Week 5 Day 4

Another snowy day! I am ready to hit the gym as soon as I'm out of work though!

Breakfast and lunch: Coffee (not shown) pork chop, rice, pomegranate, sugar snap peas and green pepper, walnuts and cashews, string cheese. I didn't eat the clementines or the yogurt.

Dinner will be Chicken!

Week 5 Day 3

It's snowing again, but I'm going to try to go to the gym or do a home workout today!

In other news, I have decided to start training for a 5K. I know that's not a long run, but I haven't run a 5K since high school, so I may be a little out of practice! Either way, it gives me something to work towards, and it's something I can be proud of!

Breakfast and lunch: peanut butter and celery, sugar snap peas and grapes, pork chop, string cheese, clementine, pomegranate, rice, avocado and green tea.

For dinner I will probably make BBQ chicken, or possibly some teriyaki chicken! Either way, chicken!

Week 5 Day 2

Fruit day! My most challenging day! I love fruit, but I feel like I'm hungry five minutes after every meal, and I have to pee like nobody's business!

Luckily I made sure this day occurs on a day off, and I have found that fruit smoothies GREATLY help me get through this cleansing day!

I usually only do light exercise on fruit day, and I took a short walk with a friend Tuesday. We went about a mile.

Breakfast: granny smith apple, grapes, clementine and green tea. 

 I snacked on a few more clementines, and snuck a handful of walnuts.

Ingredients for my smoothie. Fruit juice, a few handfuls of frozen fruit and berries, and no ice needed!

For dinner I had a BLT (we are allowed one sandwich!)

Week 5 Day 1

Ok, back to the diet!

I did an exercise video at home, a kickboxing workout that has left my legs and arms sore for a few days! (I actually did not make it through the video, 15 minutes in my legs felt like jelly and I stopped!)

Kick Boxing video

Breakfast! I had eggs, green tea and a clementine!

I always get busy on days off, and it looks like I forgot to eat lunch. Oops! I snacked on some dehydrated apples and walnuts, and then made Pork Chops and Rice for dinner, a family recipe.

Dinner! Pork Chops and rice, and peas!

Week 4 Day 7

Last day of eating unhealthy before I'm back on diet food!

I forgot to take a picture, but I had some salt and vinegar chips this weekend too. I missed them!

The thing my husband and I have both noticed is that while eating unhealthy food is enjoyable, it's never as satisfying as we think it will be. We are starting to crave the healthy foods instead, and that's progress!

Breakfast and lunch: grapes and berries, string cheese, chili, celery and sugar snap peas, peanut butter, granny smith apple, clementines, and green tea. (I didn't eat the pomegranate this time)

For dinner we went to Dairy Queen and I had a burger, fries and some ice cream!

Week 4 day 6

Saturday I skipped the gym and I should not have. The hardest part about finding motivation to go to the gym is the start, when it has to become a habit. Eventually it will become an important part of my day and I will want to go everyday.

I believe I skipped it because the drive home was actually a little nerve wrecking, Colorado might not get as much snow as Maine, but they don't clear the roads as well when it does snow.

Lunch and breakfast: breakfast burrito (I love these!) peanut butter and celery, chili, clementine, goldfish, pomegranate, granny smith apple and green tea. 

For dinner we ordered pizza, and I restrained myself from going back for seconds!

Week 4 Day 5

Friday I got to eat junk food again! Hurray!

Along with eating a healthy lunch and breakfast, I went to the gym and tried out the treadmill. I have a hard time with treadmills because I can never get my pace right, so the first 15 minutes of my workout was all adjusting and going mostly slow so that I could get a good warmup. I also had it inclined all the way, and brought the incline back to 0 after 15 minutes because my feet started to really hurt. One 0 incline however, I felt like I was flying! The last 5 minutes of my workout I finally hit my groove and was able to bring up the speed to a 5 and maintain it until I hit 1 mile. Normally I would have kept going, but I was on a time crunch and needed to get home in time for cheesy movie night.

I felt pretty good after that workout!

Lunch and Breakfast consisted of: chili, clementine, apple and peanut butter, green pepper, rice and greek yogurt with strawberry jam.

Dinner was WAFFLES!

Blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and some honey on a homemade waffle!

Week 4, day 2, 3, and 4

I really need to get in the habit of posting these everyday! Anyways, while my diet has been going well, my weight has been staying around 186, and this is because I had not made time to go to the gym this week. Even though it's been a busy week, there is always a way to make time, and I did not. So, I will need to work on this!

I made a workout schedule (Ive made one before, but my work schedule changed and the workout schedule didn't hold up!)

