Thursday, December 31, 2015

2015 year in review

2015 is coming to a close, so let's look at those big goals:

Goal 1: 16 pounds gone - weight 1 week after delivering baby -- DONE!   
Goal 2: 31 pounds gone - weight before getting pregnant -- DONE!!
Goal 3: 40 pounds gone... on my way to this one!
Goal 4: 50 pounds gone
Goal 5: 60 pounds gone 
Goal 6: 70 pounds gone 
Goal 7: 80 pounds gone 
Goal 8: 90 pounds gone 
Goal 9: 100 pounds gone 
Goal 10: 103 pounds gone 

I need to set more non-scale-based goals for 2016, but that's for my next post.  Overall, I'm thrilled to be below my pre-pregnancy weight to close out the year, finally.  I wish I had hit this goal three years ago, but hey, better late than never, right? ;)

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Goal #2 Accomplished and pondering a big reward

Goal 1: 16 pounds gone - weight 1 week after delivering baby -- DONE!   
Goal 2: 31 pounds gone - weight before getting pregnant -- DONE!!
Goal 3: 40 pounds gone 
Goal 4: 50 pounds gone
Goal 5: 60 pounds gone 
Goal 6: 70 pounds gone 
Goal 7: 80 pounds gone 
Goal 8: 90 pounds gone 
Goal 9: 100 pounds gone 
Goal 10: 103 pounds gone 

I've been at this second goal - or beyond - for a couple of weeks now, but I've been so nervous that I'm going to slide back over that weight again with the holidays!  Ugh!  I'm trying hard to make sure that I don't fail... ;)

I'm pondering a big reward for hitting this big goal - and a big birthday coming up in two months.  I'm considering going to a destination spa or weight loss resort for a few nights (perhaps up to a week?).  I've been looking into places such as:
There are other spas and resorts, of course, but I'm looking mostly at places in California and Arizona to cut down on travel time.  Green Mountain at Fox Run in Vermont looks incredible though...

Have any of you ever gone to one of these incredible places, or have a friend who has done so?  I am so curious.  The prices are staggering, so that's holding me back from booking anything.  I would love to hear from anyone who's visited!

Here's to happy and healthy holidays for all! :)

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

sloooowly but surely

So.  Currently below pre-pregnancy weight by a half pound - I was under it by a pound and a half before this weekend... doh.  I'm not doing the massive "YAY BIG GOAL MET" dance yet with Thanksgiving lurking two nights away.  ;)  But I am trying to be smart about things, and intend to work out extra on the day before and day after.  I also don't intend to take any leftovers home (if offered)!  I wouldn't mind picking up a turkey (either whole or breast) if I find one on a good sale, but I'm not running to multiple grocery stores before Saturday ;)  (I bought enough to get us through until then earlier this week!)

I'm frustrated because even though I'm down almost 30 pounds from a year ago, I'm still wearing the same jeans!  Shouldn't I be down a size or two?  They do loosen up as the day goes on, but they're snug when I put them on so I haven't tried anything smaller yet.  (And as any fat lady can tell you, I have a ton of jeans in many various sizes...)

Hoping to be down a pound perhaps by the end of the month?  Dream big, my friends! :D

Friday, November 6, 2015

working it out

Still moving down the scale, albeit slowly.  I actually saw my pre-pregnancy weight one day last week, but it was fleeting as Halloween festivities added some of that weight back.  I would love be solidly below that weight before Thanksgiving, but frankly... just making it through the next two months without gaining weight would be a big accomplishment.  I need to be realistic!

I haven't felt well yesterday or today, but I still dragged myself to workouts each day.  I just didn't have my heart in them (and it didn't help that this morning's class was oddly filled with elderly women with no rhythm - though I'm happy for them that they're exercising, I wish they would've gotten together in one area so those of us who actually wanted to dance could've had room!  I was so nervous I was going to kick a great-grandma!).

