Woo-hoo!!! One more week down....and I've said goodbye to another 3.5 pounds! Yep, total of 11 pounds now. AND I'M NOT STOPPIN'!
DIET: Today, I began eating my 500-calorie meal (for those who are new? I'm doing Slim Fast this week) for lunch instead of dinner. I realize it is only day one, but I am thinking this is waaaaay better already! I'm not hungry tonight, I haven't been hungry all day, and I actually got the laundry put away while the rest of the family ate dinner. I had a shake for breakfast and dinner, an orange for morning snack, a Slim Fast snack bar for afternoon snack, and I'm very happily chomping on 30 pistachios for my evening snack. Lunch was pretty darn sweet. One full can of Progresso Light Meatball Soup (160 calories), 2/3 cup of mashed potatoes (160 calories), one colby jack cheese stick (80 calories), and one slice of bread (80 calories). It was super filling, AND I had energy throughout the day. Nice.
EXERCISE: Yeah. Remember how I was going to head out for a nice walk when Shaun got home and sat down to dinner with the kids? Hmmmm. Didn't happen tonight, but maybe tomorrow! I completely rearranged and "gutted" the play room today - ended up with a full box of goodies for the Goodwill - and this took ALLLL day. I'm not sure how many readers have four children, but you can at least imagine trying to clean a playroom while all the kids are home. One step forward, six steps back. That was my entire day. So...didn't feel like heading out for a walk this evening, but I did put the laundry away at a fast pace. Ha, ha, ha.
BEVERAGES: Water. The End.
TIPS/ISSUES: As I mentioned above, today was the easiest day I've had on Slim Fast! I do enjoy the shakes and bars and snacks, but I was having a little bit of a hard time making it to dinner. Then, dinner was SO good, and there would always be leftovers staring me in the face. Tonight, there was leftovers, but I didn't care about them because I didn't have the taste lingering in my mouth. My lunch was delicious and I timed it to be eaten when the kids were all eating lunch, too, so we sat down together. They "don't like" soup (quotation marks because that is according to them), so they weren't interested in what I was eating, and I shared the rest of the mashed potatoes. I like not being hungry and I like thinking I probably burned the lunch calories during my frustrating cleaning frenzy. All in all, the day went well!
Good night!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Week Two: Day Seven
Hello!!! I am so happy to be back and writing again! Well, let's be honest - I wrote a TON over the weekend at the retreat, but I mean back to focusing on my diet again. Don't be thinking I slacked off, though! I stuck with it and was completely thinking about the accountability of this blog the whole time. Quickly, first, to address the retreat...
There aren't words to describe my weekend. NONE! I took pictures of the sunrise and the beauty and wonder of that magic that occurs every day...well, still not sufficient, but it comes close to portraying how my heart has felt for two days now. Awesome. Inspiring. Uplifiting. REVEALING. CLEANSING. Quiet. Eye-opening. Surprising. Lovely, Just all around EXACTLY what I needed! I am new, I am God's creation, I am focused, and I am ready to LIVE MY LIFE.
Back to the diet...
DIET: Well, since I haven't written since Thursday evening, I will detail Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Friday I knew I would be leaving the house kind of at an awkward time, so I switched things up and ate a 500-calorie lunch. I had Zoe home because she had a random fever that morning, but while she took a nap I ate some sausages and sugar snap peas. Strange, yes, but delicious and filling! And only 500 calories. Otherwise that day, I had two shakes (one at breakfast, other at dinner), and the required 100-calorie three snacks. I'm pretty sure that I had an orange and two Slim Fast bars. Saturday I was at the retreat, but I managed to stay OUT of the dining room at breakfast and lunch! I had taken some of the Slim Fast meal bars and there was fruit available, so I stuck to "plan" for breakfast, snack, lunch, and snack. I made a nice salad for dinner off the buffet and had a piece of chicken. Since I had no way of knowing the calorie count, I did a little extra "exercise". To be detailed below. Moving on, this morning I realized I hadn't brought enough meal bars! So, I had an assortment of "snacks". 100-calorie granola bar, handful of cashews, an apple, and a banana. This was throughout the morning, from waking up at 6 for the sunrise, then sitting through our final meeting at the retreat, and during the ride home. When I got home, I had a shake because I was feeling really, really hungry and sleepy and thought the energy would do me some good. I then had a snack at the appropriate time and made a General Tso's Chicken meal for Shaun and I this evening that was the required 500-calories.
