15 May 2018
Weight: 198.1
Now... before we get started, let me just tell you that last night was a bit of a roller coaster for my will power. I was craving sweets... and I caved and had a scoop of ice cream after supper. I was prepared to face a non-loss day again. So, when I saw a loss...even though it was a little one... I was happy with that.
Tuesday's meal plan:
Breakfast: Oikos Triple Zero peach Greek yogurt served with 2/3 cup of berries and half a banana
Lunch: grilled chicken thigh, mixed veggie salad, medium apple
Dinner: burger in a bowl - essentially a salad with a turkey burger patty grilled and chopped into the salad.
Tonight is an activity night for our boys. We often rush home, change clothes and let the dogs out, then grab their activity bag and go pick them up to rush to karate class. If only everything in this town weren't so stinkin' spread out! Anyway... this will warrant a small snack of veggies and a protein bar later.
Hope you have a great Tuesday!
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
2B Mindset - My Journey to a Healthier and Lighter Me Day 5
14 May 2018
Weight: 198.8
It was a great Mother's Day weekend spent doing things with my kiddos and getting plants for our garden, and to brighten up the house. We still have some to get, but we are almost there!
I was delighted when I got on the scale this morning and saw a loss after I ate a decadent piece of ice cream cake after dinner last night. I was prepared to own a non-loss due to my tasty treat. But I still lost!
I am surprised at how easy this program is. There are no omissions... just proper times to eat various things for them to perform their functions for you. So, lets talk about that for a minute. I mean.. what do things like veggies, carbs, and proteins really do for us?
Veggies fill us up - which is why we try to build the basis of our meals from them. Now, breakfast is a bit of a more difficult meal to embrace veggies... you can't just toss them into your morning yogurt, after all. 😏 But you can add them in if you have smoothies or omelets... or scrambled eggs. Or just as a side. But I often skip them for breakfast... I'll explain why in a bit.
Protein keeps us full. So we eat protein so we don't end up hungry in an hour and reaching for a snack...which is usually something we really shouldn't have in the first place. Because, I don't know about you... but when I have a sudden craving, it's usually not for veggies, it's for something salty or something sweet.
Carbs give us sustained energy. But we have to remember that carbs have to be quality fiber filled carbs. These include fresh fruit, whole grain bread and pasta, brown rice, quinoa, and beans and legumes.
It sounds funny... like this should all be common sense. But as someone who paid lots of money to go through LA Weight Loss to get within sight of my goal and have them go out of business...then gain everything I lost back... then years later try MediFast to find out, after it was too late, that their processed high soy isolate containing foods were not something that was sustainable for me and made me sick... this is exactly what I needed.
Something that is understandable, logical, and easy to follow. Something that tells me what things I should be eating when... to make sure my body is properly fueled. And it's amazingly easy to follow.
I absolutely love it!
Monday's meals went like this:
Breakfast: Oikos Triple Zero Greek yogurt - vanilla with mixed berries and half a banana.
Lunch: spaghetti pasta salad - whole grain spaghetti, chopped veggies, light zesty Italian dressing, some mozzarella cheese balls* and three pieces of medium sized shrimp for protein.
*When using cheese for protein, it is important to remember that the fat should be lower than the protein amount for it to count - in this case, they were equal. If the fat is higher than protein content, cheese is considered an accessory and should be used sparingly.
Dinner: chicken sausage, sautéed cabbage with onions, garlic, and no salt herb seasoning, fresh carrots.
The sausage I used in the dinner for protein was higher in salt than I had anticipated, so it left me craving something sweet. That's where the scoop of ice cream came into play. But I had one scoop, about 1/3 of a cup, and then was done.
Remember always... water first - 16oz of water before meals. Veggies most - you should try to get more veggies on your plate than other things.
Weight: 198.8
It was a great Mother's Day weekend spent doing things with my kiddos and getting plants for our garden, and to brighten up the house. We still have some to get, but we are almost there!
I was delighted when I got on the scale this morning and saw a loss after I ate a decadent piece of ice cream cake after dinner last night. I was prepared to own a non-loss due to my tasty treat. But I still lost!
