Our date night, a weigh-in, and an update

This past Tuesday, my husband and I went on our date to see the nutcracker.
Me in my reward dress!:It was such a fun night with my husband. After the nutcracker, we walked around Denver, and went out to a fancy dinner. I felt beautiful and girly in my dress. Joe kept complimenting me the entire night, and congratulating me on my weight loss. I was on cloud 9, and I felt so proud of myself!

***

Monday was supposed to be the end of cycle 1, and the beginning of cycle 2. Here's my final weigh-in for cycle 1:
(my starting weight was 190.4) On the 1st cycle, I lost 14.4 pounds!

Since Monday, I haven't been doing so good.
Monday I was busy, busy, busy, and didn't make time to eat. I didn't eat until 9pm! I was starving, and too tired to cook, so I had a burrito. Tuesday was our date night, and I just wanted to enjoy myself at the restaurant, and not eat yet another salad. I felt content with that decision. One fancy dinner wasn't going to kill me, or undo everything I accomplished on the 1st cycle. But of course that thought process spilled over into today. Today I've eaten 3 cookies.

UGH!

So now I'm trying to figure out what to do from here:
Continue on with the 2nd cycle, even though I haven't been doing well, and have gained back 2lbs?
Or go back to the 1st cycle for a few days to undo my bad behavior, and then start the 2nd cycle fresh?

Why did this have to go and get complicated? I was doing so well...

17 day diet- cycle 1, day 14: Weigh in, and meals

I can't believe it's day 14! Time has flown by this week. Sorry for not keeping my promise to blog everyday while I'm on the 17 day diet. With Christmas just around the corner, life has been a wee bit hectic. We had our, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause" date night party this week: I had the girls put on red lipstick, and kiss the Santa. The husbands had to figure out which was their wife's kiss mark ;) It was lots of fun, and I didn't have a single dessert. Yeah, I know, I rock. We got our Christmas cards/pictures ready:And lots of shopping, wrapping, and decorating in between.

I had a good week on the diet, but it wasn't perfect like last week pretty much was. I've let a couple things slip, like having soup with corn in it, or a salad with beans... but over all, I'd say I did pretty darn good.

Today's weight:I lost 2.9 pounds this week. That puts me at a 9.9 pound loss in 2 weeks.

I've been getting a lot of emails asking what exactly I'm eating. I gave a list of the foods you're allowed to eat in THIS post.

On top of that, here's just a few pictures of my meals:

My two favorite things to eat for breakfast on this diet are low-fat cottage cheese with peaches, and eggs with onions and hot sauce:
For lunch I either have a salad (which I usually go somewhere to get), or left overs form dinner:
You're not allowed to have beans, or corn in the first cycle, so be sure your salad only contains items from the list.

Dinners are where I have to get creative. The two recipes I turn to the most are lettuce wrap turkey tacos, and Mexican chicken skillet (minus the corn and beans, and 1 1/2 jars of salsa instead of 1):For snacks I either have fruit (but not past 3pm), or veggies.
I'll try to take more pictures of my meals to show you.

Only 3 days left, and then onto the 2nd cycle!

17 day diet- cycle 1, day 7: Weigh in day!

I've been on the 17day diet for one week. I've never been so excited for a weigh in day; I couldn't wait to step on the scale, and see my progress!

Last weeks weight: 190.4
This weeks weight:I lost 7.4 pounds in one week!

I think the most I've ever lost in one week was 2.5 pounds. So this blew me away! All my hard work is paying off.

I definitely needed this pick me up today. I had a pretty easy first few days on this diet, but Sunday and Monday were downright hard! I had to use every ounce of strength in me to not go off track. I'm proud to say that my only slip up was having half an oreo. Last time I had a whole, double oreo, and this time I only had half, so I'd say I'm improving ;)

10 more days left on the 1st cycle, and then onto the 2nd cycle. It will be so nice to have a change in the things I can eat!

Today's weigh in showed me that hard work and dedication pay off. It has definitely given me the strength I needed to continue to kick butt.

Living without the scale, and an NSV

For the past week and a half, I haven't been weighing myself.

My weight loss has been slow. slash non-existent. slash very frustrating over the past 6 months.
Yes, 6 whole months.

After losing 40 pounds, my weight loss went form a nice steady walk, where I would lose 2 pounds a week, to a painfully slow crawl, where I would only lose .5 to maybe 1 pound a week. I tried cutting down on my sugar intake, which didn't seem to help. Then I started the low glycemic index diet and ate cleaner, but that still didn't help the scale move any faster.

