May 1: Monthly weigh in

Today's weigh in did not provide excitement.  I only lost two pounds in April.  I keep reminding myself that I had nearly a two week diet break, but it isn't cheering me up a lot.  There were also a couple of inches lost - 1 in the waist and 1 in the boobs (NOT where I was hoping to lose!)

So today begins a new month with a new plan.  I just began dieting again on Thursday, so I'm hoping the diet break did what it is supposed to do - I really want to get my weight loss kicked up to two pounds a week again.

Meal planning for this week: (planned leftover items)

Crock pot Mexican chicken, baked brown rice, veggies in their steamer bags, and roasted chicken breasts

I can put together lots of meals with those items.  I also need to restock on Greek yogurt for my yummy protein ice cream - so very delicious!

I've been trying, somewhat unsuccessfully to back off on the carbs a bit.  Carbs seem to be my favorite thing in the world though.  So I'm going to leave my carbs alone, make sure I get enough protein and keep the calories low.  This month I'm shooting for 120 grams of protein per day.

This weekend, if the weather clears up, I plan to do some gardening - that will give me a bit of a workout.  I hope everyone enjoys their weekend ~

April 30: Back to Dieting

I weighed in the day I ended my diet break and was very surprised to find I lost a pound in the 12 days I managed to sustain the diet break.  I thought that was pretty cool.  I'm always happy to see the scale move in the downward direction.

Now I have my third day of dieting back under my belt and I feel much better - more in control.  I've been keeping things pretty tight and I'm hoping to milk the metabolism boost I am supposed to have gotten from my diet break.

I've been working part time at the car dealership and it just seems like time has gotten away from me.  I'm really glad I prepped a lot of food last weekend and plan to do the same this weekend.

Back tomorrow with month end check in!

April 28: Back in the Saddle

OH yeah!!! I couldn't stand it for one more day.  I stopped my diet break after 12 days.  I just couldn't make it for the entire 14.  How weird is that?

Any other time I would have loved taking a couple of weeks to shovel in extra calories on purpose!  I have been thinking about it and I think my discomfort comes from all of the issues I have had overcoming emotional eating.  The foods I have eaten recently are so reminiscent of the times in the past where I have eaten out of control, trying to squelch the bad emotions.


So today, I began by starting off HARDCORE.  I had my beloved Ezekiel toast w/ natural peanut butter for breakfast and I also came up with a spectacular concoction to beat the ice cream cravings.

PROTEIN ICE CREAM

1 cup of Greek yogurt (I used fat free vanilla)

1 serving of protein powder

Frozen fruit of choice (I used 150g of frozen blueberries)

Mix the protein powder and yogurt in your food processor.  If you stop now, before adding the frozen fruit, you will have a delicious, high protein pudding like substance.  Add the frozen fruit and mix well in the food processor.  Enjoy your delicious, ice cream textured frozen treat. 

With the ingredients I used, I racked up

346 calories

3 g of fat

44 g of carbs

37 g of protein

I know my blog has really been lacking during the diet break - it all goes back to how difficult that break has been for me.  The medication I am taking for depression suppresses my appetite, so that was another thing that made the break difficult. 

Tomorrow I will weigh in and let you know what happened to my weight during the last two weeks of eating with abandon.

I'm glad to be back!

April 25: Getting organized

I spent a great deal of time getting myself organized this weekend.  Last week was a wash as far as exercise was concerned.  It is a habit that is unfortunately very easy to get out of for me.  So, I spent the weekend trying to get things organized so I will have more time during the week.

I did the grocery shopping and some food prep.  Today I baked a pot of brown rice and a turkey breast for some good left overs.  I prepped veggies in their steamer bags and washed fruit and put it in single servings in baggies for lunch boxes.  I have a lean roast to cook in the crock pot on Tuesday to give us even more leftovers.  I'll cook that with baby carrots and new fingerling potatoes.  I made a nice batch of trail mix for lunches and snacks too.

Next I organized closets.  I packed away winter clothes and pulled out summer and spring clothes.  I chose outfits for my daughter and put them together to help with getting ready in the morning, and I organized my vanity area too.My daughter has a broken arm, so outfits have to be pull on - no buttons and zippers on the pants.

Finally I cleaned.  My house got SO messy last week when I was working full time.  I don't know how people do it all the time. It isn't perfect but it's way better and I feel good about all that I accomplished.

I completed some jewelry orders and booked a jewelry party for Friday night.  The last party was awesome - paid for groceries for a month!!!

I only have four days left on my diet break.  Imagine my surprise when I hopped on the scale today and found I had lost a pound!  I was shocked!  It feels so EVIL to be eating ice cream on a daily basis to get my calories up.  I will be very glad when the diet break is over, which probably puts me in the minority.  I really feel better when my eats are under strict control.

Now I'm settling in for an evening of watching movies or reading - I haven't decided which one.  I hope everyone had a peaceful, happy weekend.