Christmas plan

I know I know I know...this blog has been terrible neglected. And it's not going to stop until 2009!

I just wanted to post a quick note and tell you my last weigh in...I lost 1 lb. So my total now is 25.4 lbs. I am very happy with that. I told myself I had to make it to one more weigh in, and I could 'enjoy' some snacks for Christmas.

So my plan for this week is:

• Don't go crazy...eat some of what I want and enjoy it, but don't pig out
• Just because I am enjoying some seasonal food and treats does NOT mean every meal is a break. When there is no need to eat 'off the beach' I need to make good choices
• After Christmas week, when Nick has gone back to OK, I will see where I am at and re-evaluate my 7 week goal. I will decide if I need to do Phase 1 for a time, or if I want to just stick with phase 2...I will have to see then.
• The true test is the week AFTER Christmas...I must get right back 'On the Beach' strong and move forward. That will be success for me!
• Be flexible...I am on a journey, and that means I am on the journey and life continues to happen...I can enjoy, I can not feel guilty for enjoying, and I can continue on my journey. I am sure I will gain a few pounds. That is not the end of the world. Like I said, the Monday after Christmas I will see where I am, and plan my next week. That is what this is all about!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Late report

Sylvia - You don't creep me out at all! I can't tell you how glad I am that you like to read my blog! That's like a warm fuzzy for me! And I have been slacking on this blog. I have wanted to post for about that last 5 days, but I am doing our family blog everyday for Nick. So that keeps me busy with my 'blog time!' I will try to do better and at least post twice a week for now!

This week was...okay. I did some things really well!

• I exercised 4 days this week (two of those times were longer that I require of myself)
• I drank more water this week

I also did some things that are not necessarily too bad, but that I want to do better with.

• I ate too much cool whip...I just LOVE it! And it says 'South Beach Recommended' right on it...but I know, everything in moderation. I pretty much had bowls of cool whip with a side of pudding. Oops. It is just so light, and fluffy, and creamy, and yummy alone, yummy on stuff, yummy in the morning, afternoon, and at night! I have to be more careful with that.
• I ate too much peanut butter...I LOVE it with apples! That is just the best snack! And again, peanut butter is an approved food, but in moderation! I need to have less peanut butter, taste more of the apple!
• I weighed myself way too OFTEN! When I weigh too often I become obsessed with the number, where am I, am I going to have a good loss, etc, etc, etc! I am supposed to weigh on Monday, and then have a mid-week check on Thursday or Friday. When I weigh twice a week I focus on eating right, and being healthy, AND trying to have a good loss...but I am not thinking about the number all the time!

So... taking these things into account, I knew I should be scared to weigh this morning.

The results:

Loss this Week: .4 lbs

Total Loss: 24.4 lbs

Ya...not so good, I know. BUT, it is still a loss, however minuscule it might be. And I have to face the fact that there will be weeks I do not lose, there will even be weeks I gain!

I would be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little bit discouraged this week. Not at the amount I lost, but that I did not eat just like I wanted to. I have more thoughts about last week that I want to get down, but I am out of time for the day, and I didn't get this posted yesterday like I was supposed to. And my thoughts are a little jumbled right now, so writing them will take a little work. I will post again this week, or weekend, (I hope)!

Quote of the day:

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”

~ Henry Ford

This quote is short, but meaningful. WE have all the power to decide what WE can and cannot do.

Weigh-In

This has been a good week, but I will admit yesterday was hard. I had that day that comes every 'month' or so where you are so SNACKY! I wanted to munch all day and I wanted something SWEET! I made it through with the help of some pudding, sugar-free chocolate chips and sugar free hot chocolate with splenda!

Why am I always so nervous to weigh? There always seems to be something...and because of my snack-e-ness I was worried I would not lose very much!

Results:

Weight loss this week: 3 lbs

Total weight loss: 24 lbs

Yes...I am happy! My good week was not ruined by some controlled, approved, snacking! And it's weird that I lost whole numbers two weeks in a row. But I got the same number 3 times!

I even got some take out on Saturday. I was STARVING after shopping all day with Cinda and Slade, (thank you for watching Lukas, Jen and Brad!) So, on the way home I got some Rumbi! YUM! I absolutely LOVE the half rice bowl with spicy luau pork and brown rice! It was so delicious! I don't normally like zucchini, but in the rice bowl it is wonderful.

I am also happy to still be on track for my 14 pounds in 7 weeks! Having lost 3 this week may help me during the Christmas week. I am not sure I can lose 2 lbs that week...I AM having some Lumpia!(Lumpia is a Filipino egg roll my family has every Christmas Eve...and I won't miss it!)

Today I am still really snacky, so I am having my approved and controlled snack of choice...and I chose the same snack I had last time...2 Cutlers mint cookies! I just ate one on a plate with one of Slade's little forks! I actually told myself I should get 3 because they are so yummy and I lost good this week. But then I thought, I don't want to 'pig out', I just want a snack. I would not be happy with myself if I got 3. So I got 2 like I planned! WOW...that would not have happened before!

I did meet my exercise goal last week. I did my elliptical 3 times. I have a great walking DVD that I used to do and Lukas saw it the other day. He said, "Let's do this again Mom!" He used to do it with me before I had the elliptical. I think we will walk together one day this week.

Quote of the day:

"The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

Lao Tzu

This is the mindset I need to keep. This week I let myself think, "I have only lost just over 20 pounds. I have so far to go. I have barely started." Yes, I do have a long way to go. But, I can't lose the last 20 without first losing the first 20. And I can't focus on the end goal. I CAN focus on the mini-goal I am working on. I need to remember that I promised myself I would enjoy this 'journey' because that it what it is. I still have a wonderful, happy, life as I go on this journey, and I am supposed to enjoy it all along the way! That quote has helped me remember that!

Mid-week check-in

I don't have much to write about but felt like checking in. I am having a really good snack right now. I found the sugar free chocolate chips at Walmart that my cousin told me about...and to my surprise they are good! I don't like the sugar free chocolate syrup, but the chips are good. I am having about 15 almonds with some sugar free chocolate chips sprinkled in. It is yummy.

