Well I made it to the 4th week of the game, and needless to say,
I had only lost another pound.  I know... I know, slower is better.
But to be honest with you, I feel as if I will gain it all back on my
trip to NOLA.  I think I should make a pact with myself to not weigh
until after I get back and visit with my friend Karen who will be
coming in for a visit next Tuesday, the same day I get back! 
Such an exciting time for me!  I'll need to remember this come
fourth of July when Jon and I are stuck home, being economical LOL. 
So this little picture summarizes my weight loss journey
while playing "The Game-On". 

                                   

I've lost 1% of my body weight each week,

but ugh it's such a slow and painful process.

Yesterday, I caved and took a snacking

penalty and did not exercise.  I do have a

 good excuse.  I was packing for my trip :-).

 

 

Today I started kind of a new plan.  I'm counting calories.

Boring, and old school, I know!  But, I'm hoping that I can

start to edge into the "real" world again.  Have a few

of the foods that I love, not have to eat 5 times a day, and

still lose a few pounds.  Clearly my plan will not be completely

tested until I finish visiting in NOLA and then here in CO with

my friend, but maybe it'll help me maintain.  I'd also like to 

continue to exercise 6 out of 7 days, at least 20 minutes a

day.  I will also continue to stay off of soda.  I still enjoy

my caffeine with hot or cold sweet tea once a day, but water is

my main beverage.

 

Here in CO, we've had uncommonly wet cloudy weather.

It's certainly not the norm for us.

On Tuesday, I went for a quick walk, trying

to beat the rain.  The clouds were beautiful.

  It was pretty to see the contrasting

colors of the gray clouds

against the blue sky, and the

sun peaking out a little. 

                                           

So, um when I started this diet, I took a picture of myself.. in some rather snug pants.

They were stretchy, so they look a lot worse than they feel. 

The picture was horrible, and I couldn't believe it!  Today,

I wore the same pants again, and took another picture. 

It's not much better, but it is better. It's minimal

change, but it's change. I will continue to try to better

my body.  A lot of people say, you're skinny already. 

Well, perhaps I am, but clearly these pictures prove

I am not... and there is room for improvement. 

I just want to be a healthier, happier, leaner me!

 

 What I've learned on this journey!

1.  I love love love emailing with my friend daily :-)Something

that most of us have gotten away from with cell phones,

 and FB.  But, emails were so fulfilling.

2.  I can be very crabby, and emotional when

I limit my intake and other people don't.

I am the most fortunate person in the world

to be married to a man who is

soooo tolerant!

3.  Some new recipes should remain hidden

beneath the depths of the internet, and never

trust Pinterest!

4.  Cheese sticks, fruit and nuts are the

new staples!

5.  I do not eat enough vegetables.

6.  Whole grains are actually pretty good

when you hardly ever eat carbs.

7.  Drinking 100 oz of water a day is

very doable, but hard when you're

on a road trip. 

8.  I am a psychotic weigher (is that even a word?)

and I'm quite sure that isn't a good thing.

9.  I didn't miss alcohol all that much, and giving

up Chick-fila and soda were easier

than I expected.

10.  Losing weight with others makes the

task so much more appealing.

 

 

Happy Dieting and Living! 





 

Sunday Funday

Well, let's just say that stepping on the scale today was rather painful.  After a free meal on Friday and a free day on Saturday,  let's just say the numbers aren't worth sharing.  But, I decided to get right back into the game!  

Breakfast was two slices of lowfat Swiss cheese, nutragrain blueberry waffle, and cantaloupe.  After breakfast, I laced up my shoes and went for a four mile walk.  And, I forgot my fitbit damn it! But, I had a lovely walk. Once I was past the 1.5 mile mark, bikers and runners were leaving me in the dust and I felt a little defeated.  

But, I kept my head up and kept on walking.  Jamming out to my tunes, and enjoying the rare warmth.  

As I got closer to my home, I saw red/orange winged bird, it's not a clear picture but I love these birds. 

I was feeling pretty good as my walk was wrapping up.  I walked into our neighborhood and I saw this sweet kitty. It let me pet it, and it even followed me a ways. But once I turned the corner, he leapt away. I also took the time to make a wish on a dandelion puff.  

The sheer beauty of where I live continues to delight my senses.  Of course, this is only when bad yucky weather isn't freezing my senses. lol.  The snow covered mountains right by my house. 