I'm really struggling with emotional eating these days.  Feeling very stressed, and my usual 'release' for that is to eat, especially things that are high in fat.  I don't get that rush of adrenaline after working out, which everyone says is great when you're stressed.  I didn't want to do the classes yesterday or today, but I know it's better to move than to eat. ;)  It's just frustrating that I really still want to eat, and I have to find better ways to cope with this stuff.  Suggestions welcomed. ;)

Friday, October 23, 2015

still going!

Today I hit another "new low" weight-wise, so that's exciting ;)  The roller coaster continues, but at least right now I'm on the right track (just in time for the weekend and the start of Halloween festivities!).  I'm going to a bunch of the dance workouts (typically 5-7 a week) so that's helping, I hope.  I really, really want to post a big happy "next goal met!" post in the next couple of weeks! :D

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

19.2 pounds of fat!

Currently I'm 5.1 pounds from pre-pregnancy weight.  Yep, gained a pound or two over the past week and keep struggling to lose it again.  Doh.

On Saturday, I got another body composition scan done.  In the past three months, I've lost exactly 10 pounds - including 19.2 pounds of fat. OMG!!  I gained 3.0 pounds of muscle, and also 6.2 pounds of water.  The water part is very confusing to me (and to the trainer at the gym).  I know muscle holds more water than fat does, but 6.2 pounds is 3/4 of a gallon!  Weird.  (I didn't eat or drink or exercise for 4 hours before either scan.)  So I wonder if I have some weird inflammation issue going on, or something else.

But maaaaan... that 19.2 pounds of fat gone number was awesome. ;)  Here's to the next 19.2 (and the next, and the next...)

Saturday, October 3, 2015

still dancing

And I'm within five pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight!

I'm loving that I'm getting back into my dance fitness classes.  I even had another double dance day on Thursday. ;)  I think I might be overdoing it a smidge though, as my shoulders are sore for the past day so I am trying to not over-exert in the classes.  I am having fun though. ;)

Diet is, as always, an on-going challenge.  Going to a friend's house for sushi tonight, and he asked me to bring dessert.  So I bought a small fruit tart.  It should be enough to serve everyone one normal size serving, but it's not a big ol' chocolate cake or a dozen cookies where I could eat a bunch and not even notice.  I'm hoping the damage isn't too bad, and that I can continue losing weight and hit that big goal later this month!

Friday, September 25, 2015

double dance!

Hooray!  Though I did gain three pounds while I was out of town last weekend, I have lost that weight already!  YAY!  Back to that new low (by 0.1 pounds, but hey...) ;)

My other big excitement was yesterday, I made it to two dance fitness classes in one day!  I haven't done that in about four years.  Awesome :)  Today, I'm happily sore in my upper body - and I still made it to another class tonight.  I look forward to another class tomorrow.

I'm really trying to prioritze working out these days. It's tough, with a preschooler and a husband. ;)  I do get to drop off my son at preschool usually one morning a week and have two hours to myself, so I made it to the gym on my drop-off day last week and hope to do so again next week.  Unfortunately, my son still refuses to stay at the kids' club at the gym, so I can only work out when husband can watch our son.  That also usually involves me making dinner ahead of time, which isn't fun, but hey, weight loss isn't fun. ;)

If any of you are on myfitnesspal.com, please let me know - I'd love to have more friends on there to help motivate!

Saturday, September 12, 2015

A new low!

OK, so it's a new low for the past 3 1/2 years, but hey... YAY!  ;)

I did gain back a few pounds while I was visiting family, but thankfully I've worked that off and lost another pound and a half too.  So of course, let's go out of town again next weekend! ;)  I still need to lose an average of two pounds a week to hit a big goal by my birthday (in 5 months), which I think is going to be impossible.  But if I keep at it, I should be at my pre-pregnancy weight (goal #2!) in a month!  Let's DO THIS!

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Trader Joe's Whole Grain Plus Bread

I love this bread :)

I discovered this at Trader Joe's perhaps a year ago, and it's what we eat daily.  This "Trader Joe's Whole Grain {Plus} Bread" is "made with 11 whole grains {plus} flax seeds"

Shockingly, I couldn't find much about this bread online - perhaps the funky character in the title of the bread breaks the internet (it crashed by browser trying to make this post) ;)

Around here, it's sold for $2.49, which I think is a great deal.  I believe it's delivered to the store frozen, as I have on occasion seen moisture in the bag at the store.

