Phase 2 Day 25

I have been so good the last couple days, so I was really hoping for a great weight loss this morning and instead I stayed the same. Perhaps this is residual stall from Monday when I cheated, but it makes me REALLY hope that I will lose tomorrow. Part of me wonders if it is worth continuing on Phase 2 of this diet if I am only going to lose a pound every few days...it doesn't seem worth it! I am SO excited to get to Phase 3...there are so many more things I am allowed to eat and make...I miss cheese A LOT!

Anyways, I love what I had to eat today: shrimp, asparagus, apples with cinnamon, chicken burger and onion rings! It was all so delicious, but I am too tired to blog in detail tonight so I will give more of an update tomorrow morning :)

Good Night!

Phase 2 Day 24

Good News, today I woke up and I wasn't having any cravings and my motivation was intact. I spent the whole day at home and wasn't tempted by anything in my house...the bread, peanut butter, jam, chocolate chips or popcorn. Hooray! Today I spent most of the day creating my "Apple" themed unit, and pinning TONS of things on pinterest...such an addiction :)

Here is what I ate today:
Breakfast: Green Tea with Lemon
Lunch: 150g Zucchini, 1/2 cup Tomato Sauce (my recipe), 100g Ground Sirloin, 1 Breadstick
Dinner: Greek Shrimp Skewers with Grilled Asparagus (this was SO incredible!!)
Snack: 150g Frozen Strawberries

The frozen fruit is going to be my secret weapon this summer. It is already something that my sister and I do year-round, but this summer it will feel like such a treat! Some of my favorite memories of summer involve grabbing a bag of frozen blueberries and sitting on the couch with my sister just devoring them. I highly recommend this as a snack anytime you feel like something sweet...I waited until the strawberries were very ripe and when they are frozen they are SO sweet!

My dinner tonight was SO incredible. I have been having a lot of chicken and beef recently and honestly am pretty sick of them. So tonight I had my hubby pick up shrimp skewers. Each skewer was about 60g, but I figured with the stick and tails it would be around 50g...in other words, I ate two! I seasoned it greek-style and had grilled asparagus with it. (I will post the detailed recipe tomorrow). I can't really express how good this was, and how nice it was to eat something different for a change. The best part is that I have two more skewers for tomorrow :)

Oh, and by the way...today I was 245.6, which means I am exactly 20 pounds down from my start weight...woo hoo!!!

Phase 2 Day 21, 22, 23

Well I took a little blogging break over the weekend, and yesterday my hubby was home sick and we went to bed early and I forgot to update! So, here is a quick run-down of what has happened in the last few days.

Sunday - 247.0 We went to church and then went to my brother-in-laws birthday party for the rest of the day. I had BBQ Chicken with cabbage slaw for lunch and then BBQ steak with broccoli for dinner. The cake looked INCREDIBLE and was made with chocolate bars and peanut butter...I really, really wanted a piece! Instead, for dessert I had strawberries and a teeny bit of melted chocolate delight. It was delicious :)

Monday - 246.6 I woke up with lots of plans for the day, but my hubby wasn't feeling well so we just relaxed all day. It was a TOUGH day for cravings for me. I just wanted food...any food that wasn't plan food. In fact, I was done with being on the diet. I resisted all day, but alas, when my hubby was sleeping, I had my first CHEAT :( I got a slice of bread and put butter and strawberry jam on it. I was honest when my hubby woke up, but I knew that I had definitely done something wrong. I am disappointed in myself, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that I wanted to be done. Don't get me wrong, the progress has been incredible but I just want to start eating a healthy, balanced diet. I know that my eating habits will be completely different when I do transition off of this diet.

Tuesday - 246.2 (19.4 pounds down) Well, today I woke up and was shocked that I was down, but I still had the same sentiment...I am tired of being on this diet. I want to eat other food and all vegetables are turning me off right now. I probably told Sam ten times today that I wanted him to order Chinese Food. That has probably been my number one craving on this diet, which is weird since I don't usually crave it. Good on my hubby, he was strong for me!! Today I ended up having one of my servings of the Curry Chicken Soup, a melba toast with a piece of cheese on it. That was a cheat as well, but I made it thin and used it in place of my one tablespoon of dairy. I think this is the last time I should have cheese though because I feel like it makes me want to have normal food again even more. For dinner I had zucchini "spaghetti" with meat sauce (100g of beef, 1/4 cup tomato sauce) and a sprinkle of parmasan. (I decided the cheese thing after dinnner.) This was actually really, really yummy and took away my craving...hooray!

