Day Thirty-five

1/31/2010

Finished the Harry Potter marathon and tried to pack for my trip but decided that I am not well enough and I am not comfortable driving the roads so...everything is ready to go for early morning departure. Early as in "very early" like leaving at 6am. Got to get to the center before the big boss arrives so that my boss doesn't look like she has a slacker for an employee. :) The problem is I am getting sicker and now there seems to be a cough starting which for me usually means disaster. Help God! I need a healing...
More scrounging around in the cupboards motivated me to start knocking ice off the car and go out and get a little food as well as something for this cough and congestion. Thank God for 24 hour Wal-Greens. Love that place.
Cleaned house like a crazy woman and had to burn some calories with all that activity. I feel good about leaving tomorrow with a house clean.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner were unremarkable so I won't remark suffice to stay I stuck with the plan another day. Good night!

Day Thirty-four

1/30/2010

Snow days are days for movie marathon's...Harry Potter was our choice for this one and I am snacking away all day on peanuts while committing the sin of envy watching my skinny sister crunch down on dip and chips. Ah well-who said 'life is fair'? I just 'tisn't! :)
I am coming down sick definitely. Sore throat continues as does running nose. Gross. Something about being sick makes you want to eat. Maybe it is the shear boredom of being locked in the house with nothing but icicles to gaze upon.
Hoping that I can get to feeling better since I am suppose to drive out tomorrow...all classes and church cancelled because of this 2nd blizzard. Nothing much to report on eating...same old, same old...protein, protein and more protein with salad and more salad and endless bowls of broccoli and cauliflower. I need to get the store for some variation! Kept to the plan and that is good. Good night.

Day Thirty-three

1/29/2010

Home office in a blizzard! Not too bad although I had two conference calls to start off the morning at 8 am and 9 am. After that it was a blizzard of email and calls to my cell. I was suppose to be teaching at the vocational technical school but all schools are closed because of the weather.
The day started off with some nice herbal tea and my first try of Greek yogurt and some vanilla Splenda (a tip from Diane's 2010 blog). It was great! Snacked on peanuts mid morning and lunch was cottage cheese and some chopped peanuts and another large salad which I was too full to finish and made a mid afternoon snack. For dinner I grilled a large chicken breast with mushrooms and a mix of 2TB cream cheese, olive oil, red wine vinaigrette and Italian herbs. It was very filling and delicious. Moving onward with our movie marathon and enjoying time at home and catching up....Good night!

Day Thirty-two

1/28/2010

Everyone is predicting a terrible blizzard this afternoon and they were right! I was so stressed trying to finish the trainings in the facility and thinking, "I don't want to be stranded here!!" I set up a hotel at the half way point just in case and started home around 2pm. Once in Tulsa, the storm started to shape up with freezing rain and about an hour outside of Tulsa, I had to stop to knock off all the ice accumulating on my non functioning wiper blades. 2 hours after that I made it home after driving 6 hours and the last hour of it all at 40 mph. I don't plan to leave my driveway for a few days and at this point everything is covered in ice. Tomorrow we are expecting 1/2 - 1 foot of snow on top of that!
Oh yes, what about the diet? That is after all the purpose of my ramblings. Breakfast was in the hotel with scrambled eggs and ham. The nice lady at the front desk obliged my request at check-out and gave me an extra bottle of water. I refilled in the facility (they have the nice water towers with purified water). I lunched after I started my drive home on 2 bunless Angus burgers from McD. So far, the only veggies are a meager few slices of tomato, mushroom and lettuce. In the afternoon, when stopping for gas I felt the exhaustion of needing my snack and got 2 hot dogs/sausages (minus bun). Gross-totally grease and left me nauseous. I did buy 2 bottles of water while there and that helped flush out the grease. Happy to be home that evening, my sister and I started a Star Wars marathon (my favorite part of being "snowed in") and ate large salads with everything good. I had called her with updates on my trip as well as a critical shopping list before we got snowed in. Snacks on peanuts filled in the need for munchies. I developed a tension headache on the way home but thanks to God for Ibuprofen and hot herbal tea, I feel much better and ready for a good night's sleep. Good night!

Day Thirty-one

1/27/2010

My thought on today is that if I can keep up with this diet and the hard choices I must make, on my type of crazy schedule, than NO ONE has a really legitimate excuse to not choose health. I am not on my high horse here because I know that for the past 32 years I have never mentally been able to stick with it but this time something is different and I hope everyone reaches the point I have where they realize, "yes, I can" and "yes, I will".
Up at 5 am this morning and downed 16 oz of water and 2 cups of coffee which probably cancels out the water but at least I feel a little more hydrated. The dehydrating effects of yesterday were lingering with me as I woke this morning. I didn't have time to stop in the lobby for a nice breakfast which would have been lovely because I need to be in Springfield MO by late morning (a 5 hour drive). So, about 1 hour into my drive, I flew through McD and grabbed sausage egg muffins (threw out the muffins which had most of the fake cheese) and 2 bottles of water. I arrived in Springfield nearing 11 am and ran straight to the facility to start work (chart audits due by close of today). I made all my deadlines today as well as 2 conference calls but my eating was poor. I managed some chicken buffalo jerky and peanuts and I did keep the water flowing. I feel fine, but again, I am worried about the vegetable component. I flew through a drive through for some bunless Angus burgers with Swiss and mushrooms (yum). The hotel was over 20 minutes away and I am so tired I think I will go to bed now...Good night!

