The symptoms of a bad diet

The holiday weekend is finally over and that means back to work.  I woke up yesterday crabby, sick and tired. That was after 9 hours of fitful sleep. I ate my way through this fun filled weekend...soda, cake, chips, brats, more cake and soda, pasta salads, smores oh and more cake!

Yuck! No wonder I feel like a cow out to pasture! I know my new way of eating is going to make me feel spectacular and full of energy, but in my head I keep saying "only 2 more free eating days left" I am looking at this new way of eating as a prison sentence. Why? Why do a lot of us play this mental game in our head. (I say "us" because I know I am not the only one:))

Why do we think that healthy eating is so horrible?  I was always the person that said that is was not the ads that made people eat processed food it was the person.  This was their own fault that they did this to themselves. Now I am the person that needs a excuse for my weight gain.  It has to be all the processed food not the actual amount. The processed food manufacturer is the only one to blame!

I need to change my mind set!  This is the hard part. I love my cookies, cake, chips and diet soda. Yeah Yeah I know...MODERATION! I can't have them in moderation because as soon as I taste just a little bit I am off on a binge that can last for weeks. It will be all I want to eat. Some of you know what I am talking about.

So since I am at the height of a binge I am going to write down all of the symptoms I am currently having and them I am going to review that at the end of my 30-days to see if I am still experiences any of these symptoms.
Hopefully I will be able to enjoy a small amount of sweets at a time without binging, but once my 30-days start I will be abstaining from anything that is processed beyond recognition.

So here is the list:
1. Insomnia or waking many times during the night.
2. Headaches
3. Dull knee pain-they feel numb
4. Bloated
5. Constipated
6. Zits!
7. Tired all the time
8. Crabby
9. Not motivated to do anything but sit on my butt!
10. Missing out on fun things because I am feeling fat!

I encourage you to make your own list and then try the 30-day of whole foods with me. We can compare notes:)
Stay Tuned

Tonissa

Holiday Reading

I wanted to make a quick post about what I will be reading over the Memorial Day weekend.

For Fun:
Wesley the Owl-Stacey O'Brien




For Research and Inspiration:
The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook-Dara Demoelt




I will post reviews for last week's books soon!

Stay Tuned
 

Tonissa

Meal Planning

The holiday weekend is finally here!!!  Mine will be packed with graduation, graduation parties and the topper...my baby boy is turning 4! Wow, where does the time go?

With all this going on this weekend I am hoping I can find some clean eating options at some of the places we are going to so I can start the sugar and processed food detox slowly. Otherwise June 1st will be filled with headaches and crabbiness. I have planned some yummy options for my son's birthday party like, fruit salad, veggie pizza, and pulled pork.

Somewhere in my socially packed weekend I will need to find some time to work on meal planning. My success in clean eating will depend on it. I made a template yesterday that I will post in case anyone is interested. I started it with Friday, because that what the first falls on, but you are welcome to change it to what ever works for you.

I have clipped and copied many recipes over the last few weeks, so I feel that planning should be fairly easy. I will pick two breakfast options, make one large lunch option that will last for 5 days, 3 light snacks and then one entree for each day.  The different options will hopefully ward off boredom as well as not making me feel like I am in a cage with the same fare being served everyday.

So I will bring this to a close so we can all get this holiday weekend started!!!!!  Have a great weekend everyone!

Stay Tuned

Tonissa

Books I am reading this week

I am a huge reader.  I wish I could sit all day and read without any interruptions, but that is pretty hard to do with a full time job and an active 4 year old. I am able to find little pockets of time here and there during the day though.

After supper is the worst time for me because things start to wind down for the day and TV zone out time begins. I am trying to use this time to read and avoid trips to the kitchen every time there is a commercial on, which now a days is every two minutes!

For Fun:
1. Secret Daughter-Shilpi Somaya Gowada
 This was a great book!



2. The Frugalista Files-Natalie McNeal
 I am in the middle of this one and it is a great read about working towards what your are really passionate about.