 Anyways, the last few days have sucked. I have cheated, I am not losing as much weight, and I am frustrated that when I am so close to my goal (wedding weight), I am losing motivation. I just counted and I have roughly 15 more days on the drops, however I am planning to stop as soon as I am at my goal weight and switch to Phase 3. I am hoping I can do this for Vegas because it would be a lot easier to be on Phase 3 and on vacation. SO, if this is what I want then I NEED to be strict, really strict, with myself for the next two weeks. I can easily lose 8-10 lbs in that time if I follow the plan to a T. I can definitely do this...and I know that this was just a hiccup in my journey to lose weight and FINALLY get pregnant. As I write this I can't help but think PERSPECTIVE MELODY! I have wanted a baby for years and years, and have been trying to have one for over two years now...what is a few more days of eating really restricted. When I write that down and think about that, I just feel so dumb...babies and my health are WAY more important than a greasy meal or some candy. See, blogging just helps me work out all that I am thinking and feeling...I highly recommend it. For now I will get excited about the fact that tomorrow I will probably hit 20+ pounds down!!

On another note...I have decided to blog about my first year teaching in my own classroom. I created the blog, it's called Polka Dot Thoughts, which is what my theme will be in my decor this year. I am so excited to blog about my journey this coming year - and isn't that name the cutest!

Phase 2 Day 20 (HALF WAY!)

I am halfway, woo hoo!! It's funny, in some ways I look back on this and think that it feels like forever since I had sugar and carbs, and in another way I feel like I blinked and had lost over 20lbs! To update: I am 247.6, which means a loss of exactly 18lbs from my start weight, and 20.4lbs from my loading weight. What incredible results and I really can't believe how different I feel and look. Here is my starting picture, and here is my half way picture...you can see the differences, right?

I can't wait to see what I will look like in twenty more days! Today I was really feeling like celebrating and I would naturally go for a meal out with my hubby. I, however, decided to make a "semi" plan-friendly meal. What I mean by that is that I decided to try cauliflower as my vegetable. I did some research and found that lots of people use it with great results, but that it varies. I REALLY hope it works for me because I made the BEST mashed cauliflower with roasted chicken and, wait for it...gravy!! It was probably the first meal I have had that felt like I was eating like I used to...not that I want to be back there, but it was nice to feel 'normal' in some ways. Plus Sam and I were basically eating the same thing, which hasn't happened since I started. I started the meal by making my regular roast chicken recipe. I chop onion, celery and carrots and lay it down as the "bed" of the roasting pan. Place the chicken on top and sprinkle with sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Slice a lemon and lay it on top of the chicken breast pieces, then cover and cook for 40 minutes at 400.

I put 300g of cauliflower florets (not all for me, some for Sam) in a pot with about 1/2 cup of water in the bottom. Put this on low and smash with a fork as it cooks. For added flavour I roasted a head of garlic and took two of the cloves, mashed them and added them to the pot. I cooked it until soft, and then used my immersion blender to puree. It was INCREDIBLE!

I had to include a picture of one of my favorite things...liquid gold a.k.a roasted garlic...yum yum!!

Here is the cauliflower cooking. I added the roasted garlic near the end when the florets were almost ready to be blended. Now, for the gravy I took 1/2 cup of zero everything stock and the rest of the cauliflower water and put it in a saucepan. I heated it until almost boiling, and in the meantime I spice grinded my grissini down to powder. I added this to the stock/water mixture and boom, within a few seconds it looked exactly like gravy...it is an understatement to say that I was excited about this! Anyways, my dinner was awesome and the scale will be the judge of whether I am one of the lucky few who can have caulliflower and still lose the weight!

Have a good night everyone :)

Phase 2 Day 19

Well this morning I was pleasantly surprised with a weight loss of 1.8lbs! I don't know how that happened honestly, but I will take it. I am realizing just how important water is on this diet...I cannot go my day without flooding my system with tons of water. I have noticed a great improvement on the scale doing this, as well as in my hunger level and energy level. When I first read up on this diet, I thought...yeah, yeah, water is important...but I am now 100% convinced that it is necessary. So if you are on this diet or thinking about starting it, remember this tip...water, water, water!! Today was a busy, on-the-go day so I only drank 4 of my regular water bottle, and I have been drinking 5-6 consistently, that coupled with my big weight loss this morning will probably mean nothing tomorrow, but that's okay. I really enjoyed the food that I ate today, but looking back I realized that I used tomato for my fruit at both meals...I wonder if this will make a difference?

Here is what I ate today:
Breakfast: Water
Lunch: Curry Chicken with Tomato Soup
Dinner: Pork Loin Steak, 1/4 cup of my homemade tomato sauce, 2 melba toasts crushed (I mixed in salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley as well) as breading for my 200g of zuchini rounds (so good!)