Also, I was thinking about papers. When I used to deliver papers I ate a lot of snacks during the night. Part of it was habit, part of it was the need to eat to stay awake, and part of it was the raging sugar in my body that was always telling me I needed more more more! Well, I am doing papers again, temporarily for a while, and I have not bought one snack. I still get my Diet Mountain Dew each night, then I take a string cheese and a few sugar free hard candies. I don't need a snack or even think about it. WOW! There is no raging sugar telling me to get more!

It is so nice to not always be thinking when I can get my next 'sugar snack fix'...and that is how it felt! I had to have a plan...I would think, "I'll be out at this time and I can get..." whatever I was wanting right then. It was also expensive! I may spend more now on fresher food and healthier alternatives at the grocery store, but I know it's evening out because I am not spending all the extra during the day.

The other benefit...Lukas does not eat nearly as many snacks! That is the part that made me the saddest. I was letting Lukas have more than he should have so I could have my snacks! That is SO sad! Thankfully he is still young and I can teach him proper eating habits.

Funny/Sad story: One of the snacks I liked to get was the big pink sugar cookies. Well, one day we were at the 'snack store' and it's called at our house, and Lukas saw one of those cookies and handed it to me and said, "Here's your cookie Mom!" I told him I did not want it anymore. Thankfully I was able to turn that story around. A few weeks after that Lukas was talking with Nick about what we could all get at a restaurant we were going to for Nick's birthday. Lukas said, "Mom can get the salad!" He has not handed me a cookie since! Thankfully he watches and I still have time to teach him!

I have also exercised two times this week. I can't do it tomorrow or Saturday, so I will get my third day on Friday.

Quote of the day:

Our lives improve only when we take chances - and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves.

Walter Anderson

This is how I feel when I write posts like today...talking about the 'secret eating' I did so much of and being so honest with all of you, but most of all with myself! But if I don't acknowledge it, I can't change it. Thankfully, I am changing it now! That is a person of the past!


Thanks again for all of your support! It means the world to me!
Have a good rest of the week everybody!

Weigh-In and NSV

NSV...Non Scale Victory. This is a term I learned at Weight Watchers. It is anything, large or small, that is a victory for you in your journey to lose weight, that is not related to the scale. For example, this week I got into a pair of jeans that I could not wear when I started in October. Getting into clothes that did not fit before is one of the best NSV's there is! I put on this pair of jeans in October and could not pull them up over my bottom. This week I could wear them. They are still tight, but I can wear them, sit in them, bend in them and be in them! I was so sick of wearing the same ones that were getting baggy and looking really frumpy. Now I have two pairs I can wear!

I also made my goal of exercising three times this week! I am really proud of myself. Now that I have a week behind me it will be easier to do it again this week. I am going to have the same goal of exercising three times this week.

And it's Monday, which is of course face-the-scale day. It's always a little scary, but especially after Thanksgiving. I did good this week and feel good about my Thanksgiving choices, but still, it seems a given that you will gain weight on this week.

I was pleasantly surprised to see:

Results:

Loss This Week: 2 lbs

Total Loss: 21 lbs

It is my best loss for a couple of weeks! I am positive the exercise helped, which is even more motivation to continue with it. I also think that because I knew I had more things on Thanksgiving, I was extra careful in the days that followed.

It's like the studies that see where you eat better, getting healthy food at a fast food restaurant, or at a so-called healthy restaurant...people end up eating less calories at the fast food restaurant because they know they have to be more careful.

I am thrilled to have lost the first 2 pounds of my 14 pound goal. I have six more weeks to lose 12 more pounds. I am right on track!

Quote of the day:

Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.

Vincent Van Gogh

Making it through Thanksgiving is one small step I have made it through, as I work for my mini goal of 14 pounds in 7 weeks, and my large goal of permanent, life long weight loss.

Every step and every victory counts!

Thanksgiving Report

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a nice one even though Nick is in Oklahoma. It was especially nice since I did pretty good! I did not eat so much that I was sick all day! I did just like I said I was going to do...I had a little bit of everything. A little bit of mashed potatoes, a little stuffing, most of one roll (I don't think I finished it), turkey of course, green beans, more than a little fruit salad (it's my favorite), sausage mushrooms, little bacon wienies, and olives. It was SO SO SO good! I absolutely enjoyed EVERY bite!


I also made a pumpkin pie without a crust and used splenda. I wanted to use a sugar substitute my cousin Denette told me about, Whey Low, but I did not get it ordered online. I had a taste of the pumpkin after it cooked and I was afraid it would not taste very good. There was an aftertaste. But, I took my serving with me anyway with some Lite cool whip, and it was really good with the cool whip on it! It did not taste funny at all!


That night I had some pistachio nuts for a snack, and that was my day! We will see how good I did on Monday when I weigh!


I have almost completed my goal of exercising 3 times this week. I did it Wednesday and today, Friday. I will exercise tomorrow and have my three days! It has not been as hard as I expected either! My sister-in-law Gina does aerobics an hour every day...that is hard! It is always hard to get back into the habit, but the creaks and cracks of my body have not been too bad!


SOMETHING else weird is happening! This way I am eating is becoming more...NATURAL! It is not so much about what I can and cannot eat, it is just the way I am eating and it's not so foreign anymore! For the first time that I can ever recollect, I am not looking for ways and days to have a 'break'! Before, I would see Thanksgiving as my day to just 'eat what I want' and then I would spend the next week or two trying to 'get back on it'. Or if I was going out to dinner I would do good during the day, but then throw caution to the wind at the restaurant and have whatever I wanted.


NOW...I am looking for ways to make my way of eating fit any situation I am in. I am looking to enjoy things, and not totally deprive myself, but in a way that does not jeopardize all my work. I am not 'falling off the wagon'. It is all just part of the ride. Am I making any sense?


EXAMPLE: Last Monday I really wanted a treat. I had not had something I just really wanted for a month. And, Nick had just left, so if I am being totally honest with myself and all of you, I was 'eating emotionally' as well, just a little. I decided to get 2 cooking from Cutlers...the ones that taste like BYU mint brownies. YUM. I got them and enjoyed one in the car while waiting to get Lukas from preschool, and the other that night. I talked to myself and allowed myself to have it. It was a conscience choice. But, I was still worried about blogging about it because it looked and felt a little like 'straying' though I allowed myself to do it in my right mind, not as I stared at a cookie I could not resist like a poor deer in headlights!


