Well I'll be...

Last week I was traveling for work and was visiting a client in Northern Ontario, roughly 3 hours North of Cochrane.  When I arrived at Timmins airport and stepped outside the plane, I breathed in and my nasal hairs froze instantly.  Oh boy.  From then on I breathed through my scarf.  The outside temperature was -40C every morning, warming up to about -28C in the afternoon.  Add wind chill to that and you're at -50C.  Fun stuff.

That meant that everywhere I went there was heat blasting; in the trucks, in the buildings, in the "dorm" rooms.  Upon arrival, the ambient temperature in my room was 25C.  Holy shit.  That got lowered right away to a more comfortable 23C.

In fear of an asthma attack while up North for the week, I armed myself with a new Bricanyl inhaler, the type that I'd used for many years, but haven't had the need to use for over a year now.  I didn't need it once.  I firmly believe that eating properly has just about eliminated my asthma, though I do still experience minor wheezing at times.  It's not nearly bad enough to treat with the inhaler, anyway.

So, here I was, in awful conditions for skin and lungs.  To battle the incessant blowing/electric heat and hopefully prevent my skin from drying out, I applied some serious lotion (St. Ives Intensive Relief) to my body, morning and night.  I found it really helped and I only scratched the hell out of my skin the first night.

On the Thursday, I took my second dose of silicea as directed. Now that I'm back home in "normal" winter weather (between -3C and -10C), I've eased up on the lotion application so we'll see whether the silicea helps with skin ailments as much as it's rumoured to.  I have my hopes up! :)

I noticed yesterday that for the first time in memory I was not itchy.  Anywhere.  I've always had some spot on my being needing a scratch, like as if I had fucking fleas, but suddenly there was no itch.  Could it be??!  Will see how it goes in the next couple of days since I've virtually stopped applying the lotion.

In other good news, the corn on my left foot is gone!  The last bit of hardened skin came off during my trip and I can finally walk with a normal stride.  I'd forgotten how good that feels - why the hell did I resist this treatment so long?!  Avoiding chemicals, that's why.  At times they do good things, okay? :)

Hubby and I went for a hike through a section of our closest conservation area today, and it was so nice to walk normally, even when there were tree roots and rocks underfoot.  I gave my (left!) ankle a slight twist while jogging down a hill, but other than that it was fantastic.  Yay!!

Oh!  And, as expected, I did wheeze a bit after running up and down a couple hills in the cold air, but it wasn't severe enough to use the inhaler.  I'll always make sure I have it on me just in case anyway.

Merry xmas to meeeeeee

Christmas of 2012 was very low-key and with all the traveling I'd been doing for work, I really wasn't in the mood for shopping malls.  Never mind trying to figure out what all these people could use.  I'm done with buying them "junk" that would either be thrown into a drawer or worse.  (So they didn't like the fantastic dish-drying gloves we got them a couple years back...their loss, right??)

Anyway, my xmas present to myself this year was an Instant Pot pressure cooker -- the same one that Mark suggested on his site.  It had rave reviews on Amazon and was on sale so I went for it.  Even without paying any extra for quick shipping, it appeared at our door within a couple of business days.  After thoroughly reading the instructions and warnings I decided that chicken soup would be the first dish cooked with it.

Out came the frozen chicken thighs (bone in, skin on...duh!), celery, carrots, onion, garlic and olive oil.  The pot was washed, the veggies were prepped.  You can also saute in the cooker before adding the rest of the ingredients, so the veggies were fried in the oil for a few minutes before the (now-thawed) chicken and 8 cups of water were added.

Close and lock the lid, press the Soup button, and sit back.  I wanted to stand by to see what it would do along the way, and it performed like a pro.  It got up to temperature, then to pressure, and showed me how long it would remain at pressure; 30 minutes.  It even counted down to zero.  I was quite impressed, actually.  Once it had finished we realized that some of Lalah's curry powder mix (which we LOVE) should have been added prior to putting the lid on...so it was added at the end instead.  It was still super-yummy.

You can do it!

As stated in my last post, I had made the decision to "cut the (plantain) crack" cold turkey...and by golly, it worked!!  Sometimes the brain just takes you seriously when you tell it how it's going to be.  Amazing!

I haven't touched a single plantain chip since, and really haven't had the desire to.  I've even walked by them in the grocery store and kept going.  Determination is a wonderful thing. :)

Where do we go from here?