The funny thing about these zuchini rounds is that I made them all the time before this diet. I used way more Melba toast for the crumbs, egg for sticking the breading, and a ranch/sour cream mix for dip, but you know what?...these were so awesome too! I don't know whether it is because I haven't had any breaded food for three weeks, but I would make them this way all the time :)

Don't they look yummy?

Phase 2 Day 17 and 18

Well, today I hit the 240's! I am so excited :) I have lost 16 lbs from my start weight, and over 18 since beginning Phase 2. Honestly, I expected to have lost more than this by this point...almost half way, but I know that my results are amazing. My goal is to have lost at least another 10 lbs so that I can be in the 230's...wow that would be so surreal! Tonight I was doing some research on how to kick start weight loss on the HCG diet, and one idea is a fat flush using macadamia nuts. It is a very interesting idea, essentially you eat 5 ounces of nuts over the course of your day, drink tons of water and see incredible releases (fat losses) the next day. I am super skeptical, but at the same time am willing to try it if I am experiencing a major stall in the future. I did nibble on a piece of Chocolate Delight tonight because coconut oil is supposed to really get your metabolism going. I made it on the weekend...added tons of stevia and I still HATE the way it tastes. This was super disappointing because I was so excited about the concept. I looked up several you tube videos today and found some girls who add their dairy to it and dissolve their stevia in that, which makes it taste better. They also added some macadamia nuts to their chocolate, which seems like a good idea to me as well. I am going to make another batch of the Chocolate Delight and HOPE that is turns out to be yummy and satisfying.

Yesterday was by far, the worst day that I have had on this diet. There was so much temptation around, I was sick, and I suffered from having aversions to EVERYTHING. It was 9pm and I was still standing in the kitchen desperately trying to find something that appealed to me. The only thing that appealed to me was eggs on toast. I compared the carbs in bread to my melba, and it was more (though, not by much) and I just couldn't let myself do it. I finally ended up having an omlette with tomato and onion. I sprinkled a teensy bit of low-fat cheddar cheese on top to make it more appetizing and then had a melba toast with it. It was good and satisfied my desire for eggs.

I was so frustrated yesterday and I just wanted to eat something...be normal again. I have to say, for me the biggest challenge on this diet is all mental. I want to eat something, I want to take part in eating socially, I want to go on a date with my hubby for dinner, I want to be skinny and be able to do all these things. Isn't that the dream? I definitely know that with my genetics, and my pattern of emotional eating and tendency to be addicted to things...this just isn't possible for me. I guess a girl can dream, and be really jealous of all the women out there who are able to do this. Anyways, thankfully when I woke up today I was in better spirits and didn't experience any aversions either.

On my way home from my first staff meeting at my new school (yay!), I stopped at Langley Farm Market to pick up some groceries for me. I was so pleased with what I found: Magic Seasoning Blends, Greek Seasoning Packs, Zero Chicken Broth, Pork Loin Steaks, Grissini breadsticks, and tons of cheap, fresh, yummy veggies and fruit.

The pork was only $6 for 2lbs of meat. The most conventient thing of all is that two pounds is about 900g and there were 9 pork loin steaks already portioned. That made my life so much easier!! I cooked three tonight, and then bagged the rest in two's so that I could always cook an extra one for the next day!

I also cooked extra lean ground sirloin and portioned it into bags. I kept one out and the rest went in the freezer for next week. I didn't take a picture of it, but I also made a HUGE pot of Chicken Curry Soup that my sister-in-law fed me on the weekend and I will portion it in the morning. She is doing the plan as well and is blogging her journey here.

And, here was tonight's dinner: grilled pork with a mustard and spice glaze with softened cabbage and apple. It was pretty good, but I cooked the cabbage and apple together and realized that last time I got more flavour from the apples when I cooked them separately and let them carmelize...so I will do that next time!

I REALLY hope I am down again tomorrow because now that I have reached weights in the 240's, I want to get to the 230's!!! Good night all :)

Phase 2 Day 16

I woke up and I was down 1.2lbs today, which brings me INSANELY close to being in the 240's. It will happen tomorrow or perhaps the next day. I am really happy about my results so far and want to keep going!!!

We were booking our hotels for Vegas tonight, and I am realizing how difficult it is going to be to stay on plan there. The last four days of phase 2 are in Vegas...it is going to be brutal. I am going to be prepared though and try to only stray from plan one day. Any tips for me?

