Debbi Does Dieting... My Dieting Diary

The End? The Beginning?

2011-12-11T00:57:00.001-06:00

Whoops! I wrote the whole post (below) thinking that this was the last post of the challenge. Looks like I have one more week of redemption! So not planning to quit, not ever.

~~~~~~~~~~

Well, we made it through the challenge. I for one, stuck with it, but didn't do so well. I'm glad I stuck to this as it really made me think each week. I'm not going to join any more challenges for the moment but I'm not going to give up and stop. I just need to find out how to succeed. I know what I want, I just need to commit myself to doing it.

So thank you Mir for hosting this challenge. I've enjoyed every one of your butt kicking posts. I'll keep reading and follow along with the people in your next challenge. I wish you and the others the best!

Weight: I'm up like 2 lbs. I ate horrible this week. So I'm ending the challenge weighing in more than I was at the beginning. Embarrassing and I'm mad as heck about that. Obviously, the jacket still doesn't fit. It's still in my closet though!

Exercise: Bad week, ice has made it unfit for running outside and the treadmill and I still need to get reacquainted.

Book: I'm forever grateful that Mir recommended Wheat Belly. It really was the key to me figuring out this gluten intolerance. Loved the book and am continuing to learn more and more about it.

Almost the end?

2011-12-05T06:38:00.000-06:00

Whoops, sorry this is late. Busy, busy weekend. I have extra daycare kids here today so I was trying to get my kids to do a few lessons last night so they could play with their friends today. That's the beauty of homeschool, the flexibility.

I still am far away from fitting into a whole bunch of winter clothes. I have a whole bunch that I was HOPING to fit into. Instead, I'm stuck at the same weight and it doesn't appear that I'm moving. I need someone to smack me and tell me to get serious! No, actually, I need to find that switch and just flip it and take it seriously. That's what it comes down to, I'm just not taking it seriously. It's pretty stupid, I know.

Weight: Pretty much the same. Seriously, the last few months, it's has stayed remarkably the same. I'll go up a few pounds, then down a few pounds. I'll have one great week, then one stinky week. Consistency is a huge issue.

Water: Better, staying hydrated.

Exercise: Decent. I'm not walking or running quite as much as it's cold and icy now. I need to get used to the treadmill. Weights are going well.

I can't blame the holiday foods or anything in particular. It's me. All me. I need to figure out how to get back on track.

Challenge Week 11

2011-11-27T22:32:00.000-06:00

First up - check out this post on my recipe blog for Melt and enter us both to win a $500 giveaway! You have until November 30th to enter! Go enter the giveaway and then come back here. :-)

Now that you have the prospect of winning $500, I can tell you that I had a crummy week. All around crummy.

I ate bread. Lots of bread. I can't blame Thanksgiving, we don't have the traditional gorge fest so it had nothing to do with that. The 4 day weekend threw me but I wasn't doing too well before that either.

All eating bread does is make you crave more bread. So for the last few days, I wake up telling myself that I am not going to do it and then I find myself with 3 dinner rolls sopping up the leftover spaghetti sauce off my kids' plates. Now I'm going to wake up tomorrow wanting to do the same. I'm hoping that with the routine back to normal (and the dinner rolls gone) that we can get back to gluten free. All I get from the bread is a whopping headache and a gut that feels like it is going to explode.

Weight: Honestly, I didn't even look. I wasn't purposely avoiding, I just didn't care. Yea, not good.

Exercise: Decent. I've been consistently getting in 3 runs/walks a week but the last couple of weeks have been only 2 per week. It's getting cold and a few days have been icy. All in all, it's been a gorgeous fall in Minnesota and I'm thankful that I am still able to run outside at all. My run tonight went well. I'm planning to go out Tuesday and Thursday night this week as well.

Water: Eh. Not as good as I would like. The bread is soaking it all up. :-)

Challenge Week 10

2011-11-20T21:03:00.002-06:00

Well, if this were a challenge about maintaining your weight, then I would win, hands down. At the beginning of the week I had some swelling and I gained like 5 lbs. Odd, now it's back down. I was actually hoping it would be down as I felt I did good this week. I tracked and planned. I went off track a couple of times but nothing major. Ok, Mir wants a number, it's still hovering around 220. I'll break in the teens and then hop back up.

One day was kinda funny. I was in the mood to eat something sweet, so I started rummaging through the fridge and cupboards looking for "something". Then realizing that yogurt or fruit were about the sweetest things here, I just gave up. It so helps not to have junk in the house. Oh, I did steal a few spoonfuls of ice cream at some point this week. Ice cream isn't a big trigger for me so I do sometimes keep it in the house for the kids.

Water is continuing to be bad. I've been consistently bad with water the last few weeks. I'm not sure why. hmm... Gotta work on that.

Exercise is still good. We got our first snow so running outside won't be happening much anymore. Too bad as I hate the treadmill. Guess I'll have to get used to it for the winter. The snow should be gone by Tuesday so hopefully I can get a couple of runs in this week before we get more.

End of the year paperwork is creeping up on me so it's getting busy. Plus, I'm super behind in writing up recipes and organizing photos on my other blog so I haven't had time to really focus on this one.

So what are your plans for avoiding the holiday pies?? :-)

Challenge Week 9

2011-11-14T05:55:00.000-06:00

I didn't feel like posting this week. I did still plan and keep track, just not on the blog. I tried out a couple of online sites and tried it some different ways but really, I do better with just a notebook on my desk, really. There is something to be said about seeing it in print on the screen that does make it a bit more real but yet, the pen and paper work.

I had a decent week, still ended up eating about 300 - 400 more calories than planned each day. Grr.

Weight: I'm up a pound, I ate weird stuff on Saturday but hopefully the scale won't reflect the junk too bad.

Water: Actually, I had a bad week on water. It had become habit to drink a ton of water but I've slowly been going downhill on that. I have a post it note on my desk reminding me to drink!

Exercise: Pretty much the same. Still running. I can't believe how long I am running! I'm still running pretty darn slow but I'm running for longer and longer each week. I'll work on speed later. I can't go to my weight training class for the next two weeks so I have to do that at home. Shouldn't be a problem.

Let's hope for an awesome week!!

Challenge Week 8

2011-11-06T19:37:00.001-06:00

Ok, confession time.

The whole week went great. Really great. Saturday morning I showed a 2 lb. + loss, despite me eating too much on Friday night. Then I lost it. Saturday started good. We has a great morning out in service, then took 3 extra kids to The MN Science Museum and stayed there all day. Then we brought pizza and breadsticks home. And cookies. All of course with gluten.

Sigh. I indulged.

Only because they smelled so good, I wasn't even overly hungry. The stupid thing, is the mentality that, "Oh well, I already had a piece of pizza and a breadstick, I might as well have more. I already had a cookie, I might as well have 2 more." It was like I knew my body was already contaminated with the gluten so I might as well go all out. Ya, I know, it doesn't make sense. I didn't horribly binge or anything but I ate way too much and of course now I feel this brick of gluten in my belly. Plus, the bread cravings are right back now. Normally leftovers don't appeal to me but of course the leftover pizza and breadsticks in the fridge are driving me mad.

Self inflicted torture. That is what this is. I KNEW what would happen. Yet, I did it anyways.

I'm sticking with the 2 lb. loss and hopefully after a couple of days of getting this crap out, we'll be back on track.

**Ok, if you've been reading all this, I should tell you. I wrote the above this morning and never got around to finishing it. Now, it's 7:30 pm, I just finished my run for Brad's challenge AND, I just started my period.

Hmmm...

I hate to place blame on why I indulged in pizza this time and not before on the time of the month but I'm wondering if it's related. Sure, I've seen somewhat patterns before but never anything definitive. Usually, I'm having my period and I'll say something stupid like, "I'm having my period, it's okay to have the cookie." Yea, excuse. But this time, I didn't forsee that time of the month approaching (I never keep track) and I honestly didn't know WHAT came over me.

Moral of the long winded annoying story, I need to keep track and try to recognize it if it happens again.

Weight: I'm sticking with Saturday morning's weight of minus 2 lbs.

Exercise: Very good, keeping up with Brad's challenge. It's getting tougher and everytime I think I'm done and can go no further, I find strength and get through the next workout. I'm amazed. I still have my Monday night weight class and am trying to do more during the week of real exercise.

Water: Good up until this weekend. Operation flush and hydration continues tomorrow.

Book: I've been learning more and more about going gluten free and finding it easier and easier. *cough cough* except for the above pizza incident.

I know that my weight skyrockets during my period, like 4 pound gain type of thing so I'm not weighing myself until Saturday. Plan, plan, plan and I'll have success. Pizza is NOT planned this week.

Here is this weeks menu plan. I might switch days for things though.

Friday, Finally Friday

2011-11-04T06:43:00.000-05:00

I'm tired. This week has lasted forever and I'm so ready to get some sleep this weekend! I ate good yesterday, not great. I nixed the salad and ate too much meat and honey mustard. It was quick so it worked. I was headed out the door to a class after dinner so I estimated on the quesadillas and rice. Hopefully I estimated high.

Thursday Eats:

Eggs, corn tortillas, cheese - 325
Yogurt - 100
Zucchini cheese soup - 185
Ham and Turkey - 250
Honey mustard - 60
Apple - 100
Quesadilla - 250
Southwest Rice and Beans - 250
Total = 1520

Fridays Plan:
Eggs, corn tortillas, beans, salsa - 325
Yogurt - 100
Zucchini cheese soup - 185
Southwest Rice & Beans with chicken - 300
Apple - 100
Garlic Chicken - 200
Gluten free fruit stuffing - 150
Butternut squash - 80
Total = 1440

Thursday, Nov 3

2011-11-03T08:48:00.000-05:00

Wow! I stuck to the plan perfectly today! I didn't add or subtract anything. Amazing. I did alter the calories a bit based on the weight of the potato and how much the soup turned out to be. Pretty darn close estimates though.

Wednesday Eats:
Eggs, corn tortillas, cheese - 325
Yogurt - 100
Ratatouille Polenta Bake - 450
Salad - 150
Steak - 180
Potato w/sour cream - 150
Zucchini Cheese Soup - 185
Total = 1540

Thursday Plan:
Eggs, corn tortillas, cheese - 325
Yogurt - 100
Zucchini cheese soup - 185
Ham and Turkey - 150
Honey mustard - 30
Salad - 125
Quesadilla - 200
Southwest Rice and Beans - 250
Total = 1365

Wednesday ~ November 2

2011-11-02T07:23:00.000-05:00

I stayed on track again today. Woohoo! The Ratatouille Polenta Bake was awesome! It was like a veggie lasagna almost. My brother thought it needed meat but I thought it was perfect! Then I made a pumpkin mousse this afternoon. Holy cow was this good! Trust me, ditch the pumpkin pie in Thanksgiving and make this. I doubled the recipe and split it into 6 servings. I ate 2 of them. I had one, then went for a run and then indulged in another. 108 calories per serving, it will be okay. :-)

Tuesday Eats

Eggs, corn tortillas, cheese - 325
Yogurt - 100
Pear fruit crisps - 40
Taco chili - 180
Salad - 150
Cheese - 100
Ratatouille Polenta Bake - 300
Pumpkin Mousse - 216
Total = 1411

I have kinda a big dinner planned, I might not eat the potato, we'll see how the rest of the day goes. Big lunch too. There are 3 portions of the Ratatouille left and while I'll try to just eat two, I know that there is a good chance I'll just scarf the other so I might as well plan for it.

Wednesday Plan:
Eggs, corn tortillas, cheese - 325
Yogurt - 100
Ratatouille Polenta Bake - 450
Salad - 150
Steak - 180
Potato w/sour cream - 175
Zucchini Cheese Soup - 125
Total = 1505

Tuesday ~ November 1

2011-11-01T07:34:00.000-05:00

Yesterday went well. I didn't end up making quinoa last night as it turned out to be just me home. Plus there were tons of taco chili leftovers. 180 calories a cup and very filling. Nice.

Tonight I'm planning a new recipe, I haven't figured out the calories yet. I'm looking forward to another good day!

Monday Eats:

Eggs, Corn Tortillas, Cheese - 325
Leftover omelet from kids - 125
Yogurt - 100
Taco Chili - 180
Pecans - 150
Grapes - 50
Salad - 150
Taco Chili w/sour cream- 225
Peach fruit crisps - 30
String cheese - 80
Total = 1415

Tuesday Plan:
Eggs, corn tortillas, cheese - 325
Yogurt - 100
Pear fruit crisps - 40
Taco chili - 180
Salad - 150
Ratatouille Polenta Bake - 400
Popcorn or smoothie - 100 - 150
Total = 1295 - 1345

Monday ~ October 31

2011-10-30T04:34:00.001-05:00

I've been doing Brad's running challenge for 9 weeks now. I've been regularly going to a strength training class for about 4 or 5 months now. I am stronger and have been enjoying the regular exercise.

But I haven't lost any weight.

It's highly annoying that I just haven't gotten my eating under control. Each night and then in the morning I start out with the best of intentions and then just snack and blow it by the end of the day.

So here I am again, with resolve to have a REALLY good week and not be satisfied with just maintaining and doing mediocre. I so have to do better.

Sunday Eats:
Eggs, Corn Tortillas, Cheese - 325
Yogurt - 100
Corn Chips - 350
Cheese - 200
Potato - 125
Raisins - 130
Taco Chili - 180
Total = 1410

Monday Plan:
Eggs, Corn Tortillas, Cheese - 325
Yogurt - 100
2 cups Taco Chili - 360
Salad - 150
Chickpea Quinoa - 400
Total = 1335

Challenge Week 7

2011-10-30T01:06:00.000-05:00

Don't worry, my lack of posting my food doesn't mean failure. My schedule was odd this week and I didn't have to get up as early and by the time I got up, everyone was up and no time for morning blogging.

I planned and sorta kinda stuck to the plan this week. There was this chip incident that we won't talk about. I maintained the gluten free thing but may have had a similar reactions to soy. Not sure yet, still trying to figure out these allergies and intolerance's still.

I'm going to make this brief as I'm tired and want to go to bed. Plus, I cut my finger on a cheese grater and it hurts to type.

Weight is about the same. Planning is still good. Water is much better than last week. I'm still reading and learning about the whole wheat free thing. Exercise is going good too. Running was more difficult this week but I'm still giving it my all.

Finger hurts. Stop typing.

Tuesday ~ October 25, 2011

2011-10-25T06:44:00.000-05:00

Well, I was right about yesterday, I knew I wouldn't want to cook with hubs and the brother gone. Plus, I had to rush out to my exercise class. I ate decently but basically just snacked all day. Still too many calories than desired.

Monday Plan:

Pecans - 200
Eggs, corn tortillas, cheese - 300
Vegetable Soup - 200
Apple - 100
Peanut butter - 150
Ham, Turkey & Mustard - 150
Pecans - 200
Yogurt - 100
Oat Bar - 190
Total - 1590

Tuesday Plan:
Pecans - 200
Veggie & Cheese Omelette - 250
Soup - 200
Salad - 125
Ham - 60
Yogurt - 100
Chipotle Bean Burritos - 400
Total - 1335

Monday Again

2011-10-24T07:59:00.000-05:00

This is a fairly unusual week for me. Hubs works practically every night and my brother is gone for the week. So I'm just cooking for me and the kids. I enjoy making new things but tend not to as much if it is just for me. I was planning a quinoa dish tonight but I'm not sure I have all the ingredients, so I might just make some simple bean burritos. I need to go shopping and get some veggies in the house. I have carrots and celery but that's about it. I have a bunch of frozen fruit for smoothies but nothing fresh.

So - here is the vague plan for today. I already ate my nuts this morning, hopefully I can keep my fingers out of the bag for the rest of the day.

Monday Plan:
Pecans - 200
Eggs, corn tortillas, cheese - 300
Soup - 200
Smoothie - 100
Yogurt - 100
Bean Burritos - 400
Total - 1300

Challenge Week 6

2011-10-23T21:35:00.000-05:00

I feel like I'm on a treadmill. Working hard, thinking about what I am eating constantly, yet...going no where. The scale yesterday did read a 1 lb. loss but I then had a horrible weekend and ate way too much.

We spent yesterday evening at the Emergency Room with my daughter. We were dancing to Just Dance and she cracked her knee and it made a horrible crunching sound and she couldnt' move. We thought it was dislocated but it turns out that it is just a bad sprain. She has a knee brace and some crutches and will obviously be laying off the dancing for awhile.

We left around dinner time and by the time we got out we were starving and went to Subway. I got a sandwich. With bread. Wheat bread. So stupid. I could totally feel it right away and have been paying for it all day today as well. Bad choice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Weight: One pound loss. I'm still eating way too much and just seem to be losing control. Sometimes I just don't CARE which is really stupid.

Exercise: We had an easy recovery week for running which wasn't the best for me mentally. I started my week of running tonight and it was hard to get motivated after having an easy week. I still was able to finish the scheduled run today and feel confident about the next jump in running time. I did amp up the weights this week with the lower running schedule. Plus, a whole lot of Wii Just Dance.

Water: So-so. I bombed this weekend, especially today. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I'm actually THIRSTY now, which means I'm dehydrated probably. Off to bed though so I'll drink a ton tomorrow.

Book: I didn't do a lot of reading this week. Actually, I did a ton of reading, just not the reading that I want to do. I've been reading The Hobbit with my two older kids and Robinson Crusoe with my baby. (he's 9, not really a baby, but he's MY baby).

