By Christy Beauchot Smith

One of the reasons the last article was so hard for me to write, was because by the time I sat down to complete it for publication, I had passed that “keep moving forward” phase.  
I had been keeping notes along the way, and felt good about the point I was trying to convey, but what was missing was the true, real-time emotion.  My mistake was to not finish the article early, while the momentum was there. Instead, I waited until it was closer to publication date and tried to sum up all of my notes into one motivational page.  
What wasn’t reflected in that article was that for two weeks prior to writing it, I hadn’t been feeling like myself.  I’d been going through the motions of life. I had been feeling on top of the world and ready to conquer it, but something changed. I wasn’t depressed (yet), but I also wasn’t happy. It started to show up in my workouts, as well as my life outside of the gym.  I wasn’t giving it my all with Jason, and I was letting more junk food slip into my daily life at home.  Not much!  But apparently it was just enough to keep me hooked. I would eat two dove chocolates one night, and then maybe a handful of chips the next. This was practically rabbit food compared to what I used to eat on a regular basis, so I convinced myself that I was still doing well.
Then, out of nowhere, I was off the wagon.  Heck, I couldn’t even see the wagon anymore.  I was depressed and tired and frankly just didn’t care about anything.  I suspect my thyroid is playing a large part of this. But whether or not my thyroid needs tweaking, one thing is for sure… I need tweaking.
I can’t keep turning to junk food for comfort when things seem hopeless. I can’t give up the one thing that is helping me, exercise, every time I’m feeling down. But, I truly haven’t figured out how to fix that part of my addiction yet.  When things are great and I’m seeing results and life is good, I am in control. Or so I think. But how in control am I if everything falls apart the second things aren’t “perfect.”
The worst was when I had to call Jason two days in a row and cancel our workouts.  The first time I had a legitimate excuse. I was tired. Two crazy kids kept me up all night and I woke up barely able to keep my eyes open. But was that a legitimate excuse, really?
The second day I just honestly didn’t want to expose anyone to my Debbie downer mood. Again.
I had planned on writing an article about how I had finally lost 8 pounds, 8 inches, and 2% body fat.  After all, isn’t that the logical next step?  Write an article about how I haven’t lost anything…keep moving forward, and then do one on how after sticking with it, I finally succeeded.
But as I sit and type this, those don’t feel like successes anymore. I feel like that will all go away in a matter of days if I keep this repetitious cycle of eating to cover my feelings. Nothing will change until I change myself.
If I’m learning anything, it’s that no matter how secure you feel in your successes or how afraid you are of your failures, none of it matters unless you keep fighting.  Things can change in a heartbeat. Are you prepared to face them?
For me, I believe it’s all health related. I believe something is going on that is causing this roller coaster. I will be making some changes shortly that should affect both my physical and mental health.  Who knows if it will be the right answer, but it’s better than no answer.

Christy Beauchot Smith is the owner and creator of www.dipstickspretzels.com. She and her husband, Mark, are the parents of two sons, Jacob and Joshua. Once in awhile, you'll find her behind the counter at Quilts & Ladybugs in downtown Columbia City.

