What a great weekend! I got an extra day off from the big bosses and boy did we take advantage. It was a gloriously sunny day here and we hit the beach to catch some much needed rays (I can't remember ever being so pale - even when I lived in the sunless lands up north!) The days of my golden brown youth are well and truly gone... then again, I guess I don't get to spend my whole summer at the town swimming pool anymore either. That's kind of a pity, huh? I'm excited for our pool to open up here, shouldn't be much longer as warm as it's been the last few weeks. In the meantime, Mrs. and I have taken up a new sport and are gearing up for the Spring Softball season. It's kind of a new one for me (minus a few summer games me and big bro jumped in on in Rockville!), and definitely a new one for Mrs. We practiced last night for the first time, and I gotta say - she's a natural :) She almost took my head off a couple times and I was definitely Jumping Jim - I always was afraid of the ball as a kid, which is why I was a terrible baseball player! Anyway, we even managed a few sprints (carefully framed as "base-running" practice) and were feeling very good by the end of it! I could go for a three day weekend every week.... wonder if the big bosses would go for it...
-Mr.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Guess who's back....
Oh yes, I have returned with a bang....the cholesterol police state is back in operation. First item on the agenda - wait til Mr. is in the bathroom to check the freezer and see how much of my hard work was actually eaten while I was gone. Just a few little plastic containers left. Hmm...one part of me was thinking 'wow that's great' and the other part was going 'well it's not as if he didn't know I was coming home, he could have just ditched the evidence'. I know, I know, completely unreasonable, and as a friend of mine once said - benefit of the doubt! So as I closed the door of the freezer, looked around the sparklingly clean apartment (what better welcome home present could a mrs ask for!?) and hugged my already trimmer Mr I thought maybe this time it's for reals. :-)
Mrs
xxx
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday's Menu
Breakfast: Low-Sugar Maple Oatmeal
Snack: Kinder Schokolade
Lunch: Whole Wheat Penne with Red Sauce and Turkey
Dinner: Pulled Pork on Wheat Bread with reduced fat Mozzarella
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Home!
I welcomed Mrs. home today with great excitement... She wasn't even too tired after her flight, which was a doozy. I had a few small bars of Kinder Schokolade she brought me.... I don't even feel to bad, 'cause we all know Kinder macht die Jimbo froh, und Erwachsene ebenso! Or is that Haribo??? Well either way, it has extra calcium for my growing bones ;)
Game 2 of the new basketball season will be tonight - can't wait! I'll let you all know how the exercise goes - it's starting to pay dividends on the court, so I'm hoping to see some off the court soon as well.
Welcome home Mrs!!
-Mr.
Monday's Menu
Breakfast: Eggbeaters and wheat toast
Snack: Sugar Free Fat Free Cheesecake Pudding
Lunch: Turkey Sandwich on Wheat
Dinner: Pasta with Red Sauce
Monday, March 24, 2008
Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock
The clock is ticking - only a short time now and Mrs. is gonna be back! Can't wait!! Just in time, my food supply is running out ;) Ok, I'm just joking, but it has made things very easy on me. I've had a great day today (well, work was a drag - but I barely even take that into account anymore!), getting over the ill effects of my Saturday indiscretions! Exercise yesterday was perfect, got in a great run at the gym. I told Mrs. I was feeling inspired from all the basketball I've been watching. Hehe. Today, I picked up my bike from a tune-up and it felt so smooth I just took a little spin in the afternoon sunshine. Loving springtime,
-Mr.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Falling off the wagon...
I had a rotten day today, and I don't have the energy to pretend otherwise. Not that I should, you guys all know better than to believe every single day is a cheerful breeze. Problem is, i just went off the rails completely. That's what stress does for ya, huh? In fairness, I kept it relatively contained - low fat vanilla wafers, some fat free chicken franks (Mrs. will be getting sick in the background right about now) and my all time worst weakness - organic blue corn tortilla chips and salsa. Don't you love how they slap organic on there to make you feel better about things? Anyway, that was the real kicker. I walked right past the pita chips like they didn't exist. it's an old and familiar trap for me to respond to stress by eating. I'm pretty good at beating that now, but add in a whole lot of annoyance on top of it, and I usually blow it. I felt fully entitled to the gunge I ate, unfortunately.
well, tomorrow's another day and i've got a basketball game to boot. get that bloody wagon back up and rolling, i'll be back on in no time.
