five friday favorites #21: week of jan. 22, 2016

It's Friday!!! I'd be more excited if it was a Friday in March and I didn't have to get up at 4 a.m. tomorrow for a speech meet, but such is life. Let's get on with the favorites!

1. Peanut Butter Cookies

You've probably seen those flourless peanut butter cookie recipes floating around. You know, the ones that are just peanut butter, sugar, and an egg? Right after I went gluten free, I made them a lot. And now that I've successfully reintroduced peanut butter, I decided to try them again. (I know, I know--peanut butter isn't paleo. I. DON'T. CARE. My goal has always been to be healthy and eat more natural foods--not be paleo.) The cookies were good, but I had a feeling they could be better. After some experimenting, I think I've landed on the perfect combination: natural peanut butter, coconut sugar, egg, baking soda, vanilla, salt, and chocolate chips. These cookies come out perfectly crispy on the edges--just like my mom's gluten-filled peanut butter cookies. So delicious! (Recipe to come soon.)

2. Spotify's Discover Weekly Playlist

If you have a Spotify account and haven't checked out your personal Discover Weekly playlist, you're missing out. Not only has this playlist introduced me to some great new music, but it's also hilarious at times to see just how off base the songs can be. For example: The very first week, a song by Alan Jackson was in the playlist. Um, really? Alan Jackson is country country. Spotify should know by now that I only ever listen to pop country ... and even then, it's a rarity. Or this week, when there are two wedding songs in my playlist. Sure, I'll listen to a love song now and again, but wedding songs? They kinda make me want to puke ... probably because of my perpetual singleness.

Still, I love checking in on my new playlist each Monday morning when I get to work. I'm sure you'll enjoy your playlist, too.

3. DC's Legends of Tomorrow

First off, let's be honest--is anyone going to call this show by its full name? No. It will just be Legends of Tomorrow.

Anyway.

Legends of Tomorrow premiered last night, and I loved it. It features characters introduced on The Flash and Arrow, and it looks to be a rollicking good time. Not sure if you'll like it? The pilot is free on Amazon, Google Play, and iTunes for a limited time. If you do check it out, I'd love to know what you think!

4. That Gal ... Who was in That Thing

A few years ago, I watched a fascinating documentary on Netflix called That Guy ... Who Was in That Thing. (Unfortunately, it's not longer on Netflix.) It's about character actors and their quest to make it in Hollywood. Now, a follow up film has been made, this time featuring women. I watched it last weekend during a free Showtime preview on Hulu. It's just as captivating as That Guy, if not more so. The women discuss the struggle to get cast as anything but a grandmother as they age, the difficult choices they had to make regarding family and career, wage inequality, and a variety of other things. I'd definitely suggest checking it out if you get the chance! (If you have Amazon Prime, you can add a Showtime subscription for $8.99/month, but you get a 7-day free trial. I did that with Starz and watched a ton of movies over Christmas break--you just have to remember to cancel!)

5. I Hope You Dance by Beth Moran
This week's book recommendation is the delightfully charming I Hope You Dance by British author Beth Moran. I read Moran's Making Marion in 2014, and it was quirky and humorous. I Hope You Dance is even better.

I Hope You Dance is, in a word, delightful. While Ruth deals with serious issues like debt, stalking, teenage rebellion, and family drama, the story never feels heavy. I think much of this is due to the supporting characters--colorful women who stand by Ruth's side through thick and thin and whose personalities bring joy and humor amidst the drama. These characters are so vividly drawn that I felt as though I knew them.

You can see the rest of my review here.

Thanks for stopping by! I'm linking up with the usuals: Erika, Karli, and April.

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five friday favorites #20: week of jan. 15, 2016

Welcome to another Friday Favorites! It's been a while... Here's what's making me happy this week!

1. This gif from the Golden Globes

I don't know how many times I've watched it, but it cracks me up every time!

2. Justin's Maple Almond Butter
Since I have now successfully reintroduced almonds (insert round of applause here), and I'm desperately in need of food to eat at speech meets, I decided to try Justin's Almond Butter.

Best. Decision. Ever.

It's pricey, but it's oh so good. (I get mine at Walmart; you can find it for just a little more at Amazon.)

I also bought a 12-oz jar that is slightly less expensive per ounce, and it's become my go-to afternoon snack at work. Delicious! (Not sure why I had to "reintroduce" almonds? See my posts here and here.)

3. Fuller House teaser trailer

This is easily the most fun thing I saw today. I am so excited for Fuller House!