A vicious cycle followed:
I would do great on my diet for 3-4 days, step on the scale and see that I had only lost 1 pound after 4 days of perfect eating. Then I would get frustrated, and eat poorly for the next 2 days. I would of course gain a pound from my recent eating tantrum... so I would go back on my diet, do great for 3-4 days, lose only one pound, get frustrated, eat, gain back a pound, and so on and so forth. 1 step forward, 1 step back. 1 step forward, one step back. This went on for way too many months, which is why I am still 165 pounds. This was all caused by my frustration with the scale moving slowly. That frustration would cause me to go on and off my diet, losing a pound, and gaining it back, for the past 6 months. Where as if I had just come to terms with my new (slow) pace of weight loss, at losing .5 to 1 pound a week, I would have lost 12-24 pounds by now. That is a heck of a lot better then 0.

My solution: Stop weighing myself.

There are so many reasons why I need to live this healthy lifestyle:

• I need to be :Deliciously Healthy, so I can have a baby.
• I am borderline diabetic, and refuse to ever be diabetic.
• My PCOS puts me at a higher risk of having heart disease, and of course, diabetes.
• I need to be as healthy as I can be to combat my Lupus.
• Because of my RA, I need knee replacements. Being the healthiest I can be, will no doubt help me to hold off on replacements for as long as possible, as it already has.

So, whether I am trying to lose weight or not, I need to live and eat healthy. This is my new lifestyle. I don't know why I have been forgetting that.

My new focus is on eating healthy (low glycemic diet), drinking lots of water, and exercising. To be healthy. I've been doing those things already, of course, but the focus has changed.
It is no longer on the scale. Losing weight will naturally follow my healthy lifestyle. I don't need to keep checking in on it, and risk letting frustration with the scale, drive me to donuts.

I have been doing this for about a week and a half now. I have been doing better then I have in a long time. I haven't been going on and off my diet anymore. I am finally consistent again. Living one healthy day, after the next, and loving it. I am now doing this to simply be healthy, and that stupid scale doesn't mess up my progress.

We have two scales in our house (one in each of the upstairs bathrooms). I haven't moved them, or hid them. They are both still on the bathroom floor, right next to the toilet. I walk past them everyday, and don't give them a second thought.

I can feel that I've lost weight in the past week and a half, but I don't know how much, and I like that.

With all that said, it's the perfect time for a NSV (non-scale victory), wouldn't you say?

My husband left for a couple days on a business trip, and left half a pizza sitting in our fridge. I had a decision to make:
To eat the pizza, or not to eat the pizza?
I chose not to.
And to make sure I stuck with my decision, I threw the rest of the pizza in the trash.We can do this. One healthy decision at a time.

I Survived a CRAZY Week, and I Lost Weight!

Now how awesome is that?

Sorry I've been a little absent. I tried doing my normal Thursday post, last Thursday, but there just wasn't time.

Last week was amazing and beautiful, but very busy, with a hint of crazy.

For the past two weeks, I've been planning, and getting everything ready for my husband and I to be
sealed in the LDS Denver Temple.(Flickr)
What is getting sealed?

In my religion, we believe in being
married for time and all eternity.
We were already married, but just until "Death did us part"
Now, we are husband and wife forever!

We got sealed October 9th.
This past week was a very meaningful and memorable time in our lives. But it was also a whirlwind. There was lots to be done, plus getting ready for family to visit.

Now, it's all said and done, and it's back to normal life.

Despite the craziness of this past week, I still managed to stick with my healthy lifestyle (for the most part;) I even lost 2 pounds this week, putting me at 161!!

Am I seriously 1 pound away from being 160?
Someone pinch me. ;D

I have a lot that's been going through my mind about my diet, lifestyle, and blog. I'm going to be making a few, :Deliciously Healthy changes. I just have to figure out a few things first, now that I have time to think! I'm excited to share it with you!

But first, I've got to go catch up on all my fav blogs!

Tis' The Season For Hot Cocoa

-2 cups of low-fat milk
- 2 rounded tablespoons of 70% dark chocolate cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons of sugar

Simple, chocolaty, all natural, antioxidant rich,
goodness.

Is there anything better then sitting in front of the fire, wrapped up in your favorite blanket, and drinking a cup of hot cocoa?

I don't think there is.

Did you know there's a difference between hot cocoa, and hot chocolate?

