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

The Key to Weightloss...

Well, progress has been made!! I have had some ups and downs since I last posted... LITERALLY.

On Saturday, I was out and about. My plans went a bit differently than I originally wanted. I ended up forgetting to eat my second meal... This was BAD! I ended up gaining .5 lbs when I weighed on Sunday morning. BUT, I was back on protocol the next day by eating ALL of my allotted food and drinking my gallon of water! I was just hoping that I would lose the .5 I gained from the previous day. When I woke up this morning to weigh, I had lost 2.2 lbs! That's the .5 that I had gained PLUS 1.7!!!! In 7 days of eating on the Phase 2 protocol, I lost 12.8 lbs. That puts me 11 LBS BELOW MY PRE-LOADING WEIGHT!!!!

Never NeVeR NEVER on a diet have I EVER lost more than 5-6 lbs in the first week... And after one week of omni, I have basically lost twice that!! I KNOW that the losses will slow down, but I have such hope for the future!!

The key to this is planning! Michelle and I got cookin at my house on Saturday night and after 3 hours of hard work, we had prepped, cooked, and portioned 8 full days of meals! We made Chicken Chili, Beef Chili, Beef/Onion/Cabbage Stir Fry, and Baked Chicken stuffed with tomatoes, onions, and spinach. I have now had one of each of our meals and they are AWESOME, the best thing is that I don't even have to think about it! This Diet basically takes out my decisions and the possibility for bad choices!

I'll check back in later! 

-B

Hump Day a Day Late??

Well,

Today is Thursday, but it feels like it will be the longest day of the week (normally Wednesday for me)...

My alarm didn't go off this morning so I woke up at 5:44... I'm supposed to leave the house for work at 5:45. I jumped out of bed, used the facilities, weighed myself, threw on some clothes and ran out the door. I left the house at 5:50. I must say that I am impressed with myself lol.

In my rush to get dressed and leave the house in such a rush, I did not think to take my Omni Charge or my Omni 4 liquid vitamins. This is why I think today will be the longest day of the week. The Charge is supposed to help with fatigue and hunger/cravings. So far this week, I have not experienced any of that and my fellow droppers (that's what we Omni peeps call ourselves while we are on the drops) who do not take Charge have been struggling with cravings. This brings me to the assumption that Charge really helps. I'm just nervous about how I will feel without it. I'm not worried about cheating. That's not an option for me and I hope it never is. I hope and pray that I continue to make the right choices for me and my body. 

So far, I see nothing but great things for my health in my future thanks to Omni. I take the drops, I eat better, and I lose weight. I will admit that one HUGE motivation for the is the OMNI Rocks The World facebook page. Once you purchase omni, your distributor will request for you to be added to the page. Everything from advice, struggles, testimonials, and encouragement is on that page. It is a great tool in knowing that I am not alone in the Omni journey!!!!

In regards to food, it's not bad so far. The Omni Drop Program comes with a booklet that has recipes friendly for the program that you can use to get started. On Sunday night (my last loading day before Phase 2 of the VLCD), I made the chili recipe. Basically, it gives you 10 meals by combining 2.5 lbs of lean ground beef, 36 oz of any Phase 2 approved veggie (this is where you get your tomatoes or any other veggie that is approved in), some water, and various spices. I used more chili powder than the recipe called for and I LOVED MY CHILI!!!! My co-worker/best friend who is also on the same Omni journey loved the chili as well!!! We liked it so much that we are thinking about making beef chili and chicken chili to eat for most of our meals at work for the rest of our journey. I don't think I will get tired of it. I can just change up the veggies I put in it each batch to change things up!!!

I also made some homemade salsa to use as a salad dressing and it turned out pretty good. I've just never been a huge fan of salad!!!! For my salad, I had mixed greens, spinach, and romain... I think next time I will skip out on the mixed greens due to the fact that Arugula is NASTY. In the words of Michelle, my fabulous co-worker/best friend... it has too much of an earthy flavor- you might as well cut grass and eat it. 


Anyway, below are my stats for the day. The number on the scale continues to decrease!!!! WHOOP!!!

I hope everyone has a great day!!!! God Bless!!!

-B

Positivity Promoting Progress

Howdy All!!!

Well, OMNI began on Saturday, April 19 for me. Saturday and Sunday consisted of Phase 1 of my first Round... LOADING. I was supposed to essentially stuff my face all day with anything I could get my hands on.... breads, sugars, fatty foods, etc... I was told I should feel full ALL DAY. Originally, I was excited. I mean, who gets to say they are on a diet and pigging out at the same time? Oh, did I learn a lesson. Food is evil... especially in large and/or crappy quantities!!! By noon on day one, I was miserable!!! I told myself that this diet sounded strange and out there, but I decided to stick to it since the people I have spoken with have had great results. By the end of day 2 of loading (EASTER), I was intensely looking forward to the VLCD (Very Low Calorie Diet) that was to come! I know the program says that the loading is to store things that your body will use over the VLCD, but I also think it is partly psychological. I am now turned off from junk foods for quite a while. Things could change, but I am not looking forward to my next loading day. 

