Week 59 - or should I say Week 1?

It's been 59 weeks since we started our journey to better health and it's also week 1 since meeting my own goal.  I am happy to report that I have maintained my goal for a week now!  Woo Hoo!  Brent has also maintained where he is at as well.

My younger son took this picture yesterday - I actually like this it!  Imagine that!

BUT... yesterday I did go off plan quite a bit for the first time in over a year!  It was sort of planned.  It started out with having a taste of my daughters nacho's.  I had two round corn chips with melted cheese all over them.  Wow, taste explosion for me.... making me want more.  But I was in control.  Next it was the tasting tables at Costco...  I did NOT taste the chocolate cake as that is a huge weakness of mine.  But I did taste several other things that I'm sure racked up 200 or more calories.  But it was fun to be able to do that!

A few hours later, I was at a Young Women church broadcast with my daughters where a dinner was served.  I decided before hand that I would eat whatever was served as my "lean and green".  This is the FIRST time I didn't just prepare before hand.  They served a pasta chicken salad and white dinner rolls.  I haven't had pasta in a LOOOONG time.  There were bits of pineapple in it as well.  It all tasted so good... me not having carbs to that degree in a long time.  They had these little cups of cashew nuts and I was mesmerized by how yummy they were.... AND, they had little Hershey "treasures" chocolate and I had all 3 of mine.  I enjoyed every bit of everything while trying NOT to feel guilty.  It's really hard in some ways to not feel like I am sabotaging myself even though I was in complete control.  I did NOT have the cupcakes that were passed around as dessert, tho.  Yay for me on that.

When I came home, I nibbled on some beef jerky (another fav of mine) for a while until I asked my daughter to hide those Costco size beef jerky bags from me.  I ended my day with some knox blox.  I'm guessing I had somewhere between 1600 to 2000 calories yesterday... hopefully not more.  I wanted to go work out at the gym but didn't get my son to go with me and so I didn't go.  I consider this a little adventure and I'm going back on plan strictly on Monday.  Why Monday?  Because today I am fasting.  I haven't fasted since I started this journey and I really miss my monthly fasts... it's fast sunday and I want to fast with my children and it's a fast and prayer with a purpose.  I really have missed that... so that's another treat for me.

Brent and I are really missing each other... it is way hard to be apart.  I think we miss each others hugs the most!  When he hugs me... it just fills my buckets right up... feels so good when I'm in his arms and he can wrap them around me so easily now.  And I know he is struggling being away from us and from the back rubs I give him to help relieve his stress.  I wish I was there with him right now!  But the Lord is surely blessing us.

Thought I'd post these pics of me and Brent when he was here.  Sure miss my man!  Miss those hugs!

The other day, the tie rod of our suburban "Max" broke off and made Max undriveable.  That is my only means of transportation for me and the kids.  And money is more than tight.  Yet somehow I found an inexpensive tow and was able to get it fixed in just one day with a total cost less than $150 (including the tow).  I KNOW the Lord's hand was at work for us.  He has not abandoned us.  I feel so grateful for that.  So we try to focus on our tasks at hand and serving where we can.  Serving always helps when you feel down!

I haven't posted pics of my food lately so here is a catch up.

Applebee's steak w/ broccoli.   Garlic seasoned baked chicken with salad (I found some frozen pre-seasoned chicken breasts at Win-co - so it was easy to just bake and serve)

Our Cheesecake Factory lunches:

Chicken wraps you make yourself!  So good.  Chicken salad (chicken is underneath you can't see) with a light vinaigrette dressing... this was amazingly so tasty, I ate every last bite!

This is a baked flounder Recipe I got from here... and adjusted is for my lean and green.  I baked it atop of red peppers and mushrooms with light mexican blend cheese.  It was good.

On the left I had a Morningstar garden burger w/ sauteed veggies and 3/4 cup low fat cottage cheese.  On the right is a pre-marinated & seasoned salmon baked (from Costco) and salad.

Take care, my friends!  Life is good!!  XOXO ~Margene

Decemburrrrrrr....

I am always SO COLD (literally, not figuratively).  Yes, having more weight on me helped me not feel as cold, but it feels SO good to not hate my body and be disgusted with it like I used to.  I love the way I feel.  I LOVE being less of me.  I feel SO thankful that the Lord has showed us this program and lifestyle that is working for us and I pray to continue a healthy lifestyle throughout the rest of our lives.  I stepped on the scale this morning for a sneak peak before weigh-in on Saturday, and it's so close to the 150's.... I am hoping to reach the 150's by Saturday!.  I cannot even remember when I was there last.  I already weigh less than when I was married!  I remember my wedding dress was a size 20.