But, I FORGOT to blog about it! Do understand how significant that is? I forgot because I enjoyed it, and kept going! I did not go off track the next day. I did not dwell on the fact that I had eaten the cookies. I ATE THEM, ENJOYED THEM, and KEPT GOING! I did not fall into the 'I can't get back on the wagon' trap! That is so AWESOME! My Mom, my sister Cinda, Nick, and the girls that work at Maverick, all know how significant this is for me!


The fact that I am starting to function like this gives me hope for the future...will it always be hard, yes, I know, but it will eventually become second nature to me.

Quote of the day:

In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins, not through strength but by perseverance.

H. Jackson Brown

I know that to be successful at my quest to lose 14 pounds over the next 7 weeks, I will need to continue to have persistence! That does not mean I have to be perfect, but I have to keep going and keep my goal top of mind at all times.

Another Week, Another Weigh-In

I have not meant to neglect this blog! But the last two weeks of our lives have been a little crazy...finding out we are for sure moving to Great Falls, getting the house on the market, and then having Nick leave for seven weeks with, 6 days notice.


The last week has been a busy 'eating week' too. Friday was the annual Sisters Sleepover with my sisters-in-laws and cousins-in-laws (it is sooo much fun). We met at Johnny Carino's (spelling?)...at first I thought, "Great! The worst place for me is a really yummy pasta restaurant with delicious bread sitting on the table...how will I make it through this?" But I looked at the menu online to decide what to order BEFORE I got there...otherwise the baked cheese tortellini would get me! They do have steaks and chicken breast meals, but those just did not sound good! I wanted to have a really good meal that was different, but not derail myself. I decided on the Chicken Parmigiana. I started with a salad, and the chicken is in bread crumbs, but then it's just a piece of cheese and marinara sauce. I had three bites of the pasta that was on the side, and about 1/2 inch off the very end of the bread to soak up the sauce. It was more than delicious! And I was really full and did not feel sad leaving an entire plate of pasta there! (I took it home for Nick)


On Saturday we went to Nick's sisters Gina's house for the BYU/UTAH game. Gina made some cheesy sauce for chips, but I knew if I ate that I would have lots of chips. Nick and I had also not eaten lunch yet and it was dinner time, so we went to Subway. I had a Black Forrest Ham Sub on Honey Oat bread (it has the highest fiber). I also brought some pistachio nuts to munch on. Then I enjoyed one taffy. I also did not sit by the food. I hardly noticed all the other treats sitting there and had a fun time!


On Sunday, we went to Cinda's for dinner, but she made it easy on me. She made some delicious Taco Soup (that I am going to have to make). I did have a serving of tortilla chips with some salsa and re fried beans, then a bite of brownie with my sugar-free ice cream. But I felt good about the meal.

After all of that I weighed yesterday:

Results:

Loss this week: 1.2 lbs

Total Loss: 19 lbs

I am feeling good about that loss. I got through several more "Life Tests" and came out on top! I am also happy to have lost consistently for the last month!

That brings me to my next goal to work toward. Nick will be gone for 7 weeks...that takes us through Thanksgiving, Christmas (he will be home for 4 days over Christmas), New Years and Lukas's birthday. I do plan to enjoy the Holidays and eat some good food, but I also plan to still lose each week!

I have been losing an average of 2.25 pounds per week (I am not counting the first week jump start loss of 10 lbs). I should be able to continue to lose an average of 2 lbs per week for the next 7 weeks.

Goal: Lose 14 more pounds by January 20th (the day Nick gets home).

That would make my total weight loss 33 pounds...and that's from Halloween through Lukas's birthday! That would be awesome!

To do that I have to start the next part of my weight-loss plan strategy. I am still reading the new South Beach Diet Supercharged which has some exercise ideas, but I have my elliptical machine that I was doing about 5 days a week before we went to Disneyland. I am going to start exercising again. Now, I want to be realistic. I am NOT going to do it for an hour 6 days a week. Not now.

Exercise Goal for this week: 3 times for 20 minutes each

I say 20 minutes because Dr. Agatson (SB Diet Author) who is also a cardiologist says that there is huge benefit from just 20 minutes of INTENSE exercise. That means I can carry on a broken conversation, but I cannot sing while doing it. I check to be sure my heart rate is in my target (which I need to check again, but it is usually about 140-150 beats per minute when I go for 20 minutes).

I do not have a reward picked out yet...maybe I'll see what I still want after Christmas. I'll just know I get to go shopping for something fun!

Weekend and Weigh-In

Another weekend has come and gone and another Monday to weigh in is here! The weekend was good. We did not do anything exciting or what I would call 'dangerous' to my weight loss. The hardest day was yesterday, Sunday. NOTHING sounded good to me! For dinner we all just ate what we wanted. Nick and the boys had potato flakes, grilled cheese, and Nick had a steak. I kept looking in the pantry, then opening up the fridge, again and again. Nick said, "Do you think something new will be there when you open the fridge this time?"

I didn't think so, but I was hoping and kept looking anyway. I decided to just have a bowl of Raisin Bran. The thought of a salad made me want to...well, you know! Today, I am fine with salad. Last night, it was not happening. So I did not make any bad choices yesterday, I just did not have vegetables like I normally do. But, if that's my 'break' and the worst I do for a day, I am fine with that.

Then, being Monday, I weighed this morning. I am always nervous. I am still delivering papers for a few more days, so I did have the 44 oz Diet Mountain Dew between 4am and 6am this morning.

Results:

Loss This Week: 1.8 lbs

Total Loss: 17.8 lbs

When I told Nick the results, I said, "It's not very good this week. I only lost 1.8 lbs." "Not very good?" he said. "That is almost another 2 lbs this week! You have lost almost 18 lbs in 3 and a half weeks! You are not supposed to lose more than that! And it was my birthday this week...you did awesome!"

