Keeping Track with Lose It

I went into this whole weight loss thing with no intention of counting calories. I know that it works, I have been very successful in the past by simply keeping track of my food. But it is SO MUCH WORK. Seriously. It's hard enough planning meals for my brood without figuring out what each and every thing I put in my mouth's caloric count is. I'm all about the convenience, don't you remember?? But convenience, laziness, lack of discipline all led me to this place to begin with. And certainly my sense of what an appropriate portion size is or what the smarter choice is when given several options has become very skewed. Being made to face exactly what I am consuming and how that measures up to what I am supposed to be consuming seemed like an important step to me.

In the sake of maintaining some sense of convenience, I found an app to help me track what I'm eating and stay within a calorie guideline. I found it on my Kindle in the app store and it is called Lose It. You can also access it HERE on the web. It's simple to get started - you sign up and enter your gender and weight along with your goal weight and how much you want to lose a week to get there. It then gives you an estimated date for reaching your goal and tells you how many calories you need to consume a day to get there. This adjusts over time as you lose weight. Each day you log your meals (there is a very extensive food log to choose from that includes grocery store items as well as popular restaurant items and an option to enter your own recipes) and it keeps track of your running total throughout the day. I love that it stores your entries so that you can easily find your regular food items and enter them into a new day without any extra searching. I can't tell you how much this kept me on track the past few days and aligned my thoughts on what I'm consuming with the reality of what is really going into my body.

Just to be clear, I am not being compensated in anyway to talk about this site. It is a completely free app/website. I just know that one of the best ways to discover something new and useful is to hear it from someone who has experienced and enjoyed it. I want to share every step of this journey so that you can see what is working and what is not working for me and take from that what might help in your journey.

Do you use any apps to help keep you accountable in your weight loss journey?

Breakfast Time - A Pretty Little Plate

Thursday mornings are when I go to my mom's group so I am out of the house from right after breakfast until right before lunch. My morning routine as of lately has been slow in the eating department - a glass of water first, then my smoothie or juice, then another glass of water followed by something with protein like hard boiled eggs. It's usually a 2 to 3 hour process since I am working around getting kids fed and ready for school, which is fine on a normal day but I just don't have time for all of that on Thursdays. I also wanted to stay satisfied until I got home to have lunch....being too hungry and not wanting to put together a lunch has led to many a trips through the drive-thru on Thursdays. It's one of the habits I am making a point to break during this new journey.

To get my breakfast all in one sitting and make sure it was going to stick with me, I put together this pretty little plate of delicious food:

That looks so good I want to eat it again this morning! Here's what is on it:

4 pieces of fresh pineapple
about 1/2 cup of cottage cheese
6 cherry tomatoes cut in half
1 egg +2 Tbsp almond coconut milk scrambled in a little coconut oil
a couple slices of avocado

So good, so satisfying, I will definitely be having this again. And it did it's job. Other than a handful of almonds I packed and munched on during group, this was enough to get me through to lunch. For the sake of transparency I did end up picking up lunch on the way home per my husbands request. But I got Subway and I put it all in my log (HERE is a post on how I'm logging my food) and it fit just fine into my day. This is a lifelong journey and that means that I will be eating out and picking up quick meals from time to time. And on most of those days, like yesterday, I will do my best to make a good choice within that. There will also be special occasions (like our anniversary get away this weekend!) where I am more lenient with my eating plan. Without balance I will never survive this for the long haul. And I am in it to win it!

What parts of your week create the biggest trip ups when it comes to your eating plan? How are you finding ways to work around that and still be successful in your goals?

