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.

Back on track..

I've been thinking about my weekend - I had some bread - it was really good bread, but then all bread is really good bread to a wheat addict. I didn't *pig* out - just a sandwich because I was unprepared and didn't have access to any food that would be good for me (one of my sons had 7 hockey games at his weekend tournament, and a daughter had a bottle drive, and then there was the usual stuff that goes with having a large family). So, I learned that I always have to be prepared with food I can eat easily at hand when I'm in out of home locations. Not hard to keep some nuts in the car - and some fruit.

The positive part of this was that I didn't beat myself up emotionally and surprisingly, it was very easy to not jump back on the wheat wagon. I've had no trouble getting back to my food plan and I'm not actually missing wheat products at all.

So, why couldn't I do this when I tried Atkins so many times? I could always stick with it for a while but the intensity of my commitment to the diet always wore me out. I don't feel that way at all this time - instead, I just  think about avoiding wheat. Weird - and I can't find a single neuroscience piece to help me understand this.

A nice side effect of my wheat avoidance life style is that my face seems less puffy and the pants I put on for work this morning are a bit loose. Not a dramatic change for most people, but if even a half inch is gone, then I'm doing the happy dance. However, I'm determined not to focus on weight but to keep my mind on health. Still, I'm sure all would agree that a little less of me would be a good thing!!

Oh well, no point in thinking myself into a stupor - just continuing on. Hey, have your best day possible.