Week Nine: Day One (weigh day)

Good morning!!  Officially weigh-in and some picture posting day!!  I sort of can't believe it's been 8 weeks already, but I also am trying desperately hard to not be upset with the smaller results of the past 4 weeks.

Quick recap:  Week one I began the Atkins diet AND started a 30-day body makeover DVD from Gold's Gym.  This video has three 10-minute workouts to choose from (upper body, lower body, and cardio), and I vowed to do at least one every day.  The 30 days is technically up tomorrow, so I will post those pictures on Wednesday morning.  Atkins really didn't work for me, it has in the past but just made me sluggish and depressed and short-tempered.  All things I do NOT need to be with four small children at home!  So, I lasted 9 days on that and then switched to the Special K diet for 12 days.  Loved this one.

Special K diet consists of 2 bowls of cereal with fruit each day to replace 2 of your main meals.  One balanced meal, 2 Special K snacks (amounting to 100-110 calories each), and lots of water.  I found this diet to be super easy to follow and the variety of cereals were delicious!  I ate lots of fruit and got all my energy back (and then some!).  In just 12 days of this diet I lost 7 pounds - compared to losing ZERO with Atkins.  Whew.  So happy I switched!!

The final week of the month I have been drinking Right Size smoothies to replace 2 meals.  I eat lunch as usual (making sure to stay below 600 calories), fruit during the day for snacks, and drink at least 100 ounces of water.  The smoothies are very tasty...unfortunately, both canisters I purchased are the Lean Cocoa Bean flavor and I am getting a tiny bit tired of the chocolate.  Other than just the monotony of the flavor, the smoothies are quite tasty!  I don't own a blender, so I have just been sticking with 8-10 ounces of skim milk mixed in with one scoop of the powder.  In just 7 days of this diet I have lost....

Ha, ha.  Sorry, you have to scroll through the pictures!

Week One:Day One                         Week Five: Day One              TODAY (Week 9: Day 1)

Wow.  I can see the difference so much more when the pictures are all next to each other!!  I like it.

So, I was going to post the scale pictures, but getting the body shots to actually behave and line up next to each took a lot out of me.  :)  I'm not going to line these up all pretty...

To see the first four weeks scale pictures go here.

Week Five: Day One

This is the same picture I would use for Week Six: Day Three when I began the Special K diet. 

Week Eight: Day One (after 12 days of Special K)

And finally...today's weight.  (after 7 days with the Right Size smoothies)

There it is!  10 pounds this month!  This makes my 8 week total 28.5 pounds gone. 

Thank you to everyone who follows and comments on my progress and has been so supportive!!  I feel good, healthy, and am really excited to beat this 10 pound loss over the next 4 weeks.  I did promise myself I wouldn't be disappointed with any month that was at least 8 pounds lost because this is on track to meet my goal, so WOOHOO!!!  Still ahead of the game and feeling great!!

This next week I will continue with the Right Size smoothies, but I am going to begin eating dinner instead of lunch.  I also didn't have any coffee last week, and I plan to begin having my morning cup again.  Seems like the weeks I drink coffee I lose more than the few weeks where I took it away.  We shall see if this is just a fluke.

Quick side note:  this is the "billing" weigh day.  I believe i have talked to everyone and some people have decided to pay at the end so I won't be tempted to spend the money on bills, and this is totally fine!  For the ones who are paying monthly, I have used the money to "pamper" myself a bit...refer to previous posts for pictures of my new nails and hair!  :)

xoxo

Week Eight: Day Five

Good morning!

FOOD AND DRINK:  Still very pleased with these Right Size smoothies!  Very pleased.  I still don't have a blender, so I am simply mixing about 10 ounces of skim milk with one scoop of powder - in my fancy Right Size "blender" cup?  I forgot exactly what they call it, but it's a re-usable cup with lid and drink spout that has a cool ball in it which helps mix when you shake it!  Fun!  For lunch I ran home quickly to chow on my serving of Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole.  Wow, yum.  SO yum.  I'm going to include the recipe below not because it is overly nutritious, but I know I have some mommy-friends who follow this blog and it is GREAT for kids!  And husbands!  Drank all my 100 ounces of water, ate an apple and some strawberries throughout the day...a successful day, for sure!

