Weekly Weigh-in #4

Last night was a challenge, and really proved to me that I do have some willpower and discipline... not a lot, but some. I went to a magic/comedy show at Theater 166 last night and after, we were invited to go to On The Border with our friends. I left the decision up to Nic because I had no plans to eat anything. He wanted to go, so I had to mentally prepare myself on the way there to NOT eat anything. I had already had dinner and a snack right before the show, but by 9:30 my stomach was growling a little.

I looked at the menu, ordered an unsweetened ice tea (yes, I'm back on caffeine,) and watched as everyone around me placed their orders. The worst part? The free salsa and chips they refill continually throughout the meal. My friends who ordered dinner didn't get my mouth watering quite as much as those that ordered dessert. Oh, and it seems really odd to me now that I don't look at food the same way. Rather than being envious of what other's have, I've started to do mental calorie counts! So when I got home, I just had to check out their nutrition guide. Nic ordered 2 sopapillas with honey, and those alone come in at 630 calories, while another friend got the Kahlua ice cream pie for 950 calories! That's just under a whole day of calories for me. Anyway, I made it through the meal with no calories consumed, which only proved to me that I can do this!

So here's the part I'm sure you really came to my blog to find out about, what happened when I stepped on the scale this morning. I was still on cloud nine from my win last night over food when I weighed in, so I had high hopes I would hit my 2-3 pounds goal. Not only did I hit it, I exceeded it! 3.8 pound lost this week bringing my current total to 12.8 pounds in three weeks. This also means I hit my first (of many) mini-goals. 10 pounds lost means I get to go purchase any book I want from Half Price Bookstore. Not sure what I'll get yet, but I'm sure I'll blog about it when I do!

Now THIS is a Personal Pizza

When I was younger, my mom would sometimes make my brothers and me English Muffin Pizzas. They are fast, easy and inexpensive, but definitely would not fall in the healthy category. So it was my goal to change that and find a way to satisfy my craving for pizza in less harmful way to my body.

The end result? A hot, satisfying, mini pizza that didn't blow my diet! I bought Thomas' Light Multigrain English Muffins, which allows you to have a whole muffin for 100 calories, added 1/8 cup of Hunts natural pasta sauce (15 calories,) 1/4 cup low fat, part skim mozzarella cheese (80 calories,) and 1 cut up link of turkey sausage (40 calories.) I wanted to add green pepper but after searching the fridge, I couldn't find it. So, if my math is correct, I ended up with 235 calories for the pizzas and a side salad coming in at about 30 calories for a total of 265 calories for a wonderfully satisfying dinner.

I was impressed by the fact that I was craving pizza all day long and this tasted better to me than anything I could get at Pizza Hut! Now all I need to do is come up with a great recipe for garlic wings and I'm throwing a party!

Bye Bye Taco Hell

There is something wonderful about the speed of fast food, especially when you're working full time and going to school full time. Within 5 minutes I've given my order and I'm driving away with my food. But, let's be real... few places have anything healthy and the reality is that temptation kicks in the moment I smell french fries. So my original plan to get a salad with chicken goes bye bye and I'm walking away with a Big Mac and Fries... and since it comes with a drink, I throw in a coke and leave with over 1,100 calories in my bag.

I know the best thing to do is avoid fast food restaurants period, but there are times I'm craving that flavor you can only get at a drive-through window. So what do I do? Break down and get the calorie laden, greasy burger? Not anymore! Tonight for the first time, I made a Spicy Chicken Crunchtastic Supreme from a recipe I pulled from Hungry Girl http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1172

It was fast and easy to make and was delicious! It wasn't nearly as salty as the one at Taco Bell and it tasted better, fresher and it didn't give me a upset stomach. I added some brown rice and broccoli with cheese sauce bringing my total calories to 345. Not bad, and way better than the 530 in just ONE Taco Bell Crunchwrap. So I think it's safe to say that I a have no desire to go back to Taco Bell any time soon, and will continue trying the healthier swaps that Hungry Girl Has to offer.

And just a friendly FYI, in case you're interested in trying this wonderful dinner, Sprouts carries both the guiltless chips and the low carb, low calorie tortillas. Mmmmmm...

More Cash for Healthy Foods?

One of the things I was really afraid of when I decided to eat healthier was that our grocery bill was going to drastically increase. I figured eating fresher and organic veggies, fruits and meat meant that I was going to have to redo our entire budget, but I was so wrong!