I didn't take any pictures of the food I ate today, but here is what I had:
Breakfast: Water
Lunch: 100g Steak, 150g Asparagus, Grissini, Small Orange
Dinner: 100g Chicken, 200g Zuchini, Grissini, 1/4 cup Tomato Sauce (in place of fruit)

All in all a pretty average day, and I hope that my streak of losing will continue tomorrow morning :)

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
1 can (28 ou) Crushed Tomatoes
*make sure the ingredients are only tomato, water and salt*
1-2 Tbsp Oregano, freshly chopped
1-2 Tbsp Basil, freshly chopped
1-2 Tbsp Parsley, freshly chopped
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Salt

Place everything into a saucepan, heat and serve! I will portion the rest into servings and freeze!

 

I served this with zuchini "spaghetti" and chicken breast. I even dipped my breadstick into the rest that was left on my plate...it is SO yummy!

Calories: 25 calories (1/4 cup)

Phase 2 Day 13, 14, 15

So, I have definitely not been keeping up with my blogging...but to be fair it has been a CRAZY weekend! On Friday I got to go watch my Mom graduate from her nursing program. She was the valedictorian and gave an awesome speech. I also had to go to a baby shower and birthday party this weekend, and of course I made all the gift that I was bringing. I made paper dolls, a tutu, 3 head bands, a onesie, baby blanet and burp cloth. I got very little sleep in the last week because of all these activities, but I LOVE doing this type of stuff so it is worth it!

As far as the eating, I have been doing great. This morning marks 14 lbs gone and I am still feeling great! Sometimes I catch myself wishing I had lost more weight, but honestly it is incredible that I have lost that much in two weeks! I am really looking forward to more results in the next week, including getting into the 240's, which is a place I haven't been in 5 years! These past few days have not been without challenges, I mean a shower with peanut butter chocolate brownies, a birthday party with cake and roasted potatoes, and tonight...I am baking for my year-end parties I hold for my students, as well as for the Grade 3 class. My favorite cookie is a sugar cookie and I just made, baked and iced 68 of them...it is a special kind of toture for someone who is doing a no sugar, no carb diet!

I wish I could say that I didn't sneak anything, but I did have a miniscule piece of dough...I couldn't resist. It was bad, but I think it will be okay tomorrow. My willpower will still stay, but I just "needed" to have a taste. At this point in the diet, I am feeling great but also starting to miss the way I used to eat. I am not having cravings for things, but I miss having a sandwich, or my homemade egg salad with rice cakes. I have definitely not lost perspective on why I am doing this, and I love the results so far. I am, however, looking forward to beginning to eat "normally" again because I have drastically changed the way I think about portions, food and eating habits in general. It will be nice to finally have control over my eating habits...thank you HCG!

Here is what I ate today:
Breakfast: Green Tea, Water
Lunch: 150g Cabbage (50 calories), 100g Ground Greek Chicken (114 calories), Green Tea
Dinner: 100g Chicken Breast (114 calories), 1/4 cup Homemade Tomato Sauce (25 calories), 200g Zuchini (32 calories), 2 Breadsticks (50 calories)

I am counting that tomato sauce as my fruit, and I FORGOT to eat my fruit throughout the day, but I am going to leave it because I am full and don't think I should eat if I'm not hungry. Anyways, I think I need to make my way to my bedroom to read because the smell of cookies and muffins is driving me CRAZY! (Oh, by the way I also made Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip muffins!)

Phase 2 Day 12

I was down 1.2 lbs...hooray! The real test will be if I am down again in the next few days as well...if not, I am not sure what I will do. I have also had a bunch of compliments on how thin my face looks...that feels AWESOME :)

Today was one of those crazy, busy days and I am sitting here at 11:45pm realizing that I didn't even have my second fruit today...crazy!! The end of the year for a teacher is always busy and I also have a baby shower that I am making a gift for, my niece Sarah's birthday present I am working on, orders for my business, and preparations for my review session next week before finals. Too much stuff to do, but I honestly love all the craftiness happening at my house, but it looks like a bomb went off in here :)

Here is what I ate today:
Breakfast: Water, Apple (72 calories)
Lunch: Homemade Chicken and Celery Soup (176 calories), 1 Grissini Breadstick (24 calories)
Dinner: 100g Ground Chicken with Greek Seasoning (114 calories), 150g cabbage (49 calories), 1 Grissini Breadstick (24 calories)
Snack: Oops, forgot to make my strawberry lemon sorbet...tomorrow though :)

Total Calories: 459

Phase 2 Day 11

Today I woke up and I was 254.6, so I had taken off the stuff that I gained yesterday. I was still really frustrated this morning with this because I feel like I have been hovering between 254 and 255 for several days. My solution: apple day. So far today I have had three apples, but I think I was supposed to eat more apples than that, but honestly I have not been hungry for it. I have barely had anything to drink today as well, which is also part of this method to kick a stall. I sincerely hope that this takes a couple pounds off of me tomorrow morning because as soon as I get discouraged, I want to eat.