EXERCISE:  Yesterday I had to deliver an extra edition of the magazine I deliver once a month, so the boys went to daycare and a good friend watched my baby girl.  I made it a point to park away from each building (rather than pulling up in the fire lane), ran when I wasn't carrying 50+ magazines, tightened my stomach as I bent over to floor racks...I felt good (and exhausted!) by the end of the day.  I still haven't found the DVD.  :(  Today's plan is to go on a nature hike at Edwin Warner Park, so there is some little bit of exercise planned, but I do intend to tear the house apart looking for that stinking video!!  30 days is up on Tuesday and I really want to end being as diligent as I was in the beginning!!

Obviously, since I don't post pictures every day, you can't see the difference, but I really am starting to see it!  My friends at Bible study this week even commented!  I'm pretty sure I don't have to tell you how appreciative my husband is.  :)  I snuck a peek this morning at the scale, but I am not sharing until Monday - my official weigh-in!  I will also post pictures that morning - in the green shirt/brown pants outfit.  Those brown pants, by the way, are quite loose...hooray!

Have a great day!
xoxo

Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole
1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 small onion, chopped
16 ounce (I could only find 12 ounce) frozen corn, thawed
15 ounce can of Sloppy Joe sauce
8 ounce pkg shredded cheddar cheese, divided
32 ounce bag frozen tater tots

Cook ground beef and onions until done, drain.  Combine beef mixture, sloppy joe mix, and 1 1/4 cup of cheese.  Pour into sprayed 13x9 dish.  Top with enough tater tots to cover casserole, and remaining cheese.  Bake at 350 for 40 mionutes or until bubbly.  (I needed 45 minutes and then even broiled it for a minute or two to make the tots brown, but I had refrigerated the casserole before baking it).

Week Eight: Day Four

I have to type this super quickly this morning because there is a full day ahead of me!!

FOOD AND DRINK:  Right Size smoothies for breakfast and dinner were just the ticket to get through yesterday!  Would you believe I made Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole for the family last night and didn't even sneak a bite??  It smelled so good.  I do have a serving set aside for myself for lunch today.  Baked in a 13x9 pan, cut into 12 pieces and the calorie count of each serving is only 328!  I have been eating spinach every day, and have failed to mention that as a tip!  Sorry!!  Holding out, I guess.  :)  I had read or heard that spinach is better for you than regular ol' iceberg lettuce, so I bought a pack and tried it out.  I just bought the pre-washed bag.  What I love about spinach?  1.  Keeps for a long time!  2.  Hardly any calories!  3.  Super good crunch!  I made a "grilled" sandwich last week with 100-calorie thin whole wheat bread "rolls" sprayed with cooking spray, 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese split between the two slices - toasted this, then put a bunch of spinach leaves in the middle!  YUM.  And only 210 calories (because I don't even count any for the spinach, it's like 20 calories for 2 1/2 cups).  One day I added 1/2 a can of tuna to that concoction, another day put some lunchmeat in the middle.  Very satisfying.  I figured out if you "grill" it - or at least melt the cheese somehow, I don't even miss the condiments!  I'm a mayonnaise girl through and through (not Miracle Whip), so I thought that would be super hard for me.  Not bad!

EXERCISE:  DVD still missing.  I picked up a little magazine at the grocery store last week about walking...yes an entire magazine about walking!  Ha.  It has lots of tips about how to increase your daily steps, so I have been thinking about those throughout my day and really trying to focus on taking extra steps.  I have a couple of items I need to invest in - one being a blender to try out some of those Right Size "recipes", and two being a pedometer!  I got pretty excited reading all of the benefits to just walking and making it a point to increase your daily step count.  Also, I am signing up for a half-marathon in September!!!!  Signing up this week.  Running in September.  Some good friends and I are planning to start training at the first of May, and I am so very excited.  It has never been a goal of mine to run a marathon (of any length), but this is a goal I am ready to set!

