Food finds and recipe

I have definitely been paying more attention to the labels on food. I can't believe how many calories and fat grams were in things I used to eat!

In light of that, I have 2 "food finds" I wanted to share with you :) Both are DELICIOUS!

#1 Pomegranite Blueberry vinaigrette dressing
2 TBSP= 25 calories, 0g fat!


#2 Quaker True Delights Rice Snacks
Vanilla Creme Brulee flavor: 8crackers=60 calories, 0g fat!


I also wanted to share my grandma's veggie soup recipe. It is SO good and better than anything you can get in a can! I love snacking on it!

Ingredients:

5 cans green beans (use liquid from 4; more or less depending on how brothy you like it)
1 head of cabbage
baby carrots
cauliflower
4 chicken bouillon cubes
6oz tomato paste (Hunt's basil, garlic and oregano gives really good flavor)
15oz tomato sauce
*Crushed red pepper
*Cayenee pepper
adds flavor, amount depends on how much spice you want-I typically just sprinkle some in

Put all ingredients in stock pot on high until boil. Cover, turn heat down low enough to maintain simmer for about 45 minutes.

I also add broccoli, zucchini, and squash. I usually add them about half way through since they break down faster. You can add any other veggies you want and I occassionally add some cooked ground turkey for added protein.

Enjoy!


P.S. No gain, no loss today :)

Subway experience

My weight is still holding steady at 259.4 :) I keep having this fear that I will gain weight since I feel like I am eating so much. Compared to the 500 calorie diet, I am. I have tripled what I was eating to between 1,000 and 1,500 calories per day.

Ok so now for my Subway experience:

I had to run to the grocery store for a few things to get us through payday. Normally I run my errands in the morning right after dropping Braedon off at school but today, I really wanted Subway for lunch. I am getting tired of the same old food. Ok so I go to the grocery store then head next door to Subway.

Let me set this up for you:

There were 3 people working the line: 1-starts your sandwich (bread, meat, cheese), 2-veggies and condiments, 3-register and drinks.

So I wait my turn (there were about 4 people in front of me). The conversation went like this:

#1 What can I get for you?
Me: 6" turkey on wheat double meat
#1 What kind of cheese?
Me: No cheese please
#1 *insert dumbfounded look* No cheese??
Me: No thank you
#1 still dumbfounded slides my sandwich to #2 who is still putting on his gloves

#2 *insert another dumbfounded look* No cheese on the turkey??
Me: No (getting a little irritated but still polite), thank you
#2 Um...Ok what would you like on your sandwich?

Is it really that strange that I didn't want cheese on my sandwich? I was asked 3 times! LOL! I LOVE cheese, don't get me wrong but for the calories and fat, it's just not worth it to me. At Subway, I can load my sandwich with veggies, mustard, vinegar..all sorts of stuff and by the time I'm done, I can't taste the cheese anyway :) So I say, skip the cheese, save the calories for something you can taste!

Devil cupcakes!

So I am happy to report no change on the scale this morning YAY!

I am NOT happy to report that cupcakes are the devil!

I was sick yesterday. I was also hungry or at least I thought and felt hungry. Unfortunately, that did not subside today. I felt so hungry all day and craved sugar. I was sluggish and didn't want to do anything but sit on the couch. I can't believe that 2 measley cupcakes could do this to me but when you have been eating only good foods with NO sugar at all, it makes sense. My body went into crazy mode and now I have to detox.

I certainly hope tomorrow is better. I didn't cave into temptation but it was very hard. I felt like I was back in those first couple of weeks of the 500 calorie diet.

I am secretly scared tomorrow's weigh in will show the 2 cupcakes I ate. I'm not sure how long it would take for that to show up. Guess we'll see!

Birthday party and temptation!

