Autumn to Winter and The Other Side of Thin Update

Welcome to Over a Cup of Tea with Celia M. - #8

Autumn is starting to give way to the gloomy days and reminding us that winter and it's really cold days are not far behind. This day certainly felt more like winter than mid November. Looking out the kitchen window the trees are now bare and the gardens are looking grayish.

Inside the Christmas Cactus is blooming its bright red colour ... 

To help ward off the chill this green ginger tea from TAZO was beckoning to be enjoyed.

To enjoy our tea I'm using a teacup and plate duo. It's stamped J.E. Caldwell & Co. Philadelphia and above that is a stamp that reads La Cloche - with the words French on one ribbon tip and China on the other. above that is a bell with T.V. and above that Limoges.

The teacup sits perfectly on the plate's indent leaving plenty of room for some goodies.

With Today's tea some mini croissants ...

I recently received an email with a question about how I was doing with my weight. The reader had read a post from my The Other Side of Thin Series - part One which I wrote in April - 2012. At that time I was weighing in at 145 lbs. and by June 2012 I was weighing in at 153 lbs. - I managed to get my weight down to 140 lbs by September 2012 and wrote about it here - Moving the Scale -The Other Side of Thin Series - where I shared tips on maintaining a healthy eating lifestyle. I'm happy to report that I did go on to loose an additional 10 lbs. - and have been maintaining my weight between 130 - 133 lbs. for almost 10 months. 

I'm currently working on the next 10 lbs. hoping to get down to 120 lbs. 

You can read Part Two and Part Three .

What tips can you share that have worked 

for you in loosing the last 10 lbs. ?

Stay warm...

Stay in Step with High Heeled Life ...

sharing this post with:  Mosaic Monday ~Le chateau des fleurs  ~  Inspire Me Tuesday ~  A Return to Loveliness ~  Antiques and Teacups for Tuesday Cuppa Tea ~ Rose Chintz Cottage for Tea time Tuesday ~ Artful Affirmations and Martha's favorites for Teacup Tuesday ~ 

Spinach and Cheese Omelette Recipe ~ The Other Side of Thin

I have been re-learning many things about meal time that use to be second nature.This dish is one that can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch or a quick dinner. It's both tasty and nutritious.

ingredients:

4 - organic eggs (ours are courtesy of a neighbor on our road - 

whose chickens run free around their property)

1/2 Cup grated smoked Gouda cheese

1 Cup of fresh organic spinach

2 garlic cloves chopped

few sprigs fresh organic oregano, parsley, basil 

pinch of Himalayan sea salt

couple pinch of Tumeric

3-3 turns of the pepper mill 

1 Tbsp. olive oil 

Portion Distortion ~ The Other Side of Thin Part 5

Corporate American food providers desperate to keep customers coming back, continue to increase the portion size of their products.Overtime we have been brain washed decided that MORE is Better and demand our moneys worth (forgetting "more" - is not necessarily healthier); often resulting in getting quantity over quality.

To fill our need for "more" even the size of plates, cups, glasses and bowls has increased significantly over the past years. All this contributes to our portion distortion of what a serving really is and thus we end up consuming perhaps 2-3 servings, thinking we are only eating a single serving (thanks to super sizing options and larger portions in general).

It's important to understand that a serving size is a standardized amount used as reference in determining the nutrients and calories in a specific food - and how much to eat. A portion is the amount of food you choose to eat.

So, are we really getting "More for our money"? not really if you stop to consider what more really does to our health. Good health is priceless ~ "more for our money" is costing us ~ our health.

It's easy to see by the image above how simple excess fat and calories can pile up without you knowing.


If you have been eating healthier and are still be driven bananas by not seeing the results on waist size, it's time to take a look at how much you are eating.

Here is a quick challenge, pour yourself a bowl of cereal (how you normally would) now before adding milk, pour the cereal into a measuring cup and note that measurement. Pour cereal back into bowl and add milk as you normally would. This next part is a little tricky ... using a strainer pour the bowl contents into another bowl or measuring cup, let the milk drain in. Note the measurement of milk.

Now compare these quantities (cereal and milk) you normally eat to the serving size and calories on the box. Chances are you will be surprised at how much your healthy cereal is adding to your day's intake, by the portion you are pouring each morning.

I did this and will share my own discovery in the next The Other Side of Thin series post.

Previous posts in The Other Side of Thin series can be found here.

Size DOES Matter ...!The Other Side of Thin ~ Part Four

... and this is especially true when we are on track to creating a healthier eating lifestyle. Given the choice between the 4 plates below, most people would chose Plate 1 ~ assuming they were getting more for their money. What plate would you choose?

