Day 18

Today, went to church and man!...these early mornings are killing me! Not so good for an insomniac! Yeah, still not doing well with the sleeping bit. This week I'm going to really try and get to bed by 10pm!!!! It is so great to have the whole day to relax! I'm going to really try hard to meet my goals this week. I have been doing GREAT with my eating though! I'm rockin it! I haven't had sugar in now 18 days and but only a few times have I really struggled stay with it!!! Yay!!


I didn't get to blog yesterday so here's 2 days of food for ya:


Goods


Saturday
Breakfast


Veggie Egg white scramble w/ 1 flax waffle + pb and agave


Lunch

Lemon Luna

Dinner


Amy's Burrito + Avacado + veggies
Kiwi + cottage cheese

Sunday

Breakfast
Zip. :(

Lunch
Indian Wrap (forgot to take pics...I was soooo hungry!..SOOO YUMMY though!)
apples + PB


Snack
Herbal Tea
Almonds

See ya at dinner!

Day 16

So it's day 16 and I am not having the greatest day:(. Part of the problem is I got a visit from "aunt flo" and so I'm totally bloated and feeling yucky! So I haven't lost anything and I'm well into my 3rd week. I guess I was hopeful because I lost so much the first week but...I'm gonna just plow through and I'm sure once my "visitor" leaves, the digits will reflect. I totally have been sticking to plan so the only thing I can think is I didn't get enough exercise in. Yuck! Next week has to be better! The clock is ticking on cruise time!!!

Goods:

Breakfast

Zip. This could be the problem too. I've been so sleep deprived that I've skipped breakfast. Next week!!!

Lunch

Spicy Kale Soup (yum) +leftover quinoa & bulgar salad w/ roasted eggplant + sesame cucumbers








Snack
"cookie muffin" w/ chunky pb smeared on top. Yummy!! + herbal tea

Dinner
Amy's burrito +1/2 avacado

Tomorrow is Saturday!!!! Here's to a great weekend! See you at Breakfast!

New Loves

So, I know my posts have been totally boring because I mostly write about what I eat everyday. Even though that's the main reason I started this blog, I do want it to be a journal of where I'm at in my journey. It has been now 15 days since I've started this whole adventure and I have to say..I'm really proud of myself. It was not that long ago that I was overindulging in anything and everything at my leisure.

They say it takes 3 weeks to form a habit. I am more than half way there and I really am feeling very good. I haven't seen a ton of weight loss but I feel so much better! I have to say I feel totally empowered knowing that I can choose what I put into my body and I have a great responsibility to take care of it, I have to! It's the only one I'm gonna get! I have found some new loves that have made the journey to this point SO much easier!!!

1. Herbal Tea- I love celestial seasons sleepy time and mint medley. I drink probably 3-4 HUGE mugs a day! Straight up no sweetener (loved this before the diet!)

2. Wasa crackers- LOVE them! They're yummy with guacamole spread on them! I much on them w/ laughing cow cheese and apples for a snack

3. Laughing cow low fat swiss wedges- yum!

4. Jazz apples- I love braeburn apples but I may love Jazz even more (still debating but definitely a contender!)

5. Greek yogurt- Lately I've been loving yogurt parfaits w/ frozen berries and granola for crunch!! It's so much better for you than regular yogurt!

6. Amy's Burritos- saw these all over blog sites and then went over to my friend S' house and she let me try one for lunch. I've been in love ever since. I think I've had one every day since! They're so convenient and delicious! Black Bean and Veggie is my fav!

7. Red Mango- OK, I had to put this down even though I haven't had it in so long! It's totally good...I mean better for you than reg. ice cream...It IS frozen yogurt! My friend S from Houston took me there and I had the original w/ strawberries, almonds and dark chocolate chips...SOOOOOOOO yummy! It's gonna be the first thing I have before we leave on the cruise!!

8. Lemon Luna bars- I loved Luna bars before. They're one of my favorite protein bars but I tried this one the other day and I have to tell you...I swear totally near a lemon bar! YUM

9. Agave nectar and turbinado sugar- anyone who knows me, knows I DO NOT like diet food! I really don't like artificial sweeteners! I can't stand the after taste so when I was looking for something to use in my oatmeal, I tried these and they're great! I love that they're natural and good for you!

