Heading to Chicago

Heading to the airport - no scale in this morning's location but I'm sure I'll be able to give a progress report from Chicago!

Mixed Up Day

Yesterday went a little something like this....

Slept in, no breakfast, downed a cup of coffee then hit the golf course at around 1:30pm, snagged the only non-packaged food on the premises - hot dogs, skipped the ketchup in an attempt to make it somehow more healthy. 

Golfed a decent game, got a little exercise walking the course and walked back to the hotel.  Next meal - one of the best dining experiences I've had in a while - comparable to Napa Valley which is saying a lot!

Appetizer:  Pulled buffalo in Jack Daniels & blueberry barbeque sauce on a corn wafer
                   Scallops wrapped in bacon over pear chutney
          
Entree & Sides:  Buffalo steak seared to perfection (OMG!)
                           Iceberg wedge with bleu cheese
                           Asian green beans
                           Chateau St. Michelle Cabernet
                          
Dessert:  Deconstructed key lime pie (another OMG!)

Still dreaming about that dinner....

The scale said 155 yesterday, 158.5 today..... we'll see what tomorrow brings!

It's a small world afterall...

Jim's suit pants are getting loose on him, he had an extra 2 inches of waistband this morning so it's working! 

So far restaurants at Disney World have been accommodating, we found a PB&J shaped like a flying saucer that works pretty well for the afternoon snack.  With a few deletions and substitutions there is usually at least one "Eat Clean" option to be found on the menu.  Last night, waldorf salad and mahi-mahi for dinner which was right on track, but we were at an outdoor social event for a few hours before dinner and I had a glass of wine there and wine with dinner and woke up feeling bloated and achy this morning.  Am now trying to hydrate but when the water smells like chlorine it isn't very appealing, we'll be buying some bottled water today for sure!

I feel like I'm still losing weight, and my skin is starting to look much healthier so I'm loving that! 

I hope you are all enjoying the new recipes, send me some comments so I know how you are doing on the program!

Florida Finally !!!

Just made it to our room after an over night flight from Seattle to Orlando, and a good breakfast at our hotel.  We are in Disney World for the next few nights - should be lots of fun after a nap!  It is supposed to be 80 degrees here today!

It looks like there won't be any weigh-in until I get home, so this will be a good test to see how this program adapts to restaurant ordering and social events. 

We stuck to the plan at breakfast: Egg white fritatta, fruit plate, granola & they only serve turkey sausage - seems as though Disney cares about healthy options!

Will check in with everyone tomorrow!  Happy healthy eating!

155 Enroute to Orlando

An apple on the way out the door this morning, fed 1/2 of it to the horses on the way out!  A hard boiled egg, black coffee, and raisin toast at the airport, then water, pecans, and sausage on the plane. 

Quite an ordeal this morning getting out of Anchorage.  A mechanical issue upon takeoff at 7:30am, back to the gate, off of the plane without bags, rebooked for a 2:30pm departure, back on our original plane to get our carry-on luggage, and then decided to get back on that flight so moved from coach to first class. 

Sitting is Sea-Tac now getting pedicures and massages - ahhhhhhh!  That's one of the best ideas to come to airports in a while! 

I don't know how I'll do on the diet today, and I'll have to find a place to weigh, but will do a progress report either way!

Hang in there 'Nita - emotional eating is huge on the list for most people - it will get easier!

155 I think...

I weighed late today so this is the estimated weight.

Today is all about leftovers - turkey soup, greens, salad, fruit and whatever else is in the refrigerator! 

Looking forward to the weekend - enjoy!!! 

154.2 - A Little Closer to my $100

Jim and I have an ongoing bet that whoever loses 20 lbs and keeps it off for 1 month wins $100 from the loser.  I have to get to 142 and stay there to win the bet!

