new recipe

In honor of the fall like weather we were experiencing today I decided to try out the centers chili recipe. Theirs calls for 4 oz of beef but I decided to go for ground chicken breast instead.

I cooked up 7 oz of ground chicken breast seasoned with a bit of chili powder and chipolte seasoning from Ms. Dash. While that was cooking I threw a diced tomato into my food processor with some minced onions and a bit more chili powder. Once the chicken was cooked I added the tomato mixture to the skillet along with a 1/2 c. chopped mushrooms. I let that simmer for about 10-15 min.

The end result was okay. I will probably make it again but it seems to be missing something so I will have to do some more experimenting. Clearly I needed more chili powder and I think instead of minced onion I might actually use a real onion chopped up. I also think it would be nice to pair this with my bread and butter servings for the day.

So the run down on this meal is a protein serving, a full veggie serving, and half of a veggie serving. Pretty filling dinner.

Happy eating!

A new low

Well, it has been a while since my last post. I finished out the week break and my number from the scale today.... *drum roll please*

190.4

Yup that makes me pretty darn excited!!! This makes the total weight loss since Aug. 13 27.6 lbs. This leaves me about 25.4 lbs left. It is nice to be half way there! Plus this is the lowest I have EVER been!!! :o)

People can also see the results now which is always a great motivator. I even got to go shopping for quick celebration for getting through this far. I ended up purchasing just a couple shirts. It was great though because they were a smaller size than what I actually normally used to purchase. I LOVE it!!!

Hope you are feeling as good as I am... happy eating!

another one bites the dust

Pound that is. :o) Official number today is 193.

Today also started the 7 day break. I will be honest, I am on day one and I already miss my carbs. I think it is the whole mentality of I want what I can't have. I will tell you, it is a butt load of food.
2 eggs for breakfast & 1/2 a grapefruit. 2 cups of salad, 7 oz of protein, & 1/2 a grapefruit for lunch, same for dinner PLUS 1/2 c. of cooked veggies. That is a lot of food to try to consume in one day and I have to do that for 5 days. UGH!

Oh well, it all is for the greater good. Just so you know I sampled a new bar this week, Cinn. Oatmeal Raisin. OMG it is AMAZING!!! I couldn't taste the raisin which is a good thing because I am not the biggest fan of those. I'm telling you I am in love with this bar!

Hope you are finding things you love! Happy eating!

another week down

Well I end this week weighing in at 194 even. That is really only 1 lb down from last weeks final weigh in. It provided the counselors support in their choice to have me do a 7 day break next week.

The 7 day break consists of me eating a semi-specific menu for 5 days, but during that time I don't get any dairy or starches. UGH!!! I am going to HATE not getting to have my bread or crackers or something like that. But I am assured "it is worth it". After the 5 days I will have 2 days of my unlimited meat and raw green veggies. After that I get to jump back on the normal routine. I am told not to expect to lose next week so I want to pass that along to you. Next week really is to trick my metabolism.

In addition to this quick change, I also purchased a new metabolizer vitamin. Apparently this one is supposed to be really awesome and more effective than the normal one. It is more expensive however instead of taking 6 a day I am supposed to start with 2, they will increase the amount based on how well it works so I could stay at 2 or I could go all the way up to 6. If I only need 2-4 a day that will actually make it less expensive in the long run from the "normal" one. I will keep you posted.

My final piece of news is a quick learning I had this past week. I was waiting for some chicken to thaw and it just wasn't getting there. I decided to go ahead and have a VHP meal replacement instead. I also realized that as the night was coming to an end, I still needed to get another one of my supplements in. Creativity sparked and I decided to mix my vanilla VHP and my Strawberry Kiwi supplement. This actually didn't taste too bad, it was like a strawberry shake. Unfortunately, the supplement is a protein supplement and VHP (very high protein) may have been too much protein for my tummy. I went to bed that night with a tummy ache. I might venture to try this mixture again, but I am a little bit leery since no one ever really wants to sign up for a stomach ache. Yet another thing for me to keep you posted on.

