Hi! Sorry I've been sidetracked so much. I had appointments all day yesterday and today. I will try and start posting my meals also. I have gotten as far as writing them in a notebook on my desk each day, but the last 2 days weren't written down - tomorrow I'll try to start writing them here and on paper.
Today there were no mini meals. I did well overall, but it was in 3 regular meals. I have to figure out how to eat mini meals on the run. I am not normally this busy, but I go back to work on Monday and I've been playing beat the clock to get things finished.
Cindy - I forgot to mention. If you go to User CP at the very top on the left, you can go to Edit Options and click to get email notification for replies, if you haven't already done it. Also, you can click right above this thread on the right where it says Thread Tools. You can click that and choose to subscribe to this thread.
We're going to add Eating For Life in the description under General Diet Plans. I can't find it either unless I go from email notification! I always stop and think of where it is.
I hope this helped!
Jennifer, I totally understand the week before going back to work frenzy! How are you feeling these days?
Today is my much anticipated free day. I plan to keep to 6 small meals, it's just that about 3 of those meals will be non-bfl type. I started the morning off with oatmeal, protein powder, cottage cheese, & blueberries - a 1/2 portion of each protein and each carb. This is my favorite breakfast and I sometimes have it during the day as well.
Today is a cardio day, I will try to do a yoga tape as well.
Well, It's been busy. Also after our anniversary weekend it was tough getting back to a work schedule.
I started reading the book but haven't gotten very far. I have a tendancy to scan when I read. But I really want to read this all the way thru as the author states it's important. I just finished the 3 or 4 testimonials in the beginning. Hopefully I will pick it back up later today.
I figure I will do the best I can prior to and on vacation but not actually start the 12 weeks challenge unti I get back. I haven't been exercising as much as I was, but still get cardio in 3-4 x a week and I look forward to starting with some weights.
Ledom, I did not know you are a photographer. How exciting. I hope the show went well. (and you should feel good about yourself)
Jennifer, Good luck getting back to work. I'm sure after a couple of days it will feel like you never left. I know I kind of jumped in late here. You had surgery? That's why you were out? Nothing serious I hope.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the book. Of course in all of the pictures I see of before and after, I don't see any befores with the challenge I will have. I hope I can do this. I need to lose quite a bit. But all of your advise(all of you) has been great and I look forward to sharing my experience...Or should I say my SUCCESS!!!
Hey, I was trying to find some pictures for you Donna and ended up w/ this recipe instead. I think it looks pretty good.
I have weighed as much as 295 and weigh 235 today. This is not all a result of BFL but I weighed 264 this time last year and that is a BFL result. As you can probably tell, I am a dawdler when it comes to weight loss. I do feel healthier and better about myself every day I stick w/ my plan.
Your vacation will give you the opportunity to contemplate your new lifestyle, you'll be raring to go when you come home.
Are you a biker?
~~Mexican Casserole~~
[this is "cappuccinocarrie's" recipe]
Makes 8 servings
6 whole wheat tortilas
1 lb. lean ground beef [or you can use turkey]
1 taco seasoning packet
3/4 c. water
8 oz. low fat cottage cheese
8 oz. fat free cream cheese
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped red bell pepper
1/2 c. fat free cheddar cheese
salsa
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom of a casserole dish with cooking spray. In a non-stick skillet brown the beef rinse and drain. Add taco seasoning and water, simmer until most of liquid is absorbed and set aside. With a mixer, cream together cottage cheese, onions, and red pepper, set aside. Tear 2 of the tortilas into pieces and put in the bottom of the casserole dish. Layer the taco meat over the tortila pieces. Tear another 2 tortilas into pieces also and cover the meat with them. Spread the cottage cheese mixture over the tortila layer. Tear the remaining 2 tortilas and place on top of the cottage cheese layer. Spray the top of the last tortila layer with cooking spray and bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top and bake an additional 10 minutes. Serve with salsa. Makes 8 servings. Nutritional stats per serving are;
Calories:274
Protein:24g.
