Cowboy Salad

My Mom used to make this for me a lot growing up, and it is probably one of my favorite things to eat.  It is so filling, flavorful, and loaded with vitamins.  It is the ONLY thing I cheat (a VERY little) with and have a sprinkle of salt...cause who can eat a tomato without salt.

It is simple to make...  One diced tomato, a few small diced onions, a few diced green chiles, sprinkle of salt and pepper, and like a teaspoon of olive oil, and vinegar each.  Hmm, so tasty!

Weekly Weigh-In

195!

Oh no! I gained two pounds.  I don't know if it was the extra fruit, or the day I cheated...but I gained two pounds and it feels like TEN :(  Such a crappy way to start the week.  And let me just say that starting over on the "diet" when I cheated for two days is SO hard...add gaining two pounds, and I am just sad and defeated.  BUT I am not giving up.  I am really going to re-focus my energy to staying on track, well until Halloween (this Saturday) when we are going for Mexican food!  

My working out this last week was so much better:

I did 3 days (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) jogging for 20-25 minutes.  It averages out to only a mile, cause I am so slow.  This week I am going to work adding miles, I want to work up to 4 miles.  I will feel like I need to workout more, especially if I want success.

Shame Shame...

I cheated tonight...not too bad, but I still cheated.  We went to our church Halloween party, and I ate some candy and CHILI!!  I feel horribly guilty, and to make it worse, I am probably gonna cheat again tomorrow when we take the boys to the pumpkin patch.  

Dieting during the holiday season is going to be really hard.  But I am just going to try to not over-do it when I do cheat, and make sure I don't cheat too much.  I am still so far from my goal, I don't want to have to start all the way over.

Can I just say...that the chili tasted heavenly (although it could have used some CHEESE) and the candy, well the candy I could have done without.  It didn't taste as yummy as I remember it, which I guess is a good thing and a bad thing (probably more good).  I also just want to mention that there was a table full of cupcakes, cookies, and other delicious what-nots...and I did NOT take a single one.  Yay me!

Quiet Time

This is the hardest time, this quiet time.  When the boys are gone and my house still and quiet.  When the house is dark, except for the flickering light of my tv shows.  My time, my favorite time.  This is when I would normally get a snack...a big bowl of ice cream, some cookies and milk, or some crispy salty potato chips.  It is so weird to be sitting here, eating nothing.  Sure, I could munch on some carrots, or have an orange, they would probably be satisfying and my craving would leave.  But I really really miss junk food, the comfort of it, the familiarity of it.  I always like doing two things....watching tv and snacking, reading my books and snacking, surfing the web and SNACKING.  It feels unnatural to not be eating.  I miss it.  But I am doing the better thing...   Right?  I know I am, but it is hard to change all of myself so fast.  

My poor little chubby self is sad...she wants some cheese.

On a more positive note, having fruit back in my diet is such a treat.  I hardly feel like I am dieting anymore.  I don't want to over do it, because I can already tell that having the sugar back in my body (even though it is good sugar) is making me hungrier faster, and making want to eat more than I have been the last couple weeks.  I need to be careful...

Oranges!!

After two weeks of no sugar, and strict dieting...eating an orange is practically an orgasmic experience.  Enough said.

Weekly Weigh-In

193 lbs.

Woot! I lost six more pounds...which brings my grand total (since I have started this blog) to 13 pounds.  I don't think I have ever lost that much weight before...except after my babies were born.  It still seems a little unbelievable to me. I can't really see it yet either.  There are a couple outfits that are fitting better, and my shorts are baggier, and my boobs are definitely smaller, but most of my clothes still fit the same.  

We need to get a newer scale. I feel like the one we have is so old fashioned.  I would like something a lot more accurate.  Sooner or later my weight loss is going to slow way down, and those one or two pounds I lose (if I am lucky) are going to be the only thing getting me through the week.  

FRUIT!!!!