Speaking of marriage.  Our 22nd anniversary is coming up this month.  I am trying to find a fun, yet inexpensive way to celebrate.  I think it would be fabulous if it involved a hot tub since that is literally all I think about since I'm so cold!!!

Here are a couple of my lean and greens lately:

Roasted Veggies with Alaskan Mesquite Salmon (from Costco in the frozen section) ~ 2 Morningstar Pizza patties w/ tomatoes & sauteed mushrooms.

I've also been experimenting more with my Knox Blox (you can find the recipe at the top of my blog under "Recipes Medifast" tab).  I've added some Anise (black licorice) flavoring to the Black Cherry jello.  I love it.  It feels like I'm eating licorice but it's a firm jello.  (It may be an acquired taste).

I also tried some Pina Colada  (Capella flavor drops) to the Strawberry Banana Jello and I LOVE that combination.  And the classic coconut sf syrup added to the Orange jello makes for yummy knox blox too!  (All jello I use is sugar free, of course).  Knox blox is awesome because it's fun, yummy, and so flippin' low in calories.  It really helps satisfy my sweet tooth with absolutely NO GUILT.

My goal is to drink one of my 24 ounce water bottles per meal.  Since I'm having 6 meals a day (5 medifast & 1 Lean & Green) that is 144 ounces of water.  I've pretty much been doing that and I know it totally helps with the weight loss.  That is one thing that has changed a lot this last year... I can down water so easily than when I first started!  It's the potty breaks... that's a whole other story that I won't go into right now... but it IS worth it!

So we are shooting to stay ON PLAN this month which should be easy since we have no extended family get-togethers.  Just us.  Making our own healthy, fun traditions!  Life is GOOD.

Week 18 ~ Time for Some NEW...

Weigh In this morning revealed a 2 pound loss for EACH of us for last week. That brings my total loss in 18 weeks to 64 pounds, and my mans total loss in 18 weeks is 70 pounds!! Together we have lost 134 pounds - the equivalent of one of our teenagers (actually, more than one of our teens).

It is time for some NEW UNDIES. I’ve been pulling up my big underwear clear up to my bra line and it still slips down. Seriously... it’s been ridiculous! So today, I finally broke down and went and bought a few pairs just so I can be more comfortable. I wanted to wait until I lost more but ya know, when you need it - you need it. I found that I now fit into undies that are 4 sizes smaller! Cool. Wow, and how good it feels to wear underclothes that fit, I tell ya!

On my travels today, I thought I’d stop by a clothes store again, you know - for fun! I saw a cute dress first off and tried on size 22 = too loose; then size 18 = a tad too snug; so size 20 was just right. I remember the dress I wore on the way to my wedding was a size 20. Let’s see, that was 21 years ago. BOOYA!

I’ve been wearing my size 28 skirt to church and using safety pins to keep it from falling off me. I found a cute jean skit on the clearance rack and tried it on... it fit. What size was it? Size 18!! I haven’t worn a size 18 since BEFORE I had my kids. This is all so awesome. But why do I still FEEL like I’m so huge? Because, I still am huge, really... just not AS huge. Drat! I really want to be TINY Tiny tiny! All in time, I suppose...

Some L&G’s I made this week: Chicken Tender kabobs (so I didn’t have to cut them as small) that I just broiled in my oven. Yum (Rosemary Ranch)

Spaghetti Squash with teriyaki glazed chicken. This sounded better and faster than trying to fry up some ground turkey to imitate a spaghetti dish. Spaghetti squash reminds me of sweet potatoes! Yum.

Smokehouse Maple broiled salmon and sautéed mushrooms. Very delish! I am a big lover of salmon.

Last night, the mister and I went to the gym again. This time we did some weight lifting and worked on our arms and chest muscles. I have such huge lose fat upper arms... how do I get rid of those? Then we went on the elliptical. That machine nearly licked me and I had to push my way through just to get 10 minutes in. At least that is double my last time but it just kills my legs. I guess I really need to build up my strength and endurance. Then we walked on the treadmill for a mile or so. I walk on about 3.2 speed; then, towards the end, I pushed it to 4.5 and tried a little run/jog. I could only do it for seconds.... less than a minute. It wasted me! I see people weighing more than me who are running 1/2 marathons and I wonder why can’t I run? I feel impatient with myself and I’m thinking it’s going to be long and grueling to get myself in shape not to mention to become a runner. It would be a huge MIRACLE if I ever was able to run a 1/2 marathon. I’d also love to bike, and we even bought one for me at a yard sale. I need to be in better shape and lose way more weight. I tell ya, the mountain before me still seems undaunting!! But I am still determined!