Back In The Groove

When I got back from the beach nearly 2 weeks ago, I weighed 241.0. Last Friday, I weighed 241.0. This morning I weighed 241.2. So I've basically maintained the last 2 weeks, which was a bit of a shock. I figured since I wasn't concentrating on the food and counting every calorie that I was just getting fatter and fatter. This kind of makes me think that when I finally get to maintenance, that it might be easier than I thought. That's good news!

Today was the day I picked to get back on track, instead of waiting until next Monday when I start Kandice's Challenge (she chose next Monday as our start date). After I got up this morning and weighed, I remembered that I had asked my mom, dad, sister Amy and 2 of my nieces and nephews to meet me out for lunch today. I had forgotten that this was the day to get back on track. So I called Mom and changed plans. I invited all of them over to my house for lunch instead so I could control my calories. The original plan was for them to be here at 11am. I was out running errands when Mom called and changed the time to 1pm. No big deal, but I was going to be hungry before then, and was out without my camera, so I had 3 chicken tenders from the Publix deli while grocery shopping that I didn't get to take a pic of. I also completely forgot to take a pic of the Subway sandwich that Dwayne brought me for dinner tonight. It might take a day or two to fully get back in the groove of picture-taking, but I'm working on it. I'm also a tad over calories for the day. My goal is to not exceed 1800 cals and I ended at 1824 today because I forgot to write a Kashi bar down that I ate this afternoon, and didn't realize it until I sat down to type this post. :)

Breakfast was my usual....an egg white scramble w/ 4 egg whites, 3 oz. baked chicken breast, 1/8 c. of 2% shredded cheese and a few onions, mushrooms and bell peppers.

Calories:  218

I had 2 c. of decaf coffee w/ 2 Tbsp of fat-free half & half with breakfast.

Calories:  30

(3) chicken tenders from the deli while out shopping.

Calories:  300

For lunch with my family, I made shrimp tacos/fajitas.  I sauteed some shrimp in Pam olive oil cooking spray and sprinkled them with some chili powder, cumin & creole seasoning.  I also sauteed some onions & green-red-orange bell peppers.  I chopped some tomato and had some shredded lettuce, along with some 2% shredded cheese & lite sour cream.  Dessert was watermelon.

My lunch was one 90 cal low carb wheat wrap w/ 4 oz. shrimp, onions, peppers, 1 Tbsp salsa verde, 2 Tbsp lite sour cream & 2 c. of watermelon.

Calories:  275

Calories:  98

This afternoon I had a blackberry graham Kashi bar....I remembered to take the pic, but forgot to write down the calories til later.

Calories:  110

Fridays and Saturdays are always tricky because Dwayne's here from Friday evening through Saturday night.  We eat very differently and sometimes it can be quite the challenge to find something that we can eat together.  We decided on Subway tonight.  I still had about 800 cals to use at this time, so I went to Subway's website and looked up their nutrition guide to see what kind of sub I wanted.  I chose a 6" on wheat Subway club w/ double meat (an extra 90 cals), cheese, lite mayo, spicy mustard, lettuce, banana peppers, pickles & onions.  I forgot to take a pic of this.

Calories:  500

6" Subway club

After dinner, I shared a navel orange with Dwayne.  My half was 30 cals...just realized I forgot to take a pic of that, too!!! 

Calories:  30

1/2 navel orange

About 9pm tonight I was just WAY too hungry. I normally never eat this late, but I still had plenty of calories left so I made another egg white scramble w/ (4) egg whites, 3 oz. chicken breast, 1/8 c. 2% shredded cheese, onions, red bell peppers & mushrooms.

Calories:  218

I had 2 c. of coffee tonight with 3 Tbsp. of fat-free half & half.

Calories:  45

Total Calories:  1824

I didn't drink enough water today, and I didn't get in any exercise.  I'm not quite back in the groove with these 2 things yet, but I'll be working on it. 

