weekends...

Well, once again, I wake up to good news on Monday morning:  I lost another 3.2 pounds! I'm feeling really good and hope I can keep losing at least 3 pounds a week, possibly up to 5 pounds a week.  However, weekends are definitely turmoil!


Saturday morning wasn't so bad.  Had my strawberry/banana/blueberry/spinach smoothie after going for my walk.  However, lunch/dinner ("dunch"?  "linner"? lol) was another thing.  We went to Golden Corral which usually isn't a problem for me as I tend to stay at the salad bar and get a good, healthy salad and a little fruit (depending on the fruit they have), and I tend to get a small piece of baked fish.  This time, instead of going straight for the salad bar, I decided since I've been doing so well, that I was going to get a little steak since I haven't had anything but chicken and fish in a few weeks.  BIG mistake.  About 4 bites and my stomach kinda let me know that I'd be paying for it in the next 24 hours (I also wound up eating lima beans and a roll).  I did go get a salad AFTER I tried to eat that, but I accidentally got too much Caesar dressing (and I've been using Italian or Greek Vinaigrette) so I couldn't eat but a couple of bites (Caesar has cheese in it I found out recently).  To top it off, Kenny got a slice of Boston Cream Pie for himself and a slice of chocolate cake for me.  I was only able to eat 4 small bites, but because it's been close to a month since I've had sugar, I felt the sugar "high" almost immediately.


Sunday, I paid for that!  Sitting near a bathroom for half my day is NOT exactly the way I like to spend a relaxing Sunday!  But, today, I've tried a new smoothie and this time, it is DELICIOUS!  This Parsley Green Smoothie is SO good and refreshing!  The combination of the pineapple, grapes, and parsley is amazingly delicious.  You should try it!  


Off to finish my smoothie and get dressed to go to Gulf Franklin's GCSC campus to get the last of my stuff done for my LPN course.  Tomorrow, the last of it all:  tetanus shot and TB skin test.  Yuck!  But, then I'll be ready for school!  Well, other than getting shoes, hose, and a stethoscope!

happy days are here again!

Sunday, Monday, happy days....Tuesday, Wednesday, happy days...and it is definitely a happy day!  Gotten in the groove with Jamie of going walking at the mall 5 days a week now, and for the rest of this week and next, 2 2/5 miles is what we've been doing (4 laps).  One problem:  my schedule is going to have to change, like it or not.  Why?  :D  I got a call from my advisor (after playing a little phone tag) asking me if I still wanted in the nursing program.  YEAH!  She said there was a spot open and asked me if I wanted it...HECK YEAH!!!  So, instead of CNA program for 9 weeks this summer, I will be going to school Monday - Friday 7-4 my time (as I am on CST and the campus is on EST) till about this time next year.  She asked if that would be a problem.  NO WAY!


I'm feeling good.  I'm eating different...eating better.  I've started losing weight and I would like to keep that ball rolling so I'm not going back to a SAD diet!  Green smoothie for breakfast,  an apple for mid-morning snack, a nice big delicious salad for lunch, nuts or seeds with vanilla almond milk for afternoon snack, and a low-fat yummy Mediterranean dinner along with drinking lots of water!  I've got this groove going...


Now to decide whether or not I want to get up at 4 a.m. to go walking or wait till I get home in the evening...I have a feeling a good 4 a.m. walk would be the way to start the day, and maybe a short walk after dinner to unwind and release the school stress.....

back on the bandwagon

Okay, so I fell slightly off the bandwagon over the weekend!  I don't think a shot of vodka with orange juice Friday night, and graham crackers with peanut butter are standard for eating healthy!  However, if I'm gonna splurge one day a week, I would rather it be something like graham crackers (chocolate, preferably) and peanut butter!


So today, I'm back on track.  Have read in a number of places that because of the alkaloids in greens and how eating just one can build up in your system and become toxic (arsenic and opium!), I am now rotating them.  Finished off my baby spinach this morning with my favorite:  bananas/strawberries/blueberries...YUM!  That was after mine and Jamie's 2  2/5 miles of walking at the mall (yes, it's official:  with this scorching hot weather, we have become mall walkers).  Thought I'd try something different for lunch and instead of using just a little kale with fresh pressed apple juice (yes, I made it!) and cinnamon, I used a good handful and YUCK.  I used to much kale and I can't drink it.  I mean, I can't even SIP it!  Ugh, it's so nasty :(  I think I'll stick with strawberry/banana/blueberry for now.  For now, I'm munching on raw almonds which are delish! 


For dinner:  Greek Chicken Pasta minus the cheese with this absolutely yummy looking Good For You Greek Salad!  I guess I've never tasted kale before, but I don't care for it.  Next time, romaine or green leaf lettuce is what I'll be getting!

kinda strange...

Okay, so I'm on day 7 of my diet.  Started my morning with the fresh lemon juice (half a lemon)/olive oil in warm water chased by about 2 ounces of orange juice (for the liver/gallbladder cleanse I am doing next week)...yuck LOL.  


Jamie got here by 7:15 and we went walking, I guess close to 3 miles cause it took about an hour or close to it.  By the time we were done, my right foot (the one I broke in 2002) was throbbing.  Not good.  But, I'm glad we even made it cause even an hour later, I checked the temperature:  at 9:30 it was already 87 degrees with a heat index of 94!  Right now, it is 11:30 and the temperature is 94 degrees and feels like (heat index) 102!  UGH!!!  Kenny and I both want to move so badly!  


Finally think we found the perfect place to move:  Sonoma County, CA.  Perfectly fine with me!  But, I digress...


I have discovered since I changed my eating habits, that the first 6 days of it, I was absolutely STARVING within an hour of drinking my green smoothie.  Not today.  I drank my strawberry/banana green smoothie around 9:30'ish.  It is now just after 11:30 and I still don't feel very hungry.  I wonder if my body is adjusting?  Anyways, I'm sipping on my big ol' mug of ice water and not even hungry for my apple, a salad, or anything for that matter.  If it stays like this, I don't think I'll have anymore problems with eating healthy! 


Those first 3-4 days were absolute hell trying to get past the cravings and addictions!  Didn't think I'd get enough to eat I was so hungry, I had been used to having a glass of sweet tea for lunch AND dinner, not to mention coffee (with sugar and creamer) or red bull in the morning, maybe a bagel, a sandwich at lunch...now I'm drinking a large green smoothie for breakfast (about a cup and a half of spinach in it with 2 bananas and about 5 or 6 large strawberries), a salad for lunch, apple for snack in the morning (well, not today), about 1-2 tablespoons of seeds or a handful of almonds for afternoon snack, and a regular cooked dinner (yesterday was baked chicken with red potatoes marinated and cooked in Greek vinaigrette).  I'm feeling great!


Tonight, yes, it is a regular dinner for us:  whip up the boneless skinless chicken breast (diced into bite sized pieces) in olive oil, a clove or 2 of garlic, and Italian seasoning, then tossed in with angel hair pasta and a little spaghetti sauce (unless I can find a different recipe), and frozen whole green beans lightly steamed.  Would love to find something else besides spaghetti sauce.  I'm finding I can do this and am starting to feel REALLY good!