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By Christy Beauchot Smith

It seems very fitting, if not ironic, that this article was harder for me to write than the others. You see, it’s about overcoming hurdles.  It’s about digging deep and finding strength where you’re not sure any even exists.
When I first started writing this, on April 3rd, it had been exactly one month from when I began my personal training journey with Jason Minich of Catalyst fitness. After one month of what seemed like super hard, life changing work, I should have felt inspired, but instead I felt frustrated.
When I hopped on the scale for the first time in a month, I expected to see some weight loss.
I didn’t.
No big deal, muscle weighs more than fat, right? But, then I took my measurements and expected to see huge decreases all over.
I didn’t.
Finally, I took photos of myself and compared them to the ones I took before I started with Jason. Surely those HAD to show something of an improvement.
Nope. Nada.
Then, I did what any intelligent, self respecting girl would do.  I cried.
I literally sat down at the kitchen table and cried.  My husband hid in another room. He’s a smart man.
I was feeling sorry for myself.
As anyone who has started a diet knows, it’s crucial, heck it’s expected, to have some sign of success within the first few weeks.  The standard of weight loss in our society is loss of pounds on the scale…smaller pants sizes…essentially some noticeable decrease in size within a very short period of time.  If we don’t see it, we start to get discouraged.  No, it doesn’t make sense to lose motivation when logically we *know* that what we’re doing is the right thing, but wow is it hard to keep plugging away, week after week after week with absolutely no significant size/weight change.
I had never worked so hard in my life. And to see virtually no change at all, well, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I felt like quitting and downing an entire pie to drown my sorrows. But something was nagging at me and telling me to keep plugging away.
The logical side of my brain was kicking in finally.  It was reminding me that if I was eating well, and exercising consistently, then something good was just around the corner. Keep. Moving. Forward.
After all, I felt fantastic! I had more energy than I had experienced in months. My flexibility had increased tenfold. I moved with confidence and strength. But, I had not taken those improvements into consideration when evaluating the success of this program.
It speaks volumes about where our values are today that we don’t, as a culture, respect the inner changes more than the outer, more obvious ones.
“She’s a size 2!”
 “She lost 50 pounds in two months!”
You never hear, “Wow, she must feel great!”
So how do you stay motivated when the traditional milestones set by society aren’t met?
·         First and foremost, value how you *feel* more than how you look or how much you weigh.
·         Second, tell yourself that even if you’re not seeing any improvements now, you definitely won’t see any if you go back to your old habits. I could have easily started eating Taco Bell and sitting on my butt again, but that, without a doubt, would not have helped my weight loss goals at all. In fact, just the opposite would have occurred. And then where would I be?
·         Third, and probably most important, be prepared.  If your refrigerator and shelves are stocked with healthy food options, and if you have prepped a few dishes up ahead of time, it will be much easier just to put your head in the game and plug away until you see the light at the end of the tunnel.
After talking with Jason about my disappointment with the results, or lack thereof, he did what any great trainer would do, and encouraged me to keep it up.  He assured me that he was seeing a change, not only in how I moved, but also in my physical strength. I was gaining a lot of muscle quickly and changes were inevitable. And he reassured me that the universe wasn’t out to get me.
He also said…”Keep. Moving. Forward.”
I loved his confidence and left the gym that day feeling much better about my progress. I was looking forward to proving to myself that the science was much smarter than I gave it credit for, and truthfully, I just wanted to stick to something for once. I am doing this the right way this time, so of course it has to happen slowly. The slower it comes off, the longer it stays off. I am definitely okay with that.
However, the anal retentive researcher side of me did even further digging on the internet and found this little gem from Yuri Elkaim at ezinearticles.com:
“If you're a beginner to working out, the first 6 weeks of your training program are very important even though you may not see significant results. These first 6 weeks are known as the 'neuromuscular adaptation phase' and are characterized by an increase in muscular coordination and improved strength without a significant physical transformation."
So, therefore, if you want to lose and you're not seeing immediate results, just remember that the first 6 weeks lay the foundation. After that, the weight will start to fall off, bearing in mind that you're working out and eating correctly.”
So, while it might not be showing up on the scale, or on the measuring tape, or even in the goshdarn photos….it’s showing up in my spirit.  And that my friends, is as good as it gets.

Christy Beauchot Smith is the owner and creator of www.dipstickspretzels.com. She and her husband, Mark, are the parents of two sons, Jacob and Joshua. Once in awhile, you'll find her behind the counter at Quilts & Ladybugs in downtown Columbia City.

