12-week transformation...day eleven

I am feeling much better today...like 1000 times better. Yesterday was just...well, one of those days. But now, yesterday has passed and it's time to look forward to today.

I was reading my transformation email I receive daily and I thought I would share with you all this one. It teaches you eight steps to break habits. Wanna hear them? Well, even if you don't, here they are anyways...I hope they help you guys! :)

1. Stop—Challenge—Choose.
Any time you become aware of an unhealthy thought, feeling, or action, use the Stop—Challenge—Choose Method. Let’s say you’re about to eat a whole tray of appetizers at a party because you’re nervous. First, stop and take a deep, slow breath to help bring your emotions under control. Next, challenge yourself by thinking about why you’re feeling or acting the way you are. Finally, choose the behavior that supports what you really want.

2. Make time your ally.
Time can be a powerful ally as you build optimal health. As you’ll see, your daily choices can, over time, lead you from non-sickness to disease. But conversely, time can serve as your ally as you make choices that lead to optimal health.

3. Avoid peer pressure and toxic environments.
Do your friends and family follow the same Habits of Disease that you do? Are you hanging out in an unhealthy environment? You’ll learn more about modeling later in this program, but for now, it’s a good idea to avoid, as much as possible, any activities, friends, and environments that are not conducive to healthy behaviors.

4. Keep a journal.
Every time you engage in an activity or make a choice that doesn’t support health, write it down. Make a note of what triggered the behavior and kept you from controlling the unhealthy choice.

5. Exchange a negative for a positive choice.
Once you’ve mastered Stop—Challenge—Choose, this technique can help lead you to healthy alternatives. For example, say you’re tired at work in the afternoon. You probably habitually grab a cup of coffee, but as you’ll learn about sleep, this choice can actually exacerbate your lack of energy by robbing you of sleep that night. Instead, recharge naturally by taking a brisk 10-minute walk or by resting for five minutes with your eyes closed while listening to relaxing music.

6. Avoid giving the bad habit your energy or focus.
The best way to avoid acting in a certain way is to direct your focus elsewhere. If you keep telling yourself you’re not going to overeat or watch a second movie instead of heading to bed, your mind will stay focused on what you don’t want to do. The key is to avoid thinking of the behavior in the first place—which will become much easier as we load your daily choices with healthy habits that support what you really want.

7. Create barriers to the Habits of Disease.
I am absolutely powerless over the aroma of warm chocolate chip cookies. I go into a feeding frenzy, and 1,000 calories later I’m wondering what hit me. So there are standing orders in my house that my children and my wife, Lori, never make cookies when I’m home. Later in this program, we will delve into improving your environment, like your kitchen, in greater depth.

8. Get support.
If you aren’t sure how to conquer a certain temptation, ask someone who has experienced the same challenge, like your Health Coach. If you don’t personally know someone who has made the journey to optimal health, visit my Facebook, and ask our wonderful community members for help.

Pretty informative, right? It really helped me when I was first starting out on the Take Shape For Life program and is still helping me today.

Breakfast
This morning I had a choice...do I sneak a day old pastry and eat it in secret or do I make a delicious and creamy french vanilla shake? Easy answer to that one...the shake of course! So I made and drank a delicious shake and was set to start my day.

Morning Snack
I could not wait to sip on a piping hot cup of chai. Why? No reason...it just sounded really good. I was pretty happy when the time came around and was satisfied once it was all gone.

Lunch
I wasn't able to go home for lunch (my car is getting fixed), so I had some chili nacho cheese puffs with a ton of water. I just get so thirsty whenever I eat these! But they are so good!

Afternoon Snack
Still not able to go to lunch, I pulled out my next snack...a cinnamon roll crunch bar. It was even extra tasty when I paired it with some coffee. ;)

Dinner
I am house sitting my aunt's house again for the next week, so after work I went straight over there and finally made my lean and green meal. I made a simple salad with some chicken and light dressing and cheese...no picture though...totally spaced.

Dessert
Once I got settled in, I whipped up a java chip frappuccino (chocolate chip soft bake packet blended with instant coffee, water, and ice). My favorite ending to my day.

It was an overall good day...but tomorrow is a weigh-in day...so we shall see what happens!

xoxo,
Toni

day sixty-one...seven days 'till Christmas

Let the countdown begin!

I am a huge Christmas fan. I love everything about it...everything. I feel as if people are simply more cheerful and happy as they go about their day around this time of year...or at least I am.

So as of now I am as happy as can be and cannot wait for the family to come together and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Breakfast
Back to the daily work routine this morning. I made myself a dark chocolate shake and went on my merry way.

Morning Snack
I can't tell you enough how much I like these calorie burn cappuccinos. They are so perfect on wintery days. Definitely ranking as my favorite Medifast meal as of late.

Lunch
Back to the salad today. I really like the pizza burger and parmesan salad combo. All I do is chop up some lettuce, heat up a pizza burger and sprinkle some shredded parmesan cheese and dressing and I am done! Quick and delicious!

Afternoon Snack
I was fairly full when it was time to eat my next snack, but I still munched on some cheese pizza bites. I mean...who am I to say no to a snack time? I am also almost done with these...I didn't order anymore on this last order.

Dinner
I am house sitting tonight, so I had a cinnamon roll crunch bar when I got to the house after work. I then got started working on some new recipes!

Dessert
One of the recipes I created was a vanilla pudding cake. Let's just say that if you are in need of a treat, you must make this. :) I will post the recipe soon!

Also...in case you didn't see it earlier, I posted a recipe for a pumpkin pie custard. Check it out here.

