Weigh-In 238.2 lb

Weight:  238.2 lb
Week:  -1.2 lb
Total: -36.8 lb

This last weekend was amazing.  Hubs and I spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday learning all about what the "heart" is when mentioned in the Scriptures and how to safeguard it.

We spent time with family and friends and loved every second of it. We didn't want it to end.  There were about 4000 people there each day.


Everyone who comes is encouraged to bring a lunch so that we can all eat at our seats and enjoy eachother's company.  This presents a problem.  Healthy yummy food on the go?  Yikes.

Both Hubs and I were burnt out on plain old salad.  At the last minute I threw something together and was pretty impressed with the result.

Veggie Lover's Pasta Salad (7 servings)

1 box Barilla Whole Wheat Pasta 
1 can Artichoke Hearts, rinsed, drained, and quartered
1 can Black Olives, rinsed and drained
1 can Chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 cups Grape Tomatoes, halved
1 English Cucumber, chopped
1 bunch Italian Parsley, chopped
Zest and Juice of 1 Lemon
1 cup Ken's Light Northern Italian Dressing 
1/2 cup Feta Cheese

Boil the pasta according to directions on box.  Drain and mix with all the other ingredients.  Let sit at least 2 hours before serving.  I put each serving over a bed of baby spinach.  YUMS!

Here's another fast and easy recipe for ya!


Avocado Portabella Sandwiches (1 serving)

1 Portabella Mushroom Cap
1 t Olive Oil
1 t Mrs Dash Seasoning (or any yummy steak seasoning)
1/4 Avocado, sliced
1 T Plain Greek Yogurt
1 Mini Whole Wheat Pita

Rub the mushroom with olive oil and seasoning, grill or pan fry until tender.  Toast the pita and spread 1 T yogurt on each side.  Place the avocado on the pita and top with the mushroom cap.

Yum.  I had a steamed artichoke on the side...mmm...mmm good!!!

I rummaged around looking for more fun healthy clean lunches. I found a few and would LOVE any suggestions!! 

Blue Chicken Tacos

I made this recipe up myself because I needed something super easy, healthy and delicious.  It did not disappoint!


Blue Chicken Tacos (Serves 4)

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 16-oz bottle salsa verde (I use this one.)
1 T cumin
8 blue corn taco shells (I use these.)
1 avocado, sliced into 8 sections
1 c fat-free plain greek yogurt
1 cup spring mix lettuce

Place the chicken thighs, 1 cup of the salsa, and cumin in a slow cooker.  Cook on High 3 hours.  Remove the chicken.  Shred and stir in 1/2 cup of the salsa.  Fill each taco shell with chicken, lettuce, one slice of avocado, and greek yogurt.



I served it with some cut up veggies and hummus on the side.

And cherries for dessert!


YUM!

Weigh-In

Weight:  239.4

Week: +1.2

Total Loss:  35.6

To say I had a rough time this week would be like saying the Captain of the Titanic had a rough time.  It wasn't good.  I was so tired. So very tired.  I felt hopeless and discouraged.  I was kinda sorta holding it together until I couldn't find my phone charger.....and collapsed on the bed in the middle of the afternoon in a pathetic state of tears and whining.

Hubs must have known something was wrong before I did, because earlier that day he surprised me with these....

Aww.....

I decided to spend a whole day getting rid of a ton of STUFF around my house. I brought two car loads of STUFF to Goodwill.  I cleaned and organized my kitchen cabinets and drawers. I did the same for the drawers, shelves, and cabinets in my living room.  Getting rid of all the extra THINGS immediately made me feel better. 

I don't really know where this exhausted feeling is coming from.  At one point I was diagnosed with anemia.  And I haven't taken iron supplements in years.  I got a mulit-vitamin that has iron and hopefully that will help.  I was also worried that my blood sugar might be high.  I got a blood glucose monitor from a friend who has diabetes (yes, new needle!)  and tested my blood.  Fasting is 112.  And 3 hours after eating was 75.  I have gotten so much mixed information about what those numbers mean.  But I think it means I am pre-diabetic.  Bleck....don't really want to think about that.