TIPS AND ISSUES:  Harris Teeter has strawberries on sale 4 pounds for $5 and they are the most delicious strawberries I've ever eaten!!!  Major tip.  Ha, ha! 

Breakfast requests are being shouted from the living room...time to officially begin my day! 

xoxo

Week Eight: Day Three (recipe!)

I fully intend to start posting at least one recipe each day for something I enjoy for my 500 calorie meal!  Last week I made spinach calzones one night and every single member of my family LOVED them!!  This made me happy for several reasons...the major one being my kids ate spinach!  The second major reason being that each calzone ended up only totalling 367.5 calories - and they were BIG!!  So, I am sharing this recipe below.  The recipe makes 8, so if you are cooking for one person, I would recommend halving it and only making 4.  I ate mine the next day reheated and it was delicious...there was one leftover after that and the boys ate it within the next couple of days, so it held well in the refrigerator.  I don't know much about freezing foods, but I don't see why these couldn't be frozen and then tossed in the microwave at your convenience!

Tasty Spinach Calzones
10 oz pkg, frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 oz Canadian bacon, chopped
1 T garlic powder
1/2 t salt
15-oz. part-skim ricotta cheese (I think I used whole, so the calories are probably less than I calculated!)
5 oz. shredded Italian cheese blend (I truthfully used cheddar and mozzarella)
1 t dried Italian seasoning (didn't even use this)
2 - 11 oz. refrigerated French bread (canned, Pillsbury)
Pasta sauce (not included in my calorie calculation)

Saute first 5 ingredients in large, non-stick skillet, coated with cooking spray, 6 minutes or until bacon is browned.  Remove from heat.  Combine ricotta, italian cheese, and italian seasoning; stir into spinach mixture.  Unroll each bread loaf on lightly floured surface and cut each into 4 rectangles.  Spoon heaping 1/3 cup of spinach mixture onto half of each rectangle.  Fold dough over filling, pressing edges to seal.  Crimp edges with a fork dipped in flour.  Place calzones on baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Coat each calzone with cooking spray.  Bake at 400 for 18 minutes until golden.  Serve with pasta sauce.

**A sweet friend loaned me a book of recipes called "500 Calorie Dinners", so I will likely be cracking that open soon and sharing lots!!!

Week Eight: Day Three

Good morning!! 

First things first - did you see that "Right Size" actually commented on my last post?  Yay!  Shaun thinks I should be their spokesperson.  I say let's see how the next couple weeks go first.  :)  Now, I feel like I have to assure everyone I am 100% honest in all of my "reviews".  These are truly my feelings and experiences.

Okay!  I missed posting yesterday because our power was out!  It was awful.  Definitely could have been "worse", but we were not big fans of having no power for almost 30 hours.  Monday afternoon some terrible storms came through the Nashville area and our section of town lost power around 1 pm.  We kept assuming it would be back on at anytime...surely by dinnertime?  Well, to quickly end the suspense, we were finally restored at 8 pm Tuesday night.  BOOOO! 

I tell you this little story to share with you a high compliment of the Right Size smoothies.  I mentioned before I have decided to supplement my breakfast and dinner with the drinks.  Monday I was not hungry until lunch time at all!  I didn't feel jittery or anxious or any of those feelings I was fearing.  I did have an orange for a snack, but I ate it mostly because I felt it was important to have something.  I ate lunch around 1 pm, a 500-calorie serving of Sunday evening's dinner, a 100-calorie yogurt in the afternoon (yes, during the storm craze, I still remembered to eat snack!), and I was SO ready to "cheat" by the time Shaun got home that evening.  I'm not going to detail the drama involved around this house with three kids who chose to skip nap, no electricity, no candles, no flashlights.  Shaun got home a little after five and I told him point blank I was picking up fast food for dinner and I was going to be eating VERY poorly!  He immediately told me how proud he was of my progress so far and that I was really inspiring him...his words, "Just because you had one bad day doesn't mean you have to go crazy with food."  I stormed out of the house, fuming and just knowing I was going to ignore every word he said.  Well, I didn't.  I got the rest of the family Taco Bell (yum!), hit up the Dollar Tree for flashlights and candles, and when I got home I made myself a smoothie.  I was thinking, "If I am still hungry after this drink, I will eat a taco."  Guess what?  Not one bit hungry.  Shaun was the disposal that finished off everyone's leftovers and I felt quite good knowing I had followed through with my plan!!  YAY!