Well that is all for today. Hope everyone has a good weekend! Happy Eating!!!

recipe #2 for the weekend

Today I again tried my hand at testing out a new meal. I had some asparagus that I really needed to use before it went bad so I did a quick search for chicken & asparagus recipes. I came up with one that, as usual, I took some liberties with in the making. I did enjoy it but I think had I made it the way they said to it would be much better!

My version:
Boil 1/2 c. water in the skillet then add 1 c. of fresh asparagus and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 3 min. Then remove the asparagus and drain the water.

Spray pan with non-stick spray and drop chicken (chopped into bite size pieces) and cook until no longer pink (stirring frequently). While chicken is cooking mix together 1 Tbs of lemon juice, 1 1/2 tsp dill weed, 2 tsp olive oil, and 1/8 tsp mortons lite salt. Once the chicken is ready add in the asparagus and the dill mixture, heat and eat. *I reduced the amount of oil since that really isn't plan friendly.

I enjoyed it! Their version involves making rice in chicken broth and actually mixing the dill mixture with the rice and serving the chicken/asparagus over it. Again, I didn't have the option of rice so I just removed that from the equation. I am also curious to see if there is a way I could have worked my "fat" into the recipe via the lite mayo. Mayo and dill always seem to go well together.

Give it a shot, hope you enjoy it. I am shocked I did since I really don't think I am a big fan of cooking with lemon. Happy eating!

awesomeness in a bowl

Tonight I really had a craving for fajitas (thank you McCormick commercial). I checked out my fajita seasoning and figured I could create something similar with my Mrs. Dash stash. Not to toot my own horn... but a... BEEP BEEP! :o)

I cut up my 6oz chicken into cubes then added Mrs. D's Fiesta Lime seasoning & Southwest Chipotle seasoning. I also put in some minced garlic and onion powder then topped with lime juice. I mixed all of that in a bowl and let it sit for a bit. While that was sitting I cut up 1/4 green pepper and 1/4 red pepper (equals 1 veggie serving on plan) into pieces.

I coated my pan with Pam and then started my chicken bites, once those were cooked a bit I added my peppers, then a bit of water. I prefer my peppers a little softer so if you like them crunchy you can delay the time you put them in to cook. This took about 15 min. total before it was ready. Top with some Morton's Lite Salt and you have yourself plan friendly "fajitas". If you haven't had your starch for the day you could use this with the tortilla serving you are allotted, but I had already had my starches so I just ate it as is.

I highly recommend this meal! Hope you enjoy it! Happy eating!

where did I go?

No where, I'm just really bad at updating. I would say that I am follow my sister's lead, but since I don't have a toddler I really don't think I can do that.

Before I give you the latest news on actual numbers, I will cover the past week. Let's just say it was another week of "falling off the wagon". Yeah, not so good. It started really on Saturday when I joined some friends for a birthday celebration. I went with the intentions of only have a beverage or two. I ended up having 3 and sadly they are really LARGE sized beverage glasses (like 32 oz). Sunday wasn't terrible in terms of plan but then Monday I started to develop a bit of a cold.

I opted to my cold it with some egg drop soup and Chinese food for dinner. For those who are new to the blog, or may not realize, Chinese food is no where NEAR plan appropriate. Then on Tuesday I found desserts again. I had some pieces of coffee cake, chocolate cake, and cheesecake on Wednesday. I think we can all agree that it was a series of bad choices. The whole time I also did not go weigh in... EEK.

Well when I went to weigh in on Wednesday I found that I was up 1.2 lbs. Seriously, not bad considering all the bad choices. I jumped back on the wagon and when I went back to the center on Thursday I was back to where I was the week before. *I think we can say this is proof that the plan is awesome.