-Mr.
well, tomorrow's another day and i've got a basketball game to boot. get that bloody wagon back up and rolling, i'll be back on in no time.
-Mr.
Friday's Menu
Breakfast : Low Sugar Maple Oatmeal
Snack: bananananananas
Lunch: Cajun Black Bean Pasta with Ham
Dinner: March Madness Turkey Burgers on Whole Wheat Buns
Snack: bananananananas
Dinner: March Madness Turkey Burgers on Whole Wheat Buns
Friday, March 21, 2008
the should-be-longer-winded night train
i've drenched myself in basketball for two straight days. three actually, if you count the league game i played on wednesday. i'm feeling inspired, really want to recapture a level of fitness so i can play close to my potential again. i reckon it's been a couple years since i last played at that level. i spent that entire summer training for a season i was playing with my club, usually three or four times a week. core training with a seriously fit trainer, which if i attempted now i would almost certainly fall apart like a big stack of jello. but man, it felt good - that burn after a 30 minute circuit and few lines for a finish. brilliant. anyway, all this basketball has me thinking again about exercise (hence the new poll)... for me it's definitely all about getting on a roll with this stuff - once i get two days a week going, then i start to want three, then four and then i'm running out on the fast breaks for easy layups ;)
speaking of layups... what's with Mrs. calling me out on my 1%? too easy, Mrs. and this is one sous chef you can't get rid of that easily...
you know what? i was planning on stringing out a long long ramble here, but my head is cooked from the work week and i'm on call tomorrow. better hit the sack! oh, and rock chalk :)
-Mr.
speaking of layups... what's with Mrs. calling me out on my 1%? too easy, Mrs. and this is one sous chef you can't get rid of that easily...
you know what? i was planning on stringing out a long long ramble here, but my head is cooked from the work week and i'm on call tomorrow. better hit the sack! oh, and rock chalk :)
-Mr.
Keeping tabs from afar! :-)
So, this week is a great big test for hubby- I'm back visiting family on the aul' sod so he's been flying (sort-of) solo. That means no disapproving looks as his hand hesitates over chips and cheesy dip instead of the healthy home made version, no arched eyebrow when he announces he's taking the car to work instead of cycling, no suppressed sigh when he says he's taking a night off from cholesterol stuff (I don't notice the baddies in his blood taking a days rest!). Okay, so he's not quite that bad, but I was sweating it a bit at the thought of all the damage he could do in 10 days with no jiminy cricket :-) I figure the blog is a good way to keep track and happily I married a man who is a terrible liar (or maybe so good that he's faking being bad?!) so I should be able to spot the bits that don't add up. So far so good though, and he's even updating the menus...hmmm. Right now as I look out as lashing rain, after a feed of spuds (potatoes) I think it definitely is easier to eat better when the sun is shining..I crave much lighter food then and the outside world is a much more inviting place for exercise, which I will definitely need lots of when I get home!
By the way - the 1% of the cooking that hubby says he did - curdling cream, dropping cooked pasta all over the floor, spilling sauce half over the sink and the piece de resistance - smashing a ramekin of salt in the tiny space between the fridge and cooker...of course I'm sure it will be all cleaned up before I'm home! (Yup hubby, that's a "hint-hint" moment!) Oh and please no more helping! :-D
Mrs.
xxx
Monday, March 17, 2008
Sunday's Menu
Breakfast: Frosted Mini-Wheats & Fat Free Milk
Snack: Fat Free, Sugar Free Vanilla Pudding... (Don't try it at home!)
Lunch: Cajun Black Bean Pasta and Ham
Dinner: Turkey Lasagna from Mrs. (Oh year)
Sunday, March 16, 2008
In through the out door...