Day Thirty

1/26/2010

Breakfast was the remainder of the nuts I bought from last night's escape from purgatory. Lunch was with the colleague at a fabulous local Greek restaurant where I enjoyed a delicious Greek salad and grilled chicken. I love their seasonings! In the airport a little early for my flight today gave me time to get extra bottled water and to pay some of those looming month end bills. I snacked on nuts and buffalo chicken jerky through the afternoon and evening. On the layover in Denver, I was able to get some cashews which basically took me through dinner. Did not get in all my water or veggies and so, I am feeling very tired and sluggish by the time I got to my hotel around 10pm. It is only Tuesday and it feels like it should be Friday. Air travel always takes it out of me. Good night!

Day Twenty-nine

1/25/2010

Flying out to AZ early morning and all went well. Brought some snacks of nuts and cheese sticks. Kept the coffee down to 2 cups today! :) When I landed it was after 2pm my time and I was STARVED so, I made a quick pass through BK and got a salad with extra grilled chicken plank. In the afternoon nuts and mozz cheesestick got me through and I guzzled through the extra bottles of water I picked up at the airport and BK. My rental already looks like a collection of recycling with all the plastic bottles! I have developed a real love for the 1L water bottles because I know I just need the one and to refill it once and wallah! I have my water quota! A long time friend from high school days wanted to meet me for dinner and therein lies the interesting part of today's tale. Her kids wanted IHOP which should be called IHOC (International House of Carbohydrates). I didn't want to bother her with my diet issues and just prayed there would be an option within the realms of my diet...I was thinking about an omelet. She was over 45 minutes late because of traffic and leaving late and so there I sat, in carbohydrate purgatory, smelling but not being able to taste all the delectable biscuits and gravy, toast, and of course, pancakes. The extra time gave me opportunity to glance through the menu, or should I say memorize the menu? Did you know they add pancake batter to their regular omelets? Wow. Thankfully they do have an entire section for the health conscious and with a few modifications I knew what I could order. The issue was after 30 minutes in the place I was like a drunk in a bar. Salivating and hyperventilating-well, that's a slight exaggeration. I ran across the street to Walgreens and bought some nuts and sat in the car and snacked until the carb monster was put back behind bars. Dinner was delightful and worth the wait although by the time I ate, it was around 8pm my time. Not much else to report after that, went back to hotel, watched a little TV and now I am ready for bed. Good night!

Day Twenty-eight

1/24/2010

Four weeks today and half way through step one! Congratulations to me!
It was fun to think about how long and how fast this has passed and I am looking forward to speeding through the next four weeks!
I forgot to mention on Friday's pot (1/22) that I worked out for the first time at Curves and it was wonderful! I had so much energy the rest of the day I nearly went all night ('til 2 am anyways). Perhaps it was the coffee too? ;-) Planning to get 3x/week in from this point forward because I am fairly well adjusted to the eating routine. I am giving myself a year and a half to loose all my weight so, I wanted to move slowly before jumping into exercise. I feel ready now though and actually very excited about beginning! I made the "circuit" three times but by the third time I was seriously tired although like I mentioned, about 30 minutes later my energy level went through the roof and continued well into the next day. My joints feel much better after working out then too and interestingly I do not seem to have any of the muscle soreness I expected. Hopefully this will tighten up the loose stuff as the fat starts decreasing.
Breakfast was chicken breast and I know you are thinking "weird" but the kitchen is about bare here! Lunch was a spinach mozz pizza on my last pita. I really have to get off of here and go shopping!!
Tonight is Bible study and so, I am cleaning the house with my sister and prepping for that. Will make popcorn and have salsa and chips for them which shouldn't be an issue for me as long as I get myself something crunchy to munchy. I am thinking some florets of brocc and cauliflower... Got to get my water in today...have not had enough lately and I can tell since my lips are a little dehydrated. Probably all that dang coffee I keep drinking...will cut it down to 2 cups in the morning.
I am closing out early today since I will be busy with the study and then a movie this evening...have a great and Good Night!

