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

Going Nowhere Fast

One piece of advice I received from many people when I first decided I was going to start this healthy adventure was don't try to do too much too fast. My first week really just focused on eating better and doing some research on motivation. The motivation was primarily on how to force myself to exercise.

I have a condition called arthritic sarcoidosis. Basically, it means my body is attacking my joints (right now it's only in my hands,) but it causes a lot of swelling and a good amount of pain. Although I can dull the pain with medication, I no longer have much strength in my hands or wrist. So forcing myself to exercise is a pretty big chore, because the last thing I want to do when I'm hurting is do something that I know will make me hurt more. With that said, I promised myself no excuses!

I used the elliptical for only 15 minutes yesterday morning and was struggling for breath... yes, I'm THAT out of shape. As I was starting to feel really down after a great weigh-in, I remembered when Nic and I first went to the gym with Scott it was the same way. I also remembered that by the end of the week I was at 45 minutes with no problems. So I got back on today and went for 30 minutes, then did 15 minutes of stretching and light (5 lbs) weight lifting.

Although my body is a little shaky, I feel really good! I don't feel like I'm pushing myself too hard too fast, and I just keep reminding myself that it will get easier, and the more weight I lose, the less pressure there will be on my already tender joints.

My First Weigh-In

First of all - I really have to thank everyone that is reading this. Many of you have sent me personal emails with words of motivation, tips on a healthy life or just telling me your story. I have to say that they have all been extremely motivational! So please continue to do so, and know you're welcome to post in the comments here anytime. Knowing there are people following my journey makes me work that much harder!

I literally tossed and turned last night worried about this morning. I knew I had worked hard, but I also knew I probably could have done more. I made a promise to myself that even if I hadn't lost any weight (or worse yet, gained some,) I wouldn't stop trying. So I held my breath and stepped on the scale........ 6.8 lbs LOST!!! In one week I lost nearly 7 lbs. I'm sure a good amount of it was water weight that always comes off in the first week, but it was much higher than the 2-3 lb goal I set for myself!

I'm so proud of my first week's progress, but know I have a long way to go! Time to add exercise to the mix and continue towards my final goal!

Things learned this week:

1. I will eventually have to deal with the emotional issues tied to my overeating

2. I need to think before I eat

3. Substitute, don't eliminate

4. Try new foods - even ones I thought I hated

5. Not everything I make will be good - I'm bound to fail at cooking/baking from time to time.

It Takes Two

Two exciting things happened today - I made another amazing dinner and I avoided a huge temptation!

Let's start with the dinner. I have really learned to love cooking! I'm forcing myself to eat things I normally wouldn't and I'm (hopefully) getting healthier. I have to admit, I have become slightly addicted to sparkpeople.com, so I pulled another recipe from there - Laughing Cow Chicken Cordon Bleu. The recipe online says it has 217 calories, but I did my own math and it came to 235 calories, which is still really good, especially for a dinner. Four simple ingredients, chicken, cheese, lean ham and shake and bake made this a fantastic dish.

The chicken was great (Nic and I were literally "mmmmming" the entire time we were eating it,) but I'm still having a hard time with eating more veggies, so I melted another wedge of laughing cow cheese (35 calories) and poured it on top of my broccoli, which made it much more flavorful and tolerable. Total calories for the whole meal came to 324 which I am extremely pleased with.

That was win number one today! Win number two actually took place at work. We were having a farewell get together for one of my coworkers who is leaving the company I work at and they brought in cupcakes for her. I normally wouldn't think twice, but knowing I would have to be accountable to the WWW, I passed on them and instead ate a caramel rice cake. It was actually quite satisfying to have something sweet at the same time everyone else was. I honestly didn't even miss eating the cupcake!

So it was a win-win day today and I'm looking forward to Sunday's weigh in!

