I love to cook, so I do and I do often. I love to peruse Pinterest, Cooking Magazines, books and blogs for inspiration. When I find a recipe that I love and want to share, I am going to bring it straight to ya here! In addition to that, if I find a cooking tool or specific product I will link you to where you can find it for purchase if you are interested. You'll find that I love me some bargains. ;) Bon Apetit!
Safe to say, my birthday weekend sabatoged my Results Day.
I did not even weigh myself because I was scared to look... But After I did, I saw that I did not lose or gain anything! So that's ok. I lost a LOT that first week so I still feel good about my progress.
BREAKFAST - 340 Calories
I had the McStar again. Why change a good thing that works?
LUNCH - 374 Calories
I CAREFULLY checked the Arugula and Goat Cheese salad this time. I literally took leaf by leaf and checked for 'extra protein'. There was none to be found this time. PHEW... So I added avocado and gave my coworker the other salad. She knew about the protein incident so she also carefully checked her salad before eating it. I'm glad that incident didn't scar me cause I like this salad.
DINNER - 449 Calories
I couldn't help it. I was craving pho and I gave in. It was way over my sodium budget but come on... what is life without a small bowl of pho every once in a while??
Should I come up with some kind of nickname for this meal? Maybe... the McStar? That's hot.
LUNCH - 374 Calories (or less...)
I went to Von's to pick up veggies and fruit for my fridge and decided to pick up the Arugula and Goat Cheese salad that I loved so much earlier this month. I love it so much I picked up all 3 that were there. I went home and quickly put everything away, cut up half an avocado and put everything together in a bowl. When I was on the last few bites, I saw something...staring back at me...
Blegh!! I spit out the mouthful I had just bitten and kept repeating to myself.. 'It's just protein Caresse...just some extra protein. Lots of people eat it around the world..you would eat it for survival..do NOT throw up..NO..do NOT do it. CALM DOWN." Annnnnd that was the end of my lunch...It saved me a few calories, so... that is the bright side.
DINNER - 332 Calories
Thanks to my dear friend, Brenda, I received a Spiral Slicer from Amazon that helps you shave zucchini into noodles! So for dinner I decided to try making Thai Ka Prao on a bed of Zucchini Noodles and it came out REALLY tasty! I just followed the recipe from TasteNirvana.com (with Turkey instead of chicken) and then put in the sauteed zucchini noodles in the end. If you want a step by step recipe, let me know in the comments.
I had a few calories left in my budget and I had a sweet tooth so I went to Starbucks and ordered a Mini Smore's Frappuccino. It is 230 calories so I didn't feel badly about it. Until I remembered the Harry & David Truffles that I ate at work earlier in the day because the bug in my salad left me a little hungry... fail. So I went over 117 calories today but.. I will be better tomorrow...maybe.
For my birthday, I gave myself 3 free days of fun.
Meaning I ate whatever I wanted.
Of course this came with tummy aches and feeling like I used to...but it was well worth it. I also gained back a few pounds which honestly is just impressive. So I will share more progress at the end of day 14.
Today went by so fast! I was woken up at 1:03 am because the earth decided to boogie...or quake or whatever. I fell asleep pretty fast though, so fast that I only had 30 minutes to get ready so I went for my every day breakfast.
BREAKFAST - 340 Calories
You know what this is.
LUNCH - 534 Calories
I didn't bring lunch today so my coworker and I decided to order from Tender Greens. I was surprised to see how many calories their dishes have. I thought this would be THE place to go for a low calorie meal. I thought wrong. Most everything was above 600 calories. But I was able to settle on the Herb Brushed Albacore Hot Plate with seasonal veggies instead of potatoes, a small butter lettuce side salad and half an avocado. I drank my Jasmine Blueberry tea with this. I took a picture but I forgot to send it to myself! Doi! So I will update this on Tuesday when I have access to it.
