Seasons of Commitment - Day 36

Day 36 - 329 days to go

A little over 30-days ago, I began a commitment of "soup-fasting", initially related to my worry over the lack of sale of a house I "own" in Wisconsin. News had come in November that our house has lost additional value, and the gap between what we owe and what we may be able to get from selling is growing into the tens of thousands of dollars. Truth is, I'm distressed about the situation. At Thanksgiving, we made a trip to WI to do more with the house...a continued journey of packing/moving/storing things there, and on the way back, I made a vow to eat only soup as a prayer intent until I had an answer to the presenting problem. The vow began the moment my feet touched South Dakota soil again, and other than a "break" during the holiday festivities, my intent is to continue. Already, within a few weeks of the commitment (21 days actually), a friend has been in contact to explore renting our house. I did view this as a piece of the solution, thus "giving myself permission" to indulge in more varied foods over Christmas/New Years.

The benefit of the soup-fast has been a kick-start to losing weight (again)...(my life story since youth). Between November 29 and December 8th, 10-pounds had flown off my body!! By December 30th, 2009, another 7- pounds had melted away. A total of 17-pounds in 32-days. My tight water buffalo sized clothing has begun to loosen around my girth. WooHoo!!!

Although not much into "reality TV", I did make the decision to watch The Biggest Loser finale the other night...for some inspiration. It was inspiring to see all the various women contestants once my size (seems my weight was a common starting spot for several), now hovering between 150 to 130 pounds after a year or so of weight loss/life style adjustment effort. I realize that they have had the benefit of a total makeover via grueling coaching, exercise, and nutrition...as well as emotional releases. Catching other shows, which this New Year's week have had numerous fat-to-skinny personal interst stories, I'm trying to take all this to heart. People do it all the time! I can do it, too.

I've decided to start this BLOG as a way to keep a chronicle of my journey, and hopefully keep myself inspired in my undertaking. The soup-fast has become much more to me than a prayer intent for the house, as within the first 30 days, I have discovered that my body prefers the simple foods. SOUP AGREES WITH ME!! When I hit the holidays, and gradually started adding back "typical" everyday foods that my family eats...or that I eat, well, back came the bloating and gas. My first salad...my stomach questioned my consumption!! After upset from a "bag" soup with lots of macaroni, I have pondered if it is the wheat/gluten connection. Maybe yes, maybe no. What I do know is that when I eat broth rich with veggies and a little bit of meat....my body runs and hums along far better than on any other fuel.

Is my husband joining me on this journey? No. That does mean that when I'm not on the road for work, I do end up making him a separate meal. So far...not a problem. I'm not sure how it will be when 100 days have passed, however. His concern is that I need to have fruit in my diet. To answer that, I am adding a fruit smoothy (soup) intermittently into my menu.

So....here we go..today is Day 36, January 3, 2010. Warming on my stove today is a large pot of homemade hamburger vegetable soup. Should anyone become hooked on reading this journey, I'll try to include my recipes when I make a soup or change-up and can of soup. If anyone wants to join me on this adventure, kewl.

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Soozi's Homemade Hamburger Vegetable Soup - January 4th version:

1 1/2 lbs of very lean hamburger (ours is from a grassfed beef - bought directly from a rancher)
1 quart jar of home canned tomatoes
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 onion - diced
2 stalks of celery diced
2 average sized carrots sliced diagonally
2 potatoes sliced into chunks
10 sprigs of celantro - chopped
1/4 of a head of cabbage, chopped coarsely
1 can of lima beans
Kosher Salt and ground pepper - seasoned to taste
Several quart jar's full of water to bring the broth level up closer to the brim

Brown the hamburger, salt and pepper to taste. Toss it into the kettle, add all the other ingredients. Bring to a boil. Simmer and simmer some more! Add more water if the broth level drops - unless you want a chunky stew type of soup.

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My plan is to put some of this soup into quart jars that I can pull from the fridge and use for lunch and dinner across the coming week.

Tip to Soup-Fasters: I now carry a "hot pot" with me to work so that I can quickly heat up soup. I also carry a thermos of hot soup so I can snack on it instantly. Having the thermos gives me the option to carry two different flavors of soup - one in the thermos, one to be heated up later in the hot pot. I had to come up with portable ideas, as I travel daily as part of my work, so this makes it possible for me to carry lunch and dinner soups to enjoy, or to have a thermos of soup for my snack while driving (instead of coffee, drink a cup of homemade soup) to ward off the munchies.