A Review - Nutrish

Ready for the "Why I am doing a review" disclaimer?

It's pretty simple.  I received a sample in the mail.  Ages ago, I heard about Nutrish. It's a Rachael Ray product and it's a pretty darn awesome sounding pet food.  Buzzwords like "natural" and "grain-free" are associated with it and I was impressed.  Except for the fact that it was a dog food and I have no dog.  *sigh*

So I was THRILLED when just recently I saw a Facebook advertisement inviting me to sign up for my free sample of Rachael Ray's Nutrish for Cat!

So I did. It arrived today.  Now I'll tell you what I think of it.

Why?  Because that's how I roll.

It's a lovely, big package! No skimping here.

Food and coupons?  Don't mind if I DO.

One of the coupons is for a wet food version of the Nutrish for cats.  I used the website to locate where I can locally find these pet foods and was quite disappointed.  The dry food is only available at Walmart.  This is a problem since I haven't visited either location in town for nearly five years do to the absolutely infuriating parking situation at both and the random nutjob customers at both.  Not that all customers are nutjobs but man, that store does seem to attract them.  The wet food?  Not available at all in my city.

So if I want it, I'm going to have to order on Amazon.

Not the worst thing ever. Just inconvenient.

I'm going to talk to my local grocery market about stocking the products.

The sample was enough to fill an entire food bowl!

Now, I didn't want to risk bellyaches in the kittens, as that can happen when a sudden change to diet occurs, so I just offered it to them as a snack.

I set the food bowl down on the floor and then waited and watched.

 Curiosity was instantly piqued.  Everyone came over to investigate the strange offering in the bowl.

Lucy liked it!

Lucy is approaching six years old and is notorious in the house for disliking all cat foods (despite loving simple people foods).  After much research and sampling, that darn cat will only eat Purina Weight Loss Formula for dry food and Greenies for treats.  That's it.

Until now apparently.

She waited her turn patiently and then dug right in.  Definitely a winner with her!

The official result can be seen above.

I spread a bit out on the floor and it's official:

Three out of four cats tested, adored Nutrish for Cats.

Fact.

My only concern was whether the food would sit well in the bellies of the beasts.

As you can see, the cats were in full-body bliss after eating.  It was like a post-Thanksgiving binge induced community nap.

Results:  

We like Nutrish for Cats.  

If it was easier to find in South Dakota, I'd switch my cats to it exclusively and immediately.

The ingredients are great.  It's only fair that my cats eat as well as I do.

The food itself looked moist and flavorful as opposed to the dry bits most foods resemble

END DISCLAIMER:  Send me stuff, I'll review it.  I can't guarantee it'll be a favorable review, but it'll be honest.

How to Cope?

For me, weight loss is all about routine.

When I'm successful it's because I find something that works and then repeat the process over and over as long as I get results.  When I fail it's never because of a single thing.  It's because I keep doing the wrong things over and over again.  Not rocket science. So it's no surprise that things start to go wrong for me in the world of weight loss when schedules are involved.

Spring semester classes are starting once again and just like always, I'm feeling overwhelmed.  My orderly world of:

• Eat at 9am
• Exercise/work
• Eat at 11am
• Chores/work
• Eat at 2pm
• Errands/work
• Eat at 4pm
• Make dinner
• Eat at 7pm
• Watch a little tv

...it's all going to be turned on its head come Monday.

I've gotta start packing foods/snacks to go again.  I've gotta shift workouts to late in the day.  I've got to meal plan everything instead of just dinners.  I've got to hope the added stress doesn't knock me back to my fattest days when I'd skip breakfast, often lunch, and then just eat a small dinner because my stomach had shrunk so much from lack of food.

I've done this before many times and gotten through.  I still worry though.  That's just my nature.  While there is nothing wrong with a soda or candy bar once in a while, will I start picking it up as a habit between classes?  Will not being a morning person cause me to oversleep and not have time to pack my lunch?  Will I just fail?

I don't ask myself these things to be negative.  I'm one of those people that always likes to be prepared.  If I can recognize potential problems before they arise, perhaps I'll be better prepare to battle them then.

I Have a Rant - We're Programmed

When did we lose control?

When did we become sheep being led throughout our lives with other people telling us how things are supposed to be?  We're programmed.