I am surprised at how easy this program is. There are no omissions... just proper times to eat various things for them to perform their functions for you. So, lets talk about that for a minute. I mean.. what do things like veggies, carbs, and proteins really do for us?
Veggies fill us up - which is why we try to build the basis of our meals from them. Now, breakfast is a bit of a more difficult meal to embrace veggies... you can't just toss them into your morning yogurt, after all. 😏 But you can add them in if you have smoothies or omelets... or scrambled eggs. Or just as a side. But I often skip them for breakfast... I'll explain why in a bit.
Protein keeps us full. So we eat protein so we don't end up hungry in an hour and reaching for a snack...which is usually something we really shouldn't have in the first place. Because, I don't know about you... but when I have a sudden craving, it's usually not for veggies, it's for something salty or something sweet.
Carbs give us sustained energy. But we have to remember that carbs have to be quality fiber filled carbs. These include fresh fruit, whole grain bread and pasta, brown rice, quinoa, and beans and legumes.
It sounds funny... like this should all be common sense. But as someone who paid lots of money to go through LA Weight Loss to get within sight of my goal and have them go out of business...then gain everything I lost back... then years later try MediFast to find out, after it was too late, that their processed high soy isolate containing foods were not something that was sustainable for me and made me sick... this is exactly what I needed.
Something that is understandable, logical, and easy to follow. Something that tells me what things I should be eating when... to make sure my body is properly fueled. And it's amazingly easy to follow.
I absolutely love it!
Monday's meals went like this:
Breakfast: Oikos Triple Zero Greek yogurt - vanilla with mixed berries and half a banana.
Lunch: spaghetti pasta salad - whole grain spaghetti, chopped veggies, light zesty Italian dressing, some mozzarella cheese balls* and three pieces of medium sized shrimp for protein.
*When using cheese for protein, it is important to remember that the fat should be lower than the protein amount for it to count - in this case, they were equal. If the fat is higher than protein content, cheese is considered an accessory and should be used sparingly.
Dinner: chicken sausage, sautéed cabbage with onions, garlic, and no salt herb seasoning, fresh carrots.
The sausage I used in the dinner for protein was higher in salt than I had anticipated, so it left me craving something sweet. That's where the scoop of ice cream came into play. But I had one scoop, about 1/3 of a cup, and then was done.
Remember always... water first - 16oz of water before meals. Veggies most - you should try to get more veggies on your plate than other things.
Monday, May 14, 2018
2B Mindset Days 3 and 4 - The Weekend
Ah the weekend...
A time when we get to relax and regroup after a busy week.
A time for family and fun.
A time when there are so many opportunities for our lifestyle efforts to derail.
Add to it that this is Mother's Day weekend.
Still, this is not a sign of impending doom if you plan.
12 May 2018
Saturday - Day 3 - Weight: 200.6lb
Breakfast/brunch: scrambled eggs, banana, coffee
Lunch: small snack of veggies with some yogurt dip as we were really busy
Dinner: grilled salmon, roasted asparagus and tomatoes, sautéed maple bacon Brussel sprouts
13 May 2018
Sunday - Day 4 - Weight: 199.6 lb
Breakfast: omelet with cheese, banana, coffee
Lunch: non-existent. snacked on fresh veggies while I prepared dinner
Dinner: grilled chicken leg, shrimp cocktail, salad made up of tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, red onion, avocado and balsamic vinaigrette seasoned with a bit of sea salt and some garlic herb seasoning.
Dessert was a yummy slice of ice cream cake from cold stone creamery.
We did a lot of running around looking for garden plants and flowers to make our home all pretty for summer. We were somewhat successful. We have more flowers to get, but our garden is going to be full!
I am actually quite excited for our garden this year. We got all sorts of fun veggies like cauliflower, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and spaghetti squash.
We also got some watermelon, three varieties of raspberries, and some grapes (request from our kiddos).
We still have to get some herbs. I am an herb freak! But I have to figure out a way to have them and keep our puppy out of them. I'm thinking hanging baskets are going to be my friend this year.
A time when we get to relax and regroup after a busy week.
A time for family and fun.
A time when there are so many opportunities for our lifestyle efforts to derail.