Tomorrow will mark 14 days on the detox diet.  I did really really well, if I must say so ;)

I cheated a little the first day, and I did cheat a little yesterday (it was sample day at Costco), but both times I cheated it was a very small amounts and not things that were out of control unhealthy.  I think the thing I am most happy about is, I finally have been able to get my portion sizes under control (one of the things I really used to struggle with).  It has been the one thing that has made the most difference.  I eat most of my meals on the kids little plates, and fill it up with veggies first, before I add anything else to my plate.  I get full so much faster than I used to...which I know will come in handy on my cheat days.

The next two weeks of the detox diet, are the same as the first two...lean meats, and lots of veggies.  Except now we get to add FRUIT!!!!!  I can not wait to eat an orange...and tomatoes!

Weeks 3 & 4

Add all fruits. Lots of grapefruits and berries. Tomatoes are ok.

No bananas, watermelon, or grapes. 

Pretty simple.  And only 13 days until Halloween, and my next cheat day!!

I did not do very well on my working out, at all.  I did not even try.  It is the thing I hate the most, especially when I am not feeling well.  In between trying to figure out if this diet was tyring to kill me, or just a horrible sinus infection...I could hardly muster the energy to do my household chores, let alone 30 minutes on the tread mill.  I am hoping to try a little harder this week, I am hoping, hoping, hoping.  I KNOW I am not going to keep on losing weight if I don't get up off my butt!  

So, here is to the next two weeks, FRUIT, exercise and Halloween! Go, Fight, Win!

I wonder...

I don't know what is wrong with me...

For the past week I have felt so sick, and drained.  I have headache after headache, nausea, and I have even lost my breakfast a few times.  And before any one asks, NO I AM NOT PREGNANT...it is not even possible.

I can't help but wonder if it has something to do with this diet I have been on, but for the life of me I can't figure out how.  I am drinking a lot of water, and some Crystal Light now and then.  I eat several times a day (at least 4-5 times), my portions are a lot smaller than they used to be...but I ate like a pig before, so it hard for me to gauge how much is too little or too much.  I am not hungry very often...so I figure I am doing fine in that department.  I am eating protein at least twice a day, and lots of veggies, and even taking a multi-vitamin.  I assumed by now my body would be over the sugar with-drawls...but maybe not.  I really wish I could shake this, so I can start working out again.  I was doing so well before, and now I am probably gonna have to start over from the beginning.

I am really looking forward to next week, when I can add fruits to the menu.  God I want an orange so bad!

Eight Days of Cheating

I am loving this diet, I mean lifestyle change, and I am planning on sticking to it for the long haul.  BUT, I am still a chubby girl at heart, and I love love love food.  Really good food!  Steamy carne asade with guacamole and corn tortillas, crispy bacon, homemade mac and cheese, steak and fries, and Dairy Queen.  I miss food so much.  I miss that warm feeling when you're stuffed to the brim with food, sugary, salty, tasty food.  So, in an honest effort to stay true to my chubby inner self, I am planning eight days of cheating over the next seven months.  

Here are my allowed cheat days:

October 31st Halloween - Mexican Food!!!  I am dying for some beans and guacamole.

November 26th Thanksgiving - We are getting TWO pies, and making homemade mac and cheese...and ROLLS.

December 24th and 25th Christmas and Christmas Eve - French toast and bacon, ham and mashed potatoes...and MORE pie.

December 31st New Year's Eve - Out to dinner at Zia's, our yearly tradition.

February 15th Clark's Birthday - BBQ and CHIPS!

March 11th Jason's Birthday - Hmmm... it will be Jay's choice, but I know it will be so tasty.

April 28th Our Anniversary - Steak, fries, ice cream...and what ever else I can get my hands on.

Those are the days I am living for.  These planned days make it so much easier for me not to cheat now.  Every time I want to eat something I am not supposed to, I just think....18 more days until Halloween, I can do it.  (Jason and I spent an hour planning our Halloween dinner the other night, I CAN'T wait!)  I am going to try not to go too overboard on these days, but I am going to make it fun.  I am hoping by next May I will have lost enough weight that I can add a few more cheat days for the rest of the year....but we will see.

What I learned today....

I want to be skinny, more than I want to eat potstickers!

