12-week transformation...day eighteen

I am simply meditating on this today. No specific reason...it's just a good reminder and one to remember.

Breakfast
For breakfast I made a mocha shake and added some instant coffee to up the flavor a bit.

Morning Snack
I was feeling a tad stomach sick around my snack time, so I slowly sipped on a chai latte...I think the warmth of it made my stomach feel better, but not 100% better. :(

Workout
Due to a busy evening, I did my run at lunch! It was okay...I prefer doing it at night, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Lunch
After I got back home and showered, I made a quick mocha cookie crunch shake. I used a chocolate chip soft bake packet and blended it with instant coffee, water, and ice.

Afternoon Snack
I was pretty hungry by the time my next meal time came around. So I had some honey mustard pretzel bites with a ton of water.

Dinner
When I got home, I got ready to go to a Bible study and a lean and green meal while doing so. I was in such a rush, I didn't take a picture...but I had a some chicken and lettuce.

Dessert
After I got home, I ate a strawberry crunch bar while writing this post. Sorry...no picture of this either.

And now I am off to bed! I am tiiiiired!

xoxo,
Toni

12-week transformation...day nine

I highly encourage you to attend Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa any night for the rest of the week and join together with the church in a time of prayer. I have gone the past two nights and it has been such a sweet time of prayer and fellowship.

As a random side note...I am creating a wedding website for my sister and her soon-to-be-husband and I think I may be switching over my blog to a new site. The website I am creating is pretty easy and it looks great and clean. I don't know yet...we will see. As for now, I are still here.

Breakfast
Nothing too special about breakfast this morning. Made my last french vanilla shake and headed off to work. I drank it pretty quickly though! Must have been hungry...or thirsty...or both.

Morning Snack
I will be honest...these hot drinks from medifast (chai latte and the calorie burn cappuccino) have really helped me to stay on the Take Shape for Life program. I feel like I am treating myself to a delicious coffee shop coffee drink everyday! Today I had the calorie burn cappuccino and loved every sip of it!

Lunch
I have a new burger from Trader Joe's! Last night I bought some turkey burgers and boy-oh-boy are they good! I think I have found a new favorite! I topped my romaine salad with a turkey burger, some shredded parmesan cheese, and light chipotle dressing. Delish!

Afternoon Snack
It is hot outside today, but that didn't stop me from having a coffee with a cookie dough chewy bar. These bars taste so good when dipped in the coffee. Not a fan of them by themselves, but dipped in coffee...amazing.

Dinner
Once again, I went to church tonight for the week of prayer. But before I left I had some honey mustard pretzel bites.

Dessert
By the time I got home, I was really hungry! So I made a brownie soft bake and drank it along with a ton of water and called it a night.

Don't forget! If you are in the area and are free any night this week, stop by Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and pray it up with fellow believers in Christ!

Lastly...check out this full moon! I love it when the sun is setting and you can see the moon!

xoxo,
Toni

12-week transformation...day four

Today's transformation email was great! All about breaking habits and how to break them...here is what Dr. A says:
  
Changing your habits is a four-step process:

1. Identify the foundational choices that support optimal health, and implement a plan to incorporate them into your daily choices.
2. Become aware of the daily choices you make that don’t support health.
3. Think long term.
4. Create a microenvironment of health by removing as many negative stimuli as possible. If you have a Health Coach, you have already begun to build a powerful microenvironment of health and support!

Good advice, right? Seems pretty reasonable to me!

Now, I won't lie...this week has been tough. As I mentioned before, I usually eat all sorts of junk when I am working a conference, but this time, I am sticking to my plan and I feel better than ever. I love this feeling, but it's hard...especially when everyone else around you is not on a diet and eating all sorts of goodies.

But...I have made it this far...I can finish out the week. Can you believe it's Thursday already? Time is just flying by this week! I am pretty happy about it because I cannot wait to get back into my own bed and be able to work in my own kitchen without a cooler or walking everywhere to get ice...it's the little things in life.

Breakfast
So I don't know if I was really hungry or something, but for some reason my mocha shake this morning tasted like heaven. It was delicious! Nice and smooth and creamy...with a bit of thickness to it. Just divine I tell you.

Morning Snack
The morning was pretty busy, so time flew by. By the time I looked at my watch I realized it was time to eat! Praise the Lord because it has been quite difficult craving wise...so I am hanging in there.

Lunch
Well my lettuce is all gross now, so my salad wasn't all that great...so sad. :( I will just have to treat myself to a yummy lean and green meal tomorrow. The salad was the same as all the rest and included romaine lettuce, chicken, parmesan cheese, and light chipotle dressing. I will be honest and admit that I added some more cheese to cover the not-so-great taste of the lettuce.

Afternoon Snack
I don't think I was really hungry, but I definitely had the munchies. I think it was more me wanting to taste something yummy...because of the whole lunch debacle. So I did end up eating some honey mustard pretzel bites along with a sugar-free zero monster. I don't drink these often, but today was just one of those days, you know?