Add to it that this is Mother's Day weekend.
Still, this is not a sign of impending doom if you plan.
12 May 2018
Saturday - Day 3 - Weight: 200.6lb
Breakfast/brunch: scrambled eggs, banana, coffee
Lunch: small snack of veggies with some yogurt dip as we were really busy
Dinner: grilled salmon, roasted asparagus and tomatoes, sautéed maple bacon Brussel sprouts
13 May 2018
Sunday - Day 4 - Weight: 199.6 lb
Breakfast: omelet with cheese, banana, coffee
Lunch: non-existent. snacked on fresh veggies while I prepared dinner
Dinner: grilled chicken leg, shrimp cocktail, salad made up of tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, red onion, avocado and balsamic vinaigrette seasoned with a bit of sea salt and some garlic herb seasoning.
Dessert was a yummy slice of ice cream cake from cold stone creamery.
We did a lot of running around looking for garden plants and flowers to make our home all pretty for summer. We were somewhat successful. We have more flowers to get, but our garden is going to be full!
I am actually quite excited for our garden this year. We got all sorts of fun veggies like cauliflower, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and spaghetti squash.
We also got some watermelon, three varieties of raspberries, and some grapes (request from our kiddos).
We still have to get some herbs. I am an herb freak! But I have to figure out a way to have them and keep our puppy out of them. I'm thinking hanging baskets are going to be my friend this year.
2B Mindset Day 2 - The Food
Weight: 200.2
Woohoo! A loss... but we did have a rather salty dinner Wednesday - that may have accounted for at least part of my initial weight.
Breakfast: oatmeal, 1 1/2 hard boiled eggs, coffee
Lunch: Mongolian beef, instant rice multi grain blend
Dinner: chicken fried steak, mashed caulitatoes, steamed green beans
The chicken fried steak was a little on the salty side, but it was something we had planned for. I added a little gravy to keep it from being too dry.
What are caulitatoes, you ask? They are sour cream and chive mashed cauliflower. It's a great way to avoid eating carbs or starchy veggies... and still get that same texture you would from a pile of mashed potato. Bonus, you can get them pre-made in your grocer's freezer...so all you have to do is heat and eat!
Woohoo! A loss... but we did have a rather salty dinner Wednesday - that may have accounted for at least part of my initial weight.
Breakfast: oatmeal, 1 1/2 hard boiled eggs, coffee
Lunch: Mongolian beef, instant rice multi grain blend
Dinner: chicken fried steak, mashed caulitatoes, steamed green beans
The chicken fried steak was a little on the salty side, but it was something we had planned for. I added a little gravy to keep it from being too dry.
What are caulitatoes, you ask? They are sour cream and chive mashed cauliflower. It's a great way to avoid eating carbs or starchy veggies... and still get that same texture you would from a pile of mashed potato. Bonus, you can get them pre-made in your grocer's freezer...so all you have to do is heat and eat!
Friday, May 11, 2018
2B Mindset - My Journey to a Healthier and Lighter Me Day 2
One of the program specifics for success on this new journey is to weigh daily.
I know that many of us hate the scale. It is our nemesis. But the scale does actually offer you some beneficial information. It can help you reach your goal, as long as you don't expect to always see a loss, and let it discourage you.
Anyway - my weight this morning was 200lb.
Now, I am not going to directly attribute this to the program. Your weight can naturally fluctuate due to different things - like the amount of water you drink, caffeine intake, alcohol intake, salt intake. A variety of things affect your weight from day to day. However, it was rather nice to see that number go down a bit.
Another tool is to use that wonderful weight loss accomplice called the tracker. Some people don't like writing things down... but this is another very handy tool to have. It can tell you what happened in the day prior that may have caused a slight gain... or it can give you insights to the positive behaviors that led to a loss.
There are various ways to track, you can track in a blog - which I am doing here for accountability. You can also buy a physical tracker - I am waiting on mine to arrive. Or you can use various apps on your mobile device to track. Any will suffice.
But you have to be 100% committed. And you have to be honest and write down every single thing you put in your mouth. Every.single.thing.
Why is this so important?
