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-four...you are not a dog!

I saw this and could not resist posting it. I am watching two dogs at the moment and they do get food treats for being good. But I am not a dog...I don't get food rewards.

So anyways, I cannot believe I just typed "day twenty-four" in the post title. Can you believe it has already been twenty-four days since I began the Medifast Program? I am loving it and have never felt better.

As you know I am housesitting alone for the next week. This situation can easily cause me to slip and fall back into my old patterns of eating or it can strenghten me. It is when you are alone that the waters are truly tested. Last night for example, I was making a cauliflower pizza for dinner and found myself popping in a few pieces of light mozzarella in my mouth while waiting for the crust to cook. Now, I could have punished myself for eating more than I should and go off on a binge, or move past it and adjust the rest of the meal so it still fits within the required lean and green guide. Thankfully, I chose the latter. It was an easy fix...I simply adjusted the cheese measurement for the top of the pizza. Easy peasy.

Next time you are alone, stop and pray, and trust in the Lord no matter the situation. He can and will get you through it.

Breakfast
It was a leisure morning for me. I cooked my friend, Kiera, some breakfast while I made and ate an oatmeal muffin.

Morning Snack

A couple hours after we ate breakfast, it was time for my morning snack. I totally spaced and didn't get a picture of it because I was eating it on my drive to church...probably better that I didn't snap photos while driving. I had a peanut butter crunch bar in case you were wondering.

Lunch

I was planning on making a cauliflower pizza today, but I didn't have enough time to make it for lunch...I had to eat my next meal immediately. So instead I opted for the brown sugar cinnamon crunch cereal and decided to have the pizza for my afternoon snack.

Afternoon Snack

Okay, here it is...the cauliflower crust pizza! I used the recipe found here but made a few adjustments. I will post the recipe hopefully by the end of the week. It was so delicious...couldn't even taste the cauliflower. But I do have to say that this is a rare once in a while treat. I feel like there is a lot of cheese and eating that much once a week or something cannot be good for you. So let this be a once a month treat instead. It is definitely a great alternative to pizza though...so keep that in mind the next time you want to order that extra-large 8 topping pizza. ;D

Dinner

I was actually still quite full from the pizza, so I had a chocolate chip soft bake and drank a bunch of water with it.

Dessert

To round out the day, I ended with a coffee milkshake. Love love love this drink! It is by far the best dessert you can make. I highly recommend it.

Well, that is all I have for today. Just remember that in those times when you are alone, you are going to be tested, so just be prepared, stay strong, and know that God is in control and there will always be a way out.

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).

xoxo,

Toni

day twenty...perfection

It's about to get real up in this blog post. But first, happy 27th birthday to my beloved brother, Jesse! He is the best brother a sister could ever have. :)

Perfection is something I have struggled with my entire life. Now, you may be wondering, what kind of perfection? beauty, body, grades? I have struggled with all of those things, but there is one type of perfection that has always haunted me and has on numerous occasions led me to failure. It is the perfection of the diet...or in this case, health plan.

For example, in the past few years, if I were to eat just one chip or cookie or basically anything that wasn't on my approved foods for the diet I was currently on, I would throw in the towel and call it quits and go on a binging spree, eating every food that was available to me. I would think, well, I have already eaten a cookie...why not finish the box! Now you can see how I got to be at the weight I am now. Because, I am far from perfect...like really far. And I would give into that one cookie all the time, so I never stuck to a diet.

Are you one of those people who will only start a diet on a Monday? Well, I was. So if I blew my diet on Tuesday, I would tell myself, well, eat while you can because I am starting again on Monday...that's five days later! So for five days, I was eating a bunch of junk food "promising" myself I would get back on the wagon on Monday. If you don't know, I started the Medifast Plan on a Friday—the day after I received my first package of food. I wasn't going to wait until the weekend was over! I was sick of feeling "blah" all the time and wanted to change as soon as I could.