The only thing to do about it is what I am doing already.  Eat right and exercise.

"A pint of sweat, saves a gallon of blood." 

 - General George S. Patton

I don't really want to think about my weight either.  I did gain 1.2 lb this week.  And that is crappy. But I know why. And I'm not beating myself up.  I need to remember that I like eating healthy and exercising.  And I really really do.  Exercising is one of my favorite things to do.  I never thought I would say that.  I made some delicious stuff this weekend.  I will put the recipes in a future post.  

Right now I'm just focusing on enjoying my week of good food and good moves!

Bring on the Bacon & Weigh-In

Weight:  238.2 lb

Week Loss:  -3.8 lb

Total Loss:  -36.8 lb

Hello 230's!! How I've missed you.  The first week of The Eat Clean Diet was GREAT. I felt so good. I was eating a lot and wasn't hungry.  Everything was clean, healthy and filling.   I am super happy with my weigh-in. 

I had planned on having a Cheat Meal on Saturday afternoon.  But the thing about Cheat Meals is that they are slippery little suckers...and this cheat lunch spilled over into dinner...and then over to the next day.  Once I eat healthy I can ride that train for a long time.  But once I break the seal with one cannoli it turns into three with an ice cream cone on the side.  

I am not willing to give up my cheat meal. Sorry no.  Can't do it.  And I don't think I should. It's something I must learn to do. Because I am not going to go through my whole life never having a treat.  And I need to learn how to do it without wrecking my whole weekend and falling flat on my face.  Speaking of falling flat on my face, at least it was face first into THIS....

Holy Trans Fat, Batman!!   Yes, that is a BACON SUNDAE.  I felt like they should have ID'd me or something before selling it to me.  This thing was amazing.  Bacon and Carmel and Fudge, Oh My! Why do people do drugs when Burger King will give you one of these suckers for $2.59??  I guess even crack heads want to look good in a bikini. I certainly can't blame them. 

I am more determined than ever this week.  This is it. This is going to work.  I can feel it.  It's been a rough road but it will be worth every drop of sweat and tears.

"The steeper the mountain, the harder the climb, the better the view at the finishing line."  --Unknown.

Eat Clean

Remember my last post where I was sure I found the best diet ever?  Yeah, scratch that.  What was I thinking? I am not a calorie counter. Never was. Probably never will be.  I felt scared and nervous and anxiety-ridden the whole time.  It didn't mesh. It didn't feel right.

That's why I was super excited when I got an email from my local library that the book I had requested was on hold and waiting for me.  On a previous post, I received a lot of great feedback about a book called The Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno.  The book itself was really nice to read with nice glossy pages and lots of color. (Is it sad that i don't read diet books or cookbooks with dull pages and no pictures?)  It's pretty short too.  It includes a 2 week sample menu and some recipes.  But most importantly, it included a lot of info that made me say, "Yes! That is SO true."  Eating clean is the way to go. 

There is no fluff to it.  No gimmicky promises.  This is a long haul, long term, long lasting way of eating.  It's all about giving your body what it needs to perform at its best.  There is no calorie counting, but makes you aware of calories.  You eat 5-6 times a day and each meal ends up being around 300 calories.  You build your meals with 1 complex carb, 1 lean protein and veggies.  A serving of protein is the size of your palm and a serving of carbs is the size of your fist.  Easy. Then of course there is the obvious emphasis on exercise (including 3-4 weight lifting sessions) and drinking at least 64 oz of water. 

There were certain things that just stood out as TRUE...

• All calories are NOT created equal. 

• Getting enough sleep is just as important as getting enough exercise.

• Weight training is a MUST.

• Crap food tastes great because it is MANUFACTURED to taste great.  Clean food will not give you the same "party in your mouth" experience.  But after a while you will enjoy it more and not crave the crap as much.

• The biggest meals should be at the beginning of the day and the lightest at the end.

I started my day this morning with weights (upper body). All my food is packed in my cooler.