Hot chocolate is made with chocolate chips, or pieces from a chocolate bar. Where as hot cocoa is made with cocoa powder. Hot cocoa is healthier for you, and lower in calorie, as it doesn't have cocoa butter in it. Learn something new everyday ;)

***

163 today, for another pound loss!
I'm close to 160!!

***

I'm recovering from a cold.
Hopefully with another good nights sleep, I'll get my energy back, and get back into the bloggin' world :D

It Fits!

Since I've lost 40 pounds, I figured I'd go into my closet, to see what I could fit back into.

It was like going shopping!

On the day that I had officially lost 40 pounds, I literally ran to see if I could fit into this black shirt. And I did! So I wore it for my little, 40 pounds lost photo shoot:This is a sweater my husband bought for me last Christmas, that was way too small for me!
Not any more!:I also now fit back into one of my husbands favorite shirts of mine.
I'm not a big fan of this shirt, but hey, it fits!:This is a shirt I bought on sale, that wasn't very flattering, so I never wore it:Last years winter coat is too big. I thought I was going to have to buy a new one. Nope. I just had to go shopping through my closet. This is a coat I wore 4 winters ago! It fits!:I have so many more clothes (most I've never even worn), that I can't wait to fit back into!

***

This morning's weigh in had me at 164, for a
1 pound loss this week!
I'm feelin' good :D

A Random Post, From Yours Truly...

*This is a picture my husband quickly took of me. He called my name, and snap! The picture was taken. Back when I was 206, that kind of picture meant instant deletion. There was no time for me to try and hide my double chin, stand up straight, get my hair just right, or try to turn my head a certain way to make me look 10 pounds lighter.
That kind of photo always came out horrible, and depressing.

I love that I have gotten to the point where I feel healthy and beautiful, inside and out. I love that I hardly ever erase a picture of myself (no matter how skinny I get, there is always going to be such a thing as a bad angle, lol). I can embrace all of
life's moments, without worrying about whether or not I look fat.

*I wish I had some new recipes for you, but these past few days I've had nothing but recipe disasters!!
Total and complete, epic fails!
Don't you hate that?
This is supposed to be Chocomole. Pudding made with avocado...With cooking healthy, it's either a total hit, or a total miss!

Good thing my old favorites never let me down.
MMM!
English Muffin Pizzas

*I have been doing pretty darn good with my water intake, if I don't say so myself. My water bottle is like my purse; It goes with me everywhere.
*This morning's weigh in had me at 165
for a 0 pound loss this week.
The funny thing, is that I had felt pretty skinny these past few days.
Today I feel bloated. Hmm...
Better luck next week!

Hopefully by Thursday, I'll have some better luck in the kitchen, and I'll have some yummy recipes to share with you!

I Heart Chocolate Milk

Before going on a diet, I would drink a tall glass of chocolate milk each and every night before bed.

I knew that was one of the things I was going to have to cut out if I wanted to lose weight. I hadn't had a single glass of chocolate milk, since January.

Then, I read on a blog that chocolate milk was actually good for you.

I suddenly remembered how much I love chocolate milk.

Why the heck am I living without it? Certainly a small glass of chocolate milk can be worked into my Deliciously Healthy lifestyle, every now and then.

Life is too short to deprive myself of this
chocolaty goodness.Only this time I used 1 1/2 cups low fat milk, and 1 TBS chocolate syrup (50 cal.).

***

This morning's weigh in had me at 165.
That's a 2 pound loss this week!

Thank you
so much for all your sweet comments on my last post!

My 40 Pound Milestone

As of this morning,
I have lost 40 pounds!

Moi at 206 (2009):Moi at 186 (March 2010):Moi Today, at 166! :
I have lost 40 pounds!
Me.
The girl that used to eat fast food for breakfast lunch and dinner, and who thought she couldn't cook, let alone cook a healthy meal.
The girl with PCOS, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Low Thyroid.
The girl who had the cards stacked against her.
And the girl who had never exercised, and thought she would never be able to.

Yes, that girl.

I did it!

I did it with moderate exercise, starting a weight loss blog, and by
eating Deliciously Healthy. I broke up with my old, abusive relationship with food, and I started a new one. Now, I don't just get joy through eating food, I get joy through preparing it, experimenting with it, taking pictures of it, sharing it, and of course by enjoying each and every Deliciously Healthy bite!

By eating Deliciously Healthy, I have become
:Deliciously Healthy.
40 pounds ago, I only had a period once or twice a year, due to my PCOS. Since eating Deliciously Healthy, and being on this weight loss journey, I've had 7 periods out of 9.
All. On. My. Own.
40 pounds ago I couldn't walk long distances, or be very active because of the RA in my knees. Now, I can go on long walks, and practically run up the stairs! I can climb mountains, and enjoy this beautiful life of mine, with less pain.

