, and the black bean soup had anything to do with it. I still remained within my daily points for Weight Watchers. Hmmm. Could my body be reacting to the new healthy food? Could my body be holding on to the fat because it thinks I'm starving? Some things to think about.

This morning I ate my overnight oats. They were delicious. I think I'm going to stick with these for the summer and when I go back to school. I can take them with me and eat them before class since I'm not hungry before I head out the door. I shared the idea with my Weight Watchers group tonight. Many of the members said they would give it a try. I also spoke to my WW leader and told her I was concerned about not using all of my daily points. She said as long as I was eating clean she wasn't worried about it. Whew!

For lunch, I made my salad, mixed greens, carrots, and cucumbers. I used Olive Garden Lite Italien dressing (1 WW point). I didn't make it as huge as the ones I had eaten on day one and two. Those salads were a little much for me to get through if you can believe it. It was still a large salad, but one I could handle eating. I figure if I'm still hungry after eating my salad I'll just make another one. One was enough. I also had some cantaloupe. However, by late afternoon I was hungry. My stomach growled for the first time since I began this journey.  Maybe my salad wasn't big enough. I didn't want to eat a whole lot since I was going back to Weight Watchers for the first time in months. I knew I would show weight gain, but I didn't want it to be too horrible. I decided to have a 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds since Dr. Fuhrman says that's what I can have a day. That did the trick.

For dinner, I ate my salad, mixed greens, carrots, and cucumbers. I also heated up some green beans. I just love green beans. Seriously. Hubby thinks I'm nuts. For dessert, I ate a banana.

I ate two salads. Check. I ate four fruits. Check, check. I drank a ton of water today. Check, check, check. I'm feeling pretty good about my day. All though I may have to learn to cook. I'm not too creative when it comes to fixing cooked veggies. I boil them in water.

Eat to Live not Live to Eat Day 2

Day number two of my eating to live lifestyle. I lost 2.5 pounds! Overnight! YEAH! I had to get that off my chest. So today I decided to try something new for breakfast that I found on Pinterest. It's called overnight oats. Here's what they look like. (I borrowed this photo from Pinterest and I added the link just under the picture. The blog is called Organize Yourself Skinny.)

Blueberry Banana Overnight Oats

According to Dr. Fuhrman, I can have 1/2 a cup of rolled oats a day so this follows the plan. I changed mine up a bit though. All I did was add 1/2 a cup of rolled oats, 1/2 a cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1/2 a cup of blueberries, and 1/2 a sliced banana. That's it! I sealed it up and placed it in the fridge. I actually didn't wait overnight. I only waited about two hours. They were really good. If you count smart points on Weight Watchers it added up to 5 points for the oats. The rest were zero. I don't think that's too bad for a breakfast. And it stuck with me. I actually had to remind myself to eat later. Tonight I'm going to make one for my breakfast tomorrow and see if there's a difference.

Tuesdays are my hubby's day off and it was extremely HOT both outside and inside the house. We really need to think about air conditioning. Anyway, we decided to head to the beach. Just the two of us, our chairs, towels, sunscreen, and suits. Notice I didn't say food. I was still feeling satisfied from my overnight oats and didn't think to take anything with me. Later that afternoon I realized I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. We stopped to get bottled water for the drive home and hubby grabbed me a Kind Nuts & Spices bar.  If you haven't tried these they are amazing. However, they are 7 Weight Watchers points. I decided that would be my lunch. No salad. 

For dinner that night hubby wanted to go to Panera. I ordered a Pick Two: a cup of black bean soup (there's my beans for the day) and a southwest salad without the tortilla chips or cheese. I did have the salad dressing though. Ooops! I haven't been getting in my cup of beans a day.

At home, we watched some TV and I was still hot so I made a blueberry and banana smoothie. YUM! It's 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1 cup of blueberries, and 1 banana. Weight Watchers points 1. I need to get more variety in my fruit. 

I didn't really stick to the plan today. I only had the one salad and no cooked vegies. I wonder how that's going to affect me tomorrow. I guess I'll find out. Oddly enough what I did eat was enough to keep me satisfied for the day. 

