Ok, I totally fell off the wagon, but I knew exactly what I was doing... so I just have to be better tomorrow . Todays menu:

B: Doughnut

L: WG tortilla w/beef, mushrooms, tomato and some WG rice

S: 6 dark chocolate Dove hearts (very bad!)

D: Salmon, green beans, WG rice

D: Culver's Turtle sundae (very, very, very bad)

I seemed to have mixed healthy and unhealthy perfectly. LOL

hey Dont worry i fell off the wagon today too with strawberry icecream! And its only my first week in this new life style. But hey tomorrow is a new day. So move on and good luck!

Hey everyone, I had my first weigh-in this morning... 4lbs down. Hooray. I'm definitely excited, but I was actually expecting to see more because I thought I would lose a ton of water weight. Plus I've been so hungry I figured I was wasting away! hee hee. Anyway, I'm getting my period tomorrow so these next few days might be challenging. Here's my menu from yesterday:

B: Coffee with skim and splenda
1/2 Greek omelette (eggs, probably 3, feta cheese, tomato, spinach and onion)
1 slice dry whole wheat toast
(Live-in boyfriends family was here and took us to a diner, but managed to keep it Sonoma friendly!)

L: 1 slice whole wheat bread with 1 tbsp. peanut butter
1/4 cup nonfat cottage cheese
red pepper slices

S: 11 almonds

D: Sauteed teriyaki shrimp (about a dozen small shrimp)
Sauteed spinach (I used like 1.5 tsp. olive oil total for both shrimp and spinach) with garlic and onions
Steamed cauliflower and brussels sprouts

D: 2 Andes chocolate mints (the chocolate cravings started kicking in.... uh oh)

We spent the weekend at a beautiful bed & breakfast, visiting our son in college. Luckily, Saturday (and veal marsala) go on last week's menu, so I don't have to discuss it

Breakfast: 1/2 pear and apple crepe, coffee
Snack: 5 oz of Ruby Red squirt (soda) on drive back over the mountain
Lunch: wedge baby bel cheese (light), green onion & small piece multi-grain bread
Dinner: Homemade pizza. This was the one from the Mediterranean diet cookbook... whole wheat crust, onions sauteed in port, walnuts and arugla. I used about 2 TB of rosemary goat cheese and about 2 TB parmesan. Cooked in 6 minutes and FABULOUS... even to hubby who likes pepperoni with tons of cheese.
Glass of merlot

Let's see how I do this week. I was surprised I didn't gain weight this last weekend, since check-in included a bottle of champagne and pastries. !!!

Ok, so yesterday was a bad day. Not to mention, I too, have gotten my period. I haven't even bothered to weigh in for a few days. I'll try to remember what I had yesterday.

B: Kashi, milk, sugar free cinnamon-dolce latte (or whatever it's called) from Starbucks (a venti )

L: Turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread w/ mustard, lettuce, tomato, and sprouts, iced tea.

S: Doritos (more than a few handfuls), whole grain chips ahoy (probably 3 or 4)

D: Out at a Tapas restaurant. Didn't do too bad, with the exception of 2 glasses of Sangria. It was the ice cream afterward that did me in.

My problem is starting on bad snack foods. I am a person who can't have just one or two. I go NUTS! But, if I just stay away from them, I'm fine. sigh

Here's today, then some comments...

B: Bran Flakes w/skim

L: Two WG tortilla's w/black beans, cheese and homemade guacamole

S: 2 dark chocolate Dove hearts, 4 grapes

D: 2 pieces WG toast, omelet w/peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms

S: 2 dark chocolate Dove hearts

Ok, here's my complaint... while the food is good, I hate that there really aren't convienent foods to eat. I'm actually getting tired of all the food preperation. Omlets are the easiest to whip up, but I'll get tired of them soon. I just wish eating healthy were as "easy" as eating unhealthy.

I'm not measuring portions, or following direct menu plans, but overall I feel I'm adapting a better lifestyle. Today, I made guacamole, and I ate it all. I know we should only be having something like 1/4 or 1/2 of the avacado, but I used the whole avacado, and didn't feel too guilty eating it either.

I have not weighted myself at all. I'm trying not to be a slave to my scale. My problem is, once I see that I lost 5 pounds, I'll feel the need to "reward" myself w/food. Sadly, this is my downfall... as I let the scale rule me. So, I'm trying to stay off the scale until I feel that my body or clothes actually look different to/on me. I'm not feeling much of a change yet. I do know that I weighted 178 w/in the past two weeks, so I'm using that as my starting weight. I feel it's pretty acurate.

Good luck to all this week to stay on plan as best we can.

Ok, yesterday was a bit better.