10. "Cookie Muffins"- On one of my fav health blogs T made up a recipe for a 3 min. oatmeal "cookie". I tried it and it was more like a 1.5 minute "cookie muffin". It's shaped like a cookie but has more the texture of a muffin. I made them with blueberries instead of the raisins and DELICIOUS!!!! I like to use turbinado sugar and load them with flax seeds! These puppies have saved my no sugar, no treats plan!!!! They're only 140 calories! Awesome.

"Cookie Muffin"
1/4 c. Rolled Oats
1 egg white or 1/8 c. liquid egg whites
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp. agave or turbinado or brown sugar
2 tsp. flour
2 Tbsp. blueberries or raisins or craisins

mix in microwave safe bowl. scrape sides and flatten into cookie shape. Microwave 1 min. let cool. dig in. Seriously....this will change your life! Great after a work out or for breakfast or just a snack. Delicious with pb on top!

So there you have it...I think I'll make this a regular post every week! I've been trying so many new things...and LOVING it!

Day 15

Today was a good day. A solid good day. Well...I didn't get a work out in again but on the other hand, I did get to go to Whole Foods today and picked up a few fun new foods to try! I really had been wanting to try almond milk (vanilla flavor) and Quorn products. While I was there I picked up some organic meat and chicken. On our way in, I picked up this free in store magazine and it was filled with coupons! It had coupons for some chicken sausage, almond milk, herbal tea (totally needed some!), Quorn and a ton of other things. D and I walked around and checked out the goods and they always have tons to sample and you know I love free food!:) Good time with the hubbs!

Anyway, by the time I got home M had already fed the monkeys (what a great bro!) so I just had an Amy's burrito (yum!) for dinner. Tonight I was in need of comfort food so I had a homemade yogurt parfait too...double yum!

Goods:

Breakfast
Amy's Burrito w/ 1/2 avacado

Lunch
Quinoa and bulgar salad + roasted eggplant....DELICIOUS!!

Dinner
Amy's Black Bean Burrito + leftover quinoa and bulgar + sesame cucumbers

Snack
Greek Yogurt + frozen berries + almond granola
tea

Delicious day! I loved everything I ate today! What's funny is I had no meat! Who'd have thought an Island girl could go with out meat?! Craziness! Hoping the extra fiber will lessen the bloating :}

Tomorrow, I'm supposed to go out to lunch with the girls....Wish me luck! See you at breakfast!

PS, the reason we were out and child less in the first place was we got our PASSPORTS!!!!!! MMMMMMM>>>>I can feel the sand in my toes already! Pinacoladaville....I'm on my way!!!!:) I wonder if you can get them sweetened with agave nectar?:)

Day 14

I cannot believe I have made it this far!!! Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE love sugar!!! Cookies, candy, CAKE!!! I love it all! It is amazing to me how relatively easy! Don't get me wrong, I have definitely had my "moments" but I plowed through. I am really proud of myself so far. It totally proves to me that I am not power less! I can do anything I put my mind to! OK, I know it's not like I ran a marathon or somethin' but still:).

OK, so we went to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine on Monday for the night. The kids LOVED it! It was so great to get away and even better that we didn't have to pay for air fare or drive a gazillion miles! The lodge was completely decked out with so much for the kids to do and keep them busy and happy! B on the other hand was not so happy. He ended up sick and we had a very long night! Poor guy! We came home earlier than we'd planned to take him in to the Dr's and...Bronchitis!!! I swear we can't catch a break! He's feeling much better already with just 1 day of antibiotics...poor baby!:(

I did stick to my food plan and if you count chasing 4 kids around an entire resort while toting a baby on your hip, I did OK on activity level. I am exhausted though. Still not doing well on my sleep goals for the week!

Goods:

Monday
Lunch: Leftover Napa Stew

Snack: wasa + laughing cow wedge

Dinner: 2 pieces veggie pizza + garden salad

Snack: yogurt + granola

Tuesday
Breakfast

2 eggs + 1/2 cup hash browns +oatmeal ( I didn't get a pic of the eggs and hash browns! )

