day thirty-nine...motivational monday

I saw this quote and just knew I had to share it. I am still truckin' along and I do at times get weary and want to eat a cake or something. Weight loss doesn't happen overnight, so I just need to remember that even though I may not be at my goal weight yet, and may still have a while to get there, I am one step closer to that goal. Every day counts. As long as I am sticking to the TSFL program, I am one day closer to my weight loss goal.

Remember that today. It can really apply to anything in your life. Just make it through the day and you will be one day closer to that goal. Even if you mess up...start again the next day or better yet, the next minute and continue going. Don't beat yourself up. We all make mistakes, but it also our choice to get back up and start walking forward again.

Breakfast
I am back to my normal schedule today (unlike yesterday). I woke up, got ready, and made myself a mocha shake. I think these shakes are one of the things keeping me going on TSFL. All of the flavors are so good!

Morning Snack
Because it was the first day back to work since the warehouse sale on Saturday, we had a lot of clean up to do. I was busy all morning, but I was able to take a quick break and eat an oatmeal raisin crunch bar. I love being busy...makes the time fly by! PS...these bars are amazing!

Lunch
Back to my normal salad today. I made a pizza burger and put it on top of some chopped romaine and mozzarella cheese. I then topped it all off with some light Italian dressing. It was really good! I thought I wouldn't be able to taste the cheese all that much, but it was very prominent in the meal. And I love cheese.

Afternoon Snack
The salad didn't hold me over all that well because I was hun-gry by the time my snack time came around. Whenever I do get hungry, I just tell myself that I am going to eat in an hour...so just hold on. I also drink some water and chew gum which seems to help.

So for my snack I had the nacho chili puffs and drank a ton of water while eating them...they had a spicy kick to them!

Dinner
I made some macaroni and cheese tonight but decided to put a twist on it. I sprinkled some parmesan cheese in it to help thicken it up...it worked too! After I cooked it in the microwave I put the dish under the broiler to attempt to brown the top...but it only burned. Whomp, Whomp. It was actually pretty good though! Kind of tasted like a grilled cheese sandwich.

Dessert
To end the night, I had a peanut butter milkshake. This is the best dessert! Can't believe I get to have milkshakes on the TSFL program and still lose weight! Love it.

I pray your day is blessed and that you will continue to strive toward your goals. Just take it day by day.

xoxo,
Toni

broccoli & cheese casserole

This is by far one of the best things I have eaten...both on the TSFL program and off. I highly encourage you to try this recipe. Plus, it is really easy to make!

Step One
Gather your ingredients. You will need:
1/4 cup egg beaters
1 1/2 cups broccoli
4.5 oz low fat cottage cheese (I just looked for the one with the lowest carbs and fat)
1/4 tsp 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

Step Two:
Put all your ingredients in a bowl, except the shredded cheese and parmesan cheese. Then mix them all together until the broccoli is coated evenly.

Step Three
Pour the mixture into a greased glass baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Step Four
After that, sprinkle the cheese and parmesan cheese on top and bake for another 20 minutes.

Step Five
Take out of the oven and cool for a few minutes...then dig in!

This entire meal counts as 1 Lean and Green meal with 2 1/2 Condiments and 1/2 Healthy Fat

Enjoy!!!

xoxo,
Toni

day thirty-eight...not enough time in the day

So in case you were wondering, Hunger Games: Catching Fire was really good. My friends, Kiera and Caleb and I went to see it last night. Caleb took this picture of us...we were trying to do the district 12 salute with a straight face, but just couldn't stop smiling and laughing. I almost did it, but failed. Oh well. We all had a fun night.

As a result of getting in late last night, I slept in this morning. By doing so I got a late start on my eating for the day. I didn't want to stay up really late just to get my 5 meals and 1 lean and green meal in, so I called my health coach and thankfully, she gave me a solution. She told me to eat my last two meals of the night together. Genius!

This is why I love the Take Shape for Life program. Without my health coach, I would have stayed up super late just to eat and go to bed or would have skipped my last meal of the day. So thankful for you, Charlotte! Thank you!

Breakfast
Like I mentioned earlier, I slept in this morning, so I had my first meal of the day around 10:30am. I spent the night at a friend's house so I just had a lemon meringue crunch bar, making it easy.

Afternoon Snack
I ate again after church, which was around 2pm. My eating times were all off today. I had the mixed berry crunch cereal.

Dinner
For my dinner, I made myself a veggie burger with mozzarella cheese and green bean "fries". This was actually really good and a nice change-up from my normal salad.

Dessert #1
Right before leaving for Sunday night church, I heated up a blueberry muffin and ate it in the car. It kind of overflowed in the microwave...still edible though.

Dessert #2
So I still had two more meals to eat before the end of the day and I didn't want to stay up until midnight just to eat. This is when I called my health coach and she told me to just eat the last two meals at the same time. So I made a coffee milkshake and a chocolate chip soft bake. I accidentally added warm water to the chocolate chip soft bake mix rather than cold, so the chocolate chips melted, making the cookie look dark brown. :P This was actually a really yummy pairing!

Well, that is all I have for today! Talk to you tomorrow!

xoxo,
Toni

day thirty-seven...from the rising to the setting sun

So today I watched the sun rise and the sun set...meaning I have been up since 5am. Today we had a warehouse sale at my church and it was crazy busy all day long. My mom and I were non-stop from about 8am to 3pm. It was tough, but fun. Despite all the madness going on, I still managed to eat all of my Medifast meals and my lean and green meal for the day. There were times when I had to sneak a bite in between helping customers, but it all worked out.

Breakfast
I ate breakfast around 6am. I wasn't all that hungry, but I knew I had to eat. So I made myself a quick chocolate chip pancake muffin to take with me and eat on the go.

Morning Snack
For my morning snack, I had a strawberry shake. I totally spaced and forgot to take a picture of it. It was right when we opened the sale and things were crazy. I was only able to take sips in between helping customers.

Lunch
We were still busy at lunch, but I was able to sneak in a time to make a chai latte. I just added some hot water and stirred. It was perfect to have a drink at this point...a lot easier to drink than eat. ;)

Thought I would share a cute picture from the sale...this is The Bear Hug Band! It was so precious to see the kids dancing around to the music while their parents shopped. So, many thanks to The Bear Hug Band! I am sure the parents thank you too for keeping their children occupied while they got some shopping done distraction free. ;)

Afternoon Snack
As we were nearing the end of the sale, things were slowing down and I was able to eat a chocolate crunch bar. Once again though, I was eating it intermittently while helping people. But it all worked out. There were only a couple times people caught me with my mouth full. Whoops!

Afternoon Snack #2
I ate my second snack while cleaning up. I was so hungry I just devoured my bag of cheese pizza bites. By the time I was more than halfway through the bag I realized I didn't snap a picture of it! I am just all off today. Oh well...next time.

Dinner
I had my lean and green meal for dinner...and my goodness it was delicious! I was thinking of something for Thanksgiving that I could make that was TSFL approved. Now, I don't like turkey (I know I am weird), so I thought...what else goes with Thanksgiving dinner? Well, casserole does! So I made a broccoli and cheese casserole. This is one of the best things I have ever eaten! Click here for the recipe. This is comfort food at its finest.

Well, I am off to drink an espresso because it is going to be a late night for me. My friends and I are going to watch the Hunger Games: Catching Fire. So excited!

 Have a good night, my friends!

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