Today when I stepped on the scale (at the center) I weighed in at 195!!! so down 1.2 lbs from last week in the end. :o) Driving home I had to contemplate over the fact that it is taking me longer than I thought to get through this but then I remember if I keep making stupid choices... of course it will! Luckily I have people like my mom and my fellow KC Slimdown Challenge teammates to keep me motivated (or put me back on track when they see me eating too many desserts). There are only about 25 more days in the challenge and I feel a pretty strong sense of responsibility to get to where I said I would be at the end of the 10 weeks.

That is all for now. I promise I will do my best to not leave you hanging in terms of updates again. For now...happy eating!

a new start

Today as I stepped on the scale I reached my first goal. As I stepped on the scale, I weighed in at 197.8. I am now at the point I was my lowest 2 years ago!!! Down a grand total of 20.2 lbs!!!

I am so happy to be at this point again and I am very excited about reaching the big mile-marker I have set for myself. Even though it took a little longer to get here than I had originally planned, it is still a great feeling to get here.

Next week they are talking about "jump starting" my metabolism. I am not sure what all this entails, more details to come when I visit tomorrow I think. The counselor I met with today does have some reservations after the whole recent dental work. It is a lot of protein apparently and she doesn't know if I would be ok with all that chewing. I am sure it will be fine so perhaps next week will be a different regiment. I do know that they up the protein and the remove my starches (that might suck a lot), but if it is only for 5 days I think I can suck it up.

Well I hope everyone is also doing well in their progress toward healthy living. Happy eating!

hair option 2

hair option 1

Here is the first of what I assume may be many, options for my new do. :o)

Feedback is appreciated.

sacrifice leads to rewards

While I was a little bummed about not going on the float trip this weekend, today's visit to the center reminded me why it was the best choice. The scale read 199.2, this is 1.6 lbs down from Friday's visit!!! I can guarantee you that had I gone on the float, that number would be in the other direction. This is also .4 lbs less than what I weighed before the "big gain".

Let this be proof to you my friends that with hard work and dedication things can be accomplished. With the total loss being 18.8 lbs in just over 4 weeks, I am pretty excited at the progress. I even am noticing it in my clothes again. Pants that I purchased a month or so ago that were snug (and I mean SNUG) are now fitting almost on the baggy side.

Only 34.2 more lbs to go until the end goal, but for now we will focus on the next milestone. 19.8 lbs until I hit "mile-marker" #1. With that I have decided to celebrate by going and getting my hair done. Fancy pants cut & color (that costs more than $14). I am in the process of searching for my new look. Photos to come for voting. :o)

In the mean time I am off to make dinner...chicken! Happy eating my friends!

And it keeps on going...

Well another trip to the center today. After this week I am only up 1 lb from last week. I like to think that is pretty stellar seeing as how in a mere 4 days I was able to get back (almost) to where I was before the tooth business.

At this time I am averaging a little over 4 lbs a week, kind of sad because it was about 6 a week before last weekend. Oh well, 4 is better than putting it back on right??? Perhaps this weekend I may even get motivated to turn my treadmill around and start using it again! In case you couldn't tell I chose not to go on the float trip.

The only other piece of news is that I bought new supplements today. Since the last time I did the program they have a lot more choices of supplements so I am enjoying testing them out. Thus far I tried a caramel brownie bar and the chocolate mint. Both are amazing!!! The chocolate mint has probably been my favorite. Today I picked up a couple drink mixes (since I have to have those at least once a day but they haven't changed) and then my old favorite the double chocolate bar. I also bought the caramel crunch bar and these double cheddar bites. I tried the double cheddar bites there and then came home and had that as my supplement for tonight. OMG these things are fantastic! They have a great crunch (which is something I have been wanting for a while) and they taste good too.