Friday ~ October 21, 2011

2011-10-21T07:40:00.000-05:00

I never got around to making the soup yesterday. The school kids have Thursday and Friday off this week so I had 3 extra kids. Three extra kids might not sound like a lot but I've noticed that with each addition of kid, it exponentially gets louder and crazier in the house. So me standing in the kitchen cutting veggies for soup just didn't happen. Today will be just as crazy, my plan is to make an awesome spaghetti sauce and eat it over zucchini.

Thursday Results -

Omelette with Southwestern Rice - 250
Yogurt - 80
Tacos - 350
Fries - 200
Apple - 100
Oat Bar - 190
Salad - 250
Pecans - 250
Total - 1670

Friday Plan:
Eggs, Corn Tortillas, Peach Salsa - 300
Yogurt - 80
Tacos - 350
Salad - 125
Zucchini Spaghetti - 400
Popcorn - 100
Total calories = 1355

Thursday ~ October 20, 2011

2011-10-20T08:38:00.000-05:00

I think I made a gluten faux pas yesterday. First, I ate a bite of one of the kids' waffles. We were teasing her about taking a bite of her food and I snagged a piece before I even thought of it. I also let the kids put chocolate chips on their waffles (bad mommy) and I ate a couple of handfuls. Small handfuls but probably about 1/4 cup so about 280 calories. Yikes.

Okay, here is my problem. The bite of waffle and the chocolate chips were in the same 1/2 hour. Almost immediately I felt the effects of the gluten in the waffle. Does anyone know if Hershey's Chocolate Chips have gluten? The ingredients say, "Natural Flavors" and I've been told to stay away from things that say that. I looked online but there doesn't seem to be any concrete evidence either way. I know, gluten or no gluten, I need to stay away from the stupid chocolate chips but really? A small bite of waffle and some gluten dust on CChips does THIS to me? I'm gassy and hurting like crazy. I know, TMI. It's really annoying though.

I had no interest in tacos or chipotle chicken salad with an upset stomach so I ended up eating pecans and going to bed early.

Wednesdays Results:
Omelette with Southwestern Rice - 250
Yogurt - 80
Asian Broccoli Slaw - 375
Apple - 100
Chocolate Chips - 280
Pecans - 400
Total = 1485

Thursday Plan -
Omelette with Southwestern Rice - 250
Yogurt - 80
Tacos - 350
Apple - 100
Vegetable Soup = 200
Salad - 125
Smoothie - 150
Total - 1255

Wednesday ~ October 19, 2011

2011-10-19T07:25:00.000-05:00

I started rummaging around the kitchen too often yesterday. I ate an apple and a bit of peanut butter before lunch. I was so in a snacky mood. Then I finished the little bit of sloppy joes in the frig, I don't think it was actually 200 calories but I'm not sure. I told myself that I just wanted to get the containers out of the frig but it was just me with some serious snacking going on. Then I ate my nice healthy 300 calorie portion of the squash gratin. And proceeded to eat more for another 200 calories, just because it was so tasty. Moral of the story, I keep eating more calories than I want to! I just need to stay out of the kitchen today! (ya right)

Tuesday Results:

Omelette with southwest wild rice - 250
Yogurt - 80
Apple - 100
Peanut butter - 100
Asian Broccoli Slaw - 250
Pumpkin Sloppy Joes - 200
Salad - 125
Spaghetti Squash Gratin - 500
Popcorn - 100
Total = 1705

Wednesday Plan -
Omelette with Southwest Wild Rice - 250
Yogurt - 80
Asian Broccoli Slaw - 250
Spaghetti Squash Gratin - 300
Chipotle Chicken Salad - 400
Pineapple - 100
Total = 1380
Today I'm planning to eat more leftovers. I actually love having leftovers in the frig, it makes choices for lunch much easier. Then I have a chipotle chicken salad I'm making for dinner while the rest of the crew will eat tacos.

Plus I'll try not to be snacking!

Tuesday ~ October 18, 2011

2011-10-18T05:59:00.000-05:00

Well, I stuck to the plan. And I would have done awesome if I hadn't made some homemade peanut butter bars. They were small and highly caloric and I indulged in way too many. I have to stop making desserts, they get me in trouble way too much. Now today I will be craving sugar all day.

Monday's Results:

Eggs, Corn Tortillas, Peach salsa - 300
Yogurt - 80
Pumpkin Sloppy Joes - 200
Potatoes - 150
Salad - 125
Southwest Wild Rice Pilaf - 250
Broccoli - 50
Homemade bars - 600
Total = 1755

Tuesday Plan:
Omelette with southwest wild rice - 250
Yogurt - 80
Asian Broccoli Slaw - 250
Salad - 125
Spaghetti Squash Gratin - 400
Popcorn - 100
Total = 1205

I haven't figured out the calories for the spaghetti squash gratin yet but I think it's going to be pretty low cal for a healthy portion. I'm going to shoot for less calories today to make up for the peanut butter bar incident yesterday.

Monday ~ October 17, 2011

2011-10-17T07:24:00.000-05:00

Having a plan last week really worked. Writing it down really helped. So we're trying it again. Another week without gluten.

Monday's Plan:
Eggs, Corn Tortillas, Peach salsa - 300
Yogurt - 80
Pumpkin Sloppy Joes - 200
Potatoes - 150
Salad - 125
Chicken - 150
Southwest Wild Rice Pilaf - 250
Broccoli - 50
Total = 1305

Challenge Week 5

2011-10-16T20:14:00.001-05:00

Well, I for sure ate too much this weekend. I still managed to stay gluten free which I am very happy about though. I ate about 1800 calories both Saturday and Sunday. Overall, I think I had a great week and am very pleased. I succeeded in planning, and for the most part, I stuck to the plans fairly well. I didn't eat any wheat or gluten this week and I feel really good about that.

Weight: It stayed the same. I am not bothered about this. I refuse to be a slave to the scale and don't want to feel the need to look to it for redemption. I did GOOD this week. I set out to do what I planned and I'm building muscle with regular exercise. So phooey on the scale.

Calories: Very good. In a perfect world I would like to continue to lower it a bit. I want to keep regular on the planning and tracking. Lowering the calories will come.

Exercise: I still did my 3 days of Brad's 100 days to run a 5K challenge. He raised the bar and I was afraid of the jump in running but was pleased to see that I was able to do it. I had my weight training on Monday night and I used weights at home on Thursday and Friday. We're also a bunch of dancing fools here. We now have Just Dance 3 and it's really so much fun. Quite the workout too. Plus, just being able to spend time with the family and laughing is priceless.

Water: I did good until this weekend. Well, today was fine but yesterday, I just forgot to drink. No idea why. We went to the corn maze, it was gorgeous but super windy so I was really cold. The kids had fun. I just forgot to drink throughout the day. It's harder when the schedule is different.

Book: I'm now alternating between Wheat Belly and Elisabeth Hasselbeck's G-Free Diet book. While I love the facts in Wheat Belly, parts of it are not easy to read, especially when I'm in the car with kids yelling and singing and stuff. It's getting very technical as he's showing proof of what wheat can do to you. He's associated wheat as a problem with many diseases, neurological problems and even aging. It's really quite fascinating. Elisabeth's book is an easier read and I'm learning a lot. I don't like her term "G-Free" though. It makes it seem more like a fad. It's okay though, I am still enjoying the book. I just wish I had more time to sit and read!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

2011-10-15T07:58:00.001-05:00

Bad eating day. I just munched and ate all day it seems. Plus, I drank 250 calories! I have been only drinking water for a long time, but Costco has these flavored drinks that I used to drink that are only like 10 calories. Well, when the husband came home with these, I THOUGHT that these were the ones. Then I find out that they are 50 calories a serving at 2.5 servings a piece. Grr. I drank 2 of them and there are still a ton of them here. I hate to pawn them off on the kids because they don't need the extra calories either. So we might just share one a day or something, we'll see.

We went to some friends house for a bible study and had a lot of fun. My friend had a gluten free chocolate cake that was awesome! I just had a small piece as it did have sugar.

Friday Results:

Veggie omelet with peach salsa = 140
2 vitawaters - 250
Yogurt - 80
Blueberries - 50
Southwest Casserole - 500
Salad - 150
Cheese - 200
Teriyaki broccoli slaw - 300
Gluten free chocolate cake - 250
Total - 1920 calories

Sadly, I have no idea what to expect for the weekend. Often my husband works all weekend and it's much easier to plan meals when I am home. Well, he has the whole weekend off and we're planning to do a bunch of stuff tomorrow. I made a big batch of teriyaki broccoli slaw tonight so I'm planning to eat that for lunches. I'm really going to try to avoid eating out.

I've had a good week for eating so the scale should look good but so far it isn't budging. Hmmm... Hopefully tomorrow it will be nicer.

Friday, October 14, 2011

2011-10-14T06:55:00.000-05:00

I stuck to the plan pretty well. The southwest rice casserole turned out to be more caloric than I thought. Lots of cheese, yum. As far as I can tell, I've been gluten free the entire week, yet something made me quite gaseous this evening. I've eaten black beans before with out problem so I can't imagine it being that. I had Campbell's Chicken & Wild Rice Soup and it appeared to be gluten free, but I'm wondering?

Sorry if this is TMI. One of my reasons for wanting to write all this down is so I know what I am eating and to find out what is happening with my body! I am noticing the lack of veggies, despite the fact that my frig has a ton of them. Even though the pumpkin applesauce is healthy, I should have stuck to the salad with veggies.

Thursday Results:

Raisins - 130
Eggs, corn tortillas & peach salsa - 300
Chicken wild rice soup - 200
Homemade Pumpkin Applesauce - 200
Cheddar Cheese - 100
Southwest casserole - 500
Total = 1430

Friday Plan:
Veggie omelet with peach salsa = 140
Yogurt - 80
Blueberries - 50
Southwest Casserole - 500
Salad - 150
Teriyaki broccoli slaw - 250
Misc - 200
Total - 1370

We're going to a friends house for bible study after dinner and they are bound to have something to eat so I'm allowing 200 misc. calories for such thing. She is gluten free as well so I don't have to worry about there being cake or something. Hopefully...

Thursday, October 12, 2011

2011-10-13T07:08:00.000-05:00

Well, I stuck to the plan. Except that I ate too much apple risotto. Holy cow that stuff was good!! I meant to have 200 calories worth which would have been 1 portion but I ended up eating almost 2. Grr. I'll try to stick with this blog planning for awhile. Don't be alarmed if I drop off the face of the earth again though. It won't necessarily mean I failed, it might just mean I'm sick of blogging again.

Wednesdays Results:

Raisins - 130
Eggs, corn tortillas & peach salsa = 300
Asian Quinoa = 250
Salad = 125
Yogurt = 80
Blueberries = 50
Steak = 180
Apple Risotto = 400
Broccoli = 50
Total = 1565

Thursday Plan:
Raisins - 130
Eggs, corn tortillas & peach salsa - 300
Chicken wild rice soup - 200
Salad - 150
Yogurt - 80
Blueberries - 50
Southwest casserole - 400
Popcorn - 100
Total = 1410

I ran again this morning, I usually prefer Monday, Wednesday and Friday but I don't have my early daycare child tomorrow morning so I get to sleep in! No getting up at 5 am, yea! I feed the baby and he goes right back to sleep in the same room as my husband is so I'm free to go run! Plus, it's supposed to be cold and windy tomorrow.

I'm still running pretty slow but I'm running for longer distances. I'm amazed each week at the progress. If you want to learn to run, I really, really, really recommend Brad's challenge. It looks like he starts a new batch of runners once a month so I highly recommend you take a look at his program. You post weekly results with him to keep you accountable and he is constantly giving you motivation. It is perfect for a beginner like me. I am currently in week 7 and I really didn't think I'd make it this far.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

2011-10-12T05:50:00.000-05:00

The pecans were my downfall today. I ate my soup and then had this overwhelming desire to snack. I didn't have any thing "bad" in my house to snack on but I really wanted something. I should have just let it go and forgot about it. Or better yet, had the salad that I had planned. But instead, I knew there were a small bit of pecans left. I was saving them to make granola. Well, the pecans are gone. I had about 1/2 cup or 2 oz. So way too many calories.

The only good thing about eating so many pecans was that I wasn't hungry for the rest of the afternoon. I wasn't overly hungry for dinner and should have had less but it was so GOOD! I made like a fried rice with ham, peas, pineapple & egg but with quinoa. I'm very happy how it turned out. 1 cup is 240 calories, 16 grams of protein and super filling.

Tuesday Results =
Eggs, corn tortillas & Peach salsa = 300
Banana = 100
Enchilada Soup - 185
Cheese - 110
Pecans - 400
Applesauce - 200
Asian Quinoa - 250
Total = 1545

Tomorrow, more leftovers. Plus a new apple risotto recipe for dinner. I'm hoping to go for my 3 mile walk/run in the morning if it isn't raining! (that's why I have the raisins, to give me energy while running!)

Wednesdays Plan
Raisins - 130
Eggs, corn tortillas & peach salsa = 300
Yogurt = 80
Blueberries = 50
Asian Quinoa = 250
Salad = 125
Steak = 180
Apple Risotto = 200 ( haven't figured out calories yet)
Broccoli = 50
Total = 1365

If you want to see my dinner menu plan, check my post from Sunday. I switched around the days a bit but it's still part of the plan.

Tuesday ~ October 11, 2011

2011-10-11T06:37:00.000-05:00

Hey, hop on over to my other blog and enter my giveaway. It's for this awesome book about family dinners and keeping the family closer. It has a lot of good points and I really enjoyed the book!

I did good yesterday, basically stuck to The Plan. I decided against making chicken salad as there are a TON of leftovers in the frig.

Monday Results:
Raisins - 130

Eggs, corn tortillas, peach salsa = 300
Homemade Pumpkin Applesauce - 225
Enchilada Soup = 185
Salad = 125
Yogurt = 80
Blueberries = 50
Pumpkin Oat Bar = 240
Popcorn - 100

Total = 1435

Tuesday's Plan:
Eggs, corn tortillas, peach salsa = 300
Yogurt = 80
Blueberries = 50
Salad = 125
Enchilada Soup = 185
Pumpkin Applesauce = 225
Asian Style Quinoa = 400
Total = 1365

I still have peach salsa that I made from last week. It's awesome and I love it on eggs! I'll be eating this all week most likely. Plus a ton of enchilada soup in the frig. I made pumpkin applesauce that is delicious and I decided to have that as a snack. I'm not entirely sure of the calories, I just estimated based on what regular unsweetened applesauce would be. I'm planning to make a new quinoa dish tonight. I'm hoping it will be like fried rice, just with quinoa instead.

The Plan

2011-10-10T05:54:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I've been severely lacking in the planning area and it's taking a toll on me. Here's the plan for today. In a perfect world, I'd do this daily and then update at night, knowing me, it won't last but I'll give it a shot.

Raisins - 130

Eggs, corn tortilla, peach salsa = 300

Pumpkin Oat Bar = 240

Enchilada Soup = 185

Salad = 150

Yogurt = 80

Blueberries = 50

Chicken Salad = 300

Total = 1435

I'm off now for my 3 mile walk/run and I have my exercise class this evening.

Probably not enough veggies and I'm actually not sure if there are any pumpkin oat bars left. I made them yesterday and I THINK there are two in the frig. I'll probably munch on celery while making the chicken salad. And with 150 calories planned for the salad, I should be able to throw a ton of veggies on there, I have broccoli, peppers and cukes in the frig.

That is the plan.

Challenge Week 4

2011-10-09T22:21:00.000-05:00

Ugh, I've been meaning to write this all weekend and just never got around to it. So here it is, at the last minute!

Busy weekend, it's been gorgeous outside so we went on walks, bike rides and played baseball. Unusual to have this many good weekends in October. I'll take them for as long as possible though!

1. Weight: Gained a pound. I'm back where I started from. I ate like crap this week. It's frustrating, and annoying.

2. Calories: Still too many, I'm still tracking, but not planning. It's stupid. I'm really, really, really hoping to change that this week. Crap is out of the house and we're stocked with fruits and lots of veggies. We just need to tell the stupid fruit flies to get out!

3. Exercise: Very good still. I'm still on track with the 5Kin100days challenge. I MIGHT have to repeat a week coming up here though, we're making quite a jump in the amount of running and last week kicked my butt. We'll see how tomorrow mornings run goes. Weight strengthening class on Monday as usual, I'm going to up the weights this week and see how it goes.

4. Water: Along with my crappy eating, I've done bad with water. Usually this is fine but I can tell that I need more.

5. Book: Still reading Wheat Belly and continuing to learn and enjoy it. I also got a couple of gluten free books at the library that I want to read. I'd have more time for reading if I didn't have to help the kids with their literature. The daughter is reading The Hobbit so I'm reading with her so she understands it better.

I've been eating wheat all week and I can feel it. It started last Sunday, we went out to eat and then I just developed this "screw it" attitude for the rest of the week. My body paid for it and I am eager to get the wheat and sugar out of my system and get back on track. :-)

Challenge Week 3

2011-10-01T23:52:00.000-05:00

Yea, yea. I know I've been bad at blogging. I actually am thinking about changing my other blog into more of a healthy living blog rather than just for recipes. I'm not sure. The problem is, I go through streaks of wanting to write. I'm often way too tired to be creative and I don't want to HAVE to blog. I don't want it to feel like a job or something I need to get done by the end of the week or day. Recipes are easy. I'm already planning meals, cooking and mostly figuring out the calories so just adding a picture and a small bit of commenting is fairly easy. Anyways, I'm rambling but who knows, maybe you'll see some changes on the other blog.

