just look up

Today was a weigh in day...now, I am still losing the weight I gained over the holidays...but I am still moving forward! I told you I gained 12 pounds and as of this morning I have lost 5 of those pounds bringing my weight to 145.8 pounds.

With that said, I saw this quote and knew it was a perfect fit for today's post. I need to look up...not behind at my mistakes, or the future. Looking up puts me in the proper perspective.

Breakfast
Made a mocha shake with about a teaspoon of instant coffee added to it.

Morning Snack
A couple hours later my stomach started to rumble and I made a chai latte. Totally hit the spot.

Lunch
I am out of my normal salad ingredients, so I made an omelet which included egg beaters, cottage cheese, light cheese, spinach, and kale. It looks ugly, but tasted amazing!

Afternoon Snack
Lunch kept me quite full but I was still feeling a bit munchy and had some brown sugar and cinnamon cereal crunch.

Dinner
For dinner I made a mock java chip frappuccino. Added some instant coffee to a chocolate chip cookie soft bake packet and blended it all together with water and crushed ice.

Dessert
Took dessert with me on the go today. I just cut up a cinnamon roll crunch bar and ate it during church.

So...I kept today's post short and sweet because I didn't want to overshadow the profound quote. Think about it today and just look up!

xoxo,
Toni

cheesy spinach and kale dip

I love spinach artichoke dip. Well, loved it. I know that I cannot have artichokes so I substituted them with kale. I promise...you won't even notice a difference. This dip is going to rock your world.

Step One
Gather your ingredients and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. You will need:

1/4 cup egg beaters
1/2 cup spinach
1/2 cup of chopped kale
4.5 oz 1% cottage cheese
1/4 tsp Mrs dash garlic and herb seasoning
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
1/2 tbsp light butter
1/2 cup of celery or pepper strips

Step Two
Combine all ingredients in a bowl except parmesan cheese and shredded cheddar cheese.

Step Three
Pour into a casserole dish sprayed with non stick cooking spray and bake for 40 min.

Step Four
Sprinkle cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese on top and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Step Five
Allow it to cool a bit, and dip some celery or peppers in it and enjoy!

This entire recipe counts for one lean and green meal.

xoxo,
Toni

day fifty-eight...temptations and diet soda

I lived on diet soda today. I know it is terrible for me, but I was just having one of those days. Early this morning, I had some friends come over and we started making some paper tassles to use as decorations for a missions day we are having at our church. But while we were making them, they snacked on some delicious goodies while I was good and stuck to my own meals.

It was hard. I don't know what it was about today, but it was hard all day. I wanted to eat, but thankfully my spirit was stronger than my flesh and I was able to restrain. But...I also drank my fair share of diet ginger ale as well. I know, I know...diet sodas are terrible for me, but I think it better for me to drink those than eat something that would set me back, right?

But anyways...I did manage to keep myself busy and in the process created a new recipe as well. I will post it soon, of course. :)

Breakfast
As I mentioned earlier, I had some friends come over this morning and while they snacked on some pumpkin bread, I had a cookie dough chewy bar. To be honest, I wasn't the biggest fan of it, but when I dipped it in some coffee, it was quite delicious. The hot coffee melted the bar a little bit and created a delicious treat.

Morning Snack
After the girls left, I started working on some freelance work while snacking on some chili nacho cheese puffs. Along with my first diet ginger ale of the day.

Lunch
For lunch I had an eggnog vanilla shake. I know I had one yesterday, but I just couldn't resist...needed to have another one today. :)

Afternoon Snack
Here is where I got creative and made a new recipe. I made a cheesy spinach and kale dip and used celery as a means to dip...rather than the usual chips. And...I also paired it with my second diet ginger ale.

Dinner
I had dessert for dinner...a brownie soft bake to be exact. The dip kept me quite full so this small snack was perfect. And for some reason, the brownie was really good tonight...almost tasted like a "real" brownie. Oh...and I had my third and final diet ginger ale of the night.

Dessert
To end the night I sipped on a coffee milkshake. It was a lovely end to the day. Despite my overwhelming urge to eat, I made it through and ended with a frozen treat.

So, overall the day went okay. Sure, I was tempted, but it was good to know that my spirit is becoming stronger than my flesh. God won and satan lost. What, what! Victory!

Alright...I am still sick so...good night! ;)

xoxo,
Toni

day thirty-six...friday favs and week five weigh-in

Is it just me or are you a little anxious on your weigh-in day? I just keep thinking...well, I did everything I could, so let's see what happens. Well, I will tell you what happened this morning...not now, but in a little bit. :)

So today I am eating all my favorite meals. It's Friday...and, I had a good weigh in, so why not?

There are days when you just need to "splurge"...in a healthy way, of course...and today is that day. All my splurge foods are of the Medifast kind, but they are all my favorites. It's Friday favorites day! Who knows...maybe I will do this every Friday.