Here's the nutrition info and ingredients -->

I love that it's 100 calories a slice and I understand all the ingredients.  Compare that to the frightening ingredients in Wonder Bread -- or even Oroweat's 100% Whole Wheat Bread (which includes such greats as "Calcium Propionate (Preservative)", "Calcium Sulfate" and "DATEM") and you'll understand why I'm a big fan of this bread. ;)  It's relatively low in sugar, and a "good source of fiber" with 3 grams in a slice.  Four grams of protein too!

My son also likes this bread, and we both eat a slice for a half-sandwich at lunch most days.  It is still 100 calories a slice, so I limit it to one slice for each of us to keep our calories balanced.

One thing to be aware of with this bread is that it's not filled with preservatives, so you need to be mindful of the expiration date on the wrapper.  I've never seen one longer than a week from date of purchase (and sometimes Trader Joe's isn't great about rotating product so be sure it's not already expired!).  I tend to put the bag in the fridge the day before the date on the package if we haven't finished it.

Love this bread! :)

Nutrition Facts for 1 slice
Calories 100
Total Fat 2 g
Saturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 160 mg
Carb 18 g
Fiber 3 g
Sugars 2 g
Protein 4 g

Friday, August 21, 2015

Aie! Up and down and up and down...

Aie!  I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted.  Sheesh.

So, I was back in the swing of things with going to the dance fitness classes three times a week... and then I hurt my knee (the day after a class)... and then I hurt my back (unknown how)... and blah blah blah...

Shockingly, I am currently at my lowest weight in 3 1/2 years.  I was a pound higher than this a few weeks ago, but gained 5 pounds in 3 days with birthdays and such and it took me three weeks to lose that back... and next week I'm going to be traveling to visit family for six days, so this doesn't bode well.  I really, really hope I don't go completely off the rails, but I know this is going to be a stressful trip and healthy eating isn't going to be top of mind.

My various injuries seem to be better now, thankfully, but I'm still going to skip the classes until after my trip.  Hopefully I can resume after my trip, and keep going on this weight loss journey...  :)

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Bulu Box weigh loss boxes

Back in April, I bought a Groupon for Bulu Box 3 month subscription. From their web site - "Bulu Box is the first health, nutrition and weight loss discovery box designed to help you feel your best. Each month, you’ll get a custom box filled with a new mix of 4 to 5 premium samples from top brands to try. Every sample is sufficient enough to decide if the product is right for you."

They charge $10 per box (including shipping), but the Groupon was for 3 boxes for $7 total, so I decided to give it a try.  Unfortunately, I'm really dissatisfied with this product.  Here are the photos from their web site along with the items included (per their web site) in each of the three boxes I received:




July

Runa Guayusa Tea
Simple Being Simple Diet
Movit Energy Gummies
Earth's Care Anti-Itch Cream
Fusion Jerky

June

Skinny Me Tea
RESCUE Pastilles
UrgentRX Upset Stomach Relief To-Go
Movit Energy Gummies
Balance Bare Bar

May

Shapeology Burn Blend
SPORTea® Hot Tea
Apothederm Stretch Mark Cream
SK Energy Shot
Ovega-3 DHA + EPA

So the June and July boxes have a repeat item (the MovIt Energy Gummies), and I didn't get the Balance Bare Bar in the June box.  Overall, many of the items are high-caffeine, and I have a sensitivity to that (which I learned via an ER visit!), so I couldn't try over half of these items.  A couple had ginger too, which is my wacky allergy as well.  Nothing from these boxes truly appealed to me.  I most certainly didn't get a $7 value from them --- and holy heck would I be upset if I had paid $30 for these!

Disappointing - I do not recommend this product.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

goal #1 met again!

Whee!  Back on track!  Hit goal #1 again two days ago, and I am seriously hoping that this trend continues.  I've made it to dance fitness classes four times in the past eight days, so that's super awesome.

