NHBPM #14 & 15

Day 14 - Dealing with negative feedback in your community

I actually deal with very little negative feedback relating to my health and fitness. In fact, over the years the amount of positive feedback I have received has been tremendous. (Sometimes to the point of being uncomfortable, actually.)

As of this month it has been exactly eight years since I began losing weight. It's probably been seven years since I got to a point of substantial weight loss (and maybe six and a half since I've been in goal weight range). It's also been about seven years since I started treadmill running and six and a half since I went outside. (To run, that is.)

In the first two or three years I was frequently pulled aside and complimented on my weight loss, or asked how I did it, by people I knew and didn't know. Thanks to the "frequent flyer" tendencies of juvenile court clientele, many people will circulate in and out of the court system throughout their kids' teen years. Thus they knew me before, and after, and after the after.

Now so much time has passed that many people who are around now didn't even know me before. Every once in a while someone (usually a detention staffer, don't know why), will randomly comment on how I managed to keep the weight off. Occasionally someone will still ask how I lost weight, and I never have a good, magical answer for them. Luckily no one ever asks anymore if I had gastric bypass surgery. That was a rumor I had to quash many times back in the day.

Now lots of people know me as a runner and marathoner. You might expect some negativity about that, but no one has ever told me that I am going to destroy my body! They might comment how they can't run because of their bad back, or bad knees, but they are nothing but complimentary to me.

Day 15 - Preparing for the holiday

I am using one of the alternate topics for today, since it is one week before Thanksgiving.

I am a food lover, and Thanksgiving is a great, yummy food holiday. Eat whatever you want, I don't care. But if you do want to squeeze a few healthier foods in place of, or additional to, the butter-laden goodies, here are some simple ideas. Happily, turkey itself is a very healthy food (sans skin), so you don't have to worry about the main dish.

I know you can make healthier mashed potatoes, but my family insists on butter and cream, so I'll probably pass on the potatoes. But I may make one of my favorite alternatives, a good dish in itself, mashed cauliflower. There are a lot of ways to make this.. Here's mine.

Chop a head of cauliflower into smallish pieces and steam or microwave until very tender. In a bowl, blend with a few tablespoons fat free cream cheese, a little grated parmesan (optional) and garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. I use an immersion blender. This is also really delicious with some low fat cheddar mixed in, but I will be omitting the parmesan and cheddar due to cheese-sensitive family members.

I love Brussels sprouts roasted dark. I'll be using the Barefoot Contessa's recipe, light on the olive oil.

Roasted sweet potatoes. I might not do this, considering the mashed potatoes and cauliflower, but I do love it, and so does everyone else. Simple wash and dice some orange sweet potatoes, no need to peel. Toss lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and chopped rosemary. Spread in a single layer on a foil lined baking sheet, sprayed with cooking spray. Roast at 425 degrees until browned and very soft. It doesn't hurt to turn once during cooking. Cook longer than you need to, to get them nice and brown.

Fresh fruit. I like to have a big bowl of chopped mixed fruit, such as melons, pineapple, grapes, and whatever else looks delicious and juicy. It's a nice counterpart to the salty Thanksgiving foods.

Leafy green salad. I'm not sure about this, since there's a lot of other stuff already, but I love my big pile of greens. We'll see.

What are we not omitting (besides the buttery mashed potatoes)? Dressing (baked in a casserole, we don't stuff the turkey), gravy, and pie. Probably one marionberry and one apple. With ice cream, obviously.

Happy Thanksgiving in advance!






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