So Mrs. flew the coop on Friday, off for a Paddy's/Easter visit to her family. It hasn't really sunk in yet, since my Mum showed up just as she took off! I've found it surprisingly easy to have visitors on board - but it also helps that they are in-the-HHH loop and super supportive. The meals that Mrs. has been salting away for several weeks have been a total godsend. Note to all the high cholesterol comrades out there - get yourself some good options that are easy to access. It's making this work for me. When you walk in and have the ability to choose between 4 or 5 different meals that can be heated and eaten in less than 5 minutes.... well, you can't lose. And the best thing is you can do this simply by making a little extra every meal and freezing portions of the leftovers. (Says Mr., who did approximately 1% of the baking/cooking of these meals). Ok, gotta take Mum out to explore the sights. Talk to you all soon!
-Mr.
Saturday's Menu!
Breakfast: Whole Wheat Muffins
Snack: none (too many cookies when Mrs. left yesterday!)
Lunch: Toasted Wheat Bread Sandwich (Ham & Relish)
Dinner: Mac and Cheese, Heart Healthy Style
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday's Menu
Breakfast : Raisin Bran w/fat free milk
Snack: Jacob's Fig Bar
Lunch: Turkey Lasagna (Mr.)/Toasted Sandwich (Mrs.)
Dinner: Pepperoni Pizza (I know, not great)
Snack: Jacob's Fig Bar
Dinner: Pepperoni Pizza (I know, not great)
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Monday's Menu
Breakfast: Oatmeal with a few Raisins
Lunch: Whole wheat pasta with black beans and home-baked ham
Dinner: Whole wheat bread toastie with ham and low-fat cheese.
Snack: Rice and Corn puffs and Cappucino (fat-free milk)
Family Ties
So, we've had lots of special guests dropping in on our little heart-healthy party lately... Big Brother was here over the weekend, and we had mexican night on Saturday. Brilliant - poppers, fire/ice dip with pita chips and some slow-cooked beef tacos to tie it all together. We had a picnic of sorts and played some overstuffed guitar hero to celebrate. It was great having Big B here - he's on his own mission and has dropped a good 20 pounds since Thanksgiving by my guess. I'm totally wrecked now tonight, but I'm really happy with the way things are going. They stole my blood on Thursday, so it's just a matter of time before I get a more detailed breakdown of the issue at hand. I am a bit nervous about it, mostly because I know there's a job to be done and I'm the one who needs to get busy doing it. Ok... talk to you all soon - gotta get some sleep, it's definitely harder to stay strong when I'm tired!
Oh, one more thing - you'll be seeing a lot more of me soon :) Mrs. is headed home for a short while to see the rest of the family! This would be a huge challenge, but she's already got me locked and loaded with healthy options to enjoy while she's away... I know, I know - I'm spoiled rotten!
-Mr.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Friday's Menu
Breakfast : Whole wheat & wheatgerm Orange Cinnamon Pancakes
Snack: Home baked pita chips with apricot chilli dip
Lunch: Toasted sandwich with home baked ham and low fat cheese (on whole wheat bread)
Dinner: More tacos, more poppers - there is a bit of a Mexican food obsession going on this week :-)
Snack: Home baked pita chips with apricot chilli dip
Dinner: More tacos, more poppers - there is a bit of a Mexican food obsession going on this week :-)
Friday, March 7, 2008
Thursday's Menu
Breakfast : Whole wheat Toast
Snack: Home baked pita chips with apricot chilli dip
Lunch: Egg white omelet with turkey sausage, basil and tomato
Dinner: Slow cooked beef tacos, jalapeno poppers and baked chips....don't worry all heart healthy from the American Heart Association Cookbook!
Snack: Home baked pita chips with apricot chilli dip
Lunch: Egg white omelet with turkey sausage, basil and tomato
Dinner: Slow cooked beef tacos, jalapeno poppers and baked chips....don't worry all heart healthy from the American Heart Association Cookbook!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Wednesday's Menu
Breakfast : Raisin Bran for Mrs & Mr
Snack: Streusel Raisin Cake - and a few Cadbury mini eggs...thanks Uncle! :-)
Lunch: Black eyed peas Pasta with home cooked ham (hint: one $4 ham can be cooked and chopped giving enough meat for three different meals, plus some leftovers!!)