So today was my adopted neices 1st birthday party! I finished the 500 cal diet just in time and slaved all afternoon into the evening hours making cupcakes for the party. Amy's sister was making their smash cakes (large cupcakes) and I offered to make regular cupcakes for everyone else instead of having a cake. So, I made homemade chocolate with chocolate buttercream, pink and purple colored vanilla with vanilla buttercream, and strawberry with strawberry buttercream made with fresh strawberries. I did so well making them...didn't even snitch a taste which is hard when you are baking. You want to make sure it tastes good but I trusted my awesomness LOL!

I had already told myself I would allow myself to have 1 cupcake to celebrate their birthday. After Jesse came up to me saying how good the chocolate cupcakes were, I decided I had to have one. I had already said I would have a strawberry one but blew that out of the water at the thought of having chocolate. Oh man it was sooo good-very sweet but good all the same. I haven't had sugar in months so it was really sweet. So I went about my business but saw the cupcakes everywhere I turned. I caved and had a stawberry cupcake after I saw Cohen devouring his. It was even better than the chocolate! Or maybe that was because I had been dreaming about the strawberry cupcakes..that must be it.

After eating the second cupcake, I got really really thirsty and drank 3 bottles of water in minutes. Hmmm..weird. The party was nearing the end and we started packing up. Then it hit me. I started feeling weird. Not sick but like my body was almost going into shock. Have you ever had a carb overload? Or that feeling you get after eating Thanksgiving dinner. You just feel sluggish and tired? Yeah..that was me after the cupcake.

It got worse.

By the time we were driving home, I was SICK! My tummy was aching, I started to get a slight headache, and I just generally didn't feel good at all! As much as I hated the feeling, I'm sort of glad it happened. I seem to keep thinking about all the food I "can't" have: cookies, cake, fettucini alfredo, taco's, all things Mexican and Italian. It's almost as if I needed to get it out of my system and now that I've seen what it does? No thanks! Am I giving up all "bad" food? NO WAY! But I am well aware of how I feel when I eat well: I don't think about food all the time, I have an overall good feeling, I have more energy and I just feel better. I used to eat so much junk, I was in a constant state of not feeling "well" and I don't like it now that I've seen the other side!

Slow and steady

I failed to mention in my previous post that I had weighed myself at home the morning of my check up. My scale said 261.6 before I ate anything. By the time I had my check up, I had a small snack and tons of water. There's always a differnece in scales and I'm aware of that. Either way, I'm happy with the results.

My point: Things seem to be going slow and steady. I did not weight myself yesterday. Mainly because I had slight insomnia. The AZ Early Intervention Program was sending a representative over to evaluate my youngest for a speech delay. I was nervous, anxious, and excited all at the same time. So, I got up at 4am and couldn't go back to sleep. I got on the scale this morning and my current weight is 259.6 so compared to the previous weight on my I have lost another 2 pounds! Woot!

I know the protocol has been tested and re-tested for effectiveness which is why the food list is so strict. I have "cheated" a couple of times. By that I mean, I had Subway one day-double meat, no cheese, "allowed" veggies and mustard minus the top part of the bread. I've also had a small "bite" of something my kids were eating that I just needed to "taste". Besides that, I was skeptical about the re-introduction and increase in calories. I was worried my body would hold onto everything since I had been "starving" it for a month. Guess that's not the case! Woot!

I am definitely enjoying the increase in foods and do actually feel full! It's great! I got out of bed this morning with a little kick in my step knowing I could eat breakfast with the family. Let me tell you how good that felt and how good it tasted! I lightly sautee'd with a few drops of EVOO: celery, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, onion, and spinach. Then added eggs and scrambled together. Topped it with some salsa and paired it with strawberries...so delicious!

Despite my weight and my size, I have never really been a "junk" food person. I like candy and chocolate, don't get me wrong. But you won't find me eating potato chips or really pigging out on candy. I am a carboholic though. That being said, this was the easiest time I've had getting off the carbs and I can't explain it. I like "healthy" foods. I don't like all of them. You will NOT find me eating mushrooms...ever. You will also not find me eating raw tomatoes. I've learned, on a rare occassion, sautee'd tomatoes are ok but not a lot of them. I also enjoy homemade salsa but never tomatoes alone. So, with my limited food list and need for fresh food, I find myself at the store every few days to buy more fresh food. When I have the food on hand, and when I know what I "can" eat, I do very well. This is definitely a habit I need to keep. I feel better in general and not as tired or worn out.

yummy yummy!