Dinner
It was semi-busy this afternoon, so time semi-flew by. I kept looking at the clock for some reason. Oh well...I was able to eat eventually. I ended up having a strawberry crunch bar, which seemed to satisfy my non-hunger-munchies. Check out that giant dried strawberry on the top! :P

Dessert
I had a sweet tooth around dessert time...like major sweet tooth. I really wanted to eat some chocolate...like really bad. But then I thought about why I am doing this program (Take Shape For Life)...so I heated up a chocolate chip cookie soft bake instead. Satisfied me right away and now I am going to bed feeling fantastic.

Tomorrow is a weigh-in day and I can't wait to see what the scale reads! I am excited! Hopefully I will have reached the weight (138.0 pounds) before my holiday weight gain.

xoxo,
Toni

missions day

Today was missions day at my church (Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa). It was so neat to see and hear from different missionaries around the world.

Right after church I had to get packed and head up to Murrieta, Ca to work the missions conference that is taking place this entire week (well until Friday). I am going to stay on plan and have packed all my Medifast meals as well as prepped some salad fixings (lettuce, chicken, light dressing, parmesan cheese) for my lean and green meals. I will keep you updated on the week as it goes on.

Today was technically day one and I did well...until about 7pm when I had just the worst cravings! It's funny though because I was talking with a dear friend who is going to be starting Take Shape For Life very soon, so we were discussing all the different meals, what I liked and didn't like, and how happy I was being on the program...then came those cravings. Thankfully, I stuck to my diet and did not cave into the evil food thoughts that were lurking about in my mind.

Breakfast
Woke up fairly early for a weekend and made a dark chocolate shake to sip on while I packed and prepped for the upcoming week.

Morning Snack
Before I left for church, I made one super fluffy chocolate pancake using a large biscuit cutter. By doing this, I can create a delicious cake like pancake. Love it!

Lunch
I didn't have my lean and green meal until dinnertime, so for lunch I made an iced chai latte. Yes, iced! It was the first time I made it, and I was not disappointed. I loved it and will be making it more often for sure. I also drank it on the way up to Murrita and totally forgot to take a picture of it. Oh well, next time!

Afternoon Snack
While setting up the resource room (we are working the book tables) I snacked on some honey mustard pretzel bites. I would eat one, set up some books, drink some water, and do it all over again until the bites were gone.

Dinner
Here is where my lean and green meal came into play. After we were done setting up, my mom and I went to Chipotle. I ended up getting a salad topped with steak, sauteed fajita vegetables, and some pico de gallo. This has to be one of my absolute favorite lean and green meals. Not only does it taste divine, but it is also filling.

Dessert
This is when my cravings started to rise and take over, but I chewed on a piece of gum and waited to eat my last meal of the day...a strawberry crunch bar. By the grace of the Lord, I made it through the night and am ready to see what tomorrow brings.

Blessings to you all! I will let you know how tomorrow goes!

xoxo,
Toni

day sixty-five...he put a ring on it

My older sister, Sterling, is engaged! I am beyond excited for her and cannot wait to see her walk down the aisle and live happily ever after. *heavy sigh*

It has been a long day, due to all the excitement of the engagement, so I am just going to quickly go through my eats for the day and head to bed. Don't worry though...I will talk more about it tomorrow. ;)

Breakfast
Woke up this morning and made myself a dark chocolate shake. We had to attend a memorial in the early afternoon, so I got ready while I sipped on the shake.

Morning Snack
On the way to the memorial, I snacked on a blueberry muffin. It's been a while since I ate one of these, and I was pleasantly surprised with how good it tasted!

Lunch
After the memorial, it was off to my sister's boyfriends mom's (what a mouthful!)  house to celebrate the engagement of my sister and her now fiance, Gabriel. I ate some honey mustard pretzel bites a little while before I got there.

Afternoon Snack
Once we arrived, there was a spread of finger foods. I sort of strayed off plan and had a few meatballs that had BBQ sauce on them (didn't snap a picture of them). But shortly after the little get together, we went to dinner at Baja Fish Tacos, where I had a salad with carne asada. Not as good as chipotle, but still pretty good.

Dinner
A little while later I made a calorie burn cappuccino. This was so perfect. I was really full for some reason and the warmth helped settle my stomach.

Dessert
I had dessert really late, but once I did, I ate a smores crunch bar. I ate it pretty quick for some reason too. Maybe I just wanted to get to bed. It has been a long day.

Well, that is that. More to talk about tomorrow. :)

xoxo,
Toni

day sixty...a day at a theme park

Today I went to Knott's Berry Farm...my first time going to a theme park since starting the Take Shape For Life program. And...it went really well! My friends are the best and really supportive with all my special food requests and eating. It's really important to have people who support you.

Breakfast
Beofre even going to the theme park, I had to make about 75 chocolate covered strawberries for a church event. So I woke up early and drank a vanilla shake while dipping the berries and sprinkling them with sliced almonds and coconut.

