Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Milestones

I went out with some people last night for the Eclipse release. I say people because they weren't all friends..just 1 and I've known her since we were wee little one's in elementary school. I moved away after 7th grade and hadn't seen her since. Well, we've seen each other a few times over the last several months. The rest of the peeps were her friends from high school. I'll admit, I was a little nervous not knowing these people and knowing I would be the odd one out. You see, my friend and I don't see eye to eye. We were good (not great) friends when we were younger but as we approached middle school, our personalities and outlook on life just didn't add up even at that young age. It's more apparent now that we live completely different lives. Aside from our Twilight obsession and general know how of being a mom, we have nothing else in common.

So I was the last to arrive since hubby was late getting home. I found them in the middle of the restaurant and proceeded to join them. This is when my first milestone occured. I WAS NOT THE "BIGGEST" one there..I wasn't even the second. Out of 4 girls, *I* was the smallest one. This has NEVER happened to me. Ok well maybe when I was thin in high school and didn't really pay attention to that sort of thing. The next milestone came as I went to sit down at the table. It just so happened the 2 "biggest" girls sat on the same side of the table and the table was sort of sitting at an angle to allow more room for the others on the side I would be on. Well, since it was at an angle, the seat left open for me was, well, small. In the brief second I had before sitting down, I stared at the tiny space before with a sense of unease and nervousness. NO WAY was I going to fit there. I had hoped no one had noticed my instant panic but ultimately decided to scoot the table just a tad. I mean, I was in the company of several larger people. Surely they'd understand though there wasn't much more room to move. I got maybe an inch and quickly decided just to squeeze in. BUT much to my surprise, THERE WAS NO SQUEEZING needed! And there was room for me to be comfortable!! YES!

This put an extra skip in my step the rest of the night and I just sort of had this confidence about me walking around knowing that I was not the biggest one in the group and that I had fit into what seemed like and impossibly small space at the table! Our night went on and we watched the movies. I was definitely the odd one out as for whatever reason, our seating arrangements put me on the end of the group with my 1 friend on the opposite end. Thankfully another friend from high school was next to me so we chatted it up.

A 3rd milestone came this morning when I stepped on the scale. I had been a bit discouraged by the slow progress in weight loss on the scale but this morning, I finally saw something that made me give a little YAY! 239.8 I AM UNDER 240! Woot! Another 10 down with hopefully another 10 to go before my 40 days is up on July 10!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

YES!!

Guess what!!! The 2 pounds I had gained yesterday.....ARE GONE TODAY! YESSSSS!!! 241.6 this morning :)

The new recipe's I tried yesterday were ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! I really enjoyed eating which has been the hardest part about this diet. I almost felt like I was pregnant again-eating because I had to not because I enjoyed it. I guess it's a sort of double edge sword. Enjoying food too much is how you become overweight BUT it's good to know you can still enjoy food that is good for you. And of course, it's all about portion control!

So for today's menu:

Breakfast- Strawberry Lemon smoothie (posted earlier)

Lunch- Meatloaf and Onion rings!

• 100g ground steak
• 1/2 t milk or bbq sauce
• 1 melba toast (ground into powder)
• 2-3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 t dehydrated minced onion
• 1/2 t spicy mustard
• 1/4 t allspice
• 1/8 t sage
• salt/pepper to taste
• Any additional seasonings you like

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In small bowl, combine all ingredients and form into a small meatloaf.
3. Place in glass dish, cover, and bake 25-30 mins.
4. Uncover dish, add bbq sauce or homemade sugar free ketchup to top, and bake 5-10 additional mins.
5. Serve immediately with a bit more of bbq sauce or homemade sugar free ketchup for dipping.

*I will use BBQ sauce in place of the milk so I can save the milk for the onion rings and dessert*

Onion rings:
• 80g sliced onion rings
• 1 melba toast
• 1 T skim milk (as allowed daily)
*I will adjust this to 2t*
• 1/4 t cayenne pepper
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. In a small bowl, add milk, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper. Mix to make a batter.
3. Grind melba toast in food processor until it is a powder.
4. Put powder in a separate small bowl.
5. Place rings in batter bowl and toss to coat fully. (It's best to use your hands here to ensure you coat each ring.)
6. Let sit in batter 2-3 mins then toss again.
7. Dip each ring into the powder by hand.
8. Place on cookie sheet lined with non-stick aluminum foil.
9. Cook 6-7 mins. Then flip, cooking an additional 6-7 mins.
10. Serve immediately.