Eating to Live not Living to Eat

I finished reading Dr. Fuhrman's book called Eat to Live on Friday. There was a ton of information. It took me about three days to finish reading it, in between everything else going on in my life. This book made sense to me. It was like someone turned on the light switch. I told my hubby that back when I was eating less meat and more veggies (5 years ago) I felt better. Then I took a nose dive and began eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. So I joined Weight Watchers. It has really helped me stay on track. I love our leader, Lynn. However, the stress from this past year at school made me lose track of myself again. So I wanted to do something to recommit myself to getting healthier. That's why I picked up the book Eat to Live. After reading this book I'm ready to eat healthy once again. Not to say I won't have a cheat day NOW and THEN. And it's okay to have a cheat day as long as I get back to eating healthy the next day or sooner.

In a nutshell, the Eat to Live plan says I can have all of the raw and cooked vegetables that I want. Dr. Fuhrman wants me to shoot for a goal of one pound of each a day. As far as fruit goes . . . wait for it . . . I can have as much fruit as I want each day, a minimum of four servings. I've never been told I can have as much fruit as I want. Usually, diets say to limit the fruit intake. Following the Eat to Live plan is what's known as being a nutritarian, getting all the nutrients my body needs from nutrient rich foods. 

Here are the Daily Guidelines:

Eat these as much as I want:

• all raw vegetables (goal 1 lb.)
• cooked green and non-green nutrient-rich vegetables (goal: 1 lb.)
• beans, legumes, bean sprouts, and tofu (goal: 1 cup)
• fresh fruit (min. 4 daily)

Limit:

• cooked starchy vegetables and whole grains (max. 1 cup)
• raw nuts and seeds (max 1 oz.)
• avocado (max 2 oz.)
• dried fruit (max 2 tbsp.)
• ground flaxseeds (max 1 tbsp.)

Do Not Eat:

• dairy
• meat / Animal products
• between-meal snacks
• fruit juice
• oils
• added salt

Yesterday was the beginning of eating to live for me. I have to admit I was a little nervous. Could I stick with it? Would I want to snack in the afternoon? If so how would I handle it? 

I began my day as I normally would with my cup of coffee and sitting on my back porch. I'm not usually a breakfast eater. By the way, Dr. Fuhrman says if I'm not hungry I don't have to eat. All though I do want to try making overnight oats in a jar. I'll talk about that later. 

For lunch, I fixed an enormous salad: a mix of greens, carrots, cucumbers, celery, sunflower seeds, and poppy seed dressing from Panera Bread. I'm not supposed to have the dressing, but according to Weight Watchers, it is only 1 point for 2 tablespoons. The sunflower seeds were 6 points. It was difficult to get through the entire salad. However, I did feel full afterward. Not stuffed - satisfied. 

For a snack, I made a smoothie in my blender. I had been outside weeding in my flower garden and thought an icy drink would hit the spot. In my mind, this replaced my breakfast since I'm not supposed to be snacking. I blended one cup of frozen blueberries, one medium banana, and one cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk. I sipped my smoothie while I sat in my chair enjoying the sunshine. I wonder if I got ANY vitamin D since I was covered in SPF 30. My smoothie was delicious! As far as Weight Watchers points go I only counted the almond milk. One cup is 1 point. So far so good. The hardest part of my day was yet to come.

Sitting in front of the television is a trigger for me. In other words sitting on my couch mindlessly watching my show is when I want to snack on a whole bag of chips carrot sticks. Seriously, I watch an afternoon soap, General Hospital. I usually watch my show right when I come home from school where I teach ninth graders. Today, I watched my show and nibbled on some delicious cherries. It wasn't easy. I so wanted some a whole bag of tortilla chips with hummus. I had one cup of cherries. So far I've had a banana, blueberries, and cherries. One more fruit to go for the day and I hit my minimum. Notice I haven't had any cooked veggies yet.

For dinner, I cooked some green beans and fixed another huge salad. Pretty much the same salad as lunch minus the sunflower seeds and celery. My hubby had pizza. The turd! I ate all of my green beans and most of my salad. I was feeling kind of stuffed. So I stopped eating. What a concept. 

While watching the Cavs game I wanted something to munch on so I had my fourth and final fruit of the day, cantaloupe. Yum! 

I made it! I actually did it! I know. I know. It's only the FIRST day. But I feel good. Not as nervous as I did when I first began this morning. I only used 9 WW points for the day. 