So this brings me to today. Why did I bring this up now if I am not struggling with perfection? Well, truth is, I still am. Sure, I haven't strayed from the plan or eaten anything I shouldn't have, but I still get down on myself for the things I do eat and when. I ate too late, or my lean and green meal could have been more simple and better for me. Things like that. Yesterday, I felt a little bloated, so I immediately blamed it on my lean and green meal. I shouldn't have had the marinara sauce. I should have just stuck to a salad. I didn't even give my body a time to digest before I started judging myself!

But, I am still learning. My body will change over time and I cannot judge it by how I feel. I used to weigh myself everyday as well, and if the number stayed the same or went up, I would go and eat something full of fat and sugar because I felt sorry for myself...and a lot of good that did. I am glad I don't weigh myself everyday now. My body is changing day to day and I shouldn't be focused on a number.

Wow...that was a lot! But I just want to encourage you that if you struggle with being perfect in your diet or health plan, you are not alone! God is helping me get through it, and He will help you too.

Breakfast
I had a staff meeting at 8am this morning, so I decided to forgo the shake and opt for a quicker-to-eat option. So, I made a blueberry soft bake and ate it on my way to the meeting. The picture looks terrible, I know, but it didn't taste as bad as it looks ;)

Morning Snack
I had the cappuccino again...it is just so good! I am happy I ordered more! I also ordered the chai latte drink mix...I hope it is as good as it sounds!

Lunch
I went to Trader Joe's last night to buy some more meatless meatballs, and they are out! I am so sad! Those are the best. So, I looked around and decided to get more pizza burgers and try out these California meatless burgers. And in case you are wondering, no, I am not vegan or vegetarian, I just really like the taste of meatless products. And they also tend to be lower in calories. So for lunch I used one of the California burgers and chopped it up and put it on top of a romaine salad with Italian dressing.

Afternoon Snack
At lunch we got my brother a chocolate cake for his birthday, and sure, the cake looked pretty good, but I wasn't thinking, I have to have that! I simply said no, and moved on. It was a pretty awesome moment for me. So, instead of having a piece of cake, I popped open a bag of brown sugar crunch cereal (which smells like french toast) and was totally satisfied.

Dinner
I ate dinner a bit late tonight because I knew I would be home late from church. So I ate a quick peanut butter crunch bar and headed off to church!

Dessert
I have to admit something to you...I went off plan tonight. Before you freak out, let me explain. It was communion tonight so I had a tiny piece of a cracker and a sip of grape juice. I was debating whether or not to take it, but then I realized that there should be no question about it. I believe the Lord will honor me in doing so. This is the only exception to "breaking" the Medifast Plan, and it's only once a month. I will live. So when I got home from church I was going to make a peanut butter milkshake, but I accidentally grabbed the dark chocolate shake packet, so that is what I had. Still tasted yummy!

Well, that is all I have for today! Don't strive for perfection...strive towards Jesus and all will be okay.

xoxo,
Toni

day fifteen...week two weigh in

Today was pretty slow and uneventful. I started out the day by weighing myself right after I woke up... and guess what?! I lost another 4.2 pounds! So crazy to think I am losing weight by eating pancakes and chocolate. So this brings my total weight lost to 11.6 pounds. It has only been two weeks and I have already lost 11 and 1/2 pounds! This program is beyond great...you convinced yet? Well, hopefully I will have you convinced in a few more weeks after I have lost even more weight.

I have also decided to do monthly photos and measurement check in's rather than weekly or biweekly. So in two more weeks I will be updating you all on how I look...unless you see me at church or work or something...then you already know. ;)

Breakfast
I started off the morning with a nice hot cup of Medifast calorie burn cappuccino. I used a milk frother to mix the powder and water, and it turned out creamy and smooth—no chunks. Yay!

Morning Snack

So...I tried something new again with the oatmeal. Instead of cookies, I made a muffin. It was so easy too. I simply added 1/4 cup of water and mixed it in a mug. I then microwaved it for 1 minute and 30 seconds. After that I took the muffin out of the mug and flipped it and microwaved it yet again for another 30 seconds to dry it out a bit. It was so good! I am excited to see what else I can do. :)

Lunch
Lunch was amazing. All I did was toss some fresh green beans with a little bit of olive oil and seasonings and bake them for about 25 minutes. And on the side I had some meatballs. Such a perfect and balanced meal...not to mention delicious.

