day thirty-five...washed away

I woke up this morning to this beautiful sight. The rain was falling...washing away all the old dirt that covered the cars, trees, and streets. It was such a refreshing smell too. The Lord will do the same thing in our lives...He washes away all of our old dirt and sins and makes us clean...whiter than snow. We don't smell like the old sin but rather we have a sweet aroma about us.

Even being on Medifast, I feel like my old binging habits have been washed away and I now feel new and refreshed. When I was eating all the time, I felt gross, fat, and was just unhappy. Now, I feel more confident and I actually look forward to what the day will bring. The rain washed away my habitual sin and now I am living a clean life full of joy.

Breakfast
In case you haven't figured it out, I love the rain. It is a rare treat here in Southern California, so I take advantage of it when I can. :) For breakfast, I had a dark chocolate shake. And of course I had to take a picture of it outside on the wet grass.

Morning Snack
I made an apple cinnamon oatmeal muffin for my snack and it was so perfectly warm! It was pouring rain as I was eating this steamy muffin at my desk, and I was just looking out the window watching the rain fall. It was a wonderful moment.

Right after I finished my snack, I couldn't resist...I just had to make myself a hot cup of tea. Rainy day perfection.

Lunch
Today for lunch I had yet another chili lime chicken burger on a bed of romaine topped with some light Italian dressing. These burgers are so delicious and really low in calories. If you have a Trader Joe's by you, I would highly recommend you try these out. You will not be disappointed. PS...doesn't this picture just scream fall? This was taken in my backyard on one of our wooden pallet benches. Love it! Also...there is no filter on this photo...this is how it really looked!

Afternoon Snack
I tried a new snack today! Last Medifast order I got the cinnamon pretzel bits, but this time around I got the honey mustard pretzel bites. The verdict? Loved them! I have a sweet tooth so I wasn't sure if I would like these better than cinnamon. I have to admit that I prefer the cinnamon ones, but these are a close second.

I was debating on whether or not to go for a quick jog after work because my neck has been hurting all day...I think I slept on it wrong. But just when I was about to call it quits, I found myself changing into my workout clothes. What's 30 minutes of my life, right? I can relax after. Plus, tomorrow is a weigh-in day so I need to give it all I got. :)

With that said, I went on a 2.18 mile jog (I didn't walk at all!)...in the rain I might add. Running in the rain just gives you that extra push you need. It is a good feeling. And a little side note...I actually enjoyed this jog. I was pretty happy the whole time...except when I was nearing the end...at that point I just wanted to get home.

Dinner
After working out, I came back home and ate a oatmeal raisin crunch (these are delish!). It was exactly what I needed after a fun rain run. I literally just got back when I ripped open this bar...I was hungry!

Dessert
To end the night, I whipped up a brownie. This dessert is the best! If you are looking for a great alternative to a "real" brownie, this is the one for you. Seriously, I feel like I am cheating! ;) I slowly snacked on this while watching The Hunger Games...can't wait for the second one! I am going to see it on Saturday...I'm a nerd, I know. :P

Well, I pray you enjoy your day and I will update you all tomorrow on my weight!

xoxo,
Toni

day thirty-two...what's in the red cup?

I love the eggnog latte from Starbucks. It is my all time favorite drink...and I can only get it once a year...this time of year. I walked into Starbucks last night after doing a little shopping at Trader Joe's and saw that the holiday drinks were here and available. I will fully admit that it is going to be a challenge this season not to buy any of these drinks...especially the eggnog latte which is probably the worst one out of the bunch. So I am going to resist and not give myself any liberties to buy one. I can make my own at home, Medifast style. ;)

But please pray for me in this season when food and drinks are the center of attention...it is hard for me because my mind thinks, "You only get this once a year...just get back on track after Christmas..." But you know what? I don't want to stop doing the Medifast program! I love what I am doing and really love the results...why mess that up with a drink I will consume in less than an hour? It is just not worth it, right? Right.

Breakfast
It's nice to be back home and back on my normal routine. I made myself a dark chocolate shake and put a little less ice in it to make it more creamy...and it did. It was a delicious shake. Oh, and say hello to the family cat, Bristol...he likes to photo bomb pictures.