Carbs:25g.
Fats:8g.
Joann
Donna, I had surgery at the start of June to remove ovarian cysts, but I was full of adhesions so they had to do major surgery instead and clean me out. It was a big surgery, but mostly it went well. I know you are unsure if you will make it or not, but I can tell you this is the most sane way of eating that I have found yet. None of the plans will be easy, but they can definitely be livable! If you want to lose the weight enough, you'll find a way to stick to it.
Ledom - I decided to make today this weeks free day at the last minute. I slept late, got off track before I even woke up. Tonight we had a big family dinner at my parents, so I thought it would be wise to use it up.
How long does protein powder stay until it goes bad? It hasn't expired on the can, but it's been open a few months. Should I risk it?
Hmmm, I don't know about protein powder. I generally go w/ the expiration date but it boils down to your own personal comfort level I guess.
Free day sure saved my life this week. First the thought of it was what kept me going last week, then yesterday was the most bad a$$ free day I have had in a long time. At the end of the day I wanted my clean food more than ever and I don't think I have to go whole hog again for a long time.
I spent quite a bit of time reading from skwigg's site last night, the what I eat page.
I am going to be modifying bfl a little between now and mid-august. I am going to try her suggestions for a cutting phase. If you're interested you can read the details at the above location.
Today is cooking day and I am planning to try 2 new recipes. The one I posted yesterday and one I found in the August issue of Shape. It is Basil-stuffed Chicken Breast. It has a pesto made w/ water instead of oil. I'll let you know how they turn out. I am also going to make a baba ghounash to eat w/ crudites and EFL strawberry cheesecake. SO, time to get crackin'. DD will be getting care packages to take back to her apt. w/ her today.
Hope everyone has a relaxing Sunday and a good week.
Today is going ok - but I am behind on meals. I've only had 2 at it is after 5pm!
Tonight we are eating Jerk Chicken. I sprinkle the chicken all over with the jerk spice blend and saute in a pan. When the chicken is almost done, I dump a can of drained pineapple-in-juice-chunks in and heat those up with the chicken juices. Mmmm. Not quite enough carb though, I'll have to eat a little corn or a red potato with it.
Both my recipes turned out good. Here is a review and the other recipe.
The Mexican Casserole is good, when I was dishing it out the serving looked on the small side. I didn't have a salsa made up so I ate it with a sliced tomato and enjoyed it. I think having the salsa to go along w/ it will stretch it out. Actually, it did not leave me hungry at all.
Basil Stuffed Chicken w/ Red Potatoes and Olives
Ingredients:
Cooking spray
2 T. pine nuts
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
4 cloves garlic
1 T grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup water
4 4 oz. skinless, boneless checken breast halves
salt and ground black peper to taste
6 small red potatoes, quartered
16 pittled kalamata olives
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1 T. honey
2 tsp. olive oil
Preheat oven to 375. Coat a shallow baking pan w/ cooking spray.
Place pine nuts in a small, dry skillet and set pan over med.-low heat. Cook 2-3 minutes, until nuts are golden rown, shaking the pan frequently to prevent burning.
Transfer nuts to a blender and add basil, garlic, Parmesan and water. Puree until a thick paste forms.
Use a sharp knife to make a "pocket" in each chicken breast by slicing into the side of each half. Spoon 1/4 basil mixture into each pocket. Place stuffed chcken in prepared pan and season w/ salt and black pepper. Arrange potatoes and olives around sides of chicken.
Whisk together vinegar, honey and oil. Pour mixture over chicken and potatoes.
Bake 45 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender when tested w/ a fork.
Each serving is one breast 6 potato quarters and 4 olives
OMG - this is the best thing I have made in a while. Good enough for a company dish. D had the chicken in her salad and raved about the flavor.
When I entered it into fitday the numbers didn't jive so I figured all the ingredients and here are the nutritional stats (in case you have Shape and are wondering at the differences).
