Oh my goodness - I just read an article about how exercise won't help you lose weight unless you diet. Last week I read an article about how dieting won't let you lose weight unless you exercise. I mean, really! Can't they make up their minds?

As a fat woman, I can tell you that I'm well aware that I need both a healthy diet and regular exercise. I don't consistently do either, but I consistently try to do both. From the look of me, neither is working. 

I'm still mostly wheat free and it feels great. My mind is much sharper and my energy is up. It's important to me to feel a clearer mind because I live in terror of Alzheimer's - my mother and my mother-in-law developed it despite not having a single risk factor and leading their lives in the way all the articles say you should if you want to avoid the ugly A. Well, they got it despite healthy diets, healthy lifestyles, and lots of exercise. If I'm going to get it, it will have started by now so the best I can hope for is a medical miracle - anyway, that's a digression.

My point, and I do have one, is that all of the disagreeing articles on how to lose weight make it obvious that there is no real understanding of obesity. Most of us fat people don't really eat all that badly - we just don't eat or exercise right for our bodies. I keep my calorie count low - and I monitor it daily - I guess it's just not low enough to do the job. Whatever - I'll work on it as always. In the meantime, I'll continue to stay as wheat free as possible and enjoy all the new recipes I'm trying.

Here's one you might like.
Butternut Squash Soup... tasty and not too difficult or time consuming to make.

     
2 tbsp olive oil

·         1 onion, diced

·         4 cloves garlic, minced

·         4 carrots, sliced

·         3 stalks celery, diced

·         2 small or one large butternut squash, peeled and chopped

·         5 cups gluten free vegetable broth

·         2 tbsp chopped fresh sage

·         1/2 cup soy milk

·         salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a large pot, saute the onion and the garlic in olive oil or coconut oil until the onions turn soft, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the carrots and the  celery and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the squash and stir just to coat it and then add the vegetable broth and sage. Bring it all to a boil and then reduce the heat to a slow simmer. Allow it to cook for at least 25 minutes or until the squash is soft.

Use a potato masher and mash the squash until smooth or you can puree the soup in a food processor or blender.

First steps...

Today I was sent a link to the Wheat Belly book by William Davis MD. It hit me like a rock on my hard skull. I've been fat for a long time now. Not just overweight, not just fluffy, I mean fat. I've also developed the curse of fat people - Diabetes type 2. It runs in my family - we all have it, even my skinny relatives - but that's no excuse - I may have had a genetic disposition to D2, but I wasn't likely to avoid it with my weight no matter what my ancestors passed on to me.

Anyway, back to my fatness. Like most fat people, I've failed every diet known to human kind - twice or three times on most of them. Doctors never believe that, they all seem to think that we fatties sit around eating bon bons all day. Well, I'm the mom of 14 - 8 still at home, and I work full time - and I have a mom with Alzheimer's- so how many minutes in a day do you think that leaves me to sit around stuffing myself. Sure, I eat the wrong thing at times, and I eat too much at times, but so do slim people. So - what's my problem? Am I doomed to this weight and an early death by food?

I figured I was, and I was grieving that. Then, my cousin sent the link to Wheat Belly and I looked up the web page. My oh my ..... I know that's it. I always knew I craved bread and pasta and as I read the Wheat Belly book (which of course I ran straight out and bought) I felt like every word was written to me.

So, the next logical question is - why do a blog about this? Well friends, I blog about other things too - it's a great way to meet other people who walking the same path, and to keep myself honest. If I do well, I'll let you know. When I fail, I'll write about that too. I'd love to hear from you and what you are doing on your journey  - whether it's with food, or wheat, or life in general.

That's my intro to me - have your best day possible.