12-week transformation...day eight

I know I have been absent for a couple of days...it has been so busy with my sister's wedding coming up! On Saturday, we went dress shopping and she found her dress! Under strict orders, I am not allowed to post anything to do with any of that day...but let me just say that she looks stunning and I can't wait to see her walk down the aisle in that dress...you will just have to wait and see!

Yesterday was all about designing her save the date cards and getting a wedding website up and running. Busy, busy, busy...but definitely fun. I am having a blast so far helping her out. It's been great and has brought us, as well as my mom, even closer.

But anyways, I am back and ready to go!

How is everyone doing on their 12-week transformation? I am struggling with my fleshly desires but am still trucking through! I hope you all still doing good as well! Remember why you are doing this program. For me, I need to get the weight loss aspect of it out of my mind and focus more on a healthy lifestyle (weight loss will just occur naturally). I will get there soon enough though. :)

Breakfast
I am back to my normal home routine (praise the Lord)! So this morning I got up and make a dark chocolate antioxidant shake.

Morning Snack
I was really hungry by the time my morning snack came around. But it was really busy at work, so time flew by. When I did get a chance, I made a chai latte, which held me over until lunch.

Lunch
I didn't have a salad for lunch today! What!? I know, crazy, right? I did end up having whatever was in my fridge and freezer because I have not gone grocery shopping yet. I had some broccoli and a frozen pizza burger, so I cooked those up and drizzled some light chipotle dressing over all of it. Not the greatest meal to be honest, but definitely not bad.

Afternoon Snack
I am running after work today, so I ate my snack about an hour before I ran. I made myself a cup of coffee and snacked on some brown sugar cereal crunch. Yummy pairing!

Workout
I did my same old run today...which consists of 2.18 miles. It felt good getting back out there tonight. I haven't run for a week and I definitely felt the pain as I was going...but...I did keep going despite my flesh wanting to stop and walk. I tried taking a smiling picture...but they just weren't coming out right...so now you get to see a funny weird one of me! ;) (it was taken right after I got back...just fyi).

Dinner
I made a quick java chip frappuccino (chocolate chip soft bake packet blended with instant coffee, water, and ice) before church. This week my church (Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa) is having a week of prayer. If you can, come on out! It is from 7pm to about 8:30pm every night this week!

Dessert
When I got home from church, I snacked on a strawberry crunch bar and called it a night. Working out and then going to church made me all sleepy. But that's okay...I like sleep.

That's all for today. Until tomorrow!

xoxo,
Toni

day sixty-three...if it was easy, everyone would do it

Today was kind of tough. Not really for food reasons (although having an entire box of see's candy in my office doesn't help) but rather for exercise reasons. I went for a 2.17 mile jog and just struggled with it. Then I saw this quote and thought, how true! I mean, if running was easy, everyone would be healthy and in shape, right? But the fact is, is that working out is hard! There is just no easy way if you want to see results. Simple as that.

With that said, I am not feeling discouraged, but rather encouraged. Weird, right? But I am excited to see my weight for tomorrow morning. And you know...if I don't reach my goal of 2 pounds, that is okay. I know I am due for a plateau and I am ready for that, but I also know that I have tried my hardest this week and have stuck to the plan. 

But all the glory goes to the Lord for helping me get through my run tonight and also through this week.

Breakfast
Okay...enough with my "life is hard but keep going rant"...let's move onto my eats for the day. For my breakfast this morning I made a mocha shake and added some instant coffee to it. Totally enhances the flavor of the shake...you should try it.

Morning Snack
I was out and about on an errand when my morning snack time came around. My stomach started grumbling and I realized, Oh, it's time to eat! Funny thing though, in about ten minutes my stomach stopped grumbling and I wasn't hungry anymore! Just goes to show that when those hunger pangs do come, stop, drink some water, go for a walk, etc...I promise the hunger will dissipate. :) But anyways, when I did make it back to the office, I made a calorie burn cappuccino and sipped on the hot goodness for about 30 minutes. 

Lunch
Back to the daily grind for lunch today. I had a romaine salad topped with a pizza burger, some parmesan cheese, and light chipotle ranch dressing. Perfection. It was raining outside which is why the table has puddles on it. ;)

Afternoon Snack
For my afternoon snack I had some nacho cheese chili puffs. These are fairly good...just remember to have some water on hand...well, at least for me. They can get spicy at times.