Well that is all for now. Hope you have a fantastic weekend. Happy eating!

like magic

Okay, maybe not quite magic but still pretty awesome. I went to the center to weigh in and was down 3.2 lbs. Pretty excited since that means I am only about 2 lbs up from prior to my bad weekend. :o)

Now, since that number is a little drastic in 24 hours I feel I should also give a brief explanation. Yesterday when I went to weigh in I was not wearing my "normal" outfit. Typically I wear denim shorts, a t-shirt, and flip-flops. Well yesterday I ended up wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a pair of non-flip flop shoes. Today I went back to a semi normal outfit (no shorts but work-out pants instead). The change in clothing does play a part in case you wanted to know.

Either way, not all of that is based on the clothes. So pretty stoked about the quick recovery, or at least road to it. I think in order to keep the momentum I have decided to not go on the float trip this weekend. As much fun as it would be I think hitting one of my goals will be MORE fun!!! :o)

Happy eating friends!

and the survey says...

Ah, so the results are in and well as expected they aren't stellar. Stepped on the scale to see that I had put back on about 5 lbs. UGH!!! It is amazing how quickly those lbs can creep back on yet how long they take to drop off.

On the up-side I did learn some new things. I explained to the center about the whole tooth thing and the counselor I was talking to had some great ideas. Her first suggestion, regarding my mouth still being a little sore, was the VHP (very high protein... man what an original name) meal replacement. Basically this is a powder just like their supplements, however it is higher quantity and is more protein than the regular supplement. You mix one packet with 2+ cups of cold water in the blender (I added ice too) and enjoy. Very similar to a Slim Fast shake although there is significantly more here than I remember being in those cans. The VHP replaces one fruit, one starch, and one protein. I have to say, this thing was surprisingly tasty AND filling!!! I am a fan and I think while the mouth is still recovering this is going to be a rather enjoyable dinner. :o)

Her next suggestion was for me make sure my veggies (since those are not covered by the VHP) were softer ones, steamed or cooked is probably best. While I did look at her like she had 6 heads when she suggested steaming spinach (eeewww), I think I will take her up on that suggestion as well. After two days of eating turkey breast, that wasn't even over cooked, my jaw was a little more sore today than it has been the past couple of days.

Finally, they put me back on a water flush. Typically they might have done the prep phase again BUT because eating that much red meat really wouldn't be kind to the mouth, they chose this option. I will take it!!!

So now I am at the dilemma of my plans for the weekend. I have been set to go on a float trip this weekend. Typically I go on one earlier in the summer but since I had 2 scheduled I didn't go on that one since my standard canoe partner wasn't going to be there either. This trip is with a group of people I have never been with, and actually only know 1-2 people going. I am ok with the whole making new friends bit. However, float trips in my world consist of large amounts of alcohol consumption over the 2 days we are out there. Originally I was going to temper this behavior as much as possible and try to be as good on my choices of packed foods as I could. It was also going to be a mini break from the whole diet thing since I would have been on plan for about a month. Well, with my little cheats and the weekend of misbehaving after the tooth... I am thinking going on this float trip would be counter productive. I know you are probably thinking "well go and just don't drink", but I ask you to consider how much fun it would really be to be on a river with 10 people who will be drinking for about 9 hours straight when you aren't drinking at all. Not to mention the 100s of other people drinking on the river that you will come across. I can tell you... not much. so the dilemma is...do i go and tack another weekend of bad choices on my streak or do I suck it up and say this summer it might be best to not do a float trip.

Ponder that my friends, I'm off to make some veggies. Happy eating!

pay the piper...

Tomorrow I have to break down and go back to the center. After the whole wisdom tooth thing, and milking the "soft foods" for all it was worth, it is time I get back to that whole being serious business. My mouth is finally feeling better (although too much chewing and it gets a little sore) so I started eating real food again.


Unfortunately after a weekend of ice cream and far more carbs than I am supposed to have... I know those numbers won't be good. However, that is the price you pay when you decide to buck the system. At least I know that I will be able to get back on the wagon pretty quickly... I think. More to come tomorrow after I get the news!

