24 Day Challenge: Day 7

I had a busy (for me) weekend, so I had to try to find ways to fit in my diet. I can tell you right now that it was tough! I definitely failed in some parts, but if I look at it in a different light...what I now consider a "bad" day is what I used to consider a "good" day. Now how is that for some change? At least my perception of that has changed.

Here is a super condensed break down of Saturday and Sunday:

Day 5, Saturday: Woke up at 7:45 and had Spark with the White Pills. Did Zumba on the Wii for 20 minutes. Had a Meal replacement with Omegaplex at 8:45 am. Skipped my snack .12:20 pm Spark. 12:50 pm Was going to have tuna wrap for lunch, but after mixing the tuna and celery, I realized the brown rice tortillas were moldy already :(. So...I used regular multi grain wheat bread. Around 6 pm I had a salad at Chuck E Cheese. I was at least good there and only had a proper salad and resisted the pizza and even the birthday cake. After Chuck E Cheese, I left to meet my friends at a bar to celebrate one of my good friends birthdays. Throughout the night I had a Southern Comfort with Lime, a Tall can of Michelob Ultra, and two Red Bull and Vodka. I know I am not supposed to be drinking, but I was at least trying to make low carb or low sugar selections :-/ . Even getting home at 2 am I remembered to take the brown pills before bed (yay me!)

Day 6, Sunday: 10 am Spark and white pills. 10:55 am - had meal replacement. Around 1:00 pm Dereck went and got McDonald's for his nieces and himself. He offered to get me something healthy, but I declined and said I would find something at home. We were getting ready to go to the movies and the girls left a ton of their food out. I was starving and wasting that much food would've really bothered me. So...I ate 3 of their chicken nuggets and a small handful of fries. That must have lit up my insides because before I knew it I was ransacking the cupboards looking for things I could eat. I had about 5 of those quaker quakes, a small handful of almonds, then a banana. We had missed the time we needed to leave to make it to the movie, so we decided to go to Toys R Us. On the way we stopped at the gas station and I hopped out and got myself an Arizona Green Tea and a bag of Popchips. The Popchips were only 100 cal and 3g of fat. They really didn't seem that bad. I definitely shouldn't have gotten the green tea. I think it is safe to say that I didn't quite follow the plan this day, but I was still really trying to make healthy decisions. For dinner (which was served around 7:45) I had Grilled Chicken, Grilled Asparagus, and Salad.

Whew! That's a lot of writing. Here is a pic of my lunch from today. Yum!

24 Day Challenge: Day 4

You guessed it....(or maybe you didn't?) I am still keeping at it. Yay! This is not a diet, this is a lifestyle change and I feel that it is one that I can stick to IF I see the results I want. As promised, I weighed myself this morning. Before I tell you the results I want to tell you my thoughts about it. First, the day before I started the challenge I ate a pretty good amount for dinner and leading up to dinner. I ate an entire foot long sub and before I had that I ate chips and chocolate and gummy bears. I was pretty bad. I know that weight can fluctuate within a few pounds each day and I am definitely keeping that in mind. Also, I had only recently creeped up to 185 so I kind of considered that temporary and not totally my initial starting weight (in my head at least. On paper 185 is my starting weight because that is what the scale said). Alright, with that being said...After 3 complete days on the 24 Day Challenge...the beginning of Day 4 I am down 5 pounds and the scale says 180 . <<<Were you expecting an exclamation point there? I kind of was too, but I can't quite get my finger to do it. I do not feel accomplished yet.

Here is what I had for dinner last night. I am not totally sure if it is 24 Day Challenge friendly or not, but it seemed to fit in to me.

Tuna Wraps:

*5 oz White Albacore Tuna
*One stalk of celery chopped (I never cook, I have no clue if one strand of celery is called a "stalk" or not)
*1 TBSP of Canola Mayo (I realized after that Olive Oil Mayo is almost the same, so I could've saved my money and just used what I had in the fridge)
*Romaine Lettuce
*Brown Rice Tortillas (Trader Joe's)

It's pretty simple. Drain the Tuna, mix with the mayo and celery. Put some lettuce in the tortilla and slap the tuna mixture on it. I ended up making two wraps because I didn't want one mondo wrap. Here's the thing, I am not sure if the Brown Rice Tortillas really qualify as brown rice or not. I am also not sure if it was a no-no to add the mayo. I can tell you that I felt very full after eating it. Also, I am not sure if it was just because the brown rice tortillas were supposed to expire that day, but they were very crumbly. I might try it with a vinaigrette in place of the mayo next time and see how that turns out.

Last thing, somehow I lost my Step One instructions and I can not find them anywhere online! I had to pack everything for today based on memory. Eek! I have a terrible memory, but for some reason I totally remembered what I needed for the day.

I may not post tomorrow since it is the weekend, but I will try to remember to follow up on Monday!

24 Day Challenge: Day 2

Today is going just as well as yesterday! I think I might have messed up on my lunch a little though. I used a "recipe" that I found for a lunch for the 24 day challenge and it wasn't until after I had determined that as my lunch that I realized it doesn't really qualify. Dangit! I am not going to beat myself up about it because I am still doing pretty dang good. I have already drank over a gallon of water too.

