Calories and Carbs

As I said the other day, I found a book that I've been reading and I'm finding it really useful. "The Prediabetes Diet Plan" explains how your body uses carbs and how insulin is used by your body. It is a very detailed, yet easy to understand explanation of how things should work in your body and how they actually work when you are insulin resistant. It also provides a lot of statistics on prediabetes and the link to many health problems and how even small changes can prevent diabetes.

She also offers a really good explanation on how to classify the foods you eat into different categories and how to build a healthy plate that reduces our calories and carbs that we are taking in to lead to healthier choices. This can be done without actually counting calories or carbs! I just finished reading about how to estimate the total amount of carbs you should get each day and an easy way to track that. What I like is that she offers a variety of ways to get started! You can start by simply filling your (smaller) plate differently and then choose to count calories and/or carbs or not. There are even tables to make it quick and easy to estimate how many carbs certain foods will give you.

Please keep in mind, this book and the recommendation of keeping your carb intake on the lower end of the RDA is designed for people that are insulin resistant or prediabetic based on actual blood glucose tests. I have been to the doctor and my fasting glucose is higher than it should be and it is, unfortunately, getting higher (as is my weight).

I'm currently using the Lose It app to track my calories and by adjusting my preferences, it will show my carb intake as well. The benefit to tracking what you eat as you eat it, is that you pay attention to what you eat and people tend to make better choices if they actually take the time to notice how much we are eating. I took the kids for a short walk this morning and I went for a jog this evening, so I was 200 calories short and 15g of carbs short of the recommendations. I could have left it at that, but cutting too many calories can do more harm than good, so I let myself have a little treat of M&Ms (measured out!). I enjoyed them and I didn't feel guilty because I knew that 1) I wasn't eating the entire bag at once and 2) I was still within my allotted calories for the day!

I also signed up for the Voyage to Venus. It looks pretty cool! I love the idea behind it and they do some pretty cool charities. I signed up for the Space Ranger level and hope to reach 100 miles this year. I felt this was perfect for me. I'm not really a runner, so setting a goal of 500 miles seemed a little overly ambitious. If anyone is reading this, you should check it out and tell them Heather sent you!

Overall feeling for today: happy

Lazy Kid Day

Today was actually a really good day. I didn't do a whole lot, but I had lots of fun with my kiddos. We played games and chased each other and laughed really hard. That may not be official exercise, but I'm counting it anyway! I'm a little sore from yesterday's run, so I pulled the kids for a walk in the wagon and we went to the park. I tried to do the monkey bars, but I could only hang there. So, I helped Stoney across instead!

As far as my eating, it was okay. My dad wanted to take us to lunch, so I has a club sandwich and not a cheeseburger or anything fried. I did have a Coke. I've had lots of water today though. Plus, when I was digging through for a snack, I pulled out a banana and not the bag of M&Ms :)

Here is something I have noticed about myself. Stress makes me want to eat. There is plenty of stress to go around right now. Stoney is not happy about the move and is letting me know it. After one of his tantrums today, I found myself looking for something to eat. I settled for a glass of ice water, but it was a close one. I need to find some ways to avoid grabbing unhealthy snacks, but still relieve my stress.

Several years ago I was diagnosed as insulin resistant and I have polycystic ovaries. I didn't think much of it at the time, though my doctor told me I should lose weight. I've started looking into the health problems associated with insulin resistance and decided I needed a bit more research and I really need to change my lifestyle. I found a library book about prediabetes and insulin resistance that I just started reading today. I'm excited and I hope I will find it helpful.

I think my biggest challenge is going to be to stay positive, but change isn't about changing everything at once. Little changes will add up!

Time for Change

Change. Change is good right? Well, not always. We have to be honest about that. But change is change and everything changes.

Here is a fact. I have been through a lot of changes in a very short period of time. Some of those change I genuinely believe are for the best and some...well, the jury is still out on those. I have moved, changed jobs, and am still considering other changes in my life. But, there is one change that needs to be made.