Hope your day is a blessed one!

xoxo,
Toni

day twenty-three...a girl's night in

Tonight I threw a girl's night in party...I made a ton of food, and guess what? I didn't even have one lick of it! That is such a huge success for me! I know I took a risk by cooking, but I felt confident knowing I wouldn't eat any of it. My parents were also there for a bit and ate what I made. They said it turned out pretty good, so I didn't even have to try the food.

The only thing I will say is that you need to really think about it before you throw a party or cook a big meal. Why? Well, you don't want to stumble yourself. I could not have done this two weeks ago without eating something. So, don't rush anything. Stop and think. Ask the Lord to be with you...it will all turn out okay.

Breakfast
I was able to sleep in this morning...it was soooo nice! But with that said, I got a late start on my eating. So I made a calorie burn cappuccino just to get me started with the day. It was perfect!

Lunch
I went to Starbucks for a bit and when I returned home, I ate my lunch. I tried out these new boca brand meatless crumbles and topped my romaine salad with them. I wasn't the biggest fan of them, but they weren't bad either. I miss the meatballs from Trader Joe's, they are still out of them.

Afternoon Snack #1
I don't know what it was about this bag of pretzels, but they were so good! Like, better than usual. I don't know...maybe I am just getting used to all the odd tastes in some of the food. ;)

Afternoon Snack #2
I had a little time to kill before my guests started arriving, so I thought I would attempt to make waffles using the pancake mix. And it totally worked! All I did was mix the pancake packet with a dash of cinnamon and 4 tablespoons of water. I then let it sit for about 5 minutes to thicken up a bit. I poured the mix into the waffle maker and voila! Waffles! I have actually never made waffles before, so this was a first on many levels. I am just thankful it turned out.



Dinner
At this point, some of my friends had started to arrive along with my parents, so I began making the appetizers for them to munch on while dinner was cooking. While I was doing that, I began munching on a caramel crunch bar. It kept my mouth busy and also helped me not want to pop some food into my mouth...intentionally or unintentionally.

Dessert
After dinner was eaten, I made the girls my top secret chocolate molten lava cakes. And while they were eating those, I decided to eat my dessert as well. So I microwaved a blueberry soft bake and ate with everyone else. And you know what, never once did I feel like I was being left out or wishing I could eat what they were eating. I was content the entire night. And never once did the girls question my not eating the food I was making. They all know about my plan and supported me last night 100%. I love my friends dearly...it is good to have friends who love and care about you when you are on this journey.

Overall, it was a fun night of food and fellowship and watching these two cuties...

I pray your Sunday is a blessed one!

xoxo,
Toni

day twenty-two...week three weigh in

Isn't this little girl just the cutest! I will talk more about her in a sec...but first, today was a weigh in day!

My ultimate goal this week was to not only stay on the Medifast Program, but I wanted to lose 2 pounds. From here on out, my desire is to lose about 2 pounds a week. And since it doesn't even really feel like I am on a health program, losing 2 pounds a week would be amazing!

Well, this week I met my goal! In fact, I lost 2 pounds on the dot, bringing my new weight to 152.6 pounds...bringing my total weight loss to 13.6 pounds in only three weeks! I have to admit, I was so nervous stepping on the scale this morning. I had so much doubt going through my mind. But that can obviously be blamed on satan...he is crafty like that. But my doubt was washed away as soon as I saw that number on the scale. I immediately smiled and thanked the Lord. God is up in Heaven all like, You got this, Toni, just trust in Me. Duh! Why shouldn't I be trusting in the Lord alone...He is the only one who is going to get me through this week after week.

Breakfast
I usually like to treat myself (treat as in, eat my favorite Medifast foods) on Friday because of my victorious weigh-in, but I decided to just eat what I had the most of since my new shipment of Medifast arrives today. So I had the pineapple mango smoothie, which, as you know, is not my favorite. But it didn't taste all that bad today.

Morning Snack
I was ready for my morning snack around 10am. My stomach was growling! So I made myself an oatmeal muffin and also had a vanilla rooibos tea from Starbucks (no milk or sugar, just plain). This was one of the best snacks I have ever had! So good! And how can those red cups not put a smile on your face? It's a reminder that Thanksgiving is right around the corner and then Christmas!!! So excited!!!

Lunch
Lunch was a normal one, nothing too special. I had to make it quick because I had to go shopping during my lunch hour to buy a bunch of food for a "girl's night in" party I am having tomorrow night. More about that tomorrow though. :) So in my hurried attempt at lunch, I heated up a pizza burger and thew it on top of a bed of romaine lettuce and topped it all off with some light Italian dressing.

Afternoon Snack
I feel like the period between lunch and my afternoon snack is the worst. I don't know why, but I just get so hungry! But I just drink a bunch of water and chew on a stick of gum until the time to eat again rolls around. Today, I had the parmesan cheese puffs. Once again, not my favorite, but they are growing on me each time I eat them.

Dinner
For some reason the time between my afternoon snack and my dinner goes by so fast! I guess its the last hour of work and I am so busy, so time just flies. It's great! Before I knew it, it was time to eat again, so I had a cinnamon roll crunch bar.

Dessert
I was planning on making a waffle using the pancake mix, but I decided to save that for Saturday and just whipped up a peanut butter milkshake instead. Glad I did, because it was divine! Totally ended my night on a sweet note.

Okay, so back to that adorable dog from the beginning of the post. Well, I am housesitting for the next 10 days or so and I also get to watch this cutie along with another little dog (I will snap a pic of her soon). These dogs are the best! However, as I am watching a house alone, accountability is a little scarce. In the past I would usually take this "alone" time and eat all my favorite foods and probably gain 5-10 pounds! But not this time! I have all my Medifast meals with me and am determined to stay on track and lose weight, not gain. I will still be blogging, so you guys can all be my accountability :) Until tomorrow!

xoxo,
Toni