5 day cleanse

After a defeating weekend of cheating and gaining 4 pounds back, I decided now or never.... I begin my 5 day cleanse.

Last time I did this, I gave up 3 days in. It was just too hard. The first 2 days I basically eat a vegetarian diet. It's mostly the same, only I can't have any dairy or meat at all. So that limits most of my low carb options. Basically for the next two days it will be eggs, salad, and broccoli. haha! And the 

Herbalogica cleansing pills that came with this packet (I bought it a few years ago, thankfully there's plenty left over!)

Days 3 - 5 are the killer ones. It's nothing but this syrup drink mix and water. No solid foods. I'm hoping with the yard work and amount of commissions I have to do this week, that my mind will be occupied on those things, and not starving. As I detox, I get rid of toxins (obviously) and I gain a ton of energy, so I hope that will fuel me through the week. By Saturday, if I can get through this, I should have lost 10 lbs (putting me under 200 lbs!) and have cleansed my body of crap, got rid of cravings, and reset everything so that I can live a low carb lifestyle from here on out without any cheating (if I can help it).

I've looked up lots of info on what a detox can do to those plateauing  and its pretty much guarenteed to break you out of that rut. So crossing fingers and praying I can mentally and physically concurred this feet this week and get myself back on track! :D

Nothing new to report... kinda? Recipe!!

I've stayed at my plateaued weight for a solid 4 weeks now, it seems. And with all the cheating I'm surprised I haven't gained weight back! I guess I'm glad I'm not gaining. I never want to see any number above 210 again... so I'll settle for 203 - 204. :D

What's worse, is that I am SOOOO close to my goal of under 200. It kind of sucks to sit here and make no progress. I know the main reason I'm not making any progress is because I stopped working out. I've reached that point where once again, working out is a social thing, and I hate going alone. I like having someone there to motivate me. That, and going with Kadree is a pain. I have to drive all the way to the one in South Jordan/Sandy area and pay for day care just to work out for an hour. I really need to get back into this. :(

One good thing about this experience, is that I know what foods are causing my weight to go up once and a while. I know sea salt is normally known for not allowing water weight, but if I use too much, I still get real puffy the next day. Also learned that donuts don't hurt me at all! Not that I'm gonna get a dozen each week, but I had 4 donuts over the weekend and it didn't do anything. And I'm less afraid of eating out because I'm learning more and more that there are low carb options everywhere! I just gotta look for them. :D

Another thing I did was make a week long plan of meals. I'm sticking with them, very strictly. I made sure I had all of the ingredients and there's no excuses. I just gotta get in the kitchen and DO it! Last night's dinner was, I think, a success, which motivates me to just keep trying! ;) 

Saw this recipe floating around Facebook so I decided to try it!

Crispy Cheddar Chicken:

Chicken:
2 lbs chicken tenders or 4 large chicken breasts 
2 sleeves Ritz crackers
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup whole milk *
3 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon dried parsley
Sauce:
1 10 ounce can cream of chicken soup
2 tablespoon sour cream
2 tablespoon butter

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Crush crackers.

If using chicken breasts and not tenders, cut each chicken breast into 3 large pieces.

Pour the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into 3 separate small pans. Toss the salt and pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine.

Dip each piece of chicken into the milk and then the cheese.

Press the cheese into the chicken with your fingers. Then press the cheesy coated chicken into the cracker crumbs and press it in.
Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan.

Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken.

Cover the pan with tin foil and bake for 35 minutes.

Remove the tin foil, bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy. 

Sauce Directions:
In a medium sized sauce pan combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and butter with a whisk. Stir it over medium high heat until the sauce is nice and hot. Serve over the chicken.

** I substituted the milk for heavy cream (no carb substitute) and thankfully, the Ritz crackers don't make up very many carbs. ;D ENJOY!

5 lbs up

Just when I finally start to make decent progress with my weight....


Easter weekend happens. I cheated every single day. Friday through Monday. Ugh....

Gotta catch up now. :(

Trying on summer clothes...

...has never been this rewarding!

I busted out a bunch of my last year summer shorts/capri's. Every year I do the same thing, and every year it usually ends with a DI run of my favorite pants and another shopping trip for more. This year, will be the very same situation, only this time, its getting rid of clothes that are TOO BIG! :D

Last summer through up until I started this diet, I was a size 20, sometimes 22 depending on the brand. Most of the shorts/capri's (lets just call them shorts for now hehe) I tried on today were 20 and 18. The 20s, 2 of them are so big they just fall off while I'm standing there! And majority of the 18s are pretty loose fitting!

So, these were my favorite shorts to wear last year. I loved them, and they were a size 20 from Maurices. Look at them now! I can slip them off without even unzipping! Goodbye shorts!

These are Pre-Kadree pants, I believe. I've had these forever, and they were always pretty tight, but now they slip on nice! Actually a bit more loose than I remember! They are a size 18. In fact, most of the size 18 pants I wore last summer are LOOSE! SO excited!!! 

Weight on the scale is one thing, but my actual size is far more exciting! But I have lost a total of 17 lbs since I started this journey. :)

All and all, I get the feeling its gonna be a great summer! Not quite ready to bust out the bikini (I don't even own or wear them, its just a figure of speech). ;)

Oh, and an update, I'm currently 206! One away from my next goal! Gonna buy me something fun on Amazon. :) 

Then its just baby steps to 199...

I. Want. My. CAMERA!

Now... I need to hit the tanning beds. I'm as white as the snow that's currently ruining our springtime outside. >_<

Seems to be working!

Well, I've been trying the whole lower calorie/carb thing for a about a week now, and its paying off! I weighed in this morning at 207! 2 more pounds and I reach my SECOND goal!

Still haven't cashed in my first goal of Rodezio's, mostly because we didn't have any time, and I didn't feel I deserved it until I passed 210. I hope I keep this up, I NEVER want to see 210 on the scale AGAIN!!

Also, had an interesting experience with Jamba Juice the other night. We were having the hunger cravings for it, and Kelly and I used to go their frequently for a little late night desert, so we got our usual things. I love Strawberries Wild, but upon looking for the nutrition I found it was a whopping 54 Carbs! I thought to myself, "Weekly cheat?" Well, it turns out not having any fruit for a full 2 weeks is like taking a laxative haha, so lets just say it "cleansed" me, and I lost a pound, despite it being so high in carbs! Woo!!!! If I'm gonna cheat in the future, its gonna be with something healthy like Jamba Juice!

Another thought, been paying more attention to measurements for a while. I didn't start out measuring, and I should have, but I did measure myself way back before I had my surgery and after. Since my body was essentially the same after the surgery, I went by those measurements, and I've lost a full 2 inches in my stomach area, a half inch on my hips, and a full inch on both arms!!! That's pretty drastic, and I can totally tell the difference in my clothes! 

This is all very exciting, so I hope this just continues to go this smoothly without any more delays.