Dinner- Chilli

• 100g ground steak
• 1 tomato
• 1/2 c water or broth
• 3-4 cloves minced garlic

Seasonings (to taste):
• 1/2 t onion powder
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1/4 t cumin
• 1/4 t black pepper
• 1/4 t cayenne
• 1/4 t basil
• 1/4 t thyme

1. Preheat pan over MED heat.
2. Add minced garlic and 1 T of the water/broth to pan.
3. Saute 2-3 mins. Be sure not to burn the garlic. Add more water/broth as necessary.
4. Increase heat to MED-HI.
5. Add ground steak and saute until brown - about 5 mins.
6. Add all seasonings and cook an additional 3 mins. Continue to add more water/broth as necessary.
7. While that is cooking dice 1/2 of tomato and place other 1/2 in food processor or blender to puree.
8. Mix in tomatoes, puree, and rest of broth.
9. Turn heat down to MED-LO and simmer until it reaches desired consistency.

Dessert- Apple crisp

Filling:
• 1 apple
• half small lemon
• 1 T water
• 2 t Stevia
• cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Peel, core, and slice/chop apple.
3. Place apples in small baking dish.
4. Cover with juice of 1/2 small lemon, stevia, water, and few dashes of cinnamon. Toss.

Topping:
• 1 Melba toast
• 1 t milk
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 1/4 t pumpkin pie spice

1. Grind Melba toast into a powder using food processor or coffee grinder.
2. Add milk in 1/4 t increments. Slowly stir until mixture forms a slightly moist crumbly topping.
3. Sprinkle on top of apple filling.

Bake:

1. Cover dish and bake 20 mins.
2. Remove cover and broil 1-2 mins to crisp topping.
3. Serve immediately.

YUMMY! Can't wait to try everything!!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Delicious recipes!!

So I have found an amazing website full of hCG friendly recipes and I am SO EXCITED to try them all! After finding all of them, I am certain I will be doing a 3rd round! I will have to wait longer between though. The more times you do it, the longer it takes your body to get rid of it afterwards.

So here's the recipe I tried for lunch..and will definitely be doing again!

"Fried" Chicken Tenders

• 100g chicken
• 1 T milk
• 1 Melba Toast
• Seasonings (salt, pepper, paprika, ground red pepper, garlic powder)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Slice chicken breast into 3 tenders.
3. In small bowl, mix milk and any seasonings you prefer.
4. Grind Melba Toast in food processor until it is a powder.
5. Put Melba Toast powder in a separate small bowl.
6. Add chicken to milk mixture and toss to coat well.
7. Then one at a time, place chicken in Melba Toast powder and coat both sides of chicken.
8. Place chicken in glass baking dish and bake 30-40 mins, turning over halfway through.
9. In last 5 mins, turn on broiler and broil 2-3 mins each side.

Serve immediately


This was SO good and very close to the weight watchers oven "fried" chicken I usually make!

For dinner, I will be having meatballs with marinara sauce!

Meatballs:

• 100g hamburger
• 1 Melba Toast (ground into powder)
• 1 T milk
• parsley
• onion powder
• basil
• oregano
• garlic
• salt
• pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. In bowl, combine all ingredients.
3. Form into 1" meatballs (makes about 6-7).
4. Place in baking dish or non-stick baking sheet and cook 10 minutes turning halfway through cooking time.

Top with marinara sauce.

Marinara Sauce:

• tomato
• water
• basil
• parsley
• onion powder
• garlic (fresh minced)
• salt
• pepper

1. Fill small saucepan with a few cups of water & bring to boil.
2. Score skin of tomato in a few places with serrated knife.
3. Blanch tomato in the boiling water for 1-2 mins.
4. Immediately transfer tomato to ice water to cool and discard boiling water.
5. Remove skin of tomato and discard skin.
6. Preheat small non-stick saucepan over MED-HI heat.
7. If want chunky sauce, crush tomato with your hands in saucepan (discard stem). If you prefer smoother sauce, puree tomato in blender or food processor then add to pan.
8. Add garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper.
9. Bring to low boil, then immediately reduce heat to low, cover & simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often to keep tomato from sticking.
10. Turn heat up to MED.
11. Add parsley, more garlic, and basil.
12. Cook 5-10 more minutes, stirring constantly. While cooking, start adding water 1T at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.