I need to lose weight. I'm not yet in the "morbidly obese" category, but past "obese." I honestly feel that the fact that we have different levels of obesity is just sad, but that is not the point. The point is I have to change this. I have two kids that I would like to live a long life with. I have two kids that I want to be able to chase around the yard or the house. They are only 1 and 4, but they grow so fast and I don't want to miss any of it.

I was doing pretty good, but the school year ended and I started packing and getting ready to move. I just stopped doing anything else. There was no exercising or eating right. There was kid time and packing time. I've been fooling myself by saying it isn't that bad. Yeah, my 2X shirts were getting a little tighter than they were. My jeans were snugger. Even my shoes felt a little tight. But really, I hadn't put on that much weight. I wasn't eating that bad, just a little something yummy every now and then. And then again. One or two cokes a day isn't terrible. And eating from the carton is okay because its frozen yogurt, not ice cream!

Moment of truth...I stepped on a scale. Then, I stepped off the scale and reset it to make sure it was working right. Then, I stared blankly at said scale. Time to really look in a mirror and see what the mirror says. Then, tap on the mirror to make sure it is working right as well. This is so not okay.

Here is the thing. I've posted this before (although, not quite this heavy), but I didn't make any changes. I complained. Which got me nowhere.

So, here is what I'm going to try to do. Since I'm not really using my blog for making soap or anything else really. I'm going to use it as a diary of my challenge. It doesn't matter if nobody else reads it. I'm posting it to keep me accountable to myself. At least, that's the idea. Maybe if someone shares the journey with me it will seem less challenging/daunting/miserable.

From The Soap Pot 9/15

It has been a while since I've gotten to make soap! With all the craziness of moving, unpacking, traveling, school starting, and markets it just hasn't happened. But, today is one of those super-productive days for me! I have gotten quite a bit done at work, almost finished all the laundry, and I made some soap. I've been dying to make coffee soap again, but people didn't really like it without a scent. I finally found a coffee scent that I am just in love with, so my delectable Mocha Soap is back. Made with coffee, coffee ground, and cocoa butter this is the perfect soap for the kitchen or the shower. Did you know that coffee is actually great for absorbing icky smells, so it makes a great hand soap in the kitchen as well as a scrubby body soap in the shower.

These will be ready to go on 10/16! This is a small batch to see if people like it better than the original, so quantities will be limited.

Elemental Swirl Soap

Have you seen this technique? It is really cool! You create two layers of swirled soap! It is an advanced technique, but the results are lovely.

I've had a bit of a stressful time lately. I am getting ready to move. I have a newborn and a toddler and guess what? The toddler is acting out because of the attention that the baby gets. Surprised? I didn't figure you would be. There are a few other things going on, but that is not the point. The point is that I really wanted to make some soap that would really take some skill and concentration. I wanted to get my mind off of my poor, poor, pitiful me crap and be creative and artistic! So, I decided the elemental swirl technique would do the trick!

I decided to use a Monkey Farts fo because I like it! If you want a pick-me-up, sniff some fruit monkey farts. Heck, just say monkey farts. Monkey farts. *giggle* I also chose this fo because I knew it did not accelerate trace or rice or anything else funky. I used a basic oil mix of olive, coconut, and palm because I know how it acts at different temperatures. This is NOT a technique you should use when experimenting with anything new. That recipe = disaster!

Monkey Farts is a fruity blend, so I decided to go with light fruity colors. For the bottom layer I used green oxide (kiwi), yellow oxide (banana), and tangerine wow (mandarin). I used cocoa powder to create a vein separating the two layers. I thought about gold mica, but wanted more contrast. The top is pink oxide (grapefruit), brick red oxide (apple), and creamy uncolored soap (coconut). I also added a fired fuchsia and glitter to the top because I couldn't help myself.

To do this, you need lots of bowls and plenty of work time. Mix your oils, lye water, and fragrance and blend until just mixed (emulsified), not to trace! Pour about half off into another bowl (for top soap) and set aside.