I had great food all day today:

Breakfast: Venison. oatmeal and an apple
Lunch: Venison, asparagus, and sauteed veges with rice noodles
Dinner: Stuffed peppers with ground turkey, veges, tomato sauce and spaghetti squash.

Lemon Water is my beverage of choice, that and rice milk

I now have 3 of my friends and family committed to trying the Eat Clean program too.  Go Mom, Anita and Jennifer - get ready to be happy and energized!!! 

Did I tell everyone that I can see my ribs again??

154.4 Today

I'm up early and heading to a workshop at the SBA called "Hot Topics for Women in Business in 2011".  It should be interesting, then at lunchtime attending another presentation on "LLC's in Depth".

So, guess I need to get off the computer and pack a lunch and some snacks this morning!

Have a great day all!

154.6 Today - Turkey Soup in my Future

Making home-made turkey soup today - one of my favorites!  It has warmed up to 32 degrees today which feels like a heatwave! 

I successfully managed to eat my breakfast during the meal prep this morning for our B&B guests so I'm off to a good start on the day.

I should have taken my measurements at the beginning of this program, it feels like I'm losing more weight than the scale shows - so I'm thinking that it is because I am losing fat and not muscle.

I'm going to sign-up for piano lessons as a treat to myself when I reach my size 8's again!  Small rewards are a great motivator and I've been procrastinating on learning to play an instrument for years.  :)

155.0 - Routine Remodel Required

It's so easy to get stuck into a routine that doesn't benefit you, this week my "old routine" is haunting me.  I've realized that serving a hearty breakfast of french toast, bacon, eggs and fruit juice for B&B guests leaves me eating my own entirely different breakfast at about 9:30 a.m.  A little late to be eating the first meal of the day - which consequently pushes my whole schedule back.  So, I am up typing instead of in bed asleep, because we didn't eat dinner until 7:00 p.m.  Don't get me wrong - I have always been a night person, but the food schedule has so much to do with the quality sleep, a good rule of thumb has always been to eat the last meal of the day at least 3 hours before bed time.  Looks like I've got to find a way to squeeze my breakfast in before I serve the B&B guests.

Other things I've noticed this week - after cooking without added salt, you can really taste the salt in processed foods.  I had a bite of breakfast sausage this morning and couldn't finish it because it tasted so salty - Roxy liked it! 

It was a very productive day today and I'll say it again, the energy level that this program has given me is worth it alone if I didn't lose any weight.  Thankfully, that is not the case!

Have a great day tomorrow!

Side Effects - Insomnia!

Wide awake and getting lots of work done.  I let the little beagle in (neighbors dog) who was whining at the door at midnight in the middle of the wind storm so she is cuddling up to Jim. 

I'll be sleeping fast tonight!

154.8 Wohoo!

Okay, that's more like it!  A busy working day today with B&B guests this morning and tax prep all afternoon.  Eating at home makes it much easier to stick with the plan though!

Just polished off a yummy steak salad made with venison, portabello mushrooms, scallions, red pepper, finely diced red onions, and an olive oil dressing made with mint, cilantro, basil, lemon juice, and liquid aminos.  Sooo good and good for you...

I've been feeling my stomach growling all day long, but not from hunger - just digesting.  Another 5 pounds and I'll be into a smaller size! 

Tomorrow it's off to the grocery store to re-stock, I'll have to try some new recipes this week - I'll let you know my favorites so you can add them to your list!

No Weigh-in Today - Ooooooops!

Today was an odd day - I had a healthy breakfast but really wasn't hungry all day and mostly drank water.

I sometimes feel that you just have to go with what the body wants or doesn't want when you are not feeling hungry, but I realize that skipping meals is the big metabolism killer so I'll be sure to get back on track tomorrow. 

I watched "Food, Inc." last night which will scare the beef out of anyone's diet - ammonia in our meat "filler" (translation hamburgers) !!!  Chickens whose muscles grow so fast that their bones can't keep or hold their weight..., the birds can't walk and end up wallowing around in their own, well, you know...  Even the farmed salmon are fed corn products - which are proven to make most of the "corn fed" mammals fat - hey, last I heard weren't we mammals?  No wonder the majority of America has a pooch around the middle.