Happy eating my friends... healthy eating that is. :o)

slight hiccup

Sadly today I have had a slight set back in our progress. I had to have one of my wisdom teeth removed. The procedure alone has caused my face to swell up so I am sure that will impact my numbers. In addition, I am limited to soft foods for the next 3 days. If you have any familiarity with the plan, soft foods isn't exactly a common thing on there. Basically for the next 3 days I will be eating things that aren't on plan. Best deal here might be the fact that I don't imagine I will be eating a great deal since my mouth hurts, so maybe it will be a fairly equal balance.

In my own personal happiness though, I am milking the opportunity to have ice cream. :o)

short and sweet

I just wanted to give a quick update on progress. I went to the center on Tuesday and had lost 2 lbs. This puts me at 19 lbs total PLUS it pulled me out of the 200's. About 3 more lbs and I will hit my lowest weight I can remember. :o)

Happy Eating Friends!

dinner experiment

Tonight I decided to try my hand at jazzing up dinner along with a trusty stand by:

Protein: 6 oz of chicken seasoned with Mrs. Dash's Fiesta Lime seasoning. I am pretty sure this is my all time favorite seasoning that she puts out. If I am super prepared I will have this on the chicken over night but as my preparation is somewhat lacking it works just as well tossing it on when I go to cook the chicken. I also like to add a little bit of lime juice. I think it adds that bit of tartness but also helps with keeping the moisture in the chicken when cooking. End result was an amazing and tasty piece of chicken.

Side 1: tomato sliced up. I could probably live on tomatoes so I don't do much but put some salt on them and chow down. I really like this when I am not getting my full amount of mortons lite salt in for the day. So yummy! :o)

Side 2: this is where I got courageous. I decided to try to make zucchini chips (modified to be on plan). After slicing the zucchini, I coated it with egg then tossed it with a crushed akmak cracker (seasonings mixed in there too). I then baked them at 450 for 10 minutes, flipped, and baked for another 5. They weren't a complete disaster, but I was hoping for something with a little crisp to it. These were more mushy. I haven't given up on this venture but it needs some perfecting for sure. I am guessing the Parmesan cheese that the original recipe calls for is part of adding that crisp. I am open to suggestions if you have any. :o)

Downside to making dinner tonight: in removing the lid from the chicken I turned my wrist in such a way that the scalding hot lid burnt my wrist. OUCH!!! Then I burnt my fingertip on the cookie sheet when pulling the chips out of the oven. Thank goodness I didn't get crazy with the knife slicing my tomato or this post might have been written from the ER. Ah, the battle wounds of healthy cooking. :o)

That's all for now. Happy eating friends!

series of unfortunate choices

Wow a whole week since I posted last! I wish I had something great to post but unfortunately, I don't. :o(

Last week was a week filled with a "series of unfortunate choices", hence the title. It started on Wednesday when i went to the center to weigh in. I was only down .2 lbs which seemed pretty measly to me. To add insult to injury, I had been struggling with one of my dr prescribed medications not staying in my system which has some pretty un-fun side effects (vertigo off and on all day). I left the center a bit deflated and not feeling well (oh yea, nausea is another side effect of my meds not being in my body) and decided I wanted something comforting. So I went home and ate a peanut butter sandwich. I probably would have been okay with loss stats had I just had that but I decided I also needed/wanted to eat some betty crocker loaded mashed potatoes. clearly none of that is on plan and is far too many carbs. :o( so I was deflated about the less than exciting number, I was light-headed, just shot at least 2 days worth of weight loss with a binge on carbs, and NOW I feel even worse because my tummy hurts.

The next two days I couldn't decide if my stomach was unhappy with me from the over-load of carbs or still squirming from my medicine withdraw. Either way, I was limiting my food intake. I also did a bit of this I think to try to counter balance the binge from the night before. By no means starving myself, just to clarify, but just was being super picky about what I ate and not taking full portions of things. Friday when I went to weigh in more bad news... back up 1.4 lbs. Doesn't that just make you feel swell?!?!?! My own fault, I know.