So, I'm not usually a breakfast person. If I eat breakfast, it's mostly lunch time and that's when I'm in the mood for breakfast food. Often times, I would eat lunch foods for my "breakfast".

This was a choice.

When that choice is taken away from you and you can't have breakfast, you want it!

I got breakfast today! And it was oh so yummy! I sauteed some onion and broccoli and added it to scrambled eggs. I seasoned my eggs with some celery salt and garlic then topped it all off with salsa! It was SO GOOD! I paired it with an apple and melba toast and I felt FULL! Not just not hungry..but full! It was an amazing feeling!

I have definitely noticed a change. I am not thinking about food all day. This is a very common thread in most overweight people. We have an addiction and think about food all the time. Today, I most definitely didn't think about food, about what I was going to eat next. I did my thing and waited to feel hungry. When going from the very low calorie diet with limited food, I thought I would want to stuff myself. Turns out, I missed lunch..unintentionally of course. I just wasn't hungry.

I'm hoping this doesn't affect the scale tomorrow. I had breakfast and dinner with my "snack" for dessert: 1 tbsp of peanut butter-it was HEAVEN! I just licked it right off the spoon LOL! I've definitely missed it and I can't have it everyday since it's on the "occassional" list but still on the list and is an option for my snack in the first 3 weeks.

So tomorrow I will have to pay more attention to the clock to make sure I'm getting my calories in. I do not want to go through storing water or whatever again!

Maintenance and reintroduction

So once you complete the 40 days, there is a slow re-introduction of food to make sure you don't put the weight back on. I discussed this "plan" with my doctor since it is geared towards maintaining current weight. I don't want to maintain this weight. I want to keep losing. So in short, she basically said "some lose during the 6 weeks but not much" and I have to maintain my metabolism otherwise, the weightloss will not be significant during round 2. I didn't quite understand exactly what she meant but said OK and left.

I am excited by the amount of food I will be eating LOL! It's a 1500 calorie diet which for most is low but coming from 500 calories, it's a FEAST!

First things first: I get breakfast now! Woot!

I will still follow a strict regimented diet for weeks 1-3; week 4 brings more food and the start of reintroducing foods that are not on the list. I will have to continue to weigh myself daily because if I gain 2+ pounds, I have to follow a different protocol for the day. That being said, BFF's twins turn 1 next week and their party is Sunday. Thankfully BFF is on a diet as well and will be having "good for us" food. Not necessarily on my exact list but close enough..and I will definitely be having 1 cupcake..maybe half LOL!

Ok so menu for Week 1-3:

Breakfast:

2 eggs with 1 cup of veggies-omelet styel or scramble with butter!); 1 Melba toast/rice cracker; fruit- 1/2 cup berries, apple, pear, orange, or 1/2 grapefruit; Tea or coffee in any amount-no sugar but Stevia is allowed.

Lunch/Dinner:

4-6 oz veal, very lean beef, chicken, white fish, or shellfish-all visible fat trimmed, grilled or broiled with no added fat, weighed before cooking; minimum 2 cups of veggies-asparagus, artichoke, beet greens (ugh), bell pepper, bok choy (no thanks), broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chayote (wth?), collard greens (umm..no thanks), cucumbers (technically a fruit so I laugh), dandelion greens (again, wth?), fennel, kale (gross! used for garnish not eating!), kohlrabi (um, huh?) (ugh), leeks (by themselves-no thanks, lettuce (yippy more salad), mustard greens (can only imagine), onions, parsley (again, garnish!), spinach, summer squash (YES! LOVE!!), swiss chard, turnip greens, zucchini (YES! SECOND LOVE!); 1 Melba toast/rice cracker; Fruit- apple, orange, 5 strawberries, 1/2 cup berries, 1 pear, 1/2 grapefruit

*Can use olive oil, coconut oil or butter. 1-2 TBSP to cook with or use in a salad dressing. Other salad oils as an option are udos oil (huh?), flax or safflower oil

Snack-YES! I get a planned snack not seperated from other meals!