EXERCISE: Well, I definitely exercised spiritually over the weekend! I am pretty exhausted tonight and just reflecting on the past couple of days tires me out a little bit more. Friday, Zoe and I did some shopping during the day to make sure there was sufficient food here at home and that I had all the things I would need for retreat! Saturday evning, as I mentioned above, I wasn't sure about the calorie count, so I really felt I needed to do something extra. There was a bonfire Saturday night and everyone was planning to drive there, but a few other girls and I decided to walk. It was so beautiful. There were more stars than I have EVER seen in the sky!! Just amazing. We walked the whole way which turned out to be 1.8 miles. Yay! It was quite a bit colder when it was done, so we caught a ride back rather than freeze. Today, when I got home, I was so excited to implement some of the ideas I had from the retreat, so we did some rearranging and then I took Conner and Zoe to run a couple of errands. No real exercise, but I sure do feel worn out!
BEVERAGES: Would you believe I had only water the whole weekend?! No coffee. No soda pop (2 weeks now!). Fantastic.
ISSUES/TIPS: Over the weekend it was so nice to spend time just being in the peace and quiet, and I have never felt so close to God. I loved not thinking about food and planning meals and just obsessing over what was going to be next for my meals! I don't recall being hungry...I just recall being so filled with the Holy Spirit and reflecting on my life and planning for the rest of it. I plan to teach my children this by observing a family "quiet time" each day. One part of the rearranging today involved moving a bookshelf into the dining room. Our dining room is combined with the kitchen and I just want the whole room to have more purpose than simply eating. It's a large room and we have a very nice dining table, so I think it would work well for arts and crafts time and reading. These are activities I know my kids love and I want to do more of!
I will weigh tomorrow morning and let you know the results!! Next week I will continue Slim Fast, but I am going to switch my meal to lunchtime and plan to go for a 30 minute walk at 5:30 each night while Shaun and the kids eat dinner. Wish me luck!!
Good night!!
There aren't words to describe my weekend. NONE! I took pictures of the sunrise and the beauty and wonder of that magic that occurs every day...well, still not sufficient, but it comes close to portraying how my heart has felt for two days now. Awesome. Inspiring. Uplifiting. REVEALING. CLEANSING. Quiet. Eye-opening. Surprising. Lovely, Just all around EXACTLY what I needed! I am new, I am God's creation, I am focused, and I am ready to LIVE MY LIFE.
Back to the diet...
DIET: Well, since I haven't written since Thursday evening, I will detail Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Friday I knew I would be leaving the house kind of at an awkward time, so I switched things up and ate a 500-calorie lunch. I had Zoe home because she had a random fever that morning, but while she took a nap I ate some sausages and sugar snap peas. Strange, yes, but delicious and filling! And only 500 calories. Otherwise that day, I had two shakes (one at breakfast, other at dinner), and the required 100-calorie three snacks. I'm pretty sure that I had an orange and two Slim Fast bars. Saturday I was at the retreat, but I managed to stay OUT of the dining room at breakfast and lunch! I had taken some of the Slim Fast meal bars and there was fruit available, so I stuck to "plan" for breakfast, snack, lunch, and snack. I made a nice salad for dinner off the buffet and had a piece of chicken. Since I had no way of knowing the calorie count, I did a little extra "exercise". To be detailed below. Moving on, this morning I realized I hadn't brought enough meal bars! So, I had an assortment of "snacks". 100-calorie granola bar, handful of cashews, an apple, and a banana. This was throughout the morning, from waking up at 6 for the sunrise, then sitting through our final meeting at the retreat, and during the ride home. When I got home, I had a shake because I was feeling really, really hungry and sleepy and thought the energy would do me some good. I then had a snack at the appropriate time and made a General Tso's Chicken meal for Shaun and I this evening that was the required 500-calories.
EXERCISE: Well, I definitely exercised spiritually over the weekend! I am pretty exhausted tonight and just reflecting on the past couple of days tires me out a little bit more. Friday, Zoe and I did some shopping during the day to make sure there was sufficient food here at home and that I had all the things I would need for retreat! Saturday evning, as I mentioned above, I wasn't sure about the calorie count, so I really felt I needed to do something extra. There was a bonfire Saturday night and everyone was planning to drive there, but a few other girls and I decided to walk. It was so beautiful. There were more stars than I have EVER seen in the sky!! Just amazing. We walked the whole way which turned out to be 1.8 miles. Yay! It was quite a bit colder when it was done, so we caught a ride back rather than freeze. Today, when I got home, I was so excited to implement some of the ideas I had from the retreat, so we did some rearranging and then I took Conner and Zoe to run a couple of errands. No real exercise, but I sure do feel worn out!