Day Twenty-seven

1/23/2010

A day of endless errands! Still need to go shopping so food choices were a little limited today. Mad a nice Eggbeater omelet for breakfast and quickly drank down 16 oz water. Perhaps this was penance for drinking four cups of coffee again this morning? Sigh...this must end! After dropping of a scrapbook order (I have a side home business of scrapbook stuff), I had a nice lunch with my bro' at a local Mexican restaurant. Can I say this, I never even noticed the tortilla chips and had no pangs of desire or disappointment? What is happening to me the Chip Princess and Queen of Carbs? I like it! :-) I had a chicken fajita on a bed of greens with side of fresh guac, salsa and sour cream. Yum and very, very full!
Midday had a quick cheese stick for a snack and practiced for tomorrow's Sunday worship service. Cleaned a little house and then prepared dinner to eat with my sister who is finally returning home today after a long conference in Tulsa. Made grilled chicken breasts rubbed with Mexican spice mix and steamed broccoli with some rice for her and cottage cheese for me. It was a nice and relaxing evening together watching figure skating competitions on the T.V. and some dumb but hilarious movie from the '80's. Happy and looking forward to tomorrow. Good night!

Day Twenty-six

1/22/2010

Yesterdays lows was more than compensated with today's highs! A day filled with success. Although I had originally planned to be working in Arizona, because of yesterday's flight cancellations I found myself with an office day. Much needed office day I should say! I accomplished so much with work and personal stuff that I felt quite exhilarated.
Stuck with the diet today and was able to eat more veggies now that I am home and already my digestive system is operating better and I feel better! Enough on that topic! However I must confess breaking one rule, I did have 4 cups of coffee today and that may explain my "buzzing bee" persona today since my system is not use to that much caffeine. It was purely medicinal though and accomplished what I needed it two. I will have to scale back so that my system doesn't get dependent. The cupboard is getting bare again though and I will need to do the shopping thing again soon!
My victories today were threefold. One was a work related battle ongoing for over a month and I had nearly given up but tried once more and today was called by my boss and told, "it's done!" She also told me I was a "brat" because I always seem to get my way and I won't let it go! :-) "I was born that way", I told her. The next victory was a conference that I needed to attend and I didn't think the company would pay for but was trying to negotiate for time and travel if I paid for the conference fees. My boss approved the whole thing! Confirmation of my motto, "you never know what you will get if you ask-the worse that can happen is they say 'no'".
The final victory and one more related to this blog, was my weigh in and measurements at Curves. Being that I am completing month one, they require the measurement so, to all those who think I am "cheating" on the rules of the MM diet, I protest and say it was enough of a victory that I managed to stay off the home scales for 4 whole weeks!
I close with the stats:

Weight -12.75 lbs

Bust -1 in
Waist -0.75 in
Abd -2.50 in (HOLY COW!!)
Hips -2.00 in
Arms -0.5 in each (1 in total)
__________________________________
Total inches = 7.25

Not bad for 4 weeks! It's a Good Night!

Day Twenty-Five

1/21/2009

Who would have guessed that after twenty-five days, this would be my hardest day yet? I certainly did not see it coming. The morning was smooth until I got to the airport and found out the weather last night (big rain/wind/hail) had delayed all flights and mine wouldn't leave for another hour and a half. The ticket agent assured, "you will make your connecting flight though." Never a less true word spoken. Once I arrived in Denver, my flight sat on the tarmac for over and hour (at total capacity not one seat open) while we all sweated like sardines and in general had foul moods. Finally the engines were cut and the pilots predictions early on the tarmac were announced, "wind is to high to land in Tucson, go to gate B39 for customer service." So, I pack it up again and I am sitting at this moment after another hour in the customer service line waiting for a 7p flight back home. At that point I will have spent 15 hours in airports and won't be home until after 11p.
Back to my opening sentence-"hardest day". Must be the stress but I want to eat everything in sight! I was fairly proud and confident starting out the day by eating the guts of bell peppers, sausage, cheese and scrambled eggs out of my breakfast burrito and leaving behind the shell and the pile of potatoes. Mid afternoon I was already a little worn out with waiting for my layover but stuck religiously to my water and natural almond packets. Looking forward to lunch when I landed. Never to be and after the first delay I ate the guts out of a Philly cheese steak. At this point it is late afternoon/early evening and I have eaten my last natural almond packet and all my water and I am so stressed and tired all I can think of is how much I want some comfort food. I really am an addict. Eating carbs always gives me just a little cushion and feeling of calm as well as a little lethargy but at least calm! Oh yes, I forgot to mention the scene on the airplane when after waiting over an hour some poor woman on the plane evidently afflicted with Alzheimer's disease became so agitated and confused that she started screaming and crying and there was nothing her poor husband could due to comfort, cajole or beg her to sit down. He had to practically drag her off the plane. She kept saying, "all these poor people and no one will do anything for them, it's wrong!" I nearly started weeping with her and once off the plane saw her wandering aimlessly around the airport while her weary and bedraggled husband tried to monitor and convince her to stick with him. Wow.
Well, getting this all out has helped some and perhaps I will survive day twenty-five without cheating miserably. An early good night to you all since it will be very late by the time I arrive home and bed will be all that is on my mind at that point. Good night.