(a close estimation)
384 cals.
fat grams 20
carb grams 14
protein 35
Here are my meals for the day:
1: 4 whites, 1 yolk, 1/2 c. oatmeal
2: Protein Shake
3: Mexican Casserole, fresh tomato
4: zone bar, coffee
5: basil-stuffed chicken, potato, olives
6: EFL Strawberry cheesecake w/ blueberries instead of strawberries
Ok, this is my second try at this post. The reason I haven't been around is that my pc was down. I was just in the middle of a rather lengthy post and lost it. Seems I still may be having some pc issues.
Jen, Its sounds like you went thru quite an ordeal. Glad you are feeling so much better. I have been avoiding possible surgery myself. Last fall it became evident during routine blood work(I'm type II diabetic) that I was extremely anemic. After several tests, including a bone marrow test (the worst thing I've ever been thru) and a weight gain of 30 lbs from the stress of it all, I became apparent that my problem is my monthly cycle. Very heavy at times. Also fibroids(which I know are very common) and a couple of cysts near the ovaries that seem to come and go with my cycle. My gyno said there are a few options and he seems to be leaning towards the big H.
But I noticed when I was exercising and eating right last summer(when I had lost 30lbs) that my cycles where more regular and "normal". Anyway, I'm just avoiding.
I finished the book. I must say it makes sense when you read it. I'm sure it will be difficult. It does take planning and I'm not really good at that. I have a tendency to overthink and stress myself out. But I think this is definitely the way to go. I've been told as a diabetic, smaller more frequent meals can be beneficial. I actually tried the 20 min cardio on my this morning and couldn't believe how much of a work out I got in 20 mins compared to the usual 30 - 45. I've never done weights before(some machines at the gym, but never for any real length of time) But we do have a bench, dumbells and bar that have been in the basement and I will bring them out of retirement. They are the dh's and he said go for it. Maybe I can get him going. I don't push hard. He just quit smoking 3 mos ago and it's been really tough on him. So I figure the next few weeks before vacation I will work on the cardio. When I get back hit the weights. I also intend to start working on the eating portion. I will try to keep it simple for now. I don't like to consume myself by thinking about food all the time. But I have to get used to the planning. It seems the shakes are an important part of the plan. Can they only be purchase online or have you found a store that carries them?
Sorry I have so many questions. You have both been so helpful. And Ledom, some of the recipes sound great. I noticed you have the strawberry shortcake. Sounds good. I have trouble getting fruit in. Do you get your recipes from EFL. I haven't purchased it. Was planning to wait and see how I do on the plan before plunking down more $. I'm trying to stay positive, but I have failed many times.
Oh Ledom,
I forgot to answer your question. Am I a biker? Well, I don't ride my own anymore. I went down in Minnesota in 2001. I was doing 85mph and my front tire blew. The bike dragged me about 100 feet. I was extremely lucky as the forward controls on the bike kept me off the pavement. It wasn't until I slid of the after the bike stopped. Really bad road rash( and in some places actual holes) mostly my hands, elbows and lwr arms. No skin grafts though. I was extremely lucky. I had no helmet on and my head wasn't touched. I only rode the bike a couple of times after that, but couldn't get past it. So its been almost 3 yrs since I rode my own. But my husband still rides and I love riding on the back of his. We go out to South Dakota for the Black Hills Rally in Sturgis every year. We love it. Thats the vacation I'm talking about. Though it's not a real "vacations" My dh rides out on the bike and I drive out and meet him there. I do the 1800 miles in just over a day and a half. (but in a car, but it's still quite a haul) But we camp in a friends small back yard with about 20 to 30 others, sharing one bathroom. But its still fun, just not relaxing. Except when we go for rides thru the mountains. My avitar is a picture of us riding out of the badlands. Where "dances with wolves" was shot. So, yeah, I would say I'm still a biker.
Ledom that sounds so good! Gosh, your menus are more adventurous than mine!