Now... onto Phase 2. Yesterday was my first day on Phase 2: VLCD. I woke up, took my OMNI drops, got ready for work, took my Omni CHARGE (said to give you a bit of energy and help with suppressing appetite), and headed to work. On the VLCD, I am allowed 2 servings of fruit, 2 4oz servings of lean protein, 2 4oz servings of veggies, and an optional 2 crackers (of specific brands)... It doesn't sound like much, but I was very satisfied yesterday!!!! I wasn't hungry and I didn't have any cravings!!!!

When I woke up this morning, I faced the scale...288.1!!!!!!! I had gained 1.8 during loading. I was going to be happy just to lose that in the first 2 days of phase 2. I lost double that in the first day!!! My progress is illustrated below:

This has given me not only a jump start, but a great attitude for this process!! I am not alone. I have the friends doing the same program with me, other friends with their encouragement and prayers, and the support of my family :)

The scale may not change every single day and that's okay. I will be changing on the inside and that matters most. I will be taking care of ME!!! I will better myself along the way while shrinking ;)

I hope everyone has a blessed week!!!! I'll check in soon :)

-B

EXCITEMENT... I just can't stand it!!!

So... The excitement I have for this new program I will be starting on Saturday is KILLING me!!! I am continuously checking the tracking of my shipment and I want to fast forward to Friday afternoon when I can open my box and read all about Omnitrition Protocol!!!!!

This is all I can talk about with both my co-worker and my dear friend that will be joining me on this journey. My dear friend began her Omni Journey on April 2 and has already lost a little over 12 pounds!!!!! She is doing great!!! I can already see a difference in her face!!!!

I have NEVER been this excited about a diet. EVER. I think what helps the most is the support that I know I will have. My co-worker/best friend will be on the same journey along with our dear friend so we can all lean on each other and hold one another accountable!!!! We will be able to call on each other if we are tempted and they will understand!!!! What helps the most is knowing that I'm not alone. I can't thank my friends and family enough for their support. I will be going shopping to get my food for Phase 2 while I'm LOADING (not sure how that will go) so I can prepare my meals for the week.

The basic layout of the Omni Program is as follows:

Round
-Phase 1 (on drops) - 2 days of loading (aka- eat as much crap as you can fit into your body)
--Phase 2 (on drops) - 21-45 days on VLCD (very low calorie diet) - on this diet, I will eat 2 servings of fruit, 2 servings of veggies, and 2 servings of protein per day along with 1 gallon of water
---Phase 3 (off drops)  - 21 days (or more) of maintenance. After 21 days, I have the option of doing another round or I can just maintain. 

One thing that I found really got me to thinking of how and why I have failed every time before...

The above picture says it all... In the past, I would say that I could treat myself to a treat when I reached a certain weight loss goal... Well, I'm not a dog and I don't need a treat!!!!! If I want to reward myself, I should give myself a day of relaxation or do something for myself or with someone that I would enjoy instead of stuffing my face with CRAP!!!!

With the support of my fellow Omni friends, my family, and the Omni FB page that I practically stalk on a daily basis (even though I haven't even started my program yet), I think this is something I could really stick to. But, if I stumble, I WILL NOT stay down!!!! I will get back up and stay on the wagon!!!!!

Ok. Enough Said. Happy Hump Day!!!!

God Bless :)

I'M BACK... WITH OMNITRITION!!!!

WOW... Has it really been a year?? I can't believe I have let myself go this long!!!! I really let myself go while I've been gone. I would lose and gain and then repeat the endless cycle. I have gained back a little over 20 pounds of what I had originally lost. I am ashamed but it is true.

But there is light at the end of the dark tunnel I have put myself in!!!!! It's called OMNITRITION!!! A few friends and myself will be starting this journey together!! One of them is a co-worker so I will have an accountability buddy!!!! We will get together on Sunday evenings to prepare our food for the week to take to work!!! It will be great!!!

If you are interested in finding out more information about OMNITRITION, you can go to www.omnitrition.com/philiphowe . Philip is a very helpful guide and loves to help people!!! He has lost 50 lbs on the program along with his mother who has lost 100lbs!!!!!! OMNITRITION provides an incredible support system through a FaceBook page that links all of us Omnis together for questions, supports, sharing tips, and success!!!!!

For myself, Phase 1 of Round 1 of omni will start this Saturday on April 19. Prayers would be appreciated!!

God Bless