Breakfast
This morning I had a vanilla pumpkin shake. How exactly did I do that? Well, I mixed the vanilla shake mix with some capella pumpkin drops. Every sip tasted like fall...and Thanksgiving! Can you believe Thanksgiving is in less than a week?! So crazy! How is this my favorite? Well...I love the vanilla shakes, but as you may have remembered, pumpkin is my all time favorite fall flavor. So making a pumpkin shake that I can actually have is like a dream come true!

Morning Snack
My favorite morning snack is the calorie burn cappuccino. It has the perfect amount of sweetness and leaves you feeling full for the rest of the morning. Words cannot explain how delicoius and creamy this cappuccino was today. I could literally have this every single morning...maybe I should... ;) PS...isn't that cup just the cutest! I got it from Starbucks...here is the link to buy it...but it looks like it may be sold out right now.

Lunch
I went out to lunch today with some dear friends. It was a sweet time of fellowship and much needed girl time. :) I went to GreenLeaf Chopshop and ordered the "build your own hot entree". Basically you get a piece of meat with a choice of two sides. For my meat, I went with the flat iron steak. I don't think I have had red meat since starting the Take Shape For Life program, so I thought I would "splurge". Steak is one of my all-time favorite meats. For my two sides, I ordered the Tuscan kale salad (basically just kale, shaved pecorino romano, lemon juice, and olive oil),  and the green beans and shallots. Everything was so delicious! The meat just melted in my mouth. Definitely a special treat for today.

If you are ever in the Costa Mesa area, I would highly suggest you try this place out. Click here to find a location near you. I went to the one at SOCO...just fyi. :)

Afternoon Snack
So continuing with my Friday favorites theme, I decided to eat my favorite snack...the brown sugar cereal crunch. These always remind me of french toast for some reason. I have mentioned before how much I enjoy cereal, so these satisfy my craving completely.

Look at this sky! So gorgeous seeing this driving home from work.

Dinner
After coming home from work, I was going to have a smores crunch bar, but I decided to make myself a milkshake instead. A peanut butter one to be exact. My favorite dessert turned dinner ever!

Dessert
On my way to church I ate a s'mores crunch bar. It was quick and easy to eat. It also ended my night with a smile...this is my favorite bar, so of course I smiled in delight. :) I cut it into little pieces so it would be easier to eat during church.

Weight Update
Okay, so you ready for my weigh-in news? Well...I lost another three pounds! I was shocked when I saw the number on the scale. I actually weighed myself three more times...just to make sure. So as of this morning, my weight is 147.2. It seems so surreal that I have lost 19 pounds in only five weeks! Take Shape For Life is the best thing that has ever happened to me...besides being saved and going to Heaven. ;)

I highly encourage you to look into this program. Start now or after the holidays, just do it! I am a living example that if you follow the program, you will lose weight. It's that simple. And I honestly don't work out all that much and I am still losing weight. What do you have to lose trying it?

xoxo,
Toni

day one...here goes nothing

So I did great today! Had very little hunger pangs throughout the whole day! I was surprised at first. I thought I would be starving, but the medifast meals hold me over.

I eat about every 2 hours, so my body is constantly going and my metabolism is up. I can't wait to see how I feel 2 weeks from now.

Now, I totally forgot to take pictures of everything I ate today, so I stole pictures from other people. It's the same exact thing I ate, I just didn't capture the moment.

So here was my menu for the day! Oh, and my starting stats and starting picture (so embarrassing) are below!

Breakfast: Antioxidant Dark Chocolate Shake

photo cred: medifast

I added a bit of ice and blended it...I like my shakes on the cold side.

Mid-Morning Snack: Brown Sugar Cereal Crunch

photo cred: medifast

I love cereal, so this stuff hit the spot and was delicious! Kind of tasted like french toast.

Lunch: Turkey salad (ground turkey, lettuce, and kale)

okay, so this is my one "lean and green" meal I get once a day...I think I put too much meat in my salad though :/

Afternoon Snack: S'mores Crunch Bar

photo cred: medifast

I know this photo shows 2 bars, but I only had one ;)

Dinner: Parmesan Cheese Puffs

photo cred: medifast

So I wasn't the biggest fan of these. They sounded really good, but just didn't live up to the name.

Evening Snack: Peanut Butter Soft Serve

photo cred: medifast

just when I thought I would get dessert...this stuff is so amazing. I am a ice cream, frozen yogurt loving girl and this just hit the spot. Great way to end my day.

I am pretty embarrased with myself as I write this, but hey, you got to start somewhere, right? Let's just say that I will never see that number on the scale again or look in the mirror and see that girl again. Now, let's get started...here are my starting stats!

weight: 166.2

biceps: 13.25"

forearm: 10.5"

chest: 40"

waist: 34.5"

hips: 41"

bottom: 43.25"

thigh: 26.25"

knee: 17.25

calf: 16.5"

neck: 12.75"

...and here is my starting photo...

So there you have it. day one complete! til tomorrow!

xoxo,

Toni