Yay! ;)

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

goal #1 not met

Doh.  Backslid a lot a month ago, and I am now slogging back towards that goal #1 weight.  I'm less than a pound away, but man, it is truly frustrating to take one step forward and then two steps back.  Here's hoping the rest of summer sees the scale go in the right direction!

Thursday, May 7, 2015

holding steady

OK, still holding steady.  Up a pound and half from the lowest weight I was at a month ago, but hey, still below that goal #1 weight so I'll take it.  It's frustrating to see the scale stall, but at least I'm not in a big freefall weight-wise.  I did gain several more pounds last month with out of town guests staying with us, but I've lost those thankfully.  Gotta get that weight gone, my friends!

Thursday, April 9, 2015

backsliding

Awww, I knew this would happen, but wish it didn't happen so soon.  I gained this week, but I'm still below that goal #1 weight, thankfully.  Going to be a weight-loss-struggle for the next two weeks, but I'm hoping to just get back down that 1.9 pounds that I gained.  Wish me luck! ;)

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Goal #1 met!

Woohoo!  I have accomplished goal #1 and am on my way to goal #2!  Huzzah!  Yippee!  Whee! ;)
Goal 1: 16 pounds gone - weight 1 week after delivering baby -- DONE!  
Goal 2: 31 pounds gone - weight before getting pregnant 
Goal 3: 40 pounds gone 
Goal 4: 50 pounds gone
Goal 5: 60 pounds gone 
Goal 6: 70 pounds gone 
Goal 7: 80 pounds gone 
Goal 8: 90 pounds gone 
Goal 9: 100 pounds gone 
Goal 10: 103 pounds gone 

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

losing it!

Woo, today was an exciting day on the scale - I'm within a pound of goal #1!  Still struggling with the constant hunger, and now a persistent case of heartburn... but I know I need to stay the course and keep chipping away at this huge weight gain to get off my shoulders (and hips...)

Thursday, March 19, 2015

slow going

soooo... trying to stay positive, and overall the scale is still going down, so that's good.  But wow, it's slow!  And it does bounce up every now and then too.  According to myfitnesspal.com I'm eating enough calories where I should be losing 2 pounds a week, but I'm not losing that much.  And obviously, that's very frustrating!  At some point, it's gotta start getting to that rate!  Please? ;)

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

keepin' on

I've slowed on the cookies, trying to get my gastrointestinal issues all resolved.  My weight's been bouncing up and down a pound or two, and I'd really prefer for it just to be going down ;)  I ended up having spontaneous dim sum yesterday so that threw things off a little, but it's more important for my sanity to go out to lunch with friends than to stay home and eat a cookie. ;)

I am happy for the extra daylight in the evenings and hopefully will be going for a walk more often now!

Friday, March 6, 2015

cookie diet slowing down

Hrm, the gastrointestinal issues continue, so today there are no oatmeal raisin cookies on the horizon. And I just ate a cup of yogurt.  Whaaa?  ;)

So we'll see how things go.  I made it to the gym last night and did my weights circuit... and only lost 0.1 pounds today.  Oy. ;)

I'm going to get a body composition test tomorrow, and will be curious to see how the numbers compare to my first one back in August.  I'm only down about five pounds from that last one, so it will be interesting!  I *really* want to get it done again in a month from now but I don't know if I'll be able to arrange that.

Oh!  I did have one of the chocolate chip cookies a little warmed up today - I had left it in my car in a little plastic gladware thing, and the icing had melted a little.  It was tastier!

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Review: Smart for Life Chocolate Chip Cookies

After eating seven packages of these on the Smart for Life "cookie diet", let's do the official review.  Here are the "Chocolate Chip Cookies" - they come six to a package, since you're directed to eat six cookies each day (and a protein and veggie dinner).  


the tray of six cookies, straight out of the package



all six cookies laid out

They're okay, at best.  I do like these more than the Oatmeal Raisin Cookies but it's a far stretch to call these cookies. They're definitely more like mini-muffins, but very dense.  They're somewhat dry - not as dry as the Oatmeal Raisin variety, but definitely drier than most cookies or muffins.  The white icing is okay enough.  The highlight of these are the chocolate chips - but some cookies have only one and some have six!  If they put the chips on top to help make sure they were distributed equally, it would be so much better.  