For Research and Inspiration-
1. The Whole Foods Market Cookbook-Steve Petusevsky with The Whole Foods team members
There were plenty of recipes that I am going to try out of this cook book.  They also had great tips and tricks listed through out the book. The only down side for me is that there were no pictures of the finished product. (sorry, but I am picture girl!) Fortunately there were plenty of yummy recipes so I was able to look past that.


2. Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook 
I have just started looking at this one.  There are beautiful photos for each recipe and I am really excited to trying some of these out.


Money saving tip I have learned over the last few weeks...Go To The Library! I had not been to the library in over 5 years. I recently signed up again and put the books I want on hold.  It is so quick and easy to run in to pick up my holds and run back out. Once I have read the book, decided I really liked it and will use it again the future only then will I purchase it. (like all of Tosca Reno's books-Love Her!!)

Happy Reading!

Stay Tuned
 

Tonissa

The 1st Reward

So last night I got my hair cut and my brows done. I have been going to the same women for over eights years.  I was referred to her by the owner of the salon when she was just starting out. I was a little scared but I was sick of other stylists making me look like an old lady. So I took a chance and I ended up loving her!
 Unfortunately I found out last night that she got a new booth with a floor to ceiling mirror.  I was horrified when I first sat down! I had to do a double take at the reflection staring back at me.

I am one of those women who believe that she is still slim even though I am wearing a size 22 pants.(Obviously I have avoided photos of myself for many years) So this full length mirror shot in high-lighting was a real eye opener. Is that a double chin coming in? Are my arms really that big?  Well that would explain why the sleeves never fit right!  And to think all this time I was blaming the clothing manufacturers!

Since I had to look at the magnifying mirror for a while I realized that my face is really starting to show it's age. I have never been into makeup or a beauty routine.  I grew up a tom-boy and was never really introduced to makeup.  I dabbled here and there but always ended up looking like Dr. Frank-N-Furter from Rocky Horror Picture Show. (Love that movie!) So I only use cover-up to even out my tone. This magnifying observation made me ask what I could do for my face to freshen it up.

My stylist told me about the treatment she gets right there at the salon.  She said it is was called a SilkPeel. It is a microdermabrasion that sucks all the toxins out of your pores and then adds nutrients and vitamins to your face. I would say that is just what I am looking for this tired looking face of mine!

So my reward for making it through the first 30 days of clean eating will be this fabulous SilkPeel.

Stay Tuned

Tonissa

Introductions Please!

Hello! My name is Tonissa and I am 266 pound married mom of one.  Yep you read that right...266 pounds!! UGH!

I have tried everything from Atkins to Weight Watchers. Each program peeled off a couple of pounds, but then I would get bored with the food choices and restrictions that I would give up after a month or so. Once I gave up, the weight would return like nobody's business.

Over the last couple months I have been pouring over Tosca Reno's library of her Eat Clean Diet books and I have become intrigued. Could this be the one thing that finally works for me?
As I continued to do research on the clean eating lifestyle I found that there are so many more resources out there: recipes, websites, books, documentaries as well as blogs. I have visions of a thinner and healthier me dancing in my head!

I am so very thankful that I have a fabulously supportive husband. He is always the first one to step up and help me every time I start the next diet. He never says "Oh here we go again.  How long will it last this time?" He never calls me fat or tells me I should lose a few pounds even though sometimes I wish he would! I know what you are thinking, but I have this excuse that by him finally saying these harmful things they would finally be the motivation I need. OK, so after thinking that through it would never work, but hey everyone has that one odd request in their mind...or maybe that's just me:)

I have been trying new recipes and we have added a larger selection of fruits and veggies to the fridge. I have noticed a different in my son's behavior by just that small change. (Very Motivating!) We do still go out a few times a week for fast food fare. And let me tell just tell you that fast food is not very friendly to our systems.  Well these fast food trips are about to end!

I have decided to begin this journey by making a 30 day commitment to Eat Clean.  I will begin this processed food strike on June 1st 2012. I will let you all know what I am reading, eating and watching to make sure my journey is a successful one.

Stay Tuned

Tonissa