165??????????? I had a good feeling about you this week! That's AWESOME! Isn't it GREAT when you can literally FEEL you've lost more? I love it.. Sometimes I get it in the morning when my stomach is so tight, all the way down to my hip flexors.. and other times I get that feeling if my body literally BURNING UP every piece of food I eat. Not a greedy type of hunger.. More like my body is on FIRE.. A FAT BURNING FURNACE! ---THEN COMES THE WHOOSH!

Congrats! You are blazing right thru the 160's!!!!

I'm so glad I'm on a EAT GREAT AND STILL LOSE WEIGHT plan with you!!

Oh my goodnesssssss!!!! ALL OF THE ABOVE is what I feel like right now...but all at the same time! I'm not really all that hungry (surprisingly). Today is CHEAT NIGHT...but I really don't want anything...so I'll make my daughter her DiGornio 3 meat pizza and won't have any. Probably next week, I'll feel up to something good...but this time it won't be pizza...I'm thinking JAMAICAN FOOOOOOD (from my favorite restaurant....they make the best rice & peas and cabbage....the curried chicken is great, but I've got a recipe to put them to shame!;))

It's nice to hear that someone else (in the universe) understands and experiences the same weirdness as you!!! haha! :hug:

Joyfull, congrats on another awesome week! How much poundage do you lose per week on average? I know you run like crazy, so I was just curious. I can't believe you run 4 and 5 miles at a time...my knees/legs would kill me!!

It's been averaging at about 2 lbs/week and thanks!:hug: I'm finally in the "zone" of fat loss...my body has turned into a furnace. Woot!:D

Breakfast - Pumpkin Raisin Muffin, 2 Jimmy Dean Turkey sausage links - 219 cals.
Snack - Atkins Protein Bar - 240 cals.
Lunch - Shepherd's Pie, peas & carrots - 354 cals.
Snack - 1/2 oz unsalted cashews - 80 cals.
Snack - Pumpkin Raisin Muffin - 139 cals.
Dinner - Jamaican Curried Chicken Thighs over spicy Carribbean black eyed peas and Plantain, asparagus & red pepper - 447 cals.
Snack - Activia Light Yogurt - 70 cals.
Snack - 1/2 oz unsalted cashews - 80 cals.
Snack - small Navel Orange - 45 cals.

Total Calories: 1,674 cals.

EXERCISE:

DAY OFF!:D

Ok...more food pics coming soon! After much searching, I finally found a famous Indian cuisine favorite that I feel comfortable trying. It's called "Chicken Makhani" (aka Butter Chicken). I trimmed the chicken breast and prepared the marinade last night. I know what your thinkin...BUTTER chicken...is she serious? LOL! Like always, I will do my best to cut down the fat, sodium and calories without compromising taste. I will report the nutritional info as well as provide pics later.

I'm really loving cooking...and having a hard time stopping myself. I've gotta stop cooking for at least 2 more weeks....I have two refrigerators and basically have no more room in either for meal storage!:o This has to be it! Just made 8 portions of the Jamaican curry over peas, plantains and 6 portions of Shepherds pie. That's 14 MEALS out of ony 2 recipes! One good thing that has resulted from learning to cook delishous low/lower calorie meals and freeze them, is that I have virtually NO WASTE of food. I used to waste a TON of food...I feel good about this.:)

You are doing great with preparing your meals. I bought a new vegetarian cookbook yesterday so whenever I finish with Amy's, I will be cooking again as well. I am definitely going to take your advice and try to save some of the little dishes so that I can use them to put my food in as well. It definitely helps me realize that my portions do not have to be gigantic looking to make me satisfied.

Congrats on the 165!!! Looking forward to a report on the new food! :D

MORE International Cuisine! PICS!:)
 

Thanks Dedikayted & Jen!:hug:

As promised...MORE FOOD PICS!!!:D

1. Authentic Jamaican Curry Chicken Thighs over Spicy Carribean Black-Eyed Peas & Plantain, Steamed Asparagus & Red Pepper - 447 cals.

2. Shepherd's Pie, peas and baby carrots - 354 cals.

3. Indian Chicken Makhani (Butter Chicken) over Bulgar Wheat, Green Bean Almondine - ONLY 353 cals.

Oooooooohhh...so yummy! Everything turned out GREAT! The Indian chicken was outrageous and very different...I paired it with the Bulgar for it's nutty flavor and consistency. Will report back later with the Nutritional Facts for the the Indian Chicken...have to put the recipe into Calorie Count dot com. I had to tweak the original quite a bit, to keep it lower sodium and fat. The original version has something like 800 cals per serving!!!:o

Ok...so the Makhani Chicken made 8 servings...that's 22 NEW MEALS!:o I've officially cut my self off from any further cooking for the next two weeks!:D

Breakfast - Pumpkin Raisin Muffin, 2 Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Links - 219 cals.
Snack - Atkins Protein Bar - 240 cals.
Lunch - Thai sauted coconut chicken over stir-fry veggies, sweet potato - 415 cals.
Snack - Little taste of chinese take out beef brocolli, 6-7 cherries - 60 cals.
Snack - Pumpkin Raisin Muffin - 139 cals.
Dinner - Indian Chicken Makhani over Bulgar Wheat, Green Bean Almondine - 353 cals.
Snack - Fresh Pineapple - 50 cals.
Snack - 1/4 oz unsalted nuts, few raisins - 50 cals.

