Tomorrow is DAY 17!!!

I made it!!! Almost. I haven't tried many diets. It's not something that I'm into. What I am into is a good challenge. That's how I looked at this diet and that's a big reason why I accomplished this first 17 days. This is only Cycle 1 of 3 that is complete, but I have a feeling that I'm never going to go off of this thing. Bring on the next cycle! It really feels great. I doubt I'll go back to Cycle 1 too many times, but I have learned how to cleanse and eat healthier than I ever have. Here's one thing I haven't learned: HOW TO BOIL AN EGG!!! I've seen every online tutorial and listened to everyone's instructions. I seriously can't do it.

I don't remember every detail of Day14's menu, but we did pack the leftover turkey chili and ate it on the way home from MRM. Skiing was amazing and I think we have a new addict!!!

Yesterday was another busy day at work. Here's the DAy 15 menu:

Wake up: hot lemon water, as usual

Breakfast: Fleischman Favorite omelet, green tea

Mid-morning snack: raspberries sweetened with truvia

Lunch: leftover Salmon Lemonata recipe from the night before (Pretty delicious if you love salmon like I do! If not, it might not be your favorite.) on top of a super salad with apple vinaigrette, baggie of grapes, green tea

Snack: Chobani yogurt and baggie of carrots

Dinner: Low-Carb Primavera= spaghetti squash = SOOOOOO GOOOD!

Dessert: green tea of course

Today's Menu:

Wake up: hot lemon water

Breakfast: omelet with green peppers, onions, sliced turkey breast, fat free cheddar cheese, green tea

Mid-morning snack: Chobani yogurt (Can't get enough of this stuff. It's like dessert!), baggie of grapes

Lunch: Leftover chicken veggie soup, 2 cuties, green tea

Snack: baggie of carrots, blueberry Kefir

Dinner: leftover low-carb primavera

Dessert: green tea........and wine :)

Here's the deal. I don't know if I'll be able to NOT have a glass of wine or a beer unless I HAVE to. Hope that doesn't make me an alcoholic!! ;) I think I did pretty good with not drinking on the diet. I did my best. And anyway, Dr. Mike says drink if you must! Something like that...

Here we go, Cycle 2! Here we go!

Weekend Post - Day 11 (Friday), Day 12 (Saturday) and Day 13 (Today!)

My weekends are just too action-packed to blog, apparently. Not! :) Here is the weekend all wrapped up into one post.

Friday: Work was busy and Fridays are always a great time, especially when it begins a long weekend! Thanks again for EVERYTHING, MLK! Here's the hilarious thing about Friday (and when I say hilarious I mean the complete opposite!): starting your period and being on the diet. I did make it through without going off AT ALL. Absolutely no chocolate was sacrificed. I'm pretty amazed at myself. Something really great happened Friday night. I dug out one pair of "skinny" jeans. Not the skinny jeans of today, but back when women had a pair of skinny jeans that they just couldn't get rid of, in hopes that one day they will fit again. I tried on THOSE skinny jeans and they fit perfectly! They're just one size smaller than I normally wear in jeans, but it was still a pretty great moment.

Friday's menu

Wake up: hot lemon water

Breakfast: Kefir smoothie, green tea

Mid-morning snack: a pear

Lunch: grilled chicken breast salad with apple cider vinaigrette, baggie of grapes, green tea

Snack: mango Chobin yogurt, hard boiled egg

Dinner: Baked BBQ Chicken recipe (another fabulous recipe from the book!) and steamed asparagus (my favorite veggie!)

Dessert: green tea and yes, we went off a little here - red wine! I can't help it!!!

Saturday was playing outside with Jane and running errands day. The best part of Saturday for me was our meals! The best part of Saturday for Paul was that he bought a new pair of jeans that was a size smaller than he normally wears!!!