Breakfast Time - Metabolism Booster Juice

Last week I was starting my day with The Green Terminator Shake. It was a filling, healthy way to kick my morning off but I wanted to switch it up this week to keep things interesting. I don't mind eating (or drinking!) things repetitively for a short while but I really love variety in my meals so it is important for me to mix it up here and there, especially when I am trying to stick to a healthier eating plan. I mentioned that I had won an awesome juicer a year or two back, so I wanted to put that to use this week and start my day with a juice. I picked something called the Metabolism Booster Juice. I wanted to go opposite of the green and this definitely took me there - bright purple, tart and sweet at the same time! Here is what is in it:

2 green apples
1 stalk of celery
1 small cucumber
1 small beetroot
1/4 lemon
1/2 inch of ginger

I just ran all that through my juicer and drank it up in all of it's purple goodness. Now in most of my drink posts I have shown you how I prepped for the whole week to make life easier. I can't exactly do that when juicing so I am chopping it all up the morning of. Want to see what it looks like?

Can you believe ALL of that goes into one juice?

That beautiful purple color!

I might mention that it made a bit more than a standard glass so I ended up sharing with my 4 year old. He loves to have whatever I'm having and I love that he is getting all that nutritional goodness. My kids will eat anything if it is supposed to be only mine...if I tried to serve it to them right out they are more likely to snub their nose at it. Kids!

You don't get to be 300+ lbs by being willing to live on liquid alone so this isn't the only thing I am consuming in the morning. Usually an hour or two later I will have something with some protein to keep me satisfied until lunch. I have been really loving an egg fried in a little bit of coconut oil topped with salsa and some avocado. All that good fat makes me happy, especially since I have been so restrictive. I love being in a place where the right stuff makes me excited!

Do you have a juicer at home? If so, how often do you use it and what are your favorite concoctions?

**Update** - I have started logging my food on an app (HERE is a post about how I am logging my food) to get a better picture of what I am consuming. I wanted to come back and share the nutrition info for anyone interested. Using the recipe analyzer at fitwatch.com this is the nutrition info if you consume this as one serving. I was definitely most surprised by the carbs...this is EXACTLY why I need to track for awhile so that I have a better awareness of the complete nutrition profile of what I am eating. Here's the break down for you:

Week 1 Weigh-In

One week down! I started this weight loss journey one week ago, although it honestly feels longer than that. Here are some of the changes I have made this week:

Drinking 3+ liters of water every day
Cutting coffee down to one cup a day or less
Trading out my cereal and toast breakfast for a smoothie/homemade juice and some protein
Light lunch
Portioning dinner and no seconds
No snacking after dinner time

Are we ready to hear the results? Last week I weighed in at 318.6 (you can see my first post HERE). Today I weigh.......309! Down 9.6 pounds this week. I am so happy with my results! I know that these big numbers won't last long but it's nice to get a good start since I have so far to go. It definitely motivates me as I go into this second week.

I am tracking my weight at weightchart.com so I will be sharing that here for an ongoing visual of my progress. You will see my start weight and the weigh-ins that follow (the blue points and line) as well as my current short-term goal (the orange star and line). My first goal is to lose 15 pounds in this first month. Here's what the chart looks like so far:

Here's to a good beginning to a long journey. Where are you at in all of this? I would love to hear your story, feel free to share below.

Drink the Water - Detox Water for Beautiful Skin and Craving Control

I have found that flavoring my water has done wonders for making me want to drink it all day. This past week I tried the Dr. Oz Fat Flush Water (see post HERE) and I drank at least 3 liters of it every.single.day. Win!

This week I am wanting to continue staying on top of the water consumption while switching up the flavors a bit to keep it interesting. I found this Detox Water that said it was helpful for beautiful skin and craving control. Not to mention the flavors sound amazing. Bonus! Here's what is in it:

1 lemon, sliced
5 strawberries, sliced
1 apple, sliced
handful of mint leaves
1 tsp cinnamon

When I got home from the grocery store yesterday I prepped 4 servings of just the fruit and mint (I'm going away this weekend so I don't need as much as usual) and popped them in the freezer. Before bed last night I put one serving in my pitcher along with the cinnamon and filled it with water so it would be ready for this morning. Easy as can be!

