My goodness!....Can it be? Can it really be???? Yes indeed, it seems that I am getting hooked on exercise. I've  been hooked on so many things that aren't the least bit good for me so I never expected to find myself looking forward to an early alarm to get me to Curves (nope, I'm not an affiliate marketer for Curves - I'm a regular member with no payback for this). Indeed, I didn't get to the gym one day and I was crabby and irritable. I'm sleeping better, I even have a sleep schedule now. I'm remembering my vitamins every day -which are important for me since I can't absorb  iron well and I'm diabetic. I have more energy every day, I'm even n better emotional health.

Will it last? I think that's my fear, and maybe something that's you've experienced as well. There's that initial high to every lifestyle change but then it becomes something else and one day I realize I'm back at my same old same old. Maybe not this time. I feel like I'm fighting for my life because if I don't get the weight off I'll likely die or worse, become totally disabled due to a stroke. That should always have been enough to get me off my butt,  still I found excuses (good ones) to avoid daily exercise.

What got me going this time? Well, I credit it to my almost wheatless diet. Everything seems to have changed for me since I started with this. So, maybe that will be the difference that let's me stay on exercise routine this time. Here's hoping.

And here's a tasty wheatless recipe you might enjoy.





Black Bean Vegetable StewPrep: 5 min, Cook: 15 min.

• 1 Tbs. coconut oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3/4 lb. broccoli florets
• 1 cup recipe-ready crushed tomatoes
• 1-1/2 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 Tbs. rosemary, or 3 Tbs. fresh, chopped
• 1 Tbs. red wine vinegar
• sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese
• sprinkle of chopped green onions
• sprinkle of chopped tomatoes

Heat oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onion 5-6 minutes or until translucent. Stir in broccoli, tomato and black beans. Season with rosemary, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes or until broccoli is tender.  Sprinkle chopped green onions, chopped tomoato and shredded cheddar cheese on top. Serve this with some fruit such as canteloupe and strawberries and enjoy a cup of green tea with it. 

The gluten free trend under scrutiny...

I've been waiting for the gluten free trend to come under scrutiny and here it is from Today on Health: "Far more people think they have what has come to be called “nonceliac gluten sensitivity,” Corazza says. Sufferers, in whom celiac disease has been ruled out, complain of a variety of symptoms after consuming gluten, including bloating, abdominal discomfort, flatulence and headache. The problem, Corazza and Dr. Antonio Di Sabatino write in an opinion piece in the Annals of Internal Medicine, is that no one is quite sure what gluten sensitivity is. “Considerable debate about nonceliac gluten sensitivity has recently surfaced on the Internet, with a sharp increase in forums, patients or patient groups, manufacturers, and physicians advocating a gluten-free diet,” the two write. “Claims seem to increase daily, with no adequate scientific support to back them up.” check out the link for more.

I agree, there just can't be this many people with allergies to wheat. However, that doesn't mean that no one has the problem. The researchers suggest that there needs to be more double blind placebo tests, and that certainly has to happen to validate any formal research. For you and I though, it's pretty simple - just don't eat anything with wheat in it for a couple of days and see how you feel. I did it and I noticed a difference in 24 hours. I had noticeably less appetite and significantly more mental and physical energy. On the few days when I revert to wheat due to lack of planning ahead, I can feel the difference by the time I go to bed - once again hungry, headachy, slightly depressed, and way too tired. 

Since dropping wheat I've been able to finally start a regular gym routine and my days are brighter and not about food and my nights are sleep filled. I feel released or healed or liberated or something - not sure what - just better and better. So for me, while I doubt I have a gluten allergy, I believe that I am negatively impacted by wheat - so I continue on this wheatless path while I increasingly enjoy my days. What can it hurt?

I also decided to get real with the spiritual component of my weight loss and healing plan and wouldn't you know it - I made that decision on Friday, and on Sunday the service at my church was a healing service with laying on of hands and healing prayer. Funny how that works eh? 

Here's a really nice wheat free recipe you might like. 

Sweet Potato Corn Enchiladas

Ingredients

1 15-oz can organic black beans, rinsed, drained
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
Fresh lime juice from 1 big juicy lime
2 heaping cups cooked sweet potatoes, smashed a bit, but still chunky [I cube mine, then soften just a little]
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder, or curry, or any hot or mild spice that you enjoy
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 

Get 2-4 tablespoons light olive oil or vegetable oil, as needed
8 white corn tortillas

A mix of shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheeses

Any tomato sauce that you enjoy - homemade or bought, but if bought, check the label to ensure there is no gluten or wheat

Heat the oven to 350 degree and in the meantime combine the drained black beans with minced garlic and lime juice. Toss to coat the beans and the set aside.

In a separate bowl combine the lightly smashed sweet potatoes with the spices. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Heat a skillet with a touch of oil, I prefer coconut but you can use anything you have.  Lightly cook the corn tortillas then lay the first hot tortilla in the sauced baking dish; wet it with the tomato sauce.
Spoon 1/8 of the sweet potato mixture down the center and top this with 1/8 of the black beans.
Wrap and roll the tortilla to the end of the baking dish and repeat for the remaining tortillas. Top it all with the rest of the sauce and a few chopped green onions.

Serve with sour cream, or guacamole, and a nice green salad. 

Exercise...uggggggg.....

Yes, we all know that exercise is crucial to weight loss and to life in general. I have a sedentary type of job and even though I have a large family to run around after in the evenings, it's not the same as sustained cardio and muscle strengthening. So, I'm finally back at Curves, which is not my favourite place to exercise because of their limited hours, but I have to learn to accomodate that or just accept that I'm going to have a heart attack.

I will never be one of those who jump for joy at the thought of working out. It doesn't make me feel better after, it doesn't call to me. I get bored very easily and working out is just about as exciting to me as watching paint dry, less so, in fact. Oh well, there's lots in life I do that I'd rather not, at least this has the pay off of helping me attain health. We'll see if it also pays off in weight loss.

I've been back on the wheat wagon this week - everywhere I go I find gluten free foods, but I still don't always properly prepare. The biggest thing I notice when I'm eating wheat is that I get hungry way more often and that the food I eat doesn't keep me satiated - nope, in almost no time I'm hungry again. The good thing about this is that my wheat free days increase and therefore my days when I eat more decrease. It's also a great incentive, knowing that I can avoid being hungry just by avoiding wheat. Win - win situation eh. 


Here's a tasty wheat free recipe:

1		green pepper, halved and cored
1		red pepper, halved and cored
1		yellow pepper, halved and cored
6	slices	ham
12	tbsp	cooked brown rice
6	med.	mushrooms, chopped & lightly sautéd
1		egg, beaten
3	tbsp	greek yogurt (you can use non or low fat greek yogurt as well as full fat)
100	g	cheese, grated some peas boiled from frozen - just a few for color and taste
		freshly ground black pepper
1.	Place the peppers in a greased ovenproof dish.
2.	Put 2 tbsps of rice and a few peas in the bottom of each pepper.
3.	Mix the egg and the yogurt together and put 1 tbsp on top of the rice in each pepper.
4.	Scrunch each slice of ham into the peppers on top of the rice, then top this with the mushrooms.
5.	Spoon the remaining egg mixture on top of the mushrooms, and cover the top with the grated cheese.
6.	Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. If you cook the rice the night before while your doing your after dinner clean up, you'll find this a very fast dinner to cook for your family on those evenings when you have to get the kids to different activities all over town and you don't have the time to spend in the kitchen.