Friday Five: Ways to Acheive a Feel Good Weight
Remember those resolutions? Thanks to sinus surgery (#1) I have dropped five pounds (#7). I do not recommend this method and know the weight will come right back if I don't make other changes.
I described my resolution as 'return to a feel good weight' which means that the number of pounds matter less to me than how my clothes fit and my body feels. I have a little ways to go still to fit into some things and I have plenty of flabby un-toned spots. Exercise will help take care of the latter and I hope to maintain the weight loss by doing these five things:
1) Eat a filling breakfast. Nothing earth shattering here. When I take the time to make whole grain oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts, I feel fuller longer than when I try to get by with a slice of toast. Feeling full means less snacking on empty calories, plus my morning oatmeal is packed with fiber and nutrition.
2) Reduce alcoholic drinks. I usually have a glass of wine with dinner. This is arguably good for me and I enjoy it. When I have another glass or two after Lil's bedtime or a cocktail in the late afternoon, I'm adding unnecessary calories and clouding my ability to resist excess snacking.
3) Increase water intake. Again, we've all read this a thousand times: drink water. Water helps our body digest food and drinking provides a satiating sensation. In the winter I drink warm herbal teas all day long.
4) Snack wisely. Here's my snack method when I'm trying to lose weight: when I feel hungry, first I drink a glass of water. If I still feel hungry five minutes later, I have a piece of fruit. Usually the snacky sensation subsides then. If I'm still hungry I make a bigger snack like homemade bread and peanut butter, nuts and dried fruit, or popcorn. I also curb false hunger eating, the desire for snacks out of habit not true appetite.
5) Cook at home. Fast food and restaurant food is often laden with excess fat and sugar, but that's not why I avoid it. I avoid eating out because typical restaurant fare creates a viscous cycle in my body. I eat some fries at a restaurant and feel underwhelmed, unsatisfied. So I buy an ice cream or order pizza. Again the white flour and sugar gives me a temporary high with a sugar crash shortly after. I want to eat more to feel satisfied but I very rarely do. Eating at home, where I craft meals to include whole grains, nutritious vegetables, and real fat, I do feel satisfied and ultimately eat less.
There are my top five ways to return to a feel good weight. How do you lose or maintain weight?
Considering
Snow covers soil,the medium of my most real work.
My hands are too clean when idle from planting and tending and harvesting.
Choices and possibilities swirl through my hibernating mind.
I am considering:
attending and speaking at conferences,
homeschooling and unschooling and public lottery,
preparations for winter cooking classes,
acting on the whispered suggestions to start an extended family homestead,
chaperoning American teens in Japan,
or tossing it all aside to live off the land somewhere.
The simple life is not always so simple, yet I am thankful for opportunities and contemplation.
Added to Simple Lives Thursday.
2010 Year In Review
I'll end 2010 with a retrospective just like I ended 2009. We bloggers do these things and maybe you readers enjoy them.
January - Life was so boring here that I shared the contents of my cupboards and wrote a little piece about botulism.
February - I spoke at and attended the Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association conference. I especially enjoyed the keynote address by Joel Salatin.
March - My family enjoyed a short vacation to the mid-Atlantic and welcomed backyard chickens to our homestead.
April - Alex and I slaughtered a pig and reflected on the experience.
May - Our garden began producing strawberries. Alex and I shared advice about bike commuting equipment and cycling road rules in support of bike to work month.
June - Baby vegetables began to appear in the garden. I entered my totally local asparagus relished eggs in Wild Goose's Asparafest and shared which flowers to pick from a vegetable garden.
July - We canoed in Canada, managing camp meals for nineteen family members and friends.
August - We harvested mountains of sexy heirloom tomatoes. I attended a talk about Edible Forest Gardens even as my bountiful garden necessitated a series of canning posts about fruit jam, pectin, and vegetables.
September - I began eating meat again. Lil made a new garden and the whole family went camping for Labor day.
October - I turned thirty with much celebration. We bought a cider press and toured Jeni's Ice Cream.
November - Alex and I went to Kentucky for a bourbon boozy weekend. Lil joined us for many thanksgiving meals and met a well endowed pig named Big Mac.
December - We gave and received homemade presents after hosting our annual Xmas Eve Dinner. Alex and I celebrated our tenth anniversary. Here's to more exciting homesteading adventures in 2011!
'Tis The Season of GiveBack
The folks at One2One Network turned me on to a very cool site appropriate for the holiday season of giving: GiveBack.org. The simple premise of this website is to make charitable giving easier. First, GiveBack users can create their own foundation from a huge variety of nonprofit organizations. The foundation I created benefits the Columbus Museum of Art, Slow Food International, Local Matters, Columbus Metropolitan Library and Capital Area Humane Society. Register and $5 is instantly deposited in your account to give to your favorite charity.
Next, registrants can earn money towards their foundation by shopping through the GiveBack site. The percentage donation varies per retailer, but over 400 stores have signed up including big names like Old Navy, Gaiam, and Staples.
Finally, you can contribute directly to GiveBack and disburse the money as you wish. Adding funds is completed on a secure single screen.
As a bonus, GiveBack members can compete for a 'M Award' sponsored by MISSION founders Serena Williams and Steve Nash. The M Award gives $1000 to the charity of a member with an inspiring story.