I like the taste although I had to get used to having cinnamon floating in my water. But I'm definitely going be drinking this up over the next few days and enjoying it. What are your favorite ways to spruce up your water?

Filling Up The Freezer - Zaycon Chicken

Have you guys heard of Zaycon Foods? I have been ordering from them for a few years now and just love their product! It's fresh, nutritious food at an average 30% savings from the grocery store and you get to schedule your order online and pick up at a convenient location near your home. We have only ever bought the chicken breasts but they have expanded to include dozens of other products. Everything is in bulk so it works great for our large family to buy 40 lbs of chicken at a time and stock up our freezer. That and it costs less than $2.00/lb which is a great price for boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

Why am I telling you about this? I just had a pick up today and spent my morning portioning out my chicken. They come in HUGE full breasts that you have to cut up and trim a little fat from. I put mine in gallon freezer bags for later use. I also fill up my crock pots so that I can cook and shred a bunch of chicken to have on hand for things like casseroles, pastas, salads, etc. So handy and helps keep lean protein on hand, which I like. Here's a 40 lb box of chicken breasts all portioned out:

I might sound like a salesperson for Zaycon but I promise I don't work for them. I just truly love what they do! Now if you sign up through my link I do get $1 in my account for every time you place an order. But you can do the same once you sign up! You can share with your friends and earn money towards future purchases. No obligation to do so, they just love giving back to their customers as they have grown because of word of mouth. I am sure that once you have tried it, you will want to tell your friends anyway so you may as well be compensated, right?

Here's my link: https://www.zayconfoods.com/refer/zf5944
I think you have to register to check out their events and prices. But registering does not obligate you to ever buy anything. If you are already a Zaycon customer I would love to hear what you buy from them so feel free to share your favorite products so that we can check them out too!

Lunch Time - Herb and Veggie Soup

Have you seen a theme yet in my food and drink posts? I love convenience and being able to prep ahead! Hey, I'm a busy mom and if I am going to win at this weight loss thing I have to make it as simple as possible. This lunch is no different. I found this Herb and Veggie Soup that makes 6 servings so I was able to make up a batch and eat one for lunch that day while portioning out the other 5 servings to save for my lunch this upcoming week.

This soup wasn't the best I've ever had but it was satisfying and easy so I don't mind eating it the rest of the week. You only get about a cup and a half per serving though so I will likely be adding a salad along with it to help fill me up a bit more. The one bowl I already had I paired with a homemade BLTA which was fabulous, filling combination!

What are your favorite healthy soup ingredients?

Breakfast Time - Green Terminator Drink

One of the many areas I needed to make a change in regards to eating was at breakfast time. I know that what we put in our body first thing in the morning is important. Knowing and doing are two different things though. For far too long I have fallen into a habit of cereal, toast and coffee (lots of it!) for breakfast. Mostly because of how convenient it is. I need something no-hassle in the morning as I feed 5 kids and get two ready for school. So I knew that while I needed to overhaul my breakfast choices, I also needed to make sure it was something quick and easy so that I would stick to it.

I happen to really like green smoothies so I decided that I would choose that for this week's breakfast. I came across one called The Fat Flush Green Terminator Drink and was intrigued. Here are the ingredients:

1 cup of spinach leaves
1/2 cup of fresh cucumber
Celery
1/2 banana
1/2 cup of pineapple
1/2 cup of water
4 ice cubes

I've been adding a little bit of Greek Yogurt in as well because I like the tang and it makes it a little creamier. Throwing a bunch of ingredients in a blender is easy enough but I didn't want to mess with the chopping up ingredients every morning so I just did it once, divided them into Ziplocs and put them in the freezer so I could pull them out each morning (minus the yogurt). A word to the wise - unless you own an awesome blender (and I personally do NOT at the moment), let it defrost a bit before you try to blend it. I have found that putting the bag in the fridge the night before does the trick. Here's my week of breakfast smoothies all ready to go:

These get me going for my day and usually about 2 hours later I have been having two hard-boiled eggs for some protein to keep me going until lunch. I feel much better now that I'm not starting my day on a carb-overload. A year or two back I won a really awesome juicer so I will probably be alternating between smoothies and juices from week to week. I'm not opposed to a heartier breakfast from time to time but for the most part this is really sufficient for me and it feels good to get a power pack of fruits and veggies in at the start of my day.