Dinner: Italian Chicken Roll-Ups (you can find this in the American Heart Association cookbook) with whole wheat pasta
Snack: Streusel Raisin Cake - and a few Cadbury mini eggs...thanks Uncle! :-)
Dinner: Italian Chicken Roll-Ups (you can find this in the American Heart Association cookbook) with whole wheat pasta
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Money, money , money.....
Sometimes I think it doesn't matter how much or little we get at the grocery shop, the bill always seems the same at the end....and it always seems crazy high to me. I mean, it's just food, basic ingredients...last time I checked we weren't tossing in tins of caviar and bottles of Brut! Why does food cost so much? The politicians and pundits freak out about rising gas prices but I don't remember hearing any speech where they said the price of food was rising through the roof, and they're certainly not paying too much attention to the millions of Americans who have to make the choice between rent/shelter costs and enough food! So, before I get off my soapbox, there's something you should know - we're not rich, we don't have thousands of dollars to throw around on fancy food items each month. We were worried about starting a low fat heart healthy diet - would that mean that as our waists were getting leaner, so would our wallets? Happily, the opposite is the case - out of that turkey lasagna we got 8, yep 8, big portions! Some for the freezer, some for our tummys but per portion it worked out about 60 cents! That's fantastic! Cost effective, heart healthy meals - give them a try!
Mrs
xxx
Mrs
xxx
Tuesday's Menu
Breakfast : Raisin Bran for Mrs, Wholewheat Toast for Mr
Snack: More delicious streusel raisin cake
Lunch: Crustless Ham quiche
Dinner: Turkey Lasagne leftovers (you can find this in the American Heart Association cookbook)
Snack: More delicious streusel raisin cake
Dinner: Turkey Lasagne leftovers (you can find this in the American Heart Association cookbook)
That was exercise?
Hey everybody... sorry for the prolonged absence since my last entry, I'm gonna try to avoid that going forward - even when I'm totally distracted by the weekend! Looks like Mrs. went into a lot of my thoughts on the weekend already, so I'm not going to rehash too much. I want you to keep reading, after all. I've had a few thoughts over the weekend, though, which I'd like to share...
While I feel a huge benefit already from the change in my diet, I can hear a little voice in the back of my head reminding me it's not going to be enough on its own. I really have to get the exercise truck fired up. Gone are the gym-rat days of old where I could easily waste 3 hours a day playing basketball. Much as I'd love it, I just have too many other things going on that I want to focus on. It's a funny thing with me and basketball. I know I'm getting a great workout, but I don't even think of it as exercise. Once I get into the flow of a game, my adrenaline flicks on that competitive streak, and that's that. It's like a little motor inside me that won't stop even when I'm sucking air and my legs are wobbling like jelly. I love it. When I finish playing, I always find myself asking... that was exercise?? I really must find more exercise that feels like basketball, but fits in with the other things in my life. Easier said than done I reckon!
In other news, I get my blood test tomorrow. No results, just the whole poking and drawing bit. I'm hopeful that some of these changes will already be affecting this test in a positive way. I know it's early days, but I'm allowed to hope, right? I'm finding it a lot easier to think in a positive way about this stuff. I'm actually excited about choosing healthier turkey sausages, where before I would have turned up my nose and happily plowed into those greasy, delicious, fat-full, 0h-so-delicious bratwursts grilled to that perfect bursting point... ahem. Hey, I said I was excited at the choice, right? I can't really be expected to turn off decades of bratwurst-ing in a few weeks ;)
See ya again soon...
-Mr.
PS... C'mon faithful readers! Don't forget you can post some quick comments after you read - we'd love to hear your feedback :) Just click the little link below that says "0 comments"... and then let us have it! Also, all you Nike + readers, let's follow Mrs.' plan and get the competition on!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
No to yoga!