Quick side note:  I have read lots of reviews on the Right Size smoothies, and it seems like a lot of people point out the "non-chalky" taste.  I have to be honest.  It does have a little bit of a chalky taste to me.  They are absolutely NOT hard to drink and I have had no problem with any after taste or "protein-y" taste, but you have to use more than just 8 ounces of milk to make it taste totally "smooth".  I did get a little recipe guide with the containers, so I just need to invest in a blender and try some of those!  Adding peanut butter sounds particularly yummy to me.

Tuesday was another successful day despite my inner "devil" screaming to take the day off!!!  Cheat!!!  You are under some extreme circumstances!  Nobody should have to deal with four small children and no electricity!!  Eat some pizza!!!  Well, I ordered two large beautiful delicious-smelling pizzas for our family and the next door neighbors...once again having every intention of eating at least one piece.  FIRST, though, I made myself a smoothie.  I drank that smoothie.  Pizza cravings....forgotten.  These smoothies are awesome!

FOOD AND DRINK:  Making sure to have at least 100 ounces of water each day.  At 7 am yesterday I grilled the meat in our fridge to save it from spoiling, so I had a grilled chicken breast and spinach for lunch.  I didn't get in an afternoon snack because I was running around so much wearing the kids out at the park!  I ate an apple for morning snack, though.  Skipping the morning cup of coffee hasn't even resulted in any headaches.  Woo-hoo!

EXERCISE:  I have lost the 30-day body makeover DVD.  More likely the kids lost it, but regardless of who is to blame I cannot find it anywhere!  Very frustrating.  I couldn't have done the video the past two days, so maybe I was looking very hard.  I will continue my search and, hopefully, get back to doing those today!

Have a great day!!

xoxo

Week Eight: Day One

Good morning!!  As I sit down to type this, I am enjoying my very first Right Size Smoothie.  It's pretty tasty!  I have the Lean Cocoa Bean flavor and mixed it with just skim milk this morning.  I'm excited to see how it affects my appetite...also, the guy on the phone assured me it has the same amount of caffeine in it as half a cup of coffee.  I am skipping my usual cup of coffee this morning just in case, though.

Well, I haven't weighed myself "officially" since Week Five: Day One.  During Atkins, I was feeling so negative and every time I would check my weight was either up a couple pounds or maintaining at 220.  Boooo!  This morning, however, I was very pleased to see 7 pounds gone!!  I have said I will consider 8 pounds a month as success, so I'm thinking this month should be a good one.  :)  One more week and I only need to lose one pound.  Yeehaw! 

FOOD and DRINK:  I wanted to say I was a little sick of Special K cereal yesterday.  I think that was only due to the fact I ran out of my "special" kinds and was only eating the regular.  Boring.  Plus, the kids ate all my bananas and we finished up the strawberries, so I didn't even have any fruit around to add to the cereal!  I did have a small success story to share.  I have mentioned before that the kids have not had any fast food since I started this plan.  This is a great thing for my family...we were really using that as a weekly (and sometimes twice weekly) "crutch".  Well, yesterday was a full day - I worked the nursery during second service, so we were at church from 8:45 - 12 noon; Conner and I had tickets to see Cats at 1:00 pm; I had to drive out to LaVergne (about 30 mins) to get a disc for my computer - so, I ended up having to stop at McDonald's for Conner between Cats and LaVergne.  Add to this the fact I was only able to cram in a sandwich between church and Cats because I hadn't prepared ahead of time...well, McDonald's smells really, really good at the drive-in window.  Mmmmm!!  I was remembering how delicious their burgers are...and don't get me started on the french fries!!!  I ordered Conner's hamburger happy meal with apple dippers, all the while thinking I was going to just blurt out "and a #2!!".  Guess what?  I stopped with the happy meal.  Conner very happily ate his entire hamburger and full pack of apple dippers, and I very happily munched on an apple I remembered in my purse.  It was a good day.