Day Twenty-Four

1/20/2010

Tulsa, Oklahoma and my favorite Thai restaurant are inexplicably linked and at this point forbidden because I would not be able to do it without drooling and morning over my Pad Thai and Coconut Soup (both heavy with carbs I am sure). So, I played it safe and never ate out for lunch. Breakfast was in the hotel lobby, scrambled eggs and a couple of strips of very thin bacon. Lunch was cottage cheese and sunflower seeds with some broccoli florets. Snacks of Turkey jerky and low fat mozz sticks. Dinner-guess where? McDonald's while I was driving all the way back to OKC (I have a flight out to Tucson AZ in the morning). To tired to say more-that sums it up. Good night!

Day Twenty-Three

1/19/2009

Travel to Wichita, KS was in a thick cloud of fog--three hours of that! My neck and back ache from all the concentrated driving. I was glued and entertained by talk radio with a big election in MA promising to shake things up in the US Senate.
I packed lots of snacks and did almonds and cheesestick for breakfast as well as a new powdered supplment with tons of antioxidants and power stuff from a hundred different berries. A slight exageration but I was really dragging in my energy and I am concerend I am not getting enough vitamins and minerals especially since I haven't started my supplements. I felt a little sniffle and achy too so, that motivated me to try some supplements. Like I said in early posts, I have serious gag reflex issues so, even though I bought the supplements, pscyhologically I just couldn't adjust to the thought of taking them. I found a nice little pill saver thing with the days of the week and 4 different times a day. I nearly gagged just looking at the SIZE of the calcium and fish oil supplements. I am going to try anyways I told myself and mid way through my mid morning snack of turkey jerkey I tried to swallow and nearly went off the road gagging and nearly loosing breakfast and the mid morning snack. I finally got them down but that was the end of that! I think I would rather find some sort of a drinkable form, no matter how gross 'cause as soon as those solid objects hit the back of my throat it rejects vehemently!! Sigh. I am frustrated since I spent so much time and money making sure I had all the right stuff and organized. Back to the health food store I will go and see if there is another answer. Lunch ended up happening at the facility with cottage cheese and sunflower seeds with a mid afternoon snack of a cheesestick. I drove that evening from Wichita to Tulsa, OK and arrived in my hotel in the evening. I had no other options but a roadside stand where I got a greasy disgusting sausage minus bun. I had some chopped broccoli and ate that but I still know I am not getting in 5 servings of veggies and that probably accounts for my slagging energy. Overall I feel better than I did before but I am still not content with my level of energy. Drank tons of water. Tired and have a long day tomorrow. Good night.

Day Twenty-Two

1/18/2010

Suppose to travel today but ended up stuck at home with plumbing issues in the kitchen (ongoing saga)...waiting for calls back and hoping that my little bro' will be able to get over here and help!!!
Eating at home is much easier than on the road and all meals were relatively easy breezy...ate cottage cheese and sunflower seeds for breakfast with a huge lunch of organic greens and hickory smoked tuna (YUM) for lunch...snack of almonds...dinner cauliflower and grilled chicken.
By end of day plumbing was fixed and I had managed to clean most of the house including dusting and four loads of laundry as well as 2 loads of the dishwasher (things were piling up with the plumbing problem). Will be up early to drive to Wichita, KS. Good night!

Day Twenty-One

1/17/2010

I am writing a little early today because I know I will be out late and my favorite TV show premiers tonight (24) so...today has been OK! I ate some turkey meat for breakfast and was proud that I got it in within 1 hour of waking. I am needing to work on breakfast options, right now the fridge is nearly empty and I am working on the shopping list. It's hard when you are on the road everyday and you don't want things to spoil in the fridge. I had to get to church early since I lead worship and we needed to practice. Service was a blessing and worship went well. I had some chicken breast left over from the enchiladas cooked for my brother's family, so I made a huge salad with my organic field greens, chopped chicken breast, grape tomatoes and a sprinkle of mozz cheese. Tastes fabulous! My mom called and asked if I would bake cheesecake for my brother's birthday tonight since he has invited a huge herd over and she's not sure the cake she made will go far. "Absolutely", I told her since I know I have sever days of success in this area without any backsliding (thank God)!
I am planning to have a pedicure before I get my shopping done this afternoon and that is my celebratory "gift to self" for finishing THREE WEEKS with no major misshapes. Wow.
My greatest fear right now is going to step two...I am sort of at the half way point of step one and now it feels like it has flown by! I am so happy with how things are going with step 1, I am worried it will all come to a halt with step two...but I am trying to put faith in my teacher's proven success with this plan. God has not given a spirit of fear so, I am plowing ahead according to plan! This morning my sister said that she could tell that I had lost weight "in my face" and I can tell I have lost weight in my abs (thank GOD!!). I am looking forward to weighing in at Curves.
I bought all my supplements and have a pill box to organize and will start those tomorrow. I also have some work out clothes and plan to back enough to start my working out at Curves this week. There's a small part of me that feels like, "I should have already started!" but I am taking this slow and up until this week, didn't feel mentally like I could handle the working out or the supplements (I have a serious phobia about swallowing pills). I am looking forward to the new changes! An early Good Night!