B: Kashi, milk, and coffee

L: Lean Cuisine Spa Meal

S: 11 almonds, some whole wheat ravioli (small ones, but probably too many), a few grapes

D: Shrimp w/ Serranos and Southwest Grain Medley, glass of wine

Luvthelighthouse, I know what you mean. As a college student who also has a part-time job, convenience food would be great. But I think in the book she does mention Lean Cuisine Spa Meals and Amy's organic frozen meals (which are really good!). Also, Kashi has new frozen meals too. All of those use healthy ingredients and whole grains, so they're pretty Sonoma-ish. I don't know if that's the kind of convenience food you're looking for, but there are some suggestions!

I'm the same way about the scale. My live-in bf asked me if I'd lost any weight the other day and I said, "I don't know yet, I can't weigh myself because if I gained or stayed the same I will be upset and probably say f*** it I'm eating whatever I want, and if I lost weight I'm like, sweet I can eat whatever I want and lose weight!" So I'm sticking to once a week weighing in, and your method sounds great too. Positive feedback is always the way to go.

I also think slow and steady changes are the best, ones that you can keep for a lifetime.... I'm only 22 and I've tried plenty of diets... and I pretty much know everything you can imagine about food! I also just require a lot of food. I'm small, but I'm not the kind of person who can have a lettuce salad for lunch and not want to chew my arm off. But I know I don't want to diet forever, so taking it slow and making changes that you can keep (and yes I will need to eat chocolate forever) is really the way to go.

I'm rambling. But I really just wanted to say I think everyone's doing great and making healthy choices along with permanent ones. Way to go!!!

Here's yesterday for me:
B: Coffee with splenda, Kashi with skim

L: ww wrap with 3 oz leftover balsamic chicken, salsa, dijon mustard, lettuce and peppers

S: 11 almonds, 8 cashews, black tea with skim milk

D: Tofu stir-fry with soy sauce, 1 tsp. olive oil, onions, garlic, mushrooms, brocolli and snow peas

S: string cheese, 8 almonds, herbal tea

While it's fresh on my mind, here's Tuesday:

B: Steel cut oats, toasted almonds, ground flaxseed, toasted wheat germ, Splenda, cinnamon, cloves, and milk; coffee

L: a few Elmo crackers, Tangy Black Bean Soup (I'll be eating this the rest of the week)

S: Organic peanut butter (2T) and celery, dark chocolate

D: Leftover Shrimp and Grain Medley (probably more than I should've), a few ww raviolis.

Why is it so hard to stick to plan 100%?

B: Bran Flakes w/skim

L: Turkey sub w/potato chips (snowed in again, and boss brought in lunch from Jimmy Johns)

D: Taco, ground beef w/black beans, tomato and lettuce

S: Go lean cereal and 2 chocolate chip cookies

Feeling hungry still, so I may have a hot chocolate now. It must be the 6+ inches of snow that are makeing me turn to food.

Here's Tuesday:

B: Coffee, Kashi with skim milk

L: ww wrap with hummus, beans, feta cheese, salsa and veggies

S: 2 dove dark chocolate squares, 2 york peppermint pattie hearts (the smaller ones) and 1 russel stover chocolate (I get to blame this on 1. my period and 2. the fact that my bf and I celebrated valentines's day early)

D: Stir-fry- tofu, mushrooms, onions, garlic, broccolli, cauliflower, soy sauce (you guys know, I eat this pretty much every day!)

D: 1 more chocolate- a caramel one

So I know that eating lots of chocolate is not the best way to lose weight, but in the past I would have done a lot worse!

Today's going to be hard because I'm really snowed in (over a foot by now... I'm up in VT) and there's plenty of chocolate in this house!

Snowbunny2, I'm w/ya on the snow! I have a foot too. It took me two hours to get to work yesterday and another 2 1/2 to get home! I'm telling you... something about the snow just beckons, "bring on the comfort food!"

I just wanted to let you guys know I'm going away this weekend to visit friends and will be back Sunday or Monday. I don't want you to think I'm not coming back to the board!!!!! Good luck over the weekend, I hope no one ate as much chocolate as me today on Valentine's Day
I'm a little nervous about the weekend as I look back at previous vacation-type situations, but I'm going to do the best I can. Have a good rest of the week and weekend everyone.

Wednesday:

B: Kashi, milk, coffee

L: Tangy Black Bean Soup, Salad w/romaine, spinach, sprouts, radishes, feta (maybe 2t) and vinagrette

D: Express Wrap w/ hummus, chicken, romaine, spinach, and feta, glass of wine

S: (here's where I went off the deep end), 4 oz yogurt w/ 1/2 c berries and Splenda, 11 almonds, half a pita w/ hummus, a celery stick and ~1T pb.

I think yesterday would've gone well if I would've stuck w/ my original snack, the yogurt, berries, and almonds.

Here's my yesterday, Valentines Day:

B: Bran Flakes w/skim

L: Tuna sandwich from book, w/lettuce and tomato

S: Grapes

D: Homemade nachos (WG Tortillas, black beans, ground beef, cheese, tomato, lettuce)

S: 3 dark chocolate Dove hearts and a beer