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-six...guilty feelings

I have a confession...for the past few days, I have been getting down on myself and feeling guilty for the things I am eating. I have given myself a little more freedom and creativity when it comes to my lean and green meals, and I am simply not feeling thinner...if that makes sense—so I feel guilty because it must lead back to those lean and green meals. And maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. Either way, I need to start treating myself better and feeling guilty for eating according to plan. I am on the right track...there is nothing wrong with that.

With that said, I have a plan. For now on, I am going to have a "treat" lean and green meal on Friday and Saturday or Sunday and every other day I am just going to keep it simple. Simple meaning, a salad with a protein. A treat meal can mean making pizza boats, zucchini spaghetti, or cauliflower pizza. That way, I am still having a little fun in the kitchen, but not all the time. 

Wow...okay...now, let's talk about what I ate today.

Breakfast

I had spare time this morning, so I decided to make an oatmeal waffle. I just mixed the oatmeal with some water and put it in the waffle maker. It stuck like crazy, but it was still crispy and delicious.

Morning Snack

It was a chilly morning, so I made a lovely hot cup of the calorie-burn cappuccino. I can drink this every morning. Love it!

Lunch

Like I mentioned earlier in the post, I am going simple during the week for my lean and green meals. So today, I had a simple, yet delicious chicken salad. I ended up using a new dressing today as well. It is the light honey mustard one made by Annie's. It was soooo good! Paired perfectly with the chicken. Even my cat, Peggy wanted a bite. ;)

Afternoon Snack

I actually wasn't hungry between lunch and my afternoon snack! Yay! I am finally getting over these cravings to eat...or really just to keep my mouth busy. Anyways, I opened up a bag of the cheese pizza bites and ate those for a good 30 minutes. There are a lot of bites in one bag!

Dinner

As I mentioned yesterday, I saved the mac and cheese for tonight. And that is exactly what I had. It turned out way better than any other mac and cheese I have made! Not a bad alternative to the real stuff! I am still trying to snap a decent photo of the mac and cheese, but it is just not photogenic.

Dessert

I have been having a crunch bar every day since day one and am not going to stop doing that now...so I had a cinnamon roll crunch bar for my dessert and loved every last bite of it. I actually almost forgot to eat it because my parents came over to the house I am watching and we were all sitting together watching Food Network's Chopped. We were all so in to it and in awe of how these chefs make a beautiful dish out of the strangest ingredients. But anyways, I did end up remembering and enjoyed the bar while watching.

And just to put a smile on your face, here is the cutest picture of our neighbor's cat peeking over the fence into our backyard to say hello to our two cats.

'Til tomorrow!

xoxo,

Toni

day twenty-five...a girl walks into a bakery

Oh the things you find on Pinterest...this one is a keeper and perfect for my post today...

So today I walked into a bakery. Not just any bakery...French's Bakery. A family owned and established bakery loaded with delicious baked goods. The moment I walked in, the smell just overwhelmed me. It was the first time in a few weeks that I truly felt weak.

Let me rewind...the reason I was even there in the first was because I had to purchase a cookie tray for work—this was all work-related and had nothing to do with pleasure or torturing myself.

Okay, so I walk in, smell all the goodness and purchase the cookie tray. While the girl is helping me checkout, I am standing there just looking at all the cookies, cupcakes, eclairs, croissants, and cakes...I feel like they are talking to me...just buy me, it won't hurt...you deserve it. I should have turned away but I couldn't stop looking at all the different kinds of pastries they had. Thankfully, the girl finished the transaction and I was on my merry way out the door. No other purchases were made.

I will be honest...it was hard. I know I have been strong resisting temptation and it has been fairly easy, but today was not easy. Sweet treats are my all-time weakness. I am so thankful the Lord provided that exit door...that was my way out. I had to stop and think, is it really worth it? Nope, I am already sweet enough...I don't need that cupcake. ;)

Breakfast
I woke up around 6:45 this morning and got going on my day. Got ready, made my breakfast and headed out the door to get to work on time. I had some extra time on my hands, but I decided to make a quick mocha shake and just get on the road.

Morning Snack
My stomach was grumbling by the time my morning snack came around. I chugged some water and made an oatmeal muffin. For some reason, I have a bunch of the oatmeal packets left so I am trying to finish them off before I open my new boxes of food.

It was a good thing I ate my snack when I did because it was right after I finished eating that I was asked to go to the bakery. I am sure not having a growling stomach helped me resist that bakery temptation.

Lunch
I had originally planned to have a salad for lunch, but as I was getting out the lettuce, I noticed there was cabbage as well. So I nixed the salad and went for a cabbage and pizza burger hash. Glad I did because it was delicious!