BEVERAGES: Would you believe I had only water the whole weekend?! No coffee. No soda pop (2 weeks now!). Fantastic.
ISSUES/TIPS: Over the weekend it was so nice to spend time just being in the peace and quiet, and I have never felt so close to God. I loved not thinking about food and planning meals and just obsessing over what was going to be next for my meals! I don't recall being hungry...I just recall being so filled with the Holy Spirit and reflecting on my life and planning for the rest of it. I plan to teach my children this by observing a family "quiet time" each day. One part of the rearranging today involved moving a bookshelf into the dining room. Our dining room is combined with the kitchen and I just want the whole room to have more purpose than simply eating. It's a large room and we have a very nice dining table, so I think it would work well for arts and crafts time and reading. These are activities I know my kids love and I want to do more of!
I will weigh tomorrow morning and let you know the results!! Next week I will continue Slim Fast, but I am going to switch my meal to lunchtime and plan to go for a 30 minute walk at 5:30 each night while Shaun and the kids eat dinner. Wish me luck!!
Good night!!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Week Two: Day Four
MEAL PLAN: Coffee and shake for breakfast, orange for snack, shake for lunch, handful of cashews for snack, Lean Cuisine and 2/3 cup of mashed potatoes for dinner! I'm snacking on a Slim Fast bar as I type this. Today was super easy. I'm not hungry, really haven't been all day. That's a happy place to be, for sure.
EXERCISE: I had to deliver Nashville Parent today, so I would say I got some exercise! When I pulled up to load the van, there was two cars in front of me. Rather than sit back in my warm (dry) van, I got out and helped the others load up their cars. Loaded up mine and set out to do my route. Today I made it a point to park far (when reasonable) and haul those magazines at a quick pace! I have 44 stops. This evening we rearranged our bedroom a little bit and the kids had way too much energy, so I'm feeling pretty good about my "calorie burning" today!
BEVERAGES: Water, water, water. I actually only drank one bottle of water today during my route because I completely lost the other bottle I brought! Somewhere in that black hole of a mini-van. Ha, ha. I am finishing up bottle number 4 today, so I got the 8 glasses in!
ISSUES/TIPS: It's getting easier! Today was great and I'm feeling confident. I am going on a retreat with the women's ministry at my church tomorrow night through Sunday morning, so I'm a little apprehensive about that. I'm going to go buy some of the Slim Fast meal bars so I don't have to worry about keeping the shakes cold and just pray that I am not too tempted with S'mores and other snacks! :) I will not blog again until Sunday evening, so I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and keep me in your prayers that I will be strong and concentrate on other things while on retreat!!
Good night!
EXERCISE: I had to deliver Nashville Parent today, so I would say I got some exercise! When I pulled up to load the van, there was two cars in front of me. Rather than sit back in my warm (dry) van, I got out and helped the others load up their cars. Loaded up mine and set out to do my route. Today I made it a point to park far (when reasonable) and haul those magazines at a quick pace! I have 44 stops. This evening we rearranged our bedroom a little bit and the kids had way too much energy, so I'm feeling pretty good about my "calorie burning" today!
BEVERAGES: Water, water, water. I actually only drank one bottle of water today during my route because I completely lost the other bottle I brought! Somewhere in that black hole of a mini-van. Ha, ha. I am finishing up bottle number 4 today, so I got the 8 glasses in!
ISSUES/TIPS: It's getting easier! Today was great and I'm feeling confident. I am going on a retreat with the women's ministry at my church tomorrow night through Sunday morning, so I'm a little apprehensive about that. I'm going to go buy some of the Slim Fast meal bars so I don't have to worry about keeping the shakes cold and just pray that I am not too tempted with S'mores and other snacks! :) I will not blog again until Sunday evening, so I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and keep me in your prayers that I will be strong and concentrate on other things while on retreat!!
Good night!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Week Two: Day Three
Another day down! Woohoo!!