P.S. When I weighed myself this morning I lost 2.1 pounds!!! WOOT!

This Week in My Erin Condren Life Planner

I know when I hit August my life picks up speed again. My summer days, slow-moving and restful, are coming to a close. Football two-a-days and marching band practice begin in earnest. In fact, as of Monday we only have 24 days of summer left before school begins.

The first half of my week so far.

The second half of my week.

I hope everyone has a beautiful week. It looks like we might finally get some rain in Vermilion this week. I hope so. My flowers and yard need it. 

Shops tagged on Instagram. 

If you would like to purchase your own Erin Condren Life Planner here is my code for $10 off your first purchase.

Hugs,

HopeAnn

A Stroll Around Vermilion

Before it got too hot today,  I strolled through Vermilion in order to get my steps in on my Fitbit. I actually achieved just over 8,000 steps. Here are some photos I snapped along my way. Well, mostly views from the bridge. 

We have volunteers who water all of the flowers and plants around town. Aren't they beautiful along the bridge?

Looking south on the Vermilion River, you can see some of the marinas that dot the riverbank.

I just love the shadow of the bridge as I look north. The rooftop in the distance to the right is Quaker Steak and Lube. The restaurant boasts a nice patio where people can dine while looking out at the boats traveling up and down the river. Boaters can dock at the restaurant.

With all of the sailboats in a row, it looks like a coastal town that you might find in Main. Some visitors have even said that Vermilion reminds them of Cape Cod.

Vermilion also has paddle boards and kayaks for rent if you're up for an adventure on the river or even the lake.

 I walked from the bridge down River Road to the Vermilion High School. My son Michael plays the bass drum in the marching band. This week the kids are attending band camp. The kids looked hot and shortly after I arrived received a welcome water break and some shade.

Walking is such good exercise. Do you ever have a difficult time getting started? I do. But once I get going and look at everything around me, I really do enjoy it.

Hugs,

HopeAnn

A Summertime Moment with Mom

I have to say that so far my summer has been a relaxing one, even with Michael's busy schedule filled with football and band practices. Not to mention his driving lessons. And of course, I have been going to school once a week to prepare for next year.  Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of my days, I forget to slow down and enjoy the moment.

Well, last week I enjoyed spending a moment with Mom.  We drove up to Lakeside and Marblehead. Now Lakeside is a Methodist community where visitors must pay $36 per person (during the months between June and September) to enjoy the quaint shops, restaurants, and beaches. It is well worth it. However, people can visit for free if they purchase something at one of the shops or eat at one of the restaurants and only stay for an hour and a half.

Because we weren't going to spend the entire day in Lakeside, we chose to park outside of the gate and ride the shuttle (golf cart) to the local shops. One of Mom's favorite places is Ooh La La! It's a small pastry, sandwich, and ice cream shop. Mom has been there so often that they know her by name and her order.

I decided on the homemade spinach, mushroom, and swiss quiche. It was delicious. Mom chose a turkey sandwich. While eating we enjoyed some of the artwork on the walls. People can actually purchase the paintings and photographs. After we ate we strolled through the small streets where golf carts and bicycles were abundant. We window shopped and popped into a few places where Mom knew the proprietors. With only five minutes before we had to leave, we called the shuttle from the historical, victorian Lakeside Hotel where they came to pick us up and drive us back to the main gate and my car.

Mom and I drove on to Marblehead to visit some of the shops. One of our stops was at Martha and Molly's. The shop carries clothes, home goods, and children's wear. I bought two scarves and Mom bought a dress.

Our next stop brought us to the Rocky Point Winery. The winery has indoor seating, patio seating, and seating around the yard. We chose to sit outside at a picnic table. It was such a beautiful day. One of the last before the heat and humidity moved into the lake area. That's Ohio weather.

Mom and I ordered a flight and a cheese plate with crackers. The flight contained both red and white wines. Mom loves the reds and I enjoy the whites, so it worked out perfectly. 

Cheers! I tried the Pink Catawba first. It was a sweet, crisp, and refreshing on a warm day. My favorite was the Pinot Grigio. I think I'm getting better at my selfies.

 After drinking our wine and enjoying our snack, we thought we should take a stroll. We headed for the Marblehead Lighthouse. That's it behind me in yet another selfie. Not as happy with this selfie. Oh well.