I feel like everytime I blog I am relaying a story about the wonderful food that I had to sit and admire, but it's a big deal! Something you should know about me is that I LOVE macaroni and cheese...I mean the cheesy goodness is my favorite thing in the world!! I don't let myself keep Kraft Dinner in the house because I will eat an entire box for lunch...needless to say it is my weakness. So today I walk into the staff room and there is a huge bowl of delicious HOMEMADE macaroni and cheese for the staff to partake in. I was so sad and all I could think about was when am I going to be able to eat that again. Something that I have been thinking about is how am I going to manage keeping this weight off, if all I am looking forward to is these bad-for-me dishes. I can easily follow an "everything in moderation" mantra, but will that work to keep this weight off? I certainly hope so because, although I am loving, loving, loving the way that I am eating and the way that I feel on this diet...I can't live with the idea that I can never let myself have macaroni and cheese again :)

Phase 2 Day 9 and 10

Sorry I didn't blog yesterday...I am working on a project right now that is taking all my time! I am also getting home later because of my tutoring schedule right now. All my students want lots of extra time because it is finals and provincials in the next week! June is always SO busy! So, on day 9 I woke up and I was 254.6, which was a loss of 0.8lbs. I was happy with this and am hovering right around 12lbs gone, which is amazing :)

Here is what I ate:
Breakfast: Green Tea
Lunch: Beef Stuffed Tomatoes (193 calories)
Snack: Orange (62 calories)
Dinner: Chicken, Apple and Cabbage Slaw (236 calories)

Total Calories: 491

Yesterday was a crazy evening and my hubby didn't have time to make dinner and I was getting home late and had my project to work on. SO, I offered to pick him up dinner. I can't believe I did that, but I went to Wendy's, got a burger and fries for him and just tried to not smell as I drove home. Then, we had to bring cookies to an event on Wednesday night, so Sam made his famous cookies. I honestly wanted to cry smelling them and seeing the piles and piles of homemade cookies...this diet is such a battle with your mind!

I am trying so hard to be excited about my cabbage salad, which my hubby is eating a burger!

Now for Day 10, today. I woke up and I was 255.2, which is a gain of 0.6lbs. I am depressed. I feel like I am stuck around the 255 mark. I really, really, really hope that something happens tomorrow, because if not, I will be doing an apple day!

Here is what I ate today:
Breakfast: Green Tea
Lunch: 150g cabbage (36 calories), 100g ground beef (137 calories), liquid amino, Melba toast (20 calories)
Dinner: Scrambled Eggs (1 whole, 3 whites) (180 calories), 4 cups of lettuce (30 calories), Apple (72 calories), Melba toast (20 calories)

Total Calories: 495

I am little worried about tomorrow because I was RUNNING at work today and could not drink near enough water today! Life for a teacher is SO busy in June...I, for one, cannot wait until my life slows down a little bit!!

One sweet story before I go: my students walk in today with a caramel iced coffee for me. I expressed my pleasure and thanks, but politely declined and explained why. The kids looked so upset and I felt really bad, but nothing compared to how I felt when one of them walked in with a cake that THEY MADE for me last night! My students are incredible and amazing and I felt SO SO bad! I promised them that I would have a piece, I just didn't say when. Tonight I put a small, tiny, miniscule bite in my mouth to get the taste (I actually even spit that out after a second), and now I feel okay because I am able to tell them that it was delicious...and it was! I know I am making progress because I spit out the teeny bite I put in because I truly have no REAL desire to eat those types of things right now. Sure, the thought of sugar or carbs is wonderful, but when it comes right down to it, I don't want them. I WANT to lost weight, I WANT to get healthier, and I WANT to break my addiction to sugar. Progress and growth is happening, even if my weight loss isn't! Well blogger world, until tomorrow :)

Phase 2 Day 8

I woke up and I was 255.4 today, which means that I was down 0.6. Not amazing, but as long as the weight loss keeps continuing I am not going to complain. I felt a little hungry here and there today, but I think part of it was that I didn't have a chance to finish all my lunch, and I had dinner really late because I was tutoring and didn't get home until almost 9!! I made a fabulous dinner though, and am left feeling very satisfied. I am sure that the scale will not show a loss tomorrow morning though with eating this late. I am preparing for this already!!

