Day 54 of 120

8 new days of menus.  There is a lot of fish on the menu.  I don't like fish. At least I don't think I do. I was talking with a friend and she told me to try it as my tastes might have changed. She's right.  I really haven't tried fish since I was very young. 

Well, unless it was deep fried, frozen, shoved in the oven and then smeared with tartar sauce.  Pretty much I just enjoyed the tartar sauce and the fish stick was just a means to eat tartar sauce. Gross, I know. That's why I'm fat.  :-) 

Here's the deal though. I don't like the way it smells.  Even when I used to frequent the buffet, I would think "Here's my chance to try fish or salmon and not have to cook it or pay for it. I can take a bite and just not eat the rest if I don't like it."  I got to it and could smell it and just didn't like it. So I never did.  

So one of these days I need to suck it up and just try fish.  The only seafood I like is shrimp.  And I particularly like the deep fried kind. Of course. I can eat the non breaded kind if it is smothered in butter and garlic.  So moral of the story, no fish for me.  

Feel free to invite me over for fish, I promise I will try some. :-)

So new menus, I didn't look at them too closely yet I just saw Day 1 had zucchini and squash for dinner, I had it in the frig so I was all over it.  The rest fell into place nicely.  The plan was for yogurt, honey and granola for breakfast.  Apple snack. Turkey sandwich and almonds for lunch and fish, butter and zucchini and squash for dinner.  I mixed white beans in with the zucchini and squash for the protein.  It was delicious.   

Day 53 of 120

Busy, busy day. Spring break so there were 3 extra kids.  The weather is nice, still snow but very wet so all the snowpants and boots came in dripping wet. Gross.  Seriously, WHEN is spring??  

Chose day 7 of the menu.  It went well.  So have to go to sleep.  :-)

Day 52 of 120

8 days of menus, today I picked #2.  It's cereal day!  What a choice!  Frosted flakes, Fruity Pebbles, Corn Pops, Fruit Loops, Cocoa Krispies...  Oh wait.  It says "not sugared kind goofy kids kind".  Hmmm...  Aw shucks, lets break out the Raisin Bran kids!  So it was cereal for breakfast.  I said I'd try to stick to the plan so I will but I don't like cereal for breakfast. It makes me more hungry.  My kids and husband eat it daily.  We usually have cardboard shredded wheat, multigrain cheerios and raisin bran at all times in the house.  Plus a few "sugared kind goofy kids kinds".  I so can't believe my kids eat shredded wheat, they totally didn't get that from me.  But yet we buy it in bulk at Costco.

So anyways, today's menu is cereal and banana for breakfast.  Skim milk and strawberry smoothies for snack.  Sandwich and fruit for lunch.  100 calorie something for snack.  Mexican fiesta for dinner and strawberries for snack.  I added all this up and I came to just over 1200 calories.  I can do that.  Actually, I tried to make up for yesterdays overage so I ate less for dinner and skipped the bedtime snack. I came in closer to 1000 calories for the day.


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Okay, so I have to share this awesome recipe. I am backlogged on the recipe blog so it won't show up for a few weeks probably.  It is not on the Phase 5 menus of course so feel free to make it after, if you are a challenger. It seriously rocks. Healthy, simple, low calorie and delicious.

Black Bean & Pineapple Soft Tacos

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 can (20 oz) pineapple tidbits, drained
1 jar salsa (16 oz)
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chiles
1/4 cup minced cilantro
Whole wheat tortillas

Saute onion and pepper until soft. Add everything else, heat until warm.  Add cilantro last. 

This came to 820 calories without the tortillas.  This made 7 cups worth.  I put 1/2 cup on each 100 calorie whole wheat tortilla so each tortillas was 159 calories.  You can add lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, avocado, cheese or whatever but careful on calories. The 159 calories is just for the goo and the 100 calorie tortilla. I thought it was awesome as is, super flavorful, didn't need any cheese and you don't miss the meat at all.  So 2 wraps for 318 calories.  Nice.

Day 51 of 120

Weigh in day yesterday. I was really, really hoping for 214 but got 215 instead.  I'll live with that.  Hoping for a better week this week though.