MEAL PLAN: Same ol', same ol'. Shake and coffee for breakfast, Slim Fast snack bar for snack, shake for lunch, handful of cashews for snack, and another rockin' dinner! I made baked potatoes, baked chicken, and cream-style corn. I am now ending my day with another Slim Fast snack bar. As I type this out I realize I haven't used fruit for my snack since Monday, so I'm gonna get back to that. I just feel like fruit makes me hungrier and I have actually felt hungry these past couple of days. Although...how satisfying is a handful of cashews? Not. Ha, ha.
EXERCISE: I had Bible study today and then my mom took the kids out for lunch while I cleaned house. When the kids got home they did some coloring, then took a pretty nice long nap! I wish I could say I "kept moving" while they napped, but not so much. I cleaned up after the coloring and the mess of shoes and coats that happens every time we return from somewhere. Then...I watched tv. That's right. Caught up on my recorded SVU marathon and last night's "What Would You Do?". It may not have been the best choice I've made, but I felt like relaxin'! After dinner this evening I did play a super fun round of "Hide and Seek" with the kids. It's always fun because they think it's hilarious to be scared! You have to run fast to find a new hiding spot, so I got my heart rate up a few times. Then we had a snack on the kitchen floor and I taught the kids how to stretch. I wish I had video of this...it was very funny. The way their brains translate my instructions of where to place their feet and legs and how to stretch. Very cute. We had a good evening.
BEVERAGES: Water, water, water...check! A very sweet friend of mine gave me a very thoughtful gift of a reusable water bottle! It's really cute and says "Tell me who I'm getting where, again?" Awesome. Practical, useful, and very motivating gift. xoxo to you, doll!
ISSUES/TIPS: Happy Audrey, yet again! Was hungry a bit today, but even that is subsiding. Dinner just rocks my world each evening! Before my mom left town today we were chatting about how my eating habits have changed. Last night, with the chicken/spinach rollup dinner, there was one leftover piece of chicken. I was telling her I would have cleaned the kids' plates and eaten that last bit, as well. Without even flinching! Simply a mechanical "clean-up", I guess. Anyway, I have obviously NOT been doing that and I feel so much better and am so much happier at the end of the day to know I ate healthy and am doing a great thing for myself. I was thinking today about switching it up for next week. I'm going to try eating my 500 calorie meal at lunch instead of dinner. There are several reasons for this: the kids are not eating these great meals I'm creating at dinner and it's really starting to anger me to throw so much food away, I would like to have kid/Shaun friendly dinners ready when Shaun gets home from work at 5:15 and then I will leave the house for a 30-40 minute walk around the neighborhood, and it will give me another perspective to comment on! I can see if the weight loss changes at all (although it may not be entirely fair when I add in extra exercise), I can see if it is easier or harder, etc. There was a nice sale on soup last week and I bought several of those microwaveable bowls of chunky soup and healthy request. I checked the labels today and they each only have between 220 - 260 calories total! I think I will be able to fix that up for lunches next week and maybe add in some other veggies, salad, or whatever to add up to the 500 alotted calories. We'll see what happens!
Good night!
MEAL PLAN: Same ol', same ol'. Shake and coffee for breakfast, Slim Fast snack bar for snack, shake for lunch, handful of cashews for snack, and another rockin' dinner! I made baked potatoes, baked chicken, and cream-style corn. I am now ending my day with another Slim Fast snack bar. As I type this out I realize I haven't used fruit for my snack since Monday, so I'm gonna get back to that. I just feel like fruit makes me hungrier and I have actually felt hungry these past couple of days. Although...how satisfying is a handful of cashews? Not. Ha, ha.
EXERCISE: I had Bible study today and then my mom took the kids out for lunch while I cleaned house. When the kids got home they did some coloring, then took a pretty nice long nap! I wish I could say I "kept moving" while they napped, but not so much. I cleaned up after the coloring and the mess of shoes and coats that happens every time we return from somewhere. Then...I watched tv. That's right. Caught up on my recorded SVU marathon and last night's "What Would You Do?". It may not have been the best choice I've made, but I felt like relaxin'! After dinner this evening I did play a super fun round of "Hide and Seek" with the kids. It's always fun because they think it's hilarious to be scared! You have to run fast to find a new hiding spot, so I got my heart rate up a few times. Then we had a snack on the kitchen floor and I taught the kids how to stretch. I wish I had video of this...it was very funny. The way their brains translate my instructions of where to place their feet and legs and how to stretch. Very cute. We had a good evening.
