A Decade of Losing

I’ve spent the last decade trying to find the solution to my weight loss. While living in Italy ten years ago, I was at a street market and found a soccer jersey of a famous Italian player. It was an XL, and I figured if I lost a few pounds, I’d be able to squeeze into it. When I arrived home, I pulled it out and looped my arms in, and as I stretched it over my head, I realized that it had been mislabeled. I couldn’t even fit it onto my body. At that point, I made it my goal to lose the weight that would allow that jersey to fit me loosely. 

That was nearly ten years ago to The Day. I capitalize “The Day” because it was a day I have been thinking about every single day for the last 14 months. 

That day is today. 

This day was either going to serve me the greatest accomplishment of my life, or one disgustingly massive loaf of depression and defeat. No one is happier to announce that it is the former. I lost 102 lbs in the past 14 months and hit the final goal of a series of weight loss goals all leading up to this day.  See the jersey photo below taken today :)

I was fat for 22 years since the age of 8, when my dad died of an aggressive brain tumor. Emotional eating was my best friend and worst enemy. 

Maintaining this new lifestyle will not be without resistance. But I’m committed to it and the countless people in my family and community that I have inspired now rely on me as a shining example of a healthy lifestyle. 

I’ve decided that I need to share what I’ve learned and my story with everyone interested on a continual basis. So I’m launching a blog called TheSmartLoser.com that will act as a personal and public support system and resource for those looking to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle the right way. No yo-yo diets or fads, just good old nutrition the way Mother Nature intended. Keep your eyes out for that. 

And as a final note, I don’t post this to gloat about my accomplishment. I do it to demonstrate that overcoming major obstacles in life is doable. It may take a decade, but every failure only gets you closer to success. With persistence, success is inevitable. 

And if you didn't see the video I did for a contest (which I was not chosen for ... but was glad it got me to make this) for Prevention Magazine, it gives you a better idea of why I gained the weight in the first place. And gives you some fun pics to blackmail me with. And I was told to be very happy and energetic in the video ... heh.  View the video.

Mountains, Whirlwinds & Bumps

Hey, if every week had amazing and exciting events to report ... those amazing and exciting events would become the norm, and thus we'd have a more and more difficult time keeping you readers satisfied ... right?

Ok, maybe it's just a poor excuse for not having too much to report on this week. But there were a few points of interest worth mentioning.

1. Banff Mountain Film Festival
If you've never been to Banff, I'm really not sure how you can call yourself a contributing member to society. Ok, maybe that was a bit harsh ... but you've got to get there next year. It's always at the Kent Concert Hall in Logan, or 299 other cities worldwide. The focus is on mountain cultures, sports, or the like. Usually there are several extreme sports films that blow your mind, as well as socially conscious messages in other films. A great festival. You can YouTube (yes, now a verb like "to Google") it and find plenty of cool videos. Here is the trailer:



2. Chaos Night
Every saturday night for 3 hours, we are either the most relaxed or the most stressed in the week. We do a babysitting swap with 4 other couples. So for 4 weeks we get a free date night, but that fifth week is a chaotic night of 10-12 kids running crazy around the house. It's worth it. In fact, I'm exaggerating, I suppose. Especially when you see the images below that make it look like we actually have things under control. They're good kids...generally :)  Last night was quite the whirlwind. Unfortunately we failed to take any photos, so here are a few from last year.

3. 6 Months and Change
Holly's pregnancy was quite rough in the first trimester. But now as we push into the third (28 weeks), things are going pretty well. That's much easier for me to say, of course. For the sake of documentation and those living abroad, here is a quick photo of the current ... breadth. She looks great!

She asked me to mention she's embarassed about these pics :)

And finally, the recipe of the week. I love this one.

All Natural Whole Wheat (Blender) Waffles (or pancakes) serves 5-6

1 cup whole wheat
1 1/2 cups milk

1 egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons honey (or agave syrup)
1 teaspoon salt

Blend 1 c. milk with the wheat on high for 2-3 minutes. Then add remaining milk and blend 2-3 more minutes. Add remaining ingredients and blend appx 1 minute. Cook on hot pan or waffle maker.

If you want to top it with all natural ingredients, try apple sauce, honey/banana/walnuts or all natural jam. There is all natural maple syrup if you go the traditional route. Yum!

Black Market Hippie Food, Pies Galore, and the Alpine Wonderland

On Saturday we picked up our first ever local pickup of an order of fresh, organic, “black market” produce trucked straight from Cali, Arizona, N. Mexico. Well, not really black market, but it’s ripened on the vine and no herbicides or pesticides are used on them and you pre-order it online and pick it up on Saturdays at Merlin Olsen Park. We were testing it out this month, but now that we’ve seen and tasted it, we are soooo sold! It tastes like we just picked it from our garden. Take a look at the stash!