Nothing like a dramatic headline, right? It's great that we've made some good changes in our diet, but both Mr and I know that without regular exercise we're not going to see the changes we want (yes, you belly rolls - your days are numbered!). We have tried many different kinds of yoga which have frustrated us no end...everyone else is in a state of zen while we huff and puff in the corner. You do get undeniably visible fast results physically, but we never could stick with it. For some reason we could not click with yoga or any of the fabulous yoginis who tried to keep us on the zen side. Both of us realised that the reason it wasn't working was that neither of us LOVED yoga. We appreciate it's benefits, we definitely want the results, but we didn't get that great exercise buzz from yoga. So what works - for me it's dance. I can dance until sweat is streaming off me and I still can keep going. I never look at the clock to see when the class is going to end and I can always find another scrap of energy to keep going. For Mr. it's basketball - when he gets home (I can usually smell him in the corridor before he arrives in!) he is sopping with sweat, but with a great spark in his eyes - he has worked out, he has gotten exercise, but he loved it! But with dance three times a week for me, and basketball once a week for him, it's hard to find ways to get exercise, but still have fun the other nights of the week. Once upon a time we had a rule that in the evenings we could only talk about work when we were out walking - it diffused the stress of the day and also kept that stress out of the home, always a good thing. Mr has one of those Nike things where you can measure your distance, speed etc while you walk and then have competitions with your friends. Seems like it might be time for a new NIKE tournamet!
Mrs
xxx
Mrs
xxx
Monday's Menu
Breakfast : Raisin Bran for Mrs & Mr
Snack: Home made streusel raisin cake - yum! (from American Heart Association Cookbook)
Lunch: Three Cheese Macaroni - yes, really! (from the American Heart Association Cookbook)
Dinner: Turkey Lasagne - so delicious! (you can find this in the American Heart Association cookbook)
Snack: Home made streusel raisin cake - yum! (from American Heart Association Cookbook)
Dinner: Turkey Lasagne - so delicious! (you can find this in the American Heart Association cookbook)
Weekend food...aah!
Weekends are hard!! It is definitely hard to keep on track with food at the weekends...it's just so tempting to order a pizza or just grab something quick from the shop - even though it's just as quick to make something. So on the upside - we both had great breakfasts: oatmeal and raisin bran. We had pretty good lunches too - homemade brushetta on Saturday, sandwich on Sunday. But, we didn't have a proper dinner on Saturday - in out defense neither of us were hungry and on Sunday we went to a BBQ. I was so proud of Mr! There were lots of different kinds of sausages and he chose the low fat turkey option, I nearly fell over in shock! Of course, drinking some beers may have balanced out any saintly feelings we were having at that point!
Lets end on a high note though - I was at a highly energetic (still feeling it in my muscles!) dance class over the weekend, and Mr. tore it up on the basketball court...yay!
Mrs
xxx
Lets end on a high note though - I was at a highly energetic (still feeling it in my muscles!) dance class over the weekend, and Mr. tore it up on the basketball court...yay!
Mrs
xxx
Friday's Menu
Breakfast : Raisin Bran Cereal for Mrs & Mr
Snack: Natural fruit sweets
Lunch: Egg white omelet with basil and pureed tomatoes
Dinner: Grilled chicken kebabs with hoisin sauce and onion, garlic baked potatoes
Snack: Natural fruit sweets
Dinner: Grilled chicken kebabs with hoisin sauce and onion, garlic baked potatoes
Thursday's Menu
Breakfast : Oatmeal with raisins for Mrs & Mr
Snack: Baked pita chips with Fire & Ice dip (from American Heart Association Cookbook)
Lunch: Egg white omelet with low fat sausage and pureed tomatoes
Dinner: Jalapeno Poppers (you can find this in the American Heart Association cookbook) with grilled chicken whole wheat pita
Snack: Baked pita chips with Fire & Ice dip (from American Heart Association Cookbook)
Dinner: Jalapeno Poppers (you can find this in the American Heart Association cookbook) with grilled chicken whole wheat pita
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Sawdust on the Floor...
Several people were joking with me about my cholesterol and making oh-so-clever jokes about eating sawdust. Well... I have to say - that's some pretty tasty sawdust (Thank you Mrs.!). Seriously, I felt like I was in Tex-Mex heaven last night - only without the rot-gut hangover I usually get from all the fried stuff. My taste buds are feeling fantastic.