Once home, I turned into Betty Crocker.  I made my snack for the week, stuffed mushrooms.  They were difficult and took a long time, but I'm set until Thursday.  And I just realized, I get one more meal today!! Whoo hoo, who knew.  I also put dinner on, and made chocolate chip cookies for the baby. I didn't even eat any of the dough.  I've had my 3 liters of water, and I'm going to bed feeling like somewhat of a champion.  If you'd like the recipe for the mushrooms, I'll send you the link.  Happy Monday peeps! Here's to a better weigh in tomorrow.  

Pre cooked, well the mushrooms had been roasted.  

All done! Snack twice a day for four days.  

The Break Down

So, it's been a rough couple of days.  Being away all weekend, makes it very hard to come back home and go right back to work.  Prepping the food I needed to eat while at work on Monday was tough, as we hadn't done the weekly grocery shopping yet.  But, I was able to use some old taco meat (that wasn't bad yet), salsa, low-fat cheese, and tomatoes to throw together food for my fist day back to work.  I also sauteed some spinach that I didn't want to go bad, and prepped my cucumbers for snacking.

                                                              
I was very grateful that dinner was already planned, and ready to go once I got home from work.  This allowed me to jump on the treadmill.  I'm watching my guilty pleasure, Pretty Little Liars, and I'm only two episodes into Season 4.  So, getting on the treadmill, can be a little motivational.  For dinner, I had marinated a lean piece of pork roast in sugar free teriyaki sauce (thank you Whole Foods).  We also broiled a sweet onion, and some broccoli.  Yes, I know, small portions, but keep in mind that I've had 4 meals prior to this one.



We also got a very weird rare snow shower Sunday night into Monday, so I have to put the crazy snow picture from May 12th!                                                      



Tuesday was just a tough day all around.  For some reason, unknown to me, I had just a horrible day.  It probably started with stepping on the scale and seeing a .8 increase from the day before.  Now increases, are not that big of a deal, but after a full day of playing by the rules, I was bummed.  Then I made a snack, and it wasn't very good.  I'm not including a photo, because my version was not appetizing at all.  Mid morning, I needed something sweet.  I wasn't sure if I was craving caffeine or just sweetness, but I had sweetness in my desk drawer.  Luckily for me, I had forgotten my 100 calorie cheat for the day, and that little box was packed with 80 delicious calories!  While enjoying these babies, it dawned on me that I forgot to get the mail on Monday.  Another blow, as if the scale wasn't enough.  Tuesday was graduation at the HS that I work at, so the afternoon was really tough for me to fit in my 4th meal.  Skipped another meal, lost yet more points.  I eventually called my mom, just to chat and catch up with her.  Yep, ended up crying on the phone terribly devastated about my inability to stick with this very hard diet.  Oh, I left out that I forgot to take something out for dinner, which would be additional points lost (because it's hard to cook frozen chicken at 5pm).  My mom made me feel so much better, and THANK You so much MOM!  We talked about forfeiting the game, but I wasn't 100% sure that I was ready to throw in the towel.

I went to bed and woke up feeling somewhat better.  I was also down a few pounds since today was weigh in of the start of week 3.  Of course, I ate sanctioned meals for the first 2 meals of the day.  Meal 3 was left overs from last nights dinner out, but it was super portion controlled. And, I hate to report that I forgot to eat meal 4.  I got out of work early, and came home started laundry, got food out for dinner, worked out, and decided to read my book.  But, I did snack on some cucumbers.  But for dinner, I rallied around and made a delicious sanctioned dinner.  I was worried Kid B would not eat the chicken, because I put a chimichurri sauce on it.  We had the grilled chicken breasts, with oven broiled asparagus, and a salad with tomatoes and green beans.  But, he complimented the dinner and ate it. This diet uses way too many plastic tupperware containers. (See my dishwasher-top rack!)  I even remembered to get the mail today, and I've had 3 liters of water!  So although I'm altering the game, and playing by a new set of rules, I hope it continues to make me the winner, by allowing me to lose weight.  I'm ok with not being the official winner.  I think my end goal is that I want to make changes that are "doable" and "sustainable".  I've always always always been a moderation girl, and with out moderation my world felt a little shattered and broken.  Another shiny glimmer of my day happened when my game friend was totally 100% understanding and supportive about the need for me to make a few changes.  THANK You so much DW!