Here is what I ate today:
Breakfast: Green Tea
Lunch: 2 cups of Lettuce (15 calories), 100g Ground Beef (137 calories), 1/4 salsa (20 calories)
Snack: 100g Celery (14 calories), 1 orange (62 calories), 1 melba toast (20 calories)
Dinner: Pork Tenderloin with Apples (215 calories), 150g Asparagus (30 calories), 1 melba toast (20 calories)

Total Calories: 533

All in all, it was a good day and I hope I will see a weight loss tomorrow. If not...lesson learned not to eat so late at night!

Phase 2 Day 7

One week done! I am thrilled about my results over this week of the HCG diet: I have lost 9.6lbs from my start weight, I have lost 12 lbs total to take off my loading weight, my mindset is definitely beginning to change, cravings are becoming more bearable, I haven't cheated once (eaten carbs or sugar), and I have conquered several moments where my willpower seemed non-existent. Whew, all that in a week?

Today was not the best day, I felt "low" and hungry most of the day. I am pretty confident it is because I went really low on my calories yesterday...I definitely do not want to do that again.

Here is what I ate today:
Breakfast: Water, Apple (72 calories)
Lunch: 4 cups of lettuce (30 calories), 100g ground chicken taco meat (114 calories), 1/4 cup salsa (20 calories)
Dinner: Faux Chicken Divan (216 calories) RECIPE TO BE POSTED SOON!
Snack: Orange Slices (62 calories)

Total Calories: 514

Doesn't this look awesome...I can't wait to share the recipe with you :) 

Phase 2 Day 6

I was pretty disappointed when I woke up today because I only lost 0.6lbs, to bring myself to 257.0. I guess I keep expecting the scale to go down much more than that...perhaps I am expecting too much. Anyways, I did a bunch of research on stalls on this diet and there was lots of different information. However, the common thing was that as the fat stores of my body are being expelled, my body needs a little time to catch up and in the meantime it keeps water in that area. Water weighs more, and therefore the scale shows very little movement for a couple days. I am not sure if I am in a stall, but I have decided that if I don't have much of a weight loss tomorrow, I will do an apple day. An apple day is the HCG diet solution to a stall. Essentially, starting at noon you begin eating an apple whenever you feel hungry, to a maximum of 6 for that day. I think that would be really hard, so I am hoping for a weight loss tomorrow. Many of sights talked about cutting out the melba toast if you aren't seeing crazy results, so I did that today.

Here is what I ate today:
Breakfast: Green Tea
Lunch: Buffalo "Wing" Chicken with Celery (143 calories, and the recipe is here.)
Snack: Green Tea, 100g Frozen Strawberries (32 calories)
Dinner: Lemon Dill Tilapia with Lemon Garlic Asparagus (130 calories, and the recipe is here.)
Snack: Apple (72 calories)

Total Calories: 377

The aforementioned lunch :)

This was my afternoon today, it was glorious!

I went WAY under on calories today, partly because I cut out my melba toast, and partly because I ate really low in calorie proteins and vegetables. I also drank less water today, so we shall see what happens on the scales tomorrow.

Beef Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients:
100g of ground beef (originally cooked with salt, pepper, dried parsley, and garlic powder)
1/2 tbsp of liquid aminos
200g of tomatoes, weighed after being hollowed out (around 3)
1/2 tbsp of fresh parsley
1 Melba toast, crushed

Saute the whole package of extra lean ground beef, keeping in mind how many servings to get out of the total amount. Added salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried parsley to taste.

Portion the beef into 100g portions. (The 4 bags infront hold my ground chicken taco meat).

Take one package of the beef and place it in the castiron frypan with the liquid aminos and parsley. While this is warming up, hollow the tomatoes. Fill them with the beef mixture and top with melba crumbs. Put them in a 375 oven for 5 min, just until warmed through (I don't like the tomatoes soggy). Top them with a little bit more liquid amino, parsley to garnish and serve immeadiately.

Calories: 193

Buffalo "Wing" Chicken with Celery Sticks

Ingredients:
100g Chicken Breast
150g Celery
20g Onion
1/2 T President's Choice Buffalo Sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste
Pam or vegetable spray

Spray a castiron pan with vegetable spray, and brown the chicken on each side for 2 minutes.

I chopped some of the 150g of celery, as well as 20g of onion for some flavour and added them to one side of the pan to brown and soften slightly.

Saute the celery mixture for 2-3 minutes, or until desired softness. Continue cooking the chicken.

 Then, shred the chicken right in the pan using a fork and knife. 

Toss together and then put mixture in a bowl.

I found this sauce at Superstore, and it is zero everything except for sodium! The plus side is that it has even less sodium than hot sauce. It is packed with flavor and you only need a little. 