Medifast Lean and Green Breakdown:
lean: 6 meatballs
green: 1 1/2 cups of green beans
healthy fat: 1 teaspoon of olive oil

Afternoon Snack
Lunch kept me fairly full, but I was pretty excited for my afternoon snack. I had some brown sugar cereal. This is one of my favorites. Even before I went on the Medifast program I loved to eat cereal (most of the time I would binge on it), so this snack is perfect for me.

Dinner
It's weird to call a snack "dinner", but oh well...it is what it is. So for dinner I had a peanut butter crunch bar. Another one of my favorites. It actually tastes like an old protein bar I used to eat back in the binging days...but this one is way better for me...and honestly tastes better too.

Dessert
To end the day, I had a chocolate chip cookie soft bake. Now that I look back on my day, it was full of sweet foods...hmmmm...oh well. Tomorrow is a new day full of different foods. I microwaved the soft bake in a larger bowl just for fun...made a bigger, yet flatter cookie, which I liked. I know the picture makes it look kinda gross, but I promise you it was delicious!

Well, that is it for today. Just remember to hold fast to the Word of God and don't lose hope when things look grim...God is always in control!

xoxo,
Toni

day eleven...the Father's warmth

the view from the middle of my street this morning

Have you ever had one of those mornings when you wake up and just want to stay in bed all day long? That was me this morning. My alarm went off and I immediately felt the chill overcome my body as I began to get out of my bed. I stood for a moment and hopped right back under my covers just so I could feel the warmth once more. I did not want to leave—I knew that as soon as I did, I would be cold and uncomfortable.

This is the way I should be with the Lord. He keeps me warm and happy as He wraps His arms around me. I never want to leave His presence, and I know that as soon as I do, my life will become stale, cold, and uncomfortable. Now, I can prolong this misery, or I can jump right back into His open arms as He begins to warm me up once again. God will always be there for me—whether I am walking with Him or if I have strayed. He is there. Arms open wide, just waiting for me to return.

Just think about that as you go about your day today. Stay in the Father's warmth.

Now, I totally spaced this morning and didn't get a picture of my breakfast or morning snack, but I became more diligent as the day went on. :)
But for the record, I had a mocha shake for breakfast and a peanut butter crunch bar for my morning snack. Both delicious!

Lunch: Meatless Meatball Salad

These meatless meatballs from Trader Joe's are amazing. You simply bake them for ten minutes and they come out crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. It paired very well with some romaine lettuce and Italian dressing.

Medifast Lean and Green Breakdown:
Lean: meatless meatballs
Green: romaine lettuce
Healthy Fat: Italian dressing

Afternoon Snack: BBQ Bites

These are still not my favorite, but I am eating them anyways because I did buy them—and no food will go to waste on this program. So I sucked it up and ate them. But hey, it kept me satisfied for the next couple hours.

As I got home from work, the chill began to creep through my thick sweater. And what better way to warm up after a rainy day than to eat hot and steamy comfort food. So I pulled out the perfect Medifast meal...mac and cheese.

Dinner: Macaroni and Cheese

Mac and cheese isn't that pretty to photograph, but I tried and will get better over time. But anyways, it tasted way better than it looked and it hit the spot. Dinner perfected.

And of course, I go in the complete opposite direction for dessert and make myself an icy cold peanut butter milkshake. I have to admit, these milkshakes are becoming one of my absolute favorite things to eat. It tricks my mind into thinking I am drinking a calorie filled milkshake, when in reality, it is just my Medifast soft serve blended with some water and ice. Love it!

Dessert: Peanut Butter Milkshake

Well, that is it for today! I am off to bed and ready to see what awaits me tomorrow.

xoxo,
Toni

day seven...secrets

I have a secret to tell you guys. But first, let's go over today's eats.

Breakfast: pineapple mango smoothie

This one isn't too bad. Still can't figure out what the taste reminds me of. But overall, so good. Did you notice how dark and cloudy it is outside? Don't you just love the fall? I do. I love when it gets so cold and chilly outside that you can't wait to bundle up and get cozy by the fire, warming up with a nice hot Medifast Cappuccino.