Weekly Weigh-In

199 lbs.

I LOST 7 lbs! I can hardly believe it! 

I made Jason double check it, I got on and off the scale at least six times, and I even weighed the boys to make sure the scale was working right.  I really lost 7 pounds!  I am sure most of it was water weight, I was kinda bloated last week, but I think it still counts.  I say week one of new diet...sorry life style change, was a total success.  This was exactly what I needed to keep me focused this next week.

I am finding it easier to stay on the diet, even though I spend most of the day planning seven course meals that I wish I was cooking.  I am not as hungry anymore...before I started this change I was hungry ALL the time, eating almost every three hours (and not healthy things or small portions).  Now, I am eating about two normal size meals and two small snacks...and I am rarely hungry in between.

Our house was struck with a plague of fevers, runny noses, and coughs all week long...so my workout report is not as good.  After being up with both boys most of the night I could hardly manage to get out of bed at the normal time, not to mention trying to get up a hour early to workout.  I did manage to jog on the treadmill Tuesday night for 20 minutes, but that was it (I got the plague the next day).  We are on the mend, and I think this next week I can fit in a couple workout days without totally exhausting myself.

I am proud of myself...am I allowed to say that.  I have a long road ahead of me, but for the first time in a long time I KNOW I can do it.

4 days down, forever to go.

I am doing surprisingly well on the new diet...I mean LIFESTYLE CHANGE.  I am trying to stop calling it a diet, because I don't plan on ever stopping.  Later on down the road, when I am FINALLY losing weight, I might/will have a treat now and then (cause how can you give up Mexican food forever).  But for the most part, I really feel like I have turned over a new leaf.

It is not as hard as I thought it would be.  I am not as hungry as I thought I would be either.  Don't get me wrong, I would die for a Mt. Dew Slurpee or a piece of cheese or an Oreo (oh, I miss Oreos), but I am full and I know that these cravings are just my old BAD habits trying to get out and get a little love.  Tonight I had a piece of grilled chicken and a small  red potato...let me tell you that potato tasted like a TREAT!  Most everything I am eating would taste loads better with a little salt and butter, or any sort of condiment....but so far NO cheating!  I didn't think I would last this long.  Jason and the boys have been eating what I make, or Jason makes his own dinner (like tonight they are having french fries, and I am ok with that and not even tempted).

  

I love this new focus I have, this determination to stay on target....I haven't felt this way in a long time.  Now, if only I could get this same feeling in the WORKING OUT department...then I would be set.

Detox Diet Day 2

Tuna Salad without mayo, really SUCKS!

Detox Day 1

I stayed on the diet all day, and did not cheat (Ok, I lied.  I cheated a very little...but I could've cheated worse-Jay went to Wendy's- and once I cheated, I got right back on track instead of ruining the rest of the day).  I was hungry a lot, and it did take a lot of convincing  not to snack or drink things not on the list.  And eating broccoli with out salt, SUCKS!  But overall, not a bad day.  

I didn't get up early to work out, Clark was up all night sick, but I did jog on the treadmill tonight (and having my shows on the dvr to jog along to really helped me stay focused, and run for longer).

I have a feeling the next few days are really going to suck, as my body starts to have sugar withdrawls and I tire of eating veggies and chicken (with NO salt!).  But I am staying strong.

Detox Diet

First TWO Weeks

Meats: Chicken, Turkey, and Fish. Eggs are OK. No red meat or pork.

Vegetables: You can eat as many green vegetables as you want, but no peas or beans. Red potatoes and avocados are ok.

Do not use bottled salad dressing. Make your own with lemon, garlic, olive oil, tarragon, vinegar, and pepper. 

Nuts: All nuts but no peanuts.

No salt. No dairy. No grains.

Drinks: Drink lots of water. You can add a lemon or lime to your water. V8 juice, carrot, celery or any other vegetable juice is fine. Almond milk and unsweetened tea are ok too. No soda of any kind.

Snacks: Carrots, sardines, or Quaker Rice Cakes (Unsalted or Butter Popcorn flavored only.)