Make the bottom half: Separate your first half of soap batter into thirds and color each. Next, use two of the colors to do an in-the-pot swirl into the third color. Pour into your mold!

Color vein: Put some cocoa in a tea strainer and lightly tap over the soap to get a thin vein of powder.

Make the top half: Take the second half of your soap batter and separate it into thirds. Color two of them. Do another in-the-pot swirl. Use a spatula or spoon and CAREFULLY pour this soap over the bottom layer. You are trying NOT to mess up your vein or first layer. Reserve a very small amount for the top.

Pour the reserve into a baggie and mix in some hot pink goodness. My original idea was to pipe the soap in a really cool top, but it wasn't thick enough. So, I was going to do a basic swirl on the top, but I had too much soap (and you can't waste it!). So, I ended up just pouring it on the top and sprinkling the glitter on it. I can't say I'm disappointed :)

These will be ready to go July 13th!

Vanilla Discoloration

I have had several customers ask how I got such a lovely brown color for my soap. I've also had some that want to know why I would make brown soap. And there are a few that would like a vanilla scented something that looks creamy white like vanilla ice cream.

Where did the brown come from? From vanilla! Why did I color it brown? Because it has vanilla in it! Vanilla contains vanillin which will slowly cause anything that contains vanilla to discolor. The amount of discoloration depends on the amount of vanillin used. Discoloration can range from a light tan to a very dark brown.

Vanilla color stabilizers can slow the discoloration, but they won't stop it forever. You also have to make sure you get a stabilizer for the soap you are making. M&P stabilizers don't work well in CP (I tried anyway, they were right though, it doesn't work well).

For the most part, I don't fight the discoloration. Instead, I use it to design my soap. For example, in my lavender vanilla soap, I used titanium dioxide and the natural discoloration to make an ombre soap. I love the way it looks too! See how I did it here.

I used BB Vanilla Select and a vanilla bourbon fo and lavender eo. It actually starts to discolor right away! Here in the final soap right after it is cut and through day 5. It won't really get much darker than that.

I love the final look and you can see what a huge difference the vanilla makes, but it really creates lovely layers!

You can also separate your soap and use vanilla in one part of it to make a different look. Really, why fight the vanilla? Just use it to make a beautiful soap :)

What do you do about discoloring vanilla?

4 Bananas Lead To...

Has this ever happened to you? You buy some bananas, but you also buy lots of other fruit that your little one doesn't normally get. So, the bananas don't get eaten, but all the other fruit does. All the berries you can't normally get. The cherries. The kiwis. But not the bananas. They just sit there getting browner and then the little guy looks at them and says "I no want the yucky bananas." I'm sure that has never happened to you :)

Well, I just can't throw away food. It makes me ill to do it. So, I decided that I would do something useful with my 4 yucky bananas. I mashed them up, mixed in a few ingredients and I got two delightful mixtures.

Can you guess what I did with them?

Well, if you guessed that I made banana bread with one, you would be correct. With the other, I made a face masque! Bananas are actually good for you face, as is most other fruit. Now, which batch of goop is which?

The one on the left is the goop for banana bread-3 bananas and a little milk and cinnamon. The one on the right is the face goop-1 banana and a little milk and cinnamon; plus some finely ground oatmeal, honey, and a touch of olive oil (did I mention I have dry, sensitive skin?). The mixture is a little runnier, but you only want a thin layer anyway. Some people are sensitive to cinnamon, so it is okay to leave it out. Apply to clean, dry skin and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes. If you feel tingling or itching, rinse immediately.

Wash your face with a mild cleanser and warm water. Follow up with your favorite toner or rinse and moisturizer. My current toner is some chamomile tea with a touch of witch hazel; I keep it in the fridge for a cool treat :)

As you can see, I could probably have mashed my bananas better, but it wasn't a problem. It is hard to see because the color is light, but there really is a noticeable layer on my face. I left mine on for about 12 minutes and it was starting to dry, so it was time to rinse. My face felt amazing. Then, Hayden and I shared some banana bread!

I don't think I did too bad for being desperate to use up my "yucky bananas."