Also, posting pics on Saturdays is going to be iffy.  I don't want to promise pics on that day because I found during my beach challenge that although I always went into the weekend with a plan, Dwayne had an amazing ability of destroying it, lol.  My menu often changes, and we end up out somewhere and I forget the camera, etc.  So Saturday is the one day that I'm letting myself off the hook on stringent picture taking.  However, if my day goes the way I plan it, then I'll do a food pic post on Saturday night after Dwayne leaves.  :)

Hope all of you have a FABULOUS weekend!!  :)

Beach Challenge Food Pics Day 10

It's been a rough weekend.  I stayed under my 1800 calorie limit yesterday, but I was so sick that I didn't get up and take any pics.  I spent the majority of the day on the sofa and just let Dwayne feed me and give me medicine....bless his heart.  That's one thing he's really good about...when I'm sick, he wants to be right beside me, taking care of everything I need.  I'm very blessed to have him.

I've just about decided that I have a severe head cold AND allergies, given that our pollen count has been in the 5000+ range.  Today's the 4th day since everything hit me and I'm finally starting to feel almost human again.  I took pics of all my food today, but it wasn't very balanced foods.  I ate mostly sandwiches because they were easy, but I did manage to get some veggies cooked up and put in the frig for the coming week.

I also managed to get out of the house and at the park before 9am to get in some exercise, since Friday and Saturday were my 2 rest days for the week.  I took my sister Amy with me and she wasn't up for 4 miles, so we walked 3 miles instead.  As crappy as I felt, 3 miles still seems like I made a solid effort.

I'm doing my best to get myself into a positive mindframe for the next couple of weeks.  I mentioned at the beginning of the challenge that I have 2 bad weeks out of every month, due to my cycle and my PCOS.  Those 2 weeks start now.  I can already tell I'm bloated...but I'm just reminding myself that there's nothing I can do about it....I'm just going to control the part that I can control with the food, water and exercise, and do my absolute best to reach my 16 lb. goal for this challenge.  I started a week ago at 241 lbs., and I want to end the challenge at 225 lbs.  I still think I can do it, and I'm going to give it everything I've got!! 

I totally forgot to eat breakfast this morning, so when I got home from the park I made my version of a lower calorie meatball sub.  I've made these before and they're delicious!  I used 4 pre-cooked italian turkey meatballs that I browned in a pan in some Pam olive oil spray.  1/4 c. of marinara sauce, a wheat hot dog bun, and 1/4 c. of 2% shredded mozzarella cheese.  I browned the meatballs first, then added in the sauce, sliced them up and put them on the bun, sprinkled on the cheese, and then put them under the broiler for a couple of minutes to get it melty.  Delish!

Calories:  480

I had to take my sister to an appointment today, so lunch was Larry's Subs.  I've found that if I eat out for convenience sake, sandwiches from places like Larry's and Subway don't give me a sodium gain like a restaurant meal in a sit-down restaurant does.  That's a good thing!  I got the 8" ham & turkey on wheat w/ lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, lite mayo & spicy mustard.

Calories:  589

I made a wrap this afternoon with some avocado spread that I mixed up using a recipe I found in a Cooking Light magazine.  I used one avocado, 1/2 block of reduced fat cream cheese, a little horseradish and lemon juice, and some dill.  I spread 1 Tbsp on a 90 calorie wrap w/ 5 oz. baked chicken, roma tomatoes & red onion.

Here's the mixture before I added the dill & mixed it all together.

Calories:  320

I called Pam and asked for a recipe for a dijon sauce to put on pork chops.  I used 1/4 c. of dijon mustard, 1/4 c. of extra virgin olive oil, 1 Tbsp of red wine vinegar & some red pepper flakes.  It was a little more bitter than I was wanting, so I added 2 Tbsp of honey & it turned out perfectly.  It was just enough to take the bite out, without leaning to the sweet side.  I poured it over 4 pork chops, covered with foil and baked.  I forgot how much liquid cooks out of the chops though, so it thinned out the sauce a great deal.  I think the next time I make this, I'll pour the liquid off about halfway through cooking, add the sauce, and finish baking.  I had one porkchop w/ 1/2 c. of brown rice & 1 c. of steamed broccoli.

Calories:  380

Total Calories:  1769

Water Intake:  (5) 32 oz. glasses

Exercise:  Walked 3 miles at the park

I hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend and is going into the 2nd week of the challenge feeling strong!!  Keep your eyes on the goal, do what you know is right, and the rewards will follow, friends!  :)