Time to get back on track!

I have been slacking like no other!! Confession made! When I ended TSFL I had lost 26 lbs, and over the last month and half I have slowly gained 9 lbs back and I'm on my way to end up just where I was.  :/  That is NOT okay! I'm not sure if I was to do a little kickstart w/MM since I have a few left or to start with a 7DSD w TIU.  I guess I'm going to figure that out tonight, and start working out in the morning. 

Sorry I haven't been on here much, but I besides life being great, my diet has been bad and boring! I'll keep ya up to date on what how it goes from here! :) 

Changes...

EEK! I just noticed that it has almost been a month since I last posted.  I am so sorry! That just goes to show how fast time really does fly!  So much has happened in the past few weeks!!  I have changed programs and jobs.  I have realized that if I actually live in the town that I live in, I pretty much love the town I live in.  :)  I have become the happy girl I always knew I was.  YAY!!

I have stopped TSFL and using Medifast products.  Turns out that out here in the real world, working a job where I am constantly busy: using MM just doesn't work for me. I was unable to eat all of my meals each day and also unable to get in all the additional foods I was supposed to be eating.  Call it poor time management, or poor prepping or just poor excuses!  Whatever it was, it just was not working for me.  So I have spent the last week or so not on any program.  :/ I have been very good though, eating little to no breads/pastas/rice, eating mainly lean & green, and I have added exercise! 

I have started out with going on a walk every day, and today (after I am finished with this post) I will begin doing a HIIT workout, which will be done at least 5 days a week.  I am going to use Jullian Michaels '30 Day Shred' or a video from my TIU girls!  I am super excited to see the results from working out.  Just from lifting wine cases I can already see definition in my arms!! :) Also, with my job, I am on my feet for at least 5 hours a day! Huge difference from sitting on my bum for 8+ hours a day!

Starting on Saturday I will begin the TIU plan! I am so excited to continue my journey with this community, and make it my lifestyle!  I saw a quote the other day, "I am not on a diet, I am just eating healthy".  All of the sudden, the light bulb came on! DUH!! America has this predudice against eating healthy.  Apparently, if you are eating properly, then you are on a diet.  Come on people! Wake up!!! You wouldn't fill your car with shit fuel, so why are we putting shit food into our bodies?! We have been so brainwashed into feeling guilty if we are eating healthy.  It's time to put a stop to it!! Why do we feel like we get to reward ourselves with pizza 3 nights a week?! Or again, in the morning?!  Its fine to indulge every once in a while, but every day of the week?! No one is that good!! Just by me changing my eating habits the other people in my household are also.  Maybe not entirely by choice, but they are eating more veggies, less carbs and feeling much better about themselves.  (ok, stepping off of my soap box)

So, TIU! Otherwise known as Tone It Up, Or Karena & Katrina.  They are two amazing girls who have found what works best for them, and girls in general, and have put it out there for the rest to use!!  I have purchased the whole Nutrition Guide, and I am getting ready to begin with a 7DSD (7 Day Slim Down) on Saturday.  Their whole philosophy is to eat 5 small clean, lean & green meals a day and make sure you are putting in what your bodies need at the right time.  :)  

I promise to try to blog more with this program.  As I will be making/prepping all of my meals I will have a TON to tell you all about!!! :) 

PS.  I ended Medifast 26 lbs lighter than I began.  :) I will take all new measurements on Saturday morning!! 

Have an amazing day to you all!! and maybe, think twice about what you are putting in your mouth... ;)

Changes

April has been a little crazy for me! Maybe even a lot crazy!! I've been making a few changes in my life; changing careers/jobs, deciding how to continue my weight loss journey w/out the funds I currently have, re-organizing my priorities and HITTING THE 20 LBS LOSS mark! Plus lots more is always going on in the Thompson household! :) 

First: You heard/read me right, I hit the 20 lbs lost mark!! The picture I'm putting up is from my one month date of April 9th.  But I hit 20lbs and under 170 on April 20th.  I stuck with TSFL for the most part.  I hit a few bumps here and there, and took 3 days off intentionally to enjoy some time with my friends.  It was definitely hard work at times, but the payoff makes it all well worth it!

Now don't worry, I'm not stopping there! I'm still going with TSFL.  I have 3 weeks of my MM's all separated into daily bags, pretty sure towards the end I have some days w/2 pancakes, 2 brownies and a bar! haha!!  But those 3 weeks will be the end of my TSFL journey.  Main reason being that I will no longer be able to afford it.  :/  The prices went up and my paycheck is going down.