Day Twenty

1/16/2010

Rush, rush, rush that's all I do and I need an intervention to simplify my life! It's so hard when you are the one who has to make the choice to simplify...can't someone else just step in and say, "enough"!!
Teaching was from 8-3 and went great. I drank lots of water but not much food. Skipped breakfast. No lunch. Only snack was peanuts. TOTAL FAILURE and my metabolism will probably completely shut down and start collecting every ounce for fat again thinking I am trying to starve to death. Amazingly, I had energy and no problem teaching or talking. Normally I would have HAD to eat something and I would have had trouble with my thoughts being clear and struggled with timeliness. I stood and taught all 6 hours-amazing! Also, very clear with communication! I know I can't abuse my body like this and keep it up but it is amazing how it compensates when you do have an emergency type day.
After teaching, I dropped off my delicious meal (I trust it is anyways since I never tasted it :)) and held my little Chase for the next two hours. He is beautiful and that is the honest truth not just a prejudiced opinion from an overly doting Auntie! :) LOL. Roundest little head I have ever seen and he has my ears! I love how God literally knits these little bodies from the genetic pool and comes out with such adorable combinations. He is a Dollie and I love him. I hugged and cuddled my little Mr. Independent (Landon, Chase's older bro) and he is adjusting nicely to the new little brother. He is still greatly alarmed though whenever he starts to cry.
Life is so good.
I met with one of my dear friends for dinner after that at On the Border and ate a delicious fajita beef salad. I was like a starving person eating for the first time! I drank water and refused the chips. I am SO thankful everyday that God is helping me do things that normally I would have thought impossible.
Good night!

Day Nineteen

1/15/2010

I get to go home today! That was like mantra in my head knowing that tomorrow I will hopefully see my new baby!
Breakfast from hotel (omelet and sausage patty); for lunch I took the girls out to Apple bees and I had a SW salad. I told the waitress "no tortilla chips, I am on a special diet". The plate arrived FULL of tortilla chips. We were in a hurry so, I spent about 10 minutes picking them all out. Sigh. They did give me my meal free since they messed up which was nice since the lunch was "my treat".
Dinner was on the road and I am afraid to even breath it but again...MCD but just burger patty. Had some chicken jerky. I NEED veggies but can't stand another bite of salad...want some broccoli or anything else.
I am bringing my brother and sister-in-law a meal tomorrow and so, after a FIVE hour drive home, I went shopping at 10:30 PM and came home to find a flood on my floor and the cabinet under the sink ruined with water. Some pipe is blocked and on top of everything else, I was at my limit. After I cleaned up that mess at least to a point where nothing else was being soaked under there, started a load of soaked towels etc. I started cooking the food and finally finished at near 1 am. I AM PROUD to report that I made my famous sour cream chicken enchiladas, a layered salad and cheesecake without tasting a DROP! I don't know where this will power came from at this hour of the night but somehow I pulled it off. I am too pooped to talk anymore...really it's the next day but "good night" anyhow...early morning for me tomorrow...but I get to see Chase! Good night.

Day Eighteen

1/14/2010

Today was a long day but overall good. Training/teaching takes it out of me but I made it! Found an Ozark water tower in the facility (hidden in an office) and kept my water bottles filled. If I take stock of my success so far:
1) Getting in required water
2) No carbs (minus that supposid SF coffee on week one)
3) Veggies daily (granted not the amount I need to increase to)
Not having any cravings, no headaches, no issues with bloating or constipation. Overall I find that I am doing extremely well physically. Energy is hugly improved. Also, no joint pain which was requiring several doses of Ibuprofen during the week. Wow...just taking "stock" makes me realize how happy my body is with this.
Lunch was the McD salad thing...snacks of almonds and cottage cheese. Dinner was Boston Market again with salad and extra side of green beans.
Nothing else to report other than wanting to GO HOME and see Chase. Good night.

Day Seventeen

1/13/2010

My 2nd nephew, Chase Clay decided to enter the world without his Aunt Jenny by his side! (sobbing) I don't know if the Dr.'s appointment got things started but my cell started ringing around 2:00 am with my brother reporting they were at the hospital..."water broke 2 hours ago, she's at a 5 now and we should have a baby soon." Happy news but bittersweet since there was no way I could leave work on this short notice and get there in time. He was born shortly after 6:00 am today. Happy Birthday Chase and your Aunt Jenny will always be there for you! I can't wait to hold him. My brother sent me a first photo over the phone (thank God for cell phones) and my sisters are promising Face book photos once they get there this morning.
Even in the midst of my sorrow :) it was a great day and the new hire was awesome and training went well. I ate a SW omelet from the hotel breakfast bar (yummy!!) and brought lunch and snacks of peanuts, mozz sticks, cottage cheese and chicken jerky. I am worried about the veggie thing-having a really hard time finding ways to bring them without them getting warm which grosses me out. I need to be more creative and work harder on this for next week. I have a small car fridge in the garage somewhere from a previous diet attempt years back... will have to dig it out and try harder. Dinner was drive through Boston market with chicken salad on bed of greens as well as an extra side of green beans. BOY was it hard to throw out that cornbread! Once it hit my nostrils I was near passing out-I sabotaged myself since I was so hungry from eating light all day. SIGH. Don't worry-I threw them out with a sad long look back. :)
All else is well and I snacked on chicken jerky while I finished up email and work related junk in bed with my laptop watching worthless T.V. WISH, WISH, WISH I could get home and see my little Chase man. Sigh. Good night.