Weeks 3 & 4

Add all fruits. Lots of grapefruits and berries. Tomatoes are ok. 

No bananas, watermelon, or grapes.

Weeks 5 & 6

Add beans, peas, and peanuts.

Weeks 7 & 8

Add cereals, breads, and pasta. Add one whole grain each week; corn, brown rice, wheat, etc. This is the best way to pick up any hidden grain allergies.

General Principles

This plan is critical to adjust your metabolism. When the liver is full of sugar, it keeps your blood sugar at a level that maintains the addiction and metabolic problems. You will emerge with your sugar cravings gone.

DO NOT GO HUNGRY. Eat every hour if necessary. Do not count calories. If you are full you will stay away from foods to avoid.

DO NOT WEIGH YOURSELF.

Drink fluids before every meal.

Eat breakfast as a king, lunch as a queen, and dinner as a pauper.

Plan ahead so you don’t get caught hungry around bad food.

Recruit family members. This detox is very hard without support.

Again, NO DAIRY, RED MEAT, GRAINS, OR SWEETS.

Let's do this thing!

After weeks of cheating my little heart out, I am ready to start over.  I feel extra focused this time, and even excited.  I am tired of wallowing in my own self pity, and blubber.  I am tired of always trying to think of more excuses not to do something, when the real reason is I am just LAZY.  So here I go, AGAIN, tomorrow is the day.

Here is the plan;

Monday- Friday

6:30am Wake-up for stretching, workout, and healthy breakfast. I have recorded a lot of different workouts from the Fit-tv channel...a lot of variety.  My Dad also taught me how to make a delicious and healthy veggie omelet.  As a reward for getting up WAY too early, plenty of reading and quiet tv time before the boys wake up (hopefully).

Monday, Wednesday, Friday 

Jogging on the treadmill for 20-60 minutes after Jason gets home.  I have been saving up tons of tv shows on my dvr to keep me going.  Running is the thing I want to work on the most, so I can run the 10k in February.

Saturday or Sunday

Hiking with the family, or long run by myself.  

My diet for the next two to three weeks will be a detox diet (that my Dad recommend, and he has even tried it, with great success).  It is not over the top crazy like some of the other detox diets I have tried (like my lemonade, maple syrup, all juice diet).  Mostly it is a lot of lean meats, and fresh fruit and veggies.  The goal is to rid your body of all the toxins and SUGARS that build up in your body, and make you crave more sugary and fatty food.  (Totally something I need.)  I am actually really looking forward to doing this, and my Dad, little sister and Mom are even starting with me!  Strength in numbers right :)

The First 2 weeks (or 3 weeks, depending on how much I cheat):

Meats: Chicken, Turkey, and Fish. Eggs are OK.  No red meat or pork.

Vegetables: You can eat as many green vegetables as you want, but no peas or beans. Red potatoes and avocados are ok.  (Red potatoes!!!  Sounds like a treat to me!)

Nuts: All nuts but no peanuts.

Do not use bottled salad dressing. Make your own with lemon, garlic, olive oil, tarragon, vinegar, and pepper.

No salt. No dairy. No grains.  (OUCH! I love salt, especially when I am eating a lot of veggies, this will be one of the hardest parts for me.)

Drinks: Drink lots of water. You can add a lemon or lime to your water. V8 juice, carrot, celery or any other vegetable juice is fine. Almond milk and unsweetened tea are ok too. No soda of any kind.  (Already 4 weeks soda and caffeine free, yay me!)

Snacks: Carrots, sardines, or Quaker Rice Cakes (Unsalted or Butter Popcorn flavored only.) 

And there you go, not too hard.  For a detox diet it still has a lot of options.  It is only a couple weeks, and then I can add on other foods and fruits!  The hardest part for me will be no salt, making my own salad dressings, and no cheese. 

Also, starting today I am starting weekly weigh-ins again (I am never good at this part, I loathe the scale).  Every Sunday I will weigh in, and report on the previous week's workouts.  

I am really excited about this, and I hope I can find some of this enthusiasm tomorrow morning when my alarm goes off at 6:30am telling me it is time to START.