Dinner

Chicken Cacciatore + garden salad

Snack
yogurt + frozen berries + granola
herbal tea

Wednesday
Breakfast: leftover Chicken Cacciatore + wasa + laughing cow wedge

Lunch: 1/2 cup cottage cheese + kiwi + cantaloupe + tea

Snack: almonds + tea

So far so good. Hope to go on a walk tonight:)
See you at dinner!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Today I was home with B (not feeling well again:( Poor guy, he can't catch a break! I had to make M's "worm cake" which is whipped cream roll in the shape of a worm with gummy and sour worms all over laying on top of crushed oreos...ummm..hello? Talk about CRAZY!!! With it being Day 11 with no sugar, I was sooooooo nervous I'd cheat!!! I decided I needed a plan so I looked online and found a recipe for a 3 min. "cookie" that you make in the microwave on one of my favorite sites. I'd been wanting to try it and this was the perfect opportunity. So I whipped it up and it really was more of a 2 minute recipe AND.....YUM!!! It was like heaven!!! I used turbinado and I didn't even miss the white stuff!!! My version had craisins instead and I added Greek yogurt and 2 heaping spoons of flax...delicious! I really think it's closer to a muffin than a cookie though! Totally filled me up and satisfied my sugar fix! Thanks CNC!!!

Goods:
Breakfast
Oatmeal and Craisin "cookie"
Sleepytime :( I know...bad!

Lunch
Eggs w/peppers and spinach
wasa and guac.
sleepytime

Dinner
Napa and Beef Stew

Snack
Blueberry "muffin"


OK, my goals this week:

1) Eat breakfast!!!

2) Exercise!!! Go on a walk x4 this week. Join the Y and do a class with the girls:)

3) Continue with no sugar

4) Continue with no carbs after lunch

5) Cut off @ 7

6) Bed by 10!!!! I need sleep!!!

The great news is.....I've lost 9 lbs!!!!! That's great! Soooooo on my way!:)

See ya tomorrow!

Yesterday was M's birthday so I was busy and didn't get a chance to blog! I was nervous about how it would go food wise but I did really well. We even went to dinner and I still stuck to my program! I did have a snack around 8 though but I was feeling really close to cheating so I let myself have a healthy snack and of course sleepytime!

Goods:
Breakfast:
Special K w/berries
cottage cheese

Lunch
new favorite! Amy's Bean and cheese burrito w/ avocado

Dinner
Out to dinner w/fam
grilled veggies w/ steak and shrimp
3 pieces salmon sushi
fruit

Snack
1 Tbsp chunky PB
apple
sleepytime

No walk again..so..I won't meet my exercise goals this week:( Next week we'll do it for sure!

OK, Saturday has gone well but we were out most of the day (Rugby games, shopping, errands, etc.) I did pretty well with my choices though.

Goods:

Lunch:
1 c. chili from Tom Thumb (delicious and 270 calories per serving!)
few bites grilled chicken
broccoli

Dinner
Amy's burrito (southwestern..yum)
apple
herbal tea
Lemon luna bar

Snack
1 wedge laughing cow
1 apricot
2 wasa

I missed not going on a walk this weekend! Hopefully if the weather is better, we can walk tomorrow after church. Food wise I feel pretty good...aunt flo came to visit so I am feeling bloated but I am not giving in to my usual chocolate cravings and tendency to binge on crazy high caloric snacks!!! Ugh...

Happy Saturday.

See you tomorrow.

Thursday, January 21


Today has been a good day so far. I am so tired though and want to make sure I don't get sidelined by a need for some energy so I made sure I had good, solid, protein packed food on the menu today. I went to do the 30 day shred DVD but then I couldn't find the remote for the DVR!!! Can u believe it? AAAHHHHH!!! Finally B falls asleep so I can actually work out and I can't find the dumb thing! :(

So...we will try again tonight. As for my meals, they tasted super yummy today and I even found a new snack that I LOVE!!!!

Goods:

Breakfast
Shrimp, pepper trio, onion, leek and spinach omelet
wasa w/ guacamole
herbal tea

Lunch
Leftover omelet (it was so yummy, I wanted it again!)
wasa w/ guac
herbal tea

snack
apple slices w/ 2 Tb crunchy PB
water

Dinner
left over chicken taco salad for me /burritos for the fam
herbal tea

I am going on day 9 tomorrow and feel great! It has been difficult at times but definitely easier than I thought so far. I am committed to doing this for ME!!! I would love to say that it was all about living longer for my family (and for the most part it is), but to be real for a minute...I can't wait to feel cute in clothes again! I can't wait to feel good about how I look. I am proud of my progress and am going to stick with this! YAY for me!:)

PS....Guess who's lost 6 lbs??:) woot!woot! I measured myself today and man I tell you, reality's a *itch! I never thought I would see those measurements and for my frame...well...it's a good thing we're moving forward and have set goals and have a plan in motion!!!

See you after dinner!

Wed. January 20, 2010

Day 8!