They Can't All Be Winners

If you ask pretty much anyone I know they will tell you I love to bake. In fact, I would like to eventually have a little side business that is centered around all the goodies I can make. But I'm not a huge fan of sweets. I prefer something savory to something sweet 9 times out of 10, however there is that 1 time that I am craving something sweet, and I'm usually going to go for chocolate.

I was really desperate the other night so I went onto sparkpeople.com hoping to find something that would help satisfy my urge for chocolate. I came across a recipe for frozen chocolate cheesecake bites and was intrigued, especially since they were only 30 calories a piece. I had everything in the house I would need to make them, so I thought I would give it a shot. To start with, I had a hard time getting the fat-free cream cheese smooth. Adding the rest of the other ingredients was easy - unsweetened coco powder, splenda, lite cool whip and vanilla. Once it was all mixed I poured it into a flexible mold tray I got for Christmas (the recipe calls for ice cube trays, but I don't have those.) The best part was getting to top them with Nestle Chocolate Chips which I assumed meant there was NO way these could be bad.

After two hours in the freezer they popped out of the mold fairly easily and I was ready to indulge in two of them for my final 60 calories of the day. I cut them into 4ths in hopes of savoring every bite, but after my first one I didn't want to go back for more. The taste was pretty bad. The cream cheese was overwhelming and the texture was like a thick mayo - yuck!

The whole thing was a pretty big fail. I guess until I can find something that I can make with chocolate in it that's amazing AND low calorie, I'm going to stick to sugar free chocolate pudding. I don't think I can screw up Jello!

The Substitute

There should be a candle that smells like fresh baked bread. I love carbs - bread, pasta, cereal, potatoes... and I knew if I removed them from my diet I would only crave them more. BUT I know I have to limit them because they go directly to my hips, and butt, and arms... and well pretty much everywhere.

I started doing a little research and found some recipes for cheesy mashed cauliflower. DO NOT believe anyone that tells you it tastes just like mashed potatoes, because it doesn't, BUT it was still amazing. I went with a recipe from sparkpeople.com but wanted to alter it a little. I doubled the cauliflower, but only used the amount of other ingredients that were in the recipe, and since I didn't have parmesan cheese I added a little skim mozzarella. It resulted in cutting the calories to only 60.5 per serving (1/2 cup,) and while it was nothing like mashed potatoes, it was delicious and very satisfying.

But since I can't live on veggies alone (no seriously, I can't!) I made a diet coke chicken which was very simple and equally delicious. The recipe comes in at 162 calories, but I don't think I actually consumed them all because most of the sauce you cook it in (diet coke, catsup and salsa) stays in the pan. I did top it with 1 tablespoon of extra salsa for flavor and was very happy with the results. So for the sake of argument, I'm counting the full 162 calories because I would rather overestimate than underestimate.

Finally, I added a few blackberries with a pinch of splenda because they were a little bitter, bringing my total to 228.5 calories for the whole meal. My whole dinner was delicious, and something I will make again for sure. For the first time tonight, it really hit me, it's all about substituting, not eliminating.

Do You Know the Muffin (Wo)man?

I hate breakfast. There is nothing more I despise in the morning than forcing myself to eat, which, I know sounds crazy coming from someone who is pretty much addicted to food.

My morning routine is simple. I kick Nic out of bed at 5:35am to get into the shower and then get up myself at 5:40am to start my pre-shower routine which consists of brushing my hair and teeth and picking out clothes for the day. By 5:50am I'm in the shower and ready to go out the door by 6:15am. 35 minutes to get up, get ready and go. The LAST thing I want to do is take time to make breakfast and yes, that includes pouring a bowl of cereal and milk.

So what's a girl to do when EVERY site is telling me I have to eat breakfast to boost metabolism and energy and yada yada yada... My solution? Breakfast muffins! I made my first batch of Cheesy Sausage Muffins (a recipe from sparkpeople.com) the other night and they were super simple and easy! Using Bisquick's Heart Smart mix, pre-cooked turkey sausage, Kraft-free cheddar cheese, fat free cream cheese, a little bit of skim milk and 2 eggs, Voila! I made something I could freeze and warm up at work that only has 101 calories.