I made sure to keep one day of rest on Fridays for cheesy movie night! This week we don't have a plan yet for the movie, but I am going to suggest one of the Leprechaun movies.

Anyways, enough rambling!

On Monday night I ate almost all of the remaining blood oranges, and had chili for dinner. So good!


Tuesday:

Lunch and breakfast consisted of a few things I didn't have time to eat. Mostly, the cottage cheese and chili. I also had: three kiwis (they were going soft, time to eat the remainder!) string cheese, a clementine, the last blood orange, celery and cucumber, dehydrated apples, cashews and walnuts and green tea. 

For dinner Tuesday night I made BBQ chicken (just chicken drenched in BBQ sauce and cooked until they hit 135F in the oven) I also  made rice and mixed frozen vegetables.

Wednesday:

I had two clementines, rice and avocado, celery and peanut butter, cottage cheese, granny smith apple, chili and green tea. 

 For dinner Wednesday I made bacon, beans, and brussels sprouts. I cooked them in bacon grease, then added some lime juice, bacon, and parmesan cheese. Nothing too fancy, it's my own recipe now, haha.

I have been trying to drink enough water. Most days I go through only one of these 32 ounce nalgene bottles. I am trying to double that, and if I make a conscious effort I can, but I need to focus on drinking water. I bring one of these to work, and I keep a nelgene full of water next to my bed too.

I made a new schedule in the effort to keep my exercise on track. As summer comes around, I will add "options" like kayaking for an hour or biking, so I can pick a various fun cardio or workout to keep on track. For Kickboxing, I will be doing a warm up, than watching a kickboxing workout video, and stretching afterward. 

Thursday:
One more day until I get my three free days! So I plan on having a salad for dinner and eating well today, so I can have guilt-free food starting Friday!

For today's breakfast/lunch, I have pomegranates (I already got into when I remembered to take a picture!) leftover brussels sprouts from last night, a clementine, leftover baked beans, leftover BBQ chicken and rice, and pineapple with raspberries and strawberries. (I keep all my berries frozen so they don't go bad, and they thaw out for lunch pretty well, if not a little mushy)

So, salad for dinner tonight, and then tomorrow I get a few free days!

Day 1 of week 4

So I finally broke the 185 plateau and hit 184 today! Wahoo! Granted, the number bounces around a lot due to water weight and all that, but I still feel pretty good about it. However, this is no time for celebratory pie! I have more weight to lose!

Today is supposed to be veggies only day. I really hate these days, and yes, I often cheat. I don't care, I'm cheating with healthy things!

My first cheat today was including fruits with my veggies. For the fun of it, I made a plate of green food. (If it's green it's a veggie, right?) I also added avocado because I still have a few left and they are turning brown fast. Maybe I should just make guacamole...but then I'll want chips...

I had some peanut butter too. I'm a terrible dieter...

 I ate some pistachios as a snack, and a handful of homemade apple chips. (In case I didn't mention this before, I have a dehydrator and I love making apple and banana chips!)

I decided to have coffee again, and I have some blood oranges that I really need to just eat. I wanted to try one and bought a whole bag. They are good, but there are just too many! So, I'm going to try and just eat the remaining three today.

Even though it's veggie only day, my roommate's fiance is making chili tonight. Chili is all stuff that's on the diet..except for the red meat part...but I know that I will be having some of that for dinner tonight. I will try to drink extra water and do some workouts before bed so I don't feel too guilty about cheating on this day!

The rest of the food from week three Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

So I didn't end up eating bacon the other night, I had beans, broccoli, two hot dogs without buns (not really on the diet, but it's a small cheat) and cottage cheese. I forgot to take a picture (So sorry!)

The broccoli was good, but would have done better left in the over for a little longer, because then maybe it would have been crispier! Here's the recipe for that: Roasted Broccoli

So I'm on week three, and my weight has been unchanging. This has been really frustrating. However, I hit the gym less frequently this week, and when I did I didn't stay as long, and my weight ended up going down. This means that maybe I was building muscle and that's why my weight had hit a mini plateau, which is frustrating on the short term but good in the long run because the muscle will help me burn more fat. So, even though I am officially down to where I was before Halloween and the other dessert holidays struck, I really should go back to the gym and keep building muscle.

Anyways, breakfast and lunch for Thursday:

celery and sugar snap peas, avocado and rice, broccoli with some cheese, cashews, walnuts and homemade dehydrates mango, string cheese, pomegranate and green tea. 

