Day 8 - One week in!

This is the baby shower cake I made and ate on my cheat day. More about that in a little bit...

Today has been one week since I started this diet and so far so good although the weekend was tough like I thought it would be.  Friday I did not cheat and did good except that I didn't eat any beans or legumes that day whatsoever.  I was just busy and running around the whole day that I didn't get any in my meals.  I didn't technically work out but did work in my yard for a good 5+ hours so I consider that my workout. 

Saturday morning I weighed myself.  I lost 2 lbs.  I'm happy with it but not overly excited.  I was hoping for just a couple pounds more but that's okay.  At least I lost. Shoot if I can lose 2 lbs every week I would be happy with that.  That would be around 15 lbs lost by the time I go on vacation so I'm hopeful.

Saturday was also the BIG CHEAT DAY!  It started off with eating a fiber bar and drinking coffee since I was so busy and didn't have time to eat anything else.  I was helping my sister throw a baby shower so I was busy with decorating a cake, making little sandwiches and some spinach artichoke dip. I cooked all morning and left after 1 pm to pick up my mom and head to the shower.  When I got there I spent the first half hour or so setting up and helping her with stuff.  Finally once people started to arrive I ate!  I ate a couple of mini chicken salad sandwiches, some chips and dip, some crackers and spinach/artichoke dip, some fruit and drank some punch.  I really didn't do that bad until it was time to cut the cake!  THE CAKE WAS SOOO GOOD!  I don't know if it was just really good cake that I made or if I was just wanting it so bad.  Everyone told me it tasted good though.  I just had one little slice with everyone else and let some take cake home.  I took what was left home to Davy and it wasn't a whole lot but enough for a few more slices.  So when I got home you better believe I had another slice of cake!  For dinner I picked up a hamburger & fries from Chili's and drank a coke.  That was it... or at least I thought....

Yesterday started out good.  I made us fried eggs and turkey bacon along with my usual 1/2 cup raw spinach and coffee (sounds gross together I know).  By the time lunch rolled around we didn't really have anything but left over chicken salad sandwiches and we were pressed for time before we had to head out to the meeting so we went ahead and ate those sandwiches (first no-no).  I also ate the last piece of cake that was left (2nd no-no).  After the meeting I did cook chili which we could have.  It has lots of beans and lean ground beef and some tomato but not enough veggies but I wasn't up for a salad so I ate the chili but I've always liked chili with rice (weird I know) so in my demented thinking I thought "well I already messed up with the sandwiches & cake so might as well eat rice" and that's what I did (third no-no).  By that time I knew the day was shot so I had a little debbie snack to finish out my horrible 2nd cheat day!  So Sunday was definitely not a good day.

BUT on the upside I did get right back on track this morning with my usual eggs, turkey bacon & spinach breakfast.  Today for lunch we have leftover chili (no rice) and a salad.  So I think I'll be okay.  I need to be careful with the weekends though.  Those are really difficult.  I have not gotten back to running.  I hurt my ankle so I need to lay off of it for a little bit.  I'm going to do P90X at home instead this week.

So that was my week.  One week in and still 9 more to go.

Onto Day 4

This was my breakfast this morning.  2 Fried Eggs, 1 slice of turkey bacon (there was actually 2 slices but I ate one before I took the pic) and about 1/2 cup raw spinach & a cup of coffee with 2 Tbsp of creamer.  It was pretty tasty.  The raw spinach is not always easy to eat first thing in the morning.  I don't know another way to eat veggies in the morning.  I don't care for vegetables much in the first place but I do like raw spinach.  Eating them with the eggs and bacon is like eating a salad with no dressing.  I don't eat any beans or legumes in the morning.  I just can't do it.  I don't mind beans but in the morning is just a little much.  I'm not a morning person and neither is my stomach.  I could very easily skip breakfast or eat a piece of fruit or something very small in the mornings & be just fine.  So making myself eat this type of breakfast not long after I wake up is a bit of a challenge but I'm getting through it.  It does fill me up though and I do feel more awake, alert and focused after eating.