The Lighthouse has been here for as long as I can remember. When it's open people can climb to the top of the lighthouse, plus they can visit the lighthouse keeper's home. There were quite a few people out enjoying the sunshine and cool breeze from the lake.

We walked all the way around the grounds and down onto the rocks. The water was so blue.

 I was a little surprised how well Mom traversed the rocks. Usually, Mom and Jim bring their chairs with them to sit on the rocks and look out at the water and boats. Unfortunately, we didn't have the chairs with us. But we still made the best of it.

This tree is growing right in the rocks.

Mom thought she'd be funny and pretend to push the tree over. 

We weren't the only ones climbing around on the rocks. In fact, I had just said a moment before that I had never seen any rats at the lake because we heard people talking about them. I usually run into snakes. YUCK! I'm terrified of snakes. Luckily we didn't see any of those. Mom was facing me and I was taking her photo when something ran right our from under the rocks. It was lightning fast and brown. I took Mom's arm and said walk toward me. I wasn't sure what I saw. It came scurrying out from the rocks again. Thankfully the tail was furry. 

Mom turned around and we watched a family of minks dart in and out between the rocks. They were so quick. I was lucky to get a photo of one. He looks big in the picture, but I enlarged it in orde to see him better. He was actually quite tiny. Several other people came to watch them leap and bound around the rocks.

I had such a wonderful outing with my Mom. We always have fun together. It was a summer moment spent shopping, drinking refreshing wine, and enjoying the beauty around us. It was a moment to take it all in and breathe before going back to the hustle and bustle. And to enjoy some of my last summer days before school begins in August.

I hope you have some wonderful moments to enjoy this summer.

Hugs,

HopeAnn

Totally Forgot to Plan

Good morning! While my coffee was perking away in my Keurig, I glanced down at my planner only to notice that I was still on last week's spread. Yikes! I forgot to plan for this week. I usually work on my planner on Sundays to get it ready for the next week. I was so busy working on my new crochet bag that I forgot to plan. The pattern for the bag is from Lucy at Attic 24. I'll post some pics when I have it finished. I've just got to attach the handles and add the flowers. 

Back to my original post. Here is this week's spread. The stickers are from Sweet Kawaii Design, and Just Scrap It Stickers. 

Crocheted Market Bag

I've been spending some of my summer days sitting on my back porch crocheting. It's so relaxing and it keeps me from stuffing food in my mouth. This market bag is a pattern that I found here. The yarn is Lang Yarns that I purchased in Switzerland while on vacation.

My New Erin Condren Life Planner

Hello Friends!

It's almost the new year and with it comes New Year's resolutions. Once again, I've decided to get more organized with my life. So, I jumped in with both feet and purchased my first Erin Condren Life Planner. WOOT! I could hardly contain my excitement when it arrived at my door. Sorry I'm not including the unpacking, which so many planner people do. I'm still a newbie to the planning world. I was able to customize it with my name, choice of colors, and the quote. I wish the colors would pop more in this picture. The colors are robin egg blue and choral, in case your curious.

Now you may remember, I was using a Filofax. The reason I originally went with Filofax was because it could fit in my purse, which made it nice to carry around with me. Plus, I could refill the pages year after year. Good on the pocketbook and good for the environment. However, I didn't like the daily spread and having to print out and cut all of my pages. I know I could have purchased the pages, but I was trying to save money. Remember? I hated it! The planner that is. It became a chore. As a result, I stopped using it. Oh and also because the clasp melted one summer day and I couldn't fix it. ERGH!

So why the change? After all, the Erin Condren Life Planner isn't cheap. Plus it's quite a bit larger and won't fit so neatly in my purse. My friend used the planner this past year, and I was so jealous. I loved the pop of bright colors. I loved the uplifting quote on the cover. I loved the monthly tabs. I loved the monthly calendar at the beginning of each section. I loved how each month had its own color scheme. I loved how there was room to write. I loved the stickers. But, I didn't love the vertical spread.

As it so happens, Erin Condren listened to her customers, who didn't care for the vertical design, and created a horizontal spread for the Life Planner. YEAH! That sealed the deal for me. My planner came with the month of November and December, so I had some time to practice before the new year. I'm still practicing. I haven't been a planner girl since I was in school. Ahem. Long time ago.