We had a Valentine retreat this weekend, but not one like you’d expect. Adam’s cousin Sueanne (famed creator of the Pie of the Month Club: www.pieofthemonthclub.org) was visiting from Scotland, so we went and stayed with Sam (Adam’s brother) and Kristen in Alpine from Saturday to Monday, hence the day-late entry. At the family gathering on Sunday we sampled some seriously delicious pies! Yum.

Hanging with Sam and Kristen was fun, as usual. How could it not be fun when they have something close to an amusement park in their basement? Olivia and Ruby had a blast on the climbing wall, the rings, the ladder, the swings (three of them), drawing on the chalkboard wall, the giant beanbag, and playing with toys…and that was just the basement. We loved their company and are grateful for their hospitality. It was really great to get away for a while to reconnect with family and enter slightly warmer temperatures.

Adam ran 13.5 miles today. He wants to make sure he is ready for the half-marathon race in 6 weeks. Looks like he is. He picked a random spot appx 7 miles from Sam’s house and took off. Turned out the exact turn-around point was a random running store called 26.2 mile Running Store. He said he was just pondering whether he’d run a full marathon this fall. Hmm.

Recipe of the week: Spaghettini with Checca Sauce

One of the few Italian recipies Adam didn’t learn during his glory days in Itay … but rather on the Food Network. It’s fantastic!

Ingredients

•                8 ounces spaghettini or angel hair pasta

•                4 scallions (white and pale green parts only), coarsely chopped

•                3 garlic cloves, crushed

•                1 (12-ounce container) cherry tomatoes, halved

•                1 (1-ounce) piece Parmesan, coarsely chopped

•                8 to 10 fresh basil leaves

•                Salt and freshly ground black pepper

•                3 tablespoons olive oil

•                4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

•                Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the next 7 ingredients in a food processor. Pulse just until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped (do not puree).

Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water. Toss the pasta with the tomato mixture and fresh mozzarella in a large bowl. Add some of the reserved pasta water (about 1/4 cup) if the sauce looks dry. Serve immediately.

Calzones, Bangkok, & Fatty-Pants Video

I am now 26 weeks pregnant, and facing the 3^rd trimester of this pregnancy head-on. It starts with a cold and a pinched nerve in my lower back. Bring it … or not.

This is a photo of Ruby dancing with one of her teachers at Union Bilingual Preschool on the day that some Dominican students came and taught them how to dance the Merengue! It was adorable!

Adam whipped out an old recipe from Italy this week: Calzones. (see recipe below) They were soooo delicious. We made them with fresh ground wheat instead of white flour, and it worked out very well.

I ALMOST had a husband in Bangkok today. He had an important client meeting set up and suddenly had to schedule a flight out with just a few days notice. It got postponed, however, until March, and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. The closer I get to my due date, the more anxiety I feel when he’s gone.

New music anyone? Mumford and Sons is a band my brother was telling me about. Check out this music video and see if you dig it.

As many of you know, Adam (hesitantly) entered a contest in Prevention Magazine called “Picture of Health”. Don’t know if he made it as one of the finalists yet, but to enter, he had to write an essay and make a video explaining why he should win. The idea was to find people who have overcome major obstacles in life and now live an ideal lifestyle of health. Here is his video (that he was a bit resistant to let me show…but I find it VERY inspiring!):

Here is a drawing that Olivia made this week. She explained that the swirl on the forehead of this girl is a Bindi. She got to wear one last summer in a preschool session called “Around the World in 80 Days” when they visited India. I guess it made a strong impression on her, because she remembered and drew it all on her own.

Recipe of the Week: Calzones of Rimini (AKA Cassoni) - Makes appx 4-6 calzones

Dough:
3 cups of Whole wheat flour
2 TB Butter
1/2 c (or as needed) of warm water
1 TSP salt

Sauce:
1/2 to 1 cup of diced ham, sausage, or hamburger (or add zucchini if you want to go vegetarian)
2 bell peppers chopped
1 yellow chopped onion
6 cloves minced garlic
1 TB parsley (dried) or small handful of fresh
1/2 TSP red hot chili pepper
1/2 TSP ground pepper
3-4 TB olive oil
1/8 cup red wine
1 cup of tomato sauce (ideally not from a tin can, see reason number one here)
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Combine all the Sauce ingredients (except the tomato sauce) into a frying pan and cook on medium until the meat is browned and the veggies are softened. Then add the tomato sauce and let it simmer.

2. Hand-mix the dough ingredients until it hold together well, but isn't sticky. Break into racquetball sized balls and roll out into rectangles or circles until appx 1/8" thick.

3. Cover 1/2 of the rolled out dough with your desired amount of mozzarella cheese, leaving a 1/2" edge around the outside. Scoop appx 1/4 cup of sauce out of the pan and place onto the cheese area.

4. Fold the dough in half covering your sauce and cheese and seal the edges with a fork. (see photo)

5. Cover a frying pan with a thin layer of butter and place the prepared calzone onto the pan and cover with a lid (if available). Flip and cook other side. When both sides are slightly browned. If desired, additional sauce and cheese can be smothered atop to perfection. Enjoy!