Had some serious Robot temptation today at work - a big bowl of tortilla chips... I'm happy to say I avoided them, thanks in large part to those pita chips last night. In fairness, I'd have been totally defenseless without the major taste explosion last night :) Made it a lot easier to say no... Just had it last night anyway, right?
I'm a bit short on voice tonight, but I wanted to pop in and tell all the jokers to come and see where the sawdust turns into jalepeno poppers. With a little magic from Mrs., of course.
-Mr.
Had some serious Robot temptation today at work - a big bowl of tortilla chips... I'm happy to say I avoided them, thanks in large part to those pita chips last night. In fairness, I'd have been totally defenseless without the major taste explosion last night :) Made it a lot easier to say no... Just had it last night anyway, right?
I'm a bit short on voice tonight, but I wanted to pop in and tell all the jokers to come and see where the sawdust turns into jalepeno poppers. With a little magic from Mrs., of course.
-Mr.
Poppers?!
Yes, poppers! I couldn't believe it when I read a heart healthy recipe for Jalapeno Poppers! Mr is obsessed with Mexican food and these are always his craving so get this - he said mine were better that the local restaurant! The poppers have a great crunch factor, but taste really fresh rather than the deep fried version. And they only took 15 minutes from start to finish! Tortilla chips (or any kind of chips really) are another weakness for both of us, so we were thrilled with the baked whole wheat pita chips we made - they taste delicious and I'm definitely going to make sure to have plenty of them around. They were great paired with the Fire & Ice dip we made (filled up some leftover containers so that it's always in the fridge, ready for any craving)
Oh, and we went for a 40 minute walk together...it's definitely time to up the ante on the exercise too!
Mrs
xxx
Wednesday's Menu
Breakfast - oatmeal with raisins for Mrs, oatmeal with honey and bananas for Mr.
Snacks - green grapes and rice & corn puffs
Lunch - Salisbury sandwich in a whole wheat bun
Dinner - baked chicken in hoisin and BBQ sauce (from Amercian Heart Association Handbook) with brown rice
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Price Wars...
I had a funny experience last night. Mrs. and I were trying to decide where to do our shopping and thought we should try a new place. We were wondering if it would be better value than our usual haunt, and in the course of our debate she said, "Well, think of a few things you know the price of and let's compare." Uh-oh. Things I knew the price for:
Potato Chips
Sour Patch Kids
Whole Milk
Orange Cinnamon Rolls
Chocolate Chips
So... that's another thing that'll be under revision!
Today I also had another interesting thought... when I was eating the Salisbury Steak for lunch, I was surprised at the fact I didn't crave any cheese or crazy sauce to go with it. The flavours were so rich, I didn't even miss it! Interestingly, it's not the first time I've noticed the richness of these foods changing the way I crave the accessories I'm pairing with them.
With a busy head,
- Mr.
Tuesday's Menu
Breakfast: Whole-wheat muffins...still going strong. Next time I'm just going to bake as much of the batter as we want, and leave the rest wrapped in the fridge so we can have fresh muffins whenever we want.
Snacks: Green grapes, bananas - and then we went to the store, and magically ended up at the chip aisle. Wow, temptation much? We ended up spending 10 minutes reading the backs of the packets to find out calorie, salt and fat levels and did end up finding some great corn and rice puffs. Serving size was 1 oz. but that was almost a full bowl of these puffy crispy things so we shared. (And then spent the rest of the night thinking about the open bag...must resist!)
Lunch: Whole-wheat bread sandwich with slow cooked pork filling (left-over from yesterday)
Dinner: Another great recipe from the American Heart Association Cookbook - healthy salisbury steaks with mushroom red wine sauce with a baked potato. I had the steaks pre-marinaded so the whole thing only took about 15 minutes to be cooked and plated! Mr. was impressed with the flavors and the sauce which seemed really rich and I was happy to find a great meal option that didn't take forever to make!
Mrs
xxx
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Mondays Menu
Whoah! Healthy muffins that are totally filling? Yes please! I was really shock at how these turned out - they didn't rise very much so looked pretty small when they were baked. I understood why when I ate one though - they are so delicious, but so filling! Mr. actually only had two for breakfast with banana, and was totally stuffed - he didn't snack at all before lunch! I'm totally not a breakfast person normally, but these were light enough to eat early in the morning, but still filling enough to keep me away from the cookie tin..definitely a keeper recipe!