Saturday's Menu

Wake up: hot leezy weezy

Breakfast: Fleischman Favorite Omelet, green tea

Mid-morning snack: pear

Lunch: LETTUCE WRAPS!!!!!, Good Belly juice, baggie of grapes, green tea

Snack: Kefir serving

Appetizer: Kale chips

Dinner: (spicy!) Turkey Chili recipe. We got really full and have a lot left over for today, which is perfect because we're going skiing today so we can pack it in a thermos!

I can't believe we're already at Day 13. It really has flown by, with a few exceptions early on in the challenge. This diet = RESULTS! Both on the inside and on the outside. I feel amazing, have more energy and am in a better mood, overall, which is great for Paul and Jane. I only had coffee about 4 mornings on the diet and one of those was because I like coffee.

Today's Day 13 Menu

Wake up: hot lemony water

Breakfast: Mediterranean omelet (sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, red onions, feta), green tea

Mid-morning snack: plain Greek yogurt with raspberries mixed in, sweetened with agave nectar

Lunch: leftover BBQ chicken recipe, grilled broccoli, green tea

Snack: Kefir smoothie

Dinner: leftover turkey chili recipe, side salad, green tea

Dessert: I don't know if we'll be able to ski without our flask of Minze or having a brew, but we'll give it a try! Don't put too much faith in us! We'll take it easier than we normally do. Maybe. ;)

ONLY 4 MORE DAYS LEFT!!!

Day 10 = DOUBLE DIGITS AND KALE CHIPS!!!

Yesterday was Day 10! We made it to double digits!!! Two very awesome things happened yesterday: 1) I found kale chips thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law. Let the snacking begin!!! 2) I did not pass out in my Yoga Sculpt class! This class seriously kicks butt, though!

Let me elaborate more on kale chips since they're now my favorite food. You take a bunch of fresh kale and remove the big stem in the middle. Then wash them and dry thoroughly. Then arranged the leaves on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Then lightly season with sea salt and whatever else you want (I used garlic powder). Make sure you go easy on the seasoning and salt, though. Then bake them in the oven at 275 for 20 minutes. It's a little hard to describe them - crispy and airy and delish!!!

This was yesterday's menu:

Wake up: hot lemon weezy

Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs, plain Greek yogurt with raspberries mixed in, sweetened with agave, green tea

Mid-morning snack: apple

Lunch: Delicious Nicoise salad (cooked green beans, chilled, tomatoes, scallions, over a bed of lettuce, can of tuna, drizzled with balsamic and olive oil), a cutie and green tea. It may sound like I had three servings of fruit yesterday, but I'm combining the cutie and raspberries into one serving since they were both tiny!

Snack: Yummy Chobani yogurt (expensive, but this is the best yogurt I've ever had!), and Village Salad recipe (diced tomatoes and red onions, seasoned with a tiny bit of olive oil, salt and oregano).

Appetizer: kale chips!

Dinner: naked turkey burgers seasoned with our awesome taco seasoning from GFS with sauteed tomatoes, green peppers and onions, topped with salsa mixed with a little fat free sour cream, and steamed Brussels sprouts (not on top, on the side).

Dessert: MORE KALE CHIPS! and green to the t-e-a

Tonight's dinner is so exciting. I'll blog after I feast! Stay tuned!! Day 10 is DONE!

Day 9 = Chipotle doesn't hold a candle to my "diet" recipes!

Yesterday was day 9 and everything was great until dinner. Paul worked a shift at the PC so of course his dinner was bangin'. Mine on the other hand was terrible! First of all, I was going nonstop from the time I arrived at work until 12:30 a.m. with work stuff, Pilates, Jane, grocery shopping and finally homework. After hitting up the grocery I was out of energy to cook myself dinner so I figured that Chipotle would work if I skipped the beans and rice and added my own fat free sour cream and reduced fat cheddar. I don't know what has happened to my taste buds, but it did not taste very good at all! Maybe that will happen when I go to eat Reese Cups, lasagna, pizza, and any other crappy foods that I used to love to eat!