Thanks Nick! You are right. And like we used to say at the Weight Watchers scale, "A loss is a loss!" How can I get down on myself! 1.8 lbs is great and I am doing just what I wanted to do, losing some every week. I have to remember: Patience Karly! Enjoy the journey!

Also, this week I was talking to a friend in my ward that I know has been losing weight, and looks great. We were talking on the phone, and I asked her how she is doing it. She said the SOUTH BEACH DIET and she has lost 82 lbs! That is so amazing and reminds me that it can be done! She said, "It's so worth it!" It was a great boost to talk to her! Thanks Kim!

Quote of the Day:

If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.

Thomas Edison

That is why I am doing this...I am going to astound myself because I know I am capable of doing this! (Does that make sense? It does in my head, but I can't tell if it does written down?!)

Oh Well!

Have a good day everyone!

PS: I declare myself SUCCESSFUL on my first LIFE TEST! I enjoyed the birthday, had cake, but stayed on track! When the cake was gone (Saturday) I had the last bite of crumbs left on the plate, and that is it! It feels GREAT to know I can plan for an event, enjoy it, have a treat, but keep moving forward too!

A good week!

I have almost completed my 'very minnie' goal of making it through a few days of birthday festivities. The festivities are over, but not my challenge. There is still cake in the house! I have to not have any more...that means I enjoyed some and then kept on going down the right path!


*INSERT: Here is the recipe I used for the frosting on the cake I show you below. I had to post this here because this stupid thing won't let me write it out like this below...it double spaces everything at the bottom! AHHHH. Why? (If you know, please tell me!)
________________________________________________________

Cool Whip Frosting
1 small package of sugar free/fat free vanilla pudding
1 8oz container of lite cool whip
1 cup skim milk
Touch of vanilla


Mix the box of pudding with the milk and vanilla. Mix with electric mixer until smooth. Fold in cool whip until smooth. Frost!

_________________________________________________________

We did have fun taking Lukas to the movies on Tuesday. We saw Madagascar 2. I took some peanuts with me to much on and was not even tempted by Lukas's huge bag of popcorn (which he ate ALL of) or Nick's Whoppers. I enjoyed peanuts and a $4 Diet Coke! (It better be good!)

Made it through the movies: SUCCESS!

Then I was going to take Nick to Moochies! It's a small restaurant we saw on the Food Network that makes authentic Philly Cheesesteaks (the owner is from Philly). Nick has been drooling ever them since seeing the show. But when we looked up directions we saw that they close at 3:30pm! They must not want to make money! What kind of hours are those! So Moochies will be for lunch sometime. Instead, Nick got to pick whatever else he wanted, and he picked well! THE PIE! Have you had the Pie? If not, you must! It is the most piled high, yummy pizza ever! We drove to Ogden to get it! I had two pieces...worth of toppings, because I did not eat the crust! I also made myself a large salad. I enjoyed the toppings alone so much. There was about four different meats, all the pizza vegetables, cheese and yummy sauce.

Was it low fat meat. No.

Was it low fat cheese. No.

Did I make the best choice in the situation without totally depriving myself and still enjoying it. Yes.

Am I happy with how I did. Yes.

Dinner from a restaurant: SUCCESS!

That is not salad dressing on the salad. It's cottage cheese! I added some dressing later, but with cottage cheese did not need very much.

Yesterday was Nick's birthday. I cooked him a cake in the afternoon. I did have a few licks, just a few, before cooking it. I did not however, have any of the pieces of the cake that I cut off the top.

I made the frosting with a cool whip recipe and it was really yummy! (See recipe above). It worked to pipe a border and write on top. But you can't even see the writing with ALL 33 candles on there! I did have some frosting while I worked, but it was all Phase 2 approved.

Had birthday party: SUCCESS!

I am feeling good about my LIFE TEST. I will grant full success to myself after the cake is gone and I have DECIDED to not have any more. I could. But I have had some and I won't have anymore this time.

Quote of the day:

Be like a postage stamp, stick to one thing until you get there.

-- Sign at a Church

Catch-up & Weigh-In

Weekends seem to slip by before my blogging getting done! So I will give a brief update on the eating efforts! This weekend has been pretty uneventful. We did not really go anywhere (well Nick went to the BYU game but I stayed home) and just did stuff around home. Before I was living on the 'Beach" we would have gone and gotten fast food or pizza at least once during the weekend, just for fun and because I would not have wanted to cook. But this weekend I cooked for every meal! I made actual good meals...well, at least decent meals for the weekend! :0)

I am still enjoying the added variety of foods. Right now I am eating 1-2 starches a day, 1 fruit and 2-3 milks. Of course I still eat lean meats, vegetables, and some nuts and other little 'treats' like that.

Favorite snack of the weekend: I did have some sugar free/fat free ice cream for a snack. It was heaven. It tastes great to me because I was already buying that kind of ice cream anyway; Nick and Lukas and Slade like it too.

My favorite meal of the weekend: Burritos! I used the carb friendly tortillas, fat free re-fried beans, salsa, fat free sour cream and low fat cheese! I love it! When I wanted a little more I had some filling without another tortilla! (I should have cut up some lettuce but forgot!)

Now, today is Monday, which means weigh in day. I was feeling nervous because I have been adding more foods. And starting this morning I am delivering my friends paper route until the 18th, while she is on vacation. That means, that I had a 44 oz Diet Mountain Dew in the middle of the night...how will that effect my weight?

Results:

Loss this week: 3.2 lbs

Total Loss: 16 lbs

I am VERY HAPPY with that! I can feel a difference too! Nobody will be able to tell I am losing for a while, but I can feel it, especially around the middle. I am feeling strong and motivated to continue!

As you can see at the top of my blog I have a new 'very short term goal'! Nick's birthday is Wednesday, and Tuesday we are going to the movies with Lukas and going to dinner (Slade gets to come to dinner too!) Wednesday we will eat at home but there will be cake and ice cream!