I've made it through 8 days with no sugar!!!! Amazing! Yesterday was the first day it was hard but today went much better. It was a long night with B so I chose to skip breakfast and go back to bed when he went down for his morning nap. Not good I know but....it was a LONG night! Tomorrow will go better!:)

Goods:

Lunch
Egg salad and avocado on wasa
fruit salad

Dinner
Thai Lettuce Wraps

Snack
Sleepytime

The day went well all in all. I even went to dinner with M and D and they had bread and M ordered FISH and CHIPS and D had a Coke and M had strawberry lemonade! I didn't falter though!!!Yay!!!

Fitness:

We were so tired from the long night that we put off the walk till tomorrow so in order achieve my goals this week, I'll have to walk each night the rest of the week!

Goals for tomorrow:

Eat better
Eat breakfast
Go on my walk

Long day. Short post. Good night.

I never got back to the blog yesterday so here's how it went:



Lunch: Special K w/ berries

Cottage Cheese

Herbal Tea



Dinner: Chicken Soft Taco

Huge salad...yum!



All in all it was a great day! Food wise I did really well. It was the first day I felt like I really wanted a treat or at least something not healthy! I resisted and pushed through though and very proud of myself.



Fitness:

Went on a GREAT walk with D!! We walked to the kids school and then circled around and then walked to the high school and back! That's 2 neighborhoods and 2 schools! It felt great although I sadly have to admit....IT HURT!!! How pathetic is that! I could barely move an hour later!...I feel better this morning though and it was great to have that hour together! Can't wait for our walk tonight!:)

After my walk I had the worst cravings ever though! My body must have been in need of protein or something but since it was well after my cutoff time, I was fighting off the urge. I ended up with a Tbsp of crunchy PB and a big cup of sleepytime. I wanted fries and a treat but it held me off for the night.

Sleep:
Didn't go so well again. The walk helped the insomnia I think because I fell asleep during the movie we sat down to watch but then B had a really rough night. I think he needed a breathing treatment. He was up all night and thus kept both of us up!! So...no sleep again!:(

All in all a great day. I'm proud of myself for the progress I've made. Today I've started off missing breakfast though and that's not good. Here are the plans for the day:

Lunch:
Taco salad
fresh fruit
herbal tea

Dinner:
Halibut w/fennel and orange salad

Snack: cottage cheese and fruit

Fitness: Walk w/D after kids go to bed

Sleep: Bed by 10!

Happy Wednesday!

Breakfast:

Low fat Cottage Cheese w/ grapes
Sleepytime

I liked it better w/ blueberries or peaches. It still tasted good though. I'm a little tired today...hopefully, I'll get to sleep at a decent hour tonight!

Yesterday was a fun day....now...back to reality! I have a gazillion loads of laundry to catch up on and a cranky baby!

Short Post...see you at lunch:)

Monday, Jan. 18th

OK, today was a good day!

Breakfast: Egg omelet

Lunch: Thai lettuce wraps (lunch w/ girlfriend- totally proud of myself:)

Snack: Apple

Dinner: Sleepytime

OK, so I said it was a good day...it could have gone better but plenty of room for improvement tomorrow!

The Goods:

* Did well on my eating today....Breakfast was fine, Lunch with friend and then shopping...lots of shopping!!!! We went to 3 malls today! I haven't done that kind of shopping in a long time! It just worked out that way! Originally we we're going to lunch at Watters Creek and then walk around and then head to Costco then home. We did that but then when she went to drop me, her hubby called and said he'd taken ALL the kids for a road trip to Oklahoma to look at some cows!!! (They raise them for show) So, she said well my family's gone for the night, wanna go to the mall with me? D looked at me and said, "Go and have fun", that's all I needed so off we went!

We went to a few stores and then she wanted to go to a different mall! Seriously, haven't done this since high school! We shut the place down!!! I found 2 of the cutest sandals at Banana Republic for the cruise and a cute scarf and it all was under $45!!! Love it when that happens!

Anyway, I figure I walked more than I would have if D and I went on our walk tonight so, I think I did ok on the fitness today!

*I had tea for dinner because I got home at 9:30, well past my food cut off so sleepytime it was! Honestly, I'm so exhausted I'm ok and ready for bed right after this post!

All in all a very good day considering I walked right past Red Mango today and didn't walk in no matter how badly I wanted to! (I did have to close my eyes though!:)

Tomorrow:

Eat all 3 meals and drink more water.

Walk with hubbs

Sleep by 10pm

Cheers to day 6 with no sugar!