Today is #1 of the 8 day menu plan.  Today is supposed to be egg, bacon, toast and jam for breakfast.  Peach for snack.  Tuna salad, crackers and grapes for lunch. Veggie oriental stir fry for dinner and then a milk and strawberry smoothie for snack.  Sounds awesome but for the tuna.  I'll have a salad with some different meat on it.  Dinner I will just sub the rice for a whole wheat 100 calories wrap and be good to go. 

I ate what I was supposed to eat today, I just ate too much of it.  Not a lot, but slightly more.  I had pineapple instead of the peach and holy cow that was good pineapple. I swear it was like eating candy it tasted so sweet. I just couldn't stop. I kept taking little bites here and there.  I figure I came in at about 1400 calories for the day when I was planning about 1100. 

Day 50 of 120

Today I chose menu #8.  8 days of different menus, doesn't matter what order but a different one each day.  This was smoothie day!  I so love smoothies. I bought some flaxseed at Costco to add to the smoothies.  I still haven't gotten too creative by adding spinach and veggies.  The kids still watch way too closely for that.  The little one would freak out if he saw green stuff.  I so want to though!

So todays menu consisted of a smoothie, popcorn, tuna salad and a burger with lettuce.  The calorie count I got when I added it all up was 970 calories. I had a smoothie, chicken salad and a sloppy joe on lettuce.  Then came the popcorn.  Yum.  The sloppy joes were incredible and I wanted to eat like 12 but I enjoyed my one on lettuce while watching my husband eat like 4 of them.  Calories came in about 900 calories tops. 

Day 49 of 120

Spring in Minnesota isn't really spring.  Earlier this week we were forecasted to get 2 inches of snow. Well, 7 - 8 inches later, my back and arms were sore!  I was up at 5 am shoveling the wet, heavy, grossness for my parents to get into the driveway. Then back out again at 2 pm shoveling with the kids again.  Hubs was at work so it was all on me this time.  I've shoveled before but this heavy snow really stank. My arms and shoulder hurt for 2 days.  Clearly more upper body exercise is in order! 

Today I chose #5 of the 8 day menus. This is a 1200 calorie day plan.  This is probably my favorite day of the menu as it is very similar to how I eat.  The only thing I switched a bit was lunch but it was very similar. Stuck to the 1200 calories, I'm a bit hungry going to bed but that's okay. I'll live. 

Day 48 of 120

Today I chose #6 on the menu plan.  Today is the "light" day. I added up the calories and it came to 822.  So I mentally prepared for a light eating day. It went well.  Switched a couple of simple things, like I had a whole wheat tortilla for dinner that I swapped  for the bread during lunch.  I enjoyed it better as a wrap. Then I added a bunch of broccoli to the egg for lunch. Because adding broccoli to any diet can't be bad, right? It went well and I finished up the day right around 825 if my calculations are all correct.

For those of you who are not familiar with Phase 5, I basically ate oatmeal with 1/2 apple for breakfast.  Walnuts for snack.  Egg beaters with broccoli for lunch.  Then a tortilla wrap for dinner with chicken, veggies and peach dressing. I totally wanted another wrap but one was good. It did the trick and I wasn't hungry.  Yea!

Day 47 of 120

Eight days of meals to choose from with no repeats.  That's the Phase 5 challenge this week.  It's interesting. Today I chose menu #3. It worked well as I was planning steak for dinner and eggs for breakfast is my favorite.  Interesting day that if you add the calories up on the meal plan, I get 1970 calories.  I presume the thought process is that after several months of 1200 calorie meals, the body needs to be "shocked" so to speak with eating a higher calorie diet. 

The body gets used to 1200 calories therefore it predicts that you will eat 1200 calories and plans accordingly.  When you throw 2000 calories at it unexpectedly, your metabolism speeds up and your body kinda says "what the heck?!"  Then when you go back to your 1200 calorie diet, your body and metabolism stays at alert for awhile, not quite knowing what you are going to throw at it. 

I get it. I believe in that and that is how I lost my weight a year or so ago.