I've already been making food changes. I've been making mostly gluten free meals. There are still some that are not, these have either been made for others or were made before I made this decision. I've really felt good about not eating wheat and it's going well.

Anyways, enough rambling. Here are my DO-IT's for the challenge.

1. Weight - I only lost 1 pound. I wanted more but I've still been eating too much. Good stuff, no wheat and very little sugar but nevertheless, too much.

2. Calories - Too many. Right around 1800 - 2000 per day probably. It's stupid, I know it.

3. Exercise - It's still awesome. I can't believe it. I'm walking/jogging every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 am. In the dark. It's creepy and getting darker all the time. Getting colder too. The mornings have still been decent but I'm going to have to start bundling up pretty soon. So much better than the treadmill though. I find that incredibly boring and couldn't imagine doing 3 miles, 3 times a week on that thing!

4. Water - Glug, glug, glug. I had a diet coke this morning, other than that, it's been 100% water all week and lots of it!

5. Book - Wheat Belly. I didn't make any progress in reading more this week. I did however recommend it to several including a nutritionist who taught a class I went to today. I love the book and totally believe in it. I am looking forward to finishing it soon!

Challenge Week 2

2011-09-24T19:36:00.000-05:00

I like having this challenge. It keeps me focused. It keeps me from reaching back into the pecans for a second or third handful. Sometimes.

1. Weight: Well, I broke even. I started at 221, didn't weigh in last week after vacation and then today I was back at 221. I was hoping for better but not really surprised. I essentially gained a pound on vacation and then lost it this week. *sigh* I'll do better. I promise.

2. Calories: I've been tracking my calories but not planning right. Essentially, I'm eating and then at the end of the night, I calculate and realize, "Oh gee, I shouldn't have had that blank..." So I've been consuming around 500 calories more than I should have each day. Some days better than others. I have however been eating the right things. No wheat and highly limited sugar. I just need to plan and stop eating that extra handful of pecans or this homemade peanut butter granola that was SOOOOOO good with vanilla yogurt.

3. Exercise: This has been strong still. Yea me! Three days with Brad's Learn to Run a 5K in 100 Days running challenge. It's getting tough as the weeks are going on but I'm still sticking with it. I'm not running very fast for sure but I am running. Then the exercise class on Monday, plus I'm trying to work the same muscles on Thursdays at home with weights. Then there is the weekly jam sessions on Just Dance 2. That is always fun. Didn't make my 70,000 steps this week but came close. I need to average about another 500 - 1000 steps a day to get this. So off the computer and get out walking more!

4. Water: Water is good, keeping hydrated. Got my handy dandy water bottle here as I speak.

5: Book: Still reading the book. I had to take a break from it to read a book for a review I have to do. Kelly the Kitchen Kop did a two part series and an interview with Dr. David, the author.

I have a plan for next week and it includes better planning and good eating.

Challenge Week 1

2011-09-18T21:08:00.001-05:00

Source: etsy.com via Pascale on Pinterest

Back from vacation! It was just 4 days away up along the North Shore but it was fun and relaxing! We did a lot of hiking and walking. My legs will be grateful for the break! I ate pretty cruddy, I admit. I made some good choices along the way but plenty of bad ones as well. I'm ready to get back on it and have an awesome week!

1. Weight - I didn't weigh myself this week. Yes, I broke the rules the first week. I'm quite sure with the extra salt and junk that I am up. Way up. I had a great eating day today and am on the right path to get rid of the sodium and junk this week. I promise to weigh in the rest of the challenge. I don't have any unusual weekend circumstances planned that would prevent this in the future.

2. Calories - I tracked my calories Monday, Tuesday and today (Sunday). I hit under 1500 for both Monday and Tuesday and today was around 1200 tops. The rest of the week stank.

3. Exercise - I did all 3 days of Brad's running challenge. I'm happy that I'm seeing a difference and I'm running better and am not as tired. I'm still going at quite the slow speed but still, I'm DOING it. I exceeded my goal of 70,000 steps this week and I had my weight training class on Monday night as well.

4. Water - Just so-so. It's hard when not in the same routine. I am back on track and drinking and peeing up a storm now though.

5. Book - I'm still reading Wheat Belly. I love it, and I BELIEVE it. I am not one to get into fad diets or trends but this just MAKES SENSE to me. Eliminate the wheat and eliminate a LOT of problems. I did NOT go wheat free while on vacation, I did today and plan continue. ~~ I also read Unbroken Will - The Extraordinary Courage of an Ordinary Man, The Story of Leopold Engleitner. It is a book the describes the life and times of this man whose belief in God and in nonviolence stood the test of Nazi persecution in WWII. He was in three concentration camps and suffered unspeakable brutality but remained firm in his faith. It was an awesome book and while deep, it was very faith strengthening. I finished the whole book this week and would recommend it to anyone! I got it at the library, I have another one that is similar on request as well.

So we begin week 2! I'm looking forward to seeing some better results next week. I feel like I'm actually "starting" this challenge this week.

Recipes...

2011-09-13T22:46:00.000-05:00

Okay, so you all know I have this recipe blog. That is how I got started blogging in the first place.

I've had several comments about the recipes on the side of my dieting blog. Some serious and some in jest, about taking them off or not wanting to come to my blog so they won't be tempted.

I need your opinion. Do you want me to take them off? I certainly will if you want me to. First, let me explain my hesitation.

I spent most my life in the upper 200's and lower 300's by the time I had baby #3. I'd never eaten healthy. We ate out all the time. Cooking at home was rare and not healthy at all. When I think of the "healthy" meals I would make, I now cringe. I had my aha moment, straightened up and started eating healthier. I started COOKING healthier. I read blogs, looked for recipes, did everything I could to healthify the family favorites and I was quite proud of what I had done. I often would call friends and say, "I just made ..., you have GOT to come over and try it!" I had friends asking me for recipes, so I would email them or give them recipes. At the urge of several people, I started my food blog. I was already writing down and organizing my recipes. I was already calculating the calorie counts on most things. So why not add some pictures and start a blog.

So Debbi Does Dinner Healthy was born, just about 2 years ago. I started the diet blog with my first challenge as a motivator for me, not to get a ton of followers or anything. Like with my recipe blog, I thought, if I can help people, then great! So I added some recipes on the side that I was proud of.

I AM proud of these recipes. They represent a new way of eating for me. They represent a new me. Granted, if you visit my recipe blog, not ALL the recipes are low calorie and healthy. There are plenty that are not. But I tried to pick the better ones to put on my weight loss blog.

Now, my eating is changing. I'm trying to go wheat free or at least to cut WAY back on it. So the loss of my beloved flour tortillas has been the most difficult of changes. But I'm getting over it. It's only a tortilla! I've been eating some corn tortillas or just putting the nummy filling over lettuce or eating it plain. It works, I'm happy. I'm not depriving myself of anything.

So anyways, moral of the long winded story. Part of me wants to take off the recipes, as I don't want to tempt anyone into overeating or indulging or to set off a trigger in you if you see a wrap or a mexican lasagna. My goal is to help, not hurt. On the OTHER HAND, my goal in setting up the blog was to let people know that dieting isn't all about grilled chicken and salads. We can enjoy awesome, simple meals that are healthy, hearty, filling and low calorie. I get that this doesn't work for everyone. It did for me. (at first at least until I got confident and stupid but that's another story.)

So you decide, should the recipes go? Or stay? Should I cut back? Any ideas? Give me your honest opinion, I won't get insulted or get offended easily. :-)

Christmas Dress Challenge

2011-09-11T21:44:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm committed again. Another challenge. It's going to happen. It just has to happen. No, I have to make it happen. It is Day 1 for me in the Christmas Dress Challenge. Interesting challenge for me as I don't celebrate Christmas nor do I favor dresses. On me that is. I've always been a hard fit for dresses, big on the bottom but smaller on top. So no dress for me. However, I do have this jacket.

Funny story with this jacket. It's like nothing I've every worn. I got it from a friend who was going to donate it. It was in sorry shape, filthy. I washed it up and it came clean and is super soft and pretty and just different. It might seem strange that I want to fit into this used, previously uncared for jacket but it's so UNLIKE me, that I just want to wear it. Well, I want to FIT into it. Who knows, maybe I won't even like it as much or use it but I've just had in my mind for the last couple of years that THIS would be the year that I would fit into this jacket.

And there it sits. In the closet. Well, this is my end of the year goal. To fit well in this jacket. As you can see, it's a bit tight around the shoulders and for sure would never close. I look like I am pregnant!

Last spring I was slightly closer to fitting into it. One bad summer and I'm now 15 lbs. FURTHER away from fitting into the jacket. I THINK that if I can get under 200 lbs., I'll have a shot at it. I don't know. We'll see.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So here are my DO IT's from the challenge rules. Here are my goals for each.

1. Weight - Challenge runs September 11 - December 18. 14 weeks. My goal is to lose 1 1/2 lbs. a week for a total of 21 lbs. This will bring me RIGHT to 200 as today I weigh 221. Then by the end of the year, my goal is to be under 200 forever.

2. Calories - I've been hit or miss on tracking. I tend to start at the beginning of the day and then just sorta, kinda but not really estimate at the end. Or just say screw it and not do it at all. Well, I'm planning to see more hits, than misses. My goal is not to exceed 11,000 calories per week. This works out to 1571 per day. I KNOW I can do this. I know I can go under this. But I found that if my goal is 1200 and I hit 1600 instead, I feel like an utter failure and start downspiraling into a jar of peanut butter or something. So if I up the goal a bit, my thoughts are that I'll be extra happy when I hit 1200 - 1300 and not be so depressed if I hit 1600 or 1700 occasionally. Yea, it's a mind trick. Let's just hope it will work!

3. Exercise - I just joined Brad's 100 Days to Run a 5K challenge. We're only in week 2 and it's going well so far. So I'll be running/walking 3 days a week. I'll give a short update weekly with how this is going. I also have a strength training class on Monday's, I'm signing up for the fall session this Monday. Plus I usually do weights during the week. I've also been using my Fitbit to track my steps and I'm aiming for 70,000 steps a week.

4. Water - Water has been going well. It's like second nature to me now. I drink all the time and pee all the time. I usually have at least 6 to 7 - 16 oz. glasses of water. It's usually when I lose focus or when the routine is interrupted for the week that this fails. Focus, focus, focus.

5. Book - At the suggestion of Mir, I bought the book Wheat Belly. I've been toying with the whole gluten free idea but basically thought that with the exception of Celiac diagnosed people, that it was a fad. I'm realizing the facts behind it and I'm only about 1/4 way through the book but it MAKES SENSE. In a nutshell the wheat we eat now is NOT the same wheat that grandma baked bread with and it's causing a lot of problems. We're slowly phasing out wheat. It's not going to be an overnight process but the family is on board and it's going to be interesting. I'll keep you updated on the book. I also have another book on a completely different topic waiting at the library that I might want to share and review.

Blogger is still being weird about me commenting. Some blogs I can comment on and others I can't. I used to be able to comment on Mir's blog and now it won't let me sign in. I might take Mir's advice and just switch this to Wordpress. Maybe that will help.

Fitbit

2011-08-31T08:18:00.000-05:00

I got a fitbit about a month or so ago. I really, really like it! I'd been looking for a good pedometer. I like tracking my food and weight online. And I love to see how many calories I've burned. Well, this has given me all that and more.

It's super small so it fits in your pocket or clips to your bra without any problem. It's easy and accurate! It even tracks your sleep! Seriously, you put it on a wristband overnight and it knows when you fall asleep, how many times you woke up and then gives you a number for how long you were actually asleep. It's kinda eerie but extremely accurate! Plus, it's super comfortable to wear so it's not like hooking up to a huge contraption.

The only drawback is that it IS small and I'm always afraid I'm going to lose it. I have a good routine with it now so I'm not as fearful anymore.

It is a bit spendy, it's $99 on fitbit.com. I debated a long time over this, I don't have money to burn, that's for sure. After reading several reviews and committing that I would actually USE it, I bought it. And I'm glad I did. Now my husband wants one. He wants one more as a toy though than a fitness tool. I thought about changing my profile to his stats but that would mess things up for me so phooey on him. I'm keeping it. :-)

You are able to use it for social networking and you can find friends and compare numbers. I would LOVE this as I think it would keep me going stronger to know that someone else was watching my stats and knowing how many steps I take a day. However, I have yet to find anyone who uses theirs regularly. If you are using one, I would love to "friend" you on fitbit. :-)

Slimmer This Summer Final Post

2011-08-27T22:44:00.000-05:00

Woohoo! We made it 12 weeks! How did we all do? I've been reading the blogs and many have been doing fantastic!! I admire all of you who have stuck to your goals and lost a lot of weight! Some have fallen along the way and hopefully they will pick themselves up and get back on track. Then there are some who have stuck with the challenge but have just done so-so with their goals.

I would fall into this last group.

I don't have awesome results to show for this summer. Not. At. All. Despite the support and the goals, I've just kinda fallen into a funk. And really, really need to get out of it. I haven't been consistent at all. I've had weeks where I've been spot on at 1200 - 1400 calories, exercising well and doing good. Just to fall flat on my face the next week. And the falling on my face was hard.

I didn't admit all my failures on the blog, I didn't lie, I just was a little vague. (this is humbling people, really). I felt as a leader of a challenge, telling you that I was binging on crap wasn't going to help any of you, so I kept it to myself. Well, hiding didn't help. At all.

I pretty much maintained the first part of the summer, kinda yoyoing up and down but then August hit and I gained weight. Yup, I gained. And I feel it and my clothes feel it. Just a bit.

On a good note, exercise has been good. Really good. It actually ticks me off that I'm FINALLY getting into a good exercise routine and getting my muscles going and then I turn around and eat crap.

I have school starting next week and I will have a good routine here with the kids. Summer with 13 kids here has been chaotic and anything BUT routine. I will have less daycare kids and my 3 kids will be homeschooling so it's time for organization and routine to kick in. I'm hoping this makes a difference.

It HAS to make a difference.

What is the alternative? Me continuing to eat until I grow out of my clothes? Uh uh. That just can't happen. I feel like I blew the whole summer and I'm super depressed about it. But I can't change what I did, can I? The only thing I can do is move forward.

Luckily Mir is starting up a new little challenge in a couple of weeks. The Christmas Dress Countdown Challenge. Now, I don't celebrate Christmas, nor do I have any idea what size dress I would wear. I'm more of a skirt wearer myself. But, that's not the point of the challenge of course. There is a jacket that I want desperately to wear this winter that will require more weight loss.

Take a look at the challenge and decide if it is for you. If not, please, please, please, continue moving forward. Continue to stay healthy. Whether you are needing to lose a lot of weigh, maintaining or just trying to lose the last 5 pounds, we all need to stay healthy and fit.

So for the last time, link in your results and let me know that you have not quit! I thank all of you who have stuck with this!

Giveaway winners will be announced later and I will email you with what you have won.

Slimmer This Summer Week 12

2011-08-20T22:28:00.001-05:00

Well, this is it folks. The state fair is headed to town next week. The kids are getting their school supplies together. People are making Labor Day plans. And the Slimmer this Summer challenge is heading into it's last week. Summer is coming to an end.

Is it just me or did that go fast?! Like, really, really fast!

We've had a good summer. We did a lot and I'm still hoping to squeeze in some more beach visits before they close, but it's been good.

This week has been about the same for me. Good days and then some just so-so days. I had a mini cold the beginning of the week so I didn't exercise much but then have been doing good the last half of the week. Eating has been good, but not great. I'm still trying to figure out the whole digestion thing and seeing if gluten is the answer or not. I've been ignoring the scale, I'll spend some quality time with it next week. :-)

Don't forget I have two giveaways, the Vitatops Giveaway and The Comfort Food Diet Cookbook Giveaway. I also have a giveaway on my other blog for Lawry's Seasoning Marinades that ends tonight!

I'm going to put up one more linky next weekend to link in the final results. I didn't stay as active as a leader as I had hoped but I so appreciate you hanging in there! Mir was awesome and super helpful!! Check out her post to all of the challengers here!

It doesn't matter if you've been on track all summer, just so-so, or ready to jump back on the wagon, let's make this a GREAT week and get as much done as we can!!

Slimmer This Summer Week 11

2011-08-14T01:17:00.001-05:00

We're on the home stretch!! Two more weeks of the challenge! How are we all doing?

It's been a good week for me. Food has been so-so. I've been tracking for the most part but going over in calories. Not horribly but still over. I haven't been able to get that strict discipline with food this summer. It's been up and down for the last couple of months. How do I get it back?? You'd think looking in the mirror and seeing my giant stomach would put the fear in me and get me motivated again!! Ugh. I'll get it, slowly but surely.

Exercise, however, I've been rocking this week. I set a new goal with number of steps and I've hit it every day this week plus a whole lot more. I'm noticing a big difference in my walking, I'm getting faster and the ankle is staying happy. I'm even sorta starting to enjoy it. Shhh...

I've been a bit vague on weight because I've been ignoring the scale. I wanted to wait until after the challenge to ignore it but I just got so sick of being a slave to the scale. I really don't want to look at it again until September. Maybe I'll peek though. I'm not expecting any glorious results that's for sure.

How's everyone else doing??

Gluten Free

2011-08-12T06:45:00.000-05:00

So I had a whole post written down for this week about whole grains. I was going to just remind everyone how much better whole grains are and how the body has to work so much harder to process the whole wheat rather than the other, therefore making it better for your body. Yea, we all know that but sometimes a reminder is good.

But then I nixed the whole post.