 Dinner for Thursday was...a slice of pizza from Costco. I was bad this week. = (

Friday:

I felt I didn't pack enough Thursday so I packed extra for Friday. I didn't end up eating the can of tuna, the blood orange or the kiwi. I did eat: green grapes, celery and sugar snap peas, string cheese, rice, pomegranates, cottage cheese and green tea!

For dinner I made brussels sprouts, as I have discovered I enjoy them and they make a pretty good meal for lunch the next day. This is a new recipe, with avocado and bacon, and lime juice! Bacon lime and avocado brussels sprouts I didn't shred the sprouts like the recipe called for (I'm such a rebel!) and I added sharp cheddar cheese, and a little parmesan. This is my favorite recipe so far (the lime part was very good!) But the avocado did not reheat well for lunch the next day.

Friday is the night we usually watch cheesy movies, and a friend brought over an ale he wanted us to try. So I had a glass of that. The group consensus was that it tasted like tar. And maybe vomit. With a hint of maple.

Saturday:

Rice and avocado, a few strips of bacon, plain greek yogurt with blueberry preserve, pineapple and strawberries, leftover brussels sprouts, grapes, celery and sugar snap peas, and green tea. 

 Dinner on Saturday was some pistachios and a Reese's which I should not have eaten, but it was so good!

Sunday:

I left early for work so I had time to get a coffee. I asked for a mocha coffee, and didn't realize that came with whipped cream. Probably didn't need that, but oh well! (It was still delicious!) I overpacked again, and didn't eat the kiwi, string cheese, grapes, sugar snap peas, celery, apple, blood orange or pineapples with berries. (It was also a busy day at work so I was distracted). I ate the greek yogurt with blueberry preserves, clementine, homemade dehydrated mango, cashews and walnuts.

For dinner Sunday I had eggs for dinner (4 over easy!) and an avocado (we had a bunch and they are all going bad at once, so I'm trying to eat as many as I can!)

So, at the end of week 3 I have gone from 190 (I was at 185 before Halloween, Turkey day and Christmas) and I am now back down to 185! That's progress, and even if it's slow it's still going in the right direction! 

Before the Holidays 180 was the plateau I could not get under. After the holidays it became 185. So getting back down the 185 again is something that makes me feel good, and more determined than ever to break the 180 plateau that I'd been hitting before! 

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Monday and Tuesday are my days off, so I neglected to post.

So here is what I had on Monday, after a weekend of indulgence!

Eggs and tea! my favorite breakfast

I had a protein bar after the gym for a snack, and was so busy I missed lunch!
I made dinner, Chicken in BBQ sauce, rice and I cooked up the last of the brussels sprouts. I tried a new recipe from Pinterest, called "The Best Brussels Sprouts" They were alright. Too salty.  I used parmesan cheese instead of bread crumbs as a healthier option.

Monday's Dinner

 Tuesday was a fruit only day according to the diet. You get to have one sandwich to go with it, probably because fruit isn't super filling and fruit day is always a challenge for me.

Breakfast- mango, apple, blood oranges and kiwi

Ok, not a fruit, but I made a salad. No dressing, just lettuce, avocado, brussels sprouts and parmesan cheese. You can't cheat with salad, can you?

I made a smoothie. I used a handful of frozen mixed berries, a handful of frozen mixed fruit (pineapple, mango and strawberry) some pineapple juice and no ice needed. VERY good!

Another snack, more apples, blood orange, grapes, and some banana chips. 

For dinner Tuesday I  got a sandwich from Snarfs, and it was so good!

Wednesday I packed another healthy lunch, and I'm still trying to figure out dinner. Maybe bacon.

Celery and sugar snap peas, grapes, tea, pomegranate, brussels sprouts with cheddar cheese, blood orange, pineapple and cottage cheese. 

After the weekend of eating freely, even if it was only at dinner time, I gained about 2 pounds total back. That's going down again, but it's a frustrating process!

Weekend of junk food!

Ok, so for most of the weekend I still ate well, for breakfast and lunch anyways, and I had something non-diet for dinner! Having to wait to eat pizza every 11 days really makes you appreciate it!

I also made sure not to skip the gym..with the exception of Friday. Friday was our bad movie night and I didn't have time after work. Oh well.

So anyways, here is what I ate so far this weekend:

Friday-

Bacon breakfast burrito, grapes, chicken chili, mango,  pineapple and strawberry/raspberries,  greek yogurt with strawberry jam, blood orange and an avocado. I also had a double chocolate Frappuccino (not shown) 

I didn't end up eating the mango, or the orange. For dinner I had a burrito at Qdoba (so good!)

