Will you go into the kitchen with me?

Without a doubt, my greatest weight loss challenge is food.  As you may recall, last November I accepted the fact that eating meat makes me miserable and so I quit eating it.

Yesterday I was so hungry that I envisioned eating a chicken breast or an Italian meat sub.  I was hungry - starved for protein - because I haven't taken the time to plan meals for weeks.  Between my dad's death and a host of illnesses in my household - including pneumonia - I haven't had the wherewithal to look at cookbooks, let alone prepare nutritious meals.

The result?  Shoveling in quantity rather than quality.  And how are my body and spirit supposed to heal without nutrients.

Thanks to a few days' worth of antibiotics, I've mustered the energy to look up some recipes.  One of my favorite sites for interesting recipes is Chef Chloe.  The site doesn't have as many recipes as does her book (which is available in libraries), but I found a few entrees to put on next week's menu.

I continue to struggle with wanting to eat - but not make - salads.  It strikes me that salads are like losing weight: the outcome is awesome, but getting there can be monotonous.  As I think about it, I remember how pleased I was when I saw a friend preparing a salad, and rather than tear each individual leaf by hand, she grabbed a few leaves and sliced with a knife as a bunch.

My point is:  I'd love to know YOUR go-to places for recipes, particularly vegetarian, or at least nutritious for the meat-eaters in my household, YOUR salad secrets, and how YOU go about planning meals. 

Why I Went To The Gym On May 14

1.  On May 13 I got a look at my upper arms.  That alone should have been motivation enough, but I don't think it would have been.

2.  Also on May 13 I attended a Singing Angels.  The Angels' enthusiasm gave me back a spark of life.

3.  Like me, my workout partner didn't get to the gym last week.She told me yesterday that she was afraid she was going to stop trying altogether.  I didn't want her to give up, and if it meant me going to the gym, then so be it.

4.  Since I've made up my mind that getting healthy is up to me and not up to anyone else -- since I've accepted that my health is my responsibility -- I have a new motivation to simply do the best I can.  I know what to do, and so I'll follow the greatest ad campaign ever: Just do it.