Here's what I had yesterday:
M1 Fiber Cereal with skim milk and cheesestick
M2 Turkey and WW Sandwich
M3 Yogurt and Cheesestick
M4 Grilled chicken with sundried tomatoes and mushroom, veggies and salad
M5 Rest of M4 (we had takeout)
M6 Yogurt - it was late, I was tired, made it small!
I'm getting ready to pack my meals for today. I bought a new cooler to tote it all to work in. It has built in ice pack gel and it stores in the freezer. Glad we have 2 freezers! Yesterday would have been totally boring if not for bringing in the takeout.
Tonight we'll have stir-fry. It is one of the frozen stirfries in the freezer at the store. I think it is Green Giant. It has an almost perfect balances between carb and protein.
I bought another bag of stirfry veggies to stretch it. Hopefully we'll still be close after that. If not, I'll swipe a boiled egg or a cheesestick.
Donna, it might look hard but it isn't. If you are stumped, there is always yogurt, cheesesticks, fruit and eggs! My backups when all else fails. I've never been to Sturgis, but I went to Bike Week in Daytona for my honeymoon to husband #1. Haven't been on a bike since I got pregnant 12 years ago.
Good Morning - Hey Donna, I agree w/ Jennifer that it really isn't that hard. Especially after the first week or two when you figure out a few meals for yourself. You will love the sense of well being that comes from eating 6 small meals a day.
Jennifer, yesterday was an especially nice food day. Believe me, they aren't all that organized. I eat a LOT of oatmeal and cottage cheese. Cottage cheese w/ fruit, cottage cheese w/ oatmeal, cottage cheese w/ baked sweet potato, oatmeal w/ egg whites and a yolk, and a lot of protein pancakes.
It is nice when I take Sundays to cook for the week.
Donna, I live in a town where there is a Harley rally every October. It looks like so much fun. That is a great picture, I figured out I could double click on your avatar for a bigger image. And yes, sounds like you were very lucky w/ your crash.
Good morning gals! Hope you three are doing well today.
Those recipes are sounding good - think I'll try some, as well as sit down with my EFL book again and try some new ones myself.
I'm officially starting Challenge 6 today... a bit tired out from the weekend, as I put in a large garden plot on Saturday - I'm sore and sunburned, but happy to have it done.
Had a good workout this morning - still babying that tendonitis, so no working to failure, but definitely felt it. I'm planning on getting extra cardio in on lifting days, trying to see if that will give me a bit of a fat-burning boost.
So far today food is good - I'll be posting a day behind, so tomorrow I'll start by telling you what I ate today, for some accountability.
Food this weekend was not so good, but it's behind me now - onward and upward! Wish me luck!
Cindy
PS - Jennifer, thanks for the thread subscibe info!
Well, I wasn't completely on program yet, but I haven't commited to a start yet as vacation is in a few wks. But I did try to split my meals into smaller portions today. Still did pick on crackers when I got home which is a no no.
I will do my cardio again tomorrow morning.
Jennifer, when you say cheesestick, what kind of cheese sticks are you talking about, a low-fat mozzarella stick? It seems everyone goes pretty heavy on the dairy. But if it works, it must be ok.
I'm hoping by making small changes now, I'll be ready to take on the challenge the end of august.
Donna
this morning and couldn't believe how much of a work out I got in 20 mins compared to the usual 30 - 45. I've never done weights before(some machines at the gym, but never for any real length of time) But we do have a bench, dumbells and bar that have been in the basement and I will bring them out of retirement. They are the dh's and he said go for it. Maybe I can get him going. I don't push hard. He just quit smoking 3 mos ago and it's been really tough on him. So I figure the next few weeks before vacation I will work on the cardio. When I get back hit the weights. I also intend to start working on the eating portion. I will try to keep it simple for now. I don't like to consume myself by thinking about food all the time. But I have to get used to the planning. It seems the shakes are an important part of the plan. Can they only be purchase online or have you found a store that carries them? 