BEVERAGES: Water, water, water...check! A very sweet friend of mine gave me a very thoughtful gift of a reusable water bottle! It's really cute and says "Tell me who I'm getting where, again?" Awesome. Practical, useful, and very motivating gift. xoxo to you, doll!
ISSUES/TIPS: Happy Audrey, yet again! Was hungry a bit today, but even that is subsiding. Dinner just rocks my world each evening! Before my mom left town today we were chatting about how my eating habits have changed. Last night, with the chicken/spinach rollup dinner, there was one leftover piece of chicken. I was telling her I would have cleaned the kids' plates and eaten that last bit, as well. Without even flinching! Simply a mechanical "clean-up", I guess. Anyway, I have obviously NOT been doing that and I feel so much better and am so much happier at the end of the day to know I ate healthy and am doing a great thing for myself. I was thinking today about switching it up for next week. I'm going to try eating my 500 calorie meal at lunch instead of dinner. There are several reasons for this: the kids are not eating these great meals I'm creating at dinner and it's really starting to anger me to throw so much food away, I would like to have kid/Shaun friendly dinners ready when Shaun gets home from work at 5:15 and then I will leave the house for a 30-40 minute walk around the neighborhood, and it will give me another perspective to comment on! I can see if the weight loss changes at all (although it may not be entirely fair when I add in extra exercise), I can see if it is easier or harder, etc. There was a nice sale on soup last week and I bought several of those microwaveable bowls of chunky soup and healthy request. I checked the labels today and they each only have between 220 - 260 calories total! I think I will be able to fix that up for lunches next week and maybe add in some other veggies, salad, or whatever to add up to the 500 alotted calories. We'll see what happens!
Good night!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Week Two: Day Two
MEAL PLAN: Slim Fast. Coffee and shake for breakfast, Slim Fast bar for snack, shake for lunch, handful of cashews for snack, and let me just tell you about dinner! Pounded chicken flat, topped it with spinach, cheese, and ham, then rolled it up and baked it. Oh. My. Goodness. It was awesome. I cooked up some mixed vegetables and sat down to my feast! The kids were only minorly excited about chicken with spinach, but I could barely hear their whining over the sounds of "mmmmmm" in my head. Ha, ha. I was pretty hungry today, but I am feeling good that I made it through another day!
EXERCISE: I took the kids to Bounce U today. For non-Nashvillians, it's a kid play area with huge inflatables. They have open bounce for aged 6 and under for two hours and it is the ticket to wearing children out!!!
Sadly, it wore me out pretty darn good, too. :) I was standing by watching them bounce for a minute and then remembered, "Always be moving!" So, I got in the "dodgeball inflatable" with them and bounced and ran and got hit with all sorts of dodgeballs for about 10 minutes. That was all I could take. I was sweating, breathing hard, a little light-headed. Whew!!! We headed over to the HUGE slide and carrying 27 pounds of wiggly 16 month old turned out to be quite the workout, as well. Good times, though. Thankfully my mom is still in town, so I got to nap right alongside with the boys this afternoon. This evening I got a nice massage from my own personal masseuse...
BEVERAGES: Drank all my water. Yeehaw. :)
ISSUES/TIPS: Well, none now. Earlier, after "lunch" (shake), I was super hungry and crabby because I was so exhausted from all the playing throughout the morning. Sounds so pitiful!! Anyway, after a nap and an awesome dinner, I'm feeling good! I just ate my late snack of a Slim Fast bar and my final bottle of water, so my tummy is full, the kids are asleep, I have a GREAT tv lineup recorded and Shaun is gone to his hockey game. Momma is in her happy place. :)
Good night!
EXERCISE: I took the kids to Bounce U today. For non-Nashvillians, it's a kid play area with huge inflatables. They have open bounce for aged 6 and under for two hours and it is the ticket to wearing children out!!!
Sadly, it wore me out pretty darn good, too. :) I was standing by watching them bounce for a minute and then remembered, "Always be moving!" So, I got in the "dodgeball inflatable" with them and bounced and ran and got hit with all sorts of dodgeballs for about 10 minutes. That was all I could take. I was sweating, breathing hard, a little light-headed. Whew!!! We headed over to the HUGE slide and carrying 27 pounds of wiggly 16 month old turned out to be quite the workout, as well. Good times, though. Thankfully my mom is still in town, so I got to nap right alongside with the boys this afternoon. This evening I got a nice massage from my own personal masseuse...
