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General Weight Loss Tips

Breakfast of Champs

I woke up this morning so very hungry and in need of a hearty, delicious, quick and healthful breakfast. This one fit the bill.

Oh my. Where has pink grapefruit been my whole life? I spent most of my youth loathing the bitter and sour nature of this fruit, but now I couldn’t believe how naturally sweet it is. Instead of stabbing at it with a spoon or fork I just quartered the whole thing and ate it like an orange. Grapefruit might just be a new morning staple for me.

Served with a couple  slices of nitrate-free bacon and organic eggs, I was in heaven.

And of course a tall mug of ice water which is all I ever want in the morning anyway. And those paper straws are my very favorite new purchase from Rock, Paper, Scissors in Charlottesville.

How did you start your day?

 

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The Power of Believing

I have to tell you the first word that comes to mind with this blog post is “shewweeee!” and it’s not even a real word, but it describes my life at the moment. I’m in the place right before a new chapter is about to unfold. The exciting, scary, gray area when you’re sure something fantastic is about to unfold, but you’re not even sure it’s real yet. I keep pinching myself.

Tomorrow is the first day with my new business partner/program manager. She has been a creative friend for well over a year now. We first  bonded over making and selling jewelry and now we’re merging our talents. When I met her I knew we would one day work together. I didn’t know how or why, but it was a feeling that collaboration was inevitable. She will be working with me on design projects and a combined project 17 hours a week in my home office. Did I mentioned that she is a yoga instructor and a massage therapist on the side too?

I say all of this to say that a dream of mine is coming to life. I knew that I would eventually get to this point, these were thoughts that I put out in the universe many years ago. Probably while watching an episode of Designing Women, I’m sure of it. I wanted to own a business and work collaboratively with other creative women with lots of positive energy. I didn’t know the details, but I knew it was something I felt passionately about.

Tomorrow I will be able to say that I am a fully insured business owner with a project manager who works with me part-time. It’s insane. Truly crazy.

I believe in putting thoughts/dreams and goals into writing. I’ve been writing this goal every year since I was in my early 20’s. It didn’t happen over night and I had many experiences that  lead me to this very beginning stage. It makes me believe that I’m slowly getting to a better place emotionally and physically. I trust that I’ll not always weigh close to 300 pounds. Just like I knew that I would some day own a business.

It’s not that I put these thoughts out in the universe, as I call it, without the work to get here, but it helped that I always believed I would bring myself to this path. All of the days, months and years of experience were leading up to this point. This is how I choose to look at my weight loss efforts. I know, and truly believe that one day I will wake up at a weight that is comfortable and healthy for my body. I know  there will be a day when I step on a plane without anxiety of fitting in the seat or a day when I can be adventurous without worry of my weight.

When I was 15 years old I knew I would some day live in NYC. I didn’t know how I would get there or what I would do when I arrived, but I knew it was going to happen. And it did. Three years later, when I was 18, I met Josh on his way to the big apple. I also knew on that day ten years ago that I would one day marry him. I didn’t know how it would happen and I surely would not have expected all of the events that would unfold to get to this point, but I knew deep down that he would be my husband and it would be one of the best decisions I’d make.

So is there power in knowing? I can’t say for sure, but one day my next chapter will be that of a business owner who lost 150 pounds. I don’t just believe it, I know it.

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Birthday Food

I have a secret to share. Are you ready? If it’s your birthday, and you approve of my cooking, there’s a good chance I’ll make you something delcious to eat. Because I love you. Just ask my husband.

For his birthday I put together this easy Vietnamese dish that happens to be one of our restuarant favorites. It’s a good thing I know how to make it because the nearest Vietnamese restaurant is three hours a way.

This dish hits all the important notes, sweet, savory, slightly salty, tangy and a little sour.

Grilled Pork Vermicelli with Nuoc Cham Sauce

This recipe is extremely easy to put together. And I love that because it looks pretty darn impressive. Here’s what you do. Purchase a small roast of pork picnic/shoulder/roast. I’ve bought this cut of meat many times and it’s gross and big. I’ve warned you. I use a sharp knife and slice off the layer of fat from the roast and then I cut thin 1/4 inch slices of meat for marinating.

For the marinate I’ve made this Nuoc Cham Sauce several times without fail. Chopped greens onions are helpful too. Let your pork marinade in half the recipe of Nuoc Cham Sauce for 1-4 hours.

I boil water for vermicelli or angel hair pasta. Once the pasta is cooked rinse it under cold water and portion into bowls.

Grill pork inside on a griddle or outside. This is important, the grill makes it magical.

Chop up a few carrots, peanuts or cashews, ice burg lettuce (this is one dish where ice burg makes all the difference), cilantro or mint, and cucumbers. A wedge of lime and bean sprouts are good too.

Arrange all the ingredients in the bowl and top with more Nuoc Cham Sauce. Sprinkle with peanuts. So, so good!

Please let me know if you make this dish, only so we can talk about how awesome it is.

I wanted to share a couple more things with you.

First, here is a photo Josh took of the cats and rabbit on the bed. I wasn’t in the house when this went down.

Yup two cats and a rabbit on our bed. Nothing strange about that. Apparently the rabbit scared the cats away.

In other news, I’ve been taking one-two days a week off of my “eating better for me” plan to enjoy carbs. It hasn’t hindered my weight loss too much as I’m down 15 lbs. so far. It’s helpful to be flexible, and I’m honestly okay with it as long as I continue to count calories.

And for even more news, I’ve been cleaning out my office because I’ve hired a real live project manager to work with me three days a week in my home office. This is a big deal, as I’ve dreamed of working on projects with another person since I started my business(es) a year ago. It’s scary and exciting to have someone to give work to. I just love that I’m in a place right now to afford health insurance and hire a part time employee. Trying to stay positive, and not negative which is a default of mine when things start going well. I worry about the most insane things when things start going well. Am I alone here?

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