GOAL: Take a good snack for movie and have diet pop. Plan my dinner and make the best choice available. Make a cake and not eat lots of batter (one lick is okay!) and then be able to have one, reasonable size piece of cake...and be done! The hardest thing for me is to enjoy a little and then keep going without taking 2 weeks 'off'! I know I can get through this first LIFE TEST without sabotaging myself and falling off the wagon. It's okay to have treats sometimes, it's necessary to feel normal and not feel totally deprived all the time! This is what life is about and I have to be able to enjoy them and move on!

You know I will keep you posted...

NOTE #1: Does my new title confuse you? Maybe not, but here is clarification anyway! 'Life on the Beach' refers to being on the South BEACH diet. This is a term used on the South Beach website and I like it. Sounds fun, right!

NOTE #2: I am having huge layout problems! Some of my text was showing up as streaks across the page they were so small, though I had them in normal text. It would only double space when I was trying to make a list. I had to make my entire post in large print to get it to make everything legible. Anyone else having trouble? Anyone know any tricks when it acts up? Please share!

I got up this morning and felt a little 'freer,' (if that's a word) knowing there were new food options available to me. Breakfast consisted of normal Phase 1 stuff, which is normal and what I will probably usually stay with. Breakfast is easy and not where I want to use my food. I just need to eat when I get up to get my metabolism moving for the day!

Next on the 'to do list' was to get groceries. I took Lukas and Slade and we got everything bought and put away. By the time that was done we were STARVING! I fed them and then had a DELICIOUS sandwich with Black Forest Ham and cheese. I also had an apple with some peanut butter! Okay, I know, it is SO nerdy to start taking pictures of your food! My Dad used to do that after his surgery so we could see what he was eating. Not that you have never seen these foods before...but I needed some visual stimulation on the blog!

Don't tell me that does not look good!

As I start to phase into Phase 2 I am supposed to add things slowly making sure I don't start to gain weight. Today I added 1 starch (a grain product), 1 fruit, and sugar free, fat free pudding, which is now allowed once a day as a dairy. All starches have to be 100% whole wheat, because they don't make your body release as much insulin as white flour does. White flour is like eating sugar, your body reacts the same way.

I know you all wanted to see how yummy that pudding is:

Ya, it's that good! It is amazing how much my tastes change when I am not full of sugar and bad carbs. Pudding would not normally be that good, nor would an apple. But when I am eating right these things taste so wonderful to me! I am not saying the other "not good choice" foods don't sound good, but I am not craving them and wishing I had them. There will be days for that, and some that I do have some treats, but not now.

Now for the highlight of my day that did not include tasting food...

Here she is...my new, pretty, pink, flat iron!

I love having a house full of boys, but every girl enjoys a little pink once in a while! And while I was there I got a few other fun things...hair treatment for when I flat iron and more pomade. And then because I got a pink iron they gave me this really cute alligator tote! FREE! (You know I am going to show you, look below!)

That was just a fun reward shopping trip! It will actually be fun to do my hair in the morning!

I do not have my next goal set yet, but I am thinking about it. Do I want it to be a number, a percentage, a time??? I will let you know when I decide on one!

I DID IT!

I SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED 2 FULL WEEKS ON PHASE 1 OF THE SOUTH BEACH DIET!

I am feeling really proud of myself for sticking it out and sticking to it. Just before I started, on Oct. 23rd, I really did not know if I could ever get myself back on track. I know that without this blog I would not have 2 strong weeks behind me.

This blog is really helping me in soooo many ways:

1. This blog is helping me to be conscience of my goals at all times, and helping me to see the long term.

2. This blog is getting me through the moments of "I want it now...the big goal is too far away to worry about right now," and getting me to the "I want it now, BUT, that choice does affect my long term goal, and if I want the long term goal I need to stay on track RIGHT NOW!"


That is HUGE in the journey of weight loss, especially in my case, when the journey is a very LONG journey.

3. This blog lets me make my goals public, which motivates me more to meet them!


4. This blog gives me an outlet to talk about things that are working and things I need to work on...as well as the everyday mundane details of 'life on the beach' (that's lingo for a South Beach Dieter)


5. This blog lets me feel the support all of you have for me, and that helps to keep me going more than any of you know! Thank you!


So, today is Phase 2. I will blog later to let you know how the first day has gone.


I also have a really fun reward to go buy!

I HATE Raw Chicken!

WARNING: Kind-of gross text about raw chicken

I have ALWAYS hated raw chicken. I hate handling it, I hate cutting it, I hate the little bloody clots in it, I hate the toxic juice from it...I just hate to deal with RAW CHICKEN!

That is why you will never catch me buying the breasts on the styrofoam platter, all jiggly and not frozen. Oh No! I only buy the bags that are ice hard pieces. I even stopped buying the breasts for the most part...there was still too much trimming to do. I buy the tenderloins. They are nice and small and hardly ever have the gross little blood clotty things.

And with the tenderloins, I get along pretty well with raw chicken. But recently I did buy some breasts that were supposed to be cut thinner so I thought I'd try them. BAD IDEA! They have been giving me lots of 'gross encounters'. I usually deal with them enough to get by. I just look at the raw chicken with one eye squinting open and do the dirty work as fast as possible. I have the hot water on and the disposal running so I can drop the gross pieces down the disposal and quickly get rid of them...then rinse the plate in scalding water to kill any bacteria before putting it right into the dishwasher.

But tonight...it did not go so well. I was using the last of these chicken breasts and was cutting them into pieces to cook in a skillet, for a Chicken Taco Salad. I just kept seeing gross little clots and veins and I could not take it...I started dry-heaving and my eyes started watering and I had to step away and call Nick in to finish the job before I full-on threw up. Even after it was cooked and seasoned and on a yummy looking salad, I just could not eat much of it. It had just been too bad of an experience preparing it. So needless to say, I did not get full enough at dinner and was hungry tonight. I had jello, string cheese, a cream cheese cup and probably more pistachio nuts than I should have.

I am SO READY for more variety! I am really sick of chicken right now! No more chicken please!!! I DO NOT want to cook it...I DO NOT want to eat it! I know I have almost made it through my 2 week goal of sticking to the program, but tomorrow may do me in!

Can I do it 1 MORE DAY? I have too...but I don't want to!

I guess I need a quote to get me through one more day.