4. Dark Matter

If Firefly and Stargate had a baby, it would be Dark Matter. I tried this Syfy show on a whim and ended up powering through all 13 episodes in just a few days. The premise is that six people wake up from stasis on a spaceship with zero memories of who they are or why they are on the ship. Throughout the first season, they try to discover who they are, all while frequently fighting for their lives. I'm definitely looking forward to the second season! You can watch Season 1 on Netflix.

5. The Wedding Chapel by Rachel Hauck

My first read of 2016, The Wedding Chapel was everything I hoped it would be and more. Here's some of what I had to say:

While Hauck's recent releases (the Royal Wedding series, which I loved) have been a bit on the fluffy side, The Wedding Chapel has much in common with her wonderful The Wedding Dress. There's a depth and realism to The Wedding Chapel that I found wholly satisfying. This is a beautifully romantic and compelling novel about secrets, sin's consequences, family, and redemption that will stick with you beyond the final page.

I highly recommend this excellent book! You can see the rest of my review here.

Thanks for stopping by! I'm linking up with the usuals: Erika, Karli, and April.


Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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"the bachelor" hits home ... sort of

Are you a fan (or hate watcher) of The Bachelor franchise? While I'm not a die-hard, can't-miss-an-episode fanatic any longer (thanks to Juan Pablo, Chris Soules, and Kaitlyn Bristowe for curing me of that), I still enjoy the show. And this season, my interest is just as high or higher than it was for Sean Lowe's season--and that's saying something, friends!

The reason? Well, you could guess that it's because Bachelor Ben Higgins is attractive and seemingly one of the good guys--and you'd be partially right. But the biggest reason for my interest?

Ben's hometown of Warsaw, Indiana.

Some of the best times of my life took place in and around Warsaw, or with people I met there. My college, Grace, is located in Winona Lake, a little town basically surrounded by Warsaw. My sister Val and her husband live in Warsaw now, and I still have friends in the area.

With two of my favorite college people, Jen (left) and Jodi (right) at the Warsaw Hacienda right before Jodi and I graduated. Apparently, I left college without any pictures that would actually identify where I was ... probably because my college career took place in the dark ages before smartphones and social media.

When Ben appeared on Kaitlyn's season of The Bachelorette, I was excited to learn he was originally from Warsaw ... but then I read Reality Steve's spoilers (yes, I do read the spoilers) and learned that Kaitlyn would not be visiting the hometowns of her top four bachelors (as is usually the case), so we viewers wouldn't be getting a taste of Warsaw.

But then Ben was chosen as The Bachelor, and hope returned! Sure enough, they filmed scenes in Warsaw. I encouraged Val to go to the free carnival that production set up so I could live vicariously through her, but apparently it was completely nuts (and a puny carnival), so she didn't go. Anyway, I am super excited to see Warsaw on the small screen in the upcoming weeks!

So far, I've avoided this season's spoilers ... for the most part. I do know that Becca (Chris Soules' runner up) makes it at least to a certain point in the season, but I don't know how far she goes or who else might go far. That said, going solely off the bits and pieces of the premiere that I saw*, I like Becca and JoJo. And one of the Laurens, but I can't remember which one. Seriously, didn't it seem like every other girl was named Lauren?

Anyway, the whole point of this blog post was to point you to my sister Stephanie's blog. She's recapping the episodes, and she's pretty darn hilarious. Her recap of the first episode is here. Enjoy!

*I only saw the second hour of the premiere because Supergirl was on during the first hour. I love me some Supergirl, it's not available on Hulu, and I LIVE IN A WORLD WITHOUT A DVR, so I had some choices to make. 

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top 10 books of 2015

I'm ahead of the ballgame this year--I got my top 10 reads of 2015 posted just two days into the new year! (In some years, the list has been published in February, so I'm doing really good to get it up today!) I had more difficulty than ever before in narrowing my list down to 10, so I ended up splitting my list into two: honorable mention and top 10.

Here are just a few of the books that made one of the lists:

Click through to see what other books I chose and which book I selected as my favorite read of 2015!

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how i lost 50 pounds

July 2014 and December 2015

Earlier this week, I told you about my incredible 50-pound weight loss in the last year. Because so many people have asked me (and my mom, who has lost 30 pounds in the last nine months) how I did it, I thought I'd just post here.

I took the basics of Trim Healthy Mama and adapted them to fit me--so what I've done isn't really THM anymore, but it worked for me.