I am losing weight while eating these, but full disclosure - I'm also having some gastrointestinal issues too.  Ugh.


Nutrition Facts for 1 cookie
Calories 100
Total Fat 3.5 g
Saturated Fat 1.5 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 135 mg
Carb 9 g
Fiber 2 g
Sugars 3 g
Protein 6 g

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

good and bad

Good: I'm still losing weight!  Yippee!  Four pounds away from my first goal!  Yeehaw!

Bad: I am having a lot of.. erm... gastrointestinal distress?  I've looked at the ingredients in the cookies, and there's nothing explicitly in them that I know I have an intolerance for, but something is amiss.  There's the unfortunate "natural flavor" ingredient in each of them, which could be throwing my intestines for a loop.  I don't know what it is, but I think tomorrow and Friday, I'll only have the chocolate chip cookies to try to narrow this down between the two varieties.  I do have an intolerance for ginger - which is not explicitly listed in either cookie - but perhaps it's in the oatmeal raisin cookie.  Nutmeg and cinnamon are listed in there, and ginger often accompanies those.  So, we'll see.

I think this might be nudging me away from the cookies more quickly than I had intended.  I really wanted to hit my first two goals and be at my pre-pregnancy weight before I moved off the cookie diet.  But clearly, if there's something in these cookies that is causing this GI problem, then I need to stop them much earlier.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Review: Smart for Life Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

After over a week on the Smart for Life "cookie diet", it's time to do an official review.  Here are the "Oatmeal Raisin Cookies" - they come six to a package, since you're directed to eat six cookies each day (and a protein and veggie dinner).  


a package of cookies with a tape measure for size reference



each of the six cookies on one plate - note the big range in appearance.

So... how do they taste?  Well, they're not horrible but I wouldn't call them good.  I wish there were more raisins - I have had at least three cookies with one only raisin in each of them.  When this is all you're eating until dinner, you cherish each raisin. ;)  Despite the variation in size, they all weigh within 10% of each other (yep, I weighed each of them individually).  There's some spice cake flavor in these - with nutmeg, cinnamon and "natural flavor" listed in the ingredients.  They are a bit dry, and you definitely need to drink a lot of water with them.

I dislike these a little more than I dislike the chocolate chip cookies - but they are working to help me lose weight, so I don't truly despise them yet.


Nutrition Facts for 1 cookie
Calories 110
Total Fat 4 g
Saturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 105 mg
Carb 10 g
Fiber 2 g
Sugars 3 g
Protein 6 g

Monday, March 2, 2015

still cookie-ing, but disappointing weigh in

Ahhh, I knew this day would come but I didn't think it would be day 8 of the cookie diet!  Yes, today, I weighed myself and I had a half-pound gain from yesterday.  I poured over my food diary from yesterday, and the only thing that I can think of is salt - last night I used too much salt accidentally when roasting cauliflower.  But I was in my calorie range according to myfitnesspal (did I mention I'm using that all the time now too?  I find it much easier to use than my prior food tracking web site sparkpeople.com and myfitnesspal has a free app!).  So... we will see what happens on the scale tomorrow.  I am not giving up hope on this, but I am definitely feeling a bit burnt out for sure.