DINNER - 600 Calories
This evening I went to the mall to look for a few tops and a dress for some stuff coming up. I tried to get in as much walking as possible! When done we wanted to see the Cavaliers game so we went to Ruby's and sat at the 'bar'. They have a 'lite' section on their menu but they are all still very close to 600 calories so, that was the best thing I could find. I got the De'lite'ful Turkey Burger, protein style with a side salad (I took out the croutons). I asked for the pomegranate viniargrette thinking it would be lighter on calories but DAYUM it had like 325 calories!!! So I politely asked for the ginger sesame instead which was only 90 calories. This burger was SO GOOD. I don't believe them when they say it is only 600 calories, that is BS. There is way too much cheese to be that low in calories... but whatever, it was DELICIOUS! I will drool over the thought of eating another one.
I'm excited for tomorrow. We are going to LIPS!!! It is this really well known spot for only the most fabulous in San Diego. FAB-U-LOUS. JUST LOOK AT THIS AD:
YAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
See you tomorrow! <3
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Day 9 - Love is bad for your diet.
When I am alone at home, I find it is easier to be very strict with myself. But when there is someone else here, I really struggle with the whole diet thing. When you're happy with someone you want to enjoy things with them. Good things. Like burgers...and pizza and beer. So yea...love is bad for my diet. But I am going to try my best to keep it going. And lucky for me this guy wants me to succeed.
BREAKFAST - 340 Calories
I did my usual McDonald's Egg white and Turkey Sausage breakfast bowl this morning along with my tall iced coffee sweetened and with extra soy. If it works why question it, am I right?
LUNCH - 246 Calories
For lunch I did another sandwich protein style, nothing new here today.
DINNER - 298 Calories
For dinner I made Pad Ka Pao Gai (although I use ground turkey not chicken...but I don't know the word for turkey...lol) This meal is my absolute favorite so far. I want to lick the bowl clean every time I eat this. YUM
SNACKS - 150 Calories
I had cantaloupe today and a smoothie for dessert that just had strawberries and a few blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.
I don't have much to share today, but I wanted to make sure that I entered in what I had! I need to keep the momentum going. With this weekend coming up and it being my bday and all, I am hoping I will find the willpower to stay strong and to not sabotage all the progress I have made! Or else I will end up like this:
Since this journey started on June 1st which happened to be a Wednesday, I will be sharing a weekly progress report and at the end of the month a total progress report for the month!
So this week I lost....drumroll please:
7 POUNDS!
Woohoo!!
This is probably going to be the most I lose in a week since I just started and you know, weight loss slows down and ultimately you hit a 'set point' that's REALLY tough to pass and stay past, but I'm going to enjoy this because I ate so many darn plants for it!! My goal is to lose 2 pounds a week not 7 anyways so that's still the goal. Thank you to those of you that are reading this little blog of mine. It really encourages me to keep this going. I love you so very much for your support, you know who you are!!!
BREAKFAST - 315 Calories
Today I awoke with the WORST cramps I have ever had in my life. I don't know if the diet had any kind of affect on the intensity of my cramps but almighty spaghetti monster were they bad. I woke up way late for work and had to call them to let them know that I was currently curled up into a ball and wouldn't make it in til the afternoon. So since I was hungry AND in pain, I decided to eat some Raisin Bran Crunch with Vanilla Almond Milk (Unsweetened). Then around noon I was nice and drugged up so I made a quick lunch to take with me.
LUNCH - 201 Calories
For lunch I made another protein style sandwich exactly like the one I made a few days ago. It was perfect for today, though I did eat the rest of the pretzels in order to get rid of them & cure my hunger.
DINNER - 274 Calories
For dinner I made Pan Seared Tilapia with Steamed Baby Bella Mushrooms, Asparagus, Brocollette and Avocado. It was really tasty. I seasoned it with Fresh Cracked Black Pepper and the Onions & Chive flavored Salt that I picked up from the Farmer's Market.
When you are done eating this meal, it takes about 15 minutes to feel full. However, during this 'time' I am hungrier than normal so I moved on to dessert...