BEVERAGES: Drank all my water. Yeehaw. :)
ISSUES/TIPS: Well, none now. Earlier, after "lunch" (shake), I was super hungry and crabby because I was so exhausted from all the playing throughout the morning. Sounds so pitiful!! Anyway, after a nap and an awesome dinner, I'm feeling good! I just ate my late snack of a Slim Fast bar and my final bottle of water, so my tummy is full, the kids are asleep, I have a GREAT tv lineup recorded and Shaun is gone to his hockey game. Momma is in her happy place. :)
Good night!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Week Two: Day One
Week one is over and I lost....7 and 1/2 pounds!!! I am feeling very excited and all sorts of motivated today.
MEAL PLAN: I started the Slim Fast plan today. Had a shake and a cup of coffee for breakfast, an orange for snack, another shake at lunch, a Slim Fast bar for snack and "a sensible dinner". :) I made pork tenderloin and salad. The kids played hard outside today, so they chowed at dinner! The pork was y-u-m-m-y. Also, I bought Strawberry Fields salad (spinach leaves with dried strawberries, almonds, and strawberry vinaigrette). Oh, so very, very delicious. This evening I had a handful of cashews for my final snack of the day. I feel good! Not hungry, totally satisfied with the choices I made. Day one rocks!
EXERCISE: I wrote to a good friend who is a fitness guru. She's a trainer and all about being fit. She told me the most important thing to remember is to just KEEP MOVING. Constantly DOING and not sitting. Outside with the kids? Lunges, walking around, interacting with them. Making dinner? Calf raises, squats. Just moving all day long. I decided to view my day slightly different...rather than trying to think about when will I fit in 30 minutes to work out, I'm going to try to just fit in 30 minutes of sitting. So, if I am doing things non-stop, moving around the house, just keeping my body in motion, then I just want to focus on stopping that for just 30 minutes (and no more!). It worked today. I was preparing food for the kids, cleaning up behind them, went outside and walked around the yard picking up sticks, my mom came over for a bit (yay!) and I went to the grocery store, put the groceries away, cleaned some more (is it surprising to anyone that this is always something to do in our house?)...I truly only sat down for about 40 minutes when my mom took the kids to the park and I watched Undercover Boss. Made dinner, got the kids to bed...it was a pretty full day! So, I like this outlook. :) I'll work on adding in some calf raises tomorrow.
BEVERAGES: 5 bottles of water today = 10 glasses! This is most likely another reason I am feeling satisfied and not hungry. Yay! So, here's a fun story. Remember my comment about needing a Brita? Well, today when I went to the grocery store, I went down the water aisle to buy another 24-pack. I looked up to the shelf where the Brita pitchers were and there was a sale on the 5-cup Brita for just $9.99!! Then I noticed someone had stuck a coupon next to the box for another $4.00 off!! I bought that Brita and now will always have fresh water in my fridge. Thank you to God for going grocery shopping with me. :)
ISSUES/TIPS: No issues today. Truly, I think I'm going to like this plan. I was kind of freaking out about dinner because the "rule" is a 500-calorie meal. I was dividing ounces and calories and adding and subtracting and getting a little overwhelmed. I just took a deep breath, used my smarts and went for simple. Pork and salad. Delicious, family friendly, and 500 calories at the most. Bottle of water with each meal and snack (except final snack), and I am feeling pretty successful for today.
Good night!
MEAL PLAN: I started the Slim Fast plan today. Had a shake and a cup of coffee for breakfast, an orange for snack, another shake at lunch, a Slim Fast bar for snack and "a sensible dinner". :) I made pork tenderloin and salad. The kids played hard outside today, so they chowed at dinner! The pork was y-u-m-m-y. Also, I bought Strawberry Fields salad (spinach leaves with dried strawberries, almonds, and strawberry vinaigrette). Oh, so very, very delicious. This evening I had a handful of cashews for my final snack of the day. I feel good! Not hungry, totally satisfied with the choices I made. Day one rocks!
