Thursday, March 19, 2009

Nacht en Dag 117

Pork Al Pastor on a Bed o' Mashed Cauliflower

How many of you have self-esteem issues? Have you found that losing weight and getting healthier has improved your sense of self-worth? I'm currently evaluating whether or not that process is happening with me.

I know I feel less ashamed of my appearance. But at this point, I can't really say that my inner-workings have been drastically transformed. I'm still me inside my head, after all.

I never expected that finding some measure of success in my LC diet would be a panacea for all life's ills. The truth is, I guess I was hoping for more. But deep inside I think I knew that a whole other layer of work would be needed if I'm truly going to change my life for the better.

I can say this with certainty: I needed to improve my health as part of any foundation for change. I was a walking ER candidate waiting for my number to be called. The changes I've made in my diet and lifestyle will hopefully buy me enough time to try to change the truly important things that can't be seen in a mirror. Wish me luck, I'll need it.

8:15 am

+ a shot of organic espresso

9:30 am

+ The Wowee Zowee Meal Replacement Shake - 5 oz of organic heavy cream, 4 oz of purified water, 2 scoops of natural vanilla whey protein powder, 1 scoop of Amazing Grass Chocolate Green SuperFood, a pinch of pure stevia, and 1/4 tsp of Also Salt)

1:30 pm

+ several slices of natural, thick-sliced salami

+ 3 leftover Jalapeno Poppers

+ a small organic tomato, sliced and topped with organic sour cream, grilled onions and raw Sini Fulvi Ubriaco Alla Birra cheese (try saying that 10 times fast)

3:30 pm

+ a shot of organic espresso

+ a few pieces of CocoCocoa

7:15 pm (pictured above)

+ pork al pastor on a bed of homemade mashed cauliflower

10:00 pm

+ a few pieces of CocoCocoa


More to come ... I hope!

6 comments:

NewVision said...

I'm here, setting in the back of the class room raising my hand. Yep, I have issues. I've been working on them. I don't know if I'm even meant to solve them. :(

Harry/JP said...

Hey, we must be sitting near each other! :-)

I don't have many answers yet myself, Jo. I'll pass along anything I learn that seems worthwhile. I hope we'll all do that. Surely there's power in numbers ... even numbers of people with low self-esteem! :-)

Anonymous said...

LOL! No, I have no issues at all! ;) bwahahaha!

Harry you are doing so good sweetie!!! Don't forget to share a little love with yourself! You are a lovely friend, talented writer, dedicated low carber and are a great inspiration about the RIGHT way to eat lc.

I have a quick question for you. I see you taking espresso shots a couple times a day. Is that for energy by any chance? Or is it simply cuz you love espresso?

Hugs my friend and congrats on your weightloss!

Harry/JP said...

Thanks, Pooti! :-)

I like the taste of coffee. In the past, I'd have coffee mixed with heavy cream and stevia. But lately, I just decided to go for the straight-up "hard stuff". :-) No need for the cream.

I do find the espresso energizing. That's definitely part of the reason why I use it. It lifts my mood a bit too.

Thanks for your support. I shall visit your blogorama very soon!

~Oct said...

My self-worth is tied to both my career and to my looks. My self-esteem has improved immensely due to the LC WoE and losing 90 pounds, but my work-related esteem only improves somewhat with my increased confidence in my image. I'm hoping to find myself nearly fearless once I've reached goal, but I know that fearlessness does not equate to infallibility. I'm working on both things and oddly, losing the weight I need to lose is the easier of the two.

My career esteem is in constant danger due to our piss-poor economy. A very large agency (competitor of ours) just closed doors earlier this week. Mixed mixed feelings about that. Sure, less competition and we might see more work come our way because of this. Oh the other hand, much greater competition in the job market with all of those people now looking. So as a company, good for us. As an individual, scary as heck for me. And as a person in general, omg where is the world going? I feel so bad for everyone stuggling and I worry all the time. Every moment of every day I worry.

I'm forcing myself to become a stronger person who works to see the good in life. I've felt positive results happening from this, but it is not easy and I don't really know where it is coming from. Strength found on the brink of potential crisis I suppose. And I also am coming to believe self-esteem is somehow rooted in that strength.

I might have been a good front-line war nurse in another life. Dunno.

-----

And on a totally unrelated topic, where do you get pork al pastor? If you make it from scratch, please post your method, that looks SO good!

Harry/JP said...

Oct,

I can completely understand your concerns relating to job-security and the current economy. These are scary times indeed.

I need to work on becoming a stronger person as well. It's tough for me because I feel as though to improve who I am ... I must constantly fight against my own nature. It's as is life is a never ending battle. My kinship with Sisyphus is growing daily. :-)

On the other hand, many of the traits I've adopted are probably learned. If that's so, they can also be unlearned. Even if that process is difficult and uncomfortable.

I get the pork al pastor at Whole Foods Market. We just learned about it recently. I was browsing around for pre-made food that didn't have any un-LC ingredients and I stumbled across it.

I did find a PAP recipe online, check it out:

http://www.lesleycooks.com/maindishes/porkalpastor.htm

The ingredients aren't exactly the same as the PAP from Whole Foods. For instance, the WFM recipe uses cinnamon as one of the spices. But, it looks like it should be delicious all the same.

Let me know how it turns out if you try it. I may give it a shot myself sometime soon.

I hope today is a winning day for you and Cro.