Today marks day one of the Right Size smoothies.  My plan is to sort of treat this like Slim Fast.  I will do a smoothie for breakfast, fruit for snack, lunch will be a serving from the night before's dinner, 100 calorie Yoplait yogurt for afternoon snack, and a smoothie for dinner.  I haven't decided on the late snack just yet.  Maybe keep some vegetables on hand if I get the munchies.  There really aren't any instructions on the canister of powder for this "diet".  It's supposed to suppress your appetite AND enhance weight loss with it's combination of vitamins and supplements. 

EXERCISE:  I plan to continue this, for sure.  April 12th marks my "30th day" of the 30-day body makeover.  I will post pictures that morning of the transformation.  I kind of have a lot of things going on right now.  Ha, ha.  April 11th I will do an official 4 week weigh in - for those who have been paying monthly, this will be the day I will post those results.  Also, pictures in the green shirt and brown pants.  I took new pictures this morning for my Right Size log.  I'm a multi-tasker by nature, so this is just how I roll.

Talk soon!!

xoxo

Week Seven: Day Five

Quickest update ever!  I am at my cousin's house and stealing time on the computer while they entertain the kids.  I will start with where I've been...my computer's hard drive crashed and it has been at Best Buy being repaired since Sunday.  Boo!!  :(  Luckily, Shaun's aunt bought me Geek Squad coverage, so this won't be costing money.  However, I have been missing updating this blog!!!

FOOD and DRINK: Still on the Special K diet and love, love, loving it!  I haven't been hungry at all, no grumpy days (well, fewer, ha!).  I'm not even tired of the cereal because of the varieties available!  I will tell you right now I am not a cereal eater.  In my past, I would have told you cereal only makes me hungrier after breakfast, and I have to eat at least two very large bowls to feel any amount of satisfaction.  Now I am covering the bottom of the bowl with either strawberries or bananas, then 3/4 cup of cereal, and 2/3 cup of skim milk  After that, I am ready to go with a full belly and a pep in my step!  I have started having my morning cup of coffee again, but only one.  I get the French Vanilla flavored coffee and only use Splenda to sweeten.  Anyway, I have been eating a meal at lunchtime and keeping it between 500-600 calories.  I joined a website called www.e-mealz.com and have been making some new recipes from there at dinner...I set aside a serving for myself for lunch the next day.  It's working very well.  I am a little sad to move on from this diet plan, but I am looking forward to trying these shakes!!  I plan to start the Right Size smoothies on Monday.

EXERCISE:  I have been doing at least one 10-minute segment from my video almost every day.  I did skip yesterday because I had to do my magazine delivery route and I knew I would be running and lifting all day.  I also missed today because I had to finish up the route and took the kids to the park and am just plain tired!  I have been trying to get in another 20 minutes or so of running around with the kids (actually making an effort to RUN and PLAY) every day, as well.  I feel great.  Just flat out great!!

TIPS and ISSUES:  As I said above, I love this Special K diet and this is coming from a non-cereal lover.  I am drinking about 100 ounces of water every day...still super easy when through a straw in my fancy cup.  I think knowing I will get some of the dinner for my lunch also helps me through watching the family eat dinner.  I'm not ready to recommend the e-mealz website just yet, but we have really enjoyed 2 of the 7 recipes that were on the list for last week.  Like, REALLY enjoyed.  :)

That's all for now!!  I should get the computer back tomorrow or Sunday and will update you with pounds lost on Monday morning, for sure!!!

Talk soon, good night, xoxo