YEP. I DID THAT. But in my defense, I had enough calories left over in my budget for it (although I DID go over my sugar goal for the day). I think my body is burning calories much faster right now anyways. One of the worst tortures ever right now are all the birthday club freebie emails I am getting!! Free offers for things like Ice Cream, Shakes, Appetizers, Entrees and so on. I WANT TO USE THEM ALL BUT I CAN'T!! I CAN'T!! *sobs*
Speaking of birthdays, today is my brother's birthday!!!!! So I will end this with wishing my brother David Vera a VERY happy birthday today. I am sure his lovely wife made it very special and I am looking forward to sharing my birthday on Sunday with him!! His awesome wife is throwing a Mario Kart themed shin dig and I know it is going to be so much fun!! I can't wait! :) Especially for the cheat meals I will inevitably have due to my lack of will power. Anyway, let's say one more Happy Birthday to my awesome little brother!
I just want to start todays entry by assuring you that all of these crazy shenanigans that I tell you happen to me are true and are not made up. I think it is important to know that.
So today I wanted to replace the staples in our Ricoh Copier/Printer/Fax. I opened where I thought the staples were...and saw that there was a bit of toner on the plastic piece so I blew a big gust of air at it to clean it and POOF! Magenta, Cyan and Yellow all over me. It looked like a unicorn farted on me. My poor coworker was on her way out for the day and had to stop and drop everything to literally vacuum me. Skirt. Blouse. Skin. Everything therein. See for yourself:
SIGH....
Also, I voted today!!!! And it was my first time!! I was so excited to finally have a say in where my money goes and who gets to take it! I was also happy to have a say in local candidates for judges and mayors... It was just awesome to have a voice. Even if it isn't heard. I tried. I did my part. :)
So let's get to it.
BREAKFAST - 340 Calories
You are probably tired of reading this. I had the same ol' same ol' McD's Egg White & Turkey Sausage Breakfast Bowl with a tall iced coffee sweetened and with extra soy. They got my order right today, and thank goodness because as my app warned me, PMS season is here and I want to eat everything. So I NEEDED some more calories up in this diet beyotch.
LUNCH - 374 Calories
Lunch could not have come soon enough. It even came early since my coworker left for the day at 1pm. I was able to go at 12pm. I went straight to Von's to pick up more veggies. I am afraid to run out and end up eating whatever is in my cupboards. Chances are, cupboard food is no good. So I picked up that salad I had last week, the Arugala one with Goat cheese. There was only one left! And I added avocado again because...it tastes good.
I was still hungry (surprise surprise) so I ate 14 pretzel thins. Then I realized I was not supposed to eat wheat... but I have been eating it this whole time with these darn pretzels!!?? See, this is part of the journey, getting out of the intentional carelessness when it comes to food. There is nothing wrong with eating these pretzels, but how did I forget that they were a bread?? lol... Sigh... So I moved on to dried apples instead. These snacks accounted for 155 calories of my 1,360 budget.
DINNER - 167 Calories
I know, I just saw this and also said, WHAT THE HELL? 167 Calories?? Was it lettuce??
NOPE. It was a ton of veggies:
I chopped the tips and about 3" of the stems from 12 asparagus, I chopped the top of about 8 broccolette and I diced 2 yellow squash, threw in some chive blossoms (which I read contain vitamin C, iron and sulfur, and have traditionally been used to help support healthy blood pressure levels...cool!) I used 1tbsp of Black Bean Sauce that I purchased from 99 Ranch. While it provided flavor, I honestly think my fancy salts and pepper would have been better. I tossed out the remainder of the sauce package. I did buy a huge package of ground turkey so I will be getting more creative with that for the next couple of days. And I definitely want to make Ka Prao again cause that was damn good.
Today I am having REALLY bad cravings for chocolate. I know people joke about women wanting chocolate around that time, but guys... you don't understand what I would do for a Hershey's bar right now. I would do jail time next week for ONE BAR if it had no calorie side effects. I've already committed this much time to this so I might as well suffer more. Right?...right?....Guys?