Quote of the day:

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination.

Tommy Lasorda

Determination...that is what I will have to take with me tomorrow as I make it through one more day on Phase 1. I have to because I know that what I want is possible, if I have the determination! BUT! I don't have to eat any chicken tomorrow...and I won't!

Wish me luck!

Monday Weigh-In Report

I am sorry I have not posted for a few days! It was not because I was doing bad or did not want to, but because I have been down with a nasty cold. I felt a little sick Sat morning, then by the afternoon as I was finishing my cleaning, I was done...I felt rotten. So Nick has let me lay around this weekend while he has done dishes and made sandwiches for dinner. I still don't feel great, but a mom can only take a break for so long. I got up planning to go about my normal duties at 100% and Nick showed up from work. It was a slow day so he is home to help me again. So I only have to go at 50% today!


But as far as my Phase 1 eating goes, I am still on track to get my flat iron as my reward for my 2 weeks on track! This weekend I did not eat as many vegetables as I ususally do because they don't taste good when you are sick. I did have some salad and beans and finished my leftover chili. I kept all the rules and made it through another Sunday without any breakdowns.


I also excercised 2 times last week! I know that is less than the ideal, but it is a start! I plan to excerise 3 times this week. It is crazy to me that I am pushing myself to do 3 short workouts when I used to be the workout queen! But everything has a time and place, and I used to have lots of time to devote to going to the gym. Now, my main focus is sticking to South Beach and losing weight, and starting to supplement with some excercise. There will be a time I will focus more on exercise, but not now.


I did weigh this morning. And based on my mid-week weighs last weeks I did not think I was going to lose any this week. But after I weighed this morning the results are:

Weight loss this week: 2.8 lbs

Total weight loss: 12.8

I am happy with 12.8 lbs in less than 2 weeks. I am on my way! You are supposed to lose between 1 and 2 lbs per week for healthy and permanent weight loss. As long as I do that I will not complain.

It is easy to get impatient while trying to lose weight because we want it NOW, a QUICK FIX. I know I do! But I have to tell myself that I did not gain all of this overnight, and I will not lose it overnight. That is why I have to enjoy every success, every victory and enjoy the journey...I have to be happy now and not just when I get to the final destination!

Quote of the day:

"It's not the gale, but the set of the sail!"

-Posted on my blog by my Dad

I love this quote Dad! You are right, it is not so much how much I have lost, but that I am working on it and have taken the steps to be successful! As I continue to work at it, I will continue to lose, and I will eventually make my goal!

Halloween

I hope everyone had a really fun Halloween! I know we did at our house. I will post pictures on our family blog soon. It is late so this will be short!


I just wanted to report that I did NOT HAVE ANY CANDY and it was not too bad. It is sort of like the Word of Wisdom...if you have already made the choice not to partake before the opportunity arises, it is easy to SAY NO. I did not have to think about it and talk myself into or out of anything. I had already set my goal and made my choice.


The best thing I have eaten all week was the Chili I made today. I am not sure if it was really that good, or if it just tasted so good to me because it tasted so different from anything else I have had lately. I really enjoyed it and I doubled the batch so there are leftovers. I have already warned Nick NOT to touch the chili...it's mine! I will put the recipe on tomorrow in case anyone wants a good chili recipe.

Quote of the day:

"This one step - choosing a goal and sticking to it - changes everything."

~Scott Reed

Today I met my mini goal of making it through Halloween without eating any candy, which keeps me on track for my 2 week goal, to stick to the program. That goal HAS changed everything...for me.

Over half way to my 1st goal!

My Mom called me tonight to see how I was doing since there was no blog entry for yesterday! Don't worry...I did not break down and give up. I went to blog last night and our computer was having one of its common 'fits' so I had to turn it off and let it rest. It was too late to wait for it.


But yesterday went good. I made my new menu for the week and got groceries. I am so excited to have Chili tomorrow! Yum! That sounds so good. I will let you know how it turns out.


Yesterday I made it past the half-way point of my 2 week goal, and am now on my way down to the finish line! It feels great to know I will finish and meet my goal. When I was talking to my Mom tonight I said, "You don't think I did good yesterday because I didn't blog, huh?" She said, "No! I know you won't do bad at least until you reach the 2 week goal!" I am still not sure if that was a compliment or not...is she expecting me to cave in just after meeting my first goal? Just kidding Mom...I know what you meant! :0) There is definitely value in setting mini goals for yourself to work toward. I need to think of my next one!


CHALLENGE: Get through Halloween without eating ANY candy...NOT ONE BITE! I have never done that before. But don't feel too bad for me, I had my share BEFORE Halloween. :0( It will still be hard though...it is tradition to eat fun candy after being outside collecting it from all the neighbors with your kids. And tradition is one of the biggest reasons we eat! But, this year is different. I am on a mission to stick to the program and that is what I am going to do!

Quote of the day:

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing. That's why we recommend it daily!"

~ Zig Ziglar

Is this true or what! That is why writing in this blog every day is so important to me right now! It gets me thinking about why I am doing this and what I want. It keeps me focused and motivated to be able to post positive things and meet the goals I have set!

I hope everyone has a

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

A close one and a success story

Well, all is still going well. Today I went to lunch with my sisters-in-law Gina and Lindsey (Happy Birthday Lindsey!) and mother-in-law Cindy. We had a really yummy salad at Ruby Tuesdays. One of the best parts of the salad was not having to cut all the veggies and meat myself!

Then tonight as I stood in front of my menu trying to decide WHAT to cook...NOTHING I should eat looked good. I did not want another salad, I did not want hamburger, I did not want to eat or cook chicken and I did not want any veggies. UH-OH! That is not good. This is how I felt by half way through the last time I did this. I just want more variety. I am not talking a candy bar, I am talking an apple!


At that point I might have caved and made grilled cheese sandwiches (on Betty Crockers Silky Smooth White Bread) or something fast, easy and full of simple carbs. But then I thought of all of you, and the blog I would have to write and knew I did not want to write a sad entry saying I did not make my goal.