Here's the problem for me right now, I "shocked" my body last week by eating too much crap so I don't need to do that this week.  If anything, I need to stay on a super heatlhy, low sugar, low carb week to get the junk out of my body and get it back on track.  So while I will try to stay on plan, it's not going to be a 1970 calorie day for me.  Of course, I'm writing this at 6 in the morning so who knows what the day will bring.  There are Oreos in the cupboard that are 2200 calories, that may be lunch.  :-)


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Eats:
Breakfast = 175
Snack = 150
Lunch = 400
Snack = 150
Dinner = 350
Total = 1225

I actually ate more than planned. I ate a big lunch and a hefty snack. I should have skipped dinner or eaten very light dinner as I wasn't really even hungry but it was nummy so I ate.  Then I got really full.  Walked around Walmart with the family for 2 hours and now I'm so ready for bed.  I'm still really full too.

Day 46 of 120

So part of Phase 5 this week was a new set of menus.  Day 1 - Day 8, any order, don't skip one. Interesting menus.  Today, I chose the Day 4 menu.  Switched things around, ate lunch for dinner, dinner for lunch, the kind of thing.  Chicken instead of hamburger, no bun. Ate the bed time snack in the afternoon, all in all, it went well.  

I added up the approximate calories if one was to follow it precisely.  It would be 1561 calories.  I left out a few things and came in under.  Now bed.

Eats:
Breakfast - 250
Snack - 100
Lunch - 400
Snack - 100
Dinner - 400
Total = 1250

Day 45 of 120

Anybody watch The Biggest Loser? I think it's the ONLY show that we actually watch together on TV.  Everything else we stream in on the internet. But Tuesday night is Biggest Loser night.  It's a slow show, which is annoying, but it's a good show for the whole family to watch.  We always end up talking about nutrition and fitness and it gets the kids motivated to eat healthy and exercise.  I'm so trying to teach them good habits.  My youngest on is barely 9 but I see similar food tendencies that I have.  We've been talking about it a lot and they are all doing really well.  I've made some poor decisions in my life and I'm not doing everything I can so my kids won't make the same bad decisions. 


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Eats:
Breakfast - 175
Snack - 150
Lunch - 300
Snack - 150
Dinner - 400
Total - 1175

Day 43 of 120

New work schedule.  I get to get up at 5 every morning.  Well, the alarm goes off at 5:06.  Not enjoyable.  Boy, I'm going to be crabby by the end of the week. Crabbier than usual. :-)

Eats:
Breakfast = 175
Snack = 100
Lunch = 200
Snack = 100
Another snack = 100
Dinner = 400
Snack = 150
Total = 1225 calories

Day 42 of 120

Weigh in day!  I try to ignore the scale during the week so weigh in day is usually a surprise for me. I just stand there feeling stupid with the camera on, ready to snap the picture as soon as the numbers pop up.  I'm always happy when they go down.  :-)

Day 41 of 120

Spring cleaning!  Sorta.  Hubs worked so it was a quiet day for me and the kids.  I got the purging bug and went through the boys' clothes and got rid of a bunch of junk that doesn't fit.  With the help of the kids, we organized a bunch of toy bins and other things that have been neglected for way too long. 

I made a super healthy chicken salad with pasta, chicken, yogurt and veggies.  It's awesome both hot and cold. Then we made smoothies. I always fell naughty eating smoothies because they are SOOOOO good.  Nothing bad about these babies though, vanilla yogurt, frozen strawberries, blueberries, an apple and some milk. Good to go. 

It's raining out now.  This is the first time I've heard rain since like October. Nice. Spring has arrived.  :-)

Eats:
Breakfast = 200
Snack = 120
Lunch = 300
Snack = 100
Dinner = 350
Total = 1070

Day 39 of 120

The snow is finally going away.  Now we're headed straight for mud season.  The kids came in with 25 lb. boots, soaked with water and mud.  Nice.  Wet mittens, dirty jackets and grimy snowpants.  But they all had smiles on their faces.  :-)

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Eats:
Breakfast = 225
Snack - 125
Lunch = 325
Snack = 200
Dinner = 425
Total = 1300

Day 38 of 120

Hey, Melanie over at I'm No Chef is giving away a popcorn maker.  Popcorn is one of the best snacks when you are dieting, I love it.  Here's the facebook link too.
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Not much of an appetite tonight. I doubt I even ate this many calories, I was just rounding up.  I don't feel any worse, I just don't want to eat.  I ate a salad for lunch that I wasn't really hungry for. 