Here are some pointers for following THM:

• The main thing to remember is to separate your carbs and fats and don't eat them in the same meal. As long as you know the difference between fats and carbs, you could make a go of this diet without knowing anything else.
• There are three basic types of meals: S (fat), E (carb), and FP (low fat and low carb). I mainly ate S meals with a few Es and FPs thrown in. If you're looking for recipes, etc., you need to understand this terminology.
• In an S meal, you need to keep your carbs very low. 10 grams or fewer is recommended.
• In an E meal, you keep your fat very low. 5 grams or fewer.
• Just say no to refined sugar and processed foods.
• Protein is a must with every meal.
• Eat every 2-1/2 to 3 hours. Definitely do not eat more frequently than that, and don't wait much longer, either.

Now here's where I made the diet my own:

• One of the basics of THM is eating carbs that are low on the glycemic scale--so sweet potatoes and brown rice are OK; white potatoes and white rice are not. Corn is also a no-no, with the exception of popcorn every once in a while. I did not follow this at all. If I wanted a small baked potato with a carb meal, I ate a baked potato ... plain (well, usually with a heavy dose of garlic salt), because you don't want to mix your carbs and fats.
• THM allows for certain non-nutritive sweeteners: stevia, erythritol, and xylitol. After some research, I grew uncomfortable with using these sweeteners, so I switched to using honey, grade b maple syrup, and coconut sugar in moderation. And I still lost weight :-) (The unsanctioned Facebook group Trim Healthy Mama - Whole Foods Style was very helpful as I switched sweeteners.)
• THM recommends an upper limit of carbs in an E meal. After the first month or so, I stopped counting--and now, I couldn't even tell you what that limit is! Simply separating carbs and fats worked for me.
• I continued drinking diet pop (the one place where I didn't cut all artificial sweeteners)--I just limited myself to about one per week, and I never drank diet pop that contained aspartame.

A few things I learned along the way:

• While the official THM Facebook groups can be helpful, I found that they were not for me--too many people are very dogmatic about what is and is not allowed, and some even treat the book as if it were an extension of Scripture. I know that sounds crazy, but there's definitely some of that going on! Also, many women on the main boards post about incredibly rapid weight loss, and that can get discouraging for people who lose more slowly.
• That said, the THM Beginners group is a great place to go with questions when you're just starting out.
• Be prepared to feel terrible for the first few days to a week. You're probably going through withdrawals ... especially if you're coming right from the Standard American Diet. You will feel better soon.
• You absolutely do not need any of the special ingredients that show up in a lot of recipes, like oat fiber, glucomannan, nutritional yeast, or konjac noodles. In fact, if you're local and trying THM, I have some oat fiber, glucomannan, and konjac noodles that you can have. For free. Seriously. Of all the special ingredients I bought, the only thing I still use is the nutritional yeast, which has a cheesy flavor. (I'm currently dairy free because of thyroid issues, so the nutritional yeast has come in handy.)
• If you don't mind using stevia, Oikos Triple Zero Greek yogurt will become your best friend. It's no pricier than any other Greek yogurt (so it's still not cheap), and it makes a great protein-packed snack.
• Keep it simple. You could spend all of your time cooking, but you don't need to.
• Google is your friend. There are some amazing THM-centric food blogs out there; just Google what you're looking for. Keep in mind that there are also absolutely disgusting recipes out there...I had probably a 50% success rate with THM recipes I found online. (Here's a link to my Pinterest board that contains THM recipes I tried and liked. It doesn't have many pins ...)
• Many Paleo recipes will work with THM if you're following a whole foods approach.
• There is now a Trim Healthy Mama paid membership site with videos, recipes, etc. While I haven't joined the site, I know many people enjoy it--but it is absolutely not necessary to join.

Here are some examples of meals:

• Breakfast: Fried eggs and bacon or sausage (S); omelette (S); steel cut oats with a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon (E).
• Lunch/Dinner: Bacon cheeseburger without the bun and roasted green beans (S); casserole with brown rice, baked chicken breast, and tomato sauce (E); roast beef or pork (S).
• Snack/dessert (keep in mind that if it's a dessert, it needs to be the same type as your meal): 85% dark chocolate (S); Oikos Triple Zero (E or FP, depending on how much); coffee with cream or half-and-half (S); full-fat Greek yogurt, unsweetened or sweetened with stevia (S), air popped popcorn (E).

If you have any questions about anything, please leave a comment. I'd love to help!

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one year later...

I began following the Trim Healthy Mama diet one year ago, in large part due to the picture below. (I'm on the far left in the 2nd row.)

Photo from the 2014 Nebraska Christian Christmas card

But before we get to that, let's go back to the beginning. I've had a weight problem nearly all of my life. I don't know for sure when it started, but I do know that I was quite chunky by the 8th grade.

At Awana Scholarship Camp, 1995.

