New Venture, Explained

I know that my blog talks a lot about DDPYoga and my journey. I know there are probably a lot of readers who are totally confused at my abrupt change. Let me try to explain a bit, if I can.
First of all, DDPYoga literally saved my life. When I joined the DDPYoga lifestyle, I weighed over 300 lbs. I could not tie my shoes, I got tired after walking less than 100 yards, my feet constantly hurt from plantar fasciitis, and I figured I was "too old" to do anything about my weight, and felt like I couldn't, because of the pain. Fast forward 2 1/2 years, and I attended the DDPYoga Retreat in Cancun, Mexico! I did all but 1 workout. I loved every minute of it. I got feedback from Dallas on my form, and set a personal goal with him at the going away party, (which everyone does!), to lose 30 lbs. in 6 months. He told me it was a pretty aggressive goal but I said yes.  I went home, with newfound energy and commitment, and lost 20 lbs of the 30. Then I was stuck. I was stuck because of something that I choose not to share publicly, but something that I  DID share with my accountability partners, and did my best to work through. Having said that, I lost those 10, about a week before the 6 month mark and proudly emailed Dallas and shared.
 I figured I would continue on and continue to lose, but life and the universe had different plans. My personal life continued to flouder and it floundered in ways that made it really hard to hit my mat, really hard to even find a place to workout with the quiet that I personally need to do DDPYoga. I stopped working out. During this time frame, I also was reminded by a  specialist that not giving my left achilles, which was inflamed, time to heal, meant it would always be an issue. So I rested it. And I ate. 2016 is a banner year in my life, and will never be forgotten. There was good, there was bad, there was "wait, are you kidding me, this isn't my life." But it happened, and it is what it is. It's over.
Fast forward to January of 2017. Every year, I pick a word to live by. I set an intention of living by that word and what it means. This year, I picked PEACE. I wanted to reclaim the peace that I had built in my life, and I meant business. On January 3rd, I joined Weight Watchers. I was so close to 300 at this point that it scared me. I was, however, done playing around, and intent on losing the 30 lbs I had lost with the goal with Dallas, and more. This was it. I decided to do WW and remain gluten and dairy free, as that's how I feel healthiest. At first, I didn't add any exercise in. I just didn't really have time. Our granddaughter lives with us part of the time and is much more fun than Dallas and DDPYoga. :)  I went to the gym sporadically and rode the bike. I even dropped the too-far-from-home-gym and joined 24 hour fitness around the corner from home and biked. A lot. I did that for several months. I lost about 18-20 lbs. Slowly.
In mid-June, a friend posted on Facebook that she was looking for people who wanted to participate in a test exercise group. I answered immediately. "Sure, why not." She folded me into a group of women, who, come to find out, would be active participants in me reclaiming my life even further and realizing how many lies I had told myself about my age and abilities. This was a Beachbody group. I didn't know it at the time, but many of the ladies in the group are my age. Experienced in life, and all with "stories", all different, but all important in who each of us is.
I started to lose inches and pounds. I started working out at home, but I changed it up. I do as many of my workouts as I can in the backyard on the patio. Once the weather cools, I'll move inside, as I do when it's over 90, but for most of the summer, I've worked out on the patio. It's been amazing. Lots of light, sun, soft breezes, and, lately, dragonflies that come back again and again to accompany me on my journey.
It's now the end of August. I'm now down a total of 28 lbs and at least 11.5 inches. I'm due to measure this weekend so I'll have to update once I do that, but suffice it to say, I've had to donate clothes, buy clothes, and tighten my belt a bunch since starting Beachbody.
So what does this have to do with DDPYoga? I'm still a member of the community, and occasionally, I hit my mat and do a workout. I have the app and once in a blue moon I use it. For daily use, I've found that right now, at the health level I'm at, I push myself too hard in DDPYoga for what my body can tolerate, so I've backed off some and am building tone and muscle with Beachbody workouts, but I have NO intention of giving up DDPYoga. None. I just want to build some core strength, ankle strength, and shoulder strength to make my DDPYoga journey more fun and comfortable. For right now? I'm loving Beachbody on Demand as well! I'm a coach, and willing to share if you are interested in what I'm doing, just send me a message and we can chat!
I think that we all have our own fitness journeys. I also firmly believe that fitness journeys are multi-faceted. There is room for so much variety. Biking, hiking, lifting weights, DDPyoga, Pilates, whatever you choose. The most important thing is to keep moving. Don't stop. Keep fighting. Age IS just a number, but if you stop moving, it will be harder and harder to GET moving again. Never give up.
One last thing. You definitely want to keep an eye out here on my blog, because I'm working on a Soul Restoration retreat that will incorporate a few workouts as "tension relievers"!!! It's going to be a blast!!! (there might even be the opportunity to work with an Energy Coach!)
- Have a beautiful day!