Workout
As I mentioned earlier, I went for a run today. Nothing out of the ordinary, just my same 2.17 mile run. It was hard but fun at the same time. Maybe the difficulty was due to the cold? I don't know. At one point I couldn't even feel my nose! Oh well...I fought through the pain and finished the run.

Dinner
After my run, I made a java chip frappuccino. I just mixed instant coffee with the chocolate chip soft bake and blended it with some water. Easy peasy and delicious!

Dessert
To end the night, I had a strawberry crunch bar. Something light and small...because tomorrow is a weigh in day!

And now I am off to bed! Isn't this picture of my cat, Peggy, just the cutest! Even cat haters have to love this. I mean, how can you not. ;)

Goodnight!

xoxo,
Toni

day sixty-one...seven days 'till Christmas

Let the countdown begin!

I am a huge Christmas fan. I love everything about it...everything. I feel as if people are simply more cheerful and happy as they go about their day around this time of year...or at least I am.

So as of now I am as happy as can be and cannot wait for the family to come together and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Breakfast
Back to the daily work routine this morning. I made myself a dark chocolate shake and went on my merry way.

Morning Snack
I can't tell you enough how much I like these calorie burn cappuccinos. They are so perfect on wintery days. Definitely ranking as my favorite Medifast meal as of late.

Lunch
Back to the salad today. I really like the pizza burger and parmesan salad combo. All I do is chop up some lettuce, heat up a pizza burger and sprinkle some shredded parmesan cheese and dressing and I am done! Quick and delicious!

Afternoon Snack
I was fairly full when it was time to eat my next snack, but I still munched on some cheese pizza bites. I mean...who am I to say no to a snack time? I am also almost done with these...I didn't order anymore on this last order.

Dinner
I am house sitting tonight, so I had a cinnamon roll crunch bar when I got to the house after work. I then got started working on some new recipes!

Dessert
One of the recipes I created was a vanilla pudding cake. Let's just say that if you are in need of a treat, you must make this. :) I will post the recipe soon!

Also...in case you didn't see it earlier, I posted a recipe for a pumpkin pie custard. Check it out here.

Hope your day is a blessed one!

xoxo,
Toni

day fifty-nine...an unintentional mistake

So...I made a mistake today. It wasn't until after the fact that I realized it was a mistake though. Okay, before you start thinking the worst, let me just tell you. I had brussel sprouts for my lean and green meal. You may be thinking, gross, why brussel sprouts? But...I was working on a recipe to make them more delicious for you all and, they were...until I found out they are off-limits.

However, it wasn't until after I was entering in my foods on my Take Shape For Life app on my phone that I realized brussel sprouts weren't on the list of approved vegetables. So I looked it up online and found out that this particular type of vegetable is high in carbs and thus, not allowed on the program. Oh well...I guess you live and learn. And hey, I suppose it's better to eat a wrong vegetable than a cookie. ;)

Breakfast
I took advantage of this lovely Sunday and slept in until about 10am. Once I got up, I made a mocha shake. I added a tablespoon of instant coffee to up the flavor a bit. It's amazing what a simple tablespoon of coffee can do! The shake was so good!

Morning Snack
After church was over, I ate a strawberry crunch bar. After the first bite, I wasn't a fan. But after a couple more bites my taste buds adjusted and it wasn't all that bad.

Lunch
Here is where I messed up...on accident. I had some roasted parmesan brussel sprouts with a pizza burger on the side. It was crazy good, but I will not be having brussel sprouts again now that I am aware they are off-limits. I will still post the recipe later on this week for those of you who can eat brussel sprouts.

Afternoon Snack
Lunch kept me full so I was really only eating my next snack because I had to. I ended up having some mixed berry cereal as well as a bottle of water. I have been slacking on drinking water today, so I drank a bunch with the cereal.

Dinner
I had my next meal while my parents and I watched church online. I sipped on a calorie burn cappuccino while they drank just black coffee. Perfect pairing...coffee and the Word.

Dessert
I ended the night with a delicious and warm blueberry muffin soft bake. I allowed the batter to sit for a few hours and then microwaved it. Not sure if there was a difference by letting the batter sit around, but it was sure good...a little more dense than usual, but good.

I am going to Knott's Berry Farm tomorrow, so we will see how that goes food wise. I have all my snacks prepared and ready to go, so it will just be a matter of when and where I eat my lean and green meal. I will let you all know tomorrow night how it went! :)

I will leave you with a picture of tonight's sunset...so beautiful....looks like the sky is on fire. God is so amazing...it's like He painted this picture for all to see and stare in awe.

xoxo,
Toni