Shortcutting is only short changing yourself. If you just track the foods that look good and healthy, you're missing out on valuable input. Like, "I ate two pieces of chocolate cake to celebrate a colleague's birthday." or "I had a bowl of popcorn while we watched a movie." If those things caused a slight gain, then it might be more difficult to determine later down the road what happened. So, track everything. It's okay to have a slice of pizza... or a piece of pie at Thanksgiving... or a treat here and there. But keep track of them or they can get out of hand.
Remember... if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten. Our goal in this is to break these trends and get on with a healthier way of living.
2B Mindset Day 1 - Foods (I know you want to know)
Day 1 - starting weight 202lb.
Breakfast:
Water - 16oz while preparing breakfast
Coffee with Splenda and a splash of almond milk
2 eggs scrambled with various colored bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms topped with a sprinkle of shredded cheese
1 cup mixed berries
Lunch:
Water
roast beef and sautéed pepper and onion sandwich on a small roll with melted cheese
fresh baby carrots with chile lime ranch dressing for dipping
Dinner:
Water
Cauliflower rice
Mongolian beef prepared in instant pot with carrots and bell peppers
Overview of the day: I was pleasantly surprised that I did not need any snacks. I was satisfied throughout the day, and was able to maintain focus on my work and family instead of constantly searching for something to snack on.
Breakfast:
Water - 16oz while preparing breakfast
Coffee with Splenda and a splash of almond milk
2 eggs scrambled with various colored bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms topped with a sprinkle of shredded cheese
1 cup mixed berries
Lunch:
Water
roast beef and sautéed pepper and onion sandwich on a small roll with melted cheese
fresh baby carrots with chile lime ranch dressing for dipping
Dinner:
Water
Cauliflower rice
Mongolian beef prepared in instant pot with carrots and bell peppers
Overview of the day: I was pleasantly surprised that I did not need any snacks. I was satisfied throughout the day, and was able to maintain focus on my work and family instead of constantly searching for something to snack on.
Thursday, May 10, 2018
2B Mindset - My Journey to a Healthier and Lighter Me
I have struggled with my weight most of my adult life. To the point of, I often look back at pictures of myself in high school (you know the days when I used to look in the mirror and say to myself "self, you're so darned fat - you should lose weight.") And I wish I were at that weight again.
Before you start... I know. I will never be that weight or build again. It's not likely I'd even look healthy at the super heavy weight of 130 pounds. Life has happened since then, children have happened. And I know that weight is a thing of the distant past. However, I also know that my current weight is not optimal for my height and build. So, I'm doing something about it.
I have tried many programs over the years. Weight Watchers, LA Weight Loss, Weight Watchers, BeachBody coaching, Medifast. All have given me some success...and ended in frustration as my body stuck itself on a plateau that, no matter what effort I put in, I could not get off.
Enter the 2B Mindset.
Yes, another program. But this one seems different. It seems practical. It seems logical and just makes sense. (And it doesn't cost an arm and a leg!)
Why?
Because I don't have to buy products.
I don't have to go to meetings and measure/weigh my food.
I don't have to go out of my way to make sure to check in.
I simply have to watch videos and apply principals... and make actual changes to my daily lifestyle - tweeks - and the weight will start to come off.
Now... I'm on day 1. I reluctantly got on the scale this morning...and the blaring number of 202 pounds greeted me. Not exactly what I had hoped to see. But it is a starting point.
This week, I am focusing on the breakfast plating. Making sure I get it down as we learn to fuel our body in the proper way in order to support weight loss and keep energy levels consistent throughout the day. Breakfast should be 50% proteins, 50% FCCs (fiber filled carbohydrates).
This morning, I walked into the kitchen...and I drank 16 ounces of water as I took my allergy meds. Then proceeded to prepare lunches and get breakfast for myself and Rob. Normally... breakfast is whatever I find. I have some cereal with a banana. A breakfast sandwich with coffee. Some yogurt. Whatever. But I don't pay attention to portions or any logical plating strategy.
Here we go on a journey. Honestly, I am really excited to really dig into this and make positive lifestyle changes that will hopefully result in some pretty great success for me.
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