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By Christy Smith

Please help. I think my personal trainer is trying to kill me.
The first two workouts with Jason were hard, but doable.  It was all a big fat trick. He was easing me into feeling comfortable with him so that I would keep coming back. And then....things got ugly.
On my third appointment with him, we did more squats in one hour than I’ve done in my entire life. When I said, “I can’t do any more.” He said, “Give me four more.”
And guess what?  I gave him four more.
Turns out I’m a sissy. I don’t like pushing my body beyond what feels comfortable.  I doubt if that’s uncommon, I mean who wants to feel pain?  But, what I learned was that my brain was telling me to quit WAY before my body really needed to.  Every time I felt like stopping, he had me do more, and every single time, I was able to dig down deep and find that inner strength…that extra umph…that enabled me to go the extra mile.
The biggest shocker of all?  I liked it.  I really did.
I practically hobbled out of there after doing all of those squats, and the whole next day I walked down stairs and sat on chairs like I was a granny.  Did that mean he went easy on me on our fourth appointment?  Oh, no.  More squats! More lunges!! More butt dip thingys on the big ball!!! (that’s the technical term).  He added even more and laughed at me when I snarled at him for working me so hard.  I was dripping with sweat and felt like I had just ran a marathon.   Fifty minutes of intense weight training is something that I’ve never experienced before, but now I can’t imagine working out without it.
Driving to my fifth appointment with Jason, I found myself really looking forward to beating my muscles into shape.  I think I’m hooked. Or brain damaged.
I confessed something to Jason at this appointment…a realization that had hit me that morning.  If he wasn’t generously offering these training sessions for free, I would have canceled on him. Probably more than once. There were several days that I woke up feeling under the weather, or just not in the mood to torture myself (go figure), but, since he is doing me such a HUGE favor, I felt like I had to go or else I’d be letting him down.
Also, if I was working out from home, I never would’ve pushed myself to do that “four more”. I would have quit.  I don’t know how people do it all by themselves. It takes a very special, perhaps mentally unstable, person to become a workout fiend without an army behind them. My army is named Jason Minich. Sure, it’s me doing all the actual work, and I’m also doing things at home like eating healthier and getting some cardio in, but without Jason, I’d still be wandering around aimlessly on the treadmill gaining even more weight.
 Essentially, this complete stranger is saving my life, and I will owe him much more than can be paid back with money.  I’m very thankful that I have this opportunity, and I’m not going to let Jason down.  In fact, next time, I’m going to give him five more.

Christy Beauchot Smith is the owner of DipsticksPreztels.com. She and her husband, Mark, have two young sons, Joshua and Jacob. You may occasionally find Christy behind the counter at Quilts & Ladybugs in downtown Columbia City.  

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By Christy Smith

After my initial consult with Jason Minich of Catalyst Fitness, I felt encouraged and excited about the journey that lay ahead of me.  Oh! And scared to death.
Yes, I had asked him to do this for me, and yes he was doing me a huge favor, but part of me wanted to run the other way. That’s the emotional part talking, of course.  The logical side of my brain was ready to hit the ground running, but the part of my brain that has been in fight mode for so long just wanted to hit the snooze button one. more. time.
You see, the four stressful months that occurred at the end of 2007, that I have lovingly dubbed “The Big Suckage of ‘07”, really took their toll on me.  Prior to all of those events, I had everything under control.  After all of that, well, let’s just say “out of control” was more fitting of a statement. The adrenaline/cortisol cycle I had going put my body into a tailspin. Not only did I have the addiction to those dirty carbs, they were doing a number on my health.  Stress is funny that way.  It shows up in different disguises.  For some people, it’s frown lines, for others it’s a heart attack, for me it was a variety of health issues that all seemed disconnected from each other.
My thyroid was struggling, my adrenals were shot, and I developed candida, among other things.  Depression, fatigue, carb cravings, anxiety, feeling overwhelmed.  Yep, that was me.
So, the thought of working out 3 times a week with someone who knew what he was doing?  Well, being scared seemed like the logical feeling to have.  What would happen if I did lose the weight?  What if I gained it back?  What if I couldn’t lose it at all?  What if I gave up and let everyone down? What if my pain kept me from working out ever again?
What if I just shut the heck up and take one day at a time for a change?!  Now there’s a concept.
Next up: the actual workout.
I’m not going to lie. I dreaded meeting him for our first workout on Wednesday. I felt like I was going to throw up.  I was nervous and scared again.  Where was this coming from?
But, after a quick pep talk from my BFF, and the realization that staying fat certainly wasn’t getting me anywhere positive, I had to bite the bullet, and face whatever was causing this fear head on.  As we worked out, Jason talked me through his goals for me.  We discussed taking things slow, monitoring my eating and water intake, and throwing out my bathroom scale.
Our first session was more of a fact finding mission.  Jason wanted to assess my strengths and weaknesses and determine a course of action that would be most suitable for me.
We did enough quad work that my legs were like Jell-o as I walked cheerily back to my car after our session.  By the next morning, I could feel the sweet ache of fatigued muscles and smiled to myself. I survived day one. And I am even looking forward to our second session on Saturday. I’m sure there’s more fear and loathing to be had as Jason kicks my lazy butt back into shape, but for now I’m enjoying the fruits of my labor…painful fruit to be sure, but still just as sweet.

