My Journey

As you can see by my profile picture, I am a little obese. And yes that does bother me. But I have not always been this way.
Back in my early twenties, I was pregnant with my oldest child. During this pregnancy, I actually lost 20 pounds because I could not eat and when I did I threw up! As it turns out, I had walking pneumonia and nobody knew. (That is a total another story!) Once I got well, I gained 22 pounds before she was born.

Down the road a couple of years, I am pregnant with my second child. I have not gained any weight in between; thank goodness! Once I had my son, I took a few months trying to adjust with two children under three; trying to get me and them on workable schedule. But when baby boy was 3 ½ months, my gall bladder decided to up and quit on me. It was full of gall stones and they had over flowed into my bile duct. So I had to have two surgeries; one down my throat to get the gallstones out of the bile duct and two take the gallbladder out. Once I was home and hubby went back to work, the kids and I had to adjust doing things until I was completely healed.

Two weeks later, hubby got hurt at work and he broke his collar bone. Insurance wanted to keep giving him pain medicine instead of giving him surgery, which they cancelled. They changed their mind after I gave them a piece of mine! In the meantime, hubby is very grumpy so nothing really gets done when he is home. No housework or exercising.
Surgery is finally performed and everything goes back to normal. Well, sort of. A month later, we find out I am pregnant! Really I was taking birth control! Yes I slightly different formula than I previous had taken but still….. Then we find out it is twins! Twin fraternal boys!

I have not lost any baby weight from the second-born and here we go again. Yes I gained a lot of weight with the twins.

A few more years down the road, I had a schedule going. Now I can exercise and lose this weight! I lost 40 pounds exercising to Tae Bo videos by Billy Banks. I ate using the Food Mover program by Richard Simmons.

But then hubby got hurt (again!) in Iraq. This time it is his back. He comes home to recuperate and tells me to go to school like I always wanted and become a chef, which I did.

Since then I have tried several times to lose the weight but I would gain it all right back. Very frustrating!!!

The Plan

I just need to lost 20 more pounds for me to be the right weight for my petite size. This time, I am going back to what worked the first time! I have started using the Food Mover program again and do Tae Bo and lifting some weights.
But while I am doing all of this, I need to learn the components of being healthy. This is why I am writing about Nutrition. I am teaching myself and you how to eat healthy and stay that why.

I know that there is a way to eating within the scope of culinary arts I learned in school and eating for my health. That is why I am writing this series called From The Pyramid To The Plate. This series will be how to go from the Food Pyramid and Guidelines to what goes on my plate – Texas Style. This will be a discussion of a healthy Texas cuisine.

I hope you enjoy the series!
Chef Texas Rose