Almost There!

I had to write and tell you guys how excited I am. I finally reached my half-way mark! I have now lost 15 lbs and only 15 more to go until I reach my goal. I've been working at this for 4 months now and it's been slow going but I really think that sometimes our bodies try to hold on to the weight and it makes it really hard to lose anything. Persistence, and the fact that my husband is obsessed with this diet, is finally paying off. I hope everyone else is succeeding in their weight loss goals. Let's keep the conversation moving. How are you guys doing?

Motivation

I am being totally bad with this right now. I haven't been to the gym in weeks but at least I've been eating decently. I haven't lost any weight for a while but I haven't gained any back as well. I don't know. I'm not feeling very motivated...I guess that's why I haven't been posting anything lately. If anyone has any motivating speeches to get back on track I'm all ears!

Take 2

I am back after 2 weeks of wailing and gnashing my teeth due to no weight loss. I went to the doctor for a check-up and I weighed the same as I had a month before. I about lost it. So I did something terrible and I didn't eat and when I did eat I ate too much and I didn't go to the gym and I cried about my lack of motivation and how pathetic and fat I was and then finally I told myself to get over it and that I'll do better this time. My insane friend Mary gets up at 5am every day to workout, so she encouraged me to do the same. 5am is unneccessary in my life, but 6am could work for me, so I did it this morning and I'm doing it for the next week. Hopefully it will jump start my metabolism and I can keep this going. I love love love having my workout done first thing in the morning and not having to worry about it throughout the rest of the day. Now, if I could just get some energy.....

back in the saddle

Well, after finding out I am pregnant, having company in town for a week, and spending several days on the Oregon Coast with my sisters and mom, I feel somewhat justified in experiencing a temporary BFL hiatus. But never fear! My excuses have officially run out and I am back at it. It feels so good to eat right and exercise.

for dinner tonight we had macaronilaatiko.
It's a finnish dish my brother learned about on his mission. I think it's BFL approved. Just ground beef, macaroni, and eggs. Topped with reduced fat cheese of course. So, in a casserole dish, spread the browned beef, top with macaroni and drizzle like 7 eggs evenly over it. top with cheese and bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes. Serve it with BBQ sauce or ketchup all over it. So basic, it almost sounds gross. But it's good! I promise.

Free Day

I used to look forward to free day every week. It was like a reward for sticking to the diet or something. Now, it's sickening. I still really like eating all the food I want but it makes me soooo sick now! We made hamburgers last night, the really fatty kind that are really good, with french fries and Henry Weinhard's orange creme soda. Yum! We chowed down and felt so happy until later that night when Erik and I felt sooooo sick. It's good that I am doing so well with the eating that my body rejects this fatty food but I still really like to eat all the junk! I'm torn between the fat me that wants to eat the crap and the skinny me crying out to eat the healthy stuff! Ahhhh!

Frustrated

I havn't lost any more weight. 2 1/2 weeks and I only have 4 pounds to show for it. I just keep waiting for the scale to go down and it's not. What am I doing wrong? If I could just lose 10 pounds I would feel like I was doing well. I NEED that for motivation. Not that I'm going to stop or anything, but I am truly feeling awful about my weight right now.

are we allowed to have honey? I make these awesome peanut butter balls that use it...

Horray!

I'm so proud of myself. I went to bed at 10:30. That's about 3 hours earlier than normal. THEN I got up at 7 and went to the gym. It's a miracle! It is so nice to be done with my workout for the day. Now I don't have to try to squeeze it in somewhere. I'm going to try to make this a habit..wish me luck!

Count me in!

As of today, I am jumping on the wagon.. Body for life works and I love it when I do it. But I should say upfront that I am not exactly a purist body-for-lifer. I have mayonnaise on my turkey sandwiches and make my protein shakes with milk. I know, what a cheater.

My husband, sister and friend are all doing this with me, so some of the experiences and tips I share may come from them. For one, my sister, Kamie always makes up a big thing of doubly concentrated shake in the morning so she can take a swig of protein, whenever she really needs a carb. I have found that to be a great technique and adopted it as a daily practice.

Also, I love to make up a batch of salsa chicken in the crocker every other week. it's just salsa and chicken tenders/breasts, on low for six hours. Shred it and wrap it up in a tortilla. mmm..

Today was kind of a crappy day to start. I couldn't get to the grocery store because I had to babysit all morning and afternoon. Now my kids are asleep, and soon my hungry husband is going to be home wondering what BFL approved delight we will be devouring for dinner. Better get creative.

Bad Day

I've been having a bad couple of days. We've been doing a lot of shopping lately with all of the clearance sales going on and it's so frustrating to want to buy some really cute clothes but I'm STILL not thin enough. Erik and I have been doing this diet for 2 months now and I've only lost 10 pounds! When we started this a year ago (before I was pregnant with Makayla) I lost 10 pounds in one month! So by now I should have lost 20 pounds, right? Why am I struggling so bad? Is it just the fact that I just had a baby 4 months ago? Is it that my body has decided to hold on to the weight more than it used to? Am I doing something wrong? Usually when someone is nursing a baby they lose weight easily...of course that doesn't apply to me! That would be too easy! I do have good weeks where I do really good with the workouts and eating everything just right and then bad weeks where I don't go to the gym like I should or I let myself eat things I shouldn't eat. Either way, nothing changes. It's very disconcerting when you don't see results for weeks. Sorry this is so down...just feeling very AHHHH! It helps to write this down though...very therapeutic!

Questions...