SO....I got the chicken out of the freezer and thawed it out in the microwave before cutting it and cooking it in a little oil in the skillet. I made an Asian salad (lettuce, chicken cooked in sweet in sour with water to make a little sauce, almond slivers, onions, radishes, mushrooms, cheese, Toasted Almond Salad Dressing) and jello. After I was done I was full and mostly satisfied, but am about to head for a Diet Mountain Dew Mug to help with the sweet craving.


All of you have been so great in supporting me! Thank You! I know I would not have made it this far if I was not being accountable to all of you. I would have stopped, started and probably stopped again by this point! I know I can make it through another week and then Phase 2 will have a lot more variety!


I also wanted to tell my cousin Denette 'THANK YOU!' for sending me an e-card every day since I started this. She wanted to encourage me and let me know that I am being cheered on! That has meant so much to me.

And I also want to tell Denette CONGRATULATIONS!

This is what she wrote in her email to me today: "You have kept me motivated over the last week, and as of today, I reached my goal. I wanted to be 50 lbs lighter this year, than I was last year."

Her total weight loss is 70 lbs!

I just want Denette to know that I am SO PROUD OF HER and she is the one inspiring and motivating me! That is such a huge accomplishment! She does not have much more to go until she reaches her ultimate goal. I know you can do it Denette!

Quote of the day:

Rather the pain of discipline, than the pain of regret.

- Bob Andrews

This is how I feel today. I made it through dinner and am so glad I am not regretting what I ate! I am feeling proud that I was able to focus enough on my goal and focus on the long term, than just on what I wanted right then.

Whew! That was a close one!

Weigh-in Report!

Monday is going to be the day I weigh-in. I chose Monday because it motivates me to get through the weekend strong. I don't want to mess up a great week with a bad weekend and then have to weigh Monday morning!

Today is the first time I have weighed since starting on Thurs, Oct. 23rd. I did not want to focus on numbers because my only goal right now is to STICK TO THE PLAN! So when I went to weigh today I had no idea what it would say.

RESULTS:

Loss this week: -10 pounds

Total Lost: 10 pounds

YEA! I feel really good about that number! I hope to lose about another 10 lbs while I am on Phase 1, but as long as I stick to the plan it does not matter. Remember, I will not lose like this after I start Phase 2. Right now I am on the kick-start program and am losing at a faster rate! But it feels great to get a little bit behind me and know that the work is paying off!

Sunday---always the hardest day

Is it just me, or is Sunday a really hard day to eat good on? Weekends are generally harder, but Sunday...I am home almost ALL day! And by the time I get home from church I feel like I could/would/should eat anything and everything I can find! Why is that? I go three hours without eating on other days. But, I guess on Sunday I eat when I get up, then maybe have a diet pop before church (we go at 1pm) and then by the time we are home from church I actually have not eaten for like 7 or 8 hours! And then by the evening I want to bake something. Sunday nights just make me want to bake something sweet. I know there have been many times I have looked through my cookbook trying to find something I have the ingredients for.

So, today in church as the last half hour was counting down, and I was sooo hungry, I thought about how I would feel as soon as I got home and what I needed to do to keep control. As soon as we walked in the house I opened a Diet Coke and warmed up a Cream Cheese Cup. Ahhhhh. Then I had a stalk of celery with peanut butter. Ahhhhh. Now, I could be in control and get everyone else fed before I got the rest of my lunch.

I DID IT! I got through a Sunday without any slip-ups, a Sunday that is day #4 and that would be hard anyway! I feel so good that I stuck to my plan. Tonight before bed I will have a fudgesicle I think, that sounds really good. And most likely, another Diet Coke!

There was also one other observation I made today while I was at church. Usually, when I sit in church I look at all the other ladies and how cute their clothes are and how skinny they are and beat myself up! I would talk really mean to myself, which made me want to come home and eat really bad! Today, I was so much kinder to myself. I have been on program for only 4 days...but that is enough for me to say to myself, "You are working on it, your are making progress, you don't have to feel bad." It just takes a little work and progress on my goal to feel so much better about myself and be able to pull myself up, rather than keep knocking myself down.

Quote of the day:

God has given us many gifts, much diversity, and many differences, but the essential thing is what we know about each other--that we are all his children. Our challenge as members of the Church is for all of us to learn from each other, that we may all love each other and grow together."

--Cheiko M. Okazaki; Ensign, May 1996, Page 13

This is just a nice quote. That is one thing I love about blogs, we get to learn from each other and share ideas, and just keep in touch to keep our ties to each other strong!

*Be sure to check the blog tomorrow...it's my first weigh in post!

Neufchatel Cheese

*WARNING: LONG POST, MAY BORE MOST!

Day #3 was not as hard as I anticipated! I made it through without any horrible struggles, though something sweet did sound good to me today. Diet Mountain Dew really helps me fill the need for something sweet. I do love my mug (which is a fountain drink of Diet Mt. Dew) and I do not plan on cutting that out. Even Dr. Agatson (who is the author of the SB Diet book) says you can have your diet pop, or whatever sugar-free drink you like, since there are so many other changes to make...we can't take away everything. I agree!

I also cooked up one of my favorite sweet treats today. There is no name for them that I know of, but they are little cream cheese cakes and taste kind of like cheese cake to me. I got the recipe from my mom, who got it from a co-worker, who eats really low carb. All the ingredients are on the "Able to enjoy" list in the SB book, so I made them and love them. Here is the recipe and I will name them the 'Cream Cheese Cups'.

Cream Cheese Cups
2 packages of Neufchatel Cheese (next to cream cheese)
3 eggs
3/4 cup splenda
Touch of vanilla
About 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Mix all of the ingredients together with a hand mixer, it will be a little lumpy
Spoon into muffin pan - I get a pan of 12 out of this batch
Bake at 350 degrees for around 15 min.
After they are cooled, spoon them out, store in refrigerator

Nick does not like these, but I love them. They are really good warm. I like to microwave them for a few seconds after I take them out of the fridge. NOTE: You may be wondering why there are chocolate chips if there is no sugar allowed. Well, in the SB diet there is a recipe for ricotta cheese which has a few chocolate chips. I choose to have my few chocolate chips in my Cream Cheese Cups instead. I don't know the science behind why a few of those are allowed...I just enjoy it!