I'm starting a hopefully temporary new way of eating. Gluten free.

It seems that everyone is getting on the gluten free bandwagon lately. For different reasons it seems, some for medical reasons and many just because it makes them feel better.

Well, I've been having this intestinal issue for awhile. I'm not constipated. I don't have diarrhea. No cramping or pain. I....well...

Don't laugh.

No really, don't laugh.

I have really, really, really stinky farts.

Okay fine, laugh.

Yes, it's true. It's been especially so the last few months, all summer pretty much. Before that, I was stinking more than the usual person but I just blew it off as "It must be something I ate". Well, starting this summer, it's been daily. Really, everyday. I bought some Special K Protein bars a few months back and was eating one a day and THOUGHT it was because of them. Boy, was the family glad when those were gone! Well, the stinky issue didn't go away.

It didn't matter what I ate. I finally realized that something is wrong and it isn't just "something that I ate".

So I did some research and found from other stinky sufferers on the internet, that gluten MIGHT be the issue. Well, it was a good place to start.

So I did a bunch of research and have been gluten free for 2 days now.

Guess what.

I SMELL GOOD!! Seriously, after the first day, no stink!

I'm going to give it a few more days and then next week introduce gluten again, in small portions and see what happens. I seriously don't WANT to be gluten free. What will I do without my whole wheat tortillas! :-) Although, I have to say, being on something so strict as that, curbs my snacking seriously. No snacking on pretzels, cereal or leftover pizza crusts. Not that I've been doing a LOT of that but still, I like to eat a few cheerios from the kids now and then.

So has anyone else ever hear of this problem? Do you have any gluten free ideas or thoughts?

Seriously, stop laughing. :-)

Slimmer This Summer Week 10

2011-08-07T00:00:00.001-05:00

Summer is just flying by! I can always tell summers coming to an end when the stores start having all their back to school sales.

Today was fun, went to the pool and got some more sun. I played with the kids for awhile and then did some kicking in the water with my legs for about 20 minutes. It wasn't very crowded so I had plenty of room and even though the legs ached a bit, I felt it was a nice unplanned workout. I'm trying to get better with my legs, I feel they need to most help with strengthening.

Water has been good, keeping hydrated this week.

I had an ankle injury last weekend so I've been more cautious on the foot this week. Pain is gone but it still wants to swell up all the time which is it's way of telling me to go easy. The water was great as it didn't seem to affect my ankle, more of my legs. I wish I had access to a pool to swim more often.

I had a decent week of eating this week. I need to be more strict on the no sugars though. I found myself craving them this week which is odd. This weekend I ate out twice. Grr. Didn't do TOO bad but certainly not what I planned.

My plan for the week is better on quality of foods and more exercise. It's supposed to be a nice week without the oppressive heat so I have my exercise class tomorrow and hopefully plenty of brisk walks during the evenings. Let's just hope the ankle behaves...

How are all of you doing? Sorry if you're not getting some of my comments, there are several blogs that I know of that aren't getting my comments coming up. We're not sure why. We're not sure how long it's been happening but there is one blog that I've commented on almost every blog post and she says she hasn't received a comment since June. What?! I can tell this is happening on several others. So just know that I am out there and reading!!! :-)

If you haven't already entered my giveaways, here they are! I plan to have a couple more over the next couple of weeks too!

Comfort Food Diet Cookbook Giveaway

Vitalicious Vitatop Giveaway

Comfort Food Diet Cookbook Giveaway

2011-08-05T11:22:00.000-05:00

Seriously, is it Friday already?

I can't really even use the excuse that it's been busy, time has just gone by quickly! As most of you may know, I have a recipe blog. This was my reason to start blogging. I loved finding or creating low calorie meals that were filling, healthy and well, low calorie. Some are not so healthy, I know, so don't start ragging on me! :-)

I'm not one of those cooks who can just open the cupboard and put together a fantastic meal. Oh no. I've had a lot of help. I've gotten recipes from many online sites and even some of you!!

I also love cookbooks. And to multitask. I often will sit by my computer watching TV and paging through cooking magazines and cookbooks. Making notes, tearing out pages and bookmarking recipes while watching ER reruns. Yea, that's my kind of Friday night!

My latest find is the Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook. I was first intrigued by the words Comfort-Food-Diet all in the same title. I started out dieting thinking that comfort food had no room in a diet. Boy oh boy was I wrong there.

This cookbook has it all; breakfast, lunches, dinners, snacks and desserts. Most recipes have pictures (which I LOVE). They have the calories right on the pictures. They have the nutrition facts at the bottom of the recipe.

I. Love. This. Cookbook.

I've used it several times and have about 100 pages bookmarked to try. I especially want to try new breakfast recipes. I'm a boring breakfast eater and would love to jazz it up a bit. Plus, we like to eat breakfast for dinner quite a bit.

GIVEAWAY:
I have 3 extra books to giveaway. Just leave a comment letting me know what kind of recipe you hope is in this book!

SLIMMER THIS SUMMER CHALLENGERS:
You get an extra entry! Leave me a comment reminding me and yourself that you're not quitting! :-) Winners will be picked August 26th.

OTHER GIVEAWAYS:
Have you entered my Vitalicious Giveaway? Hop on over to my recipe blog and enter the Vitalicious giveaway on that blog too!

Slimmer This Summer Week 9

2011-07-30T23:52:00.000-05:00

So how has your week of eating healthy, tracking and exercise been??

Well, mine has been less than stellar. Weight is about the same but I feel like crud. Especially as haven't been drinking. It's been hot as can be and I've been outside but I haven't been drinking. It just doesn't make sense. I need to start back up tomorrow and get hydrated.

In so many ways, I feel like I've been failing this challenge. However, I KNOW that without it, I would have faired much worse. I just know it. I haven't been setting the example that I wanted to set but am so thrilled at so many that ARE doing well.

Exercise has been going well, I admit, 2 months ago, I was hoping that I would have progressed farther by August but it's still going well.

Speaking of August, can you believe that's it's already here?? Seriously? When did that happen?

Crazy Busy...Still Having Fun!

2011-07-29T06:29:00.000-05:00

If someone had told me 14 years ago that I would be a mother to 3 and doing daycare and homeschool, I would have told them they were crazy!

Many of us are in a different place than we would have thought. Maybe it's better? Maybe it's worse? Maybe it's just...different.

I love my life. I love my kids and I wouldn't change it for the world. I just wouldn't have predicted this for my life. Maybe that's good thing! Haha!

Sorry I've been MIA for awhile, life is crazy busy this week. We have out annual kids party with over 90 people invited over to the house on Saturday. I think about 50 RSVP'd. Maybe more. I lost track.

But you know what? The calendar is clear in August! Well, almost. We're certainly going to do things but it will be the normal summer stuff, parks, beach, walks, that sort of stuff. No more big parties, BBQ's, vacations and events. Nothing that takes a whole lot of planning. Except for my meals of course! :-)

Slimmer This Summer Week 8

2011-07-24T00:01:00.001-05:00

Howdy ho, how does the diet go?

I'm in a goofy mood tonight. I just got back from an 50th Anniversary party and had a bunch of fun. I have 8 minutes to get this post up before midnight! Yea, out way too late. We don't do that too much and it was a lot of fun.

I've been tracking my food all week using my new toy the fitbit. You can go to fitbit.com for more information. I'll be doing a review and giving more information on it in another post. I want to "play" with it a bit more. It's been fun though. Today, I didn't really track though. At KFC for lunch, not a lot but what little I ate was not healthy and the stomach did NOT like the grease! Then I ate BBQ food which wasn't too bad. A lot to choose from and I did get pretty full, I didn't overdo it. My one bad was the 240 calorie A&W I drank there. Seriously? How stupid was that. I haven't drank a pop in like months and the first one I drink has 240 calories? Stupid.

I've also been bad at blogging. I just haven't had the time, energy or even the desire. My goal was to visit everyones blogs and keep the momentum going but I just haven't been doing well. I love that there are a lot still linking up and everyone is sticking with it!! So many of you have been finding some real success and I commend you for that. Those who are still struggling, well, we just have to remember WHY we started this challenge in the first place, right? To lose weight. So what's stopping us! Start now!

Oops! It's midnight, I'll get the linky up! Let's here how you did! Don't forget about my Vitalicious Vitatop Giveaway!!

Vitalicious Giveaway

2011-07-22T21:29:00.001-05:00

Remember I said something about giveaways this summer? Here is the first of several! Sorry it's taken so long for me to get these on my blog, I've been swamped!

Vitalicious has offered one of my readers a super sample pack of delicious Vitatops! Have you heard of these before? If not, you're missing out! They totally rock! The triple chocolate fudge is probably my favorite but really, I love them all. I have not found one that I avoid or don't care for. They are all super tasty! The cornbread muffins are awesome with chili, I buy those all the time. Seriously, for 100 calories, there is no way I could make something that tasty. I have to fight my 12 year old for the chocolate mint ones, he totally loves them.

Not only are they tasty, they are super filling, nutritious and only 100 calories. Everyone is on the 100 calorie bandwagon and I've tried them all. There is not ONE 100 calorie snack that is as filling as this in my opinion. Not to mention, if you have a chocolate craving, this does the trick. The chocolate ones are REALLY chocolaty, they satisfy the most intense cravings. Let's not get started on the brownies, oh my. 100 calories and insanely awesome. And not tiny, very decent portions.

So here's the deal, I recommend you check Vitalicious.com out and order some of these tasty vitatops.  They do sell them in some grocery stores but I think they are slightly more expensive and they don't have near the variety.

TO ENTER: Like I said, Vitalicious.com will be giving one of my readers a super sample pack.  Check out the pack online and leave me a comment on this post letting me know which one sounds the best to you. I can't wait to try the Pumpkin Spice! That's a new one!

STS CHALLENGERS:
Those of you who are in the Slimmer This Summer Challenge get 2 extra entries!!  Leave your first comment with the kind of Vitatop that sounds the best to you and then leave 2 more comments letting me know that you're in the challenge and you will not quit! :-)

Extra Entry:
This giveaway is being held on both of my blogs, head on over to Debbi Does Dinner Healthy and leave a comment with your favorite vitatop you want to try for another entry. This actually won't post until NEXT Friday, I'll give you the link then to the giveaway post on the other blog next week.

The winner will be chosen randomly on August 26th at the end of the challenge.  Make sure I have an email address so I can contact you!

***Stay tuned, there will be several more giveaways over the next couple of weeks!

Sadness and Despair

2011-07-19T14:44:00.000-05:00

Our good friend Mir and her family are going through a horrible loss with the death of her nephew. Let's keep her and her family in our prayers.

A lot of us get sad, frustrated, despaired and depressed when we are unable to lose weight. We "try so hard" but it just doesn't happen. We have a choice. No one pushing the food into our mouths. We are in control of what we eat. It may not SEEM like we're in control, I GET that it is an addiction for some of us, I GET that we go to parties where there is no healthy food, I GET that we go on vacation and want to enjoy restaurants but overall, we still have a choice. We control what we eat. When you hear about someone so young dying and hear about the immense pain that a family is going through, somehow, the "problem" of how much food we stuff in our mouths just doesn't seem as important.

The ability to choose a variety of delicious foods is a gift from God. He didn't have to create such variety. We are privileged to have such an abundance of food here. Let's not abuse that privilege.

So while I pray for Mir and her family, I plan to thank God for the health and safety of my family and to thank Him for giving me a choice and thanks for wonderful variety he created for us.

Slimmer This Summer Week 7

2011-07-17T00:01:00.002-05:00

Can you believe it's the middle of July?

How are we all doing on the Slimmer This Summer Challenge? Remember, whether you're doing well, just okay or rocking the challenge, we want to hear from you. I love how many are still linking up and NOT QUITTING! We've only had a small handful officially quit so I would love to see a post from everyone this week!

Slimmer This Summer Progress

2011-07-16T17:24:00.001-05:00

1. Track Calories = I tracked calories all week.I started using Myfitnesspal but didn't use THAT all week. I still have my handy dandy notebook for tracking though when I don't get it entered.

2. Under 10,000 calories a week = Just over, most days were very good but there still is a bit too much snacking in the afternoon. Which means that dinner has to be light or else I'm over on calories for the day. The stupid thing is, I'm not snacking because I'm hungry, just snacking because it's there. Something I totally have to work on.

3. Water = Good but not great. I got a little dehydrated last weekend at the convention, as I didn't want to be getting up going to the bathroom. So I've been working on rehydrating this week but it's been just "okay".

4. Lose 18 lbs. = 3 lbs. down for the last 2 weeks. 4 lb. loss for challenge. 14 to go to make challenge goal.

5. Exercise = I'm doing well with trying to get faster and going longer duration. I had one day that was odd and I was stiff so I cut that walk short. Otherwise it's going well. I have my weigh strengthening class, walks during the week, my stair exercises, Wii Dance and Wii Fit and the occasional Pilates video.
6. Encouragement = I've been busier than usual so I haven't been to all of your blogs as planned. I try to go to as many as possible but the week just goes so fast! I can't believe it's Saturday already!

So how did everyone else do for the week?

Just Live...Healthier

2011-07-14T10:40:00.001-05:00

I read a lot of good stuff out there. I don't always comment as there are just so many hours in a day and just not enough days of the week. Much as I would love to add an 8th blogging day in the week, it just isn't going to happen.

I also often have trouble thinking of inspirational things to say. Sometimes I'll be in an odd place like the shower or driving and I'll think of something that would be good to put on the blog, but then it just goes away and when I get to the computer, I either can't think of it or don't feel like tweaking those last few brain cells to remember how I wanted to word it.

So when I read something that is well written and says exactly what I want to say, I want to share it. This is the second time I've quoted this blog in like a week. She writes very well and she's very direct. I like direct. I like bluntness. It works. While she is blunt, she isn't rude so it works well for me. Anyways, here are:

5 Reasons Why You Won't Lose Weight

I loved this article. I especially loved the last part. She wrote,

So really, prove me wrong – stop buying every silly product that comes out. Stop putting off workouts. Stop with the impatience (and, consequently, undue stress and pressure that comes with it.) Stop with the freaking diets. Just live… healthier. It’s that easy.
So true, so true.

Excerpted from 5 Reasons Why You Won’t Lose Weight
A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss

This is linked to Motivational Monday at A Hippo with a Headband

Busy Summer

2011-07-13T06:26:00.000-05:00

It's amazing how I look forward to summer so much and then when I turn around, it seems to be practically half over. It is really already mid July? What happened?

So I had a super, awesome spiritual weekend at a convention. Loved every minute of it. The kids were very good and we all got a lot out of it. I loved how they are focusing on kids so much, there is a lot of temptation for kids so they need a lot of help. The kids enjoyed the pool with their friends after at the hotel too. Always a perk.

Three days at a hotel also means a lot of restaurants. Oh, I have brought dinners before to keep the expense down but it really is a pain to be microwaving and preparing 5 dinners after the convention in a hotel room. And then having to make lunches for the next day. So this year we just ate out. Famous Daves on the evening before, hubs has been itching to go there for awhile so I caved and we went. I watched portions there but I didn't really eat healthy at all. Subway the next day, very good eating there. Dominos pizza on Saturday night. I ate a couple slices of cheese pizza and breadstick. Could have been worse. Yes, there were too many snacks but all in all, it went well as far as eating. Came home to a 4 lb. gain of sodium but it's pretty much back down this morning.

This week has been good as far as eating, I started using My Fitness Pal again. It's hard to enter stuff when you have recipes for specific things but I just kinda wing it and it's been keeping me more on track. I always know how many calories a recipe is but I don't always know how to enter it. Hopefully I can stick with it and keep using it. My ID is Badgirl31 if anyone cares to be "friends" on it. I know several others are using it.

How is your food tracking going??

Slimmer This Summer Week 6

2011-07-10T00:00:00.003-05:00

We're headed into week 6. Many of us are on track, eating well, tracking and succeeding. Some are still struggling but trying to figure it out. Let's keep working at it and all of us find success!

I know many didn't link up last week as they were out of town and the holiday messed things up but I'm hoping that we can get everyone to link up this week so we can see how everyone is doing!!

Sorry I haven't been blogging much, as we all know, summers are busy and there just hasn't been as much time for the computer. My tan is looking pretty good though!

Don't forget to visit others blogs and cheer each other on or kick each other in the butt. I will take any deserved butt kicking!

Calorie Counting

2011-07-06T11:10:00.000-05:00

Why Am I Calorie Counting?

I could not have said it better. Read this. This is from Black Girls Guide to Weight Loss. She writes wonderfully and I love her blog.

I know a lot of people use Weight Watchers instead of calorie counting which is similar, it still keeps you aware of what you are eating. I just first learned calorie counting so it works for me. (when used properly)

Clearly I need to back and read it again. Gosh I've been bad. I'm still tracking but I'm not recording on the blog and I'm going over. Blame it on the weather, blame it on the BBQ's, blame it on lack of focus, whatever the blame, it's still preventing me from losing weight.

I'm off again for a 4 day weekend this weekend so this will be the only post for the week. We have a spiritual convention this weekend that I am REALLY looking forward to. We go to them every summer. I always come back refreshed and feeling great!

I do have a plan. Eating should be "okay". We are eating out quite a bit but it won't be too bad. The thing that I've been bad at is snacking and being at an all day convention will prevent me from snacking. Which is a good thing. I'll try to share some pictures on Monday when I get back!

