One More Day in LA

Tomorrow at this time I'll be home in Pennsylvania, but until then, I have 12 hours before I leave for the airport and I plan to make them rock!

I'm meeting a friend for lunch in Beverly Hills. I've nothing to wear so I'll hit the mall before I go.

I predict a bonified (not water-weight) gain this week of at least one pound. While I haven't eaten badly, I haven't had regular exercise and my body feels "off." I can't wait to hit the gym on Wednesday. I'll step on the scale Friday for my "official" weigh and see what the affects were from this vacation.

I had steamed broccoli, brown rice and oyster sauce on the side at the Thai restaurant Friday. I also had a part of a spring roll with a light sauce. It was very yummy, filling, healthy, all that jazz. On Saturday, after visiting the beach and checking out surfer dudes in wet suits, we ate at Real Food Daily, an absolutely fabulous vegan restaurant. I had a salad with balsamic dressing, steamed veggies, millet and quinoa, and seitan or "wheat meat." I bought their cookbook so I can make some of their items at home. It was very good and I'm excited to begin my change in diet to vegan.

It took almost a year to wean myself from poultry and fish (I haven't eaten beef in 21 years), so I'm giving myself a year to go completely vegan, if that is indeed what feels right as this process unfolds. I want to learn to prepare vegan meals and make my own "cheese" (either soy based or nut based) since store-bought soy cheese tends to have way too much sodium for me. I've also not cooked with tempeh before and I need to get used working with that as well. So much to learn! I'm very excited about it.

Food should be fun, not feared. I know several people who challenge themselves to trying a new recipe every week. I like that idea. It's so easy to get stuck in food ruts. I do that all the time and have to remind myself to shake things up every once in awhile.

I really like this photo of my nephew and me sitting in the sun overlooking the amphitheater at the Getty Villa. FYI, that's HIS mocha latte sitting between us, not mine. I had plain coffee! LOL

Hope this finds you all eating well and being good to your bodies. I'll post again when I get home.

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Eating on the Road

Good morning from LA! My daughter and I arrived yesterday for a quick 4-day visit with friends and family. If you want to, you can read more about the non-food part of the trip on my writing blog: www.zenbaglady.typepad.com.

My stomach was NOT happy yesterday, particularly with the three-hour time difference. I bought some fruit and a breadstick (it was the only carb I could find at the airport that wasn't sugar- or fat-laden) and ate them on the plane to Cincinnati. On the long flight to LA, I had two little sugar cookies (you know those "complimentary" snacks they give you on planes?), a few animal crackers (I was very proud of myself for only stealing a couple from my daughter's bag), a few peanuts, and a bowl of Kashi with some strawberries and 2 percent milk (gag).

We landed and were on the road to my sister's house by 1:30 local time, but my body was feeling like 4:30 and I was hungry. When we got to my sisters, I made a salad with her leftover, bottom of the bag lettuce and a shriveled up tomato, and ate a piece of bread with apricot marmalade (it was all she had in the fridge!). We later went shopping at Trader Joe's and I bought a bunch of good stuff that will last me the rest of the trip: asparagus, good salad stuff, and of course, my favorite of all decadent carbs: Trader Joe's corn tortilla flat breads.

I'm trying to stretch out these extra three hours. I woke up at 5 a.m. local time and my body thought it was 8. I had some grapes and tea. Lunch will be noon local time, 3 body time, so I'll probably have some of those corn tortillas on the road to Hollywood this morning. Emily (my sister) wants to eat at a Thai restaurant. This will be a first for me. I wish I'd had a chance to ask you all what I should eat! LOL

Eating on the road is tricky. I'd love to hear how you maneuver it.

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Yay! I'm not Spam!!

Over the weekend, no one could view my blog because Blogger wanted to "review" it and make sure I wasn't spam. Seeing that word all weekend, "spam," made me a little hungry, I won't lie. It was one of those things I ate as a kid and loved. Grilled Spam and Velveeta sandwiches were my favorite. On white bread, of course. And lots of butter on each side.

Ah...the good old days!

Anyway, I'm glad to be back. I apologize for the inconvenience of yesterday. I'll have another real blog very soon (one that doesn't talk about artery-clogging foods of days gone by). I just wanted to pop in and say thanks for hanging in there and I'm glad you came back!

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Welcome to My New Blog Home!

Faithful readers, I'm really sorry to do this to you. But I needed to change at least the blog portion of my website in order for me to better integrate features that were lacking at my old blog home. You'll see what I mean in the weeks to come.

You can still access this blog through the Lynn's Journey site (www.freewebs.com/lynnsjourney) by clicking on My Weight-Loss Blog. The tab "Blog Archives" are blogs written the last few months that one day, when I figure out exactly how, I will move over here.

In the meantime, welcome to new blog home Blog #1.

I've been thinking a lot about change lately, probably because it's spring and spring is a time of renewal. I've never understood why we make resolutions to change on Jan. 1, in the dead of winter when motivation is at an all-time low. Make them in the spring when everything is fresh and new!

I'm resolving to change my body image. Yes, you read that right. I had a rough few days this week with body image. I went to the Gap and Target on Wednesday and tried on some summer shirts. I hadn’t really looked at my upper body since late summer since I’ve been buried in long-sleeved shirts all winter. What I saw in the dressing room mirror surprised me and actually scared me in a way.

I have a major rotator cuff tear in my right shoulder and a minor tear in my left. I also have bursitis and arthritis in both shoulder joints. I opted not to have surgery just yet because my granddaughter was just born and it would be months before I could hold her. I went to see a chiropractor and she's done wonders. Through weekly treatments (sometimes very painful treatments) and daily rehab exercises with hand weights, I am relatively pain free and have 80 to 90 percent mobility.

This is great news and I'll continue to rehab and see my chiropractor for treatments. However, all those exercises have really defined my arms and chest, which means on my medium to large-boned frame, I am very bony and old looking. I was shocked when I saw my reflection in the dressing room mirrors. Really honestly shocked. The bottom half of me looks the same, but the top is kind of scary.

I'm also going to tell you a truth not everyone likes to hear: the excess skin under my arms (my armpits) is more apparent, too. More than it was last summer. This means I want to be careful what kinds of clothes I wear. Yes, I’m vain that way.

I was mad at first. I mean, here I go and lose all kinds of weight and I have to be almost as selective about clothes as I was at 300 pounds. Then with the help of my maintenance support group, I realize that I’ll probably never be satisfied with how I look and so I’m learning to accept the person I look like now.

I do the rehab because it helps my shoulders. The consequence is that I’m cut and bony. I can live with that. I will change my body image. It'll take some time is all.

Are there any changes you want to make? Small or big, it doesn't matter. Let us know!

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