Morning Snack: chocolate chip cookie soft bake

The last time I ate this, I tried to bake it, but it didn't turn out all that great. So this time, I decided to add a bit more water and microwave it. And...it turned out delicious!!! It really tasted like a chocolate chip cookie, and I enjoyed every bite of it.

Lunch: Blackened Tilapia Salad

Okay, ready for secret number one? I do not like fish...like at all. But, I am making the sacrifice for my health and by eating tilapia for my lean and green meal. You won't see it very often though on my blog. But I will eat it only every now and then.

1 lean: 6 ounces of tilapia
3 greens: 3 cups of romaine lettuce
1 healthy fat: 2 tablespoons of light Italian dressing

Afternoon Snack: Cheese Pizza Bites

For some reason, I really like these. I did the last time I ate them and did today as well. Not sure why I like these but not the BBQ ones. It's a mystery.

Dinner: Peanut Butter Milkshake

"Peanut butter milkshake?" You ask. "They don't have those on Medifast." That is because I created one. I used the peanut butter soft serve and mixed it with a 1 cup of water and 1 cup of crushed ice. Then I blended it all together, and voila! A milkshake. I absolutely loved it, and will be making this again for sure.

Dessert: Peanut Butter Crunch Bar

This bar will never grow old. It gets me thinking that I can get through this Medifast plan with success. I actually find myself looking forward to my next Medifast meal rather than my lean and green meal. Love it.

Okay, so you ready for my big secret? Well, it may not seem big to you, but it is huge for me. As of the end of today, I have been on the Medifast diet for seven full days. That is the longest I have stuck with a diet for as long as I can remember. It has been like years. I have always blown it around day 6 or 7 and just called it quits after that...until I attempted to try yet another diet—which only lasted another 6 days.

Anyways, I hope that encourages you to stick with it! Whether it is a diet, a new exercise plan, or really anything—don't quit! If I can do it, so can you. But let me just say that I did not do this alone. I really cannot give myself any credit at all. All the credit goes to the Lord. He has taken me by the hand each morning and walked with me through each day, helping me push aside those temptations and cravings.

Feed your Spirit rather than your flesh and you will have victory. I guarantee it.

xoxo,
Toni

day three...my food is the will of God

Can't believe it's already the end of day three! Hasn't really even felt like I'm on a diet due to the fact that I'm like eating all day! I love it.

So as I was reading my morning devo it was talking about how my food should be the will of God. That spoke mountains to me. I shouldn't be so concerned with earthly food that will just cause me to become hungry again, but I should be filling myself with the word of God and following the call The Lord has for me. 

The devo is taken from The Daily Light. 

Ok, as for my food today, I made myself the Medifast spiced pancakes for breakfast. They were...not bad. I most definitely prefer the real pancakes, but these were pretty satisfying for being "diet food".

After breakfast I went to church and was a tad late on eating my next meal. Since it was lunchtime, I decided to eat my lean and green meal. So for lunch I had ground turkey "tacos" with grilled onions and asparagus "fries" on the side. 

Then for my first afternoon snack I had some BBQ bites. These didn't taste as good as they sounded, but were still pretty good. 

Moving on to my next afternoon snack, which I ate after my hour and 20 minute walk (totally forgot to take pictures), I had a peanut butter crunch bar. This was pretty good and tasted similar to a crunchy protein bar. It also had chocolate on it which just makes everything taste better. ;)

After church I had dinner, which consisted of a nice hot bowl of apple cinnamon oatmeal. The taste was a tad off, but it wasn't all that bad. But next time it may make a muffin out of it instead. Recipe to come later ;)

And then right before going to bed I had a wonderful dessert. It was another frozen yogurt type dessert, but this time it was mocha flavored rather than peanut butter. And I totally put a filter on the photo because the original one didn't look great at all. Bad lighting...or just a bad photographer ;)

So overall it was a great day! I'm excited to see what this next week has in store for me.

xoxo,

Toni