Day 2 - Wager with Friends

Successful evening!  I have managed to convince some of my friends to have a weight loss challenge with me, to keep things interesting, and leave plenty of room for trash talking.  We are each putting in 25.00 and at the end of April, the victor (me) takes the pot!   I actually very much doubt that I will win, but I get the benefit of doing this with others, so I win either way.  (How is that for a feel good moment of the day?)

We will all submit our weight tomorrow.   I would like to post how everyone is doing, but I have to ask their permission first.   Names will be changed to protect the innocent (or those of us who are horrified to reveal our weight---me)

Crazy morning...started out picking up Abby's car from the shop....at the cost of 1200.00!  I think I may have cried.   What I didn't do was stop and get some "feel good food" to make the pain go away.  Ok, mostly because I can't afford it.   So, silver lining there.

On the way to my office I got an email that I had been assigned yet another account.   That puts me over 30 accounts.   That is pretty much insane in my line of work.  INSANE.   So, it wasn't my best morning ever.    Bright side - I packed my lunch, so my inner voice telling me that chocolate would make everything better is still talking, but more like a whisper.

7:00 am Breakfast
Eggs/spinach/bacon and hot sauce.

I did make a big batch of this on Sunday, so this will be a repeat performer all week.

12:00 pm Lunch
Salad - Lettuce, tomato, baked chicken, chick peas, 1 avocado, ranch dressing

Well, lots of work to do....

Dinner came out amazing.   I'm not even sure how some of this stuff gets in my head.   I did swear that I made this up...and subsequently found similar recipes on the internet.   There was ONE exception though (not that I looked very hard).  I made meatballs...without breadcrumbs!   The sub?   Mashed black beans....the result was delicious!

Day 1....Later that day....

Checking in---

7:00 am  Breakfast

Cage Free eggs

Spinach (power greens)

Bacon bits

Black beans

8:00 am - Water

10:00 am Bulletproof Coffee

12:30 pm  Lunch

Salad

Romaine Lettuce

Cherry tomatoes

1/2 Baked chicken breast

Ranch Dressing

This was a fairly small salad and I was surprisingly full....that being said

Still need to drink water...filled cup, haven't touched it.

2:30 pm  Lunch #2

1 can white kidney beans (http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-white-kidney-beans-4420.html)
- butter
-salt/pepper

Still need to drink that water....

7:00 pm Dinner

Grilled Ahi Tuna Steak
White bean Puree
Broccoli with lemon juice

(marinade- sesame flavored oil, honey/ginger vinegar, garlic, fresh ginger, soy sauce, lemon juice)
(Great northern beans, basil infused oil, honey/ginger vinegar, splash of fish sauce, lemon juice)


Late night

2 cups of bulletproof coffee (terrible idea...did not sleep well at all)

Day 1, and it's not even April!

So much for me counting down...I was pretty sure the plan was to start April 1, but JOSH informed me that we would start our month today.   Um...it's still March.   That being said, I played the "last free weekend" card.    And I'm so ready to start!!!

SO....it all starts with a visit to the grocery store.    First I looked over a few chapters of the book 4 hour body and made a list with some meal suggestions in that.  I also follow several food blogs, so I will be stealing ideas (but giving credit of course) from them.

Well, then there was a  Columbo marathon on TV, and that was difficult to pull away from....but after a few Columbos and setting the DVR to capture more of this tv classic, I made it to the store.   We tried a new store, the Walmart grocery store.  I have an intense hatred of Walmart, so I was hesitant, but I found it to be quite nice.   A farmer's market will be opening soon nearby, and honestly that will be a golden day for me.  I'm such a food nerd.

So I got home, resumed my Columbo marathon (am I spelling this wrong, or does spell check not know the brilliance of Lt. Columbo?) and proceeded to put stuff away, and plan some meals for the week.   I decided to make Egg muffins for the week, so we can grab and go, and not slide off track.   Also, the money savings from eating at home I hope is going to be an added bonus.   I'll  have to compare our debit card spending to previous months...hmmmm...I think I will do that.

While I have been making Egg Muffins (no Mc...to clarify) for years, and not sure how I first started, I saw it recently on a blog that I really like, so I will go ahead and link it....http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2006/10/egg-muffins-revisited-again.html  These are super versatile, easy, and will keep in the fridge for the whole week.




Princess Abby would like to lose weight, but "I'm a kid, I don't want boring food."   So, she asked me if I could replicate the egg white delight from McDonald's (ok, this time there is a Mc) and she could have them for breakfast.    So...I did.   I made 6 of them, since the English Muffins came in a package of 6, and I was able to "test" one out....gotta say, I nailed it.  :)     Not that it's difficult.

English Muffin ( I toasted mine all four sides in a frying pan with unsalted organic butter)
White American cheese
Canadian Bacon
Egg whites

Super easy, delicious, convenient....I didn't take pictures of the final product, but here's a during prep photo....again, I'm a food nerd.   I don't feel bad, because the Internet is FULL of them.   And since there is a Columbo MARATHON on....I'm not the only one who is into that either!

A few more Columbos while I cleaned up the kitchen and off to bed (I recorded the Columbos that I would miss, don't worry)

Morning....

The real test.   Abby had one of the egg white muffins this morning...took one bite and proclaimed that it was "on FLIK"  which...I think is good.    After finishing it, she said she felt like she had just been to McDonald's....which I'm not sure how GOOD that is per say...

According to 4 hour body, we should eat within 30 minutes (protein based) of waking.  So I got up and ate my egg muffins...and then immediately wanted to go back to sleep.  I mean...I was TIRED.  I drank a bottle of water.  Nope...went back to bed for 40 minutes.   I was going to try to get a workout in, but that didn't really happen.  The day is young, we shall see.   So that was at 7:00am.  Now. it's 11:00am. I'm hungry.   I'm having a bulletproof coffee (https://www.bulletproofexec.com/how-to-make-your-coffee-bulletproof-and-your-morning-too/)  to help me make it to lunch.   One hour at a time.

Did I mention that yesterday I recorded my weight, measurements and took pictures of myself in a (way too small) bikini?    That sort of thing can really snap a person in to reality.  I showed the pictures to my daughter who just nodded.   I'm like, "look how BAD I look!!!"    She says.."Mom that's how you look, I don't know what you are seeing that is different."   Dang, I'm in denial bad.  I'm using these photos for incentive, to keep me from going off track, and to watch my body transform.

MAYBE...one day I'll be brave enough to post them online.....doubtful though.

See...now lunch doesn't seem so far away.    I can't UN see those pictures.

-5 and Counting

Here we go again....

But this time for real for real, not for fakey fake  :)

It's been a rough 1.5 years...life really does have ups and downs.   I thought I had it licked, and that had evened out...but then it dropped again.   I was unprepared and have not handled it well.  I have been unhappy and unhealthy, and find myself with and extra 35 lbs.  So..that being said, it's time to go back up in life and back down with my weight!  I think I have learned that when life is really good, take the time to enjoy it.  When life gets you really down, hang in there, it CAN be good again.   At least...that's what I'm counting on.

So...because I absolutely love calendars and writing stuff down (weird, I know) I need a definitive start date.   Not only because my love of calendars, but I like the final RULE part of it.   In April - I will eat well, cut WAY back on drinking, and exercise.    I'm not saying I'm going to stop at the end of April (let's hope good habits are formed) I'm just saying that I'm completely committed to sticking to a plan in April.   I also plan to use this blog as accountability and perhaps just for my own amusement.   

So it's March 27.....which means....chicken wings for lunch today!   haha.