Christy Beauchot Smith is the owner of DipsticksPreztels.com. She and her husband, Mark, have two young sons, Joshua and Jacob. You may occasionally find Christy behind the counter at Quilts & Ladybugs in downtown Columbia City. 

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(Talk of the Town photo provided) Jason Minich, president and personal trainer at Catalyst Fitness, will lead Christy Smith in her journey to become more healthy and physically fit.

By Christy Smith

This column is called Half Baked. I have primarily focused on the "baked" part by submitting cooking related articles. However, for the next few months I am changing gears. You see, half baked can also mean a crazy idea....or having a screw loose. Both of which could not be more true of me and my life right now.
A little over two years ago, a series of events occurred in my life that triggered a domino-like effect, and I haven't been the same since. Hospital visits, emergency room trips, burn units, bandages, car accidents and a few other intense situations thrown in for good measure, all within a few months time and no room for catching my breath.
Not many people in my life know the extent to which I have been struggling the past two years.  The stress from those events snuck up on me, hit me like a ton of bricks, and left me with nothing but a bag full of cheetos and about 45 extra pounds.  Gee, thanks.
No big deal, I thought. I’ll just get back to eating healthy, organic foods and exercising like I was doing prior to all of this.
A few minor setbacks though. One, as a way of coping with the daily stress I was living under, I began emotional eating, and as a result, developed a severe addiction to the bad foods. The white foods.  Those dirty, ugly foods they call “carbs.” Pop Tarts. Cheetos. Fried foods. Sugary foods. The sweeter, the better.
Over the course of two years, I tried all of my standby tricks to losing weight, with some success here and there, but in the end, I just couldn’t keep it off.  All of my old tricks were useless against this new addiction, and I just didn’t have the right tools to fight it anymore.
During the recent holidays, I also stopped exercising for a few months. In late December I found some motivation, and hopped back on my trusty treadmill, ready to shed the pounds once and for all.  But within just a few minutes, I knew something was wrong.  The pain in my feet and ankles, and the tightness in my calves was alarming. Once again, I tried everything to fix the problem.  Stretches, new shoes, walking on an incline…but nothing helped.  The extra weight I had gained in such a short amount of time was taking its toll on my body.
Once the pain in my calves made it crystal clear that my normal routine was no longer an option, I had two choices. A.) give up and succumb to my health issues or B.) fight like hell.
As tired and stressed out as I am, somehow I managed to find enough fight in me to come up with a "half baked" idea that was potentially going to save my life.  
As a business owner, I frequently trade product for things. Salon services, logo design, babysitting....to name a few. So when I realized I needed a personal trainer to help me, but couldn't afford one, I thought "Hey! I'll just offer a trade!" It didn't take long before I realized what a bad idea that was. Not many personal trainers worth their salt would even entertain the idea of trading their services for ooey, gooey, caramel pretzels.
Back to the drawing board.
Fortunately for me, I write for a lovely and popular news site run by a dear friend who has been generous enough to let me use this column as a way to reach a personal breakthrough. Both emotionally and physically.
My personal trainer, Jason Minich of Catalyst Fitness in Fort Wayne, agreed to trade me services in exchange for writing about my experience. And here it is - my first of several articles that will chronicle my seemingly uphill battle with issues both physical and emotional.
As I tackle a few demons, and relive a few horrific moments that I thought were well behind me, I'll bring you along and hopefully show that anyone -no matter their health condition, financial ability, or hurdles in life- can conquer their goals, as long as they are passionate about life, and most importantly, about living it with as much energy and zest as you can squeeze out of this big ol' lemon.