I don't know what my highest weight was, as the scale definitely wasn't my friend, and I avoided it as much as possible, but I can tell you when it was: six years ago.

This picture was taken on December 11, 2009. I realize it's no body shot, but no one needs to be reminded of that! About three weeks after this photo was taken, my body basically fell apart on me, and I ended up in the emergency room with what I thought was appendicitis and turned out to be a gallbladder attack.

After that, I dropped 20 pounds fairly quickly by sharply cutting the fat I consumed. So how did I replace the hole in my diet? With sugar and carbs. In fact, I can vividly remember making some extremely low fat chocolate cookies that consisted basically of egg whites, cocoa, and powdered sugar. In retrospect, I know this swapping sugar for fat was a terrible trade off, but at the time I thought I was at least sort of taking care of myself. 

Over the next five years, as I went through a lot of health stuff (which I talked about here), I gained and lost the same 15 pounds repeatedly. 

As December 2014 dawned, I was frustrated with myself and my weight. I'd been gluten free (for thyroid reasons) since the end of May, and I'd only dropped two pounds. Around that time, I started seeing lots of Facebook posts about this diet called Trim Healthy Mama. I finally decided to buy the book, which is a nearly 650 page tome. (The authors have since released a much smaller--and cheaper--version.) Once I had the book in my hands, I was pretty overwhelmed, and the book just sat on my coffee table ... until the day we took the picture at the top of this post. The instant I saw the picture, I knew something needed to change. I went home that night and started reading the book, and the next day I started following the plan. While I only followed it halfheartedly through Christmas, I dove in for real on January 1.

To my surprise, it worked!

From December 2014 through August of this year, I lost 41 pounds! Then I started following the AIP diet to try to heal some thyroid issues, and the weight loss slowed down. 

Still, I have lost 50 pounds in one year.

That number is nearly incomprehensible. When I look in the mirror, I still see the same Becky ... though the size 10 pants and medium tops confirm that I am much smaller than I used to be (16/18 pants and 18/20 tops).

Never before did I understand how an anorexic could see herself as fat, but now I do. When I was obese, I saw myself as much smaller than I really was. Now that I'm on the low end of overweight (yes, according to the charts, I'm still overweight), I still see the 206 pounds in the mirror (or at least the 206 pounds as I saw them at the time). It's bizarre, really. Only when I see photographs do I really believe the truth. So here's a look at me through the year.

Christmas 2014. My face absolutely cracks me up ... but see how much fat there is around my face and on my forearm? Weight: 204

March 2015. With Charissa, the head speech coach, at our last regular season meet. Weight: 185

July 2015. With Mom (who had been on THM for three months at this point) visiting my sister over the 4th of July. Weight: 170

September 2015. Blue & White Day during Homecoming week--we're recreating a photo we took several years before. Weight: 160

November 2015. Pretty much the only full body shot I have, and Isis the cat is obscuring it! Weight: 156.

December 2015. With Mom on an unseasonably warm Sunday. Weight: 154.

Honestly, I thought I'd always be fat ... so I'm very grateful to Serene and Pearl for the Trim Healthy Mama diet! While I only strictly followed the diet for about two months, I've applied the principles throughout the year--and Mom (who has lost 30 pounds) and I are proof that it works!

Several people have asked me for tips on implementing the diet, and I'm working on a post about that now. I hope to have it up by this weekend.

To those of you who have been following along on my weight loss journey, thank you for the encouragement you've given me along the way! A simple "You look great!" goes a long way ... even when I don't quite know how to respond. I especially am thankful for the support I've received from my parents--who never tried to get me to "cheat" and have always encouraged me to keep up the hard work--and from my sister Val, my biggest cheerleader. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive an affiliate commission or referral bonus. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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california through photos

Late Monday night, I got home from a weekend trip with my parents to visit my uncle (my mom's brother). He has had some health issues, and I hadn't seen him since his last trip to Nebraska over Christmas 2013, so it was great to see him again! Here's a glimpse at our trip through photos ...

Friday
We left around 9:30 on Friday morning. Fortunately, we had time built into our schedule, as we encountered an unexpected detour. We still arrived in plenty of time.

On the shuttle to the airport. I forgot to alert Dad that we were taking a picture.

We ran into some of Steph's friends at the airport, and they ended up sitting right behind us on our Southwest flight to Vegas. Please excuse my wild selfie eyes.

As we neared Vegas, I couldn't help but take picture after picture after picture of the topography. So pretty, and these pics don't do it justice.

From my previous visit to the Las Vegas airport, I knew there would be a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, so we had to get hot drinks. I had hot tea, as I wasn't sure how my system would react to coffee after being on the AIP diet for eight weeks.

