Progress Report, and a Recipe...

The scales are down 3 pounds...hooray! Weight or water loss, whatever, I'll take it. As the old comic strip character Cathy used to say "If you lose weight it's fat; if you gain weight, it's water." Makes sense to me.

My blood sugars are also much better already--the highest in almost a week has 120, so that's great. Believe me, there was room for improvement. Before resigning from my job, my A1C was 5.9 (7 and below is normal). When I went back to the doctor a week ago, it was up to 8.9. I blame no one but myself--I let the grieving process of not being able to find and job and the final resignation the I just wasn't healthy enough to work put me into such a tailspin that all I did was eat, sleep and wallow in my depression. I had also gained back the 20 pounds I had lost. But enough of that

Time for a recipe, friends--I made this last night, and while it was not as Paleo as it should have been, the hubby loves rice. I will include Paleo options where I can. Still, it was pretty low carb, delicious and spicy, but not too spicy.

Chicken with Poblano Sauce

6 large chicken thighs, skin removed

1 large onion, quartered

4 cloves of garlic, peeled

5 cups of chicken stock, maybe 6 depending on size of skillet (see note in directions)

2 poblano peppers, skins charred (I placed mine under the oven broiler until the skins blistered and turned a little black), stems and seeds removed (for an even milder spice level, substitute 1 poblano with a green bell pepper)

1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

2 medium CORN tortillas, lightly toasted to bring out toasted corn flavor (just lightly--you still want them to be soft)

Steamed brown rice or steamed cabbage as accompaniment (use cabbage for more Paleo option)

Crumbled queso fresco to taste (Mexican crumbling cheese), for garnish

Place chicken thighs (thick side down), onion, and garlic in a deep skillet. Add chicken broth, enough to cover the chicken (you may need more than 5 cups). Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Turn to medium low and simmer uncovered for one hour, or until chicken is completely cooked and tender

When the chicken is cooked, removed with tongs from skillet, reserving poaching liquid. In a blender or food processor, combine poaching liquid including the onion and garlic, poblano peppers, cilantro, and toasted tortillas torn into pieces. Blend/process on high until thick and smooth.

Pour sauce back into the skillet and bring to a boil. Add chicken pieces back in, coating with sauce. Turn down to a simmer, and let simmer for 5-7 minutes

Serve chicken on bed of brown rice or steamed cabbage topped with sauce and sprinkled with a bit of queso fresco.

I hope you enjoy it, and I'll talk to you soon. Take care!

So Which Elephant Do We Talk About First?

Thank God we're putting this blog out on the cloud; we need a pretty big space for all the elephants in the room. I guess I'll start with the one that is the most obvious: I'm fat. I'm not talking lose 10 pounds to get into that dress. I'm not talking lose 50 pounds to become healthier. I'm talking FAT. Like I need to lose a whole person fat.

How much do I weigh? Well, that's none of your damn business. Let's say I can fit in most chairs, and doorways aren't an issue (except when we visited a house built by Frank Lloyd Wright, and be believed in building doorways for people of small stature). I occasionally have issues with restaurant booths and turnstiles, and I haven't been on an amusement park ride in so long I can't even remember. BUT I still get around on my own, don't use a scooter in the grocery store, and am able to leave the house (physically, anyway--there are other reasons I can't, but that's another elephant).

My husband (yes, I have a husband and yes, I was fat when he married me) says I carry my weight well and I don't look like I weigh as much as I do. May every woman have a man as sweet as mine in her life. He's loving, encouraging, thoughtful, and never plays the "Food Police" when I lose it and go off my eating plan. I hate people who think they have to "help you" by reminding you "you're not supposed to have that."

Reminds me of when I was in kindergarten, and the school was having a bake sale. My mama had left a quarter for me to get something before she left for work and my Ma-Maw (her mama) put it in my pocket and said "It's enough to buy something yummy, honey." I was already chunky by then--the origins of the chunkiness will be another entry.

So Ma-Maw and I walked to school and I had my day of class. When it came time to go to the playground, the baked goods were all lined up on a table--cookies, brownies, and cupcakes baked in empty ice cream cones and frosted pink. Those cupcake "ice creams" were so pretty I had to have one. I pulled out my quarter and paid for it proudly.

Then I saw Mrs. McIntyre, my teacher, walking up to me, smiling sweetly, not a single brunette hair out of place. I decided before she reached me that I would give my "ice cream" cupcake to her.

Mrs. McIntyre put her hand on my shoulder, leaned down, and softly said, "Charlotte, do you really need to be eating that?"

I couldn't form the words to tell her that I was going to give the treat to her. My five-year-old heart didn't know how to explain that I looked up to her and loved her because until that moment, she was the only one in the whole school who had not seemed to notice I was fat. All I could do was stand there and hold back the tears.

She patted me and kept on walking. I turned and walked to the nearest trash can, and threw the cake away.

But I digress; if you stick around, you're going to find I do that a lot.

So here's the skinny (pun intended): I'm fat, have been since age 3, and I think I finally at age 49 found the way to lose weight and feel better--a Paleo eating plan. I was on it for a month and lost 22 pounds. I also had to take almost no insulin during that time. Then depression hit (Look! There's another elephant!) and I stopped eating paleo, so I gained all the weight back and screwed my sugars up. Now I'm back on track again with protein, eggs, vegetables, and fruits.

By the way, I welcome comments, but please don't throw stones. If you have the immature audacity to do some fat-bashing, it will just get deleted. If that's all you have to do with your time, you need a hobby.