            

And in closing I found this cute little inspirational 

saying that I should print out and hang on the wall of my office next year... I need to remember this.  

So far, I'm down 3.2 lbs.  

Happy Mother's Day

Wow, I can't believe it's been 3 full days since I've touched my blog.  But to start off, Happy Mother's Day!  I hope you were showered with love and attention today.  I got two wonderful cards, and a gift card... in addition to my fabulous weekend.  We went away to the Great Sand Dunes, and it was quite an experience!  We hiked way up to one of the taller dunes.  I'm quite certain it wasn't the highest, but it was high enough for me.  We hiked for a total of 2.09 miles, in 1 hour and 43 minutes, and we climbed 891 vertical feet.  Going up we had to stop a lot!  The altitude (8500ft) was significantly higher than where we live, and I was breathing like a seriously out of shape person.  But, the boys were tolerant, and stayed with me pretty well.  Devan took this really cool pano shot with his phone.

So, let's do some back tracking so I can tell you about my "game-on" diet.  Thursday, I did so well, got out of the house on time, grabbed all of my foods.  When I got on the interstate, I realized I didn't grab my frozen premade lunch.  I quickly reached out to my diet buddy.  Help!! What do I do now that I forgot my lunch.  We brainstormed back and forth, and decided Chipotle would be the best option.  Oh, and once I dug into this delicious burrito bowl, I was quite certain it was the best option!  Now Chipotle does offer brown rice, but I was looking for low carb, so I did veggies (peppers and onions) on the bottom, with meat, and then pico de gallo and corn salsa on top for my carbs.  It was filling, and oh so tasty.  It was almost like a cheat, but without cheating.  Best of all, I had lunch for Friday too! 

 



I've been able to stay on top of my exercising and my healthy/bad habit.  But I blew points on Wednesday night, when we went to red robin.  So, I lost all points for dinner.  I've been able to consume my water so that's good.  Friday was another ok day.  I did well for my first 3 meals, then my 4th meal was probably enough for a 4th-7th LOL.  I only ate a 4th and skipped my 5th. Saturday started out strong I ate my first 2 meals, no problem and then for our 3rd, it came much later... Needless to say, the point counting on the score card is getting rather complicated for me.  I must get back to regular normal diet eating.

Today is Mother's Day, and I decided it would be my free day.  We started out looking for a yummy breakfast, but in the middle of Colorado... It's next to impossible.  I'm anxious for my brother to move out here, so we can just crash at their place, and eat breakfast there LOL.  So here it was almost 10, and we still hadn't found breakfast, gas station stop.  I opted for chips (insert shocked face), a slice of cheese, and my first soda since I've started the diet.  I also had a small bag of candy the boys bought me that I was saving for Sunday.  Yep, that was my breakfast.  Perhaps you see the problem, and know why I need to be dieting.  For lunch, which was several hours later, we stopped at Macaroni Grill.  The boys do not love this place, so I was thrilled to get to pick for Mother's Day.  I did well, ordered water and only ate 1/2 of my dinner.  I did however, really enjoy probably way more than my share of bread before the meal.

Now that we are home, I'm chugging water, washing laundry, and about to go hit the treadmill.  I'd like to say that I took one day off of exercise this 7 days, but I'm thinking it's not going to happen.  I'm literally terrified to step on the scale tomorrow.  Did I mention that it's snowing outside?  I miss Louisiana(where I grew up) on days like this.  Attached is a pic of me and Kid B yesterday, and another of me and my fabulous hubs.  I so wish I was a millionaire so that I could fly Kid A out to spend time with us, I miss her sooooooooooo much.  Sometimes, I think it's literally causing small cracks in my heart.  But, I'm trying to be strong, because very soon, before I'm ready Kid B will fly the coop!

Thanks to my wonderful husband and son for making today special for me!  I'm lucky to have you all in my life.  I even woke up to a super sweet text message from Kid A, and then enjoyed chatting with her on our way home.  The scale may be a little bit off tomorrow, but I'm sure it's just because of all the love I've been showered with :-) Or at least, that's what I'm going to tell myself.

 

Tomorrow, it's back to serious hard core, GAME-On! 