Last night was a little bit tough. I didn't get to eat until late because we have our meeting and we don't get home until after 9:30.  I just heated up some soup and ate that only.  I wasn't that hungry for it either.  I'm kind of tired of soup so I didn't bring any today to work.  I think we'll go out to eat for lunch.  I'm not sure where.  KFC has grilled chicken so we may go there.  Their grilled chicken is actually pretty good.  2nd lunch is usually the same thing which is tuna, lentils and small salad.  Yesterday for my 2nd lunch I had a very hard time eating it.  I felt a little sick after I ate it.  I just wasn't hungry and downing all that food made me nauseous.  I think 2nd lunch is probably the hardest meal of the day for me. 

Being at work 4 days a week (Mon-Thurs) helps keep me on track with this diet.  I have a good schedule and I keep to it.  Tomorrow will present a little challenge since I'm off and will be at home.  I actually have plans to work in my yard so I'll have to keep track of the time so that I eat on time.  Then on to wonderful glorious Saturday!  I don't know what I'll be eating that day.  I know I'm helping my sister throw a baby shower and I'm making the cake for it so I'm sure I'll be eating cake.  Davy wants to eat Mexican which is always okay with me :-)  I know Saturday will come and go pretty quickly and then I think Sunday will be hard because I will have to get back on track.  If I can make it through Sunday I think I will be just fine by Monday.  I don't feel I have lost much.  I still feel about the same so we'll see.  I don't see how I couldn't have lost something though.  No sugar, no bread, no refined anything for a whole week!  Just lean protein, veggies and legumes.  I better have lost some weight!
I'll keep you posted!

Day 3- Hanging in there!

Just to let you know I will try to post my favorite photo of the day along with my newest entry just to make things interesting :-)  This is a picture of me and my baby Nemo.  Isn't he a cutie pie!  Check out his little sweater hoodie he is wearing ;-)

Anyhoo...Today is Day 3 and so far I'm still hanging in there.  I haven't had too many cravings really.  I've been a bit nauseous and I'm not sure why.  I haven't had that much of an appetite so eating each meal has been a little bit of challenge.  I'm still trying to drink lots of water but that is also tough for me too considering I don't drink much anyways.  Yesterday I didn't feel real good and so when I got home I kind of crashed on the couch for an hour.  I felt a little better when I woke up but still had that nauseous feeling and didn't feel I could work out.  So yesterday I didn't workout, well unless you call bathing two small doggies a workout :-)

Today I am feeling a little better.  I'm not as nauseous and not feeling as bad.  I won't be able to workout tonight either because I won't have time after work since we have our meeting tonight.  I'll get back on my running tomorrow. 

It feels good not to really crave anything too bad.  I'm not saying I don't ever have any cravings.  Occasionally I will see some chocolate or something sweet and have a little craving for it but it passes.  I think eating 4 meals a day packed with protein and fiber is keeping me pretty much full not to mention all the water!  Davy has been doing this with me too.  He wakes up every morning and weighs himself.  So far he has lost 5 lbs.  I refuse to weigh myself everyday.  That method doesn't work for me.  So I plan to weigh myself on Saturday morning before I gorge myself on bread and sweets! LOL!  Actually, I am going to try not to be too bad but I can't make any promises :-)  I do miss fruit though.  I think if I could have fruit on this diet everyday I could do this long term.  This is just a test run though.  Just for 2 months and then we'll see. 

This was my menu yesterday:

Breakfast 7 am:
2 boiled eggs, 2 slices turkey bacon, a cup of raw spinach and 2 cups of coffee with a little creamer and cinnamon and vanilla extract.

Lunch 11:30 am
A bowl of leftover mexican chicken & bean soup with cilantro, avocado, green onion and a little bit of cheese (I guess I kind of cheated with having some cheese but I don't think it will kill me)

2nd Lunch 3:20 pm
A can of tuna & a bowl of green beans (didn't have any legumes)

Dinner at 7:30 pm
Pan seared flounder, green beans and 1/2 cup of lentils

That's it.  Believe it or not this keeps me full!  Today is pretty much a repeat of yesterday except tonight I may have the soup again since I will be pressed for time.