I still will have the linky scheduled for the challengers on Sunday. Even if we have an off week, let's try to get something posted in there. Do Not Quit. :)

STICK WITH IT!

2011-07-03T00:00:00.010-05:00

So what typically happens a couple weeks into a diet? You peeter out. You give up. I know I've done that. It seems like it's taking F-O-R-E-V-E-R for the weight loss to happen! Well, we didn't get fat overnight, did we! This is going to take time and effort. 12 weeks of NOT GIVING UP. That's what you all signed on for. 12 weeks guys.

Some of us will be reaching goal at the end of 12 weeks. Some of us will just be beginning the journey but still it's 12 weeks of making a change. I know I won't be done after 12 weeks. After this 12 weeks I should be about 190. Still a long way to go. So choosing to give up now or eat something that I shouldn't just DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. It's just going to take me longer to get rid of this fat.

I'm ready for it to be gone now. So I'm sticking with it. How are you doing?

I loved this quote I saw last week from Roni's Weigh. “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius

Embarrassed?

2011-07-02T17:20:00.001-05:00

It's been sorta a bum week. My eating has just been "okay". I've been tracking but just sorta eating and then figuring out what I've been eating by the end of the day. So NOT what I intended to do and so NOT what I tell others that they should do. I've told others, plan first, then track so you know what's coming and prepared. Ya, that hasn't been happening this week.

I'm mad at myself for not doing as well as planned. I KNOW how to do this. It's not complicated so I don't know what the deal is.

I'm kinda embarrassed that I have been trying to get everyone else to stick to their plans and eat well but I feel like I'm failing miserably. I'm not gaining weight but I'm not sticking to the 1200 - 1400 that I ~~want to~~ need to. I don't like the way I look, I don't like the way I feel, I don't like not being in control so yes, this is something that I NEED to do.

Exercise has been actually pretty good. I started a new exercise class this week where I found some new muscles. This I will keep up weekly with. Plus I stepped up my stair exercises and ordered a new exercise DVD that I can't wait to start. It's been hot but a nice week so I was able to go on a few walks, I'm seeing a difference in speed and plan to increase distance when it's not quite so hot.

So, time to get back on track with food. No more snacking! *sigh* I tracked the first part of the week and then fell off the wagon. I would start tracking and then "life" would come in and it would just all fall to pieces by the end of the day. Busy week ahead but I have to do better. Not just for the challenge, but for myself and my family.

Just Dance Wii!

2011-06-30T06:24:00.000-05:00

I bought the Just Dance 2 for the Wii a couple of days ago. The kids and I just love it! We've been using it a lot. Some of the song lyrics aren't exactly kid appropriate but they aren't bad. I like how there are songs from many different eras. New music, 80's hits and even some 60's songs.

The kids have played so much they have the dance moves practically memorized already! Even though only 4 players can dance at a time, we get a bunch of the little daycare kids dancing so we'll have 8 or so kids all dancing. It's a blast to watch them all dance to songs like Tik Tok or Walk Like an Egyptian. I just wish there was more room in our den for them to spread out more!

We liked it so much that I ordered Just Dance 1 and Just Dance Kids. I'll let you know how I like those once they come!

I would recommend this game. The only word of caution is some of the lyrics are questionable for kids. Some songs like Satisfaction or Sympathy for the Devil might not be the greatest to have your kids dance around to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tuesday Eat's
Strawberry Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal with splenda instead of sugar = 265
Salad w/turkey = 175
Yogurt = 100
Cheese and crackers = 150
More Baked Oatmeal = 265
White Bean Italian Pizza = 565
Total = 1520 calories

It certainly is a conflict of interest to be a food blogger and a dieter at the same time! I had planned to make the baked oatmeal this week for dinner but it turns out it's going to be super hot and humid by the end of the week so no oven. So I made it for breakfast. Oh my, this stuff rocked! It was like eating dessert for breakfast. Then I made an incredible white bean vegetarian pizza for dinner. Higher calories than I thought it would be but insanely delicious.

Wednesday Eat's
1 1/2 Rhubarb Strawberry Baked Oatmeal = 395
Watermelon = 50
White Bean Pizza = 565
Special K Protein Bar = 170
Steak = 180
Broccoli = 50
Salad w/fruit = 175
Total = 1585 calories

Second day in a row of going over calories. *sigh* Mostly just leftovers today, glad they are gone to keep them from tempations reach! Not enough water today either. It is usually second nature just to be drinking all the time but for some reason today I haven't felt like it. Maybe that's why I ate so much!

I'm HUNGRY!

2011-06-28T05:40:00.001-05:00

Anyone hungry?

It's funny, somedays you can go the whole day, eating well, not hungry and come in great on calories. Then another day, you can more calories but just feel HUNGRY all day! Been there, many times.

But still, I stick to the 1200 - 1400 calories a day. Why? Because it works. I promise. I've done it, I know it works.

Often what helps me, if I am a little hungry, especially at night, is the thought of how many times I went to be STUFFED beyond belief. I guarantee I’ve gone to bed overfull way more times than I’ve gone to bed a little hungry. So if your tummy is rumbling a bit as you close your eyes at night, remember, the sun will still get up, the earth will still move and you will be okay. Really, really. A little hunger never killed anyone. 1200 - 1400 calories a day is no where near starvation. We can do this!

Matthew 5: 38-41
Matthew 5: 44
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm a little behind in posting my foods but I AM keeping track!

Saturday Eat's
Carnation Instant Breakfast - 170
Banana = 100
Funeral food = 350 (turkey, cheese, carrots, fruit, bite of brownie, lemonade)
Special K Protein Bar = 170
Sweet & Salty Bar = 170
Vanilla lite n fit Yogurt & Blueberries = 140
Total = 1100

I did eat some at the funeral but ended up not eating at all at the graduation party. I was glad there was just cake and not too many other goodies, I'm not a huge cake fan but am more tempted by bars and stuff. I ate my protein bar instead and then came home to another bar and some yogurt. Missing a lot of veggies though.

Sunday's Eats
Egg Beaters, english muffin, ham = 230
Salad w/ fruit & dressing = 170
Chipotle bean burger & light sour cream = 230
Arnold Selects Sandwich thin = 100
6 oz. cooked chicken = 285
Potatoes = 170
Broccoli = 50
Special K Protein Bar = 180
Total = 1415 calories

Monday's Eat's
Egg beaters, english muffin = 175
2 turkey sausages = 80
Special K Protein Bar = 170
Salad w/chicken = 250
Watermelon = 100
2 turkey veggie wraps = 450
Total = 1225 calories

Slimmer This Summer Week 4

2011-06-26T00:00:00.002-05:00

So how did this week go?

Are we staying focused on our goals? Wishful thinking isn't going to get those goals met. Oh how I know this! I can't tell you how many times I wake up just pumped and ready to have an awesome day only to find by the end of the day saying, "What was I thinking?!" We need to stay focused daily. *I* need to stay focused daily. I feel like I did "okay" for the week. I don't like doing just "okay". For ME, that is too close to "not good". I need to stay on track, stay focused and keep my head in the game at all times.

Game on people, game on!

Week 3 Challenge Progress

2011-06-25T00:16:00.004-05:00

I started the day good again on Friday, then it just kinda went downhill as I started snacking. We had a bunch of people over for pizza tonight. The kids all had a blast. I had planned to make a white bean nummy adult pizza but just ran out of energy and time. So I ate a taco salad before everyone came over so I wouldn't be hungry for pizza. Which I wasn't. My mistake was nibbling after everyone left. I had a small breadstick, took some crumbs from the brownies, then let my hand pull out a few handfuls of chips. And just like that, 350 calories later, I'm over on calories and still wanted popcorn that evening. So I didn't finish as hoped.

Friday's Eat's
Egg beaters, english muffin = 175
Yogurt & blueberries = 120
2 Turkey Wraps = 450
Special K Bar = 170
Taco Salad = 350
Brownie = 100
Breadstick = 100
Chips = 150
Popcorn = 100
Total calories = 1715 calories

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Progress Week 3

1. Track Calories = I've done this most days, slipped a bit on Thursday though. I still say it is the best way for me to stay on track. If I go too long without doing it, I totally lose control and it gets ugly.
2. Under 10,000 calories a week = Just over, if I was correct at estimating 1800 on my non tracking day, I'm at 10,270. I really wanted 10,000 to be my maximum so I am disappointed in myself for going over.
3. Water = Beginning of the week I drank a lot. By the end of the week I was having trouble getting it in. I need to step it up and drink more. Notice the trend? Beginning of the week I did better on calories, tracking AND water, then it went downhill. Something I need to think about next week.
4. Lose 18 lbs. = Uh, I pretty much just broke even. What with vacation last week and what I did this week. The scale was looking good mid week then spiked here at the end of the week, I'm hoping it has to do with the TOM. 1 lb. loss for challenge/ 17 to go.
5. Exercise = Better. I still don't really have a routine but I'm not sure that will actually happen. I'm getting faster at walking, and I'm amping up the other workouts. I did some newer exercises and got some muscles moving that hadn't moved in awhile so it's good. I'm still looking to for more consistency.
6. Encouragement = I know that I was able to visit and see everyones progress for last week but I haven't been around much besides that. There has really been a lot going on here. Everyone is busy though, I get that. In fact, I am totally falling asleep writing this.

Certainly room for improvement, I'm hoping the scale will be nicer next week.

This is linked with Motivational Monday at A Hippo with a Headband. Link up your motivational posts there!

Weekends

2011-06-24T06:37:00.000-05:00

Ready for the weekend? Have you planned your meals?

Ha! It's not so easy as the weekdays is it? BBQ's, shopping, company coming over, parties, whatever. Every weekend seems to be different doesn't it?

My weekend this week includes a pizza party at my house with 15 kids, a funeral and a graduation party. Talk about 'not your normal weekend'. I have plans for pizza tonight which DOESN'T include takeout and breadsticks. I am eating lunch before the funeral as I have no idea what will be there. I know there will be pulled pork and Subway sandwich at the graduation so I know how to eat there. No chips, no pop. No cookie.

Have you made a plan for you weekend? Don't leave eating and your healthy to chance!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wednesday's Meals

Egg beaters, english muffin = 175

Banana = 100

2 Sloppy Slaw Joes = 450

Special K Bar = 170

Blueberry Muffin = 220

1 cup Spaghetti & Bean chili = 170

Total calories = 1285 calories

Lots of water

I made blueberry muffins for the kids, I wasn't planning to have one but while photographing,they got the better of me. The only change I made to the recipe was to use 1/2 whole wheat flour. The spaghetti & bean chili was awesome! I doubled the recipe, added more beans and nixed the oil. Each heaping cup only came to 170 calories. Best, filling 170 calorie dinner I've had in awhile!!

Thursday Eat's

I started good, I had:

Egg Beaters, English Muffin = 175

Blueberries/Yogurt = 120

2 Sloppy Slaw Joes = 450

Then it went downhill. Not horrible but I just didn't track and I was just kinda snacky. It got super duper busy, I was incredibly tired all day and then ended up the day at a parade with 4 kids. I didn't really eat dinner, just a turkey sausage and a mini snickers bar from the parade. The kids had french toast. I snacked on dumb stuff in the afternoon and probably finished the day at around 1800 calories? I'm hoping I'm estimating high. That's the problem when you don't stick to the plan and don't portion out food, you're left with estimating which means YOU are no longer in control, the food is. I ignored the plan and let life get in the way. Big mistake. Busy weekend ahead, my plan is to STAY in control.

Salad Power

2011-06-21T18:25:00.000-05:00

A lot of people lament that dieting means they can only eat salads. Well, don't underestimate the power of a salad. They don't have to be boring. You can dress them tons of different ways. They can be a side dish, main meal or a snack.

I recently went to Wendy's and tried their new Berry Almond Chicken Salad. It was awesome! I came home and tried to recreate it. I bought Ken's Raspberry Pecan dressing. I LOVED it and it is 50 calories for 2 tablespoons. The picture doesn't show strawberries as I didn't have any at the time but I've made this plenty of time with the strawberries. I choose not to add the almonds as they the fruit is so flavorful, I don't really taste the almonds. Here is the recipe with 3 tablespoons of dressing which is a lot, you could easily get away with 2.

Berry Salad
BIG bowl of lettuce
10 raspberries
25 blueberries
1/2 cup strawberry halves
3 tbsp. Ken's Raspberry Pecan dressing (this is a lot)
Total calories = 160 calories

Add some protein to make it a meal. For about 150 calories, you can add 1/2 cup chickpeas, 3 oz. cooked chicken breast, OR 5 oz. turkey lunch meat.

If you prechop veggies and have them in the refrigerator, it's a snap to throw together a gorgeous salad for the family for dinner. When I have company, I'll dress it pretty like this and then toss but most the time we just fix our own a la carte with whatever veggies are on hand.

I use a lot of light dressings. Zesty Fat Free Italian is awesome as it is just 15 calories for 2 tablespoons. Another favorite is Paula Deens Peach Salad Dressing which is also only 15 calories for 2 tablespoons. I don't know about you, but I like to get as much bang for my buck when it comes to food. So if I can save a bunch of calories on dressing I will!

We love taco night. Everyone can build their own tacos just the way they want! Here is my Naked Chicken Burrito Bowl. The family usually puts theirs on tortillas but I prefer it as a salad. Use chicken or ground turkey for a fantastic meal. This salad has cheese but usually I opt to skip the cheese and add a dollop of light sour cream instead. This is a tasty, nutritious and highly filling meal. Measure your portions and this can come in easily under 400 calories for a huge salad.

Here's another night of taco salad. I will often make the Taco Meat ahead of time in a huge batch and freeze it. Then it's ready to be pulled out for a quick and easy meal anytime. 3 oz. of ground turkey Taco Meat, 1/2 cup salsa, 2 tbsp. light sour cream, a whole bunch of lettuce and maybe some onions and tomatoes will come in easily under 400 calories.

Then there is the simple side salad that can accompany any meal. I love just a simple bed of greens and a couple of tablespoons of my favorite dressing, Ken's Sweet Vidalia Onion lite. It's a bit higher in calorie but oh-so nummy! 80 calories for 2 tablespoons plus a bit of lettuce for 100 - 110 calories. Perfect.

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Tuesday Eat's

Egg beaters, laughing cow cheese & english muffin = 175

Ritz crackers & jelly = 390

Turkey sandwich = 250

Banana = 100

Special K Protein bar = 170

2 Sloppy Joes w/homemade sauce = 450

Blueberries = 50

Total = 1585

So much for salads today, huh? I woke up hungry and ate my egg sandwich early. I usually eat something else around 10 or 10:30 but forgot and then at about 11:30 I was all of a sudden SUPER hungry! I gave the baby some ritz crackers, took the jelly out for the other kids' lunch and sadly, went to town and started eating crackers and jelly. I've so done this before. The weird thing is I did count and measure too, which I guess is good. I just kept rationalizing, "Well, I guess this is what I'm having for lunch so it's okay to have more." Then an hour later felt stupid for eating it and proceeded to eat my already scheduled lunch.

I could have made up some difference by only having 1 of the sloppy joes but they were super tasty so I ate 2. Grr. I know how to do 1200 calories, I WANT to do 1200 calories but lazy me wins a lot of the time. It won today.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Diet

2011-06-20T10:55:00.052-05:00

I posted about this last summer and I want to post it again! I might have already, I can't remember.

This is the "diet" that I have tried to live by for the last few years:

1 hundred calorie snacks
2 times a day
3 hundred calorie breakfast.
4 hundred calorie lunch
5 hundred calorie dinner

That equals about 1400 calories. This works for me. I lose weight when I do this. When spot on, I try to estimate high on calories and round up on things so in theory the 1400 is the max calories ingested, hopefully in reality it's more like 1300. It's just a guideline, I don't follow it to the letter everyday.

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Sunday's Eats
Grapefruit = 100
2 Turkey Broccoli Slaw Wraps = 500
Special K Bar = 180
Hamburger = 320
Corn on the cob = 100
Salad w/veggies = 150
Total calories = 1350
Lots of water

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Monday's Eats
Egg beaters, lite english muffin & ham = 155
Grapefruit = 100
Pretzels = 120
2 turkey broccoli slaw wraps = 500
1/2 banana = 50
Chicken 3 oz. = 150
Potato = 200
Broccoli = 50
Special K protein bar = 170
Total calories = 1495

I would have done great today but for the protein bar tonight. I came home from a walk and just felt hungry. I should have just drank more water but instead went for a bar. I think the turkey wraps are more like 450 calories for 2 of them but I just round up.

So obviously I don't stick to the 1,2,3,4,5 diet to a TEE. I use it more like a guideline. It seems to work for me!

Slimmer This Summer Week 3

2011-06-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

So how was your week?! We're all waiting to hear how awesome you did. Okay, so maybe we didn't do THAT awesome. We still want to hear about it. If you didn't make your goals, how are you going to change next week so that you WILL meet your goals?

Life keeps us busy, let's not let life get in the way with our health though. It is too important to let it get pushed aside, WE are too important.

Let's link up our progress posts. Please link to the progress post, not your homepage as it is easier for all of us to see how you did. Email me if you have any questions!

I'm Back!

2011-06-18T20:00:00.001-05:00

Howdy! I'm back from vacation. Whew, what a week! Nice and relaxing but we did a lot of stuff.

Horseback riding, kayak and canoeing, and go carts.

Then there was mini golf, waterparks and rides.

