Week 4 was a great success! I lost 2.6 pounds for a total loss of 6.6 pounds! Woohoo! I treated myself to a new workout outfit (not food)...where do long legged girls buy yoga pants or any other pants to work out in for that matter?

This was an amazing tossed Turkey Pepperoni salad I made one day for lunch. It came out to 373 calories. It was very good and satisfying. I mixed greens, artichokes, black olives, tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, carrots, and the pepperoni. I chose a Light Ranch that was only 80 calories for 2 tablespoons. I really like all of my salad to have dressing so I made it in a tupperware bowl, placed the lid on and shook the veggies to be sure they were all coated with the dressing!

This was a wonderful fish dinner I made for only 339 calories. Tilapia marinated with garlic, lime, and jalapeno. Baked and topped with fresh tomatoes, cilantro, and bell pepper. Paired with asparagus and brown rice.

Overall, I am loving trying new things and after a few weeks, I do not really worry about not eating burgers and pizza every week. Not that I never will again, it is just that they are not the main source of my food. I am loving the results I see and realize that exercise is a necessity to making things happen in my weight loss. After a while, that's not even a hard part anymore. I look forward to doing it and being sore the next day. I have more energy, and generally just feel better. I know it is due to cutting out things in my life and doing good things for my body!

Keep moving forward...or down!

I wanted these at the bottom of this blog post but cannot figure out how to make it load them there or move them down once they are put here! So, below my food is the actual beginning of this post.

This is a spinach salad I had with bacon, strawberries and carrots. I chose the Kraft Light Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing which is only 35 calories for 2 tbsp.!! It was a great salad. Very tasty.


This is a Chicken Tortilla Chili from Pampered Chef I made that is only 220 calories a serving! I added a light cheese and tortilla strips for a total count of 365 calories. That was my whole meal. Because I snack healthy between meals this really did fill me up along with the liter of water I drank. The water, as you can see from my journal has become a staple in my diet! A great way to feel awesome!

So, good news!! I lost 0.8 pounds last week for a total of 3.8 pounds!! I was very excited to just go down and not up. It is girly time right now so I expected a small loss or no loss at all. I am glad the trend is consistent, at least. Below, are my journal entries for week 3. Monday, I was travelling and tried to be nice and let the kids have dessert but ended up sharing with them. Bleh! Sunday, I did go to a superbowl party and ate a bit much but did not gorge myself, like I used to do. I kept it simple, other than my drink choices. The Bud Lime was good, though. AND less calories than Shiner! Anywho, it was a pretty good week, all in all. I think, for the most part, my biggest strugglw is getting everyone else in the competition to want it as much as I do. To realize what you have to literally give up and let go of that ruins an eating healthy habit. It is hard feeling like the only truly serious one.

My next challenge comes with working out at home with my children around. I find it is hard to really focus, at times, because they want to be doing things in that short 45 minutes I need to really work out. We also are having Wii trouble. I think it is about to poop out on me. That will be bad! That is 99% of my workout fun. AND Rush will do that with me and dance around and have fun and keep me from having to be sure he and Rory are not doing anything they shouldn't be. This is VERY frustrating for me. I need to develop patience and come to grips with the reality of it, though. Something is better than nothing and I am doing something, in the end, I suppose.

In an effort to CHANGE how we eat, I am trying recipe after recipe of new things. Substituting unhealthy for healthy. These are the sugar free chocolate chip cookies I made tonight. They are actually the same amount of calories but they are half the fat and cholesterol as I used the crisco flavored butter. I input the recipe on my calorie tracker site and it is really half the fat. I am going to try whole wheat flour next time. These were actually still pretty tasty. They did not flatten out like regular ones but instead stayed in balls but they did cook all the way through! These are only 90 calories a piece!

This is my bunless cheeseburger I had tonight for only 308 calories. It was quite good and I really did actually enjoy it. There is a patty with pepper jack cheese under that! Topped with shredded lettuce, tomato slices, pickles, red bell pepper slices and drizzled with mustard! Yum!

Food is a passion of mine so, I promise, not to share anything on here that does not actually satisfy me in some way. Only the "good" stuff. ;)

In the interest of full disclosure, AND accountability I uploaded my first 2 weeks of food diary entries to my blog page. Feel free to read thru and see how I, too, can be quite weak. The first week was, obviously, the hardest. Week 2 was good until I went home on the weekend and those comfort foods began to call. My abbreviations are not hard. L = liters (as in 3L is 3 liters of H2O that day, LC = lean cuisine, "a" with a line on top is before, "s" with a line on top is without, and "c" with a line on top is with. The numbers in the margins are calories consumed. You will also note my words of encouragement on some days to not let it get me down and quit. This, my husband, and the fabulous women I am competing with are what motivate me.

Week 2 we decided to have a challenge and it was to drink more water. No one really drinks alot of calorie laden things so we decided it was best to cut out other things by drinking more water. I keep this tight by having water with my meals now and really gulping it down to help fill my tummy. I actually do stay fuller between meals and I FEEL better, amazingly enough!

I even highlighted the days I went over my calorie limit. I go by the calorie limit laid out for my height and weight on www.livestrong.com in order to safely lose 2 pounds / week.

Ok, that is it for journal entries. I will upload this week when it is over. I will also post my weigh in at that time!! Wish me luck!

I'm all in!

So, it is a new year, my hubby was home for R&R recently. He has lost around 30 pounds (who knows for sure...he never weighs himself. I can't stand that men do not do this.) We had a looooooooong talk about our health and habits while he was home. Wanting to avoid his family curse of diabetes and high blood pressure, my family curse of diabetes, high BP, and heart attack, we got real and honest about some of our habits. He is very serious about staying thinner and healthier and so am I. I do not want to suffer from all of these things. If we stay on that road, plain and simple, we will. So, while he finishes his overseas time, I have set out to try every healthy recipe, every fun workout, and re-teach myself how to live. It has come across my mind that just because something is available to you does not mean you are meant to eat it. I am counting calories...nothing else for now. I am keeping it simple using www.livestrong.com to track my success. I have been going for 2 and 1/2 weeks now and have lost 3 pounds!! I even started a Biggest Loser competition with the ladies in Cody's family. Carla, Catie, Bether, and Gran are all in and whoever loses 20 pounds (or more) wins $200 on June 1st. I need to drop, at least, 25-30 pounds to be at my goal body type. I weighed 145 when I got married, I started this competition at 175.4. Last weeks weigh in had me at 172.4. I have been tracking daily and my wonderful husband even bought me a Polar Fitness Watch to help me track how many calories I burn when I work out. I love it!! It has helped me learn how much I actually have to do to get my heart rate up in the target zone and really be sure I am burning something!! I have been doing Just Dance and Zumba on my Wii....also great fun!! I burn anywhere from 375 to even 536 calories in an hour! Just from moving my body around! I copied a motto of a young girl I read about in a magazine at the start of all this and it is this..."Either you're in, or you're out!" I am not into dieting, I want a lifestyle change. Stay tuned for my food journal entries (and mistakes), delicious food pics, and general updates on how it all goes.

We have lift off!

I have started a walking routine! Woohoo!! CS is staying home in the mornings after PT with the kids while I go and walk at 7am. I have to get up at 6:45 but I figure I will eventually get used to that. I hate getting up early for those of you who are unaware. I am a big time sleeper. So far I am going monday, wednesday, and fridays. Keep me in your prayers though to work up to everyday. I probably could do it now but I am staying tired during the day with the kiddos. Something is better than nothing.

http://http://www.babycenter.com/0_eight-ways-to-find-time-to-exercise_626.bc I read this article this morning and it was insightful. Thought I would share it.