I am 40 pounds lighter.
:Deliciously Healthy.
And very, very proud of myself!

I love myself inside and out!
And that is a beautiful feeling.
Thank you so much for all your support along the way!
I know I could not have come this far without this blog, and all of you!I heart you.

I'm almost half way there!

ADDICTED- Diet Dr. Pepper

I've been doing pretty well on the diet front these past few days. (Yay me!) Today's weigh in had me down 1 pound, putting me back at 167. It would have been nice to finally be past 167, but at least I lost the weight I had put on during my diet funk.
Brittany does in fact have her groove back...

With one small exception....

This week, I've been having a full on love affair with the Doctor.
Diet Dr. Pepper that is...
I know, it's bad. It's unhealthy, and it's a forbidden love.
But what can I say?
"I'm A Pepper"I always have been...
It's just so darn good!

But this seriously has to stop.
I've had more diet Dr. Pepper this week then I'd like to admit.

I need an intervention.

Any words of advice?
Do you have a guilty diet pleasure?

I Need Me Some Iron!

Last week I had a good old doctors appointment. At my previous appointment I had mentioned to my doc, that I was pretty tired all the time. If you hung out with me in person, you would see that I yawn like every 5 minutes. Any who, so he did some blood work, and called me back in, to have a chat with him. He said that your "iron levels can range from anywhere between 20 and 250, and mine are at like, 22." I don't know if he was using those numbers as an example, or if that's really what it is, but he told be I was borderline anemic. Figures. Now I have lupus, PCOS, low thyroid, rheumatoid arthritis, blood clotting, and "borderline anemia".
Sweet.

Since I'm pretty tired of being tired (hehe) all the time, I'm excited to take action, and get those iron levels up! My doctor told me to take an iron supplement, and to eat more
iron rich foods:

• Clams (eww)
• Pork Liver (eww)
  
• Oysters (eww)
  
• Chicken Liver (eww)
• Mussles (eww)
• Beef Liver (eww)
• Beef (not a big fan)
  
• Shrimp (eh)
  
• Sardines (eww)
• Turkey (finally something I can eat!)
  
• Cooked beans
  
• Lentils
  
• Spinach (so that's why Popeye eats it!;)
  
• Almonds
  
• Dark green leafy vegetables
  
• Dried fruit
  
• Iron-enriched cereals (eh)
  
• Chickpeas
  
• Soybeans
  
• Artichokes
  
• Broccoli (dang!)

In an effort to eat all my iron ;) I'm trying to incorporate more of these foods into my diet. Except the ones that have "eww" next to them. Those foods go against my deliciously healthy beliefs (not that there's anything wrong with them. They just don't get along with my taste buds, and that's a must for me;).

My friend told me about a yummy recipe she got from the Cancer Project, that I had to try! It seemed like an iron rich recipe, so tonight I gave it a go!

Easy 3 Bean Salad:It was delish! Plus it was very quick and easy to make!
And you know how I love that ;)

Aside from being deliciously healthy, it's really quite pretty, wouldn't you say?

Here's what you need:

• light Italian salad dressing
• 1-2 10 ounce bags of spinach
  
• 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed, or 1 1/2 cups cooked kidney beans
• 1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed, or 1 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans
• 1 15-ounce can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed, or 1 1/2 cups cooked peas
• 1 10-ounce package frozen lima beans, thawed. or 1 1/2 cups cooked lima beans, or 1 1/2 cups cooked green soybeans (shelled edamame)
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed, or chilled cooked fresh corn.
  
• 1 large diced red bell pepper
  
• 1/2 medium diced red onion
  
• salt and pepper to taste

This is what you do:

• In a bowl, mix kidney beans and next 7 ingredients.
• Serve 1 cup of bean mixture onto individual beds of spinach.
• Drizzle Italian dressing over top.

Here's what I'm thinking:

• Serving size: 10
• Calories per serving: 210

Love it!

***

Today's weigh in had me at 167. That's a 0 pound loss this week. Of course my body is going to play games with me, and stop 1 pound short of me losing 40 pounds! Just to drive me crazy of course. Hopefully next week I can say that I'm 40 pounds lighter!

100% Random

I like crossing my legs. It's something I couldn't do when I was 206.
It's a sweet little victory for me each and every time, and I'm reminded of how far I've come!