Day Sixteen

11/12/2010

Sweet sixteen! Lovely to hear my first compliment today!!!!! "Your face looks thinner and so does your abs and back." This from someone who saw me about a month and a half ago (pre-Metabolism Miracle diet). Hooray! Super pumped about this now because not only did I have this compliment mid morning but I also noted a definite give in the waste band of my dress pants that were super snug only 3 weeks ago!
Breakfast was a quick run through the hotel breakfast but this hotel didn't have anything carbless but sausage patties! So, two patties made a brief breakfast. I snuck in a small cup of coffee but I am cutting back on this too, trying to get by with one a day. I had McDonald's grilled chicken ranch salad for lunch and snacked on peanuts and a mozz stick between the meals. Dinner was on the road to Springfield, MO which was a 2 hour drive. Stopped off at a McDonald's again and ate two beef patties and threw out the buns. My car looks like it needs to be recycled with all the water bottles. One nice thing is that my company pays for most of food. When I arrived at the hotel I was happy to find I had a suite with fridge, stove and microwave-GOD's provision and blessing on my healthy choices! My sister-in-law called me back (I called her on the road) and she reported on her Dr.'s appointment today...no progress which made me feel better since I am still hoping to make it to the birth. Looking forward to work tomorrow-will meet a new hire that I have only talked to on the phone and hopefully train her for long term success in that facility! Good night!

Day Fifteen

1/11/2010

Starting week three and it is hard to believe! Maybe a year and a half will fly by...the first week/week and half moved so excruciatingly slow that I started thinking that I was going to feel like a lifetime of hades.
Today I was home with office work until about 4:00 pm and then I hit the road for Missouri and after a 4 1/2 hour drive finally made it to my hotel. As I hit MO, it reminded me of the cold last week in Oklahoma. Things had warmed up over the weekend in OK but are still bitter here with piles and piles of snow and slush.
No biggies with food today...was able to eat every 3-4 hours and keep metabolism burning. Never got real hungry. Had a little mental hunger when on of my little sisters piled through the door (she stays here while I am on the road) with a huge deluxe pizza with extra cheese but I satisfied my longing with a spinach pizza on pita bread for lunch. Dinner was McDonald's drive through and I felt a sense of accomplishment as I threw the buns immediately in the trash. The only downside to this is that I am use to being able to eat while driving and although not the most safe practice, it is convenient for my life. There is just no way to eat an Angus beef patty with mushrooms with no bun without a M-E-S-S!! Oh well...it will be worth it! Have to work tomorrow and hopefully my sister-in-law will keep that baby inside until I get home this weekend...I want to be there for the birth. Good night!

Day Fourteen

1/10/2010

Today shall be titled, "I Conquer Baking Without Partaking"...LOL!
My Uncles' birthday is today and Mom didn't feel up to baking another cake so, I made cheesecake for him and never tasted a drop! Apparently it was good because everyone said so but none for me and really, I was okay with that. It's not like I have never tasted cheesecake before now.
Church this morning was great and worship was awesome. I ate a quick breakfast of low carb yogurt and dashed off to church. I got home around 1pm and snacked on some almonds, ate some cottage cheese and then I had to rush off to the grocery store to get the things to bake the cheesecake.
I did buy a bottle of splenda flavored water for this evening which I thought might help while everyone else was eating cheesecake. It was just okay, the herbal tea Mom brought me was even better. I am learning to love tea without sweetener because I don't like the after-taste of the artificial sweeteners.
I caught a quick dinner before the BD party-a fun spinach, chicken pita pizza. Yummy! Later in the evening I snacked on some of that Buffalo Chicken pieces and then made some roll ups with sliced chicken lunch meat and a little bit of Weight Watchers spreadable cream cheese in the center. Sliced up a cucumber and yum yum! Today I seemed more hungry-I guess I made up for yesterday's low appetite.
I just realized this is WEEK TWO! Holy cow-well, that is wonderful, only 6 more weeks to go. I have noticed some improvement in the abdomen area but just not fast enough for this impatient girl. I have managed to stay off the scales but I am frustrated at times with how slow. Only two weeks I know, I know but I want change now! Getting fat was easy and thoughtless but getting thin takes so much thought that it feels like I should already be further along.
Enough on all that...congratulations to me for two successful weeks. Good night.