Can't wait to try it! Oh and for dessert...Orange Julius!

Orange Julius:

• 1 orange
• 5-10 drops vanilla creme liquid stevia (to taste)
• ice
• water (as needed)

1. Peel orange and place orange sections in blender.
2. Add about a handful of ice.
3. Blend.
4. Add vanilla creme stevia.
5. Blend to desired consistency. Add water as needed.

TIP: Place this in the freezer for about 1 hr after preparing and have an on protocol version of orange sherbet!

Oh yes!! I am in heaven!! The rest of this round will be a CAKE WALK!

Oh the joys

The joys of being a woman! AF visited me today..fun fun! A few days ago, my weight was down to 241.6 -woot- I hadn't weighed myself in a couple of days because 1 day, I had just taken a shower (the scale is downstairs) and wet hair would certainly not give me an accurate weight, another day, I forgot my injection, and the third day, I just forgot..or maybe I subconsciously knew I would be having a visitor soon which was almost certain to bring a gain. I was right. During round 1, I gained 10 pounds and it felt horrible! After much discussion with my doctor, I felt better that it was strictly water weight due to my cycle. This time, I am pleased to say, it was *only* 2 pounds :) Again, I'm *hoping* this is water weight. I have been getting off course a bit the last couple of days with bites here and there of "forbidden" foods. Literally bites but sometimes that is all it takes. And since AF made her apprearance today, I will be stopping the injections until she leaves or I start to feel hungry again.

Oh and on a side note, if I didn't have children and other responsibilities, I would put my butt back in bed with a heating pad and a good book! Today should be fun!

And now I'll leave you with a new hCG friendly-but good just because-smoothie recipe I found last night :)

Strawberry Lemon Smoothie

*Handful of strawberries-stem cut off* (On protocol, you are allowed 5 strawberries)
*Juice from 1/2 of a lemon*
*1-2 handfuls of ice*
*water (about 3/4c)
*2 packets of Stevia/Truvia* (Off protocol, any zero calorie sweetener would work)

Blend and enjoy! Oh and if you use frozen fruit, you won't need as much ice :)

Monday, June 14, 2010

Under 250!!

I only have time for a quick update. This mornings weight was 249.2!! Woot!

I am however, already getting sick of the veggie options even with my new love affair for Franks Red Hot. I'm getting creative though-onions is on the list though I don't normally eat onions and certainly would never eat them plain. I am sauteeing them in with the meat for added flavor :)

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Day 13

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I have been bogged down with homework, speech therapy for C and life in general. Needless to say, it's been busy busy :) Plus, summer is here so keeping B busy has proved to be exhausting!

Drumroll please.......

This morning's weight was 250.6!!

I was pissed off yesterday because I thought my scale had broke..my brand new scale was being weird. I'm thinking it was user error. I got on it 4 times and got 4 different weights with up to a 4lb difference. Still don't know what happened. This morning, I weighed myself twice and got the same weight so I'm confident it was user error yesterday :)

I still haven't needed to increase my injections and I'm happy about that. For the most part, I'm not hungry. I crave food and want certain things but it's not hunger and the cravings are easy to subside.

Oh and I have a new love affair with Franks Red Hot!! That stuff is so good and I find myself putting it on EVERYTHING! 0 cal. 0 fat...there's virtually nothing to it and it's so good! I can't wait to have it on some wings when I can eat regular food again!!

Monday, June 7, 2010

Not hungry :)

I am happy to report that as of yesterday, I am NOT hungry! Woot! The first 2 days on the 500 cal diet were torture-headaches, hungery pangs, tiredness-but it seems my body adjusted to the change quickly. Yes I could've eaten and I wanted to when I was surrounded with it but I didn't need to eat and I'm so glad I didn't have to go through that for over a week like last time!

