Sunday, March 19, 2017

My Very First Time!!

My diet motivation has been FOUND.  It's funny that all this time I didn't FEEL like I had gained a lot of weight since I quit running three years ago.  So I buy one size bigger shirts ... no big deal.  Well yesterday I got the shock of my life ... it really IS a big deal, BIG being the operative word.  I drove to the big city 45 minutes away to find suitable shoes for the semi-formal dress.

I found a great pair on sale at Macys.  Yay for me!!  Unfortunately when I got home, they didn't really match AT ALL.  That will be a story for another day.  My big mistake ... BIG MISTAKE ... was to wander over to the dress section and just LOOK.  Immediately I found several to try on that I might like better than the one at home.

As I squeezed myself into the first one, I dared to look in the mirror.  I almost fainted from the shock. I looked like the Pillsbury Doughboy and Michelin Man stuffed in the same purple dress.  I'll try a bigger size, which of course they did not have.  There were lots of models to choose from however, so I picked up a few more of the next size up to try.

Hmmmm no zipper on this one.  I rather hate those pull over kind.  You ladies know, they mess up your hair, but I squeezed into it anyway.  Well at least now it was just the Pillsbury Doughboy in there.  This would be a NO also.  Getting it off however, would be a major undertaking.  I reached back as far as possible and couldn't get it to move.  I tried another angle of attack.  About the time I got it up to my shoulders, I began to have a claustrophobic panic attack ... I couldn't get my arms free.

Good GRIEF!!  I'm stuck in a too small dress in the dressing room.  How embarrassing!!  Luckily my struggling finally resulted in a little relief and I was able to rip it off over my head, destroying what was left of my nice hairdo.  Maybe I should go up one more size.  I'm devastated!!

At long last I found a nice black sheath that covered up the Doughboy, but was two inches two big around the top.  I gave up in a moment of depression like I've never felt.  How could I have put on so much weight and not realized it ... or maybe not WANTED to realize it.  At any rate, my diet motivation was found in that dressing room, in spite of just having purchased an Instant Pot.

So here's my beauty in person, with a couple cups of Mongolian Beef inside, cooking away.  It's amazing these electric pressure cookers.  It's so quiet you don't even know it's cooking.  I kept leaning over to make sure I heard something from inside.

My old stove top pressure cooker makes loud hissing noises like it's going to explode before you turn the heat down.  Then it keeps on with a clanking rattle until you shut off the heat.

This IP is so quiet you don't even know it's cooking.  I'm not sure how this will work out with me cutting all the recipes in half.  After all, I don't need enough to feed eight people.  We shall see .....
So for my VERY FIRST TIME, I made this wonderful Mongolian Beef.  I turned the pot on, sautéed the beef on what else, the sauté feature, then dumped in garlic and all the sauce makings.  Though it said to cook it for 12 minutes, I only set it for 8 since my meat was pretty tender in the first place.  

When done, it beeps at you, then starts counting UP the time before releasing the pressure, a simple matter of turning a valve.  You CAN cook the rice at the same time by setting another pan in the pot on a trivet OVER the beef.  Since my trivet hasn't come in the mail yet, I just cooked it on the stove, making a lovely gooey mess where it boiled over.  

Now I realize this isn't the most appetizing image you've ever seen, but believe me, this was the BEST Mongolian Beef I've ever eaten.  I mean to tell you I could have downed the ENTIRE pot, except the Doughboy image recently seared into my brain held me in check.  I have a feeling this Instant Pot is going to constantly put my resolve to the test.
I'm happy to report I actually am down THREE pounds ... if I can just keep it up.  Getting stuck in a dress in the dressing room at Macy's is almost as good as trying on bathing suits ... which I absolutely REFUSE to do.  That would be enough to make me lock myself in my house forever ... with my Instant Pot!!

In the meantime, I'm off to run a couple of miles ... or maybe just jog one mile out and walk back home.   I'm giving it a try anyway ... three days a week.  Please chastise me if I slack off ... the Doughboy needs to lose at least one dress size!!







12 comments:

  1. Divide and conquer, make smaller servings for another day. Nice to have 2nd meal ready.

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    1. And a third meal too!! I kept all those meal trays I purchased and will fill them for the freezer.

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  2. Congratulations on getting the Instant Pot and the success of your Mongolian Beef recipe. I haven't tried that one yet.

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    1. Thank you Carol ... I just love it!! It's so quick and easy ... next up beef stew!

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  3. Our low carb diet is working for me, not as much so for Marcia...but when one has MS it is harder to lose weight. We keep our net carb intake to under 20, with trying to get in 10-12 carbs in veggies. Hardest thing is finding right thing to order in a restaurant when we eat out with friends.

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    1. I've taken to ordering steak with extra veg instead of potatoes with a salad. Most places can do that. I also order burgers without the bun then eat it with a knife and fork--the lettuce and tomato become a salad. I spread the mayo on the burger to get enough calories to keep from from becoming hungry before the next meal time. I have to replace the carbs with fats or my body insists it is starving so holds onto every ounce.

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    2. Linda
      Have you tried the egg free mayonnaise it's called: just mayonnaise
      Although it has 90 calories per tablespoon the same as regular mayonnaise it actually taste better

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    3. Dave, it always seems to work for the men. Our metabolism is apparently MUCH slower.

      Linda ... I never hear of replacing the carbs with fats. Meat and vegetables never seem to work for me ... maybe that's why!!

      Thank you everyone for the suggestions ... I'll keep trying!!

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  4. Great job with the Instant Pot.
    We all tend to be our own worst critics when it comes to our body image thanks mostly in part to Commercialism.
    Twenty-five years ago I dropped 104lbs in eight months. With all of life's changes like yourself have noticed some of that weight returning. Guess that's what you call a Summer Project.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. WOW ... 104 lbs ... that amazing! You definitely have self control ... something I think I'm missing. You are right ... I'm terribly critical of myself and have been trying to change that for twenty years.

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  5. Think about something
    if you put 12 cookies on the table in front of you,,and after you eat the third one, your satisfied.( remember I only said satisfied not full) Why do you need to consume the other nine,, there's dozens of answers. you're just trying to justify The consumption of the nine
    The solution to the question is eat until you're satisfied, NOT until you FULL
    We're programmed to eat three meals a day
    A quick example : if there are eight pieces to an orange but you're satisfied eating 4,, what do you do with the other four,, right,, we eat them because we don't wanted to waste it, we also apply the same logic to the food that one puts on our plate
    Think of going to smorgasbord buffet a skinny person never eat as much as he spent
    And an over eater tries to maximize what he spent
    And a little cliché : is the glass half full or half empty,, remember you could always fill it up but at what cost

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    1. Because my mother made me sit at the table all day until I cleaned my plate. There are starving children in the world you know!! I'm still trying to reprogram myself. I finally figured out that mostly I eat out of boredom. Nothing to do? Check out the fridge ... even though I'm NOT hungry. My self control needs a little work!!

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