And then the fun part ... our first celebrity sighting! After boarding the flight from Vegas to Burbank, we got all settled, I turned off my phone (which was dying--my battery has the shortest life), and I looked up to see Nick Carter searching for a place to put his carry on. In case you've been living under a rock (or you weren't a teenage girl in the 90's), Nick Carter is a member of the Backstreet Boys and a current contestant on Dancing with the Stars. His partner, Sharna, was also on the flight. He ended up sitting about three rows behind us. Absolutely no one even let on that they knew who he was, and I played it cool, too ... until we landed and went to baggage claim. Mom noticed a man holding a sign that said "N. Carter" and told me to get a picture. So I did--not of the sign but of N. Carter himself.

Unfortunately, the picture was blurry, and there wasn't time to snap another. But I swear that this is Nick Carter!

Our friends Lee & Jean picked us up at the airport. Our first stop? In-N-Out, where I had my first fries in two months. And one very sorry "protein style" burger.

Saturday
California is beautiful. I know that's general knowledge, but it's different when you're experiencing it for yourself! The weather was so fantastic--and there were practically no bugs! We spent most of our morning relaxing--and I spent a considerable amount of time in Lee & Jean's backyard.

Mom wanted to get a new Facebook cover photo. I think this one will do nicely.

My uncle is very protective of his privacy, so I cropped him out of the photos, but you can see that Mom and I enjoyed being with him! We spent much of the day at the assisted living place where he lives.

Back at Lee & Jean's, we started to watch the Husker game, but then it was supper time, so we went to Souplantation, where I neglected to take any photos. The food was good, though :-)

Glad the game is on ESPN so I can still watch my #Huskers from California! #gbr

A photo posted by Becky Ritta (@beckyritta) on Nov 7, 2015 at 4:25pm PST

After supper, we went to Walmart to get some things for my uncle. I'd been following the game on my phone, and, as we were standing in the checkout, I saw that we were up by one with 17 seconds left. I began obsessively hitting "refresh" on my Twitter feed ... and when I saw that we won, I yelled. In the checkout. The Californians though I was nuts.

Sunday
We went to Lee & Jean's church on Sunday, and it was so nice to finally meet the people who were so helpful when my uncle had his health crisis. It was also, once again, nice outside ... so we walked home from church.

Family selfie walking home from church. #myselfiegameisweak

A photo posted by Becky Ritta (@beckyritta) on Nov 8, 2015 at 11:05am PST

While the others went to pick up my uncle for lunch, Mom and I relaxed in the back yard.

Backyard reading before lunch. Wish I could take this weather home with me! #vacation #amreading #californiaisbeautiful

A photo posted by Becky Ritta (@beckyritta) on Nov 8, 2015 at 12:31pm PST

We had a wonderful time eating (outside!) and visiting with my uncle and Lee & Jean. Then Mom and I spent time with my uncle in his room.

While my uncle went to supper, Mom and I waited on a bench in the hallway. One cute little lady was so concerned about us because there was a fan on, and surely we were cold. I wasn't at all :-)

Monday

On Monday, it was time to head home. Pretty uneventful, except that we did have another celebrity sighting (though celeb might be pushing it a bit). "It's that guy from Spin City!" I exclaimed to Mom. No, not Michael J. Fox. Richard Kind. So not too exciting, but still fun to spot an actor.

We had a very long layover in Denver, and we ended up eating at McDonald's for lunch--because it was the ONLY fast food we spotted, and no way was Dad going to pay for a sit down meal. But then we found this, and all was right in the world.

Dear Denver Airport: Thank you for having a Coffee Bean. It almost makes up for your woeful lack of fast food options. McDonald's is not my idea of a good lunch. #coffeelover

A photo posted by Becky Ritta (@beckyritta) on Nov 9, 2015 at 12:48pm PST

This time, I took a chance on a latte made with coconut almond milk, and it tasted so good! Also, my body didn't rebel, which I appreciated.

A short flight to Omaha, supper with Blendy, and we headed home. I was greeted by these goobers, who didn't seem too excited to see me at first but have been very clingy in the last two days.

You'd think I'd been gone for a month instead of 3 days. It's good to be missed 😻 #catsofinstagram #Isisthecat #Skaara #Hammond

A photo posted by Becky Ritta (@beckyritta) on Nov 10, 2015 at 5:21pm PST

Overall, it was a fantastic trip, and I'm very grateful that I was able to go along with my parents. Also, I somehow managed to lose a pound--maybe I should disregard my diet more often!

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