So the other day I had a loaf of French bread that had gone untouched and turned into a giant crouton. I decided to make bread pudding for breakfast, so I found a recipe on Allrecipes. I figured plenty of eggs, milk (I use whole milk for my children), and I can throw in some wheat germ and reduce the sugar. I also added freshly grated nutmeg and coconut oil.
So anyway, I decided, what the heck, I'm going to have some. Wow - it was delicious! While I was eating this yummy morning treat, I figured out the calories per serving, which for us, for breakfast, was 1/12th of a recipe. It's 270 calories (this was with 6 servings of eggbeaters and 2 whole eggs - I was out of eggs!). I didn't count the raisins (my daughter was helping and she hardly put any in), or the wheat germ. It has 9 grams of protein, so it's only one protein serving for the cost of calories. No, I didn't figure the fat grams.
Well, I've been eating it for the past 3 days for breakfast with a dollup of light whipped cream (15 cals/free food) , all legal. Because of the extra calories, I skipped my carb serving at lunch the first day, but figured out the second day that I could still "afford" to have that carb if I choose a "lower calorie/higher protein" protein serving (like Jennie-O turkey breast).
Now I'm going to work on making it fit better into the definition of a Nutrisystem breakfast or dessert entree, but I've learned that I don't have to dump soy or whey protein into everything I make to make it legal - yuck.
Oh yeah, and after eating this for the past couple of days, I am down by a half pound. That's why I love this way of eating, it's just eating smart, watching what you do, eating in moderation, making higher protein choices instead of eating a bunch empty carbs, but still being able to eat those empty carbs every once in awhile.
And I still get dessert every day - that, I can live with.
...and as I lay on my bed gasping for air, I realized it wouldn't be too long before I might actually be able to stand up in them, and walk around, and maybe even wear them in public. Time to start looking for more size 10's. I couldn't imagine getting into a size 10 when I bought those, now, it's just around the corner!
I buy clothes all the time. That is, I buy them from thrift stores around here and yard sales to keep the cost to a minimum. I love clothes, wanted to be a fashion designer when I was a kid, I used to literally dream new designs in my sleep and was drawing fashion ever since I began to draw. I have wanted to lose this weight for health reasons, but let's face it, that hasn't been strong enough for me. I have to admit I made a decision to lose this weight so I can wear some cool clothes before I get too old! I am 36 now and have spent too many years wearing shapeless, oversized junk. My decision to lose weight for good came when I decided I could look great no matter my size.
I have been jealous of the junior department for a long time. I love the little details and have complained often that there aren't any cool details on clothes meant for me. I've even made some of my own clothes so I could have those unique details.
If you know anything about Anthropologie, you can probably guess that it's my favorite store. Details galore! I can't go there often because it's an hour away and we just can't get away that often. I was able to go a few months ago and I bought some sleep shorts and a top. The sleep shorts were too tight and the top didn't fit properly because of my big belly. I think I was just so excited that I could actually get something on from there. I took them home and really never wore either, though I did take the tags off the shorts and tried them on often. I realized that the top was not really my style and never took the tag off.
Well, the shorts fit now and in fact are slightly loose, and my DH and I are going to a doctor's visit next Wednesday in the city where the Anthropologie store is. I am going to take back my top and see if I can find anything else. I want to be careful spending money on clothes until I know what size I'm going to get to, but I am fairly confident I won't go down too much on top.
I'm so excited! We're also going out to dinner at a nice place (where we'll have reservations, oooh) to celebrate our 17th anniversary, and will try to hit up some thrift stores also. I never looked forward to a doc's visit so much - not to mention how he's got to notice my weight loss, nearly 40 lbs. since I saw him last!
143.5 again today! I was afraid it would go up but it didn't - yay!
On another note, my daughters are in ballet, and the ballet academy is doing the Nutcracker again this year. The teacher may need party parents, for the scene in which the magician uncle gives Clara the Nutcracker. Last year, weighing in at 180-something, I wouldn't dream of being in it, even though she begged me and ended up having some teenage students be party parents.
But this year? I should be at goal by December if all goes well, and I tell you, the thought of dancing around on a stage, in a decadent Victorian gown, after having lost 45-50 lbs, and in front of all my friends is sort of appealing.
So my friend and my girls are back from camping last week, and I told my friend that I wanted to help her with the garden on a regular basis. She can pay me in veggies. She was reluctant because of my rheumatoid arthritis, but I said at least I know I can harvest because I did it the whole time she was gone.
I went this morning. I do have a selfish reason though, aside from the veggies (which I love). Gardening is more of a workout than my walks, and I do it for longer. I love my morning walks and will try to do them on the off days, but my friend needs help with that place.
You should see it! She's got 2.5 acres, weeds everywhere! No one in her family helps her much. There's probably a half acre devoted to their house, an acre that's planted with the veggies and fruit trees, and the rest they are not doing anything with right now. I cannot believe what she's taken on! She's just learning how to farm, let alone farm organically.
So pray for me that I will be able to physically handle this on a regular basis, and for her, that not only will she be able to handle it, but that she will be rewarded by it as well.
And I was right about that scale - 143.5 today. Woohoo!
That was a waste of time. I told you in my last post (I think) that I was going to try to make ketchup with some of the oodles of tomatoes I acquired from my friend's little organic farm that I inherited while she was on vacation. It's all vinegar-y and I tried adding sugar and molasses, and it's still very vinegar-y. Bleh. I think it's been cooking in the crock pot for the past 24 hours. It's almost as thick as it should be and the taste isn't going anywhere. I'm too tired to try to make it better now, but of course I'll try because I can't stand throwing it all away. I was thinking maybe I'll add some tomato paste. I don't know. At this point it tastes more like BBQ sauce, but, and I may have mentioned this before, way too vinegar-y.