 

Toss the celery and chicken mixture with 1/2 - 1 tablespoon of sauce, depending on how spicy you like it. Scoop onto your plate, along with the rest of the 150g serving of celery, which I made into sticks. You could also chop the celery and make a lemon juice or apple cider vinaigrette instead.

  Serve and be prepared for a flavor-packed lunch or dinner!

Calories: 143

Phase 2 Day 5

My weight today was 257.6, which brings me to 8 lbs down from my start weight. The funny thing is that I looked at that number and was disappointed for a second, and then I was like: REALITY CHECK...losing 1-2lbs every day is incredible...then I felt better lol :)

Nothing too eventful happened today, I was home from work today and I am pleased to say that I followed the diet plan perfectly today. I wasn`t even really tempted at all...there was one moment when I saw the chocolate chips on the counter and thought, just grab one, but I didn`t! I woke up late so the timing of my drops is all different today, as well as my meal times, so I am interested to see if that will affect my weight loss at all.

Here is what I ate today:
Breakfast: Water
Lunch: 100g Ground Chicken (114 calories), 100g Broccoli (34 calories), Apple Slices (72 calories)
Dinner: Beef Stuffed Tomatoes (202 calories), Melba Toast (20 calories)
You can find the recipe in this post.
Dessert: Strawberry Sorbet (64 calories)

Total Calories: 506

For my wonderful lunch, I place the broccoli on a dinner plate, with a spash of water and liquid aminos. Microwave for 1-2 minutes. Then toss in the liquid, add the chicken meat (which I had previously seasoned with homemade taco seasoning and fresh cilantro and froze) and microwave for another 1-2 minutes, depending on your microwave.

Add a little bit more liquid aminos, salt and pepper and you have a wonderfully filling lunch!

This is what I am drinking my water from everyday. Today I drank 6 of them, which is about 120 ounces of water, or one gallon. I am not kidding when I say that I am running to pee every half hour!

Have a good night, and here's hoping for another 1-2lb weight loss tomorrow morning!!

Lemon Dill Tilapia with Lemon Garlic Asparagus

Ingredients:
100g Boneless, skinless Tilapia
1 lemon
1small bunch of dill
1 tsp dill, chopped
150g Asparagus, chopped into inch pieces
1/4 cup water, divided
1 garlic clove, crushed or minced
Spritz of Pam
Dash of Liquid Amino
Salt and Pepper to taste

 On medium heat, spray a castiron pan with Pam or zero calories vegetable spray. Place tilapia that has been seasoned with salt and pepper in the pan. Cook for 1 minute. 

Slice your lemon in half, and one of the halves into quarters. Squeeze the one half into the pan, slice one of the quarters and place on top of the fish. Add your bunch of dill on top of the fish and lemon. I also place the other lemon half down in the pan and it heats up, adds lemony flavour and you can continue to squeeze more juice out as it warms up. At this point I add 2 tbsp of water so the pan doesn't get dry.

Flip the fish, lemon and dill over. The dill and lemon will be in direct contact with the pan, but it serves as a flavour bed for your fish! Continue to cook for 4-6 minutes. While this is happening, place your asparagus in another pan with spray. Crush a garlic clove, and add that to the pan with salt and pepper. Saute this for 2 minutes, then add 2 tbsp of water and a dash of liquid amino. Continue sauteing until desired doneness. I like mine crisp tender, so they go for another 3 minutes, or until they turn bright green. 

 Place the asparagus and tilapia on the plate. I keep the lemons on that were in the pan and add the teaspoon of freshly chopped dill. Squeeze the remaining quarter of lemon on your asparagus. Serve and enjoy!

Calories: 130

Phase 2 Day 4 ... a little late :)

I woke up this morning and I was 259.6, which means I have lost 8.4lbs total, and am 6lbs down from my start weight. I am super pleased with my progress so far, and I have to say that the fast results are SO motivating! I am also feeling awesome on the diet, not only am I not hungry, but I am not feeling lightheaded, low-energy or drained at all. I woke up this morning with an even worse cold, red eyes and a foggy head. Other than that, I am feeling great on this diet and am super motivated to keep going with it!