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(Talk of the Town photo provided)

I'm always up for a challenge, and when a fellow columnist on Talk of the Town suggested I offer up tips on how to eat gluten free when you're a bread lover, I gladly accepted.

Now, believe me, you can google this topic 'til your eyes bleed, and I have. So, I think I'll approach this with my own personal account of the week I began my gluten free eating versus getting all technical about gluten and its potential adverse effects on certain people.

I began eating gluten free because I was following a candida diet, not because I was having any typical celiac or gluten intolerance symptoms. But, this diet required me to cut out wheat (gluten), sugar, dairy, vinegar, fruit and mushrooms among other things. "What's left?" you ask. I wondered the same thing! You'd be surprised!

After following this diet for one week, I added wheat back in, for no other logical reason than because I'm not that bright, and knew immediately that the reaction I was having was a great indication that gluten was an issue for me to address. So, I kept up with the gluten free eating.

As a huge bread/cracker/baked goods fanatic, I didn't quite know what to do with myself at first. I started out eating gluten free grains instead of bread products. Quinoa...brown rice...etc. But, eventually I needed bread. Real. Bread. Buns, sliced loaves, croutons for salads, anyway I could get it. I stopped at the local health food store and found that gluten free products have taken over the world. Anything that was formerly laden with gluten, can now be found gluten free.

My personal favorite is the Sami's Bakery Millet and Flax line of breads. I found hamburger buns, hot dog buns, wraps, and of course sliced bread. It is quite pricey, at over $5 per loaf, so I try to ration it.

One of my favorite ways to use the bread is to cut it into cubes, and toss it into a pan with melted butter (or ghee if you're dairy free) and some seasonings. Garlic powder, Italian seasonings, cracked pepper and salt seem to be best for my taste, but you could do whatever you want. Once the butter and seasonings are well mixed with the bread cubes, place them on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, more or less, depending on how done you want your croutons. Add to any salad and let the crunchy goodness begin.
I do not have a bread machine, and the experience I have had with making breads in my oven has not resulted in anything worth trying again, so if you're looking for that piping hot, fresh from the oven gluten free bread....let me know when you find it! But, seriously, there is a plethora of gluten free resources available, and recipes are getting better and better each day.
Now that gluten is proving to be the culprit in weight gain, gas, achy joints, depression, cramps, headaches, eczema, and other deficiencies, it's no wonder people are starting to think outside the bun...literally.
Good luck on your gluten free adventure. You may just find you like it better!

Christy Beauchot Smith is the owner and creator of www.dipstickspretzels.com. She and her husband, Mark, are the parents of two sons, Jacob and Joshua.

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(Talk of the Town photos by Christy Smith) 

A good friend called me a few weeks ago and asked if I knew how to make Key Lime Pie.  I did not.  In fact, the one and only time I had a piece of Key Lime Pie was in North Carolina….from a grocery store….and I Didn’t. Even. Finish it.  If you know me at all, you know what this means.  If you don’t know me at all….well, let’s just say I’ve never met a dessert I didn’t like. Until that moment.

But, I am always up for a challenge, and this sounded like a sweet one. One caveat however….Key Lime Pie lovers are a little picky.  I’m not sure how I knew this random bit of information, but it was definitely a factor I needed to consider.

 A 40th birthday treat that I was responsible for became a few hours’ worth of googling the history of this sweet but tart, traditionally southern dessert. First key element (pun intended) is key limes. Key limes are about the size of one of those little bouncy balls you get for fifty cents in the machines at grocery stores. Those big, dark green ones you cut up for your Corona?  Nope.  Key Limes are usually found in a mesh bag, with approximately 20-30 limes inside, and are a bit more tart and aromatic.