Saturday, I woke up with this dread of "another day on plan". Everything started out fine and for the majority of the day I stayed on plan and ate proper portions. That night while trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my date on Sunday I began looking at cupcake shops around town. This just sounds like a bad idea right? Luckily he wasn't keen on the idea of cupcakes, but then I started looking at the artisan ice cream shop. temptation got the best of me, i hopped in the car and headed off to get ice cream. I couldn't find the place!!! Normally I would have taken this as a sign that I should just go home but my eyes then spotted a McDonalds.

First off, I don't even LIKE McDonalds!!! However, I realized that I hadn't eaten dinner yet and it was getting late and I really didn't want to cook. So I swung through the drive through. At least I got a grilled chicken sandwich but I am pretty sure as a whole that meal was a completely awful choice.

Yesterday when I woke up I had an internal conversation with myself. I reminded my head (and stomach) that we had paid good money for this program, if I stick with it the end will come sooner than if I allow myself these "little cheats", and I am stronger than these temptations!!! All day I stuck to plan and even started doing some research on new ways to spice up my cooking. I'll keep you posted on how that goes! I'm a bit scared to see what the damage is after my week but you have to pay the piper!!!

I guess the point of this post is really to explain, I (and anyone reading this) am human. I make mistakes, I make bad choices (sometimes knowingly), and I can be tempted. The important part is to get back on the wagon and keep trucking! No one ever said this was going to be easy, I guess I just forget that sometimes and this week wanted to throw an internal weight loss temper-tantrum. time to get that kid in check! :o)

Happy eating friends!

the ups and downs

So the first piece I have to announce is that obviously I can't add. On my last post I said I was down 18 lbs, I actually had only lost 16 lbs. No gain or anything I just can't add apparently.

That out of the way, I went to weigh in today and was down another pound so my grand total now is 17 (yes that is correct!!! :oP) pounds down. The councelors at the center keep expecting me to have some big dramatic response to this. I keep telling them, that while I am happy at the numbers I have a feeling of "been there done that". I am almost tot he point where that won't be the case but I feel like I am letting them down in the mean time.

When I was hitting these numbers the last time I was on the plan I was thrilled. I couldn't remember a time when I had been at a weight this low. I am pretty sure that between my middle school years and post college I didn't step on a scale. So watching the number get lower was a thrilling ride! Flash forward to today, my state of mind is that I have been here, and recently.

My current average is about 6 lbs a week. I know that this average will decrease a bit as time goes on, that is just the nature of the plan. However, if I am able to keep up the loss at a fairly decent rate by the end of this week I will be at a weight that I haven't been to again. I have about 5 lbs to lose before I hit that point. From that point on I am sure I will be overly thrilled!

The experts all say you should set small goals that are attainable to reach your bigger goal. Well my first small goal is to hit 1 lb lower than the last lowest number I remember (so in 5 lbs). After that my next two goals are actually really close to each other. The first will be after an additional 16 lbs when I will hit my original goal weight the first time I was on plan. 5 pounds after that I will hit the next goal where I will actually have a BMI that reads "normal". I am not sure which I will be more excited about but since they both fall so close to each other I will probably just celebrate them together. Any thoughts on how I should celebrate that accomplishment? Maybe my next post will be on celebrating!

That's all for now. Happy eating my friends!!!

best invention...ever!

First an update on the loss: at my last weigh in I had lost the weight I had gained PLUS an additional 1.4 lbs. So grand total I am down 18 lbs. I almost did a jig. It is amazing what happens when you give up caramel machiatos, even if they are skinny. ;o)

As for the title of this post: A little over a year ago my aunt gave me what I can only describe now as the best invention EVER! It is the silicone steamer from curves. I must admit when I first got it I under-estimated the amazing-ness this contraption held but as of this past week, I AM A BELIEVER!

