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 eight

I know I have been absent for a couple of days...it has been so busy with my sister's wedding coming up! On Saturday, we went dress shopping and she found her dress! Under strict orders, I am not allowed to post anything to do with any of that day...but let me just say that she looks stunning and I can't wait to see her walk down the aisle in that dress...you will just have to wait and see!

Yesterday was all about designing her save the date cards and getting a wedding website up and running. Busy, busy, busy...but definitely fun. I am having a blast so far helping her out. It's been great and has brought us, as well as my mom, even closer.

But anyways, I am back and ready to go!

How is everyone doing on their 12-week transformation? I am struggling with my fleshly desires but am still trucking through! I hope you all still doing good as well! Remember why you are doing this program. For me, I need to get the weight loss aspect of it out of my mind and focus more on a healthy lifestyle (weight loss will just occur naturally). I will get there soon enough though. :)

Breakfast
I am back to my normal home routine (praise the Lord)! So this morning I got up and make a dark chocolate antioxidant shake.

Morning Snack
I was really hungry by the time my morning snack came around. But it was really busy at work, so time flew by. When I did get a chance, I made a chai latte, which held me over until lunch.

Lunch
I didn't have a salad for lunch today! What!? I know, crazy, right? I did end up having whatever was in my fridge and freezer because I have not gone grocery shopping yet. I had some broccoli and a frozen pizza burger, so I cooked those up and drizzled some light chipotle dressing over all of it. Not the greatest meal to be honest, but definitely not bad.

Afternoon Snack
I am running after work today, so I ate my snack about an hour before I ran. I made myself a cup of coffee and snacked on some brown sugar cereal crunch. Yummy pairing!

Workout
I did my same old run today...which consists of 2.18 miles. It felt good getting back out there tonight. I haven't run for a week and I definitely felt the pain as I was going...but...I did keep going despite my flesh wanting to stop and walk. I tried taking a smiling picture...but they just weren't coming out right...so now you get to see a funny weird one of me! ;) (it was taken right after I got back...just fyi).

Dinner
I made a quick java chip frappuccino (chocolate chip soft bake packet blended with instant coffee, water, and ice) before church. This week my church (Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa) is having a week of prayer. If you can, come on out! It is from 7pm to about 8:30pm every night this week!

Dessert
When I got home from church, I snacked on a strawberry crunch bar and called it a night. Working out and then going to church made me all sleepy. But that's okay...I like sleep.

That's all for today. Until tomorrow!

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-three...if it was easy, everyone would do it

Today was kind of tough. Not really for food reasons (although having an entire box of see's candy in my office doesn't help) but rather for exercise reasons. I went for a 2.17 mile jog and just struggled with it. Then I saw this quote and thought, how true! I mean, if running was easy, everyone would be healthy and in shape, right? But the fact is, is that working out is hard! There is just no easy way if you want to see results. Simple as that.

With that said, I am not feeling discouraged, but rather encouraged. Weird, right? But I am excited to see my weight for tomorrow morning. And you know...if I don't reach my goal of 2 pounds, that is okay. I know I am due for a plateau and I am ready for that, but I also know that I have tried my hardest this week and have stuck to the plan. 

But all the glory goes to the Lord for helping me get through my run tonight and also through this week.

Breakfast
Okay...enough with my "life is hard but keep going rant"...let's move onto my eats for the day. For my breakfast this morning I made a mocha shake and added some instant coffee to it. Totally enhances the flavor of the shake...you should try it.

Morning Snack
I was out and about on an errand when my morning snack time came around. My stomach started grumbling and I realized, Oh, it's time to eat! Funny thing though, in about ten minutes my stomach stopped grumbling and I wasn't hungry anymore! Just goes to show that when those hunger pangs do come, stop, drink some water, go for a walk, etc...I promise the hunger will dissipate. :) But anyways, when I did make it back to the office, I made a calorie burn cappuccino and sipped on the hot goodness for about 30 minutes. 

Lunch
Back to the daily grind for lunch today. I had a romaine salad topped with a pizza burger, some parmesan cheese, and light chipotle ranch dressing. Perfection. It was raining outside which is why the table has puddles on it. ;)

Afternoon Snack
For my afternoon snack I had some nacho cheese chili puffs. These are fairly good...just remember to have some water on hand...well, at least for me. They can get spicy at times.

Workout
As I mentioned earlier, I went for a run today. Nothing out of the ordinary, just my same 2.17 mile run. It was hard but fun at the same time. Maybe the difficulty was due to the cold? I don't know. At one point I couldn't even feel my nose! Oh well...I fought through the pain and finished the run.

Dinner
After my run, I made a java chip frappuccino. I just mixed instant coffee with the chocolate chip soft bake and blended it with some water. Easy peasy and delicious!

Dessert
To end the night, I had a strawberry crunch bar. Something light and small...because tomorrow is a weigh in day!

And now I am off to bed! Isn't this picture of my cat, Peggy, just the cutest! Even cat haters have to love this. I mean, how can you not. ;)

Goodnight!

xoxo,
Toni

day fifty-nine...an unintentional mistake

So...I made a mistake today. It wasn't until after the fact that I realized it was a mistake though. Okay, before you start thinking the worst, let me just tell you. I had brussel sprouts for my lean and green meal. You may be thinking, gross, why brussel sprouts? But...I was working on a recipe to make them more delicious for you all and, they were...until I found out they are off-limits.

However, it wasn't until after I was entering in my foods on my Take Shape For Life app on my phone that I realized brussel sprouts weren't on the list of approved vegetables. So I looked it up online and found out that this particular type of vegetable is high in carbs and thus, not allowed on the program. Oh well...I guess you live and learn. And hey, I suppose it's better to eat a wrong vegetable than a cookie. ;)

Breakfast
I took advantage of this lovely Sunday and slept in until about 10am. Once I got up, I made a mocha shake. I added a tablespoon of instant coffee to up the flavor a bit. It's amazing what a simple tablespoon of coffee can do! The shake was so good!

Morning Snack
After church was over, I ate a strawberry crunch bar. After the first bite, I wasn't a fan. But after a couple more bites my taste buds adjusted and it wasn't all that bad.

Lunch
Here is where I messed up...on accident. I had some roasted parmesan brussel sprouts with a pizza burger on the side. It was crazy good, but I will not be having brussel sprouts again now that I am aware they are off-limits. I will still post the recipe later on this week for those of you who can eat brussel sprouts.

Afternoon Snack
Lunch kept me full so I was really only eating my next snack because I had to. I ended up having some mixed berry cereal as well as a bottle of water. I have been slacking on drinking water today, so I drank a bunch with the cereal.

Dinner
I had my next meal while my parents and I watched church online. I sipped on a calorie burn cappuccino while they drank just black coffee. Perfect pairing...coffee and the Word.

Dessert
I ended the night with a delicious and warm blueberry muffin soft bake. I allowed the batter to sit for a few hours and then microwaved it. Not sure if there was a difference by letting the batter sit around, but it was sure good...a little more dense than usual, but good.

I am going to Knott's Berry Farm tomorrow, so we will see how that goes food wise. I have all my snacks prepared and ready to go, so it will just be a matter of when and where I eat my lean and green meal. I will let you all know tomorrow night how it went! :)

I will leave you with a picture of tonight's sunset...so beautiful....looks like the sky is on fire. God is so amazing...it's like He painted this picture for all to see and stare in awe.

xoxo,
Toni