One fruit: apple, orange, 5 strawberreis, 1/2cup berries, 1 pear, 1/2 grapefruit

-OR-

5-10 nuts: almonds, pecans, walnuts or 3 TBSP flax seed or 1 TBSP of nut butter (yum!) or 3 TBSP hummus or 1/2 avocado
*Unlimited veggies*

After Week 3, dairy and more complex carbs are added-can't wait!

DONE with Round 1

I haven't blogged in a while and for good reason. I had some minor setbacks I was not happy about.

I attended a birth which lasted longer than I had ever anticipated. I joined my clients at the hospital at 1:30am. I threw a couple apples and oranges into my bag for snacks until I could get home and really eat. Long story short, mom couldn't eat which meant I couldn't eat. I also couldn't leave the room to eat since I am at mom's side the entire labor. Baby was born at almost 3pm so I didn't leave the hospital until 5pm. On the way home, I was barely staying awake and ate an apple and 1 Melba toast. When I got home, I went straight to the fridge...I was STARVING but I was also EXHAUSTED. It was 6 hours passed injection time so I wasn't sure what to do about that. Chris was on his way home so I decided to lay on the couch until he got home to rest and hoped he would be willing to make me something to eat. He got home with the kids and tried to wake me up to no avail. I was OUT! The kids were jumping on me, Chris was trying to wake me up and nothing worked. Somehow I made it upstairs to bed but not sure how.

I woke up the next morning to weigh-not sure what to expect. I had missed an injection which is a big no-no and I didn't eat. What I expected was no where near what I saw. I was up 10 lbs!! Holy crap! How??!! I tried not to freak too much but I was definitely concerned. I went about my day as usual and hoped it was just a freaky thing. Next morning-another almost 3 lbs!! What the heck! I called my doctor. She calmed me down. It isn't humanly possible to gain 10 lbs in 1 day. We shook it off to water weight. I went about my diet as usual but I was certainly stressed and very skeptical. I got ketone strips to make sure I was still burning fat which I was so my doctor didn't seem too concerned. A few days later, my period reared her ugly head. I called the doctor again since the weight still hadn't come off and I was at a standstill. Now she said it's because of that and to wait a few days after to see what happens. I stopped weighing myself. I was so beyond discouraged. I almost quit but something kept me pushing through. Maybe it was the way my clothes were fitting. I pulled out a pair of capri's that I wore in Hawaii for our honeymoon-2 sizes smaller than I had been wearing. THEY FIT!

I decided to weigh myself but the scale didn't budge..or at least I thought it hadn't (more on that later). I stuck with it since my 40 days was so close.

Now to this week. Day 40 is Tuesday the 27th. On Tuesday (20th) I used up the last of my hCG. I have another bottle to mix but once it is mixed, it is only good for 60 days. I didn't see the point in mixing an entire bottle for just 1 week so I entered into the 3 days on the diet without the injections. I called my doctor to get the information on maintenance.

So today was my appointment. I didn't want to go. I wasn't ready to be disappointed by the progress. I went into the appointment today thinking I had only lost 13 lbs. I never lost the 10 lbs..or so I thought. Apparently I was remembering 273 as my starting weight rather than 283. Silly me! The doctor weighed me and re-checked my measurements.

So...drumroll please.....

Final weight: 260 lbs-down 23 lbs
BMI: 40.8-down almost 4
% of body fat (not sure if I posted this before): was 46.2; now 40.4-down almost 6

Measurements-I'll just list amount lost:

Neck: 1/4"
Chest: 1 3/4"
Waist: 4 1/2"
Hips: 1"
Upper arm: 1"
Thigh: 0 (doctor said this could be because she wasn't measuring the same spot)
Calves: 1/4"

Not bad for 40 days, eh? Well more like 35 days.