New Year and All That

It's almost here... ready or not, right??

I'm not one for making New Year's Resolutions because I've usually already broken every single one before January 5th.  Who's with me?

But I've been thinking about some goals for the new year. Things to work on. Goals are different from resolutions, in my humble opinion. Goals are things you strive for. It may take a while to get there, but you keep working toward your goals.

Resolutions are like goals, but it seems like once we have an "oops" we completely throw out the whole dang thing and give up. So many times I've said something like, "I'm going to give up soda." And then I drink a soda. Well.. I broke that one. Might as well keel enjoying my Coca Cola.

Maybe that's just me, though. I really need to work on my mindset, huh?

So anyway.

Goals. Resolutions. Whatever you want to call them.

Have you made any?

I've been contemplating what goals I should set for myself in 2019. I think we should all have some goals that we are working toward, whether it be goals for the new year or just goals you set out to achieve randomly throughout the year.

So here ya go.  My goals, so far. I'm sure I'll add to them. I might even modify them. But here's what I've got.

1. Daily devotional time... read my Bible more... time in prayer. I seriously feel the need and the desire to grow closer to God. I find myself getting up in the morning and going immediately to social media. My goal for 2019 is to focus more on Him than my Facebook timeline.

2. Reach a healthy weight. I don't know what that number is yet. My surgeon, my PCP, my dietician, and I will have to decide this together. I don't ever remember being under 180 pounds or a size 14 in my adult life, and even then I thought I was huge. So I honestly don't have a clue what that number will be.

3. Get more active. Specifically... 8 races over the next 12 months (and walks/jogs/runs with the family to prepare for these events)... they have to be at least 5K in distance. I have a few planned so far. Resolution Run (5K)  in January, Hot Chocolate 5K (not up for the 15K this year) in February, Peachtree Road Race (10K) in July, Rugged Maniac (5K obstacle course) in August, and a Turkey Trot (5K) in November. 

4. Exercise at home at least 5 days per week. Specifically... videos I have. DDP Yoga and Body Groove are two that I have and keep saying I'm going to do. 2019 is my year to start them. Right after everything gets back to normal and the hubby and kids go back to work/school. I don't want an audience. I'm still too self-conscious for that. ***On a side note... why is it I can go to a gym and do a workout class with a bunch of other people and not feel as self-conscious as I do if I were to workout at home with people in the house?

5. Pay off bills. Maybe get to a point where I can actually start saving money instead of everything going toward debt.

So far that's all I've got. I'm sure there will be other goals along the way. Goals that aren't really relevant right now, but that may present themselves throughout the year.

How Do People Do It? (And some really yummy chili, too!)

So I decided to pop in here and maybe do a little blog post since I knew it had been a minute since I'd last done so. Imagine my surprise when I discovered my last entry was almost two years ago? I mean, 22 months is close enough to say "almost two years," right?

How do people keep up with blogs? I, apparently, suck at this. Two years? Geez!!

So, what's been going on with me over the last almost two years? I'm so glad you asked.

Yeah, I've been on diets.. but there's a whole lot more to tell. Want the Reader's Digest version?

Here goes.

Feb 2017 I ended up having to leave my 17-year teaching career due to health issues... I suddenly couldn't walk into my classroom without having a panic attack. On top of that, major depression hit me hard. This all started in Sept 2016, but by Feb 2017 I had to officially walk away.

March 2017 I took a temp job making a whole lot less, but I wasn't having daily panic attacks. That's a bonus!

Rest of the year... work, diet, work, forget about diet, work, diet.... you get the idea. Not a whole lot to talk about.

Dec 2017 I was offered a permanent position with my company.

Jan 2018 I officially started with my new company and making a little bit more money, but still not what I was making teaching. Bummer on that, but it's a good job... and I'm not having daily panic attacks still. No complaints at all from me!

March 2018 Since I started my new job, I was able to pick up my own medical insurance. My husband's insurance is good, but the insurance I was able to pick up covers something my husband's doesn't. Weight Loss Surgery. Yep. I did it. On March 15th I started the process to get WLS. My starting weight was 317 pounds.

July 2018  The 18th, to be exact, I had a procedure called the duodenal switch. Best decision ever! I lost 20 pounds during the pre-op clearances and MD supervised nutrition/physical activiity monitoring, so the day of surgery I was 297 pounds.

December 2018 This morning I weighed in at 225.6 pounds. I am down roughly 92 pounds overall, 72 of that since surgery. I feel so much better. I was a size 26/28 when I started this journey. Now, depending on the clothing, I'm wearing either 14/16 or 18/20.

So, there ya go! The last two years in a (really big) nutshell.

Now, I want to share with you a recipe that I made a whole heck of a lot during my pre-op phase. I ate it almost daily. I'm going to be making up a big ol' batch of it this weekend... I call it "Tricia's Chili." I mean, hey... why not? Also, I'm not really original with names.

I don't really know where I got the recipe. I kinda adapted it from some other recipes I found online. I make it two different ways... one way with all ground beef and Ro-Tel tomatoes, and another way with ground beef and bulk sausage, but with diced tomatoes. I'll share both.

Tricia’s Chili

·        2 lbs of ground beef... I use 1 lb ground beef & 1 lb of Jimmy Dean Hot sausage

·        Garlic salt, to taste

·        2 cloves garlic, chopped

·        2 tbsp olive oil

·        1 ½ cups onion, diced (about 1 large onion)

·        ½ cup chopped celery, about 1 stalk

·        1 ½ cups carrots, peeled and diced (about 4 medium carrots)

·        3 bell pepper, diced  – 1 each red, yellow, orange

·        4 cups zucchini, diced (about 2-3 medium zucchinis)

·        1 15oz can tomato sauce

·        1 15oz can diced tomatoes

·        3 tbsp chili powder

·        2 tsp ground cumin

·        1 tbsp oregano

·        1 tbsp basil

·        1 tsp sage

·        ½ - 1 tsp salt, to taste

·        1 tsp pepper

·        1 tsp onion powder

·        ½ tsp cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you like)

·        Chicken broth (or broth of choice)

1.     Season meat with garlic salt and cook beef until browned. Drain. Set aside.

2.     Add oil and garlic to skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes, and then add onion, celery, carrots, bell pepper, and seasonings to skillet. Cook until translucent over medium-high heat, about 5-7 minutes. Add zucchini and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Be sure to mix well so that seasonings coat the veggies.

3.     Add the meat, tomato sauce, and tomatoes and stir well. Add broth to desired liquid level. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stir for another 20 minutes.  Stir every few minutes. I often cook longer to get the veggies good and tender.

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     Version 2...  here are the ingredients... instructions are the same as above..

·        2 pounds of ground beef, 93% lean

·        Garlic salt, to taste

·        2 cloves garlic, chopped

·        2 tbsp olive oil

·        1 ½ cups onion, diced (about 1 large onion)

·        1 cup chopped celery, about 2 stalks

·        1 ½ cups carrots, peeled and diced (about 4 medium carrots)

·        3 bell pepper, diced  – 1 each red, yellow, orange

·        4 cups zucchini, diced (about 2-3 medium zucchinis)

·        1 15oz can tomato sauce

·        2 10oz can Ro-Tel tomatoes

·        3 tbsp chili powder

·        2 tsp ground cumin

·        1 tbsp oregano

·        1 tbsp basil

·        1 tsp sage

·        ½ - 1 tsp salt, to taste

·        1 tsp pepper

·        1 tsp onion powder

·        ½ tsp cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you like)

·         2 cups Chicken broth (or broth of choice)

      

Sorry I don't have any better photos... I don't usually do the recipe thing. I'll try to do better. LOL