Actually all the plates contain the same amount of food - it's the size of plate that is visually making  it seem as one plate has more food than the other.

A standard dinner plate size has increased by 3.5 inches since the 1960s, not a huge amount. But the amount of food which it is able to hold has increased more than 50%. And of course many of us take full advantage of this new found plate Real Estate.

Lets look at this in terms of calories.... we are now able to pile on 1900 calories VS. 800 calories of food onto our plates. Below is an example of how easily it is done.

The more white space we see on the plate the more food we add. It's no wonder we are struggling with getting our weight under control, even if we have turned to a healthy eating lifestyle. 

At the High Heeled Life home, we have started to look at the size of plates, glasses and bowls we use on a regular basis and are slowly changing to smaller sizes that do not make a portion size look small. Do you use large plates, bowls, glasses or do you use smaller ones to help you stay on track with REAL portion size?

Of course it's important to choose healthy foods over processed and filler filled foods. But it is equally important to do a reality check on what an actual portion really is, you'll be surprised!

Here is a chart to help get you started...

If you you really want to be surprised try this : after pouring your "healthy" whole grain cereal into a bowl, pull out the measuring cup and pour the cereal in. Chances are you are regularly consuming 1.5 to 2  portion sizes instead of the single portion size of 1/2 cup. Now look and see how many extra calories your are innocently consuming each morning.

Let's do all we can to help each other achieve our healthy eating lifestyle - so we can heap the side effect , of  healthier weight and waist line.

In the next installment of The Other Side of Thin , I will be sharing more portion distortion. Please share your discoveries. We are in this together folks! 

Other Side of Thin Series ~   Part One

                                                Part Two

                                                Part Three

Sharing with Post of the month club
image credit Google images

The Other Side of Thin ..Part Two

According to an article in Business Weekly by Rebecca Reisner in 2008 Americans spent $40 Billion on diet products and programs. Marketdata  noted in an article posted January 2012, their research found $61 Billion is spent by Americans each year on fad diets and programs.  

At 5' 2 1/2" having been a healthy size 2-4, maintaining a consistent weight between 110 lbs - 117 lbs most of my adult life, it is difficult to grasp that the 145 lbs size 8-10 and still 5' 2 1/2" image staring back at me is actually me!

So, like most people looking to loose weight I have set off in search of the QUICK GREAT FIX! With the help of friends I have been looking into all sorts of "diet options" I've labelled them diet options, as after careful examination that is what they really are promising ... a quick fix. Although most of these diet options will initially deliver on their promise to help you lose weight and/or go down a dress size or two - maintaining the "diet option" long term is next to impossible.  Many have food restrictions that leave out necessary nutrients, which can be harmful to your body causing a whole new series of problems to deal with along with all the weight that returns, once you stop.

I asked myself :

"what was I doing at that time I felt healthy and happy with my weight and self?"  

~ was in the peak of my career
~ ate quality portion size food
~ didn't really snack between meals
~ was very active
~ barely took an Aspirin
~ wore heels
~ had a full social life
~ I was very happy in my skin

"What is my life now?"



~ Helping my body to heal is my career
~ still eat quality food (though portions are not always clear)
~ snack between meals and not always healthy choices
~ am definitely less active
~  5 years older
~ Flats are my go to shoes
~ Medication (pain, mood, etc.)
~ Everything I have gone through in the past 5 years has left me numb and uncertain, overwhelmed and lost most of the time

As I sat in took in what each of these items on both lists represented, I realized that the items on the first list barely reflected the person I am now. What struck me was that both of these lists are reflective of the life I lived and the one I live now. Noting a definite relation between life style and how it affects our bodies, exists.

This realization perhaps explains why "diet options" (if ) they work, the results are short lived. The key is to live life ... something that before came so easily that I never connected it to my body's appearance. Also, I have been so wrapped up in what I am no longer able to do that I'm not looking at what I am able to do.

Yes, there are some things I may not be able to change on my list (of the life I now live) such as taking medication or wearing heels. But I think if I can manage to work on things like being more active, snacking less, look for things that bring me enjoyment outside my comfort zone (home) things will change!

Have you found a new way of eating that has now become a way of life, to maintain your healthy weight?

Is there a "Diet Option" that you have used to help in the short term (i.e used to slim down for a special function) or to jump start your life long eating habits ?

I have recently come across something that I will be trying starting next week, so check back regularly over the next few weeks - where I will share my findings , with first hand experience.

You can read Part One Here

P.S. Thank you to everyone who has been visiting and leaving encouraging comments and special thank you to those who have email me to see where I have been. I promise I will share all in future posts, as I regain strength.




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