Friday, February 18, 2011

introduction: Alice (Madridmom)

Me next to the treat that Cindy Bunker brought over
when she flew in last week to visit us.
I love Chik-Fil-A chicken sandwiches!

Hi! I am Alice Dysert, aka Madridmom. My husband and I are church planters in Madrid, Spain and I have 4 children ages 8 - 15. I joined DaniJoy on the first Christmas Crunch last year (2009) and was able to get a good start on my goal to become more healthy and to see the number on the scale move out of the 150's and stay out. I was able to lose almost 10 pounds on that first challenge and I love the supportive response from all you ladies. I do have a tendency to get too many points from blogging and not from exercise so I really need to switch that around. By the end of the summer challenge last year I had made it down to 129 lbs -- a number I never in my wildest dreams expected I could see on the scale again. I was able to keep it off through the summer with lots of walking and sightseeing on our family vacation in August. Once I got back home and started eating badly again, and with the coming of fall and the holidays my weight started creeping back up. My official starting weight for this challenge as of Wed is 138.6 lbs but today the scale read 140.2. I did not ever want that tens digit to get back into the 40's so I think I finally have the fire lit under me to get off my backside and start moving again.
My husband has also put weight back on that he was able to lose last year and he is sure it is because of carbs in his diet. Once again he has made the statement that he will eat no more pasta, sugar, bread, rice or potatoes. This always frustrates me to no end because 1. I feel like I can't afford to buy enough meat to bulk up our meals with meat, 2. I am lazy when it comes to cooking veggies and making salads -- and veggies are my least favorite food so I balk at the idea of my diet being primarily made up of my least favorite food, 3. The whole idea of making such a large section of the food pyramid forbidden to me only makes me obsess and crave carbs all the more. UGH!!! I am going to need prayer in all this so that I can be the helpmeet God designed me to be for my husband. I am really struggling with my attitude right now and I know there are other areas in my life both spiritually and in the home that need my attention so I have to find a balance between spending time and energy on food, exercise and weight without neglecting the other things.

3 comments:

KathyH said...

Hey Alice!

I'm soo with you there when our wonderful husbands "suddenly" decided on an eating regime but don't actually understand the issues of putting it into practice.

With food prices soaring the world over, quality meat is will be harder and harder to afford, especially for a family of 6. I don't know how you divide roles like budgeting but it may be time to take your DH food shopping (always a trying experience for me). Mr H is always shocked at the cost of food and (thankfully) most of the time just trusts me with that part of the budget (Hee Hee). Even so, he occasionally comes up with strangely inspired ideas of how to save money on food, and I found the only way to influence those opinions is to serve up said idea. Usually one portion is enough to change his mind! Our skills are definitely different on that score. He’s good at earning the money to buy the food and eating the end result, my skill set fills in the missing links :o) Anyhow, back on topic;

With regard to carbs, I'm using the GI diet principle of a ¼ plate carbs, ¼ protein and ½ veggies or salad. That may help you stomach all those healthy veggies, and don’t forget your growing kids need carbs. One meal for all, just everyone gets different portions could keep everyone happy:
DH = ½ Protein + ½ Veggies
Fabulous Wife = ¼ Carbs + ¼ Protein + ½ Veggies
Kiddies = 1/3 Carbs + 1/3 Protein + 1/3 Veggies

I use frozen veggies, some I buy in, some I make myself like carrots. A larger effort on one day means minimal effort everyday. Also, frozen veggies have less waste kilo for kilo, no stripping leaves or chopping off that big fat broccoli stork you paid for but never eat! I love salads but hate the effort so I turned my fridge into a salad bar. I wash and chop a whole lettuce, grate carrots etc etc and it’s all laid out in different plastic tubs just to grab a handful of each thing – taa daa – a tasty salad in under 3 mins! I only have an European size fridge but also only have a household of 2, maybe it won’t work space wise for you. Maybe it’s alittle OCD too – I do have a tendency in that direction.

Anyway, so happy you’re joining us again.

Keep springing

Blessings

Kathy <><

Charlie said...

Hi Alice,
I know what you mean about adding more meats to the diet. Meat can be very expensive. I make beans about once a week or so. It's cheap and is full of lean protein. I am very blessed that my son likes beans too. They are also satisfying and keeps you full longer. There are so many ways to serve beans.
I like my carbs too and some carbs are good for you. If I don't consume carbs my sugar level has a tendency to drop below normal. So keep in mind that not all carbs are bad. It's the refined ones that are bad. For instance tonight I'm going to make spaghetti. My pasta will be whole wheat, I will make some regular pasta for my son (he doesn't like the whole wheat ones). I will also have quite a bit of veggies to go with it. Kathy is right, frozen veggies are easier to prepare because they are already cleaned and all you need to do is pop them in your recipes and they are done. I don't know if you can buy it there but here they sell containers of already cleaned greens for my salad. I like the baby spring mix. It's full of iron and stuff. Before I started buying them I used to do what Kathy does and clean everything at the beginning of the week and have instant salads the rest of the week. I'm not fond of fresh salads all the time specially during the colder months. So I go for half cooked veggies.
Exercising has a way of de-stressing a person. At least is does for me. I find that my outlook on life is much better during and after exercising. Especially my walks.
With the Lord we can do anything.

Charlie

Unknown said...

Wow, Alice, such a wealth of knowledge from our wonderful team! I am learning here too! I am taking some of kathy's ideas and Charlie's how great! I can steal from your post! Lol

I am right with you on the wanting carbs! Seems that's what i crave most too. I have some protien bars stashed to help the munchies.

So glad you are joining in even though a little hesitantly. Will be praying for Animo!

Big Springy hugs,
Dani Joy