The Naturally Thin Project - Part 3

On to the next step on my journey with the Naturally Thin plan by Bethenny Frankel.

 

The second 'rule' in this plan is "You Can Have It All, Just Not All at Once".

DANG and I thought I could just eat and eat and eat and not see any consequences.

 

Join me on this next step on may way to changing my thinking about eating and dieting.

 

Bethenny's point with the Naturally Thin plan and with this rule is that 'dieting' is not helping us.

Most diet plans ban certain foods so we feel deprived. I WANT that cupcake, or Twinkie or chocolate bar but my 'diet' says NO WAY.

Enter anger, hunger, feelings of deprivation. No wonder most of us can't follow a restrictive plan.

 

Bethenny says we CAN have chocolate, or cake or mashed potatoes. BUT we can't eat a pound of chocolate, half a cake or a pan full of potatoes.

 Moderation is the key here people.

First think about what you want. Do you want some potatoes with your dinner AND dessert?

Then you will have to cut both of the portions on those two treats way back.

How about you eat the taters but then only have a bite or two of someone else's dessert. (Ask first or you may get a fork stabbed into your hand).

Or reverse this and just take a bite or two of someone else's cheese filled potato dish and then eat a scrumptious dessert.

 

Are you seeing the point of this rule?

It was hard for me to grasp as I am definitely of the "I want it all" mindset and thought I would feel deprived looking at food thru the eyes of Rule # 2.

 

 On the contrary, I know I can taste whatever I want and determine where I want to use my "bank account" points for the day on.

 Today, I may want that Salted Caramel Cupcake from the local cupcakery and tomorrow I may want a nice piece of bread with a nice helping of butter.

Or, if I am making a cake or cupcakes for a client, I can taste the icing as needed to ensure I am giving them the best I can give.

No guilt, no kicking myself the rest of the day. A taste or two and move on.

 

There is LOADS more involved in this rule, but this is my take on it. I know that I have to think about what I want to eat, whether is it worth using my daily expenditures from my food bank account, and whether I  really hungry or just bored, sad or lonely.

 

Sounds easy right? Well, I can report that it has been easy for me.

I lost another 1.1 lbs this week which is a BIG thing for me since the older I get, the harder it is to lose. So this little engine that can is still chugging along.

 

Next week I will take a look at the Rule # 3, so I hope you will be back to check in then.

 

Until next time.....keep on creating.

 

If you want to check out previous posts in this series:

 

A new way to eat...

Eating Naturally Thin - Part 2

 

 

Photography Skills

A few months ago I let you all in on a secret - I took an online photography class to learn more about my digital camera. Check out the original post here.

I have been an avid amateur photographer since I was a kid back in the dark ages - when little instamatic cameras and Polaroids were all the rage. In college I took a photography class and splurged on a Canon AE 1 and really learned how to shoot great pictures. I used that camera for years taking pictures of my babies, who turned into toddlers, and all the way up until about the time they graduated from high school.

AHHHH those were the days of rolls (and rolls) of film piled up in a drawer just waiting for someone to send them away to be developed. Then enter the digital age, when I received a little Sony digital camera as a gift to use to take pictures of my grandkids. That made me happy for a few years because it took great pictures without having to do much more than push the little button. SNAP, CLICK and DONE.

I wasn't satisfied tho and I bought a better camera to take on a mission trip to Alaska. I mean I NEEDED a better camera for there right? I had always loved my Canon AE 1 so I decided to get another Canon and went with a DSLR (HMMMM can't remember which one right now). No more little tiny digital for me. Oh no I looked sharp with my big camera and it did take good pictures. GOOD not great. But why was that?

HMMMM could it be that I was stuck on Auto mode on my camera? I gave up trying to figure out all the settings a nice Canon offered when my kids were little and I thought it was much easier to just leave it on Auto and continue the SNAP, CLICK and DONE way of shooting pics that I was used to. But now, ALL these years later I decided to relearn what I knew back in the 80's. How to think about the settings on my camera and change them up to get the BEST pictures possible.