This is the first layout I'm willing comfortable to share. It's not perfect, but it works for me. I'm still figuring out what I need to write down each week to help me stay on top of things. When it comes to decorating, I'm still a newbie there too. There are so many people our there in the planner world who have beautiful decorated planners. Do you know how many "Plan With Me" videos I've watched? My hubby thinks I'm obsessed. With that said, I've decided to keep my planner functional and simple.

Each day has the weather marked at the top. It helps me plan what to wear for the day. My "To Do" list for each day is in the box to the right. Aren't the cute heart check boxes cute? So are the washing machine stickers. The washing machines remind me which load of laundry to complete for the day. I find if I do one load a day it's easier to keep up with, especially in the summer when I'm hanging clothes on the line to dry. Since it was Christmas week I included a countdown to Christmas using snowflake stickers. I'll post links below to the Etsy shops where I purchased the stickers.

Isabella has been keeping me company on the couch while I work write in my planner and write this blog post.

Here is this week's spread. Not a whole lot going on this week. I'm on Christmas break. Ah! I've so needed some time off to spend with family. I think my students were also looking forward to some time off. They've been working so hard this year. I hope they come back refreshed and ready to dive back in.

Well here's hoping that my Erin Condren Life Planner helps me stay motivated to keep planning and following through with those plans to help keep my life a little more organized. Do you use a planner? If so which one works best for you? I'd love to hear from you.

Happy New Year!

Blessings and Hugs,
HopeAnn

P.S. My mom gave me a new purse for Christmas that my Erin Condren Life Planner fits in perfectly. Problem solved.

Links to Etsy shops:
Rory's Sweet Addictions weather stickers, heart check boxes, snowmen, weekend and half boxes

Planner Press washing machines

My holiday stickers came from Meijer's

Disclaimer: I am in no way advertising for Erin Condren or any of the shops on Etsy. I'm just sharing the love.

My Summer Round Up

It's been awhile since I've posted on my blog. I thought I would share some photos of the fun times we've had so far this summer.

Matt has a new job as the manager of the Vermilion Yacht Club. On Memorial Day they had a huge celebration.

Matt stands at the ready to raise the flag. 

Michael played the bass drum in the Vermilion Sailor Band.
The band was brought over on the Mystic Belle to play at VYC.

Michael and Matt after the picnic

Michael helped Matt fire the cannon for each captain
 as part of the Memorial Day ceremony.

Once school was out for summer, Michael went to Ohio State Football Camp. This year he stayed in the dorms. The camp was three days.

We're waiting in line for registration.
We were told that there was a total of 700 campers attending.

Mirror Lake

This was the introduction of the coaches in the Woody Hayes Facility.
Two of my students from Perkins also attended.

Michael spent most of his time in the Shoe. The "Bigs" worked on drills well into the evening.
But they did have time for some fun too.

Playing football in the Shoe.

Sorry it's a bit blurry. Coach Meyer spoke to the players on their first day at camp.

In June some of the ladies of the VYC held a Tea party. Each hostess designed a table for the guests who would be sitting with her. To start things off there was a raffle. While at our seats we learned Tea Party etiquette. The food and tea was divine.

Some of the items to be raffled

Michael has his eye on one of the items to be raffled. It better not be the martini set.

The men's table

We could bring our own tea cup and tea pot if we chose.

The ladies who attended the VYC Tea Party

This June Michael and I had the opportunity to travel to Tennessee with my brother Bobby and his family. It had been a long time since I had visited Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Here are a few photos from our trip.

Michael's holding a Sugar Glider. We so wanted to bring this little guy home with us.

Back row: Bobby, Michael, HopeAnn, and Jodi
Front row: Kourtney, Kaitlyn, and Krystal

The Three Musketeers 

Go Bucks! O-H-I-O

Me and my brother

Michael suits up to zip line.

Melissa, Krystal, Kaitlyn, Kourtney, and Michael

They flew on Goliath, the highest zip line on the course.

You're never to old.

On top of Old Smokey

Mining for gems

Whew! Once we returned from our vacation, Michael was off to football conditioning and then the dreaded two-a-days in August. This summer has flown by so fast.