Smartforlife (the cookie doc's company) says to call them for support - and I did call them today, and it wasn't very supportive. ;)  The guy just told me to drink more water and make sure to eat the cookies every two hours.  Oh, and I can snack on celery if I want.  Woo.  I am hungry almost all the damn time - including right now, when I just finished a cookie 10 minutes ago!  I am drinking a ton of water, and... yeah.  I am definitely not enjoying this, but I know it's going to suck for a couple of months at least ;)

Saturday, February 28, 2015

cookie diet, day 6

six pounds to go to my first goal!  I worked out yesterday and oh my gosh, I am ridiculously sore today - even brushing my teeth this morning educated me that perhaps I did too much on the triceps machine ;)

Last night, I ended up skipping a cookie because we were out in the evening before dinner, and this morning I missed one again while we were out.  Surprisingly, I've remember to bring a cookie with me if it's just me and child, but when my husband's with us, I keep forgetting!  Doh.  These flippin' cookies are so expensive so I'm definitely not throwing out the cookies!  So today's an oatmeal cookie day but I did swap one with yesterday's leftover chocolate chip cookie.  So wild. ;)  I'm probably going to have two leftover then from today (since I missed the mid-morning one), so I think things are going to get mixed up soon. :D

I think I handled a potentially "dangerous" situation well today.  I've been craving sushi - and my son LOVES sushi and asks for it all the time.  So today, I decided we could get some.  I ordered take-out, so we wouldn't be tempted to get more than originally ordered.  Our favorite sushi place does incredible bento boxes, so we got two, to-go.  One was chicken teriyaki (sauce on the side), salmon shioyaki (no sauce, it's just grilled) and sashimi (which is just raw fish, no rice).  The second was more chicken teriyaki, more sashimi and chicken katsu (fried - husband's favorite).  Each box comes with a salad, miso soup, rice, and four pieces of California roll.  It's a ton of food.  Awesome. :)  So I ate my salad (no dressing), three pieces of tuna sashimi and five pieces of salmon sashimi, and one piece of California roll.  No soy sauce.  I had a sip of miso but it was very salty to me so I skipped the rest.  I smeared a tiny bit wasabi on each piece of fish, and I did have a couple bites of the chicken teriyaki without sauce.  I saved the salmon shioyaki for dinner.

So... overall, pretty good.  I would've preferred nigiri (raw fish over rice), and rolls (usually I like spicy tuna - which has some mayo in there - and the shrimp tempura!), but man, that's a lot of damn calories.  So I think this met some of my sushi craving and hopefully didn't completely derail my diet.  I did make some "sushi" for my son (sashimi over rice, pseudo-nigiri-style!)

Still losing weight and that's really, really motivating.  Wish I could fast forward a month or two though!  Can't I just wake up 30 pounds lighter and promise that I'll still diet? ;)  I know, I know... it took 5 years to gain this weight, it's going to take more than a few weeks to lose it...

Friday, February 27, 2015

Goals, revisited

So.  Goals.  I'm frankly embarrassed and disheartened because I've set so many goals over the past decade and have failed 'em all by this point (even if I did meet them at that time).  But I need to let go of that guilt and move forward.  So here we go:

Goal 1: 16 pounds gone - weight 1 week after delivering baby 
Goal 2: 31 pounds gone - weight before getting pregnant 
Goal 3: 40 pounds gone 
Goal 4: 50 pounds gone 
Goal 5: 60 pounds gone 
Goal 6: 70 pounds gone 
Goal 7: 80 pounds gone 
Goal 8: 90 pounds gone 
Goal 9: 100 pounds gone 
Goal 10: 103 pounds gone 

As of right now, I'm halfway to goal #1.  I'm also going to revise the sidebar on here where I was roughly keeping track of my weight loss.  Yes, I had lost 90 pounds... but dammit, I gained 70 of that back (including during the pregnancy).  So, now I'm starting with that weight right before I gave birth (well, after my water broke!).  Surprisingly, I lost 16 pounds within a week of giving birth, and I remember thinking "oh thank goodness, I'm going to lose this pregnancy weight without years of struggles...".  Well, sadly, that didn't happen.  My pelvis/hip issue that arose during pregnancy (and worsened during delivery) really put a damper on things, and...

ok enough excuses.  Let's lose the damn weight already! ;)

Thursday, February 26, 2015

cookie diet, day four

Still chugging along... second day of the oatmeal raisin cookies.  The shine is definitely wearing off, but I'm getting results to chugging along I go!  Oy ;)  I did have some intense abdominal cramps this morning two hours before my alarm went off, but not sure if it's related to the cookies.  I'm hungry almost all the damn time, but I need to get the weight off and frankly, I've been indulging way too much the past 3 years.  I need to get in more exercise too, but... baby steps! ;)