Not everybody is a green smoothie fan....are you? What are your favorite smoothie ingredients?

Drink the water - Dr. Oz's Fat Flush Water

Because I want this to be a lifelong change, I am focusing on tackling some of the habits that are adding to my weight problems and replacing them with healthy habits. When it comes to drinking water I'm pretty bad about it. I live on coffee most days. With 5 kids 8 and under, 2 of which are 20 months old, I have relied heavily on caffeine to make up for the sleep I am not getting. And while I can't imagine that I will ever fully give up coffee, I know that I need to really limit my caffeine intake and drastically increase my water consumption.

I have two real problems with water: it's flavorless and the more you drink the more trips to the bathroom you have to take! Is anyone else with me on this? I swear when I drink the proper amount of water I feel like I am running to pee every 10 minutes. There isn't really anything I can do about that annoyance but I can do something about the water being flavorless.

I came across this Fat Flush Water (featured on Dr. Oz's website) and thought it sounded delicious. Whether it actually flushes fat or not who knows but it can't hurt, right? Here's what is in it:

1 slice grapefruit

1 tangerine

½ cucumber, sliced

2 peppermint leaves

You put all of those in a pitcher, fill with water and drink it throughout the day. They recommend drinking a glass before each meal to help you fill up so I have been doing that.  I wanted to make this easy on myself so I bought enough for 6 days worth and prepped it all by slicing it up and separating it in 6 different Ziploc bags that I stored in the freezer. Each night I am pulling out a bag and putting in the pitcher so it's ready for me in the morning. Taking time to do this ahead of time is so helpful and makes it convenient to choose to do the right thing. Here's what my prep looks like:

It has really helped me up my water intake. In fact, I have finished off the entire pitcher each day and only had 1 cup of coffee in the last 2 days. I am thinking about switching up flavors every so often to keep it interesting so I will be sure to share what I am trying in the future as well. If you have any favorite add-ins that you like in your water I'd love to hear about it!

Ready to make a change

Weight. It's a battle. One I personally have been struggling with for as long as I can remember. Not to say that I haven't experienced some successes along the way, but never long term. I have never been able to shake the grip that food has on me and truly embrace a life long change. But that is my desire and so here I am. Sick and tired of being so sick and tired. Ready to pull my bootstraps up and climb this hill one more time.

I started this blog as an accountability for myself. A place to document my journey. To share my successes and struggles. Right now it's just for me. But my hope is that one day it will encourage someone else who is in this place too. What's it going to look like? As far as content goes, I'm not totally sure yet. I can tell you that it will be 100% me - real, honest, transparent. I'm not going to lie, it scares me a little. To be so vulnerable about something that has caused me so much shame for so long. But I know that to conquer this I have to shake the fear and that when you expose the dark parts of yourself to light they are no longer able to hide in those shadows.

Let's just get right to it and be as real as possible. I'm going to share with you not only what I look like right now (anybody else typically try to avoid pictures of themselves???), but also what I weigh going into this. Yup, putting it all out there. {Gulp} Here goes.....

318.6 

Wow. Never in my life could I have imagined seeing this weight on the scale. Not even when I was pregnant with my twins did I reach this weight. Things have gotten out of hand, to say the least. No more. I am not a victim here, I have done this to myself and the one good thing in being able to admit that is knowing that I am in control and capable of changing this pattern. It doesn't have to be this way.

This is the first step. Putting it out there. Now to move forward one foot in front of the other.