Meal Plan Week 2 Jan. 18-24

Monday

B- Egg whites and spinach omelet

L- Lunch date w/ girlfriend

D- Halibut w/fennel and orange salad


Tuesday

B-Special K w/ berries
boiled egg

L-Wasa & Turkey
Apple
Carrot sticks

D- Chicken Cacciatore

Wednesday

B- Special K
egg

L- Wasa & Tuna
Apple
Carrots

D-Taco Salad

Thursday

B-Oatmeal
Egg

L-Progresso Lite
Salad

D-Leftover Cacciatore

Friday

B-Special K
Egg

L-Lunch with Mikey (He'll probably choose McD's so I'll pick up a sub for me on the way)

D-Out with the family

Saturday

B- Special K
Egg

L- Out

D- Pork Loin Tacos

Sunday

B- Special K
Egg

L- Soup

D- Leftovers

Snacks:
Fruit and string cheese
Peanut butter and banana
Greek yogurt and blueberries
boiled egg
almonds
herbal tea

Meals week 1

This week I did great with my meals. Next week I want to add more vegetables and fiber.

Breakfasts:

3Egg white and veggie omelet w/ tsp. ketchup
fruit

Greek yogurt
blueberries and banana
boiled egg

special k w/ berries
boiled egg

Lunches:
Progresso Lite Soups
apple

Salad
soup

Dinners:

Portuguese Kale Soup

Chicken Tacos

Grilled Chicken

Homemade Hamburgers 1/2 bun
Extra Veggies

The Kale soup was a hit! I made a huge pot yesterday so I could have it all week long for lunch and today...it's GONE!!! The family LOVED it! First thing tomorrow I'm going to go to the store to buy more soup fixins!:)

The Plan:

Ok, so I have a goal...now for the plan! I have an ultimate goal and I'm going to set smaller goals to reach along the way to help keep me motivated. I am totally motivated by rewards so when I complete my first goal I will set a reward for myself. Here goes...:

Ultimate goal: Reach Healthy weight of 150

Smaller goal #1: Lose 20lbs in 12 weeks!

Reward for goal #1: JCrew purchase

I'm going to start there and then continue to work towards my greater ultimate goal.

Now for the plan:

I will document my food and work out choices each day/week to keep me accountable.

Extras: There are some things I'm doing to aid in my success.

#1. No sugar. I did this a couple years ago and did great for 3 months! By no sugar I mean I will not add sugar to my diet, while I will be mindful of my food choices, I will allow myself to have certain things like ketchup, peanut butter, etc. that contain sugar in strict moderation to add flavor to my meals. I will do this for this first part of my weight loss plan and will allow myself 1 treat a week in the next phase of my plan.

#2. No eating after 8pm. Ideally it would be 7pm but with a baby, I never get to sleep before midnight. Hopefully I can bump this to 7 in the next phase.

#3. Limit carbs after lunch. I will try and have most carbs or starches at breakfast and lunch. I will allow myself natural carbs (fruit) though.

OK, There it is. Wish me luck!

PS, It's day 4 officially and I've done great so far!

Goods:
* 4 days with no sugar! I've done great so far! A friend told me if I get a sweet craving to eat a pickle and it will satisfy it! I haven't had to use this yet!

* I've done really well with my carbs and have mostly eaten healthy, natural carbs along with protein and plenty of fruits and veggies.

OK's:
* I had 1 day this week where I didn't eat dinner (salad) till 8:45! Mostly I did well though drinking herbal tea when I got hungry after 8. Next week we'll do better!

Goals this week:
*Take a walk with the hubbs after kids go to bed x4.

*No eating after 8PM!!!

Happy Sunday!

Buckle Up!

This is a journal of sorts chronicling my journey from "Hot Mess" to my former "Hot Mammaness". I am a 30 something stay at home mamma of 5 kiddos + husband + dog living in Dallas,TX. I am starting this blog to help me be more accountable to my new goal of becoming and living more HEALTHY.

Did you notice I didn't say SKINNY? In my 20's I was obsessed with being (whether I was or wasn't) a skinny minny. It was all about a number. In my 30's I have found I am so much more comfortable in my own skin. So comfortable in fact that I comfortably packed on an extra 20 after the baby was born 1 yr ago!!! Ummmmm...not so comfortable with that!

So, here we are in 2010 and it's time to turn a new leaf! Here is my journey to rediscovering me...the real me...join me?:)