I have to tell you all about the hardest moment I have had since the diet started though...after school I went to the clinic because my eyes were so red, swollen and starting to have "goop." I knew that it must be an infection, so I went and sat for an hour to get in. I finally got in, and was told to go fill a prescription for antibiotic eye drops. I drive to Shoppers and right away I am in the land of temptation! Cookies, candy, pop, chips, chocolate, popcorn and every other kind of delicious, delectable goody that I simply cannot have right now was in arms reach. I shielded my eyes, went straight to the counter and filled my prescription. The woman grabs the drops and I am thinking, YES, this won't take long and I can get out of here! She then says the five words that send my willpower out the door: IT WILL BE AN HOUR...I am crushed, almost wanting to cry. My eyes are in so much pain and my willpower is out the window. Apparently they have to test the drops and can't just give them to me...but the woman saw that I was upset and said she would try to hurry. I began wandering around the store and even though I didn't want to, I went to the candy isle and just stared. First, I picked up the skittles that were on sale, then I picked up the Junior Mints, or and Jelly Beans were on sale...all of these delicious sweets, and I was SO close to buying one and scarfing it down. I texted my husband and was encouraging me to stay strong...and you know what, I didn't want to! All I wanted in the whole world was to eat that bag of skittles, but I am proud to say that I DIDN'T!! I don't think I can express how happy I am about this...I mean I actually resisted temptation in a time when I would have ALWAYS used food as a comfort. Food has never been just sustinence, it has been a crutch, a comfort, a reward...but today I broke that habit for the first time since I can remember. My mentality has always been to say, oh well I'll start again tomorrow, and instead I said, start today! If you are reading this and you are in a similar situation, I just want to encourage you...and I know how hard it is, excrutiating even! Keep going and choose to start now, not later!!

Here is what I ate today:
Breakfast: Iced Green Tea
Lunch: 150g of Broccoli (51 calories), 100g Ground Chicken (114 calories), Liquid Aminos, Melba Toast (20 calories)
Dinner: 200g of Asparagas/Zuchini (36 calories), 100g Tilapia (100 calories), 2 Melba toast (40 calories) Recipe here.
Dessert: 200g Strawberries made into a sorbet (64 calories)

Total Calories: 425

Today was an okay day for eating. I loved all the meals I made, but didn't drink enough water and had one extra melba toast by accident, and had to mix vegetables at dinner because I didn't have enough of one type. I also popped a piece of gum by accident today, so all in all it was not the most protocol day I have had, and hopefully I still lose tomorrow!

Phase 2 Day 4

I found out I have pink eye today...my eyes are tired and I am going to bed early! I promise I will update what happened today in the morning though :)

Good Night!

Phase 2 Day 3

This morning was the best morning ever...I was down 4 pounds!!!! It is unreal that I have technically lost 6.8 pounds since Monday, so far this is working! So how has my day been? Pretty good on the hunger front, but I have a bit of a sore throat and a hoarse voice, which is not awesome.

One thing that I love is that I have learned so much about myself in such a short time. I am beginning to realize that I was completely kidding myself before this diet. Was I really eating healthy, was I really eating the right foods? These past three days I have thoroughly enjoyed everything I have eaten, and it doesn't feel like a hardship at all. I have to say that the cravings have been super hard, but I am realizing more and more that the way I was eating was habitforming. I convinced my brain that I needed a sweet snack after dinner, and I convinced my brain that a HUGE portion of a healthy meal was okay. I am encouraged by the progress I am making, not only with my waistline, but with my mindset.

Here is what I ate today:
Breakfast: Iced Green Tea with Lemon
Lunch: 100g Fake n Bake Chicken (114 calories), 4 cups of Lettuce (30 calories), Mustard Dressing, Melba Toast (20 calories), Apple Slices (72 calories)
Dinner: 100g Extra Lean Ground Beef (137 calories), 200g Tomatoes (36 calories), Liquid Amino, Melba Toast (20 calories)
Snack: Apple Crisp (72 calories and recipe from my SIL here)

Total Calories: 501

My dinner was SO yummy! I would eat this all the time, and I don't even really like ground beef. In my everyday life I see this as a main dish, with a big salad on the side. I was wondering though, if on Phase 2 the tomatoes could count as a fruit and then I could have other vegetables on the side. I might try that at some point.

Beef Stuffed Tomatoes
100g of ground beef
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried parsley to taste
1/2 tbsp of liquid aminos
200g of tomatoes, weighed after being hollowed out
1/2 tbsp of fresh parsley
1 Melba toast, crushed

I sauteed the whole package of extra lean ground beef, keeping in mind how many servings I had to get out of the total amount. I added salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried parsley. I portioned these into 100g servings. I took one and put it my cast iron frypan with the liquid aminos and parsley. While this is warming up, hollow the tomatoes. Fill them with the beef mixture and top with bread crumbs. Put them in a 375 oven for 5 min, just until warmed through (I don't like the tomatoes soggy). Top them with a little bit more liquid amino and serve immeadiately!