The test came this morning (since I didn't go to work yesterday) and I was okay with the results. They had great texture and the cubed cream cheese chucks were a nice touch, but overall, I think they lacked salt. I was expecting something savory and it was unexpectedly sweet. They were still in the "didn't taste like diet food category," but I think next time I'll adjust the recipe and add a pinch of sea salt to see if that helps.

By the way, if you're ever interested in the recipes I'm trying, let me know. I will either type it and send it to you or point you to the website I pulled it from.

My first fall

Today was definitely an adventure. Poor Nic, my husband, got food poisoning (from a fish burrito, not my cooking!) and we got to spend 1/2 the day in the ER. By the time we got home, I was starving and suffering from a headache from lack of sleep and nourishment. I'm not going to lie (remember, part of this blog is my accountability,) and I downed 5 Caramel Delight Girl Scout cookies without a second thought. So crap, I ate 375 calories that I'm now feeling horribly guilty about.

After beating myself up for the mistake I made, I remembered I had packed my lunch the night before planning to bring it to work with me today. So I unpacked it and ended up having the sandwich made from low fat turkey breast, mustard, lettuce and honey wheat sandwich thins, and two pickles. I skipped the diet soda and replaced it with water and didn't either the apple or the clementine because I was full. I know, I know... lunch meat is not a great "diet" food because it's loaded with sodium, but it's WAY better than take out and came in at just under 150 calories. I did end up having both fruits around 3:00 because I was craving something sweet.

Today really was a wakeup call for me. I realized that there are times I eat without thinking, which is why I didn't think twice about the Girl Scout cookies until after I had consumed them. By the time I got home from the ER I was so tired that food literally went into my mouth without my brain comprehending what I was doing. This is going to be a REALLY hard habit to break. I also realized my self control is nearly non-existent, so it's going to be in my best interest to keep tempting, unhealthy foods out of the house.

So even though I am disappointed in my lack of self control, I'm going to channel my inner Confucius and remember "Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall."

This is MY year

I can't remember making a resolution I have ever actually stuck with, but I'm at the point in my life where I have two choices. I can either continue on the path I'm going down which offers little chance of ever being pain free, or I can make a change and get my act together.

Let me start by saying I don't want to be skinny - I want to be healthy. I've been on Akins, the 6-Week Total Body Makeover, and pretty much stopped eating for a while, but once I went off of it, everything I lost came back and then some. I know this sounds like a typical weight battle, but the emotional scars it has left of me will probably never heal. For now we'll leave those alone, but there may come a time along this journey that I will share them.

So, this is my year, this is THE year. Changes will be made and I am bound and determined to make the changes I need to in order to get healthy. I still have 10 months of school and I will probably slip, slide and fall along the way, but I'm using this blog to hold myself accountable.

Healthy Meal #1 comes from a book called Guilt Free Cooking. Coming in at only 345 calories a serving, Spinach Manicotti was something I wanted to try, but was totally skeptical of. I'm Italian, and if there is one thing I have had drilled in my head it's that you don't go stingy on the cheese. So when this recipe called for fat-free ricotta, reduced fat sour cream and skim mozzarella cheese I definitely had my doubts. Not to mention the sauce is tomato juice, salsa and crushed tomatoes; a far cry from the sugar-loaded sauce I grew up on.

It smelled really good coming out of the oven, and looked amazing, but I was pretty sure it was going to taste like the epitome of diet food. I was delightfully wrong! The cheeses mixed with the sauce and the spices to make a creamy dish I never would have guessed had so few calories. I added a side salad with Ken's raspberry pecan vinaigrette to bring my total calories to 370 - for the whole meal, the WHOLE dinner!

I'm thrilled that it turned out so great and I'm even happier that it's good for me! And the best part? Leftovers! It made enough for 3 meals, so I won't have to cook again until Wednesday. No more excuses about not having enough time to eat right - this is MY year!