I just read that one of the challengers in Allan's challenge dropped out.  This one is particularly sad to me as she seems to be going through similar issues as me.  She's in pain.  I do believe that she is more pain than I am as I have not seen a doctor.  But she is letting the pain dictate some choices for her. Her eating choices.  I have had the headache from heck doing the same thing for me.  When my head is hurting, I don't care what I eat.  I don't feel like weighing and measuring and counting calories.  That's bad.  I found myself with a sleeve of ritz crackers, peanut butter and some awesome tasting jelly.  I ate 6 before I realized what I was doing. Then ate one more rationalizing that I had already eaten 6 so why not one more.  Then I sorta made up for it that evening but not really.  Saturday was the worst. I'm not admitting to anyone, even myself what happened on Saturday. 

So all in all, I had about 2 - 3 bad days.  But as of Sunday, the scale had not budged in weeks.  I was discouraged.  All these weeks of counting calories, measuring, coping with this headache and nothing was happening on the scale.  Several times, I really had that "screw it!" attitude.  Luckily I got myself together on Sunday morning and it's been super since.  Well, the lack of appetite with the cold helped, but it's not like that ever worked in my favor before. 

So as I said, I am sad for this challenger.  I fear her week or so of bad choices could be dictating her future.  I thought a couple times last week "I should leave the challenge."  But where would that get me?  I wasn't really serious about it but pain will do that to you, it messes with your mind.  It makes you do things and think things that you wouldn't ordinarily do.  Gosh, I hope I'm wrong about her, I just know that if I quit, that would be like giving me free access to the Ritz crackers and peanut butter again.   

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Eats:
Breakfast - 225
Lunch - 200
Snack - 150
Dinner - 300
Total 875

Day 37 of 120

So I finally caught the dreaded cold.  I went all winter without a sniffle.  Today; I've gone through an entire box of tissue.  Yesterday it was in my chest but I drank like 7 gallons of water and flushed that out.  Today, I've also had about 7 gallons of water and I am confident that it will be almost gone tomorrow.  Despite all my water drinking, I am DRY. Like lips chapped, mouth dry kinda thing. I ate a pretzel earlier and I couldn't even chew it, there wasn't any saliva in my mouth.  Weird.

Also no appetite really.  I think I ate like 800 calories. Tops. And I'm so not hungry. Off to bed early. 

Dany 36 of 120

I am alive and all is well. It was a relaxing weekend. So relaxing that I forgot/didn't care about blogging.  I typed up some recipes but that's about it. I did get my desk cleaned off (sorta) and got almost caught up on House and Survivor.  We watched way too much TV this weekend, I must admit.  In between that were a couple of science projects that the kids are doing.  My daughter planted basil. One is in the sun on the counter, one is in a dark closet and the other is in my frig.  Obviously the project is to see the different conditions of growth based on different temperatures and location. So nice to have dirt in my frig.  My son gets to test out insulators.  We haven't actually completed that one yet but we did the hypothesis, procedure and that sorta stuff.  Lots of fun here. 

Eats have been good. Not great, but good.  I'm back in the teens again and can't imagine getting above that again.  I'm incredibly tired so off to bed. 

Day 33 of 120

All good today.   Hubs took the kids to a movie tonight while I stayed at home to catch up on stuff.  I went through my 150 emails, finding recipes, answering questions and junk like that.  I'm planning a fairly quiet day tomorrow, hubs has to work most the day.  I'm working on a new index for all my recipes. Trying to organize them better.  The kids and I have some science labs that need to be done as well.  Should be a calm day. I need a nice, calm day.

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Eats: Breakfast - 175
Snack - 100
Lunch - 400
Snack - 150
Dinner - 300
Total 1125

Day 32 of 120

Today just didn't count.  At. All. It started off good, and then just tumbled downward.

Day 31 of 120

I'm finding less and less time for reading blogs, commenting and writing my own. Life is just getting busy. Plus I still have this stupid headache and it's just making me grumpy.  Sadly when you are grumpy, you want to eat. I've made some crappy choices this week.  It's annoying.  Off to bed.