My mom stopped by last evening for a visit, and of course the usual subject of how good I look in my jeans/top came up...she asked what my goal weight is.  I said 140 lbs.  She knows I'm currently in the 144 range, so she then asked me what my next goal will be once I reach 140.

I didn't know what to say, because I hadn't considered that, but after a moment I said that I guess I won't really need a new goal, because my body will continue to lose the fat until it's done.  It's not like I'm starving myself, so I won't whither away completely; my body will just become optimized, I suppose.

I like that idea.

This afternoon at work I was a bit peckish (my lunch was two sausages and the leftover veggies from dinner) so I went to see if there was anything decent enough to buy from the vending machine.  Silly tit!!  Of course there wasn't anything good in there...but my eyes locked on my old nemesis Coffee Crisp for a fleeting moment.  I thought for sure I'd give in (always did before) but I didn't.  And it didn't bother me one bit.

I went back to my desk and promptly forgot about eating until I got home.  Success!

A revelation, indeed!

Last night we went grocery shopping for a few items and I practically forced myself to pick out something from the bakery section that would be that first official "oh-so-worth-it" indulgence after competing the YB program.  We brought home a Laura Secord chocolate mousse cake.  (I picked something small so that it wouldn't linger within my sight and reach for too long.)

Last night my taste buds wanted to taste it but my brain told them it was too late at night, the fast has begun, and to just shut up because they weren't getting any until tomorrow.  It actually worked!

This morning I walked (note: didn't RUN) to the fridge to have a small piece with my morning coffee.  I enjoyed eating it and did not feel the urge to have a second piece.  Holy.  Shit.

This evening, again, my taste buds are asking for something for a snack (reminding me about the cake in the fridge) but my brain has already told them to can it for the night.  Wow.  I'd say this experiment was an astounding success.  :)

Our dinner tonight was something I had intended to make for breakfast (since I worked from home today); bacon, onions, garlic and shredded sweet potato in a pan.  It was actually good!  Next time I'll cook the bacon til it's crispier, the onions until they're a little more caramelized, and the sweet potato separately so that it's more like hash browns.  Anyway, will eat again.

One! One pull-up! Ah ah ah!

Hunnybun installed the doorway chin-up bar this morning, and after testing it out with a couple of half-assed (I mean, leg-assisted!) chin-up attempts earlier, I finally did one chin-up tonight!  Ok, it wasn't pure form, but hell, I managed to pull my ass up off the floor! :D

2012 has to be the year that I incorporate more movement and lifting of heavy things into my lifestyle, which will compliment the diet changes I've already made (and continue to make).  Progress needs to continue!!

Pleased as punch!

As today is Saturday, the day I weigh in for the week to gauge my progress, I'm super-pleased to report that, even though I indulged somewhat during Christmas, my weight today was 145.0!!! I actually lost 0.6 of a pound!! Fuckin' YEAH!!!!

Successful Experiment: Eggs in Bacon Baskets

Got a couple of updates for the blog today, and the first is to proudly show off our eggs-in-bacon-baskets! :D

Successful Experiment: Cauliflower Rice

While it wasn't perfect, it sure was tasty! It went well with the slow-cooked ribs I made in the crock pot with beef broth and pork soup broth from last week. NOM.


Once again, Mom was impressed. :)

Successful Experiment: First Time Frying in the Cast Iron Pan

For my birthday this past September I had asked my parents to buy me a cast iron frying pan, and my hopes were to become a cooking expert with this "pro" tool. (laughs) After reading many different instructions on the 'net for seasoning this thing properly, we finally decided to DO it...IN DECEMBER!

We put it through only one 'round' of seasoning and time ran out and we just haven't gotten around to continuing for 5 more rounds. I've been reading that some people also say to just start using it (provided there's no rust in the cooking area), so today that's what I decided to do.

Today is Sunday, which is bacon 'n eggs day. I got the pan out, heated it up (I also read that there are two keys to preventing food from sticking; the pan has to be hot enough, and there has to be enough fat in there), and tossed the bacon in.

Once the bacon was done (and the fat was drained once part-way through), the eggs went in. Now I was pretty nervous about the eggs, because they would be much more likely to stick, so I kept a close eye on the grease and the heat. Luckily, they didn't stick all that much and I was able to lift off what did stick. Yay!

Then when the eggs came out, I added a couple more tablespoons of bacon fat and a bunch of sliced cremini mushrooms, and tossed those around for a few minutes. YUM.

In the end, the pan is free of stuck food and the oil just needs to be dumped. Then I'll wipe it down with paper towel and it'll be ready for next time.

W00t!