Day Thirteen

1/9/2010

If I was titling these monologues, it would be something like "Conquering Cooking While on a Diet", which is what I did today. Today is my sister's birthday and although we celebrated last night, I wanted her morning to be special. I had classes to teach at 9am so I got up extra early to get ready and then fixed her a special breakfast...English muffins, scrambled eggs, little jams, peppermint coffee and a cup of herbal tea. Fun for her and fast for me and then I was out the door and running off to class. Oh yes, I forgot to mention I snarfed down some scrambled eggs before I left. Mid morning I had some almonds. At lunch I decided I needed a breather from class and drove around the area just enjoying the slight improvement in tempature (in the 30's vs. >10 degrees) and got a salad from McDonald's with two bottles of water. While I was driving around I had snacked on a mozz stick as well as some cashews. So I ate the cherry tomatoes off the salad and was suddenly full so I left the salad in the car for a mid afternoon snack or early dinner. That plan worked out perfectly because when classes were finished at 3:30, I was able to go and get my oil changed in the car while I ate my salad. Evening plans included dinner out with friends and thankfully it was at a place with an enormous salad bar and so 6:00 pm or so, I ate another large salad! I am home now and a little worn out but have practice for Sunday morning worship at 7:00pm (I lead worship for my parent's church) and so, those salads will have to get me through a few more hours. Day Thirteen was lucky for me! Good night.

Day Twelve

1/8/2010

This will be a short one because I am BEYOND exhausted! Taught from 9-3 today and my body is not adjusted to standing on my feet for 6 hours with little to no breaks. The class was great. I snarfed down a very minor breakfast of a mozz stick and some herbal tea and had to run out the door (running late as usual). Last night I put a grocery bag of some protein snacks/foods by the door and that was my salvation. I bought 2 bottles of water from the cafeteria and otherwise stayed away from there. I ate some almonds, beef jerky and cup of cottage cheese over the course of the 'noon/afternoon. Then I was headed out to shop for one of my sister's birthday party...my first party since December! Fun, fun, fun! I bought a few groceries while out too and grabbed more water and snacked on Buffalo chicken pieces that were kind of like jerky but more chewable. I wasn't very hungry today. Made it through the party with no issues although the coconut cake looked very pretty! Tired and going to bed. Good night!

Day Eleven

1/7/2010

Blizzards are not good for your diet but thankfully I packed enough stuff to get me through and today I got back on the road again and traveled home (a five hour drive). I had salad left over from yesterday and ate that for lunch with a little extra turkey meat from my groceries. Ate more almonds (my jaw is aching from all the chewing). Two interesting things I note is that I certainly was not use to consuming this much roughage and chew stuff...too many soft and easy to eat carb laden foods. The other observation is that I am getting full faster. For example, the salad from yesterday and being to full to finish and having it for lunch today. That is an awesome side effect of this diet!
I was home in time to make my own dinner which was a pizza pita. I found these awesome pita bread's at Walmart with only 4 carbs and they are great to stuff or use as wrap or in this case, a crust for my pizza! A little lonesome since I am home a day early and my sister/roommate doesn't get here until tomorrow. Lonesomeness can be a trigger for my eating and I certainly was crazing more food so, I ate some chicken jerky and cashews and overcame. Started working on my 2010 planner-procrastination is not a good thing and I feel much better now that I have it lined out at least for a few months. Watched some television and prepared myself for my classes I am teaching tomorrow.
Happy to be home safe and sound. Good night!

Day Ten

1/6/2010

Today started somewhat late since I am not feeling particulary well and ended up over sleeping. With predictions of terrible blizzards I had to rush through work to get everything done and as usual with work, nothing goes smoothly. Breakfast was a mozz stick and water. Not very much and lunch all I got was some beef jerkey. I did drink one bottle of water that I had refilled from yesterday's bottles and filled it up again about mid day. Snacked on a few almonds. I was dying for something other than protein. Finally finished a little after 4:00 pm and ran through Boston Market for a salad with grilled chicken. I was delighted to find their salad dressing was had only 1 carb. I also treated my self to a serving of their chicken salad and made bold to ask them to give me the tomatoe and lettuce but no bread. I have never asked for special orders like this and although this was a minor issue, they were happy to oblige and it felt so good! I got two bottles of water so, I got my water quoto. The downside was I never got my small boost of caffeine and after driving in a blizzard for 1 1/2 hours, I had a terrible tension headache and had to pull over short of my planned destination. Cancelled the other hotel and ended up staying in a hotel in a town called Emporia. Thanks Kansas weather for ruining my plans! Ah well, somehow it will all work but I am on a tight audit schedule right now that needs to finish by the 15th so, I will have to really work on my calendar tomorrow to figure out a solution. Also, I found out today that I have a new employee to train...so, that will be added to the schedule. Got to get out of this hotel tomorrow if at all possible because I teach at a small local college on Friday...hope the roads are improved when I head out! Right now I am watching/listening to a double decker semi stuck on the side road of the hotel spinning, spinning, spinning his wheels...hope that's not me tomorrow! Good night.