Breakfast : Yummy homemade raisin, oatmeal and wheatgerm whole wheat muffins (Mr had his with a few slices of banana on top)
Breakfast : Yummy homemade raisin, oatmeal and wheatgerm whole wheat muffins (Mr had his with a few slices of banana on top)
Dinner: Slow cooked pork in Cranberry & Orange Sauce with a side of scalloped potatoes (you can find these recipes in the American Heart Association cookbook)
Supper: Whole wheat toasted sandwich with home baked ham, light cheese and no salt tomato ketchup
Mrs.
Mrs.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Moving Forward...
I knew it wouldn't be great. But over 250? Man... I didn't want to tell anyone; just hanging out with my all-too-big cholesterol secret. Okay, I broke down after a few minutes and texted Mrs. to say I'd had a bad result. As rotten as it was to get the number, it was a hundred times worse to hear the worry in her voice when she called me. Luckily, we were planning to meet for lunch, which would give us a chance to really talk about it.
It was a good lunch. I'd sum it up with two words: short shrift. Mrs. gave me some honest insight to go along with my big number. While it was a bit hard to hear at times, I knew she was right. I had to use this as a turning point. Anything else would be cheating both of us. The funny thing is, even though it was a bummer getting the result, moving forward has been a really positive time. I'm getting really excited about food again, in a way that was totally missing from my life in the last year or so. I had forgotten how good it can feel to plan a menu or do an extremely selective shop based on one of Mrs.' many fantastic recipes. I also realised how totally joyless (and thoughtless) much of my eating had become. I wasn't eating an extra slice of pizza or those few extra tortilla chips because I was enjoying the food. I decided I'm going to call it Robot Eating. No thinking, just munching. Anyway, mustn't ramble too much. It's time to get going. This is going to be a quite a battle at times... but for the first time, I really believe it's moving forward - I know we can do this and the payoff should be phenomenal!
- Mr.
Shopping...
Yeah, so we had a good talk and then headed to the local bookshop. I love to bake and cook and I hate the thought of hubby having to give up all the foods he loves. And I know him well enough that if it's tastes like crap he's not going to stick with it, so I tottered up (a girl's gotta have her heels) the stairs - yes stairs and heels, a great combination for burning calories! The mecca at the top was the nutrition baking section, one I have always avoided because I thought that it was just common sense. And I like the cookery books with flashy pictures - not many of those in the granola/yoga/I'm so healthy I'm practically a saint section. Well, I trudged through, thinking of many more good years with Mr. Klink and lo and behold I found a phone book sized red book from the American Heart Association. Yeah, yeah I know what you're thinking - I was too - who wants to eat cardboard? Well apparently no one because the book is jam packed full of great ideas...even heart proofed versions of Mexican food, hubby's favorite!
So I was carsick by the time we got home from reading out all the amazing things he can still eat, but there was a sparkle in his eye - he knows he can do it and so do I!
Mrs.
xxx
And so it begins...
After a shocking cholesterol result of 250 (!) I sat my hubby (who is only in his late 20's) down to a conversation that went something like this:
me: "Do you love me?"
him: "Of course I do!"
me: "Do you want us to have a long and happy life together?"
him: "Of course!"
me: "I'd rather be a divorcee than a widow"
him: "What?!"
me: "If you're just going to let yourself die, I'd rather leave and let us just be friends - I can hope to deal with my friend dying, but I would hate you if I lost the man I love because of something he could have fixed. So there're your choices."
him: "Okayeeee"
What followed was a really honest conversation where we realized we owe it to each other to have the healthiest, happiest lives we can and that means making some changes. It may have come from craziness and fear, but we love each other and we can do this - I'm ready to make my heart healthy husband!
Over the next year we are going to be trying to get healthy and this will be a warts and all blog of all of it. We love flavor and food, so if it tastes like sawdust we'll tell you :-) And both of us will post so you'll get a full picture.
Wish us luck and happy heart health!
Mrs.
xxx
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