I have seen philanthropy concepts like this before but there always seems to be a catch. So far, I can't find anything to dislike about GiveBack. The money donated through GiveBack is turned over 100% to the charity with no surcharges. (Non-intrusive sponsors cover the costs of operation.) The site is professionally designed and I couldn't find a glitch among lots of surfing. I gave funds in amounts as low as $1 to test flexibility for using this site with children who may want to split small donations several ways.
I plan to use GiveBack to manage my charitable donations this season. How do you give during the holidays?
New Tech to Conserve Electricity: SmartGrid
Homesteaders usually tend towards old-fashioned methods of conservation. We use hand-powered tools. We line dry laundry and push a reel mower. We use renewable fuels to grill and light the fireplace. But we dare not eschew high tech solutions in combination with these old school efforts. A whole system of high tech ideas to increase efficiency is sweeping the nation under the umbrella name SmartGrid.
AEP Ohio invited me to a lunch at Alana's with other mom bloggers to learn about their new program in Ohio, gridSMART. I'm writing separately about lunch at Alana's because it was lovely enough to warrant its own post.
The gridSMART program has many facets. The first solution to roll out are Smart Meters, digital home electric meters to replace analog ones. We learned that in north east central Ohio, households are already being given these wireless communication enabled digital meters. This pilot group will test how a digital meter allows them to view their electric usage in fifteen minute segments. AEP will use the smart meters to better regulate energy production and respond to service disruptions.
Soon, customers with smart meters will be allowed to opt-in to a variable rate tariff that offers lower electric prices for all times of the day except peak hours of 1-7 pm. For many users, this can result in a lower electric bill while reducing usage of expensive and eco-costly peaker plants.
Customers will also have the option to install a programmable communications thermostat hooked into their smart meter. This thermostat, provided by AEP, will communicate with the meter. During the summer, AEP may tell the thermostat to increase temperature (i.e. reduce air conditioning) by two to four degrees for short periods of time to reduce stress on the grid. Customers will have the choice to override if necessary, but full participation will give them an eight dollar credit on their electric bill.
I am really excited about these forward thinking programs. I am thrifty enough that I think it would be cool to monitor my energy usage on a micro-level and save money on my electric bill. I can totally see myself competing for lowest electric usage within the 'neighborhoods' AEP defines of similar homes. Some might worry about privacy with having a digital meter, but the AEP representatives assured me they have a team working on network security and very few individuals can see household use other than the customer themselves. I am far more concerned about the lack of privacy I feel when the meter reader walks through the back yard. If you have different opinions, remember that the rate and thermostat programs are totally voluntary.
To me, the worst thing about the gridSMART program is that my home is not eligible for the smart meter and communicating thermostat yet. My parents live in a neighborhood that is part of the trial and I look forward to learning how the program works for them.
Even those of us not currently eligible can read the AEP website for tips to conserve electricity and notices about other special programs, including the in-home energy audits. For a low cost, an auditor will come out to your house, make recommendations to increase efficiency and AEP offers rebates if you make the suggested improvements. The auditors will replace incandescent bulbs with Compact Fluorescents and make other minor repairs on site included in the cost of the assessment. We're signing up for one in January.
I know that these programs benefit AEP because if they can curb demand, they can avoid building expensive power plants. They are great for individual households who can lower their bills through tiered rates and communicating thermostat rebates. Perhaps most importantly, all of us benefit when energy is conserved so that we enjoy cleaner air and water.
Disclosure: I wrote this post after attending an informational luncheon on behalf of Silver Spring Networks and Mom Central Consulting and received a gift bag and gift card as a thank you for taking the time to participate. Opinions are my own.
Snow Days in the Winter Edible Columbus
Are you wondering how to keep your family interested in local foods this winter? Read my Young Palates article, Snow Days, in the most recent Edible Columbus! Pick up a free paper copy of this beautiful magazine at select advertisers listed on the Edible Columbus website.
Handmade Holidays: Rolled Beeswax Candles
Are you making handmade gifts this year? We are! Hand-rolled beeswax candles will make an appearance in several gift baskets. They are simple enough that Lillian can make a passable candle and they burn cleanly with only the slightest honey scent.
We order bulk beeswax sheets from Knorr Beeswax for $43 (shipped) for twenty 8x16 inch sheets and wick. It comes in a variety of colors and is very high quality in our experience.
To roll, lay out an art mat (aka old plastic placemat) on which to work. An old pair of scissors works well to cut the sheets to size. We use half a sheet (8x8) for a standard dinner candlestick. A half sheet cut on the diagonal makes a taper. For a pillar, roll the entire 8x16 inch sheet or cut to the height you wish.
Place the wick at one edge of the wax. Roll slowly and tightly, keeping the bottom edge aligned. Wax rolls best on a warm day and can be warmed slightly with a hair dryer if it is crumbling.
Lillian likes to use mini cookie cutters to cut decorations for the candles.
An adult must press the cookie cutters through the wax as it is very difficult to cut cleanly. I press with my full weight and slide the cutter back and forth against the cutting mat to be sure the wax cuts all the way through.
Once we discovered handmade beeswax candles a few years ago, we fell in love. We roll them for everyday use and special occasions. Two years ago, we helped Lil paint terra cotta pot bases and make pillars to give as a set for Xmas. She insists on making hand-rolled custom birthday candles.
For gift giving, I like to tie two dinner or taper candles together with a bit of raffia or ribbon before wrapping or tucking them into a gift basket.
Please excuse the uncovered cans in the basket. A post on prettying up home canned goods is coming soon!
What are you making for holiday gifts this year?