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 fifty-three...somehow I made it through the day

Today was hard. Today seemed impossible to get through. I don't know why, but it was really hard to fight off the cravings. I mean, I was able to, but it wasn't easy.

I will admit that at lunchtime when I was making my lean and green meal, I ate a few extra pinches of shredded Parmesan cheese. Other than that, I surprisingly made it through the day. I found this quote and thought it appropriate to share, especially in memory of Nelson Mandela. This quote is a perfect description to my day. While I was going about today, it seemed impossible to stay on plan...it was only until I started writing this post that I realized I made it. The day is done.

The Lord is to thank for this victory because I will tell you right now, I would have easily fallen prey to that warm, freshly baked banana bread in the kitchen at work this morning or that frozen pizza in the freezer just begging to be baked. Hopefully this encourages you to stay strong. The time will pass whether you give in to temptation or not...better to not rather than have regret. You can do it!

Breakfast
My morning started off pretty good. I went to bed kind of late last night, so I was a tad tired, but other than that, it was good. I made a strawberry shake and headed into work.

Morning Snack
This is the time when my cravings began. I have no idea what triggered it, but I was struggling. I had a cup of coffee and made an apple cinnamon oatmeal muffin hoping my cravings would suppress...but they didn't. Right after I finished eating my snack, I wanted more. Something "bad" and off plan. Of course, my flesh desired that, but my spirit was saying, no screaming, don't do it! I thankfully listened to my spirit and started to chew a piece of gum and drink some water.

Lunch
The gum helped temporarily, but the craving for food was still there. I went home for lunch and looked around the freezer to see what I could round up. I wasn't able to go shopping yesterday, so I had to make something with what I already had. So broccoli and a pizza burger it was! While the veggies were cooking, I ate a little more cheese than I should have. It was low calorie, but still...I was overeating. As soon as I realized what was happening, I put the cheese away and began cooking my burger and ate as soon as it was done. I also drizzled some light chipotle ranch dressing on top of the broccoli to give it a little extra flavor (I didn't use any seasonings while cooking them).

Because I was still struggling with my cravings, I made a coffee to sip on hoping it would help. And itt did! Before I knew it, it was time to eat my afternoon snack...and I hadn't even finished drinking the coffee!

Afternoon Snack

So thankful I get to eat every two hours. I really needed to munch on something by this time in the afternoon. I had some honey mustard pretzel bites and prayed it would hold me over until after my run tonight...which it did.

Workout

Despite wanting to eat everything in sight, I went for a run. And you know what? It actually helped! By the time I was done, I was back to normal...my cravings had suppressed dramatically! Funny how working out can do that.

Dinner

For dinner, I ate a lemon meringue crunch bar. It was the perfect snack to eat as I went grocery shopping for the week.

Dessert

It's Monday night, so my parents and I gathered around and we watched last week's episode of the Biggest Loser. While watching, I sipped on a coffee milkshake. Perfect ending to my day.

Well, that's it! I made it though this seemingly impossible day! I pray and hope tomorrow is a better one. :)

xoxo,

Toni

day two...a paddle out and a craving attack

This morning was an emotional one. I woke up around 8:30 and began to prepare my first meal. But my reason for getting up this early on a Saturday evening was because I was going to a paddle out at the HB pier to honor the life of Pastor Chuck Smith. The photo above is when all the men were gathered around yelling out verses and singing hymns. It was definitely a moment not to be forgotten. 

So on my way to the beach I had a mocha shake. I love shakes and I love coffee. So this was just divine. 

After that I had some cinnamon pretzel sticks. Good thing I brought them with me, because I was still at the beach when it was time to eat my meal again.

So yeah, not too excited about those pretzels, they were ok, but not great. Next I had my "lean and green" meal for the day. I got creative and had the exact same thing I did yesterday: 3 cups of salad, 4 ounces of ground turkey, and 2 tablespoons of light dressing. 

Soon after that it was time to eat again and so I grabbed a cinnamon roll bar. Yes, it was good...but not as good as a real cinnamon roll.  

Then for some reason I just had massive craving attack! And it was like an hour after I just had the bar! Now, I am allowed to have diet and sugar free drinks, so I ended up drinking a zero Monster. I know it's not the best, but it's a lot better than eating a bunch of junk. 

After that it was time to have yet another meal. So, seeing that I could treat myself on this lovely Saturday, I made the Mac and Cheese. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't bad at all. Totally hit the comfort food spot. It wasn't as bad as it looks. Promise ;)

Lastly, I had my dessert meal after getting home from church. I ended up baking their chocolate chip cookie. It was surprisingly not bad at all! I was expecting some chemical tasting nastiness, but it actually (mostly) tasted like a chocolate chip cookie. I feel like I'm cheating by eating this kind of food, but it's totally ok! I think I'm going to do this (it's about time too).

Please keep praying as I continue this journey to get healthy and lose weight!

xoxo,

Toni 

start of something new

So I am starting a new health plan today and am so excited. And yes, I just started one with holidays right around the corner. But why should I want to wait another 3 months just to feel terrible in the clothes I wear and really just feel sick. I want to change now. I am going to change now. And this blog is my to document the next 6 months or so of my life.

I am starting a plan called Medifast. I was a bit skeptical at first, but warmed up to the idea after about a month of research. It is quite expensive, so I wanted to be sure this was the way for me. Not only do you get healthy, but you lose weight in the process—can't beat that!

Everyday I will be posting my daily food eats and exercise and maybe some recipes here and there. I am also going to try and post progress pictures every other week or so...along with my weekly measurements and weight.

I hope you will come and support me as I begin this new journey to a better, healthier me!

xoxo,
Toni