New Inventions of the YUMMY kind!!!!

Hi All!!!!

Well, the last time I updated, I was a bit frustrated. I'm officially over it. My weekend was challenging and extremely stressful!!!! My grandfather taunted me with food and on mother's day, my aunt, uncle, and cousins brought a TON of pizza from a local joint in my small little town. It's my
FAVORITE pizza. I did not cheat. I ate before they arrived so I would feel satisfied instead of tortured. Overall, I feel like I conquered the weekend and the challenges that came with it. 

Yesterday, I was prepping some food for the rest of the week. I have gotten to 
LOVING baked chicken that has been 'breaded' with my melba toast crumbs. Since I only need a 4 oz serving, I cut off the excess chicken before I 'bread' and bake it. Last night, I realized I had roughly 8 oz of leftover raw chicken. I didn't want that to go to waste because that is 2 meals worth of protein!!! I'm not a waster so I decided to try something new... I invented my own soup!! It turned out AMAZING. The recipe is shown below :)

1-1.5 cups water

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp minced garlic

a splash of Frank's RED Hot Sauce

4 oz cubed boneless skinless chicken breast

1 oz diced onion

1 oz diced celery

1 oz diced tomato

1 oz chopped asparagus

salt & pepper to taste

My finished product...

I LOVED it and my ENTIRE meal with my piece of melba toast was ONLY 152 CALORIES!!!

I am full and satisfied. I don't feel deprived of delicious food, because my food was AMAZING.

NOTE/PSA: HEALTHY FOOD CAN BE DELICIOUS IF YOU GIVE IT A CHANCE!!!

Now for my progress report. I have discovered that my body loves my routine. This past weekend threw me out of my routine. I drank my water and stayed on protocol. I even had my first out to eat experience. I spent most of the day on Saturday sitting in a car or sitting with family. I was EXTREMELY stressed. I think that was an issue as well. After the weekend, I gained 1.4 when I weighed on Monday morning. I stayed strong and kept on protocol. I think my body was just out of its element. Within 2 days, I had lost the 1.3 I gained plus some :) As of today, it's R1P2D23 and I am 21.8 lbs below my pre-loading weight!!! I have averaged .9 lbs lost per day!!! WHOOP!!!

Well, that's it for now folks!!! I will continue on in this journey and keep faith not only in God, but myself. He has given me the tools to achieve what I need to be healthy... I just have to use them!!!

God Bless

-B

Fighting the Good Fight... Against FAT!

Well,

First, I would like to share an update on my progress. As of this morning, after eating on Phase 2 for 18 days, I have dropped 21 lbs. That puts me 19.2 lbs below my pre-loading weight!!! WHAT?! That's more than a pound a day!!!! I just don't know what to say!!! I am so happy with this progress and I am looking forward to seeing more!!! 

Now to come down from my heavenly loss cloud for a few moments... The struggle is real y'all. I live with my parents right now (I am planning on moving out in August... Thank GOD). My mother has lost over 100 lbs and has kept it off. She is incredible and I don't know how she did it. I would have gone insane!! Why, you ask? MY FATHER. It's simple, really. He is DIABETIC. He has HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. He has MAJOR BACK PROBLEMS. He is also overweight. And... Drum Roll... HE LOVES FOOD. Where do we think I learned my love of food from? I love my dad, but his love for food is BEYOND TORTUROUS to me during this time. He knows all about my diet program. He knows all about my results. Most of all, he knows how much I LOVE food and am trying to be strong. It's hard to be strong when things you love and have always loved to eat are being cooked in your home or spoken about while you are around. I feel like the little loner kid that is the only one left out when all of the other kids are having a fantastic time playing on the playground. It's almost like I'm the kid that is dangling from the monkey bars by the tips of my fingers and I'm about to fall. I'm screaming an nobody notices or cares to help. Just a little help is all I ask. 

I thought that "Out of Sight... Out of Mind" would help with my situation. I'm not touching the food that is MOST tempting to me so that in another sense of the human body that I don't have to worry about. If I lock myself in my room, I am not looking or touching. The only problem then is that I HAVE A NOSE! The sense of smell is strong!!! And it is a powerful force within me! When I smell something that I LOVE to eat that my father has requested and I know I can't have it, I literally want to let go of the monkey bars. I don't want to fall hard enough to break my neck (or gain my weight back) but falling onto a trampoline so I can easily bounce back up would be nice. Unfortunately, nothing has ever been easy when my weight is concerned. It's always been HARD. I don't really have a choice though. 

Losing Weight is HARD.

Maintaining Weight is HARD

Being OverWeight is HARD.

I'm choosing my HARD.

This weekend will hold some challenges for me, but I am going to face them head on without looking back. My cousin is graduating college tomorrow. My family and I are going. My family plans on stopping for breakfast at Denny's. Eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, pancakes, milk, syrup, etc... I cannot have ONE of these items. I will be bringing an apple to eat while I watch everyone else eat it. With each bite, I will imagine one more pound lost. I will keep my eye on the prize. I will take my lunch and eat it in the car. For dinner, my family plans on MEXICAN food. I will allow myself to eat there, but it will not be like I am used to. I will order chicken fajitas with NO USE OF BUTTERS OR OILS. I will request that they don't even bother bringing out the extras or the tortillas. I will eat the chicken and sauteed onions. I will ask for a bowl of lettuce and make my own little fajita taco salad that is approved for Phase 2 because I will have homemade Phase 2 approved salsa. I will do my best to not lose my mind while others chow down on chips, salsa (that most likely has sugar in it), cheese, etc. I will drink water and I will be happy about it. I will not let it beat me. That is just my battle for Saturday. Sunday is Mother's Day!! I think it will be easier than Saturday. I can have my fruit for breakfast at home with no problems. my issue comes to lunch. I will be eating my own pre-done meal while the rest of my family eats Chicken Spaghetti, Goulash, Macaroni Dish, etc. Basically, a bunch of pasta and cheese which I love. I will just stay in the living room. I will not subject myself to sitting or standing around the kitchen or dessert table. One thing is for sure... MY FAMILY CAN COOK AND EAT SOME DELICIOUS FOOD.... that I can't have. I will have a pre-done dinner at home Sunday evening. 

I can and I will do this. I HAVE to do this. I want to be healthy. I can't be truly healthy with this weight. Prayers would be appreciated.

Side Note: I wore pants to work this week that I couldn't wear 3 weeks ago!!! I'll take the small victory!!!

I guess that's all for today. I hope everyone has a blessed Mother's Day Weekend!!!

-B