Since my original post, I did go out and get myself the Canon 3ti and I LOVE it. I rarely put it on auto, and intead use the M (manual) setting most of the time. I have taken some GREAT shots and then some NOT SO GREAT shots. But that is where my newest obsession comes in. Photoshop. I LOVE IT. When I don't quite get the settings right on my camera, I upload them to Photoshop and do a little creative editing.

Is Photoshop cheating? Doctoring up the original shot to fake it being a GREAT right out of the camera shot?  I don't think so, but then I was really lousy at figuring it out and wasn't doing much changing anyway. So I once again turned to the guys at ShootFlyShoot for some help. They have a great Photoshop Elements 10 class that starts with the very basic functions and takes you through some pretty amazing tutorials on creating wonderful photos. I am having such fun turning my so-so pictures into something I am proud to share with others. The classes are quick and easy to understand and if a 'not so tech savvy' gal like me can do it so can you.

I will be sharing some of my before and afters on here soon, but in the meantime, if you want to know more about how to shoot great pictures or how to clean them up a little, just click on the button to the right to find out more. I think you will be amazed at what you can learn in just a few short lessons.

If you pop on over and take the ShootFlyShoot classes, let me know what you think.

Until next time....keep on creating.

Sunday Morning

 

 

Looking forward to the Worship in the Woods experience this morning and spending time with good friends.

 

How are you spending your Sunday?

Eating Naturally Thin - Part 2

I am working very hard to continue on a healthy eating lifestyle once and for all. I just completed my third week on the Naturally Thin plan from Bethenny Frankel. Check out my original post about the start of my journey.

Today I am going to give my thoughts and experiences on the first of ten tips.

1, Your Diet Is A Bank Account

The way I understand it is that we start each day with a certain amount of food in our account. Kinda like a budget amount. Bethenny stresses that her plan is not a DIET but a lifestyle and I agree with her. I do, however, think that rule 1 is about the closest her plan comes to a true diet plan like Weight Watchers.

BUT the difference is that there is no counting or tallying. This plan is a little more fluid. Some diet plans forbid certain foods - carbs, or sweets or who knows what else.

With this plan, I can choose to eat whatever I want but balancing it out during the rest of the day. Kinda like my checking account. I know I can't go on an all out spending spree or I will be bouncing checks all over town.

That check bouncing equals added weight if I overdraw my food account for the day.

I lost another 1.4 pounds this week and that was TOTALLY without depriving myself.

 I allowed myself to share a cupcake with a friend - TWICE.

I had lunch with co-workers at a Japanese Steak house.

I had ice cream.

You heard me right, I worked all of that in this week by balancing out my food throughout the day.

When I wanted a cupcake I ate a BIG salad light on the dressing.

When I knew I was going out to lunch, I toned back my dinner plans and had more fruits and veggies.

This really is a great way to look at your daily intake and plan ahead for any treats you want during the day.

Well that is all for this week. I hope you learn a little from these posts, but I definitely recommend you get the Naturally Thin book by Bethenny Fankel to learn all of the details of the Bank Account tip.

Until next time....

Keep on Creating.

Friendship Friday - a day late

Join in on the fun of Friendship Friday

The question of the week to help you get to know your fellow bloggers is this:

What makes your home town unique?
Share some fun facts about where you live
At this week’s Friendship Friday!

Hmmmm unique? Not sure it is unique, but I live in the capital city of our great state.

One of the most famous zoo's or at least zoo spokesperson in the US with his frequent visits on national TV.

A major college town with a pro hockey team that calls this place home.

So there you have it... a lil about my home town....well my adopted home town anyway.

Until next time....

Keep on Creating!

A new way to eat....

We all know:

• HOW we should eat (not until we burst)....
• WHAT we should eat (heavy on the veggies)...
• WHERE we should or shouldn't eat (not in front of TV)...

So why do Americans struggle so with obesity? I am not here to say I am an expert. Maybe a semi-expert on losing and regaining weight, but not on knowing the secret to getting to and staying at a healthy weight.

Enter Bethenny Frankel and her Naturally Thin plan (not diet) and the book of the same name.

Say what you will about Bethenny, you may love her or hate her, but her thoughts on healthy eating and being 'naturally thin' are really resonating with me. I have been following her rules for the last two weeks and am down about 3 lbs. You have NO idea how thrilled I am because it is super easy for me to gain weight but OH SO HARD to lose it since I turned  the big 50.