Breakfast:  Smoothie (pineapple, unsweetened coconut milk, chia seeds, rolled oats, plain greek yogurt) and a hard boiled egg. 
Snack1:  Apple with 1 T natural peanut butter 
Lunch:  Salad (chicken breast, baby spinach, artichoke hearts, asparagus, cukes, carrots, 1 t olive oil, 1 T apple cider vinegar)
Snack2:  Tuna in a mini whole wheat pita with green beans on the side.
Dinner: Salmon with 1/2 sweet potato and steamed broccoli
Snack 3: orange with 1/2 c unsweetened kefir


My exercise plan is to do weights 3 days a week and 45 minutes of cardio 3 days a week.  I feel so good about this.  I am not expecting huge numbers to be falling off the scale.  But this is something I can do long term.  I'm done losing 10 pounds fast and then gaining it back just as quick. Let's do this RIGHT. 

Weigh-In:  242 lb
Waist: 45 inches

Walk in the Woods

Even though I was rebelling against anything healthy or active, my friend (who is having weight-loss surgery a week from tomorrow) made me go for a walk with her.  Ugh.. being supportive can be such a drag.

We live around the block from each other so she picked me up. Then about 10 seconds after getting on to the main road she turned into this obscure little street that I have driven by a zillion times and never noticed.  I was just about to ask her where she was taking me when I saw this....

What?  A trail? Right around the block from me?  Sweet!!

We started walking and I was shocked by how absolutely awesome this place is.

There are waterfalls.  And a creek. 

These huge weird mushrooms grow off the trees.

Mmm....grilled portabellas anyone??

This bridge was so nice..in the middle of the woods.

We took a break to enjoy all the "artwork"...

Angst-ey teens.....so deep...

I absolutely loved how odd everything was...like these stairs.

And this narrow bridge.

It felt so nice to be outside. Walking. What a cool discovery!  I'm so glad I ventured out.

Shiny and New

My library trip proved very fruitful.  I went through the entire Health/Fitness section of my public library.  (Holy Fad Diets, Batman!)  These were the ones I decided were worth a closer look.

I actually went through all of these books and read two of them cover to cover.  A few people commented on my last post about The Eat-Clean Diet by Tosca Reno.  My library didn't have it in stock so I had to order it. I can't wait to check it out.

I truly believe calorie counting is the way to go.  I have never ever counted calories.  It terrifies me. Seems so scary.  But with MyFitnessPal it is worth a try.  That website is the best.  I decided to do the Curves Eating Plan.  This is the low down:

• 3 phases:  1 Week=1200 calories, 3 Weeks=1500 calories, 2 Weeks=2000 calories  (The idea is to diet for a month and maintain for 2 weeks. Keeps your metabolism up and teaches you how to maintain.)
• Pick either High Carb or High Protein.  (I decided to start off with the high carb.  This means 137 g of carbs and 91 grams of protein each day.)
• Exercise at least 30 minutes 5 days a week.  (My workout schedule is 45 minutes of cardio 3 times a week and 45 minutes of weights 2 times a week.)

I know this will work.  It will be a major challenge though.  I was getting about 1200 calories on the Fat Smash Diet but this is different because I need to spread my out my calories like this..

• Breakfast: 200 cal
• 2 Snacks: 100 cal each
• Lunch/Dinner:  400 cal each

 I also have to make sure that I get the right ratio of fat/protein/carb.  If it weren't for MyFitnessPal I wouldn't stand a chance! It took me a while to figure it all out but in the end I am happy with what I came up with.  (Don't I sound all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  Ah...the hope that comes with a new diet.)

I made a bunch of steel cut oats with blueberries for breakfast.

Don't they look adorable in these mason jars?? I got the idea from this "Refrigerator Oatmeal" recipe which I will post all about later.

I tried to make my lunch super yummy and veggie packed.

Pretty, huh?

One of my snacks is a smoothie with plain unsweetened kefir and mango.  I put the kefir and mango in the little canister and brought it to work like that.  I'm leaving the blender base in the break room for super easy convenient snacks!

I need to find something that I can stick to long term.  And I need to learn how to maintain.  I really hope I found something here!! Cheer me on :-)

Just a quick hair photo... made up this weird bun. With the summer heat I need my hair off my face!
 
Kinda cool!