Afternoon Snack
I made it! The time quickly passed between lunch and my afternoon snack. I tell you, it is the hardest time waiting after lunch...I don't know why. But anyways, as soon as 3:15 rolled around I broke open a bag of bbq bites and started snacking.

Dinner
After debating for a while on what to have for dinner I decided to just have a s'mores crunch bar. I was going to have mac and cheese, but I will save that for tomorrow.

Dessert
Like the oatmeal, I have a few more soft serve packets left, so I decided to whip up a peanut butter milkshake using the peanut butter soft serve. This is such a perfect treat to have when lying in bed reading or watching a movie or something. Totally feels like you are sipping on a calorie-laden milkshake...when you in fact, are not.

So, another end to a great day. The Lord is good and I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

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

day sixteen...running the race

taken after the race

 Today I ran a race...both physically and spiritually. Let's start with the physical race.

Well, I woke up this morning, got ready, and headed out with my parents to run a 5k color run. Now, before I began Medifast, I would run about 3-4 miles three times a week with no problem. Yes, I would get tired, but I would always push through it. Today however was a different situation...totally different. My health coach told me to take it easy with my running for the first two weeks of the program—which I did.

I am in week three now, so I thought I could just breeze through the run like I have in the past. But I was wrong...like way wrong. I pretty much struggled the entire time. The first mile went pretty good, not too much pain, but soon after I was hurting. I definitely had to listen to my body—it was screaming for me to stop and walk. It was humbling, but I did. My mom was also with me the entire time and did not leave me in the (color) dust...she's a keeper. ;) After walking for a few minutes, we would pick the pace up again and begin running...only for me to call a break and start walking once again. We did this for the rest of the run, but it worked. We ran the majority of the run, so that is an accomplishment. But I can honestly say that I did the best I could.

taken before the race

Moral of the story...listen to your body and know that you will not be able to do all you could do before the Medifast program. I am going to begin a workout plan beginning Monday, but it will mainly consist of toning exercises. I will probably add some cardio as well, but just try to shoot for 1 mile of running rather than 3. Some things will have to be adjusted because I am not feeding my body all the calories and energy I used to. My body is still adjusting to the low calorie diet. I'm just taking it little by little.

Okay, so here is the spiritual side of the story...after the run and me realizing just how weak I was, the Lord gave me a verse that spoke wonders to me. Now, I have heard this verse more times than I can count, but in this particular moment, it was just what I needed to hear. Taken from Hebrews 12:1, it says,

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." 

How great is that! I may not have broken any records running today, but I did endure and finish the race! Even with my new health program. It is helping me lay aside the sin of overeating and turning my focus to the Lord rather than my flesh. Keep running your race. You may have just begun (like me), but the finish line is there, we just need to keep enduring and we will eventually see it.

my mom and me right after we crossed the finish line

Anyways, I hope that this encourages some of you today who may be struggling with endurance. Keep going! It may hurt physically, but you will win greatly spiritually.


Breakfast
I had to make a quick breakfast to eat on the go to the race. So I made a pancake muffin in a mug. I then cut it in half and stuck it in a toaster. Delish!

Morning Snack
I had my morning snack a little after I finished the race. I wasn't too hungry after that difficult run, but I ate it anyways. I chose something small and easy to eat (because I was in the car). Also, I came prepared and pack multiple snacks. You just never know what will happen and you don't want to be without your meals! And yes, those are my running pants...covered in color!

Lunch
Lunch was a little late for me today, so I ate a simple meatball salad. It is quick and easy to make and tastes delicious too!

Afternoon Snack
At this point, I was just relaxing, so it was nice to eat a crunchy snack while doing my nails. It was easy to eat too so I didn't mess up my freshly painted fingers.

Dinner
After my fingers dried, I decided to try out a little recipe. I took the brown sugar oatmeal and made granola out of it. But I will get to that next. For dinner I made a dark chocolate shake. I was going to a friend's house and this was a perfect meal to make and take with me to drink on the drive over.

Dessert
I made granola, and it wasn't half bad. I baked it in advance because I had to take it with me to eat at my friend's house—didn't want to be unprepared and tempted. While they were eating pizza, dr. pepper, and brownies, I munched on my oatmeal granola. And you know what? I didn't feel left out! No one even mentioned or asked why I wasn't eating pizza too. They all understood! Love my friends! Just make sure that you have supportive friends who won't drag you down.

So that's it! Quite a busy day, but it was a good one. I hope your Sunday is a fun one!

xoxo,
Toni