DDP Yoga for Life - Food Planning for Success

I get a lot of questions about food. The majority are about “what about when you go out? What about lunches?” So I decided to do a blog post about my personal planning. While your mileage may vary, I’m hoping that some of what I do will help you in your own weight loss journey.

By day, I work in an Engineering environment. We plan our work and work our plan. (Well, that’s what we are “supposed” to do, right? Anyone who knows Engineers knows that this can be nebulous.) Nonetheless, I apply this to my eating as well. To track our needed groceries, we use an application called Our Groceries. It is on both iPhone and Android. It allows you to have multiple lists, for different kinds of stores, and we use it for everything. We have a list for the “regular” grocery store, as well as a list for Whole Foods, and another local market called New Leaf. The list is kept up to date by all members of the family, all the time. If you use the last of something, you’re responsible for either adding to the list or telling my husband, the List Master about using the last of it.

By Friday afternoon, I try to decide what I want to eat next week, and adding to our weekly grocery list, as we usually shop either on Saturday or Sunday. I know what I need and I know what I have. If I’m unsure, I check. I personally don’t write anything down as far as what I’m going to make, because usually I make a lot of something and just eat it every day, but you could also do that.

 For me, Sunday afternoon is the perfect time for food prep for the week. I’m relaxed, I have some time, and I spend a bit of time cooking some of the things I know I’ll need. Typically, this includes a large batch of quinoa. I’ve been making 1 cup dry, but this week, I realized I need a bit more, so I’m going to up it to 1.5 cups of dry. Once it’s done and cooled, I usually put it into one large container. I may also chop and roast a big batch of mixed veggies. If I want some special veggie burgers, now is the time that those get made. I then wrap each one individually and place them into a large freezer bag and freeze them. I find that they thaw mostly by lunch if taken out at 6 in the morning. At this point, I have a skeleton of food for the week, at least for lunch. I’m pretty much set. For my evening meals, I fix those each day without much issue.

Weekday Breakfasts and Lunches
Each evening, as I’m making my dinner, I make my breakfast for the next day and I make my lunch. My lunch is usually a quinoa bowl. I take a container and put in 1 cup of cooked quinoa, various frozen vegetables, adding to about 2 cups, and a sprinkling of sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. I pop it into the fridge in one particular spot and that saves me 5 minutes in the morning. For breakfast, I have to admit, I have an addiction. Power pudding. I just LOVE it. It gives me energy that lasts from 6 am to 12! SO awesome. I make it by adding 1 T. chia seeds, 1 T. hemp hearts, 1/3 cup raw whole organic oats, 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, and 1 scoop of a protein powder. In addition, sometimes I’ll add organic butterscotch flavoring (Frontier makes it), or I might add a spoonful of decaf coffee (one of my favorites!). I mix this all together, and put it in the fridge for the next morning.

Eating Out 
I don’t know about you, but it used to be that eating out was really difficult. Since going plant-based, it’s actually quite a bit easier, I’m not sure why, but anyhow, these planning steps help no matter what you eat!

First of all, if I know ahead of time, like when we have lunches at work, that I’m going to a particular restaurant, I look at the menu and I find things that fit in with my food plans, and my food lifestyle. I go in “armed”. I know what I can have, and I stick to it. For me, taking the guessing out of going out saves me from sitting there agonizing and trying to decide if I’m going to stick to my plan or “bend the rules” to fit what will almost fit. Yea, that’s a slippery slope, right?