I typed "ideal breakfast" into the image search on Google and this is the first image that popped up:

This is what we're told is a "good" breakfast.  Look at it. Really look at it.  Is that the best we can really do for ourselves?   Of course not.  But we've been programmed to think that this is what we need.  I'm not saying it's devoid of nutrition by any means!  Although I'm pretty sure the croissant falls more in the "butter" group than the "whole grain" group  ;)

We're so programmed that some people will adamantly argue the appropriateness of your food choices if they see you deviating from what has become the norm. My husband for example, has a huge problem with just the idea of breakfast for dinner.  It's just not right even if many of us are beginning to truly embrace brinner.  A dear friend of mine began eating salads for breakfast.  They are a compact, nutritionally dense meal that can easily be modified to hit the protein, fat levels, etc that a person might want or need.  Oatmeal for breakfast is great.  It just doesn't hit as many points that are beneficial as something like the salads do.  When my friend mentioned her morning salad diet,  some people commented that they couldn't do it themselves.  Why?  For a minute my brain said "that's weird".  Why are we so afraid to step outside the norm?  Americans on the whole are suffering from obesity and a wide range of ailments that can be diet and fitness controlled.  Obviously the norm is NOT WORKING people.  I yell to remind myself to get the message as well.

Doing the same thing on Google, here is the ideal lunch:

That looks... less than thrilling. Nutritious?  SURE!  But positively boring.  Because good-for-you food is all bland, uninspired, and just something you have to consume.  Eat to live, don't live to eat right? I say WRONG.  I want to enjoy every bite that goes into my mouth.

I challenge you. Yeah, you.  I'll do it too.  I challenge you to make a list of all the food you like that's pretty much totally good for you.  Then next to the food, write why it's a poor food choice for each meal.  A lean grilled steak for lunch?  Yeah, it's pretty hard to make one fresh when you're at work all day.  But if you had steak for dinner last night, there isn't any reason leftovers couldn't become sliced steak in a corn tortilla with a bit of cheese and veggies.  Steak tacos!  Heck, it almost sounds better than the original meal.  I had steamed broccoli for part of my breakfast. I eat constantly throughout the day when I'm home so no formal breakfast.  So far today here's my food:

•   7:30am  - 2 light Babybel Cheeses
•   9:00am  - 1 cup of steam broccoli with salt and my healthy "butter" with lots of omegas
• 10:00am  - 4 or 5 fried egg whites (I used egg beaters whites)
• 11:15am  - mixed melon pieces (still eating but I suspect 3-4 cups will be eaten)

Just all foods I like.  Sure, I could make it look "normal".  It's all just a deconstructed broccoli and cheese egg white omelet with a side of fruit.  But I didn't want an omelet and I refuse to eat one just because it's what I should do according to the programming i have received.  I like to think for myself.  That's freedom.

So take the challenge.  Make your lists and share them with me.  if you don't eat a grilled cheese sandwich for breakfast just because it's weird, tell me so.  I'd like to know.  I'll post my list tomorrow.

Diet Advice From an Unlikely Source

I was watching a tv show today.  I'm not actually going to mention the show because I totally judge myself for watching it so I don't need all of you judging me too. But I heard the best diet advice ever.  It really rings true for me and I might even put it up on the wall in my gym.

"Diet food is for lazy people."   ~Ice T

 You know, it is.  I've been obsessing about food for decades.  DECADES.  I love food and hate it at the same time.  How can you not love this:

 Thick, delicious challah bread.  it is SO good and I don't even care that the gluten will kick my butt as it is that worth it.

But why can't I have it? No reason.  I can have anything if I work hard, burn calories, and get fit.  Anything.  Not just food.  i can change my life.  I've been looking at this all the wrong way.  Who knew that Ice T would be inspiring?

Four Things

First:  @KickMeImAnna

Second:  I'm so discouraged,  It's getting harder and harder to eat enough food per day.  No doubt the primary  reason for my slowed down weight loss. I'm lonely all the time.  I'm a social person but the majority of oral conversation in my day is with my cats and that's pathetic.  I have friends that I only talk to online, but they have lives and I don't want to seem needy or ever bring anyone down.

Third:  I'm having inspiration issues when it comes to cooking.  My husband has been SO good about trying new things lately, but he really is a picky eater still and I'd hate so be constantly making foods he doesn't like just because I'm the one with fat issues.  So I feel like we're having the same thing almost every night.  Grilled chicken breast with some kind of sauce/marinade/rub, steamed broccoli/cauliflower, and corn/peas/green beans.  SO boring!  I try to keep a complete dinner under 500 calories. 
This week we're having:

• hamburgers, grilled corn, and oven fries
• pork loin chops with sauteed mushrooms, broccoli, and veggie medley
• cedar plank herb chicken and green beans.
• beef roast, potatoes, carrots, and peas
• chicken fried rice and broccoli

Sounds pretty good.  It's just so tough since I've got thousands or recipes I can't use since they have words like heavy cream, pan full of oil, & add more butter in many of them.

Fourth:  I am kinda proud of myself for taking part in the 200 sit-up challenge, 100 push-up challenge, and soon we'll start the 200 squat challenge.  I'm earning my badges.