The end of week one and the start of week two

Tonights blog will be a quick one.. It's 6:51, and I still need to get my 20 minutes of exercise in, and I need to dodge the lightening bolts to get the mail.


Yesterday was a good day, uneventful, and I don't have much to report out.  Seriously the diet works so well for me when I'm not upset, or mad, or worried.  More on that later.  I started the day out with a new fruit.  I had tried a kumquat years ago, I'm talking 1992ish.  I was invited to a Vietnamese New Year celebration with a dear friend.  I'm sad to say that I have lost contact with her.  But, it was such a cool cultural event.  Both Regina and I went, it actually may have been 1993.  My friend had a kumquat tree thing growing in a pot in her living room.  I asked her about them, and she offered me one.  Now I have to say, it's 2014.  And, I couldn't remember how they tasted.  I saw them at our local safeway, and had to buy a handful.  These little babies pack a powerful lemon tartness, with a tiny bitter sweetness at the end when you're chewing up the outer part of the kumquat.  They were ok, I'm not sure it's something I'd ever really crave, but I'm glad that I bought some and tried them.  I even shared a few with two of my speech students.  They said they were brave, and willing to try them.

After work, I ran tons of errands.  Target, REI, Hallmark, and Ulta.  Had to hit the Treadmill yesterday of course, and then cook dinner and get the boys out of the door by 6:30.  I made thin, lean steak with long quarters of zucchini grilled with a side of grapes.  Dinner was delicious.  I seriously don't mind the food on this diet, it's the "lack" of F.L.A.B.B. foods that I miss.

So, then comes my morning.  I woke up, and immediately stepped on the scale.  Sorry it's not turned the right way, but you can see that I've ONLY lost 1.6 lbs.  For all that hard work, I did expect more.  I was disappointed, disgruntled, and just kinda fed up.  This was not a good way to start my day.  Then, top that off with being late to work.  Seriously, was today Monday, because it felt like a Monday.  At work, there were millions of obstacles.  It was the last day for the seniors.  There were breakfast burritoes, cinnamon rolls, pizza, ice cream (literally shoved in my face by a kind co-worker, who knows that I'm on a diet), chocolate chip cookies, and chips.  Well, let's just say that by the end of the afternoon, I had to take a snacking penalty.  Because of that, I should drink more water, but I haven't LOL.

The best part of my entire day was using my new cap that I got at REI with our dividend points.  We have 2 camelbak water bottles that have no lids.  So I bought this baby to give it a try.  I LOVE it!  It allows me to guzzle water quick.  I can put down a 1/2 liter in like 3 minutes ... if that.  I should time myself tomorrow just for kicks and giggles.  You should invest in one... They are pretty sweet!

I even met with my mentor today, at a place called ModMarket (at 4)and was able to get a white bean tuscan soup that fit the diet well.  For dinner, we had left overs (pulled pork, sauteed onions and peppers, and a side of grapes).  Tomorrow I am back at it!  I will not let the numbers, or the turkeys out there get me down.  Life has been a little stressful for me lately.  I've had a few emotional happenings over the last week, that have caused me to feel mad, upset, and worried.  I've learned that I'm an emotional eater, I'm also one of those orally fixated people.  I use to suck my thumb when I was little, now I chew gum, but sometimes I just like to chew.  I love to chew ice, but we don't have ice at my work.  Also, sometimes just sitting at my desk makes me have the urge to just pop something yummy in my mouth.

So in honor of all the mean people out there.  OK, honestly, there aren't that many.  I found this inspirational quote for myself.  Hopefully it'll help you out too.  Are there any other dieters out there?? Sometimes I feel alone in this huge cyber world.  How do you make it over life's hurdles, and deal with obstacles?  (public service announcement... I do not condone smoking, but this quote seriously spoke to me tonight).

Day #... I lost count, but day after free day, is No Bueno!

Happy Monday all of my dieting friends!  I hope you all had a great day.  I started my day with hitting snooze only once, but had to think about it because at first I thought it was the second snooze.  I panicked a bit at 4:54 AM!  Needless to say, the rest of my day went off without a hitch.  Except that step on the scale, and let's just say I should never weight myself after a "free" day.   