Day 9 Menu

Wake up: hot lemony water

Breakfast: An AWESOME omelet of spinach, sun dried tomats, mushrooms and feta, green tea

Mid-morning snack: yogurt with blueberries mixed in, sweetened with agave nectar

Lunch: amazing smoked salmon salad - fish that Paul or his dad caught (or both) over lettuce, sun dried tomats, scallions and feta, green tea

Snack: baggie of carrots and Kefir

Dinner: Chipotle (minus the tasty stuff) and a handful of sun dried tomatoes to wash out the Chipotle taste

Dessert: green tea

Help me think of restaurants to go to and still stay on the "diet!"

I'll post today's menu later on!

Day 8 = TACO SALAD!!!

The awesome recipes just keep on coming! Taco salad made with ground turkey was pretty much the most awesome thing since the chicken lettuce wraps.

Here's another trick to success: don't forget your lunch when you leave for work! I was driving away, late of course (obviously being on time wasn't one of my resolutions this year), and remembered that my little lunch bag was still in the fridge just as I was getting on the highway. There goes my awesome taco salad lunch and mid-morning snack. Thankfully my student husband had to stop home before class. He pretty much saved my life today.

Day 8 Menu

Wakeup: wonderful hot lemon water

Breakfast: Kefir smoothie, green tea

Mid-morning snack (that I ended up eating at 1:50 p.m.): yogurt with fresh blueberries, sweetened with agave nectar

Lunch: TACO SALAD! Ground turkey with taco seasoning over a salad of lettuce, red onions, green peppers, tomatoes, and just a little reduced fat cheddar cheese. Then some delicious green tea. ;)

Snack: hardboiled egg and a baby carrot baggie

Dinner: chicken stir fry (not a recipe). Just cook up chicken breast strips in a wok with garlic, ginger, a mix of olive oil and sesame oil, and light soy sauce. Then add whatever Asian-style veggies you like - green beans, cole slaw mix (cabbage), broccoli, cauliflower, shredded carrots. Then throw on a dash of sesame seeds after serving. Delish!

Dessert: green teeeezy!

Cravings haven't been too bad lately. Beer and wine will always be a craving that just won't go away. I haven't had any, though, because it always comes down to the fact that it's not worth it and I would just be mad at myself if I had any. My dictator husband says that the same goes for the Reese Cups in my freezer...I guess :-/

Peace out, Day 8!!!!

Chicken Lettuce Wrap Recipe!

Here it is - the amazing Chicken Lettuce Wrap Recipe that I've been raving about! Here's the deal though. Don't turn me in. I'm pretty sure that taking pics of the recipes in the book that I borrowed from my mother is illegal ;) Remember how much pleasure you're about to have in your mouth!!! And bonus...you get the Village and Taco Salads, too! Enjoy!

Day 7 = Holy busy day! Too busy to be hungry.

I can't believe Day 7 is over halfway done! Work is busier than ever and I have class tonight so I'm not even thinking about food. I had meetings all morning long so I had to remind myself to eat my fruits before 2 p.m. I'm not about to miss a fruit serving!!! Lunch today kind of sucked. This is the first recipe that I've had that I didn't particularly like. It was the Marinated Veggie Salad recipe. It was good and everything, just not mind-blowing like the rest of them. Here's the full Day 7 menu:

Wake up: Hot lemon water (I'm really getting used to this and am starting to even look forward to it when I wake up. It's kind of like when I was younger, my mom would bribe me to get out of bed with my favorite cereal, Lucky Charms. So this is an older, more adult version of that feeling!)

Breakfast: Fleischman Favorite Omelet!

Mid-morning snack: Strawberry Greek yogurt, baggie of red grapes

Lunch: a can of chunk light tuna and the Marinated Veggie Salad (the night before, steam the veggies you want - broccoli, cauliflower, artichoke hearts, green beans, and then pour fat free Italian dressing over them and marinate them in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, drain them and serve them over a bed of lettuce. Kind of boring!), green tea and a cutie

Afternoon snack: Kefir serving and a baggie of carrots

Dinner: Sesame Fish recipe (I can't wait!!! Tune in tomorrow for a full report!), steamed veggies

Dessert: Greeeen Teeeeaaaa!