Eats:

Breakfast - 175
Snack - 100
Lunch - 400
Snack - 200
Dinner - 400
Total - 1275

Day 30 of 120

I ate more than planned today. It was a hungry day, kinda annoying. So my snacks especially were bigger.  I'll try to make it up this week. 

Eats= 250
Snack = 150
Lunch = 350
Snack = 200
Dinner = 400
Snack = 150
Total = 1500

Day 29 of 120

Eats were good.  I like that I am able to enjoy food while still maintaining this diet.  Smoothie night rocks!!  :-)  I meant to snap a picture but forgot. 

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Eats:
Breakfast = 175
Snack - 100
Lunch - 450
Snack - 110
Dinner - 210
Snack - 100
Total = 1145

Day 28 of 120

I really need to get my toes done.

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Eats:
Breakfast - 250
Snack = 125
Lunch - 250
Snack - 100
Dinner - 350
Snack - 100
Total - 1175

Day 27 of 120

We went to The Buffet.  The Buffet that my family loves and we've visited 10,000 times over the last 14 years.  They had my favorites.  The orange chicken, the cornbread stuffing, chicken and dumplings, meatloaf, pizza, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, bread with garlic butter, ribs, nachos and fettuccine alfredo.  Then there is the dessert bar. 20 different kinds of dessert at least.  I am partial to the apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream.  I love the crispy ranger cookies too.  Did I mention the orange chicken?  I so love the orange chicken. 

Well, I ate none of that tonight.  Not. A. Bite. 

My conflicting thoughts amazed me though.  I walked in there, not knowing exactly what I was going to do.  I knew I wasn't going to pig out but even "just holding back" would be way too many calories.  I toyed with saying "screw it" and enjoying a plate of my favorite food.  I toyed with having ONE dessert.  In the end, I chose wisely and enjoyed the food and came out very full. 

I came in there very hungry, having had only eaten about 400 calories for the day.  So I had 800 to play around with. I'm sure I used all those up but that's okay!  I had a great big salad with a bunch of veggies, very little dressing.  A small bit of steak, small bit of ham, cantaloupe and honeydew.  Then for "dessert", I had a small bowl of chili with onions and cilantro with a bit of sour cream.  I seriously looked around for some more veggies that I could eat but there really wasn't ANY options there.  I was hoping for some cooked zucchini or squash but they had none. 

This might seem mundane and boring to most but for me, this was a huge success.  I have no problem in the future, being able to enjoy desserts or a piece of pizza but for right now, I HAVE to stay focused.  I know myself too well that any sort of complacency will make me lose focus.  So for me to be able to navigate The Buffet and stay focused.  Major success. 

Day 26 of 120

Tomorrow should be an interesting day.  We're pretty much going to be gone the entire day.  We'll be eating out for lunch with friends for sure and then a quick stop at home to change.  Then we're going to the Science Museum to see King Tut for the rest of the day.  We're meeting friends there and even bringing an extra kid.  I have a feeling we're going to end up eating out for dinner as well. I've mentioned before, I don't do well with eating out. 

Lunch will be okay, I think I know where we're going and what I will have. Or I will just eat at home when we change. No worries there.  Dinner is unknown.  Normally I wouldn't be concerned because I have been PERFECTLY disciplined with my eating and planning.

Until today.

Today wasn't incredibly horrible.  I just did things that weren't planned.  I felt discouraged.  The scale is not only not cooperating, it's downright LAUGHING at me. I've been eating an average of less than 1200 calories, HEALTHY on plan calories, yet I gained weight this week.  Can't blame the period, meds or anything. I have no expanation.  It's incredibly discouraging.  Unless the scale works a miracle over the next 36 hours, I will be reporting a gain.  Last week I barely lost a pound so it's not like I'm bouncing back from a huge loss or anything. Seriously, no explanation.

How is that possible??  I went back and tried to find an error in my calculations. Did I consume an entire cheesecake without knowing it?  Maybe I had added a couple of tablespoons of bacon grease to every meal?  Ya, didn't happen.