My meals were filling, and spaced well today.  I drank all my water, with no problem.  When I got home, I contemplated running to Target for a few things we need, but quickly decided against that. Exercise had to happen.  I don't have time for it in the morning, I wish I did, but I don't.  As I had changed my clothes, and gotten ready, I meandered downstairs to the study and texted my friend in Karen in KS.  I thought talking to her while I walked, would certainly place a positive aspect on this negative task.  Well, I ended up walking for 36 minutes, which is more than the expected 20 for the game.  I also enjoyed a nice long conversation with my friend.  I often don't make the time to call friends, but I really always enjoy talking to them once I make the effort!  Technology I believe, has made me lazy.  So, while I was in our study, this little baby started calling my name.  I quickly called Devan and gave the box to him.  I told him to eat them, hide them, whatever, but get rid of them!  On the upside, I didn't eat the whole box on my day off :) 


Finally, I threw our left over dinner together.  And, I was just in the nick of time!  I only had 10 minutes to spare until I went over my 4 hour window frame for eating (Meals have to be between 2 and 4 hours).  Dinner was delicious.  I had a small scoop of taco meat, with a small spoon of salsa, some cheese, and a huge helping of sauteed onions and peppers.  I kid you not, the house was smelling just like a mexican restaurant.  I followed this with a small helping of strawberries that I needed to use.  The boys each got a bowl too! Good thing since we didn't get to celebrate Cinco de Mayo today.  I specifically told Jon that next year, we will go out for Margs, chips, and dinner!  Diet life rains a little on my ideal life's parade sometimes.  

                                 
On Saturday, Jon and I did a Walmart run.  I hate Walmart.  I've done the "Walmart to go" once, but never have my stuff together to get my order in.  But, Jon needed something in the hardware department, so I agreed.  We spent more money that we should have, the theme of any grocery run I do these days.  But, I stumbled upon the cutest little container for my lunches/snacks.  I decided that this week, I'd have a 1/4 of avocado for my fat for two of my meals.  I wanted to bring a lite dressing that I could put just a drop or two on the avocado for taste.  Don't get me wrong, I can eat just plain ole avocado.  I assumed I'd just bring the whole bottle, but then I found this little guy!  It's the cutest container of all containers.  I used it today, and it's so easy to control portions, and so compact.  I believe I am in love, yes, with a container! 

After making dinner earlier, I asked my boys, both of whom enjoyed the dinner that I made, who would put away the left overs.  (yes, I often feel like the little red hen!).  My youngest pipes up and says, "Mom, if you want to lose weight, you've got to move around more, and put stuff away yourself."  Needless to say, after this major horseplay battle, I did not get a good picture to post.  But, my husband, took this one from where he was sitting.  The boy is strong, and I am no match for him.  Perhaps I should incorporate upper body strength training into this "Game On" diet.  Check out my chocolate lab.  She wasn't too sure about what was going on, and was a little concerned.  

 As I move forward to what will be a somewhat difficult week, I'm learning how to make life work within the parameters of the diet.  I've problem solved how I'll eat and see my mentor on Wednesday.  How I'll enjoy and eat with my "speckle" SPED team after school on Friday.  Timing will be key, and discipline too.  Carry on diet warriors!  

Someone told me this weekend, that they "never" diet.  Well, I've only done a formal diet once before.  And, ya know what, I don't really need to diet, but I want to.  I want to be a little bit lighter, and a little bit healthier.  There's no shame in that! 

The Crash and Burn

So, Friday, and Saturday were a bit on the cray-cray side of life.  After work on Friday, I had numerous errands to run with my youngest as he prepped for the state level competition at National History Day.  He and a friend have spent numerous hours, days, and months putting together a documentary on The Tuskegee Airmen.  The were first place at their high school, Go Erie High Tigers!  They were second place at Greeley at UNC (University of Northern Colorado), and yesterday was the state competition.  Anywho, I've gotten side tracked.  With Friday's errands, I lost points for the first time on the game.  I went more than 4 hours without a meal.  Oh my goodness, I could tell!! I wanted to eat my youngest's arm off!  LOL, not really, but I was crazy hungry.  I finally made it back home, only to have to prepare food for myself.  No Good Times Burger and Fries, No Chick-fila, and no processed frozen meal.  I decided I wanted tacos.  My teammate had mentioned a taco bar and it just sound heavenly.  So, I finally mustered up the energy, while dousing myself with more water, and made dinner.  I think I finally sat down to eat sometime after 7, Yikes! I bought these "whole wheat" tortillas, had a dollop of lean ground meat, a smidge of salsa (without sugar), spinach, and a dollop of cheese.  So I think the ingredients rocked.  The taco meat was made with homemade seasoning, so it wasn't "store taco mix", and it was a little different.  But, steer clear of those whole wheat tortillas, I thought it tasted like a piece of paper.  I'd rather have more salsa, with no tortilla.  Needless to say that pack will probably end up in the garbage.  Bluck!!  I also had an additional salad with green beans, artichoke hearts and spinach.