Saturday-

Trail mix-apple chips, banana chips, dark chocolate raisons (all homemade) and cashews. Yogurt you strawberry jam, pineapple and strawberries, grapes, mango, avocado, blood orange, applesauce and green tea. 

I went for a 3.49 mile walk  after work, and we had pizza for dinner, which was so good!

Sunday-

Coffee and a bagel for breakfast!

I packed more food then I think I'll need, but I have trail mix again (this time with a few walnuts), string cheese, mango, blood orange, grapes, kiwi, avocado, granny smith apple, greek yogurt with blueberry jam and some fruit snacks that I'm going to try not to eat!

We are planning on having tacos for dinner, and I'm going on a walk after work.

I have put on a pound of weight this weekend, but I also had an intense work out on Thursday, so some of it may be muscle gain, which looks bad on the scale now, but it's great in the long run!

White Chicken Chili, brussels sprouts and bacon, grilled pineapple!

So I tried a few new recipes last night during our weekly roommate dinner night. A white chicken chili that was very easy to make, brussels sprouts and bacon, and some grilled pineapple!

Here are the links to the recipes:

White Chicken Chili

Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

Grilled Pineapple

So now time for the review.

The Chicken chili was by far the easiest to make. The salsa verde gave it a bit of a kick, and while omitted the Cumin (I had no Cumin nor chili powder in my cupboards) and added a can of three bean blend, it still came out pretty good. Not amazing, but good. The taste really reminded me of a fancy chicken noodle soup, it had that same flavor. So, next time I make chicken chili, I will try another recipe.

 The brussels sprouts and bacon was good, but my husband didn't care for it. I'm not surprised, he's a picky eater after all. I left out the sauce mentioned in the recipe, and it came out great without it, but I'm not certain if it's something I would make again. Only because I can't decide if I even like brussels sprouts yet, and these were a little more time consuming to make.

I'll try another recipe, but this is something I will keep on the back burner. There may be something else I can add to it in the future that will help me like it more.

Everyone enjoyed the grilled pineapple, coated in brown sugar and cinnamon. This was probably not great as far as health food goes, but I think it's still better than eating ice cream. We didn't have a real grill on hand, so we used the small foreman grill for these. It created a sticky mess, but not too terrible to cleanup. I would happily make this part of the meal again!

So that was dinner last night.

Tonight's dinner will be nothing special, just bacon and beans. So, here's breakfast and lunch for today = )

Leftovers! Brussels sprouts with some pieces of cheddar cheese,  chicken chili, sugar snap peas and celery, strawberries and pineapple, cottage cheese, granny smith apple, and green tea (not in picture)

As far as a progress report, I am down 5lbs since I started eating this way last Monday. Friday to Sunday could be a dangerous time since I am allowed to eat non diet foods for three days, so I will have to make sure I go to the gym and eat healthy breakfast and lunch.

This diet also helps me crave healthy foods instead of all bad ones which is awesome, and only aids my goal in not just loosing weight but having a healthier lifestyle. Yay!

One of those crazy food bloggers...

I've decided to amp up my diet, and that means no delicious wheat, sugar or carbs. Well, it's sort of a low carb diet, and I admit I can't diet alone. So, now that my husband is on board, eating healthy will be a LOT easier. I have been trying to eat healthy since October, but with holiday season comes holiday food temptations, and I ate more cookies than I should have.

So I've been on this low carb diet since last Monday. It's called the Idiot-proof diet, though the name might have changed. I can't find the one I used to use online. If you find it, you can buy it online and it sets you up with a meal plan. Or, you can just cut out carbs and eat a little better, but honestly having the meal plan was very, very helpful.

It's four meals a day, and with a 11 day on 3 day off rotation. That means this Friday I get to indulge in all of my cravings (within reason!) the most important thing is never eating until you feel full, just satisfied. I plan on packing a healthy breakfast and lunch and then having burritos for dinner!

Anyways, while digging through Pinterest to try and find low carb meals I realized it might help me to post photos of all of the food I eat. Since this blog is predominantly for my benefit, I'm going to start posting food pictures, and if it's anything interesting I will add a recipe.

I plan on making white chicken chili tonight, and bacon brussels sprouts, so I will post a link to the recipe and then post a review tomorrow with pictures. = )

String cheese, granny smith apple, kiwi, blood orange, container for milk (for the oatmeal) oatmeal, cucumber, sugar snap peas, celery, cottage cheese, pineapple, and green tea.

This is everything I packed for work, which includes breakfast, lunch, and a snack.

I don't really break this up into meals, I just eat when I feel hungry.

Here are the recipes for dinner tonight, and I will post a review tomorrow!

White Chicken Chili

Brussels Sprouts and bacon