DAY 2

Now this pictures shows What Not To Do on this diet!!!  Well, with the exception of my one cheat day..hehehe.  I'm glad I'm not going to the Rodeo tonight like I normally would because I'm a sucker for funnel cake and it would have been the death of me! 

I completed one full day with being really good and eating all my meals.  I even worked out!  So I'm doing good so far.  Ofcourse the first day isn't usually that hard because you are motivated and pumped.  It's the few days after that really are tough but anytime I have a craving or really feel like giving up I plan to think of my cheat day and remember that I can eat ice cream or cake or a big bowl of pasta on that day. 

I have to say I'm proud of myself for keeping up with it yesterday considering I did not go to the store on Sunday and had to work with what I had so my meals weren't exactly what I needed.  I didn't have beans in most of my meals but I did try to make it work and I think I did pretty good.

Yesterday this was my menu:

Breakfast at 7 am
2 hard boiled eggs and 2 slices of turkey bacon

Lunch at 11:30 am
Chili from Wendys and a salad with light dressing

2nd lunch at 3:30
A can of tuna and a bowl of green beans

Dinner at 7:30
2 bowls of mexican chicken & bean soup (lots of beans and veggies and chicken)

I also drank 4 bottles of water and 2 cups of coffee with 2 Tbsp creamer and a dash of cinammon and vanilla extract.  NO SUGAR! That will take a little getting used to. 
I also started my 5K running program.  I did this last year and did pretty well on it.  I enjoyed my run yesterday.  It started with 5 minutes walking and then alternating with 1 minute running and walking for 20 minutes.  Then the last 5 minutes I walked. This program is a 6 week program so I hope to keep that up as well.

So that's about it for now.  I'll try to keep you updated often :-) Thanks for reading!

Day 1 - Here I go again!

For those that followed my blog last year I was on an 8 month weight loss journey to prepare for my beach vacation to Florida.  The blog helped keep me on track and as a result I lost 15 lbs and ran a 5K. After vacation was over my good habits became non-existant and I gained all of the weight I had lost. Over the last few months I have struggled with my diet and exercise regimen.  I actually feel bigger than ever even though I was this weight the year before when I started my last blog.  I feel bloated and very weak.  I do not like the way I feel right now.  I'm finally ready to get back on track and with that I have decided to embark on yet another weight loss journey. This diet I am on is from the 4 Hour Body book. I am trying to lose as much as I can before my vacation to Alaska on May 13th.

For those of you that do not know what the 4 Hour Body Diet is, I will give you a quick run-down.

Basically you eat 4 meals a day and in each meal you must eat: lean protein, vegetables and some sort of bean or legume.  The first meal which is breakfast must be eaten within the hour you wake up.  The meals after that are to be eaten at least 4 hours apart.  So I have breakfast, lunch, 2nd lunch & dinner.  I do not get to eat fruit, any bread products, any sugar products nor any milk products.  I do get my coffee which is wonderful and I must drink plenty of water.

Yes this diet is very strict and you are probably wondering why I would ever subject myselft to such torture!? Well, here is the kicker... one day a week it is a requirement that you eat whatever you want, as much as you want that one day only!  Yes, I get a cheat day.  This is the only reason I think I can do this diet.  So Saturdays will be my cheat day.  The cheat day works with the diet and has to be part of it.  No argument here!  Here is a quick overview of it on ehow.com...
http://www.ehow.com/how_7739337_follow-4-hour-body-diet.html

The book claims you can lose up to 20 lbs in one month.  Now I am very skeptical if that is the case or if I can lose that much in one month but I am willing to give this diet a try and see what I can actually lose in a month and even 2 months while doing this diet.

So I have decided to blog about this for the next 2 months and see how this diet really works. 
So follow along  as I go through the ups & downs of this "crazy" diet and see how far I can actually go.  I hope to make it in the 67 days before my vacation!

Ever so hopeful :-)
Day 1 of 67
Weight: 157