EXERCISE: I wrote to a good friend who is a fitness guru. She's a trainer and all about being fit. She told me the most important thing to remember is to just KEEP MOVING. Constantly DOING and not sitting. Outside with the kids? Lunges, walking around, interacting with them. Making dinner? Calf raises, squats. Just moving all day long. I decided to view my day slightly different...rather than trying to think about when will I fit in 30 minutes to work out, I'm going to try to just fit in 30 minutes of sitting. So, if I am doing things non-stop, moving around the house, just keeping my body in motion, then I just want to focus on stopping that for just 30 minutes (and no more!). It worked today. I was preparing food for the kids, cleaning up behind them, went outside and walked around the yard picking up sticks, my mom came over for a bit (yay!) and I went to the grocery store, put the groceries away, cleaned some more (is it surprising to anyone that this is always something to do in our house?)...I truly only sat down for about 40 minutes when my mom took the kids to the park and I watched Undercover Boss. Made dinner, got the kids to bed...it was a pretty full day! So, I like this outlook. :) I'll work on adding in some calf raises tomorrow.
BEVERAGES: 5 bottles of water today = 10 glasses! This is most likely another reason I am feeling satisfied and not hungry. Yay! So, here's a fun story. Remember my comment about needing a Brita? Well, today when I went to the grocery store, I went down the water aisle to buy another 24-pack. I looked up to the shelf where the Brita pitchers were and there was a sale on the 5-cup Brita for just $9.99!! Then I noticed someone had stuck a coupon next to the box for another $4.00 off!! I bought that Brita and now will always have fresh water in my fridge. Thank you to God for going grocery shopping with me. :)
ISSUES/TIPS: No issues today. Truly, I think I'm going to like this plan. I was kind of freaking out about dinner because the "rule" is a 500-calorie meal. I was dividing ounces and calories and adding and subtracting and getting a little overwhelmed. I just took a deep breath, used my smarts and went for simple. Pork and salad. Delicious, family friendly, and 500 calories at the most. Bottle of water with each meal and snack (except final snack), and I am feeling pretty successful for today.
Good night!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Day 7
MEAL PLAN: Today was the final day for The Cabbage Soup diet, all you can eat of brown rice and vegetables. Ugh. Not my favorite. I managed to eat all I could, which truthfully wasn't much. This actually makes me pretty happy because it's obvious my internal stomach is shrinking. I no longer feel "hungry" all the live long day! Yay! I also was allowed "unsweetened fruit juice" today. I bought some Carrot, Apple, Grape juice and it was soooo good.
EXERCISE: Well, we did take the kids to the zoo this morning. If you haven't been to Grassmere and played in the kids' play area, you are missing out! It has a really cool castle with a maze of ups and downs, a huge net to climb on, a very, very tall slide that is all enclosed. Hard to explain, but the kids and Shaun and I had a great time! Then, we walked up to see the elephants, giraffes, meerkats, and, of course, the monkeys. We were there for almost 2 hours and I didn't sit down at all, so does that count? lol This afternoon/early evening the kids were playing outside and I rounded them up for a little neighborhood walk, as well.
BEVERAGES: I said it already, but I'll say it again...hooray for carrot, grape, apple juice! I didn't finish my water today, but I have a bottle right here next to me I plan to chug before bed. I had a friend give me a tip to invest in a Brita pitcher and a reusable water bottle/thermos. It is on my shopping list for tomorrow! I have always known a Brita would be my smartest purchase, but never seemed to have the necessary $20 or so whenever I was around somewhere to purchase one. A 24 pack of water at Kroger is $2.99, and that's super easy to come up with. Sometimes. :) I also recognize the need for the environment for me to stop buying all these plastic bottles!! I got some French Vanilla flavored coffee, so I'm not as sad about not using creamer anymore.