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

cookie diet, day two

In the midst of day two on the cookie diet and doing okay, but I'm not following it to the letter unfortunately.  It's nearly impossible to do this strictly while raising a toddler.  I have to feed him 3 meals and a snack (plus at least one meal for my husband!), and it's too hard.  So last night, I made ground turkey in tomato sauce with whole wheat pasta.  I gave myself a double portion of the sauce (which was sugar-free no-salt-added) and none of the pasta.  But I did have a couple of grapes and a strawberry at lunch.  And today I had an ounce of cheese with lunch too.  I'm so wild. ;)  

Today I'm eating the oatmeal raisin cookies for the first time.  They're not bad... not as good as the chocolate chip cookies, but still edible.  I was out when I needed to eat one of them, but had brought it with me and ate it in the car while driving to some errands.  Nice that it's portable!

Oh, and today I did start off with a small protein shake (70 calories for 13 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar) before I ate my first cookie.  Not sure if it helped a lot, but right now I'm not rocking a huge headache so that's good (yesterday I did get a headache after I posted here).  

So the dinners seem like a challenge - how to prepare proteins that the whole family will enjoy with me not adding in any carbs for myself. ;)  I bought pork loin and a turkey breast and more ground turkey today, not sure which I'm cooking for dinner tonight yet.  None of them are particularly exciting, especially on their own! ;)  

I'm not going to focus extensively on the numbers on the scale, but instead look at the trend.  Yes, I had a nice weight loss this morning, but I'm still above where I was a week ago (before my birthday...) and Sunday night I overate at an Oscars party, so a weight loss this morning was to be expected. ;)  Hopefully the scale will continue to nudge down!

Monday, February 23, 2015

Cookie diet, day one

Ahhhh, here we go again.  Weight is way up, and I'm just struggling so hard to lose the weight and finding it difficult to get into it.

So, I feel like I need to do something "drastic" - and I'm going on the "cookie diet".  I bought a bunch of the Smart For Life cookies from Costco and today, it begins!


(first pet peeve: that photo is from their web site, and shows seven cookies in that pack, but there are only six!)

Basically, you're supposed to eat one cookie every two hours, skipping breakfast and lunch, and then eat 10-12 ounces of lean protein and 5 cups of veggies for dinner.  And drink a ton of water with each cookie.

Here are the stats for the chocolate chip cookies that I'm eating today:

Nutrition Facts for 1 cookie
Calories 100
Total Fat 3.5 g
Saturated Fat 1.5 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 135 mg
Carb 9 g
Fiber 2 g
Sugars 3 g
Protein 6 g

OK, so multiply that times six, and you're eating 600 calories, 12 grams of fiber and 36 grams of protein. Not enough!  The diet guidelines do say that you can eat some of the 10-12 ounces of protein at lunch if you wish, so I did have 2 ounces at lunch.  Should've had more.  I think I also need to start off with a protein shake as well - I'm used to more protein during the day, and I think not having as much is definitely having an impact on me (hello, headache!).  So I'll adjust for that tomorrow (and eat maybe 3-4 ounces of protein at lunch).  I am concerned about the fiber too - the guidelines explicitly forbid beans, which is a typical great source of fiber (and protein).  I usually get a bunch from fruit, and that too is forbidden because of the sugar content.  I see much spinach in my future.

My initial review of the chocolate chip cookie is that it isn't too bad.  There are just a couple of chips in each cookie (I only found one in my last cookie, sadly) - but these aren't bad at all.  I wouldn't go out of my way to eat these normally, and I wouldn't serve them to a guest at a party, but I'm not stabbing myself yet at having to eat these.  I've read that they're better if you warm them up for 10 seconds in the microwave, but I haven't tried that yet.  Honestly, since they're okay at room temp for me right now, I'm saving the warming-up-trick for when I inevitably get tired of them. ;)

So here we go.  Wish me luck, and willpower ;)