But, I am thrilled to have gotten up this morning and weighed 144 for the second day in a row! Last time I hit 144 (144.5 actually), it only lasted a day. And, I saw 143.5 for just a blip before my scale decided on 144, so I know I'm on my way down, unless I blow it again that is.
Plus, two of my daughters went on the above mentioned vacation with my friend and got back yesterday, and my younger one told me I looked alot skinnier after not seeing me for a week. She said she didn't mean to be rude.
I'm like, "hello, bring on the"man you're skinny, Mom"comments all day long girl!"
That was work! I'm sure I burned more calories harvesting than anything else I've done for exercise. We have tomatoes coming out of our ears, and those string beans! It did push me into canning, and thanks to this helpful site, I was able to make some spaghetti sauce and can some tomatoes. I'd like to make some ketchup now, sweetened with stevia and applesauce. I also made salsa, which was wonderful! I wanted to roast some tomatoes but can't get myself to turn on the oven, even at night. Not like standing over a huge pot of boiling water is any cooler!
The week was very hectic and even emotional, and I did slip up on my diet. Once I decided I just had to have a steak sandwich and fries from the local "dive". It wasn't horrible though - my husband and I split both and so the portions were the right size. I skipped a carb that night at dinner, but then went on to eat some chips when I made the salsa. We like getting those premade tostadas for salsa dipping because they're thicker than chips, and I found out one tostada only has 80 calories, perfect for a carb serving. So guess what I had for my carb serving the next morning. Yeah. I also put salsa on my eggs - yum!
So not perfect, but not too bad. If I overate anything, it was tomatoes and tomato juice. I did have water retention from the fries and chips, and I'm just now coming off of that. 144 today! I am officially 10 lbs. away from being within my "normal" weight range! I cannot believe that - I never, ever thought I could do this!
Oh, I almost forgot! Yesterday I bought some sugar-free mousse mix at the grocery store, called Sans Sucre. I got the cappucino mix. Well, I made it right after dinner and got to lick the whole bowl by myself. Oh. My. Gosh. That stuff is divine. Something like 50 calories a serving, perfect to go with a protein serving to make a complete Nutrisystem dessert. I was in heaven later in the evening when I had my dessert. And I can't wait for dessert tonight. Ahh...
As I was typing about the garden, my MIL and I decided to go out there. She had never seen the place. I figured no problem, I was just out yesterday and spent 2 hours picking, shouldn't be too bad and I wanted to get that basil I forgot. Yesterday I had gotten two grocery bags filled to the top with Chinese string beans (they look like giant purple worms) and a ton of tomatoes.
Well that was dumb. We came back loaded with tomatoes - again. I had spent so much time picking the beans that I didn't spend a enough time on the tomatoes. And there were a bunch of tomatoes. Aside from giving them away to everyone I can think of, I'm going to make some fresh salsa, some spaghetti sauce, and maybe some tomato soup. When I recover.
If you ever find yourself with a bunch of string beans, you can freeze them. Just rinse them and cut however you like. Layer on a cookie sheet and freeze, about 30 minutes should do it. Then transfer the beans to a ziploc bag and store. I'm sure this would work with regular green beans, too, and might be cheaper than buying frozen food.
And oh my, they are wonderful roasted! This morning I tried to roast them like asparagus, on 450 with a little olive oil and kosher salt. Stupid me, I didn't time them, but I will definitely do that again. Delish!
All that on top of a walk that was even longer and farther than usual! I feel worn, but great, but I hope my rheumatoid arthritis doesn't bite me in the butt for all this exertion.
and didn't eat any ice cream. Well, it doesn't hurt that ice cream is not a big weakness for me. I would probably have been different if I had gone into a bakery or something.
It's been a somewhat busy few days. Our van died, oh joy. DH can't decide if he wants to get it fixed, try to fix it himself, or get something new and get ourselves into payments. We'd like to avoid the first and last options (though I did have a few happy moments when I thought I was going to have something with air conditioning, lol). If we have it fixed, it will be too much, and then too much all together that we've poured into the car, and that feels like a waste. The problem with making payments right now is that DH is getting his business going and has a bit of money to use for that purpose. If we get ourselves into a car with a down payment and monthly payment, his busness will stall. Even my 10 year old daughter said she would rather not spend money on a car and be able to get ourselves into a better situation.
And then two of my daughters are camping with friends of our family, who happen to have a little organic farm. Sooo, it would seem I inherited a huge garden for a week. Actually, I'm headed out there now and will give details when I return.
After a weekend of splurging on Chinese food, water retention from that, and then writing and losing my last blog post, I'm back to 146, my lowest weight since babies. Yeah!! I had climbed up to 149, but fortunately knew it was just water. Some of my 12's are already feeling loose. I'll be floored when I fit into a 10!
It was fresh salsa anyway! We hadn't made it in ages, and my son asked for homemade nachos with fresh salsa and grilled fajita meat for his birthday. I don't know, something happens when the salsa gets finished. We open up some chips to test it and then it's like everyone is suddenly obsessed with the salsa!
So around 4 pm I sort of threw my eating plan out the window. I ate more than I should have. I had a "few" chips with salsa ( maybe 5 or 6), and then nachos with chips (too many there), refried beans (why didn't I just leave these out?), fajita meat, cheese (and hello, why didn't I use my fat free??), ff sour cream, and of course, salsa! I don't know what got into me here, I could have made a plate that was right on plan, but for some reason I just blew it.
And that doesn't include the homemade ice cream and strawberry pie. Yeah, hello. Well, the ice cream was incredible. The pie was great, too. I would have preferred to eat a correct portion for dinner and then have the dessert, as I had planned to do!
