Tuesday, March 27, 2012

A few more days until I re-weigh

Not completely back in the groove but feeling better.  Funny how life's curveballs can throw us off completely.   I wish I was better about that sort of thing.  You'd think I'd learn after 49 years how to roll with it but somethings just steamroll me still.  Job hunting just isn't my favorite thing to do anyway.  Resumes?   yuck...what stays, what goes?   You find yourself obsessing about every little word.  Does that really say what I want?  What if the reader interprets it a different way?    Oh...and the newest wrinkle, at least for me, is electronic scans.  I think it works this way...you can upload a hard copy of your resume but many companies have online resumes now.  They then employ software designed to pick out specific words.  If your resume doesn't have those words, no matter how qualified you are or well done it is, you don't get a call.  So the ante has been upped to try and figure out what they will be looking for and how to incorporate that in to your resume.  
I guess that nasty stress hormone responsible for fat retention is in overdrive because of the stress.  What's that stuff called...cortisol?  Why can't they create a blocker for that?   I'd probably be a twig if I didn't have that to worry about...which is more stress.  
However, I am still putzing along with my Synthroid and still feel much better than I did before taking it.   I haven't cooked a decent WW related breakfast in a while but am having a simple bowl of cereal in the am.  You get tired of the same old even if it is tasty so it's good to fall back on the simple things.    So with that...I'm off to try to get some sleep.  Insomnia isn't much fun but again, probably stress related.  Ya think?

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

AWOL

These last few weeks have not been good.  I probably hinted at how the stinky economy has finally hit us and how I'm a stress eater.  Not a good combination.  I'm putting the finishing touches on my resume now and will start sending it out on Friday.   Things like this just trigger something in my brain and I fall back on old eating habits.  
I've heard the definition of success consists of getting up one more time than you fall so here I go.  I feel like I'm over a hump of sorts just dusting off the resume and for now am hopeful I'll find something fairly soon.  Many people say physical activity makes them feel better when they're down.  With me it's the opposite.  I just want to curl up on the couch and snooze.  How do you rewire your brain? 
Are we pre-wired for certain foods and activities that are destined to sabatoge our efforts?
Starting today I'll pick up where I left off and weigh as usual on Wednesday nest.   Fingers crossed too much damage hasn't been done. 

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Cheat day!!!

I really look forward to my cheat day.   Understand, we don't cheat all day, just for one meal but boy is it a treat.   Again...at Wasabi.  They make the best black pepper chicken I've ever had.   In keeping with my promise that cheat day won't extend past one day, tomorrow we'll be back on the truck, eating right at every meal.   Six and a half days on, 1/2 day off.   That's the new game plan.  
We stayed busy today too.  After my Weaver's meeting we had a chance to ride around and see some of central Florida.   It was a beautiful day but very hot already.  Is this going to be what spring is like?  We didn't have much of a winter which doesn't bode well for bugs. 
Tomorrow I hope we can increase our activity even more by going for a hike in one of the state parks nearby.   Hopefully the bugs....and snakes...aren't out yet.  If it stays this hot, though, it won't be long. 

Friday, March 2, 2012

A new bread recipe


Bread is a weakness of mine.   Many diets and health gurus tell us to stay away from it.  Some others say just stay away from white bread.   I tweaked my favorite bread recipe quite a bit to include two cups of bread flour, one and a half cups of whole wheat flour, and 1/2 cup of buckwheat flour.  
The other ingredients are 1 and 3/8 water, 2 tsps yeast, 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil, 1 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 tbsp sugar.   That's all there is to this recipe and no matter what flour you use, it comes out good.  One thing though, if you use whole wheat it seems to demand a bit more water.  I guess that type of flour soaks it up more. 

I also discovered one other thing.  If you heat the oven up just a bit and put a pan of hot water in there with the dough, it rises beautifully. 
Here's the result.   It looks a bit lumpy because whole wheat and buckwheat flour is heartier and not as smooth as bread flour.  I expect it to be a little more chewy but filling.   Yum!   Perfect for sandwiches, snacks (toasted with Nutella inside), or French toast.   Let's eat!