First, it stores quite nicely. It compresses to about the size of a Frisbee. In my already small kitchen, with limited storage, something that doesn't take up a lot of space is fantastic. When you go to use it, it pops out to be a bowl. Just a little oil rubbed on the bottom or in my case a spritz of pam and it is ready to go! From there the possibilities are limitless. Up until last week I had just been using it to steam my veggies but since I typically prefer my veggies raw I wasn't using it all that often. Then I looked again at the information sheet that came with it (tells you the amount of time to microwave different foods) and realized that I could do so much more than veggies.

This worked out perfectly for me because I had some orange roughy to cook. All I had to do was pop the fish in my steamer and cook it for 3 minutes, then presto... perfectly steamed fish. I had added some garlic & herb seasonings from Ms. Dash and that made it perfect.

I am guessing you are wondering what is so amazing right? Well if you are anything like me planning dinner is a bit of a chore. After spending the day at work then coming home and wanting to play with the pounds or whatever else trying to think about dinner and coordinate everything isn't appealing. Plus with the fact that the metabolizers need to be taken 30 minutes before eating I find myself struggling with the cooking time and coordination. With this awesome steamer, I can cook my fish in 3 minutes, chicken in about 5, and if I want some steamed veggies they typically take about 2 minutes. I LOVE that in 5 minutes I can have my whole meal ready to go and it is steamed which is much healthier than other ways of cooking it.

I did a google search to see if I could find something similar. Unfortunately I found a lot of steamer/strainer baskets that are to be used over a pot on the stove. I am sure those are swell but this is so much more convenient because it is one thing to cook it and can be done in the microwave. Yes I'm not in college anymore but I still love my microwave! Plus when it has been a bazillion degrees outside using my stove or oven doesn't really make me happy because then it kicks the heat up in my house. So if you do go looking for this thing, I found something similar on by creative homes. I really do recommend you get yourself one of these things. The uses are limitless, but to me it is the perfect pal for your dieting/healthy eating needs. You can take it to work (bring your raw protein and/or veggies and steam in the microwave), it is perfect for dorm rooms (where you don't have access to a stove), and the simple clean up is always a bonus.

Well that is my rant for today. I'm off to enjoy my Saturday. Happy eating friends!!!

Fine Print

Last Friday (July 29) I had a FANTASTIC weigh in! In just 16 days I had lost 15 lbs! I am pretty sure I felt like a super rock-star when I walked out of the center. Like most rock-stars I then proceeded to make bad choices...

Saturday...was great! stayed on plan, even tried out a new recipe for an omelet (will share in another post).

Sunday, well maybe not as fantastic. The first part of the day was fine but then for dinner I met my friend Bender out in Larry-town at Pepperjax Grill. Have you never been there before (and you are not trying to lose weight) I highly recommend you go there. Unfortunately, philly cheese steak sandwiches are not even close to being on plan...even if you have chicken instead of steak! Oh but I didn't stop there... in true rock-star fashion if I was going down, I was going down in a blaze of glory. So along with my philly (which is on a hoagie that is 10 inches long fyi), I had a nice bottle of bud-light at dinner. Then as I got home I ran to Walgreens to get toilet-paper and picked up some sour gummie worms. Yea those were gone within an hour. :o(

It was no surprise then at my weigh in on Monday that I had gained .4 lbs. I was honest with the counselor I was sitting with about my poor choices the day before and sat waiting for the head shaking and disappointed look. Much to my surprise she was very positive about the whole thing! She seemed to really understand that I am human and things like this will happen, instead of dwelling on it she just said "oh we can fix that!" and put me on a 3 day water flush and told me to try to get a bit of apple cider vinegar in. sweet a very simple fix.

Maybe not so much! apparently my rock-star moment on Sunday removed a bit of intelligence from my brain. Sunday, I had also run out of coffee filters and for anyone who knows me... you know that my morning coffee is like most peoples morning pee... a necessity! Luckily we have the cafe at work, down side is their coffee tastes like burnt tar water, luckily they have caramel machiatos!!! I see where you head is going, of course caramel machiatos are bad, even I know this!!! So when I ordered mine I ordered a SKINNY caramel machiato with sugar free syrup! See, I took it to a healthy direction! :o) One of these might not have been a deal breaker, sadly I loath going to the grocery store so my trip to go pick up filters didn't happen until Wednesday night... so for 3 days my morning coffee with a little cream turned into a Grande SKINNY caramel machiato.