Total Calories: 1,526 cals.

EXERCISE:

Running - 5.2 miles (EASY BREEZY RUN!!! FEEL GREAT!):carrot:

Will run 5+ miles today.:)

Weigh-In day = 165.2 See what happens when I don't have my CHEAT MEAL? I don't lose..haha! Who knows? But I'm keeping an eye on things like this. I suspect I'll have a whooosh during the week though.:) I'm thinking 163 by Wednesday...wishful thinking...maybe..we'll see!:)

Breakfast - Pumpkin Raisin Muffin, 2 Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Links - 219 cals.
Snack - 1/2 oz unsalted cashews - 80 cals.
Snack - Atkins Protien Bar - 240 cals.
Lunch - Homemade Chili, peas & carrots - 406 cals.
Snack - Pumpkin Raisin Muffin - 139 cals.
Dinner - Thai Stir fry chicken over brown rice, green beans - 380 cals.
Snack - small Navel Orange - 45 cals.
Snack - 5 oz fresh pineapple, 6 cherries - 85 cals.

Total Calories: 1,594 cals.

EXERCISE:

Recumbent Bike - 50 mins, level 10 (had to reduce to level 9 towards the end...really HARD workout today :()

Friends coming over tonight for our group workout session. I like the once per week change for my muscles of using the bike on level 10 at intervals.:)

**EDIT** Friends bailed on me tonight so my workout was pretty late. Don't think my body likes late workouts, but at least I finished....

Hmmmmm... Looks like Jamaican food is in the forecast for this week. Its still WONDERFUL to see that you rarely fluctuate up on the scale.. Holding 165 is awesome! Can't wait til Wednesday's weighin!!!

Have a great day!

Friday's Jamaican Food DAY!:carrot:
Tues Weigh-In = 164.4 lbs - Unofficial Weigh-In Day

Breakfast - Pumpkin Raisin Muffin, 2 Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Links - 219 cals.
Snack - Raw Spinach salad w/3oz grilled chicken, feta, cranberry, walnut, 3 cherry tomato, 2 tbsp 5 cal raspberry vinaigrette, 1 tbsp light ranch - 300 cals.
Lunch - Jamaican Curried Chicken Thighs over spicy Carribbean black eyed peas and Plantain, steamed spinach - 447 cals.
Snack - Pumpkin Raisin Muffin - 139 cals.
Dinner - Mexican Picadillo, Agave Glazed Plantains - 435 cals.
Snack - Activia Light Yogart - 70 cals.
Snack - 1/2 oz cashews - 80 cals.
Snack - small Navel Orange - 45 cals.

Total Calories: 1,735 cals.

EXERCISE:

DAY OFF!:D

Keep it up girl!! We are rooting for ya!

Just wanted to pop in and say that I have loved reading through your thread! Not sure I would have ever found you if you were blogging and I am glad I did. Your meals and workouts are similar to my own and it has been very interesting reading about your experiments with cheat meals and such. I have a few questions for you.
First, about how often do you take a rest day? I know it depends on your body, but what are you averaging, about once per week? (I always feel guilty on my rest days, that's why I ask).
Also I think you said you run 3-4 times per week, right? How many miles do you think you are getting in a week? And then I would like to thank you for posting or linking to your recipes! I will definately try some of them.
Lastly, you mentioned marinating chicken to grill up like McDonalds. Did you post that or link to that and I missed it? I am interested in that recipe if you don't mind.
Again, thanks for the interesting reading & inspiration and best of luck to you with the rest of your journey!

Hey SlimB!!!! Thanks!!!:hug:

:welcome: Jomatho!!!:hug: Thanks for the encouragement.

I've kept my weight loss journey very simple...day by day...step by step. From where I started (basically living on fast food), I knew I could only go UP from there! Haha!

I usually take a rest day in between my running days. My schedule looks something like this (M, W, F, Sun - Running) Tues, Thurs, Sat = REST DAYS.
NOTE: This WILL change as I add more weight lifting to my routine. Right now the only weight lifting I do is my PULL UP BAR every other day. It's not much, and I really don't spend too much time doing it...but it's WAAAAAY effective. I can lift my bodyweight 5 times for 3 sets in 2 different positions! WooT!:D

I run 19 miles per week now. I've been steadily climbing all the way. I usually run 5, 5, 4 and then 5.

Here's my Recipe for Mock McDonalds Grilled Chicken:

1/2 large package of chicken breast filet
Marinade
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp Kraft Parmasian Romano (the shelf stable kind)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp paprika

Trim all fat off chicken. Slice each breast in half and pound flat (pounding not necessary, but seems to make it a little more tender;))

Prepare Marinade in large bowl. Allow Chicken to soak in marinade overnight.

I use the cheapest GEORGE FOREMAN grill which cooks 2 chicken breast at a time in about 2.5 mins each round. I can grill everything in about 30 min.

I wrap each breast individually in the cheap small plastic bags (like ziplock without the zip!) and freeze them for use for salads, or as a quick snack.

Let me know how you like it. Enjoy!:D