I have the hardest time getting up in the morning (probably because I go to bed so late and my son has been awful since he broke his leg). This poses 2 problems. Working out on an empty stomach and eating breakfast at the time I am supposed to during the day. I am so rushed to get Brianna to school that I don't end up getting to the gym until 9:30. Since you are supposed to workout on an empty stomach, I can't eat breakfast until 10:30 and then it pushes all my meals back, so I end up just doing a snack instead of breakfast. Do I absolutely need to workout on an empty stomach? Or if so, I end up needing to eat more calories at night and I think that is so bad to eat much later after dinner. Any suggestions? For the sake of argument, let's pretend that I seriously can't ever workout before 9:30.

Penne with Peppers and Grilled Chicken

Thought I'd add to some recipes. I found this one and loved it!

Ingredients:

13.25 oz. Heartland Whole Wheat Penne
1/3 Cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Cup sweet onions, diced
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 oz fresh basil, chopped (I just use dried since that's all I have)
1 Cup chicken, grilled and cut into strips
1 Cup roasted red peppers, diced
1/2 Cup chicken broth
1/4 Cup Parmesan cheese (optional)
Salt and cracked black pepper to taste

-Cook penne according to package directions
-Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat; add onions and garlic; cook until onions are transparent.
-Add basil, chicken and red peppers
-Cook 2 more minutes
-Add chicken broth and hot penne to skillet and toss together until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
-Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper as needed
-Serve immediately

Now I don't use as much olive oil as it says, just to cut back on the fat content and I use 99% fat free chicken broth. Erik and I really like this recipe and it's really good for lunch the next day. We also don't use the whole wheat penne. We found this other penne, made by Heartland, that's a multi-grain with omega-3 in it. It tastes like regular pasta but is still really healthy. I just didn't like the taste of the whole wheat pasta so this makes a great alternative.

Some Favorite Recipes

Wonderful and Wholesome Belgian Waffles

Ingredients:

2 eggs, separated
1 3/4 cups skim milk
1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 Tblsp unrefined sugar
1/4 cup safflower oil (or canola)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 rounded teaspoon Kosher salt

Beat the egg yolks, stir in the milk and oil. Add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir just until large lumps disappear. Using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into the batter. Pour into your waffle iron and bake.

*These were seriously fantastic! Very crispy and light, which is super hard to do with whole wheat!


White Chicken Chili from America's Test Kitchen

Adjust the heat in this dish by adding the minced ribs and seeds from the jalapeño as directed in step 6. If Anaheim chiles cannot be found, add an additional poblano and jalapeño to the chili. This dish can also be successfully made by substituting chicken thighs for the chicken breasts. If using thighs, increase the cooking time in step 4 to about 40 minutes. Serve chili with sour cream, tortilla chips, and lime wedges. Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves , trimmed of excess fat and skin
Table salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 medium jalapeño chiles
3 poblano chiles (medium), stemmed, seeded, and cut into large pieces
3Anaheim chile peppers (medium), stemmed, seeded, and cut into large pieces
2 medium onions , cut into large pieces (2 cups)
6 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 (14.5-ounce) cans cannellini beans , drained and rinsed
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes)
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
4 scallions , white and light green parts sliced thin

Directions:

1. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until skin is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken and lightly brown on other side, about 2 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate; remove and discard skin.
2. While chicken is browning, remove and discard ribs and seeds from 2 jalapeños; mince flesh. In food processor, process half of poblano chiles, Anaheim chiles, and onions until consistency of chunky salsa, ten to twelve 1-second pulses, scraping down sides of workbowl halfway through. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining poblano chiles, Anaheim chiles, and onions; combine with first batch (do not wash food processor blade or workbowl).
3. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from Dutch oven (adding additional vegetable oil if necessary) and reduce heat to medium. Add minced jalapeños, chile-onion mixture, garlic, cumin, coriander, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, about 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat.
4. Transfer 1 cup cooked vegetable mixture to now-empty food processor workbowl. Add 1 cup beans and 1 cup broth and process until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add vegetable-bean mixture, remaining 2 cups broth, and chicken breasts to Dutch oven and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until chicken registers 160 degrees (175 degrees if using thighs) on instant-read thermometer, 15 to 20 minutes (40 minutes if using thighs).
5. Using tongs, transfer chicken to large plate. Stir in remaining beans and continue to simmer, uncovered, until beans are heated through and chili has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.
6. Mince remaining jalapeño, reserving and mincing ribs and seeds (see note above), and set aside. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken into bite-sized pieces, discarding bones. Stir shredded chicken, lime juice, cilantro, scallions, and remaining minced jalapeño (with seeds if desired) into chili and return to simmer. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve.
Per Serving:Cal 370; Fat 6 g; Sat fat 1 g; Chol 115 mg; Carb 25 g; Protein 52 g; Fiber 7 g; Sodium 710 mg


*This is unlike any white chili I have ever had. It comes out green because of the fresh peppers..but it is truly fantastic and perfect for the diet! It's not too spicy either. I loved it so much I ate it 3 days in a row!

The starting line

I have decided to start a blog documenting my BODY FOR LIFE weight loss journey. I needed to do a journal of sorts and this seems the best way for me to do it these days. I also want to post all my yummy dishes that I have discovered to be awesome for this diet. I am opening this up to all my friends who want to post and record their Body for Life journey as well. So if you are interested in doing this 12 week fabulous weight loss/body strengthening plan - let me know and I can set you up! I can think of nothing more fun than doing this with my friends!