Quote of the Day: “Any given moment can change your life, you just have to be there.” From a card given to me by Carol Skeen
It’s always hard to be on a diet while vacationing but I am happy to say that I was down another pound today making my total at a 3 pounds lost. Really, I think I am just getting back to my normal weight after surgery but 7 pounds to go and they will be the hardest.
Rule #5: STOP GRAZING: “…a study published in 2010 in the journal Obesity found that people who eat low-calorie diets feel more satisfied and less hungry when they eat three times a day compared to six times a day, suggesting that mini meals aren’t beneficial for appetite control. People also tend to graze on unhealthy foods like crackers or cookies…” From Runner’s World. Too bad crackers aren’t a healthy snack! I have found that if I plan ahead and put vegetables nearby so that I can munch on them, it solves my hunger during the afternoon and gets my servings of veggies in. The article goes on: “Eating constantly throughout the day increases salivary secretion… and the production of digestive enzymes that stimulate the gut…The appetite switch is always on… You can’t really know if you’re hungry or full it you’re constantly exposed to food… Cows graze. People shouldn’t.” They go on to suggest that you should divide your calories around 3 meals and 2 snacks and go 3-5 hours without eating. The goal is to eat when you are “hungry but not starving”. I have been successful at losing weight if I do have time between meals where my body does get hungry but the trick is to not get too hungry because then your powers of reasoning go way down and you will eat anything!
On Sunday in New Orleans we stopped at a French Creole Plantation on (Mississippi) River Road and got a bit friendly with the young man behind the counter. He had been to Salt Lake several times for skiing vacations but also to work in the Genealogical Library. He had a passion for delving into the past, his own but also, we would shortly find out, of his local community. He would be our tour guide for the next two hours and hands down, this was the best tour I have ever taken. It was clear from the beginning that he loved his job. Now I can’t imagine that his job paid much but it was great to be in the presence of someone who loved what he did. It must be true that if you are able to do what you love, you will never work a day in your life. He told us the most interesting facts about the families who had occupied the plantation- all the love affairs and marriages, including one incident where the parents had only one daughter and at 16 she was slated to run the plantation, which incidentally had been run by strong woman for about 100 years. There was just one little problem, this 16 year old had pimples and so her parents thought best to take her to France where a doctor could administer a remedy for the acne, then she would be the rightful heir to run the place. She unfortunately died from the injection and her parents were never able to forgive themselves for acting with such vanity. But anything that went on in the planation house pales to what went on behind in the slave’s quarters. There were a few shacks left on the property to show where the slaves lived. At one time on this particular plantation, 300 slaves worked and were housed on the property. Their homes included two small rooms for one family, including a fireplace but only the barest of essentials. There were stories of selling children from their parents. I stepped outside the shack and listened. It was quiet as I tried to feel the spirits of those who had suffered there. It felt like hallowed ground. As a side note- our tour guide told us that the Brer Rabbit stories were originally told by fireside from this plantation before they were collected and retold by Joel ChandlerHarris.
French Creole Planation restored in its original colors
Slave Shacks- there were actually 2 family units in each shack that you see- notice the bowl for boiling sugar cane
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