My friend Sylvia (who technically is my sister Cinda's friend, but she said she could share since I like Sylvia too, so she is both our friend!) asked me about what salad dressing I use. Alot of you may not know what the SB Diet really is and what kind of foods you eat, so I thought I'd give you a brief overview. As you have probably already figured out, SB is low carb. It teaches you the 'rules' of how to eat, and then you apply them to your life. There is no set menu or meals you have to eat. It is all food you buy at any supermarket. You don't count calories or even restrict portion control. It is based on eating the right kinds of foods that your body needs to reduce cravings and make you more satisfied from your food.

I am on Phase 1, which is the jump-start first two weeks of the program. There are NO carbs, not even the good ones right now, so your body gets rid of all the carbs and sugars that make you crave those foods. After two weeks I will start Phase 2, which begins to add in more of the good carbs. I will tell you more about Phase 2 when I start it. But for now on Phase 1 I am eating lean meats, eggs, low fat cheeses and dairy products like cottage cheese, nuts (in moderation), peanut butter, lots of vegetables and salads. I can also have things like sugar free-jello, sugar free Popsicles and fudgesicles, sugar free candy, and seasonings.

The interesting thing about the SB Diet is that things like cheese and nuts are usually 'bad' foods, when actually they are the good kinds of fat that you need. And when it comes to salad dressings I have all types that are either regular or lite. I do not want to have fat free because when a manufacturer makes something fat free they add sugar back in to make it taste good. It is hard to get used to when we are so used to thinking that the best is always 'Fat Free'. NOT TRUE!

My favorite dressing is really boring...Lite Hidden Valley Ranch. But it takes soo good to me since I ate the crappy, fat free, generic brand for so long. I also just started liking Caesar dressing. The best combo...a little bit of Lite Ranch and a little bit of Caesar...YUMMY! I also have a Toasted Almond Asian dressing I like to use with sweet and sour chicken. Another thing to add to your salad so you don't need as much dressing is cottage cheese. I learned that trick from my mother-in-law, Cindy, and now I do it all the time.

Quote of the day:

The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places.

-Author Unknown

This quote made me smile! :0) That is exactly why I am doing this blog. Even if not one person ever read it, it is keeping me connected to what I am doing and why so I don't pull over and park AGAIN, while I wait for tomorrow!

Day #2...

was also a success! YEA!

Today was a little harder than yesterday, as I expected. And I expect tomorrow to be even harder. But I got through it without any slip-ups. On the South Beach Diet you are not supposed to be hungry. If you are hungry you are supposed to eat more of the right foods. Nobody is going to last long on a plan that you are always hungry on. I was hungry some of the day but that is because I have to get better at variety. I would try to think of what snack I wanted and then not be able to think of anything that really sounded good right then. So I just didn't have anything. I need to get better at not only finding more variety but also expanding my tastes.

Today was a busy day and I did not get on-line very much to explore the South Beach (SB) website. I want to look for recipes tomorrow...which reminds me...my cousin Denette emailed me a ton last summer and I need to go through those! That will be really fun and I can do it tomorrow while Nick is at the BYU game.

Quote of the Day:

Instead of giving myself reasons why I can't, I give myself reasons why I can.

-Author Unknown

This just makes sense. If I tell myself I cannot (which is what I have been doing for a while before October 23rd, 2008) I will not. I believe what I tell myself...self-talk has more impact on our minds and actions than we know. Simply talking kindly to myself and telling myself why I can do this will get me there faster than beating myself up.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all the supportive posts I have received today! I am so grateful to all of you and love you guys all so much...I can't even tell you!

Last night after I posted the blog on our family site with the link, I went to bed with sort of mixed feelings. I felt sort of panicked and my heart was racing as I lay in bed, "Should I take it down? Nobody has seen it yet...", but at the same time a sort of realization that I am really going to do it this time.

One of the hardest parts of losing weight is simply getting some time behind you following your plan. For several days it is way too easy to say, "I will start tomorrow...", and we all know how that turns out; tomorrow never really comes! So when I was thinking about all of this last night while I lay in bed, I realized that there was no way I would not follow my plan on the first day I posted my blog! I was so excited because I KNEW tomorrow would be a good day!

All of you helped me through the first day!

The first day was a success! I was so pumped up from making the blog and planning everything that today was not too hard! I went and got groceries so I am all stocked up on the right kinds of foods. I got the veggies washed, jello made and had lunch.

LUNCH- This is one of the areas I have identified and being a problem time for me. Not so much for what I eat, but that I don't get around to eating. Lunch time is always so busy. I am getting Lukas to preschool, or trying to run errands around Slade's nap time, picking up Lukas, trying to check things off my to-do list, etc. I don't want to slow down to cook chicken, make a salad and actually sit down to eat a meal. Some may think this is great...I save calories. WRONG. By about 4pm I am famished and will eat whatever I can get my hands on, which is often where the "I'll start tomorrow" strategy comes into play! I have to eat often to stay in control of WHAT I eat. Like today, I had canned chicken on a salad since it was much faster. I am going to keep boiled eggs, turkey, canned chicken and chicken I cooked for another meal on hand for quick protein I can put on a salad. This will eliminate the long preparation which should help the lunch situation.

It is amazing how much the mom sets the tone for everything. When I am eating bad, the entire family is eating bad. It felt so good to see everyone eating chicken, potatoes (no potato for me though) and vegetables for dinner. Afterward we went for a walk to deliver a few things I had to drop off to people in the ward.

I also joined South Beach Diet Online today. I am going to do that instead of going to Weight Watchers like I used to. South Beach is better for me and how my body responds to food. There are lots of tools for tracking your food, making shopping lists, recipes, community boards, Q&A and more. I will really enjoy that.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed, but that our ability to do it has increased."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is a wonderful, well-know quote that can be applied to every aspect of our lives. For my purpose, it gives me hope that this healthy lifestyle can and will become second nature because I continue to incorporate it into my daily life. Dr. Phil always says we have to "practice the behavior we desire" and I really do believe that is true. It takes 21 days to form a good habit...day one...done!