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.

April 24: My Poor Neglected Blog

Wow - this is the longest blogging hiatus I have taken.  It was totally unplanned.  Here is what I've been up to:

As many of you know, I've been virtually unemployed for nine long months.  My old employer called and asked me to fill in for a week and a half while they were short staffed.  I have one more day of work (Monday).  It will be some nice additional money that is much-needed.  With the depression issues I've had, going out and working full time is a big accomplishment.  I feel like this has been a big step towards recovery.

I'm still plugging away at the diet break.  I just have a few more days of it before I can go back to my comfortable eating habits.  I've discovered I am far more comfortable dieting than just eating what I want.  Weird, I know.  Although I have enjoyed eating ice cream!

My 9 year old daughter broke her wrist by, of all things, serving a volleyball in gym class.  She is now sporting a hot pink cast.

My best friend gave birth to her beautiful new daughter, Noa. Here is a picture of this sweet little baby:


So needless to say, after work we have gone straight to the hospital to visit this precious little bundle - oh, and of course, my friend and her hubby too!

I think I could BRAID her hair it's so long and thick!



So today's agenda is to try to make some sense of the chaos that is my house.  I'm making a big list because it thrills me in some silly way to check things off of a list.  Lots and lots to do.

I've discovered that I need to be far more organized in order to have healthy eats on hand and get at lest SOME exercise in when I'm working.    Tomorrow I'm going to do lots of food prep to have my yummy food on hand.

I'll be back with more posts this weekend.  Sorry for neglecting you!

April 20: Still Diet Breaking and Other Miscellany of Life

I really really really prefer dieting.  I like structure and rules and all that kind of stuff.  I cannot wrap my brain around the fact that I am purposely consuming more calories than I want.  I know this is the right way to go, but, boy it's tough!

Yesterday I finally hit my target of 2200 calories but I felt nasty because I ate junk all day.  Blech.

Today has been nice healthy food -  I did get some cool ideas about adding a teaspoon of molasses or honey here and there, just to help things add up, so I will do a better job hitting my targets.  Other high cal, low volume foods: eggs, cottage cheese (ick to both) nut butters - super yummy, and of course, my fave - ice cream!

I just feel better when I keep things on the healthy side.

I missed a lot of Zzzzzzzs last night.  My youngest daughter (9) sprained her wrist and was in a lot of pain, despite the splint and the Ibuprofen. Poor little cupcake was up a few times in the night crying.  Then I woke up with the startings of a cold - mild scratchy throat, stuffy head, yucky feeling.  Blech.  I took some cold medicine which certainly doesn't stimulate my appetite any.

I've been doing some temp work the past week and a half, and I'm finding it tough to get a walk in - I get home just wiped out mentally.  This is something I'm going to have to work on.  I've been unemployed throughout this diet so I've had all the time in the world to do what I needed to for my health and fitness.  This weekend, I am going to spend some time planning things more carefully so the eats and workouts are well on track in the future.  I refuse to go back to being the fat chick that whines "I don't have tiiiiimmmmmeee to do all that....."  I have summarily executed that fat chick and she is not being resurrected, darn it!

I was off work today because I had a doctor's appointment and an appointment with the priest for Rachel's upcoming baptism.    The doctor's appointment was great.  My doctor is very happy with the way the new meds are working . Yay!!!  Finally the magic cocktail for my own personal brand of anxiety and depression!  All of my blood work was great - clean living rocks!  The appointment with the priest went nicely too - he is very nice and thrilled to do the baptism.

So that's all I got today, folks - nothing too exciting, just strange complaints about being forced to eat. ???

April 18: Diet Break, Day 3

I would have never ever imagined how hard it could be to eat more calories.  Since I started this journey at well over 200 pounds, you would think eating would come easily for me.

Two days ago, I embarked on my Full Diet Break, as per my fave new book, Guide to Flexible Dieting.  According to the book, I should be eating at or near maintenance, which for my height and current weight means 2000-2200 calories.  So far, I've managed about 1700 calories each day.

I guess when you spend 5 months completely overhauling your lifestyle and eating habits, it becomes ingrained to choose the lower calorie options.  It becomes second nature to get lots of your intake in fruits and veggies instead of calorie-laden grains.  I am happy that I've learned my lessons so well, but it sure does make a diet break difficult.

I bought ice cream today for the first time since I started my diet.  I'm going to have dessert after supper to increase my calories. I got one with nice natural pronounceable ingredients so I don't have to feel like I am poisoning myself.  I fully intend to get my calories to the amount I am supposed to so that my body has a break from this deficit.  I need the proper hormones to kick in so that I can get through this plateau that is making me positively insane. (Short trip to insane, some might note.)

The weather is horrid - perfectly miserable and cold.  I haven't gotten out to walk with the doggie for several days now.  I'm going to try to brave the cold, if only briefly, this afternoon - I need to move myself before I grow roots.

Happy Sunday!