Imagine my surprise when I go to weight in last night and I am up another lb!!! I sat in the chair scratching my head thinking "but I haven't eaten non-plan foods, I have been doing the water flush, how did I gain again?!?!" Light bulb! My plan, plan 2, calls for 4 oz of skim milk a day. This is pretty much the only dairy I get. My Grande (20 oz cup) beverage only had about 2-4 oz of coffee in it, the rest is skim milk. Every morning for 3 days I was tossing back about 16 oz of skim milk THEN going home and having my 4 oz with dinner... hummm that could be a trigger! Then, let's face it the caramel was not even close to good and the syrup wasn't much better. talk about inspiration for going grocery shopping! Lesson learned here: there really is fine print on a menu it says " SKINNY Caramel Machiato *you wish!!!*

I am proud to report that as of this morning I am back to my coffee with a little cream. Hopefully the numbers will start to reflect that pretty quickly. I think that also was the end of my rock-star days...for now at least. I am sure I will find another moment or two to make bad choices and mess up the plan but I sure am going to try to stick to the straight and narrow!

happy eating friends!

Back at it

I have climbed back onto the wagon... well on to something at least. July 13th I started my second go around with Slim 4 Life. Here is the back story to that choice:
In Feb. of 2009 I stopped going to Slim 4 Life after losing about 63 lbs. Starting weight was 267 and on my last weigh in with them, the scale read 204. I was pleased with my progress, I had actually reached my clothing goal of wearing a size 12, and I was pretty much sick of not getting to enjoy the life of a 25/26 year old (i.e. drinking beer) and getting dirty looks if I did. So I just stopped going. I continued my journey on my own for a while and dropped down to about 195.

How nice it would have been if I had stayed there, but a few things are wrong with that picture. 1) I hadn't stuck around long enough to learn how to maintain once the restricted foods were allowed again. 2) I was too obsessed with how far I had come to focus on the little bit I had left (my goal was to end the program at 180). and 3) I wasn't really paying attention to anything I gained again. So inevitably I gained some weight back. HOWEVER, I am pretty excited to say that I never gained it all back!!! Since I had gotten rid of so many of my bigger clothes I had no choice but to wear the smaller sizes. Once those started to get a little tighter I knew I needed to fix it so I would start eating healthier again.

Fast-forward to the beginning of July 2011. I noticed my pants were starting to get tight again and unfortunately I couldn't seem to get the motivation to get on the right track and stay there. Luckily, Cerner Health came out with this fantastic motivator for me. the KC Slimdown Community Challenge. It is a 10 week challenge that is encouraging people in the KC area to lose weight either as an individual or on teams of 4-6. The winner(s) get an all expense paid trip to Flagstaff, AZ. I was sold!!! I joined the team along with my mom, her best friend, and a couple other co-workers! This also told me I needed to find my power to stay on track again. With that in mind, I made an appointment and walked through the Slim 4 Life doors again.

I joined a different center, a little closer to home and just for some new faces. When I stepped on the scale I weighed 218 lbs. Ok so not exactly where I left off but not even close to where I started. With a new found determination, the motivator of a trip plus a built in support system of my Challenge team, and now an accountability to the center and my bank account... I am on board! ending goal this time is 165 lbs... or in other terms I have 53 lbs to lose.

The Challenge ends on Oct. 10 and I am supposed to be done with the plan by Nov. 16. I won't hit goal by the end of the Challenge but I will still have made pretty good headway!!! I also decided to start up my blogging again. I found this REALLY helped me the last time plus I know that I always wanted to learn from "real people" who "really lost the weight" when I was trying to lose weight. So here is me sharing my story all over again...are you ready???