We all got plenty of sun too. The weather was good. Nice at first, then it got cooler and cloudier mid week but by the end of the week it was hot and sunny again so we all went home a bit pink. Yes, I know there are no pictures of me. I was the one with the camera. The only picture of me was at a science museum and my baby took a picture of me in a machine with mirrors that just made me look like I only had a head, no body. Not a flattering shot. I so need to get more family pictures!

Food? Oh yes. The food. *sigh* I started well. Then it sorta went downhill. It wasn't horrible, it wasn't like major binging or anything but the longer I was away, the more distant I became from my goals. Yes, it was just a week but it was such a familiar place and there were so many familiar memories of what I USED to do that I gradually slipped back into not-so-good habits. I ate breakfast good but then snacked too much. The snacks we had were healthier than normal but I ate too many. I started each restaurant meal with a nice big salad with 90% veggies but then I ate more. More than planned. Not tons, but more than I should have. And I didn't completely avoid the dessert bar when there was one. Luckily there weren't too many.

I was also stupid and didn't track anything. DUH! Just because you're on vacation, doesn't mean it's a valid reason to not track your food. Somehow I missed that. Thump. Yes, that's me thumping my fist on my head. All in all, I'd say I had a couple really good days, a couple bad days and a couple so-so days. It could have been worse. It has been worse.

I didn't bother weighing myself this morning. I'm in major salt detox mode. I ate really well yesterday and today has been on track with a TON of water. I'll update weight at the end of next week.

Exercise went pretty well. We walked when we otherwise would have taken a shuttle. I didn't scope out the nearest bench as soon as we got somewhere. I took the stairs when we used to take the elevator. My little one even noticed that I would RUN up the stairs. I even went up and down the stairs a couple of extra times when I was alone and had a few extra minutes. So no weights or anything but plenty of walking, playing and swimming.

We got home late in the evening last night and after attending to my 500 emails (no joke), I stayed up way too late last night looking over all the link ups last week. I'm thrilled that so many have stuck with it and most are doing fantastic. I really needed to get remotivated again and your blog posts were awesome! There were several who posted challenge updates on their blogs but didn't link up though. We'd love to hear from all of you so we can keep up! I'll have the new linky tomorrow morning!

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Saturday's Eat's

Scrambled Egg Beaters w/veggies = 110
Special K Protein bar = 180
Salad w/chicken = 250
Turkey Wrap = 250
Turkey Wrap = 250
Total = 1040 calories
LOTS of water.

What I'm NOT Eating for DINNER on Vacation!!

2011-06-17T07:00:00.008-05:00

I'm on vacation with no internet access so this is a scheduled post. We're at Wisconsin Dells full of tasty restaurants and buffets. We love the buffets. It's easy for everyone to get what they want and you get a nice variety of food. Well, we ARE going to visit the same buffets this year but I plan to make better choices. I plan to choose the restaurants that have the best salad bars. Yes, I know that salad bars can be dangerous too but I have a better chance of choosing better if there is a salad bar rather than just all you can eat pizza.

Pizza Pub, the favorite dinner buffet. They have every kind of pizza imaginable. The chicken alfredo pizza is my favorite followed by the bbq chicken pizza. Then there is the hawaiian pizza, I just LOVE pineapple on pizza. That makes it healthier, doesn't it? Just kidding. :-) Plus they have pasta, garlic bread, fried chicken and a large array of tasty desserts.

Another favorite restaurant we go to is Ponderosa Steakhouse. Sorry, but this is just an overeaters dream house. You go there and order a steak dinner with all the trimmings, loaded baked potato and maybe some fried shrimp on the side for only $3 more. Then, you have access to their all you can eat salad bar. Now, this is not just a salad bar. This is a full meal buffet. Not only do you have fruit and salad but you have tons of pasta salads, chicken, pizza, tacos, pot roast, breads, pastas and whatever else they throw on there. So you go there, you eat a whole plate of salad. You go back and get some of the hot food. And when you are half way done with that; here comes your steak dinner that you just ordered. By this time, you're not overly hungry for it but you ordered it and gosh, it sure does look good. So you eat it. Or maybe most of it and take the rest back to the hotel. Then of course there is the dessert bar that isn't the greatest but you sample some; just because it's there.

So, here's the deal. We will be going to both of these restaurants and others too. The last couple of years, I have been making better choices. Not perfect choices, but better. This year, my goal is to make even better choices. My plan is to attack the salad bar and avoid the pizza and steak dinner. I might get some grilled shrimp at Ponderosa, we'll see. I'm planning to avoid the breads, desserts and the pasta salads and sticking to salads and veggies and watching my toppings. They usually have black or garbanzo beans which I love. I won't be perfect. I'm going to sneak a couple of the kids' fries, have a bite of the husbands steak and probably have something I shouldn't. But I am really going to be aware of what I am eating and will walk away satisfied and not stuffed beyond belief.

I'll be back in a day or so and I can't wait to let you know how I did!! I'm hoping to get pictures of what I eat to keep me accountable. We'll see if I actually remember to bring the camera everywhere I go.

What I'm NOT Eating for SNACKS on Vacation!

2011-06-15T12:00:00.002-05:00

I am a big snacker. In the past, vacation has been like the excuse for ultimate hotel snacking. It's like "I'm on vacation and I can eat whatever I want because I'M ON VACATION!". Well, that attitude has gotten me in a lot of trouble. My kids have developed that same attitude. They know that we have certain "vacation treats" and they look forward to them. Chips are not allowed at home, yet we frequently would buy many full bags of chips for vacation and eat them continually. I shudder to think of it now.

Another typical vacation treat are Nutty Bars. I can't be trusted with these things so we only bring them on vacations. We usually bring like 2 big family size boxes. This is a snack that often is accompanies by more chips. What the heck was I thinking? Don't even get me started on the Bugles and Easy Cheese "tradition". Oh yea.

Well, this year, there will be no big bag of chips, nor will there be nutty bars. Are we going to eat super healthy the whole time? Probably not, but I am hoping that we can limit treats and not just go stir crazy and pile junk, upon junk in our bodies constantly.

Instead of chips, we plan to bring popcorn. Now, if only we just don't BURN it like we do every year!

We all like the Nature Valley Granola bars. They might not be the healthiest of snacks but everyone likes them but not enough to want to eat 12 at a time.

I am also bringing fruit. This is easy to store in a hotel room plus they are easy to bring to the pool. All the kids like fruit.

Another must have for me is yogurt. We'll of course buy this when we get up there. Again, most of the family likes yogurt and it's a healthy, filling snack to enjoy.

We have 12 weeks of this challenge. Many will be going on vacations or long weekends. What kind of snacks will you be bringing?

What I'm NOT Eating for BREAKFAST on Vacation

2011-06-14T08:00:00.002-05:00

WooHoo!!! I'm on vacation! We have been going to Wisconsin Dells for vacation for many years. It's only about 4 hours away (with bathroom breaks) and the kids just love it. I don't have internet access so this is a scheduled post.

The Slimmer This Summer challenge continues even on vacation. We usually bring breakfast with us. It's much cheaper than eating out for breakfast.

In the past I'd bring pastries of some sort. One of the favorites are those powdered donuts? You know, those mini ones that you can eat like 10 of them in one sitting? Yea, well, this is what we WON'T be eating for breakfast.

Another thing we'll be skipping this year are the poptarts. Quick and easy for sure but way super high in sugar and they don't fill you up for a minute.

Instead, I'm bringing a couple boxes of cereal for the kids, frosted shredded wheat and cheerios. And I am bringing oatmeal packets. The rooms always have a microwave and these are quick and nutritious.

We also have a room with a larger kitchen and refrigerator so we'll be getting a gallon of milk while there. I am also bringing Carnation Instant Breakfast, no sugar added. If there was one thing I got out of previous challenges, it was to appreciate this. I am NOT a milk drinker and this makes milk delicious! Plus it's loaded with vitamins and it's FILLING. Seriously filling. I use 1% milk which makes it only 170 calories and it keeps me full for hours.

So what are you having for breakfast??

More about what I'm NOT eating on vacation tomorrow!

Slimmer This Summer Week 2

2011-06-11T07:25:00.002-05:00

Week 1 is over and we're starting week 2 of the Slimmer This Summer challenge? How is everyone doing?

I'm leaving soon on vacation so I'm putting up the linky post early. Let us know how much weight you've lost and how the exercise is going. Any new sore muscles this week?

So go ahead and link up your progress report. It will be up through Monday. I don't care when you post your progress. If you weigh in on Wednesdays, go ahead and link up Wednesdays post. If you don't post it until Monday morning, fine, just get it linked up. It will all balance out in the end. Just post to your progress post, NOT just to your blog please. It will be easier for everyone to see how you're doing.

I don't have internet access on vacation so if there is anything you need, email Mir aka Princess Dieter and she can help you.

Vacation!!

2011-06-10T01:33:00.056-05:00

Well, I am officially on vacation. No more daycare kids for an entire week. Whew!

We're off to Wisconsin Dells. We pretty much go there every year after school gets out. It's a nice way to celebrate the end of school and it's early enough to avoid the peak season prices.

I don't have internet access next week so I have scheduled posts for what we are planning and NOT planning to eat while on vacation.

I've noticed that several have different email addresses on their linky posts than what I have. I have sent out a few group emails, if you have NOT received one, let me know and I'll get you on there.
If you have any questions, contact Mir, she knows how to eat well and she is awesome with the exercise. She has helped me so much I can't thank her enough! She'll have great suggestions if you need meal ideas or exercise questions. I can't wait to catch up on all your blogs when I get back!

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Progress - Week 1
It hasn't been a whole week yet so this is a couple days early but 4 days into the challenge, this morning I was about a pound down from Monday morning. Exercise hasn't been as good as I would have liked. I got 2 walks in this week, 2 DVD's and only one "bottom of the stairs exercises". Just some random exercises I do including going up and down stairs a ton of times. Today was kind of a snacky day. Just finishing leftovers out of the frig and stuff. I went a bit over but it should be okay.

1. Track calories - Done every day.
2. Under 10,000 calories a week - I averaged 1290 for the week, including today's 1480 calories.
3. Water - Lots of water, no problems there!
4. Lose 18 lbs. - 1 lb. in 4 days (I weighed this morning). 17 to go for goal.
5. Exercise - So-so. I didn't blow it off entirely but I could have done more.
6. Encouragement - I've been trying to comment and read as many blogs as possible. I think I'm following everyone, if you haven't received a comment from me, I might have forgotten to hit follow and I'll double check that when I get back from vacation.

Not going to lie. I'm scared about vacation. A lot of restaurants in 8 days. Vacations have always been a huge eating fest. Embarrassing but true. We've gotten better the last few years but this year I plan to be outstanding. How awesome would it be to come back having lost weight? I'm shooting for it! This vacation is about relaxing and enjoying my family, NOT about food! See you all next Saturday!

Shoes Make Me Happy

2011-06-09T18:48:00.000-05:00

I had a cavity. I hadn't had a cavity in almost 10 years. So I went to the dentist this morning. I walked. Yea! I walked. Granted, it's only like 2 - 3 blocks away but still, I walked. There truly is nothing worse than the sound of that drill in your head. I'm going to have nightmares tonight about it!

My daughter came with me and we passed a garage sale on the way back. The husband was back at home with 9 children here so clearly I wasn't in any hurry to get back home. We took our time and browsed. I scored a pair of jeans and jean capri's that fit perfect! They looked brand new. Plus I got a shirt that fits nice too. The daughter got a pretty shirt as well, it might be a bit low cut so she'll have to throw a tank top under it. Then they had a nice pair of winter boots that will fit my oldest son and hopefully will be passed on to the younger one eventually. The best thing was the shoes I got. They had a ton of nice shoes but many were in a size 7 and too small. Some had some wicked heels and I don't do wicked heels. Maybe when 50 more lbs. are off I'll try it. So I got some sandals with a low heel. They are a bit big but with a sandal, it's no biggie. They are comfortable and I love them! So 2 pairs of jeans, 2 shirts, boots and shoes for $9.75. I left happy.

Anyways, I come home from the dentist all numbed up, crooked smiling like an idiot, while the kids are trying to make me laugh so I continue to smile like a doped up idiot. I could feel the novocain all the way through my eye. Not pleasant. Mental note: Brush more so I can avoid more cavities.

Numbness didn't wear off until about lunchtime, at which point I was super hungry. Drinking was a unique experience with a numb mouth. Still had to get the water in though!

We're getting ready for vacation so Hubs was nice enough to go to Costco. He fell prey to a bunch of samples that I never would have ~~let~~ encouraged him to buy. He tried to tell me about all the antioxidants in these. I ate one. Ummmm, they are candy. Period. 1/4 cup for 180 calories. I'll stick with my blueberries.

Then he tried hard to convince me how healthy these are. "The lady giving the samples said they were healthy!!" Well, they probably are healthier than regular chips but chips are my weakness. Big time. I ~~told~~ asked him to take them to work. I bought the veggie sticks at Costco quite awhile back because they were "healthy" and made from vegetable. Yea, I ate the whole bag practically. Nothing healthy about that.

One good move was the Special K Protein Bars. They have pretty good stats, 10 g. of protein, 180 calories. I had one for snack but it sorta turned into dinner. I wasn't really hungry after it. Score.

The rest of the day was pretty much the same as it has been all week for food. Same egg, cheese bagel. Leftover enchilada for lunch with a salad with a bunch of fruit on it. Yogurt for a snack. I made some leftover pasta for the kids with a bit of garlic bread, I did snag a bit of it. I doubt it was as much as 100 calories though.

Egg Bagel = 175
Enchilada = 250
Salad = 175
Yogurt = 100
Protein Bar = 180
Garlic bread & sauce = 100
Popcorn = 100
Total calories = 1080

Committment

2011-06-08T17:35:00.001-05:00

There are a lot of online challenges out there. There is a great online support system for those who willing to listen and take the counsel of the people who give it. I started this challenge to help myself of course, but also to lend a hand to those who are also struggling. There are naysayers out there who say that we can't do it. We will fail. Again. Failure is not an option here people.

I am very busy. We're all busy. We all have jobs, family, housework, pets and a whole lot of other junk in our lives. The busyness isn't going to go away, if anything, in this fast pace growing world, it will just get more busy.

I've spent way too much time being busy and taking care of other things in my life. It's time that I make weight loss a priority in my life. I've spent too much time ignoring myself and my body has paid the price. I know that life is busy, it always will be busy. But we all need to make the time to do this. All I ask is for the next 12 weeks that all challengers take this seriously and make this happen. I am committed to this challenge and I hope that everyone else continues to be committed for the next 12 weeks.

Is it unrealistic for me to think that 50 some people will persevere through this for the next 12 weeks, link up each week and meet their goals? Probably. But I'm not willing to concede to that. We all joined for a reason. To lose weight. So let's make that happen. Every last one of us!

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Wednesday Eats:

Food started out the same today. Another light bagel, laughing cow cheese and egg beaters. I have 2 bagels left in the frig and 2 days until vacation so guess what I'll be having for the next 2 days? They are good, I've even eaten them for a snack before.

Then for my morning snack, I had my yogurt with about 10 blueberries crammed in the top. I so love having fresh fruit around!

For lunch, I made a huge salad with broccoli, croutons, turkey and light Vidalia Onion dressing. Yum!

With some more fresh fruit, this time raspberries. Everytime I eat raspberries, I think of when I was a young girl and my dad had raspberry bushes. We picked them and probably ate more than we took home. So as soon as I bite into one, it brings me right back there.

I made chicken salad in the afternoon for the kids to eat for dinner. They don't go for the enchiladas like I do so this was an easy alternative. I love it and wanted something else to eat after my light lunch so I had a cup. I used the picture from my blog and I didn't really have the apple next to the picture. We're trying to use all the fruit before vacation and the apples are officially gone!

Then dinner was out of the freezer. I made these Black Bean, Corn, Zucchini Enchiladas about a month ago. I didn't even eat one as I was doing the liquid diet during this time. So I'm eager to try them. I ended up freezing 2 - 8 x 8 pans of them so you'll be seeing them again. I haven't even posted them on my blog yet. They come in at about 250 calories per enchilada, that's rounding up actually. I was pretty hungry and ended up eating 2 of them. Now I'm really full.

Egg Bagel= 175
Yogurt/Blueberries = 110
Salad = 275
Raspberries = 10
1 cup Chicken Salad = 260
Black Bean & Zucchini Enchilada = 500
Total calories = 1330

Hot Tuesday!

2011-06-07T20:07:00.000-05:00

We have had the coldest, most dreary spring that I can remember. Barely any nice days at all. Now, it's the beginning of June and it's 101 degrees. 2 days from now it's supposed to be a high of 66. Go figure. Funky weather. Only in Minnesota.

The kids had a blast playing with the hose and sprinkler. Actually, one of the daycare kids sat on the sprinkler and broke it the first 5 minutes. So they just played with the hose.

Then they played in the hobo pool. I can't have a pool as I do daycare so they make due with toys bins that they dump out, fill with ice cold water and take their turns plunging themselves in the water. We're really classy here.

Breakfast started out about the same as yesterday. I added a few oranges that the kids were eating for breakfast.

Hubs was nice enough to go to the store for milk, lettuce and fruit for the week. He came home with this jar of pickle spears. The jar lasted about 10 minutes as the kids at it like they had never seen food before. I even had a spear myself.

For lunch, I made an awesome salad with a ton of fruit; strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Plus some fat free Raspberry Pecan dressing. Deliciousness.

Then I had leftover apple and onion quesadillas from last night. Today I put a tablespoon of BBQ sauce over it. It was awesome! So awesome in fact, that I had another one for dinner!