Day Nine

1/5/2010

Work was so hectic today that planning for meals was horrific. Thanks fully I had brought a whole bag full of healthy options. The hotel had eggs available for breakfast and we had Jason's Deli deliver salads for lunch. I used my St. Joseph's whole grain and low carb pita's with WW cream cheese and chicken breast lunch meat for dinner in the hotel room. Yum! I drank all my water and only had 2 cups of coffee. Snacks were almonds and low fat mozz cheese sticks. Just need to start the exercise thing soon...I googled and got all the addresses for the Curves in each city that I visit-most had more than one option so, I am excited to start using the travel pass that I got from my center. Even with the horror at work, I feel like taking care of me was a success today. Good night!

Day Eight

1/4/2010

Interesting that my first full week back to work brought with it some unusual cravings. I guess long programmed "default" modes have brought back associations with food and travel, food and hotels, food and work, food and being in the car...food, food, food. Cravings for carbs in various forms but I thought I stayed faithful to the program. I was really craving my favorite flavored coffee and thought if I switched it to a nonfat and sugar free I would be under my carb limits. WRONG!! So, now I am going to add one more day to my 8 weeks to make up for today. Otherwise I was perfect with the diet and water despite my cravings. I am so disappointed to find out that I unknowingly broke the diet. Sigh.
Not much else to report. Put almost 300 miles on the car and worked 11 hours so I am exhausted. Good night.

Day Seven

1/3/2009

One week down and 7 more to go! Feeling fabulous and today was a breeze.

I had one funny moment this evening with a near carb intake. I was helping my little sister create a web invite for a movie night and she decided to be sweet (since my hands were busy on the computer) and feed me a huge scoop chip with dip. The chip got all the way to my lips without me noticing and she said "open wide" and I looked down and pulled my head back so fast I scared her! "What???" she cried out examining the chip and dip for some unseen bug or material. "Sorry" I told her, "no carbs right now". It took a moment for her to comprehend and then we both burst into laughter over the whole thing. She said that I had such a look of horror come over my face she was sure there was a bug or hair on the chip.

The above event leads me to thoughts about family and how they can so often sabotage my diet efforts. Knowingly or unknowingly they are so often my downfall with their special events or dishes. I decided right then and there I better just lay it out and tell them that I was on a special diet and so there would be no carbs but they didn't need to worry about trying to accommodate me, I would bring my own food if needed. It lead to a flurry of questions which I answered but somehow I wished I could just go to a monastery again-just get through this whole thing and come back a new person without having to face my family and their endless question, "how's the diet going?". Ah well, accountability I guess-God help me!

Looking forward to success for the next week! Good night.

Day Six

1/2/2010
Today was awesome! I finished scrap booking the Christmas pictures-granted they were last year's but hey-I am only 1 year behind now! :)
Breakfast was low carb yogurt and later a cheese stick. Lunch was large bowl of broccoli and cheese. Mid afternoon I had some almonds and a low carb pita with mozzarella. Dinner was southwest egg beaters (scrambled) with the last of my lean beef taco mix and more mexi fixings (lettuce, salsa, sour cream). This evening I had some cashews. I drank a few cups of my favorite Chai tea and since the ingredients don't list caffeine-I am hopeful that I did okay with my quota of water. Still haven't started the supplements but it is on my shopping list for tomorrow. Now I just have to learn how to swallow...thankfully she recommends taking them in the middle of a meal and in the past this has been the only way to trick myself into swallowing without gagging. I think subconsciously I am avoiding buying the rest of the supplements because of my fear of gagging. Enough on that topic!!
Took down the Christmas tree today which is always a little sad but happy to have a successful holiday behind me and at least no immediate temptations to face. Overall I felt great today and I am starting to look forward to Monday when I start my workout routine at Curves.
Goodnight!

Day Five

1/1/2010
My first time to write/type "2010" and it is hard to believe the old year has passed! Today was my best day yet with no headache, no irritability and no weakness. I felt quite strong actually and managed to get some housework completed and shopping.

My sister bought "Julia and Julia" for my Christmas present and tonight we watched the DVD. I am not sure if it was a good idea since I felt myself salivating throughout most of the film! Like visiting a bar as an alcoholic! Not surprisingly, the desserts brought on the most juices. :) It was inspiring though to see two women, in totally different eras, embrace what they loved most and in spite of difficulty pursue their dreams. I love that movie and I want to buy Julia Child's cookbook too.

I slept in some this holiday and so I didn't eat until about 10 am. Breakfast was Egg Beater's southwest style scrambled eggs with some of the fixings from last night's taco salad. Yummy! Lunch around 1:30 was light because breakfast stuck with me. I had some cottage cheese and a bowl of steamed broccoli. Mid afternoon I had a few almonds. Tonight we had taco salad again which tasted just as good as the night before. Drank extra water to help with some of the bloating-my system is just not use to all this fiber but it will adjust. I had a terrible sweet tooth about 2 hours after dinner. Thanks more to the stimulating from watching Julia & Julia than any true craving but I tried a sugar free Werther's original candy with 2.8 grams of carbs I figured I could pull it off since I didn't have any carbs with my dinner.

Happy to report that I more than survived day five! Good night!