Here is how my day has been so far:

6:45 am : Spark , then Fiber Drink, then glass of Water
7:15 am: Drink Meal Replacement on the way to work (forgot to take my 2 Omegaplex)
10:00 am: 1/4 Cup of Almonds (no salt or sugar) with 1/2 Cup serving of Banana mixed with Oranges (remembered that I forgot Omegaplex and took it with my snack)
12:00 pm: Spark
12:30 pm: 3 pieces of Foster Farms Lean Turkey (measured almost 4 oz) with a couple slivers of avocado and Uncle Ben's Brown Rice cup.

So here is what is wrong with that lunch...
    You are supposed to have a Protein, Carb, and Veggie for lunch. I had a Protein, Carb, and Good Fat. I also had the entire cup of Brown Rice and you are only supposed to have half a cup. Also, the Brown Rice is not supposed to be instant. Instant Brown Rice has oil added to it and you are supposed to stay away from that. Basically, I ate too many carbs, had a good fat when I wasn't supposed to have a fat at all and I had no veggies.  I dished the rice and avocados into the turkey meat and rolled them up for some little turkey rolls. It didn't taste half bad!

My Plan for the rest of the day:

3:30 pm : 1/4 Cup of Almonds and 1/2 cup of mixed berries
Bwtn 5:30 and 6:30 pm: Lettuce wraps made out of Romaine Lettuce, Ground Turkey and filled with onion, red peppers, and celery
Before Bed: 3 Brown Pills from the Herbal Cleanse Packet.

I'll make sure to continue posting my thoughts and feelings while on the challenge. Thank you!

I'm Doing Something Right!

I did my weigh in this morning and I'm happy to say that I am at 183.0, yay! That means I have lost 4.2 lbs since Sept 5th. Once again, not quite as fast as I would like, but I'm not exercising, so I don't feel like I have a right to complain. I also still eat what I want (but with some substitutions and in moderation). That puts me at a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 27 which is still in the "Overweight" range and rightly so. To be in the normal weight range for my height, I need to be between 125 and 169. That is perfectly fine with me! I hope to be around 145 anyways. :)

 I have noticed some ups and downs of changing my diet, here they are:
(I've bolded the highlights in case you don't want to read everything)

UPS:

*Feel like I have more energy
*Feel more confident just knowing that I am losing weight
* Amazingly enough my attitude towards certain foods has changed. I have started to view some really greasy foods as gross. I now sometimes crave fruits and other healthy foods.
* My pants are getting more comfortable and on the way to being a tad loose.
*Compliments! I have gotten a few compliments saying they can tell I'm losing weight. (I know I am quite verbal about it on here, but the only other people that know I am actively trying to lose weight in my day to day life are my boyfriend and my dad. My step-mom and sister now know after they complimented me and I then told them that I'm trying).
* That "full feeling" actually is started to give me a different vibe now. It is so weird to me. I used to eat until I felt "full", right? OK, sounds normal, but here is the thing... that "Full Feeling" has actually changed for me! Now when I feel full the way that I used to, I actually feel like I over ate and I am now the size of a whale. I think I have actually trained myself to now eat until I am "satisfied". It is a much better feeling too! Now I feel like I can still get up and do whatever after a full meal, whereas before all I wanted to do was lay on the couch and watch TV after dinner. Fascinating!
* I have changed the way I think about food. I now try to find food that gives me the most amount of Fiber with using the least amount of my daily calories while still tasting good. I say most amount of Fiber, but really just whatever will fill me up the most without using a lot of calories, but still be yummy :) .

DOWNS:

*Seems like my body (internally) is changing to accommodate the new way I eat. Sometimes leads to undesirable effects, but seems like that has stopped and my stomach is being normal.
*Going out to eat. I have noticed that the days I do really well on my diet are the days that I can completely control where I am going to be and what I will be eating. Days that I get asked to go out to eat at the last minute really screw with me. If I have a little advance notice, I have enough time to find the nutritional facts and make an educated decision, which makes eating out not a problem.
*Counting Calories- this is kind of an up and a down at the same time. I don't like it because sometimes I forget to do it, don't know the calorie content of a food, or I'm just being a lazy girl. I do like it because it lets me know where I am at calorie wise after lunch, so I am able to eat a sensible meal for dinner and not go over my calories for the day.


So,What have I been doing to get these effects? I think I better save that for another blog, this one is getting long! lol. But I will tell you, it doesn't involve buying any magic pills, diet program, or anything special. It's about finding your will power and determination.

YOU are the only person who can make yourself Fat or Skinny!

Personality is a big factor

I have decided that an individuals personality has a huge amount to do with what diet will work for them. I know previously I said I would get there with baby steps, but when I look at all the other decisions I've made in my life and the way I live my life, I determined that baby steps is just not me! I am an "all or nothing" kinda girl! I am going to have to make myself make drastic changes if I really want this to work. Last night my heart was doing a fluttering feeling that really freaked me out and made me start thinking. I really need to start living my life healthier, not just for my looks, but because I want to make it past 50 years old without needing major medication and hospital trips. I bought women's multi-vitamins today and plan to take them every day. I have been dabbling in vitamins for a while now, but I was casually taking them before.  Starting today I am going to implement both approaches into my routine.

1. Start eating healthy not just for looks, but for my health too.
2. Quit with the baby steps approach and dive in head first.

Major changes must be made now!!