Then I got snacky. I love to snack, I just need to choose wisely. This is not the best of the bars. It's more like a candy bar. They are REALLY good. Not the greatest stats, 3 g. of protein and 170 calories.

I knew I wasn't going to have anything special for dinner so the snackiness continued. I work at home, I love to snack so somedays, this works for me. As long as I'm staying within calories, I'm good. So next came my yogurt. I love the thick and creamy ones!

For dinner I had the other apple, onion, BBQ quesadilla, along with some pineapple. Then I had another portion of the filling without the tortilla. It was good just as a chicken salad. Hubs was nice enough to buy 2 pineapples today. There is a coupon for $1.25 off of 2 pineapples on Coupons.com if you're interested. You can print the coupon twice. This was a little tart but still delicious.

I said it was hot, so for dessert, I had 2 of these bad boys. Highly tasty! I hadn't planned these but they were good on a hot night.

Tuesday's Eat's:

Egg Bagel = 175

Oranges = 35

Pickle = 5

Salad = 160

Apple Quesadilla = 230

Sweet n Salty Bar = 170

Yogurt = 100

Apple Quesadilla = 230

Apple Quesadilla filling = 120

6 oz. pineapple = 85

2 sugar free fudgsicles = 80

Total calories = 1390

Are We Taking Our Goals Seriously?

2011-06-07T05:56:00.003-05:00

So we all have our goals in place. Now. What do we do with them?

It's one thing to write them down and plan the goals but it's another thing to actually implement that plan. How are we going to do that?

We recently discussed a religious article that focused on seriousness. It was stressing that we should be serious about our spirituality and stay focused as to our spiritual goals. The article brought out that the world places a lot of its focus on "love of pleasure." (2 Tim. 3:4). It also said that we need to have a balanced view of seriousness and relaxation and use Jesus as an example as he took his ministry seriously but also took the time to relax and develop meaningful relationships. (Luke 5:27-29, John 12:1,2).

Okay, so why am I quoting Bible scriptures on a weight loss blog?

I couldn't help but see the similarity with weight loss. Obesity is rampant all over the world, the world is more unhealthy because of obesity than ever before. Clearly, the love for pleasure (food) is taking precedence over in our lives. How many of us have tried dieting, only to fail and say "It's too hard!" or "I can't do it!" If weight loss is that important in our lives, then we will TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. It will not just be a casual, passing thing in our lives.

Food can be enjoyed and pleasurable. But if abused, it can and will hurt us or kill us.

Another bible reference I like it "Faith without works is dead." (basic english) James 2:17. I have faith in the bible and what it says. However, just reading it or holding it doesn't help me, I need to put into practice Gods standards and live my life by it. Likewise, I have faith that my plan for weight loss will work. However, if I fail to continually put that plan into practice and hold myself accountable to live my life that way, then it won't work. Simple faith isn't enough. It takes effort, vigorous effort.

We have our goals. Now it's time to take those goals very seriously and put effort into accomplishing them. This isn't simply something that we should do or want to do, it's something that we all need to do. Now.

Day 1. Off to a GREAT START!

2011-06-06T19:05:00.000-05:00

I like to record my food on my blog. My plan is to take pictures of what I eat as well. Although, don't be surprised if that isn't consistent. It's a busy summer and it just might not happen everyday. Half the time I can't find my camera either. It's the first day of the challenge so I wanted to start out good!

I'll warn you, I can be a boring eater. I eat a lot of leftovers and I often will eat the same breakfast for 2 weeks straight. I actually do better with consistency and little change. This week will probably be even more boring as we're going on vacation next week and I'm just trying to use up things out of the refrigerator and use freezer food.

Plus, I told the family that I plan to take a break from cooking. Obviously I need to cook but I am like 2 months ahead with posts for my food blog so I don't feel the need to make a whole bunch of new recipes. That being said, I ENJOY making new recipes so I'm sure there will still be plenty.

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Monday's Eats:
Breakfast: Egg beaters, Kims Light Everything Bagel & Garlic Herb Laughing Cow Cheese = 175 calories

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Morning snack: 1/2 cup vanilla light n fit yogurt + 1/2 cup blueberries = 100 calories

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Lunch: Broccoli salad & Bean Burrito = 355 calories

I didn't get shopping yesterday so I didn't have any lettuce for a salad. Actually, I don't have too many fresh veggies at all. But I did have some broccoli so I made a broccoli salad. 3 oz. of broccoli, 2 tbsp. fat free Raspberry Pecan dressing & 1 tbsp. sunflower seeds = 130 calories of deliciousness.

To finish off my lunch, I had a Chipotle Bean Burrito. I made a huge batch of the bean glop the other day and there was still some in the refrigerator. I didn't have any toppings but it is so flavorful, I love it just as it is. Super simple and very filling. 1/3 cup bean glop and a 100 calorie tortilla is about 225 calories. It may not look pretty but trust me, it is delicious.

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Snack: Watermelon = 100

I think I've already cut about 6 watermelons this summer, at least. The family loves it and it's cheap!

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Dinner: 2 Apple & Onion Quesadillas w/2 tbsp. light Sour Cream on Whole Wheat Tortillas = 440 calories

I made these awesome quesadillas with cooked chicken, onions, red peppers, cheese and apple. Dipped in a bit of sour cream, they were delicious!

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Breakfast = 175
Snack = 100
Lunch = 355
Snack = 100
Dinner = 440

Total = 1170 calories

Today went perfect. Not hungry at all and eating on plan. Let's hope the next 83 days of this challenge go as well!

The Slimmer This Summer Challenge Begins!! Week 1

2011-06-05T00:13:00.001-05:00

Woo hoo! We're off and running for the next 12 weeks with The Slimmer This Summer Challenge.

The official "rules" post is here but here is a quick reminder of what to do.

**Track food and water. Use an online food tracker, your blog or a post it note but write down your food and water.

**Keep calories around 10,000 or less per week. Make healthy, smart choices. Ask for help if you need suggestions for meals and snacks.

**Stay hydrated. I can't believe how much this has helped me with weight loss. I believe that a person at a heatlhy weight is supposed to drink 8 - 8 oz. glasses of water. We are overweight so we need more. Shoot for at least 10 - 8 oz. glasses a day. I drink about 120 oz. of water a day which is about 15 glasses. Yes, I'm in the bathroom a lot but I'm well hydrated. It does get easier as you go!

**Weigh in weekly. You don't have to tell us what your starting weight is but please tell us how much you've lost each week. Weigh in on June 6th and let us know each week in your review post.

**Stick to your exercise goals. Let's do more than just "get up and move". Let's sweat a litttle and make exercise a bit of a challenge. If you're new to exercise, start slow but stay steady and you WILL see improvement soon. If you already have a good exercise routine, change it up and kick it up a notch. Ask if you need some suggestions. Mir is the exercise queen and she'll be able to help a lot.

**DO NOT QUIT. I can't stress how important this is. If you have a bad day or week, pick yourself up, get over it and get back on track.

**Keep blogging. Blog about your successes, blog about your failures, blog about your NSV's. We love to hear about them. Stay accountable.

**Encourage others. While it's hard to read everyday and comment every day, please try to visit the other challengers as much as possible to encourage and offer suggestions. Encouraging does not necessarily mean coddling. We're not going to tell you "it's okay that you had that jelly donut...". We're going to tell you to knock it off and get back on plan! No meanness, no judging, just helpful encouragement.
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Below I have a linky for you to link in your initial goal post. Many of you have already posted this and that's great, just link directly to that post so we can all see your goals. If you haven't finished your goal post, please get it in and link it in. The link will be up for the next few days.

Each Sunday night, I will put another post up with a linky at the bottom so we can see how you've done. Let us know how much weight you've lost and if you've met or exceeded your exercise goals. You can do your post whenever but lets try to link in the "week in review" posts on Monday so we can all see how you've been doing.

Remember, this is supposed to be fun and encouraging but serious too. Too many weeks of no successes, no weight loss, no sore muscles or no NSV's just isn't going to cut it. We're here to lose weight and get healthy. We've wanted this for a long time so let's finally DO IT. Not just talk about it. I know I've spent WAY too much time talking about it and wasting time.

Email me if you want to join in.

Link in your goal post. Please link to the post itself and not your main blog. You can use your blog name as your NAME. Thanks!

Summer Challenge GOALS!

2011-06-04T18:40:00.001-05:00

So I've had 2 weeks to think about my goals. I've been reading many of your goals out there and they are great.

Now it's my turn with goals for the Slimmer This Summer Challenge.

1. Track My Food. Daily. I have been very hit or miss about this. Which is why I have been gaining weight. I'm hoping to track daily on my blog but the days get busy so I might not always post it.

2. Under 10,000 calories a week. I did well with 1400 calories per day when I first had weight loss success. I've been doing 1200 for awhile now. I'm hoping to go for a happy medium right in between there. This leaves no room for binges, splurges or mistakes.

3. Lots of water. I've been shooting for 120 oz. a day. When I drink this much, I'm successful with eating too. Water, water, water!

4. Weight Loss. I'm looking to lose 1 1/2 lbs. per week. I've done more and I've done less. I will be happy if I am successful with this loss for the next 12 weeks. So I'm looking to be 18 lbs. less by the end of August.

5. Exercise. Sigh. Consistency. This is a biggie for me. My plan is to walk 4 times a week. Treadmill or outside. I'm trying to increase speed and distance. I have an exercise routine that I call "The Bottom of the Stairs" exercise. This includes stairs, pushups, lunges and squats. I've been doing this once a week but I need to add a day and do this twice a week. This one really gets me sweating. I also plan to increase using the Wii Fit, Zumba Wii and exercise videos.

6. I want to be here for encouragement as much as I can. I want to read and comment on your blogs. I also am here if you want to email me. Writing on your blogs helps me so much. I am encouraged when you succeed and I want to help if you fail. I'll also kick the crap out of you if you fail and I expect you to do the same thing to me if I screw up.

My daughter is also doing the challenge with me. Her goals are similar. We're going to be writing down all her food and I'll teach her more about portioning and weighing food. I really don't know what to expect with weight loss for her. Her doctor says she still might grow an inch yet too. I'm looking for her to be under 140 I think. We'll do an official weigh in tomorrow morning but I think she has about 8 lbs. to go. We're just going to work on eating healthy, drinking lots of water and cutting out the junk. Plus, she is walking with me and hopefully will train for the same 5K she did last year in October.

This is linked with Motivational Monday over at A Hippo with a Headband.

Why I Want To Do This Slimmer This Summer Challenge

2011-06-02T19:04:00.002-05:00

I met Mir from Two Years To Happy Weight After online through another challenge. We were both motivated and were successfully losing weight. The challenge went through changes and it no longer was a good fit for us and while we truly appreciated the help, it just no longer was for us. But, we still needed a challenge. And we needed goals. Sure, we had the tools to successfully lose weight on our own but we LIKED being involved in something and love the motivation of being a part of something.

Mir is continuing to do great and is still losing weight!! I, however, have had a bad month and need a kick in the butt, big time. She and I pretty much thought of doing some sort of challenge at the same time. We at first had different views of how to do it but came together with the Slimmer This Summer Challenge.

I love to talk with others about things I truly believe in. If I find something that I believe in, I want to share it with the world. I go to my religious meetings and we're encouraged to share what we know with others. I believe strongly in my faith and will never hesitate to share it with others. I believe that by sharing what I know about the Bible will help others. So I do it. As often as I can. I love to do the same thing with weight loss. I want to share with others what I have learned and I want to help people to lose weight. Now, I don't know everything about the Bible and I certainly don't know everything about weight loss. Both I am still learning about continually. I still weigh 210 lbs. so clearly I have not mastered the art of weight loss. But I still believe that I have help to offer. I know a lot more than I did a few years ago at over 300 lbs.

When I talk with someone about the Bible, I hear the words I am saying and my own faith is strengthened and I learn from it. It's the same with weight loss. When I comment on someones blog about how to eat correctly or offer suggestions, I am hearing those words myself and I NEED to hear those words. So in helping others, I am helping myself as well. This is why this challenge is so important to me.

This is more than just writing down goals and "hoping" they work out. This is about making it work. Planning, journaling, scheduling exercise, and making some serious changes in our lives. No more talking about it. No more "wishing" that we could lose weight.
Make It Happen.

Dumb Diets

2011-05-30T06:32:00.001-05:00

My brother brought up his June/July issue of the Reader's Digest today. There are several pages of "dumb" things but I thought I'd share with you the Dumb Diets in this article.

Sleeping Beauty Diet

If you aren't awake, you can't eat, right? Advocates sedate themselves and sleep for days.

The Tapeworm Diet

Take one orally, or, according to tapewormdiet.net, "travel to a part of the world where beef tapeworms are endemic" and infect yourself that way.

The Cotton Ball Diet

Begin each meal with an appetizer of cotton balls. The balls will fill you up so that you won't want to eat as much.

The Baby Food Diet

Babies weigh next to nothing, so it makes sense to duplicate their diet, right? In this case, replace your meals with pureed peas, fruit, carrots, chicken, whatever. Just make sure it comes in those little jars.

Fletcherizing

Horace "The Great Masticator" Fletcher preached chewing each mouthful exactly 32 times until the food was "purified" and then spitting out what remained. This way, you get the nutrients with fewer calories.

Sources: listverse.com, dietsinreview.com, everydayhealth.com

Repeat, these are Dumb Diets so please don't try these at home.

My Daughter is Joining the Challenge!

2011-05-28T23:17:00.000-05:00

My daughter, Danielle, is joining the Slimmer This Summer challenge. I wasn't sure about it as she just turned 14. In some ways, I don't think a 14 year old growing girl needs to be counting calories or dieting but she is overweight and needs to learn how to eat correctly. My hopes are that over the next 12 weeks, she will become more aware of what she is eating and learning better how to eat. She doesn't eat horribly and she is only slightly overweight. I do see an upward trend though if she continues this way. So I think this may be a crucial time to 'become aware' and get into gear.

She is 5'4" and just a little overweight by the guidelines. She certainly is sporting extra fat around the tummy and sides that would be nice to go away. As she is a teenager, she is becoming more aware of this and self conscious. We're not going to do anything extreme and I don't want her to be "hard core" dieting but we're going to write down everything she eats, portion and weigh things and get in some regular exercise. She doesn't have a blog so I'll just be entering it for her here.

Like me, for her regular exercise has been hit or miss. She did run a 5K last fall and she did awesome! Her attitude towards exercise is great, it just tends to get pushed to the side without reminders.

So together we're going to do help each other. We're both looking forward to it! I'm not entirely sure the difference in calories that a 14 year old should have compared to an adult so if anyone wants to help, let me know. My plan as of now though is just to eat well balanced meals in "normal" portions with healthy snacks. Isn't that really what we all should have?

Note To Challengers

2011-05-27T14:36:00.000-05:00

I am thrilled that so many have already committed to this challenge!I'm excited for the upcoming Slimmer This Summer Challenge to start! If you have let me know that you want to join, please make sure I have your blog name and your email address. I have a page on top of my blog listing all the challengers and their blog. If you want to join or you don't see your name there, email me and let me know and I'll get you added.

Something is up with google as I am unable to comment on many blogs. I AM reading, just not always able to comment. Hopefully they'll get it fixed soon.

Next weekend I'll be putting up a post with a linky for everyones initial post. That way it will be easiest for everyone to meet each other and see what everyones goals are.

Remember, we want this to be fun and encouraging but we also want this to be serious. I know we all seriously want to lose weight but we need to stay accountable to the goals that we post. This is going to take effort for all of us. There are going to be BBQ's, vacations and parties this summer. If we are serious about losing weight, these will not be excuses for us, right? Believe me, I'm talking to myself too. I haven't been doing the best this month and it's important for me to get on track along with the rest of you.

Why We Need Specific Exercise Goals

2011-05-26T08:17:00.000-05:00

Eat Less; Move More. Words to live by.

But what does move more MEAN? I made a conscious effort at one time to get off the couch and move more. I would actually play or follow my kids around more at the park rather than scurrying to the closest bench. I would get up and dance with the kids rather than sit in my chair and watch. Some days I would do some pushups on the sink and do a few leg squats holding a baby. Some days not.

That was moving more, wasn't it?

At the end of the day, somedays I would be moving more than before, somedays, I couldn't remember what I had done. While all that certainly helped some, it wasn't anything close to an exercise plan.

I admit, I've NEVER been in a good habit of exercise. Never. I've gone in treadmill streaks. I've been on it for 4 days a week for about a month and could certainly feel improvement in my legs and was getting faster. Then I'd stop. Then I'd go on the Wii fit for 3 weeks straight, every day. And then stop. I've never been able to do something consistently. I have a couple of exercise videos, I'll play them for a day or so, then fall flat. No consistency.

So here it is challenge time and it's time to set some exercise goals. I have to be more specific than just "move more". If I don't, it won't work.

The weather is in my favor and I've been walking more. Like trying to increase my speed and distance kind of walking. I plan to do this 3 times a week, minimum, though shooting for 4. I have specific things that I am going to do each day of the week.

I think one of the most important things is to schedule it. Don't try to fit it in. It won't work, believe me. If I schedule it in, like I would a dentist appointment, then it will actually get done.

I'm still working on the specifics but when it's time for the Slimmer This Summer challenge to start, I'll have put in place some goals for 12 weeks. Twelve weeks is certainly longer than I've ever done exercise consistently (pathetic I know, but true.) We still have a week and a half to figure out our goals and put them into place. I'm already putting mine into place and seeing what works and what doesn't. Plus, I'm really hoping to add and increase to my goals throughout the summer.

