Day 1

Breakfast: Apple cinnamon oatmeal with flax.
Lunch: Chicken, spinach, tomato salad
Dinner: Tilapia, quinoa, veggies
Snack 1: Almonds and apple slices
Snack 2: Berry and vanilla protein smoothie

Activity: Walking the dog - 30 minutes.

Starting Over

It's Christmas Eve and I find myself looking back at the months that have been wasted. My weight has not changed. I'm starting to fear that I have a hormone imbalance or thyroid issue. I am going to make one more attempt and actually give it my best effort. My goal is to lose 100 lbs. I will post recipes for all of my meals and menus for the week. My work out goal is to be at the gym 5-6 days a week and take the puppy for at least 1 30 minute walk a day.

Dec. 2012 Unhappy and distraught by my out of control weight gain.  I tried to hide behind the chalkboard. 

My ideal shape and size.

When I hit my 100 lb. weight loss goal, my husband will take me on a trip/cruise to the country of my choosing!

Day 8...Trying Again

Well, the sugar binge I "enjoyed" this last week has taken a real toll on my body. The scale read 225 lbs. This (Sunday, July 8th) morning...Grrrr...All the fixings for No Bake cookies have been removed from my house and my husband and I are going to do a slightly altered version of the paleo diet for 2 weeks, just to try it out.

Day 8

Morning: Hummus and Pita chips
Afternoon: 2 Stuffed pepper halves (mushrooms, tomatoes, rice, celery, ground turkey, mozzarella cheese)     Grapes
                Hummus and Pita chips
Evening: Hummus and Pita chips, 1/2 Wendy's frosty, 1 serving homemade chocolate banana ice cream. (made with frozen bananas, cocoa, and chocolate syrup).
Activity: 1.5 mile walk and the first workout of a 2 week "Shrink A Size In 14 Days" workout plan I found on Pinterest. I'm interested in seeing if it actually works.

Day 6 and 7...I'm Living A Nightmare.

I don't understand why I can't stop shoveling food into my mouth. I want to be skinny again, but I keep stuffing No Bake cookies into the never ending abyss that is my stomach. I had such high hopes for this week being the week I turned it all around. It's frustrating to look in the mirror knowing that the full batch of No Bake cookies I consumed not only shot my blood sugar through the roof, increasing my chances of developing diabetes, but added to the weight I need to lose.

Day 6

Morning: 2 slices thin crust mushroom pizza, No Bake Cookies

Afternoon: Stuffed bell pepper, No Bake Cookies

Evening: Grilled chicken salad with cheese, sour cream, and guacamole

              1 small flour tortilla with rice and beans, No Bake Cookies

Activity: Spent all day sitting on my butt, writing my final paper.

Day 7

Morning: Fruit smoothie

Afternoon: Celery with peanut butter, grapes, 2 mini tamales

Evening: No Bake cookies, 3 mini tamales, hummus and pita chips

Activity: 7 hours on feet taking portraits, 45 minutes walking around Sam's Club.

I'm going back to a weekly menu. Hopefully, this will help me get back on track.

Day 5, July 5th...Eh...

Yesterday (Thursday, July 5th) was a pretty average day. I spent all day working on homework for  my class that ends today. I ate more sugar than I had hoped to, but I managed to get a swim in with my husband last night.

Brunch: 10 am -12 pm: 4 medium pancakes with syrup and powdered sugar (over the course of 2 hours).
Early Dinner: 4 pm: Stuffed bell peppers: mushrooms, tomatoes, onion, rice, ham, salsa and garlic salt. (these turned out to be more rice than vegetables so I'm definitely going to switch it next time while using chicken or turkey instead of ham. (Ham was all we had.)
Snack/Dessert: No bake cookies. (These things are the bane of my existence!!! I don't know why I crave them so much!)
Activity: 1 hour swim: 70% fun, 30% laps

Yesterday was a high carb, high sugar day and I feel like crap because of it. I find that when I spend most of my day sitting at the table doing homework, I tend to eat more sugar/carbs and "bad for me" foods. Or I just over eat my calories. Today is going to be a much better day. I am going to spend most, if not all, of today writing my final paper, but I'm going to really try to eat healthy and get in a solid workout.

Day 4...Could Have Been Better; Could Have Been Worse

Happy Independence Day!!

Today did not go as well as it could have. I didn't achieve either of the goals I set last night and I'm sure I'll pay for it tomorrow. I weighed myself this morning and I am a whopping 221.4 lbs. I actually think I've lost a few pounds since I started this journey. It's definitely not a number I ever wanted to see again, but I take a little comfort in knowing that I haven't gone back up to 240. And yes, I acknowledge that I ate horribly.

Morning: 1/2 a mini watermelon
                No Bake cookies
Afternoon: 2 slices thin crust mushroom pizza
                  Spaghetti Squash
                  No Bake cookies
Evening: 2 slices thin crust mushroom pizza
               1/2 Chicken nacho salad from Bueno Taco
                No Bake cookies
Activity: 3 hours walking around Six Flags

The No Bake cookies and pizza weren't the best choices. I spent most of the day working on homework before going to Six Flags for the evening with my husband so I didn't get to my workout. My goal for tomorrow is to eat less sugar and do a real workout.

Let's hope I don't pay too dearly for my food choices today!

Day 3...I'm Feeling Better Already!

Today was a good day. I didn't quite achieve my goal of limiting carbs to only one meal. I was so close to making it, but I was craving oatmeal something awful when I got home from work. Today was a better, though.

Morning: 1 small heart healthy buttermilk pancake with I Can't Believe Its Not Butter spread, and a tbs of syrup. (I also had the Andes mint I got after dinner at Olive Garden. That's right! I saved it!)
                1/2 Fruit smoothie (Banana, Plum, Peach, Pineapple, Water)
Afternoon: Baked salmon and vegetables (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, yellow squash)
Evening: The other half of my fruit smoothie from this morning.
               Oatmeal mixed with milk, cocoa, peanut butter, and agave nectar.      
               Spaghetti Squash
Activity: 8 hours on my feet taking senior portraits. (I'm so sore from going up and down a ladder to get just the right shot.)

Okay, I'll admit that the chocolatey-peanut buttery oatmeal goodness wasn't the best choice. (Thank you baby for the nearly impossible to resist cravings.) However, it was organically/naturally sweetened, I had about 8 servings of fruits and vegetables, I spent 8 hours on my feet, and I stayed under 1800 calories. Oh, and I just barely got my 8 glasses of water in.

My goal for tomorrow is to eat 5-6 servings of fruits and vegetables and get a real workout in.