Any of you following the blog - feel free to comment!

....158.4....156.4....155.4

Yeah!!  This puts me down 10 pounds from my highest weight ever which occurred on the fateful day of the snow pants incident!

I like it!

I can see Russia from the top of this plateau...

Stuck at 158.4 this week - at least it's consistent!  I lost my voice yesterday and it's been very cold out so I'm going with fighting an illness as the reason for the lack of movement on the scale.  Either that or the batteries must be dead!  :)   I'm sure the numbers will start dropping soon - until then just holding strong to the program and settling into the workout routine.  I am documenting the plateau in case anyone reading later goes through the same thing - don't get frustrated, just stay the course! 

I am optimistic about the future!

My Mom started the program today - "Cooler Plan 1" (accelerated).  GO MOM!

Hmmmmm - 159.0

A few trips to the sushi bar this week not serving me well after all!  And heading there again tonight.  Perhaps time to get more rigid with the recipe book - although it is 0 degrees here so the body tends to hold on to the fat to keep us warm!

Reflections on the Gym

I usually prefer to break a sweat by taking on an activity or chore that needs accomplished and also gives me a good workout.  Maybe not vacuuming with the Kirby, but certainly gardening, stacking firewood, raking or shoveling, painting, and pretty much anything to avoid "exercise for the sake of exercise". Nevertheless, there are some things we must do for the sake of our sanity and our relationships that are not always top on the list - the gym in the winter is one of them! 

The epiphany today was that it isn't that I don't enjoy the gym once I get there, the real issue is - you guessed it - the locker room! There's just something about seeing the person who rings up your groceries in their birthday suit that alters the whole shopping experience.  Of course, they say the best way to get over being nervous during a speech is to visualize the audience in their underwear...., maybe if I start rehearsing for presentations in the locker room I'll conquer both issues at once!  At any rate, I'm committed to hitting the gym every other day until the leaves are on the trees, so I'm sucking it up!  Bring on the biceps and the flat stomach!

Today's weight:  158.4 and holding steady

158.0 - Down 7lbs 2 weeks in

Well the second week of this program has had a lot of interruptions - but such is life, and the challenge is how to keep yourself on track and still deal with with day-to-day.  I've discovered that eating at restaurants is challenging, but can be accomplished with a few special requests and still stick to the program.  Salt is the hardest thing to avoid!

I haven't added the exercise program to the equation yet because I wanted to see just how much effect changing the diet alone would have.  We are going to start hitting the gym tomorrow so I'm anxious to see how the second half of this month progresses. 

I am overall very happy with this way of eating so far - the increased energy and the feeling of nourishing your body at every meal are both very gratifying! 

Fitness by Kirby

Thank you honey for the incredibly powerful and incredibly heavy vacuum cleaner, if I haul that thing up and down the stairs a few times a week I'll be out of my big girl jeans in no time!

Holding steady today at 158.2

BRRRRR, shivering off the weight, 158.2!

My fingertips are still numb from taking care of horses with the wrong gloves on!  I should know better - it was 8 degrees here today and sunny and beautiful, it can be deceiving, but hey, we don't have to shovel! 

Short and sweet tonight since it's late...

Today's Menu:

Breakfast:  1 hard boiled egg, steel-cut oatmeal with ground flax seed, 1/2 grapefruit

Lunch: Greens & Kale from this summer's garden, 2 small pieces of venison backstrap, black beans

Snack:  Pecans & Raisins

Dinner: Greens, Mung Bean with scallions, red pepper, celery and liquid aminos, turkey breast

Lemon water all day, no coffee or tea.

The sugar cravings have finally subsided.  Off to the store tomorrow to stock up on cilantro, mint and more fruit and veges!