So this is why I am discouraged. I KNOW I need to stay on plan. I KNOW I need to stop whining. I KNOW I need to ignore the scale.  I KNOW that results won't be instant. But, really, gaining weight? You got to be kidding me. I am feeling awful. 

And then today I ate off plan.  It was supposed to be Day 4 menu. First I ended up making a stupid turkey sandwich instead of an apple for snack. ?????  No idea why. Only 80 calories more but still, weird. Then I had some of the kids' spaghetti instead of the soup and salad I had planned for dinner.  (reverse lunch and dinner for you phase 5ers). Not a ton but more calories than I needed and was hungry for.  And my super nummy, healthy veggie soup is just sitting in the frig! 

Oh, and then there was the 6 bites of mint ice cream. That was horrible.  I didn't even really want it. It was just there and my head was pounding so I ate it. I wish I could blame the husband for buying it but it was ME who picked up the spoon and dove in. I know I shouldn't feel THIS bad for screwing up.  It's not like 6 bites of ice cream (yes, I actually counted), is going to make me balloon up to 300 lbs. again.  But I didn't like to not be in control.  I have no idea how many calories it was, I just estimated 300, hopefully it wasn't that much. 

So moral of the story.  I feel crummy and I hated how I ate today. Dinner tomorrow will be interesting.  My plan as of now, is not to eat or maybe a salad.  We'll see.

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Eats:
Breakfast = 200
Snack = 100
Lunch = 300
Snack = 200
Dinner = 600
Snack = 300
Total = 1700

Day 24 & 25 of 120

I didn't post yesterday.  I was in bed by 6:30.  I still had this stupid headache and I literally craved my bed all day.  So the daycare kids left, I half heartedly ate a salad, took a shower and hit the bed.  Well, I woke up today, again, with the headache.  Pills will dull it some but I just feel like I am in a constant fog.  Ever try exercising with a headache?  Ya, it just doesn't happen.  I've taken advantage of the few times I've felt better to get on the treadmill but it still is pretty half hearted. I thought this headache was just because of my period but that's been over for a week and it's still here.  I hate how crabby it makes me.  Every smile I give my kids is completely fake. That sounds horrible but I just don't want to smile with a headache. 

My brother just bought an elliptical machine. One of the really nice gym quality ones.  He found it on craigslist. (he's such a deal finder).  Anyway, I tried it out today and like it.  I like the no impact part for my ankle but I could feel it in my knees more.  Hopefully I just need to strengthen the knees. I didn't do it too long today but it will nice to have some variety. 

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Day 24 eats:
Breakfast - 200
Snack - 100
Lunch - 450
Snack - 150
Dinner - 250
Total = 1150

Day 25 eats:
Breakfast = 250
Snack = 100
Lunch = 200
Snack = 125
Dinner = 300
Snack = 100
Total = 1075

Day 23 of 100

I love March.


It's warmer in March.  Spring is near. 


My 2 boys were born in March. 


I'm making plans for summer parties, BBQ's, and vacations. 

March just seems happy. 

Of course, then there is the fact that I turn 40 in March.  :-(  It can't all be good I guess. 

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Eats:
Breakfast - 250
Snack - 100
Lunch - 350
Snack - 150
Dinner - 400
Snack - 100
Total - 1350

Plus Size Bloggers - March 1

Ok, so Plus Size Bloggers has a new challenge.  Record and find the difference in the number of inches in a month.  Yikes.  I have NEVER taken measurements before.  I wasn't even sure I did it right.  I did it once and then again just to make sure I was doing it in the right place.  They seemed consistent.  Seems to me that in only one month, it will be hard to determine a half inch or so.  We'll see.  I'm just doing it for fun.  I have several shirts that I was able to fit into this weekend.  That is proof enough that inches are going away. 


■Neck = 14.25


■Upper Arm Left  = 15.0

■Upper Arm Right = 15.0

■Chest = 48

■Waist = 52

■Abdomen = 45

■Buttocks (6″below waist) = 54

■Upper Thigh left = 23

■Upper Thigh right = 23

■Calf left = 18

■Calf right = 17

■Upper Knee left = 19.5

■Upper Knee right = 19.5

■Total Inches = 363.5