If I don’t know ahead of time, and can’t look at the menu, I look first to see if they offer gluten free choices. If yes, then I look at those and find one that fits my needs. If they don’t have anything that fits my needs, or if I don’t like the looks of things, then I go back to the salads, and I find a main course salad that works. (I’ve been known to go to our local sandwich shop, Togo’s, and order an Asian Chicken Salad with no chicken! They look at me oddly, but in reality it’s a pretty good salad. I also don’t use their dressing the majority of the time, because while the salad has 180 calories, the dressing has 380!!!) This pretty much works everywhere.

If the menu looks completely off the wall, like a Chinese restaurant, Thai restaurant or some such, because of sauces and stuff, I just take the hit, order something vegetarian, enjoy the meal, and then adjust calories for the remainder of the day to account for it. Oh, one more thing, about bread. Restaurants almost always slap a basket of bread and butter on the table. My husband knows that the minute it’s there, I’m moving it. I move it to an area where it isn’t right in my face. I don’t eat that stuff, so why put it where it is tempting me. I also always order water to drink and ask for lemon in it.

In my opinion, life is all about choices. I am constantly making choices about my health and well being. With regard to food. I do the very best I can to make nutrient dense food choices that fit within my caloric parameters (yes, I'm a rabid food diary fan, myfitnesspal 1RadChick is me).

Black Bean Brownies.... YUM!!! (Honest!)

This is an amazing recipe! I adapted it from the Minimalist Baker. I thought they needed a bit of oomph, so I added the coffee and cinnamon. They would be incredibly decadent if you also put a few chocolate chips in the batter or even added a few on top of each one when you take them out of the oven!

Black Bean Brownies

INGREDIENTS

1 15 oz. can (~ 1 3/4 cups) black beans, well rinsed and drained

2 eggs 

3 T coconut oil, melted (or sub other oil of choice)

3/4 cup cocoa powder (the higher quality the better, I use WonderCocoa)

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup raw sugar (I used 1/3 cup of Palm sugar)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp instant decaf coffee

1/4 tsp cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease a muffin pan (12 openings).

Break eggs into blender or food processor.

Add remaining ingredients and puree - about 3 minutes - scraping down sides as needed. You want it pretty smooth.

If the batter appears too thick, add a Tbsp or two of water and pulse again. It should be slightly less thick than chocolate frosting but nowhere close to runny.

Evenly distribute the batter into the muffin tin and smooth the tops with a spoon or your finger.

Bake for 20-26 minutes or until the tops are dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides. (I baked mine for about 22 minutes on convection, at 325 degrees).

Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes before removing from pan. 

Store in an airtight container for up to a few days. Refrigerate to keep longer.

roasted butternut squash soup

My husband loves the Butternut soup at Whole Foods. However, it’s really hard to come by. Although this soup isn’t quite the same, it does fill the need for butternut soup! And look at the sweet heart in the squash! Loved that. :)

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Ingredients

3 lbs of butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed (about ½ inch cubes)

3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 medium Granny Smith apple (about 8 ounces)

2 shallots, peeled and coarsely chopped

8 fresh sage leaves or ½ teaspoon of dried sage

2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable (or chicken) broth

2 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed

1/3 cup almond milk

1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Place the squash pieces on the baking sheet. Lightly drizzle (or spray, I use a Misto) with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Add the shallot and the garlic cloves to the pan. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast until knife tender, about 30-45 minutes.
   

   

   
   
3. Meanwhile, peel, core, and cut the apple into medium dice and set aside.
4. When the squash is ready, set the baking sheet on a wire rack until the squash is cool enough to handle.
5. In the blender, combine the squash, garlic, shallots, and cut apple. If you want, (which I do), you can hold back about 1/2 cup of squash and mash it by hand with a potato masher or fork to give a bit more texture. I don't necessarily like it perfectly smooth.
6. Add the broth, water, and measured salt and pepper, and almond milk.
7. Purée the soup until smooth. You can remove the small cap (the pour lid) from the blender lid and covering the space with a kitchen towel (this allows steam to escape and prevents the blender lid from popping off). Alternatively, use an immersion blender. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve garnished with the pumpkin seeds, if using. (It's really yummy that way, but we didn't have any!) I also like to serve rustic bread with it. Yum!