Nic and I have been really good about only spending $100-125 for two weeks worth of food. Back in 2009 we paid off all our debt, bought a house and have continued to stick to a budget so we can continue to build wealth and give more, so I think my fear of a drastic increase was only natural. I wanted to do everything possible to stay around the $100-125 mark, including clipping coupons, checking sales ads and shopping at multiple stores.

It was actually easy! Most of our fruits and veggies come from Sprouts, and I plan my sides around what's on sale. I went today and only spent $25.72 on almost all our produce, and I was in and out in less than 15 minutes. I then went to Tom Thumb to get the rest of our two weeks of food including dairy, meat, grains, and more. I walked out of there with a bill of $116.77 bringing my two store total to $142.49. Looking at that you would THINK I spent $17.49 over my food budget, and truth be told I did, BUT here's the great part... we haven't been eating out so our entertainment budget has just been sitting pretty and growing.

So I'm happy and getting healthy and have one less excuse for not eating better.

Weekly Weigh-In #3

Good Morning Folks!

I know this has been a pretty lousy week for me when it comes to blogging. I've been motivated to do it, but being sick meant I wasn't cooking, so I didn't have much to write about. Good news though, I'll be back to cooking again on Tuesday, so it should be another fun week of blogging about great healthier food and my exercise escapades!

In my posting yesterday I talked about the changes I made while sick, and even though I was choosing better alternatives, I was not counting calories as they went into my body the way I had been the week before, so I knew today's weigh-in was uncertain. Regardless, I've vowed to do this, even if it means I'm posting an increase, and again set my goal of 2-3 pounds as my weight loss goal for the week.

I was shocked when I got on the scale and realized that even with my comfort foods while sick, I still lost 2.2 pounds, bringing my current total to 9 pounds lost! That means I'm only 1 pound away from my first mini-goal!! I was thrilled that I still managed to lose weight this week even with the obstacles I faced!

Things learned this week:

1. There are healthier substitutions for everything

2. I can be sick AND still lose weight

3. I'm going to try a couple different frozen meals - thanks for the advise!

4. Caffeine withdrawal sucks, but at least it's over

Stay Smart While Sick

Well, I've been away for a little while and it's unfortunately because I caught a nasty cold. It's in my head and chest so I've not done much but sleep, watch TV, homework and push fluids. I kind of looked at the whole thing as a challenge. Can I be sick AND still stay on track?

My answer is yes and no. I have not been counting the calories the way I normally do, BUT I have been smarter. I did the best I could to trade in my normal comfort foods while sick for healthier versions. Here's how it went down:

Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup (156 calories) - Lipton's Noodle Soup (60 calories)

Simply Orange OJ (110 calories) - Tropicana 50 OJ (50 calories)

Oroweat Country White Toast (100 calories) - Sara Lee Delightful Whole Wheat Bread (45 calories)

Mott's Original Applesauce (110 calories) - Mott's Natural Unsweetened Applesauce (50 calories)

Jello's Chocolate Pudding Snacks (120 calories) - Jello Sugar Free Pudding (60 calories)

It actually hasn't been that hard making the switch. I'm still having the foods that are comforting to me while I'm sick, but I'm not consuming nearly as many calories as I normally would be while sick. I haven't exercised since Wednesday because I've been under the weather, which sucks because I was really getting into the groove, but as soon as my chest feels better, I'll be back at it.

I'm still going to weigh in tomorrow, but I have no idea what will happen when I step on the scale. I'm hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst, after all, I haven't moved from the couch in two days!

Gotta Question

Sorry ya'll but this will be a short posting. It's 8:30pm and I'm just writing this and getting to homework. I got home from work a little late (thank you Dallas traffic,) made a HUGE mess cooking dinner but still managed to fit in my 45 minute workout. I have a couple questions that I was hoping some of you might be able to answer - ANY advice is welcome!!

1. How do you cope with caffeine withdrawal? I have stopped drinking soda and coffee (because I don't like it without non-dairy creamer) and I have noticed I'm getting really bad headaches now. I actually woke up at 4am this morning feeling like my head was going to explode!

2. Any recommendations on frozen meals? I know most have way too much sodium, but there are some nights when I either don't want to cook or forgot to pull the meat out of the freezer that morning (today was one of those days,) and defrosting it in the microwave is a mess and ends up cooking 1/2 the meat before I even get it in the pan. Healthy Choice? Lean Cuisine? I would like to keep them under 350 calories if possible, but don't want to eat cardboard.

On a side note, I came across this article today and it was really motivational! Happy reading! http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20410099,00.html