I also prepped meal 2 and 4 and dinner #5 for Saturday since I'd be gone all day on Saturday.

Pulled pork made with lean pork meat and an onion.  1 cup of water, and 1 cup of apple cider vinegar.  Crock pot meal! 

Next up, was another point loss in the game, I accidentally without thinking about it stepped on the scale twice Saturday morning :/.  Point penalty!  Dang it! But, breakfast turned out yummy.  I had berries with an egg.  For Meal/Snack #2, I made a peanut butter whip dip thing out of Peanut Butter and greek yogurt.  When I ate it on Friday night, I thought too much peanut butter ( I do not like peanut butter, except in cookies).  But then when I ate it saturday, again... Bluck!  I didn't like it.  I dipped a banana in it.  Maybe a strawberry or an apple would be better, but no bueno!

Next up was my FREE meal!!! I was so excited.  I enjoyed lunch with some friends at Outback.  We of course started with a bloomin onion, and a side salad with my favorite dressing they have (balsamic blue cheese vinaigrette).  Then I went for the buffalo chicken sandwich for my main meal.  Let's say I was feeling pleasantly plump when I finished.  (That phrase makes me chuckle, as one of my speech kiddos in HS, didn't know what that meant, and wasn't familiar with that term last week.)  I also indulged in two lemonades, mmmmmm.

After lunch we headed back to CU-Denver to wait for the "listing" of the finalist.  I'm so proud of my son!! He did awesome.  He's a little on the shy side, but he handles himself, and presented like a rock star!
Here's a picture of my handsome kiddo, as he's introducing his partner.

Well at 1:15, we learned that their documentary did not make the finals.  At the time I was kinda relieved, since winning would have required us to stay until well after 5.  This morning, I'm feeling kinda bad for them, and hope Dev's not too upset.  He kinda rolls with the punches so I'm guessing he was fine with it.  Both of us napped on the way home while Jon drove.  Jon took evil pics up us sleeping in the car.  I will not be posting those for your viewing pleasure :-)

Once we got home, the aroma of my dinner smacked me in the face.  Wow, I had forgotten that at 7am I started dinner in the crockpot.  But, before dinner, we went grocery shopping, and I did my 20 minutes of exercise.  I also opened the mail (my new healthy habit)and got my fabulous new shoes for the upcoming wedding!  Now to get a sweater, chunky jewelry, and a tiny clutch purse for a reasonable price, haha.

Dinner was really good.  I decided to sauté some spinach, and onions with a little olive oil.  We baked some sweet potato fries, and the side of pulled pork.  I will always be indebted to the Linn's for sharing this very authentic NC meal with us, that my family loves! (the pulled pork recipe)

Now the very sad news:  This morning when I stepped on the scale, I was back at my very same original start weight: 130.4.   I hate Outback!! Yep, I'm going to blame it on them LOL.  Then, to make matters worse, I have a "free" day today.  I don't think I"ll weigh myself tomorrow.  So far, I've had a cup of snapple peach tea from my Kurig.  (Thanks Reeda for the K cups).  Some Sugar Babies. :-O, an apple turnover, and 3 pieces of bacon.  Needless to say I am now trying to drink a liter of water, so that I can flush all that badness out of my body before having some ice cream later.  Jon and I are going on a 10 mile bike ride around noonish(hoping to get some sun), and then the family will enjoy a meal out before going back to work tomorrow.

I can say that I'm certainly feeling defeated and deflated about the weight gain.  But, I'm also not going to sweat it.  I think it'll fall off again, or let's say I'm hopeful.  How do you deal with set backs?  Any helpful tips that help you stay focused on your end goal?  Are you eating or making yummy snacks or dinners, that you'd like to share?? I'd love to hear about them!  Until then, Game ON people, Game ON!