I have a New Blog on SparkPeople!

SparkPeople.com is awesome! So many great tools for losing weight and getting healthy. I'm blogging there now! Much easier to do it that way, plus I get lots of feedback from other SparkPeople members! I'm still following the same general plan listed at the top of this blog, but allow the occasional Eggo waffle or pita bread now, and maybe on occasion Italian bread, mainly because I can't afford to buy ALL sprouted grain products, which are twice as expensive, lol! Anyway check out my new blog! I'm down to 174.5 lbs now and counting and am well on my way to being trained to run in a 5K! Here's the link: http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_summary.asp?id=FATBUSTINMOM See you there! :-)

Slipped slightly, but still making progress

I've had a difficult time keeping up with my Blog lately. I suppose I will just try to update when I can from now on, instead of trying to do a daily entry.

I gained a pound this past week, which doesn't surprise me with it being "that time of the month." I was still hoping for at  least no gain, but I slipped a little because of strong PMS cravings. Thankfully I got right back on track, so hopefully this next week will be better. I'm making good progress with my running, too. I'm able to run 3 minutes straight at a time now.

Fruit never tasted so sweet

The PMS has begun, with cravings for something sweet and increased hunger, which start for me a few days before my period is due, and I'm being put to my first test. Tonight I surprised myself when I decided not to go down to the store to buy the ultra thin crust pizza I originally intended to buy for dinner and opted to stay home and eat something within my diet guidelines instead. After dinner, I was craving something sweet, so I had a tangerine, then a bit later, a few chunks of pineapple. The fruit tasted so sweet to me, whereas in times past, it was usually mediocre at best. I'm convinced it's because I rarely eat sugar or high-fructose corn syrup now, so fruit tastes sweeter than normal. Then I wanted something salty and still felt like I needed a little more food, so I opted for some mixed nuts. I fear I may have eaten too many, though. It was hard to stop, not sure why, as mixed nuts are not usually a food I have trouble putting down.

Thursday's Food & Exercise

Breakfast - 2 scrambled eggs, cooked in 1/2 Tbsp butter, with shredded-by-me cheddar cheese melted on top; 1 slice Ezekiel bread, toasted, with peanut butter; 1 cup whole milk.

Snack - Protein shake made with 1 cup frozen berries + 1 cup whole milk + 1 scoop JM protein powder

Lunch - 3 slices from Hormel Cure 81 ham quarter, 3 slices cheddar cheese, a little Ranch dressing, and mustard (no bread this time).

Snack - Protein shake made with 1 cup ice + 1 cup whole milk + 1/2 banana + 1 scoop JM protein powder.

Dinner - Fish sandwich using leftover baked whiting filet, some cheddar cheese slices, mayo & mustard, and 2 slices Ezekiel bread, toasted.

Snack - 1 tangerine, few bites of pineapple chunks, 2-3 handfuls of mixed nuts.

Exercise: Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred workout DVD

Increased hunger today

I think I will need to re-think what I eat for lunch tomorrow, since by afternoon today I was hungry again, then after dinner I was also hungry again (and am hungry again now). Something was off today, and it may very well have been the peanut butter and jelly sandwich (well, if you call Polaner all-fruit "jelly"). If I show a gain tomorrow, then I'll know I overdid it.

Wednesday's Food & Exercise

Breakfast - 1 slice Ezekiel 4:9 bread, toasted, with peanut butter (I don't even measure the peanut butter anymore); protein shake made with 1 cup frozen mixed berries, 1 cup milk, and 1 scoop JM protein powder.

Lunch - Peanut butter and jelly (Polaner all-fruit) sandwich using two slices Ezekiel bread, few slices cheddar cheese.

Snack - Protein shake, a few mixed nuts. 

Dinner - Fish cooked in a little butter, lemon juice, and salt & pepper; mixed veggies with a little butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic.

Snack - Peanut butter and banana (whole small banana) sandwich made with two slices Ezekiel bread

Exercise: Week 3, Workout 3 of the Couch to 5K program (repeating until ready to move on to week 4).

Is this really a diet?

Last night when considering dinner, I stared at my nice clean kitchen and the thought of messing it up again was so unappealing that I decided to splurge and take my husband and daughter to dinner. How neat that I actually have my own money to do that with now, with my new work-at-home job. I feel so very blessed to have the opportunity to work for my brother using my skills and be able to do it from home, plus learn what he does so that one day I can own my own computer business and serve the area closer to where we live.

I ordered the jumbo wings, because they were not breaded, and chose the honey mustard sauce since the description said it was "mustard-based with just a touch of BBQ" which meant that it was probably lower in sugar. Instead of the regular fries that came with it, I ordered the sweet potato fries. Mmmmm it was all so good. In days past while losing weight, I would have assumed I had to order a salad, even if I wasn't in the mood for one. I admit, I did worry a little about the oil they might have used to fry the sweet potato in, and also the amount of sugar that was really in the wing sauce. I had even planned to do the Jillian 30-Day shred workout last night as a safety measure, but wound up not having time before it was too late. Much to my relief, the scale showed no gain this morning. Who says eating out while losing weight has to be boring? It didn't even feel like I was on a diet. It was a very satisfying meal.

I seem to be enjoying the Ezekiel bread more and more now. I don't know if it's because my taste buds have finally adjusted or what. Several years ago when I tired it, I didn't really like it, because it was so different from what I was used to with regular bread. But this time, I went without all bread for almost two weeks, and it must have been what made the difference in me being able to tolerate the Ezekiel bread more when I had it again. And now, I would even prefer it over regular bread. What is surprising is that my 4-year old daughter seems to really like it, too.