ISSUES/TIPS: I am very sleepy right now, but that may have something to do with all the fresh air today. Plus, I'm kind of nervous/anxious about starting something different tomorrow. My aunt and mother both think I should just continue with the cabbage soup plan, but I really hadn't planned to do it again, so I have none of what I would need for tomorrow. I am also kind of looking forward (like, a lot!) to the chocolate Slim Fast shake. Ha, ha. Anyway, about today, I always thought I really liked brown rice, but I guess that is only when I can put butter in it! I made one meal with some snap peas and then I used the last bowl of my soup and added a bag of rice to it. Choked it down. The nice thing I have found here on my 7th day is that food just doesn't mean as much to me as it once did. I'm eating because I know it's necessary (to live), but I'm not planning my whole day around WHAT I'm going to ingest and WHEN and what time do I need to start cooking so I can have dinner ready at this time. I know realize how obsessed I have become with food. I need to find that happy medium of thinking about food in a healthy way. Not thinking about it constantly and always planning the next two or three meals, but just thinking about it in terms of making sure I have the right "parts" for my family to eat at appropriate times. I'm not sure I'm wording it right. I was watching a show on A & E called "Heavy" and there was one "contestant" who was reading every nutrition label at the grocery store and getting really upset about which product he should choose. Calling his nutritionist constantly. I can relate to that man! I allow myself to get SO worked up about what is going to be best for me to eat today and how much water was in that glass and what time did I have breakfast? Is it okay to go ahead and eat lunch? I obsess easily, but the other thing I do quite easily is just give up. This is where this blog has been good for me this week. Giving up this time wouldn't just mean avoiding my husband's looks as I load up a plate. Nope, now I have all of you to answer to and I'm so thankful!! I already feel healthier, and it can only get better, right??
Here's a question - would you like me to post my weight each week or wait until the end of the month? I will definitely be weighing myself tomorrow morning and taking a picture, but I am torn between posting it or keeping you in suspense? Your call!
Good night!
EXERCISE: Well, we did take the kids to the zoo this morning. If you haven't been to Grassmere and played in the kids' play area, you are missing out! It has a really cool castle with a maze of ups and downs, a huge net to climb on, a very, very tall slide that is all enclosed. Hard to explain, but the kids and Shaun and I had a great time! Then, we walked up to see the elephants, giraffes, meerkats, and, of course, the monkeys. We were there for almost 2 hours and I didn't sit down at all, so does that count? lol This afternoon/early evening the kids were playing outside and I rounded them up for a little neighborhood walk, as well.
BEVERAGES: I said it already, but I'll say it again...hooray for carrot, grape, apple juice! I didn't finish my water today, but I have a bottle right here next to me I plan to chug before bed. I had a friend give me a tip to invest in a Brita pitcher and a reusable water bottle/thermos. It is on my shopping list for tomorrow! I have always known a Brita would be my smartest purchase, but never seemed to have the necessary $20 or so whenever I was around somewhere to purchase one. A 24 pack of water at Kroger is $2.99, and that's super easy to come up with. Sometimes. :) I also recognize the need for the environment for me to stop buying all these plastic bottles!! I got some French Vanilla flavored coffee, so I'm not as sad about not using creamer anymore.
ISSUES/TIPS: I am very sleepy right now, but that may have something to do with all the fresh air today. Plus, I'm kind of nervous/anxious about starting something different tomorrow. My aunt and mother both think I should just continue with the cabbage soup plan, but I really hadn't planned to do it again, so I have none of what I would need for tomorrow. I am also kind of looking forward (like, a lot!) to the chocolate Slim Fast shake. Ha, ha. Anyway, about today, I always thought I really liked brown rice, but I guess that is only when I can put butter in it! I made one meal with some snap peas and then I used the last bowl of my soup and added a bag of rice to it. Choked it down. The nice thing I have found here on my 7th day is that food just doesn't mean as much to me as it once did. I'm eating because I know it's necessary (to live), but I'm not planning my whole day around WHAT I'm going to ingest and WHEN and what time do I need to start cooking so I can have dinner ready at this time. I know realize how obsessed I have become with food. I need to find that happy medium of thinking about food in a healthy way. Not thinking about it constantly and always planning the next two or three meals, but just thinking about it in terms of making sure I have the right "parts" for my family to eat at appropriate times. I'm not sure I'm wording it right. I was watching a show on A & E called "Heavy" and there was one "contestant" who was reading every nutrition label at the grocery store and getting really upset about which product he should choose. Calling his nutritionist constantly. I can relate to that man! I allow myself to get SO worked up about what is going to be best for me to eat today and how much water was in that glass and what time did I have breakfast? Is it okay to go ahead and eat lunch? I obsess easily, but the other thing I do quite easily is just give up. This is where this blog has been good for me this week. Giving up this time wouldn't just mean avoiding my husband's looks as I load up a plate. Nope, now I have all of you to answer to and I'm so thankful!! I already feel healthier, and it can only get better, right??
Here's a question - would you like me to post my weight each week or wait until the end of the month? I will definitely be weighing myself tomorrow morning and taking a picture, but I am torn between posting it or keeping you in suspense? Your call!
Good night!
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