Last night I had a dream that some little kid was throwing rocks at me. Every rock would hit one of my joints, and I was annoyed at how good the kids aim was. When I woke up my joints were killing me! Now the dream makes sense, lol. I think I'm going to have to get my remicade infusion every month, instead of every two months... nerds.

This mornings weigh in had me at 167 for a 2 pound loss this week!

Where the heck is TOM?! I thought it was coming, but it must have taken a wrong turn somewhere...

I was awarded the versatile blog award again. This time by Deb and Kelly. Thank you ladies!!

I'm LOVIN' these ring pops!! They're seriously the perfect snack!
Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a chance to win them!

I have baby fever like no ones business! It comes in waves... and I'm in the middle of a huge title wave!

That's about it. I hope you survived the trip into my head. If you're a little dizzy or disoriented, don't worry, it should pass within the next few minutes
(If symptoms last longer, seek medical help. Deliciously Healthy is not responsible for any long term effects;)

Thank you. Come again.
(Channeling Apu from The Simpsons)

Cleaning is Totally A Workout.

In case you were ever wondering.(I waited a little too long to take the pic, but I assure you I was pretty sweaty!)
It's awesome, because I'm getting two things that I don't like doing, done at the same time!

I would say it's like killing two birds with one stone. But don't you think that phrase is a bit...sad?
I'm just sayin'.

***

Today's weigh in had me at 169, for a 1 pound gain!
Yikes!

Saturday was my Birthday, and I think I went a little over bored on all the yummy birthday goodness!
TOM is also about to start here in a minute (not literally;), so that's probably playing some kind of role in that pesky 1 pound gain!

But aside from my birthday weekend, and TOM, the real problem is that I haven't been giving it 100% this week. I'm feeling all icky because of it too. I've had heartburn, tummy aches, and I'm feeling all bloated and just plain blah.

This week is going to be different!
Being Deliciously Healthy is my birthday present to myself!

Blast!

We got back from our vacation Sunday night.
We had a blast!!

We stayed at Moose Creek Ranch, right on the border of Idaho and Wyoming. It is absolutely beautiful there!I was in awe the entire time!

It was SO much fun seeing all my family, and being around so many relatives!
Everyone noticed, and
congratulated me on my weight loss! It felt like my hard work was paying off, and it felt pretty darn good!

I'd say my eating was about 50/50.
I did excellent on the road trip there! (THANK YOU for all your helpful tips!!) The snacks I brought were perfect, and kept me satisfied from Colorado to Idaho (which was a 10 hour drive),
I didn't eat "healthy" while I was there, but I kept an eye on my portions most of the time. There were times I passed up yummy goodies, and times I joined in on the fun!(moi eating an all natural chocolate ice cream cone)
I felt good about my choices, and most of all, I felt in control. When I made the decision that I needed to pass something up, I would, and I wouldn't think of it again. When I decided to partake in the unhealthy goodness, I didn't obsess over it, and enjoyed myself! I drank lots of water, and I felt like I was being pretty active. The ranch was big, with cabins, a club house, one large cabin, and horse stables, all spread out across the ranch. There was a lot of walking going on, between all the places. I felt like I was burning a ton of calories, walking around looking for my husband! Next time we go, I think we're going to have walkie talkies on us (we didn't have phone service), so I don't have to walk around the entire place looking for him, lol!

The road trip back on the other hand, wasn't so good. I was slightly annoyed that the healthy snacks I had saved for the trip back, were being eaten up by someone else. So, I ate what my husband was eating, which were chips, and M&Ms. Now I realize I could have worked harder to pick up new healthy snacks, but at the time I was annoyed, and I threw my hands in the air. BUT, I stayed away from the soda in the ice cooler, and drank water instead. For lunch I got a salad at McDonald's, instead of the big mac like I wanted!
I wish I had done better, but I could have done a lot worse!

All in all, it was an awesome vacation!
It was so nice to feel in control, and not obsess over calories the entire time!
What was even better, was not worrying about my weight the entire time! I wasn't embarrassed to have family see me, and
no energy or time was wasted worrying about my weight!
Instead, I was simply focused on visiting with family, and having a good time!(Moi riding a horse for the first time!)
***

"Blast!"
Was what I yelled out, when I stepped on the scale this morning and saw 168.
I gained 1 pound since last weeks weigh in....

But you know what? That pound is going to be lost, along with many others. It's not the end of the world. I had fun on my vacation, built lots of fun memories... and I gained a pound. It could have been 3. Heck, there have been times I came back from a vacation 7 pounds heavier!
I'm still pretty proud of myself!