Morning Snack
After the strawberries were done, I made a chai latte to bring with me to meet my friends and head on over to Knotts.

Lunch
At this point in the day, we were all at the park and going on rides like no one's business. The park was empty so we went on a ton of rides. While walking about from ride to ride, I pulled out some vanilla snickerdoodle cookies (using the vanilla pudding mix) I made yesterday to munch on. I know they don't look all that appetizing, but trust me...they were good and satisfying. I will also be posting the recipe for these soon.

Afternoon Snack
We went out of the park to grab some food around 2pm. After looking around a bit, we decided on TGI Fridays. I ended up eating my lean and green meal at this time and ordered the Balsamic-Glazed Chicken Caesar Salad minus the balsamic glaze drizzle, the Caesar Vinaigrette, and focaccia croutons. I ate pretty much everything except the tomatoes and some of the lettuce. Oh, and I didn't have the dressing either...left it on the side.

Dinner
I wasn't able to snap a photo of my dinner because it was dark and we were walking around. But anyways, I did have some honey mustard pretzel bites. It was really easy to just pop them in my mouth as we walked about.

Dessert
I was back home by the time dessert came around and I ended up eating a smores crunch bar and boy did it hit the spot. It was really good tonight...perfect treat to end a fun, wonderful, and successful day.

Here are a few photos of me and my friends throughout the day...

The Girls...Liz, Kiera, and me

Me and my friend, Caleb just about to go on the ride, xcelerator

Such a fun day! And I am living proof that  it is possible to stay on track (despite all the funnel cakes, ice cream, and hamburgers) while going to a theme park. My only suggestion...come prepared. I don't think I would have stuck to the plan if I was not prepared in all my meals. Look up the restaurants beforehand in and around the park before you go so you know what you can and cannot eat.

Hope this helps and encourages you to stay on track during your next outing. Have a blessed night!

xoxo,
Toni

day fifty-three...somehow I made it through the day

Today was hard. Today seemed impossible to get through. I don't know why, but it was really hard to fight off the cravings. I mean, I was able to, but it wasn't easy.

I will admit that at lunchtime when I was making my lean and green meal, I ate a few extra pinches of shredded Parmesan cheese. Other than that, I surprisingly made it through the day. I found this quote and thought it appropriate to share, especially in memory of Nelson Mandela. This quote is a perfect description to my day. While I was going about today, it seemed impossible to stay on plan...it was only until I started writing this post that I realized I made it. The day is done.

The Lord is to thank for this victory because I will tell you right now, I would have easily fallen prey to that warm, freshly baked banana bread in the kitchen at work this morning or that frozen pizza in the freezer just begging to be baked. Hopefully this encourages you to stay strong. The time will pass whether you give in to temptation or not...better to not rather than have regret. You can do it!

Breakfast
My morning started off pretty good. I went to bed kind of late last night, so I was a tad tired, but other than that, it was good. I made a strawberry shake and headed into work.

Morning Snack
This is the time when my cravings began. I have no idea what triggered it, but I was struggling. I had a cup of coffee and made an apple cinnamon oatmeal muffin hoping my cravings would suppress...but they didn't. Right after I finished eating my snack, I wanted more. Something "bad" and off plan. Of course, my flesh desired that, but my spirit was saying, no screaming, don't do it! I thankfully listened to my spirit and started to chew a piece of gum and drink some water.

Lunch
The gum helped temporarily, but the craving for food was still there. I went home for lunch and looked around the freezer to see what I could round up. I wasn't able to go shopping yesterday, so I had to make something with what I already had. So broccoli and a pizza burger it was! While the veggies were cooking, I ate a little more cheese than I should have. It was low calorie, but still...I was overeating. As soon as I realized what was happening, I put the cheese away and began cooking my burger and ate as soon as it was done. I also drizzled some light chipotle ranch dressing on top of the broccoli to give it a little extra flavor (I didn't use any seasonings while cooking them).

Because I was still struggling with my cravings, I made a coffee to sip on hoping it would help. And itt did! Before I knew it, it was time to eat my afternoon snack...and I hadn't even finished drinking the coffee!

Afternoon Snack

So thankful I get to eat every two hours. I really needed to munch on something by this time in the afternoon. I had some honey mustard pretzel bites and prayed it would hold me over until after my run tonight...which it did.

Workout

Despite wanting to eat everything in sight, I went for a run. And you know what? It actually helped! By the time I was done, I was back to normal...my cravings had suppressed dramatically! Funny how working out can do that.

Dinner

For dinner, I ate a lemon meringue crunch bar. It was the perfect snack to eat as I went grocery shopping for the week.

Dessert

It's Monday night, so my parents and I gathered around and we watched last week's episode of the Biggest Loser. While watching, I sipped on a coffee milkshake. Perfect ending to my day.

Well, that's it! I made it though this seemingly impossible day! I pray and hope tomorrow is a better one. :)

xoxo,

Toni