So what are your exercise goals??

Why We Track Food and Calories

2011-05-24T19:42:00.001-05:00

Eight more days until the Slimmer This Summer challenge starts! We already have a bunch of people committed to the challenge and ready to lose weight and get healthy.

Here are some answers to some questions:

Why are we going to try to only eat 1200 - 1400 calories?

When I first started on my weight loss journey a couple years ago, I counted calories. It worked for me. I aimed for about 1400 calories and the weight came off fast. For the last 6 months or so, I've been aiming for 1200 calories and doing just fine. I'm well nourished, generally not hungry and sure enough, the weight was coming off. Obviously if you have medical needs for a different amount of calories or some other valid reason, we're not going to be the calorie police here. We're here to lose weight and we think that this is a healthy standard for losing weight.

Why do you want us to track our food on our blogs?

This is only a suggestion. I realize this isn't for everyone, but here's the thing; we're trying to come in under 10,000 calories per week. You could choose to eat your 10,000 calories in twinkies if you want. Aside from being malnourished, hungry and most likely sick to your stomach, you will still lose weight. However, this is a challenge that includes motivation and encouragement. We'd love to encourage each other to eat different foods and find out what keeps you full and what doesn't. If you write it down, it's easier to see what food group is missing. For me, today, I was missing vegetables. I came in decent on calories but not enough veggies.

I also am a boring eater. You're going to see that I eat the same breakfast for like 2 weeks straight. I like to get motivation to try something else. Not to mention I'm a total foodie and I just LOVE to see what you are eating! I'm going to try to post my meals daily. With pictures if I can.

You up for a challenge? Email me and let me know!

Need Help?

2011-05-22T13:43:00.000-05:00

It's easy to get fat by ourselves. We pretty much did it to ourselves. Granted, we might have been brought up in a not so healthy environment or we might have had obese parents who made junk for us to eat. But really, are THEY to blame? I didn't have someone forcing me to drive to the drive through to order multiple double cheeseburgers every day. Nope, that was all me. So it's pretty easy to get fat all by ourselves. No help needed.

Now, losing that weight, is another story. Certainly we CAN do it ourselves. Ultimately it is our decisions and choices that will change our lives. But isn't it so much easier when we have a support group? That's why Weight Watchers and a bunch of other diet organizations are so popular, they offer support and guidance.

Now, I've never been involved in Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig or any other well known diet organization. I have fairly recently found the blogging community though. And I am finding it full of support and guidance.

I have found myself in a weak moment, ready to eat something I shouldn't or just depressed about what I did, and I'll turn on my computer and find a comment or a post on someone else's blog that just says what I needed to hear!

When I started my weight loss blog, about a year ago, I wasn't initially looking for other people to help me. I viewed it as a tool to help me stay accountable and to visually record my results, positive or negative. I have since founds many invisible friends who help in different ways. It's still ME who is ultimately responsible for what junk I put in my mouth. But it helps to know there are many others who are looking to do the same thing.

Ready for the Slimmer This Summer Challenge? It starts in 2 weeks so we have plenty of time to write up our initial posts and goals. Email me if you are looking to join this small band of bloggers getting together to make a summer change. We're here to support one another!

Time Flies

2011-05-20T08:45:00.000-05:00

Ever notice how fast time seems to go?

I've spend SO MANY years talking about losing weight and basically doing nothing about it. I can remember thinking in the winter, "If I start now, I can easily lose 30 lbs. or so by the time summer hit when it's time to buy a new swimsuit." I'd make up my mind, I was going to do it! The weeks would pass and I would still think, "Well, there is still time."

Then all of a sudden, summer would be there. I'd be making lists for what to bring on vacation, planning summer BBQ's and parties...having lost no weight. Full of regret.

Was it already summer? Wow! That was fast!

It seems like losing weight takes FOREVER. We check the scale weekly, or sometimes even daily (guilty!), and it just doesn't seem to move.

Well, time is going to go on at the same rate whether we are dieting or not. Let's not let another 3 months, or 6 months or a year go by without doing something about it. Let's start NOW.

We will FEEL so much better and LOOK so much better.

You won't later regret if you start now, however, you WILL regret if you don't.

Slimmer This Summer Challenge. If this sounds like something to get you jump started or back on track, then email me and let me know.

What is Normal?

2011-05-18T22:12:00.003-05:00

I had a weird thought the other day. I'm almost normal fat. From MY perspective at least.

I used to look in the mirror and quickly look away because, "That can't be ME in the mirror!" . Major denial going on for sure.

Well, now I weigh less. While yes, I am still obese. I can look in the mirror. I don't mind having my picture taken. I feel more "normal". I'm as big as one of my friends who I never really considered fat.

But I'm still fat. And I really, really want to lose weight!

When I look around me, I see a lot of people who are overweight. The majority it seems. Actually, most the people I consider overweight, are probably obese. I'd have to be 169 in order to be just 'overweight'.

Heck, I'd feel downright SKINNY if I was 169. But I wouldn't be. I'd still be overweight. I've said before, "I don't want to be skinny." (sure I'd like it but I've never been so it seems unachievable.)

So what do I want to be? Overweight?

What is normal?

Ready for a challenge! Email me if you want to join our Slimmer This Summer Challenge!

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Today's Eats

Carnation Chocolate Breakfast - 170

8 Grape Tomatoes - 32

Key Lime Yogurt - 100

Pea and Peanut Wrap - 280

Pretzels - 100

1 cup Pineapple - 83

Pea and Peanut Wrap - 280

Steak - 200

Salad with Pineapple Poppyseed Dressing - 175

Total calories = 1420 calories

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I ate more than desired today. I am shooting for 1200 calories and clearly went over that. The pineapple and pretzels were NOT on the plan. But cutting into that pineapple was just too tempting. It was perfect.

Slimmer This Summer Weight Loss Challenge

2011-05-18T08:07:00.002-05:00

I've been a part of several online weight loss challenges over the last year. I started out with Biz's challenge which led me to many, many blogs that have helped me so much. I didn't have too much success with weight loss in my first couple of challenges but they each did help me a great deal.

One of the reasons I've loved being in these challenges is that I love to help and support people. I don't always have time to read everything and comment all the time but I love visiting people and witnessing their successes and trying to help when they fail.

My good friend Mir and I are starting our own challenge.  We're calling it Slimmer This Summer. It will run June 6th through August 28th.  12 weeks, 84 days of commitment to get fit! We would love to have as many people join us in this quest to get healthier.

Our goals are to lose weight and move more. Simple, huh?

Here's what we're going to do in this summer challenge. We're still working on the details but this will give you an idea of how it will go.
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I believe that to be successful you have to have a plan and a goal. Without it, you're just flying blind. Here's the plan.

1. Blog our goals!! Please do an initial post stating what your goals are. We have 12 weeks of this challenge. How much do you want to lose in 12 weeks? How much water or liquids do you intend to drink daily? How many workouts are you going to do? What is your exercise plan? Measurements? This way you'll have measurable goals to aim for. End goal could simply be an increased level of exercising or entering a 5K run or being able to do X number of repetitions or adding an extra hour a week. The type of exercise and level of challenge is an individual choice of each challenge participant. All the challenge asks is that you be accountable weekly to how you met your goals for calories, exercise, fluids and other personal challenge goals.

2. Tracking food and water is essential. It was the only way I have found success and if you talk with anyone else who has lost substantial weight, they would agree. Tracking and journaling is a must. I am planning to track my daily calories on my blog and encourage you to do the same. We'd love to see what you eat and share ideas! It certainly isn't manditory though.

3. I've tried different diets and have found that eating between 1200 - 1400 calories works for me. That comes to about 9800 calories per week maximum. Tracking calories keeps us aware of food labels and portioning. If you don't have a food scale, get one. They are inexpensive and essential for accurately tracking calories. Round numbers, let's keep it under 10,000 calories a week. TOPS. Water or liquids should be at 10 - 8 oz. cups a day. Good chance your body needs more than that so this is minimum! Keep hydrated!

4. Get moving! If you're already sticking to an exercise routine. Great. Keep it up and maybe see how you change it up or kick it up a notch. If you're like me and struggling to get into a routine, well then what the heck are you waiting for! Let's set some goals and plan our exercise for the next 12 weeks. Exercise should be "challenging", ie, get you to work up a sweat and get stronger. Whether you choose walking, biking, jogging, lifting weights, Pilates, CrossFit, home videos, salsa dancing, it should be for at least 20 minutes and should grow progressively more challenging as the weeks progress. If you start with 20 minutes, then increase it a bit week by week. If you are already doing an exercise regimen that works for you, then simply state your goals for how often/how long and keep accountable. We need to FIT exercise into our schedules. It's not going to happen by itself.

5.  We want to lose weight, so lets stay accountable and blog weekly with results. We're not going to be the scale police but we expect results.  Twelve weeks is enough time to see some awesome results from everyone. I'll put a linky up on a post on Sunday night. You can do a weekly results post over the weekend and post it to the linky on Monday morning so we can all see your progress.

6. No winners or losers. So don't quit! If you have a bad week, get over it and get back on track. That's what we're here for, to stay on track!   Challengers should have fun with this. It should be "challenging", but it should not be a huge pain in the keister. Blogging and the rules are to motivate, not to burden.

7. Challengers should support other challengers. Please consider supporting via comments on blog posts.
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No specific prizes but I do intend to do some giveaways at the end for those who stick with it and stay super supportive. More details on that later.

You are welcome to be in any other challenges as well. We all need as much help and encouragement as possible.

So there it is. The Slimmer This Summer Challenge. Email me or leave a comment with your email address if you're in! Please include the challenge button and link back to this post so others can join as well. Your initial post can be anytime between now and June 6th but I won't start tracking until the 6th. Email me with your initial post. I can't wait to see what your goals are!

Sunny Days

2011-05-17T20:50:00.002-05:00

Oh, this week is so much better than last week! The weather last week was cold, dreary and rainy. Now, it's FINALLY looking like spring in Minnesota! Everything is green and gorgeous!

Here is an awesome quote from Mir's blog Two Years to Happy Weight After:

FOOD IS NOT THE FIX FOR THE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU STRESSED OR SAD

Last week was stressed and sad for me and I turned to food. Nothing drastic but I was in a bad emotional state for a couple days. Food did not fix it. It only made it worse. We so all need to remember this!

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Today's Eats:
Bagel Thin, Egg Beaters, Laughing Cow Cheese = 175
Key Lime Yogurt = 100
Pea 'n Peanut Wrap = 280
1/2 cup Pea 'n Peanut Salad = 180
Banana = 120
Pretzels = 50
Taco Salad w/2/3 cup meat = 325 calories
Total calories = 1230 calories
Lots and lots of water

Here is the Pea and Peanut Salad Wrap. Lightened up a LOT and with some white beans for more protein and a whole wheat wrap. Very filling for 280 calories. Of course, then I went ahead and ate another 1/2 cup about 2 hours later just because it was so tasty!

Here is my awesome taco salad. I used the same meat I always make, 95 calorie for 1/3 cup. I didn't have refried beans so I used black beans but I think the calories are still about the same. 2 tbsp. sour cream light and some salsa and red onion! Yum!

Regrouping

2011-05-16T17:21:00.001-05:00

Okay. I needed some time to regroup. I did quit the challenge I was in before. I hate that I did because I hate quitting anything. But I did.

I was struggling with a lot of things. I wasn't following the meal plans perfectly for one thing, I was staying MOSTLY in it and staying within calories but I was not following it perfectly. Then came the Phase 6 Guinea Pig challenge. I was pretty gung ho at first and there were pro's and con's. I could see where it would get me focused to continue on afterwards by starting (again) so strict.

On the other hand, I was cutting some broccoli and cucumbers for my family one evening and totally, desperately wanted to snack on a cucumber.

Cucumber was not on the liquid diet.

That led to my "Aha moment" so to speak. I didn't want to continue on a diet where cucumbers are forbidden. It wasn't what I wanted to do anymore. I didn't want to feel guilty if I subbed something on the menus. I no longer wanted to rely on vitamins and jello to get me through the day. I get that this was voluntary and that I didn't have to continue and I just simply didn't want to anymore.

I also didn't like the way my blog was heading. I felt that it was becoming all about this challenge. I originally wanted it to express myself honestly and to record my meals. I was no longer able to do this. I didn't even want to continue writing on the diet blog.

I certainly was happy with the results that I was getting. I learned a lot from this challenge and made some very good changes in my eating. But I no longer wanted to continue doing it his way.

Another reason is my dad has been in and out of the hospital with different ailments and procedures and it just became too difficult to continue the liquid diet while dealing with that.

So I didn't. I stopped. I finished my 2 week guinea pig plan and I then opted to quit the challenge.

I needed some time to get my head back straight. I thought about just doing it on my own. I've done that before and it's worked. But I enjoy the support from others. I enjoy supporting others. With the help of a good friend, we're going to continue to use that support and start a summer challenge. I believe that we both will be more successful helping each other and if we can get others on board, then more power to us! More details tomorrow about the challenge.

Email me if you are interested in a summer challenge to get fit and healthy!

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Today's Eats:
Bagel Thin, Egg Beaters & Laughing Cow cheese = 175 calories
Orange Cream Yogurt = 100
Salad w/lots of veggies and dressing = 200
Blueberries = 40 calories
Turkey sandwich = 175 calories
1 oz. peanuts = 160 calories
1 cup Pea 'n Peanut Salad w/white beans added = 360 calories
Popcorn = 100

Total calories = 1310 calories

I didn't plan on eating the stupid peanuts. I hadn't had peanuts in a LONG time and holy cow they were good. They are safely hidden in the cupboard and will go to work with the husband tomorrow so no more damage will be done.

The Pea 'n Peanut salad was really good. I don't know where that website got their nutritional stats from but mine came in very nice. I used light mayo and Italian dressing and less peanuts which certainly helped. Plus I added a can of white beans for more protein. Because I snacked on the peanuts, I ate it just as a salad, but tomorrow for lunch, I plan to eat it on a tortilla as a wrap. Yum!

Day 92 of 120

2011-05-08T22:15:00.000-05:00

Whew! Busy weekend! Finally some sun! It was nice to be outside for a change and get rid of the gloom and doom. Wait, I forgot, it's supposed to rain all week. Well, it lasted for a little while.

Eating has been good. I'm short on liquids though. Funny when the routine is different on the weekends, it just gets out of whack.

I bought Zumba for the Wii and the daughter and I have been loving it. We get all the kids together and everyone dances to it. Everyone even has their favorite song now. I'm thinking about getting Just Dance for the Wii but I'm not sure about the song choices. Some I like, some I don't. It sounds like fun though and I'll bet the kids would love it!

Day 89 of 120

2011-05-05T19:09:00.000-05:00

Busy days.

Busy days makes no time for eating. Which is good. :-)

The current plan makes it so you don't have to think, you just eat what is on the plan. While this has been nice for the brain, I'm not so sure this is good for the future. I've always felt the key to what I needed to learn to eat, learn self control and learn to choose good healthy foods. This is how I hope to remain successful in the future.

I love my recipe blog. I love that I have learned to make healty, nutritious meals that are filling and healthy. Granted, everything on there isn't super healthy so don't judge! I look forward to making and creating new heatlhy and delicious meals to enjoy in the future. There have been a lot more leftovers this last couple of weeks in the frig without me eating them. I've been packing them away in the freezer for my dad too so he's been pleased. Still, I look forward to enjoying new recipes again!

Day 85 of 120

2011-05-01T19:47:00.001-05:00

Weigh in day! I'm out of the teens. Forever. It's been a good week and I am looking forward to another good week. The plan I am on is going well. I am eager to see how my body responds to week 2 of this new plan.

I've received several questions about this plan. Be assured that I am meeting my nutritional requirements and am not starving myself. Feeling hungry and starving yourself are very different. I've been full or stuffed WAY more times in my life than I've been hungry. Stuffing your stomach beyond capacity certainly sounds more dangerous than a few tummy hunger grumbles.

I also do not feel weak, fatigued or tired. I don't feel that I am doing anything extreme or dangerous.

Granted, the point of me doing this is to lose weight but it is also satisfying a curiosity for me. This actually isn't a dieting method that I have not previously believed in. I also didn't know much about it. I've been doing some research and finding out about it and learning more about nutrition. I'm curious what it is going to do and how my body will react during this time and what will happen after. Again, it's not dangerous, I'm fine.

Is this the best way to diet? Who cares. It's healthy and it's working.

Day 84 of 120

2011-04-30T23:21:00.001-05:00

We went over to a friends house for dinner tonight. They served fajitas. I love fajitas. (who doesn't?)

I panicked when they first invited me. Because I would be missing out on good food? No, that's not why. I panicked because I haven't been overly vocal about my new diet plan this week and I was afraid to let the cat out of the bag so to speak. Plus, I really didn't want to offend them by not eating this delicious meal they prepared.

Normally, I would just pick at something and eat a small bit. Well, this time, there was nothing I was going to eat. I ate my dinner before even going so I was satisfied. They kept telling me that chicken is healthy and that I just HAD to try the dessert. I apologized and told them not to be offended but this week I just had my certain foods I was eating and next time I would eat for sure!! In the end, they were very supportive and they understood what I was doing.

Again, it wasn't hard. I wasn't depriving myself or missing out on anything special. I'm sure the food tasted good but what I enjoyed was spending time with a great Christian family and having a wonderful discussion with them. That will be more memorable and important than any kinds of food.

Lets remember to keep our lives simple and focus on the more important things in our lives.