Day 263

Breakfast: 4 egg whites w/onion; yogurt
Lunch: salad w/chicken, hard-boiled egg, and honey mustard dressing; chicken stir-fry; grapes and apple slices
Snack: banana
Dinner: leftover pork tenderloin w/sauteed veggies
Snack: yogurt
Exercise: NONE

Day 261

Breakfast: yogurt
Lunch: taco salad (shredded lettuce w/ground turkey in taco seasoning, salsa, and cheese)
Dinner: pork tenderloin w/onion, carrots, and 1/2 cup brown rice
Dessert: yogurt
Exercise: TBA

The Feeling Sassy Post

Breakfast: 4 egg whites w/onion; 3 strips of turkey bacon; yogurt
Lunch: oven-roasted chicken w/steamed veggies, chili, and 2 rolls w/cinnamon butter from TX Roadhouse
Dinner: black bean turkey chili
Dessert: yogurt
Exercise: 2 mile walk

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!! I'm feelin' kinda good this weekend. I've lost 12 lbs in the past two weeks, and I still feel like I've got more in me to lose big. I went out to eat with my parents this afternoon because it's my dad's birthday, but I feel like I did well, despite the two rolls w/butter. I'm still way under my calorie count for the day and feel really good about it!

Feel kind of sassy sans double chin and extra baggage. 

Think I'll keep goin', ya know? 

Under 200 by New Years or bust! 

'Night y'all!

What's your next short term goal?

The NSV Post

Breakfast: 4 egg whites, onion, and 3 strips of turkey bacon; yogurt
Snack: cameo apple
Lunch: 2 turkey patties w/fat free American cheese; sauteed mixed veggies
Dinner: chopped Romaine w/pear, dried cranberries, onion, grape tomatoes, and reduced fat red wine vinaigrette
Dessert: TBA
Exercise: NONE

Our lunch this afternoon. I am loving turkey burgers more and more these days.

I have heard people use the term "NSV" before, and never was quite sure what it meant. As I usually do when I don't know what an acronym means, I made something up. In my head, NSV has always meant No Small Victory. Something happened this evening that I knew was a NSV, but I wanted to verify what it meant before I told you about it. As it turns out, or at least what urbandictionary.com says, NSV actually means a Non-Scale Victory. I'll probably always keep No Small Victory in my head, but truly it's the same thing to me anyways...

I have to share this NSV with you. This evening I was sitting on the couch after my husband left, just watching TV. All the sudden a huge craving took me over and I wanted whatever I could get. First I thought Braums would be good, but then I thought about going to get a bag of chips or something from the gas station. I texted BDR and told him what I was feeling and how strong the craving was and he reminded me that I didn't want to do that. I argued with him that the Braums burger and fries actually fit within my allowed calories for the day and didn't put me over, but he nicely said despite that all the fat in it is still bad for me. So I decided to just stay home and not even introduce the temptation as an option (a NSV all its own).

But then I remembered I needed to go to the grocery store for something that has to be made for tomorrow. So I panicked. I called Braylen and told him and he said to just go straight to the local grocery store that's about five blocks from our house. I said I'm going to get a snack because after losing 12 lbs in two weeks I deserve one. (Isn't that so backwards? I lost weight, so now let me "reward" myself by giving into what got me overweight in the first place. Sigh...)

So I got to the store and headed straight for the snack/chips aisle. I looked through the cookies, chips, and candy.. Comparing calorie counts and weighing out in my head how much of what I decided to get I could have. And then, it occurred to me.

I. Don't. Want. It.

These two thoughts crossed my head: 1) I'm wearing jeans that haven't fit me in months because of good choices I've made recently, and 2) I can go home and devour an entire bag of baby carrots if I want and get my "binge" out that way... And be completely healthy.

Because when I get right down to it... It's not the food itself that I want. It's the eating. And the eating in large amounts. I overdo it, and I know that I do. But tonight when I felt the urge to overdo it, I thought in my mind that I will be just as satisfied (and, in fact, even more so because I won't feel any guilt) if I binge on carrots rather than an entire bag of chips.

I'm telling you it's the little things sometimes...

What's your latest NSV?