The scale didn't show as much of a loss as I had hoped but what can I expect after such a great loss the first 2 days? I lost .4 which puts me at 255.2. I actually weighed myself 3 times to be sure LOL! Hopefully tomorrow reveals at least a pound lost but we'll have to wait and see :)

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Last day gourging and first 2 days on diet

So I finished up the last day of gourging which consisted of gyro's, KFC, In-n-out french fries-animal style, and Cheesecake Factory. I enjoyed every last bit of it-well most of it. I have to say, I wasn't impressed with the double down sandwich I had been thinking about for so long. It really wasn't that great. Good thing I followed that up with my favorite dish from the Cheesecake Factory-Thai Chicken pasta with Godiva chocolate cheesecake...what a way to end the day!

So day 4 weigh in was 262. I gained 3 pounds during gourging-a little more than I had expected but I know it's part of the process. I struggled with hunger most of the first day. I ate lunch fairly early when water and tea just weren't cutting it anymore. I still felt hungry as I finished my food and tried to stay distracted until dinner which I ate fairly early as well. Yesterday brought on a wicked headache and I was tired most of the day. I didn't have energy for anything and it sucked royally! I *almost* caved and said screw it. My husband is doing so well on Atkins and can eat all the foods I want to eat. It is still early enough for me to quit without much penalty but I pushed through the feeling. You see, I've tried Atkins before and I WAS SO SICK! I just can't eat all that fat and protein. I like veggies and I certainly enjoy bread. I ended up eating a couple extra peices of fruit to get by and went to bed early..hungry and early.

It wasn't an overwhelming hungry feeling just a not full not satisfied feeling I discussed during round 1. I will probably up the injections next week but I have to give it a few more days before doing so.

Oh and the best news! I weighed myself this morning and I LOST 6 POUNDS! 255.6! So 3 pounds down if you subtract the gain from gourging :0) I didn't weigh myself yesterday simply because I forgot which I won't do again! It really is motivating for the day to know the weight is just coming off. I can't let myself get in a rut again.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Round 2 Day 2-still gourging

I didn't weigh myself this morning because well, I know better. I know I've gained weight. That sort of comes with the territory of gourging for 3 days. I'm enjoying the food but I am sick. I am so full it's not funny. I am eating foods I haven't eaten in a long time and am reminded how much better I feel when I am on this diet.

We went to the movies this morning so I treated myself to some popcorn though that's not too fattening in itself since I don't like butter on it. We followed the movie up with IHOP and I got their blueberry cheesecake pancakes. Let me just say YUM!! I also had scrambled eggs with cheese and country gravy, ham, and french fries (not a fan of their hashbrowns)...oh and a regular Pepsi :) I snacked at home here and there but found it hard. I was so full from breakfast which was really closer to lunch. For dinner we went to Olive Garden and I indulged in their steak gorganzola with regular alfredo sauce and a few breadsticks. I rounded dinner out with cheesecake. As I type this out, I am so beyond full I think I might actually get sick. I know what the next week will bring though so I am gracefully dealing with it knowing I will likely be hungry come Friday and Saturday.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Round 2 Day 1-gourging

So technically my starting weight is 259. I was down to 255 but started my gourging phase a little early :)

I have to admit I am thoroughly enjoying the gourging phase this time around. I think it's because I know what I'm in for in the next 40 days. I started my day with taking Braedon to Peter Piper Pizza for their summer kids program. This included the all you can eat pizza buffet. I was looking forward to pizza and it was good but I was stuffed after 3 peices of pizza. At home I had to cheese hot dogs and then we had mexican for dinner! YUMMY! Although I have to admit it wasn't as good as I remembered and I felt miserable..stuffed and miserable. I followed dinner up with a trip to Cold Stone Creamery..it was oh so good!! That went down easy :)

On my list of foods to eat during the last 2 days are KFC double down sandwich (wanted to try it when it came out but couldn't stomach the number of calories) and mashed potatoes; Cheesecake Factory Chicken Thai pasta with a slice of cheesecake; Jay's Gyro's-possibly the best gyro I've had; IHOP cheesecake pancakes...I'm sure I'm forgetting something LOL!

I had debated on round 2 for a while but I'm excited to start again. Not excited for the hunger or daily injections but excited to get more weight off!