What is the secret behind Bethenny's plan???? Pretty much all the tips we already know with a few new twists thrown in, Basically it is more or less eating mindfully. I can do that...... It means I don't have to feel deprived or hungry. It means I just pay more attention to the cues my body is giving me about what I want and if I am REALLY hungry or just bored, sad, tired or anxious.

I will be posting more in the coming weeks on this plan and how I am doing on it. But for now, if you are looking for a self - help book to be your end of summer read, I would definitely check out Naturally Thin by Bethenny Frankel.

Until next time.....keep on creating.

And another recipe

I couldn't resist. Once again this recipe comes from the September issue of Food Network Magazine (see the trend here?)

Talk about baking something creative. I LOVE this cake and it is oh so simple. This is one I will plan on making soon and will share pics. YUM OH!

 And no your eyes are not deceiving you!!!! That really is a cake.

Check out the recipe below.

PB&J Sandwich Cake 

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
• All-purpose flour, for the pan
• 1 18.25-ounce box white cake mix, plus required ingredients
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
• 3/4 cup grape jelly

Directions

Butter a 9-inch-square cake pan, line with parchment, then butter again and dust with flour. Make the cake mix and fill the pan three-quarters full (you'll have batter left over). Bake at 350 degrees F until a toothpick comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.

Let the cake cool in the pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and let cool completely. Transfer the cake to a work surface. Trim off the top using a serrated knife, then slice the cake in half horizontally.

Beat the butter and peanut butter with a mixer until smooth. Alternate adding the confectioners' sugar and milk, beating after each addition, until the frosting is fluffy and smooth. In another bowl, whisk the grape jelly until it is loose and spreadable.

Spread a thick layer of peanut butter frosting on the bottom cake half.

Spread the grape jelly on top of the peanut butter frosting, making sure to reach the edges. Top with the remaining cake layer.

Cut the cake in half diagonally and transfer to a serving plate. Separate the halves slightly to show the filling

Magazine Monday

Or should I say Recipe Monday as it seems that is what I like most about the magazines I am reading these days.

Today is a quick and simple recipe I definitely plan to try soon.

Once again it comes from the September issue of Food Network Magazine.

Roasted Shallot Yogurt Dip

Toss 6 unpeeled shallots and 3 unpeeled garlic cloves in 2 teaspoons olive oil on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until soft (20-30 minutes). Cool and then peel. Finely chop and mix with 1 cup plain low fat Greek Yogurt, 3 tablespoons chopped chives and salt to taste. Top with more chives. Serve with your choice of dippers.

How yummy and HEALTHY to boot.

I think this would be a perfect little snack to put in your lunch box.

Until next time....

Keep on Creating!

Magazine Monday

OOOOOO how I love to peruse food magazines for recipes and entertaining ideas. Pretty much anything that has to do with cooking. BUT I have gotten out of the loving to cook and whip up the recipes myslef mindset. I am trying very hard to enjoy cooking again. Why? Because it is healthier, it is the use of REAL foods instead of processed ones and it is cheaper.

What a great way to get back in the cooking habit than to make a cool summer gazpacho. Easy peasy and quick to whip up to boot.

I found this yummy Tomato and Watermelon Gazpacho recipe in the September 2012 issue of Food Network Magazine.

I decided to whip up a modified version of this recipe with the veggies I got at the Farm Market and YUM OH YUM! I didn't have watermelon so I left it out but I may just make this again with watermelon to see how the sweet melon adds flavor.

Here is the link to the recipe if you want to make it and let me know what you think.

Have you made gazpacho? Do you have a recipe you make over and over?

I would love to hear it so I can try your version.

Until next time....

Keep on Creating!

Sunday Morning......

I am thanking Got today for all the blessings and memories that were had yesterday as my brother and I started the slow dig out at my parent's farm.

50 plus years of marriage equals a LOT of stuff.

Old photo's, the scent of the horses my mother loved so much, and a view into what both of them felt was worth keeping made for a wonderful day.

Have a blessed Sunday.