The Cauliflower Pizza Post

Breakfast: 4 egg whites; 1 turkey sausage link; 1 strip of turkey bacon; yogurt (totaling 336 calories, btw)
Lunch: salad w/hard boiled egg and catalina dressing; cantaloupe and grapes
Dinner: Cauliflower Pizza
Dessert: popcorn and a Braums Heath mix
Exercise: NONE

Source: eat-drink-smile.com via Kaycie on Pinterest

Again, Pinterest has inspired me to try something I would've never known about otherwise. There was a recipe from eat. drink. smile. that I knew I had to try ASAP. It's basically pizza with a cauliflower crust. Sounded just interesting enough to be amazing. So here's the deal:

The recipe calls for:

• 1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• olive oil (optional)
• pizza sauce, shredded cheese and your choice of toppings

But I used:

• 2 cups cooked, riced cauliflower
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• Oregano, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning
• Olive oil spray
• Prego Veggie Smart pizza sauce

According to myfitnesspal, all of my ingredients combined equals 325 calories, which I'm totally happy with. So here's how to make it:

Step 1: Employ two assistants to keep you company while you cut and rice the cauliflower in the food processor.

Step 2: Ya know... Break apart the cauliflower into small pieces so you can rice it in the food processor. Oh, and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

I did 3 cups cos I was confused by the way the recipe was worded... cos I'm not intelligent. But I only used 2 cups tonight and put the third in the fridge for later.

Step 3: In a medium bowl, mix the riced cauliflower with the mozzarella, egg, and seasonings. I did not take a picture of this, because you can probably imagine it already. And I forgot.

Step 4: After spraying the pizza pan with olive oil (which I neglected to do the first time around because, like I said, I'm not intelligent) pour and form the pizza into... a... crust?

Ta-da! Crust.

Step 5: Spray it with olive oil spray (or brush it with olive oil, as the original recipe says) and bake it for 15 minutes.

Step 6: Put some sauce and cheese on top and whatever toppings you want, then broil it for 3-4 minutes to melt the cheese. Keep in mind that any toppings you want need to be pre-cooked because they'll only be in the oven a few minutes during this time. We didn't want anything but sauce and cheese, so it was simple.

Voila!

Step 7: I let it sit another 7-10 minutes so it would cool and harden a bit more. It wasn't crispy like a regular crust would be, but it was most definitely something we both enjoyed and will be making again. 

I mean... Yum, right?

Anyways, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Go to the link to find original recipe and directions and yours will probably turn out even better than mine!

Oh... Weigh-in was today and I lost another 3.8 lbs! Putting me at 238.8 lbs... Out of the 240's once and for all! Very excited about that! 

Hope you all have an amazing weekend! 

'Night y'all!

Getting Better All the Time

Breakfast: strawberry Kefir smoothie
Lunch: salad w/cucumber, tomato, hard-boiled egg; honeydew melon and grapes
Dinner: chopped Romaine w/grape tomatoes, dried cranberries, chopped pear, feta cheese, and poppy seed dressing
Dessert: yogurt
Exercise: NONE

Skipped everything exercise-related today... Whoops!

Sorry that my updates have been so short lately, if at all. My days are full and when I get some down time in the late evening, it honestly slips my mind. Or rather, I have nothing left on my mind to share with you. I will say that tomorrow is weigh-in time again, and I'm excited about this one, as well! Not as excited as I was last week because I know it won't be as big of a loss... But I know it will be a loss and that's something to get excited about! I'll fill you in on that tomorrow or this weekend.

We switch to the next cycle in the diet this weekend and, man, am I looking forward to it! Adds a little bit more variety to the kinds of carbs and proteins we are allowed. Yum yum!

Ya know, I just wanna say... I am truly happy with myself and where my life is headed. I am proud that I've stuck with this for so long and am able to see changes once again. I am happy that my body is getting back into the swing of things and shedding those extra lbs that I'd put on. I am thrilled to have a workout schedule that works for me. I am overjoyed that my husband is making these changes with me. And I'm so blessed to have the friends, family, and fellow bloggers that I have who support me 150%. I would not be anywhere near this point if it was not for your encouragement along the way. Thank you so much!

I finally feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be. I'm getting healthy. My house is staying clean (for once). My friendships are right where they should be (and improving daily, rather than getting weaker). My family is becoming more united. I feel better about myself, inside and out. And I love that feeling.

Thanks for letting me share my journey with you!

'Night y'all!

Day 253

Exercise1: 1.5 mi walk
Breakfast: Kefir smoothie
Lunch: salad w/hard boiled egg; green beans
Dinner: grilled chicken with stir-fried vegetables
Snack: yogurt
Exercise2: 55 min Zumba class