Before I had my morning snack, I sipped on some vanilla cinnamon tea I got from Trader Joe's last night. It was so good! I loved the taste of it...plus, it smells just like Christmas.

Morning Snack
After my tea, I made myself a chocolate chip pancake in a mug. I added way too much water, so instead of it becoming a muffin, it became a soft, crumbled mess. Either way it was fairly good. Tasted a tad too eggy for me, but the chocolate chips helped balance everything out.

While shopping last night, I also bought myself some flowers for my desk at work. It is going to be a long and busy week, so I thought these might brighten my day if things get too crazy and stressed. Aren't they pretty. :)

Lunch
I am just trying all these Trader Joe's products left and right today. For lunch I made myself a chili lime chicken burger chopped up and put on top of a bed of lettuce with a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese and Italian dressing. This burger is to die for. It is packed with flavor and tasts amazing. Loved it! This time the other family cat, Peggy, wanted to be in the shot.

Afternoon Snack
For my afternoon snack I had some cheese pizza bites. I was craving something crunchy ever since I finished lunch, so this snack was a perfect fit.

Workout
I didn't wake up early this morning...BUT...I did go for a run/walk after work. Yay! It was 2.11 miles...not a bad start.

After my run/walk, I came back home and did a 10-minute arm toning workout.

Dinner
After completing my workout, I ate my dinner for the day. I tried out a new bar...a chocolate crunch bar. My goodness...this is full of chocolate. If you are craving chocolate this is the thing for you. Just have some water handy because you are going to need it. Overall it was fairly good...not my favorite, (I don't think any bar can beat out the s'mores crunch bar) but still good.

Dessert
To end the night, I had a peanut butter milkshake while watching last week's episode of The Biggest Loser. Perfect combo. :)

Today was a good day...I stuck to the Medifast program and I even worked out!

Just remember to keep it clean when it comes to filling that red holiday cup. No eggnog, folks...stick to the skinny drinks or just keep the coffee or tea black. You can do it!

xoxo,
Toni

day twenty-eight...pasta for days

 No pasta for me of course. I just made it and everyone else ate it. And I am a-okay with that. I enjoy making food for people actually. We were celebrating my brother's birthday (yes a week late) as a family. It's hard getting everyone together with such busy schedules. But I love my family and am so happy we are all so close.

This is the second time I have made pasta in the past week. Why? Well, since I cannot taste the food, I am just cooking what I know how to cook. So pasta it is! Plus, you can't go wrong with a big bowl of spaghetti and sausage.

Everyone enjoyed it, so we will just leave it at that. :)

Breakfast
I was out of it this morning and totally forgot to snap a shot of my pineapple mango smoothie. This was my last one and I didn't order any more. I wasn't the biggest fan of them and I was basically just eating them because I already bought them. I mean, the taste wasn't terrible, but it was just a tad off for my liking.

I was so cold after drinking the smoothie, so I made myself a cup of hot tea. I chose the Tazo chai tea and it was divine.

Morning Snack
Last night, I bake some oatmeal cookies to take with me to eat for my morning snack. All I did was heat them up for a bit in the toaster oven...but you really can just eat them the way they are. I like my cookies a bit more crispy rather than soft.

Lunch
I had to run some errands today at lunch so I only had enough time to throw together a quick salad for lunch. I just heated up a pizza burger and mixed it together with some romaine lettuce and light Italian dressing.

Afternoon Snack
I was pretty busy after lunch so time flew by. Before I knew it, it was 3pm and time for my afternoon snack. I had the BBQ bites, which I am actually beginning to really like. I didn't order any more this past order, but I just might next time.

After work I rushed home and started cooking my brother's belated birthday dinner. I made some pasta with sausage, a crisp salad, toasted up some jalapeno cheddar bread with butter and garlic and ended the meal with a warm crumb topped apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream. Oh! and they drank some martinelli's of course...delicious!

I think they liked it too... :D

Dinner
While my family ate the spaghetti dinner, I made myself a peanut butter milkshake. I will take that over pasta any day...well, at least right now I will.

Dessert
Tomorrow is my one month weigh in day, so I wanted to end my day with something light. So I had a peanut butter crunch bar with some water. It was perfect. Just the right amount I needed.

I will update my pictures, weight, and measurements with you all tomorrow, so keep an eye out!

Have a good night!

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