Once I found the correct limes, I had to decide on what recipe to use.  According to Wikipedia, the first Key Lime Pie was created, oddly enough, in the Florida Keys.  Modern refrigeration was not common on these tropical islands, therefore the recipes for this pie always consist of sweetened condensed milk, as opposed to fresh. Traditional recipes also call for the key lime juice (bottled juice is a big no no!), and egg yolks.  Back then, the pie was not baked, however today we prefer baking it due to the risk of bacteria from the raw eggs.

I did a quick search for Key Lime Pie on my favorite recipe site (allrecipes.com) and promptly found a recipe that had 5 stars and almost 300 positive reviews.  I chose this recipe based strictly on the reviews.  But, one thing was noticeably absent from this recipe: eggs.  Crap.  But, Wikipedia said the traditional pie had eggs.  Now what do I do? Should I go against all these rave reviews in the vein of remaining as traditional as possible, or just go ahead and make it as is and hope the birthday boy loves it anyway?

After reading one reviewer state that she preferred this recipe over the egg based one, I decided to go ahead and go eggless. And I never looked back. Well, except for that one time when I peeked back just a little, but then snapped out of it in an effort to save my sanity.

Now, onto the whole meringue versus whipped cream debate.  As stated in Wikipedia, the very first Key Lime Pie, known as the “conch” version, was topped with meringue.  I opted to do a fresh whipped cream instead based on several articles and comments by other Key Lime Pie lovers. This was probably what I was most worried about, because if someone brought me my favorite pie, except it wasn’t my favorite pie, it was some pie masquerading as my favorite pie, but, oh wait, where’s the best part, the MERINGUE?!?  I’d be a tad disappointed. But, since I had no further instructions from this client, I used my Spidey senses and forged ahead, once again, eggless.

And the final decision? Graham cracker crust or pastry crust? See, I told you Key Lime Pie lovers are picky.  You would be too, if you had so many options.  This decision was fairly painless though, and I opted for the graham cracker crust, and made it from scratch based on the overwhelming recommendations from the reviewers not to use a store bought one.

After forming the crust to the pan, I prepped the custard portion of this pie.   As you add the key lime juice to the sweetened condensed milk mixture, the batter immediately starts to thicken and creates that custard look that is critical to this pie. This is by far my favorite part. I think this was partly because I’m a science geek and really liked watching the chemical reaction that happens when you add the juice to the other ingredients, but also because this is obviously the most important part of the pie. With the addition of bits of lime zest in this pie, it takes on a cute speckled look too.

While many chefs will argue with you about graham cracker crust or pastry crust, meringue or whipped cream, every single one of them will tell you that absolutely not a drop of green food coloring should touch the pie. Key Lime Pies are supposed to be a buttery yellow color. If you see a green one, run the other way. Trust me.

A few minutes later the pie was baked and ready to cool.  After completely setting up in the refrigerator the pie feels like it weighs a ton. Very heavy and dense, but that’s the whole point.   Ignore the calories and enjoy!  Because I’m also a little on the artsy fartsy side too, I chose to pipe the whipped cream on a little decoratively, but you could just as easily spread it on, or spoon some on before serving.

After handing off the baked goods, I crossed my fingers and waited for reviews.  A few days later, I learned that not only did the birthday boy like the pie, he ate three pieces at his party, and didn’t share the rest.  I am taking that as a huge compliment, and now this pie is going to be one of my favorite standbys.

I have a confession to make, though. Since this was the first time I had ever made this pie, and because it was for an important, paying customer, I decided to make a trial run first. I knew that it was physically impossible for an anal retentive person such as me to just make one and hope for the best, so I sacrificed myself for the greater cause.  I made the pie. I tasted the pie completely sure that it would not be my thing. I was wrong. This pie was very tasty, with just enough tartness to make you pucker, but not so much as to keep you from taking that second bite.  Or twelfth in my case.  Okay, okay, so I ate half the pie!  After all, a great business person has to make sacrifices from time to time.

Editor's Note: If a Key Lime pie sounds great...but you don't want to mess with making one, Christy can make one for you -- just post a request to buy one below!

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