As I briefly mentioned, I am changing my job.  For many reasons, but the big one is I am ready to be home.  If you don't know, for the last 1 1/2 I have worked 120 miles from home 3+ days a week.  Meaning: I am gone from Saturday afternoon until at least Tuesday morning every week.  On top of being gone, I work graveyard.  So unlike all of you lucky souls, I am AWAKE during night and sleeping away soundly during the day (on days that I work).  Which may work for some, (those of you I applaud), but for me I am ready to join the world of the living.  No more night owl, vampire, nocturnal hours for this girl!  Now, I am going from my awesome career with great pay and benefits, back to serving; with awesome customers, great tips and a more active lifestyle.  But mainly, I get to sleep in my own bed, with my very own handsome man, EVERY night.  

I will be changing my weight loss journey also.  Through another blog, I have discovered the Tone It Up program!  It is basically eating 5 clean, portion controlled, meals that are designed to be eaten at certain times of the day and to work out for certain times and at certain times.  If you know me, I don't work out.  I never have.  But, I do want to start and start it correctly.  After looking into the program for a week or so, I have made the plunge.  Bought the whole damn program: workouts, recipes, food plans and so on!  I must say, I am super excited!! Will fill you in more as I learn more! :) 

Unfortunately I can't stick with TSFL through the transition and maintenance,  but I think that TIU (Tone It UP) is going to be a good way to transition from MM to whole foods.  It still has the same basic set up as TSFL, but with food food.  :)  Chris is, of course, fully behind this change.  Which trust me, if you are going to make any lifestyle change, make sure you have a great support system!! It is the biggest key!!

He's so cute!!! <3

Since I am still doing TSFL, I might as well give you some recipes and pictures of what I did for this week.  :)  Yesterday evening our kitchen became ground zero!!  Chris kept walking in and directly back out shaking his head.  What?! I had to prep for 4 days! I've been sticking to pretty simple L&G's lately, and I was so sick of them! It was definitely time to shake it up a bit.

Ps, that picture is only half of my counter, all behind me was a close mirror image!! ;) 

With me this week I have Cauliflower Pizza with bell peppers.  It's the first time I've pre-made it to re-heat.  I know it won't as crunchy, but I'm hoping it's at least edible.  Any place I saw said that you should re-heat them in the oven.  Well, I do not have an oven at work.  Gotta make it work, I guess.  I also made a Chicken Enchilada Bake, and asparagus to go with.  (A co-worker of Chris' cut some fresh out of an orchard, and oh goodness!!! Delish!!!)  I made the most amazing Greek Turkey Burgers, with broccoli.  Lastly Mexican Cheesy Dish with salad.    :) I also had been dying to try a "cheesecake" recipe, it was... different.  Kind of more like a souffle ... Still not sure how I felt about...

I will post the recipes tomorrow, or maybe even tonight, but in a different post.

There, now you are all caught up! Busy, busy, busy!! :) I hope you are all having an amazing April!  Get outside, enjoy the beautiful tulips that are EVERYWHERE! :) and Thanks, to all of you who are reading this and keeping me accountable!! <3

Ps.  It was in the stars for all my changes!!

Non Scale Victories!!

This has been an exciting week! For many reasons but mainly: I finally tried on my jeans that I have been dreading putting on, and guess what?! THEY FIT! With a little room to spare!! Phew!! I was so relieved/excited.  I even did a happy dance.  If you are a girl, or guy, who has struggled with weight gain you know what it starts to feel like when your favorite jeans just keep getting tighter and tighter?! It is the worst feeling ever.  Especially if you are like me and are a "jeans and tshirt" kinda girl.  

TSFL & Medifast both have NSV's, Non Scale Victories.  This was my first big one. :) It made my whole day that much better! I was putting off trying my jeans on.  What if they were still super tight? What if I had gained weight?! Right?! Well, I knew that I was on the right track when I put them on and they fit! I've noticed that fatty weight that keeps just melting off of me if definitely coming off of places that I hadn't even thought would ever be small again.  My thighs are shrinking, my waist, my face! I'm just so surprised by the transformation that is happening! Thank you TSFL! You are giving me back my confidence, my love for life!!! <3

My other NSV of this week is, I went out to a local Pub last night and drank... WATER! Even though all I wanted was a big fat Costco size glass of wine last night. ;)  We all have those cravings; whether it be wine, cheesecake or a burger.  We all have days where that is all we want, and all we can think about! Well, that was my yesterday.  With both wine and cheesecake.  :/ (EEK!!) But I stuck to my guns.  I got dressed up as though I was going to go hit the town! (Ps, I live in Small Town USA, We currently have 1 bar open past 10pm).  I think just getting dressed pretty, makeup done, hair done, cute clothes, helped me so much.  

I have stuck to my plan completely for 10 days now.  If you've been reading along with me, that's the longest I've gone w/o cheating.  And I am in NO hurry to begin cheating! I am going to stick with this! Soon those jeans will be falling off of me, and I can not wait!!  

I am learning with my L&G to keep it simple, stupid! There is no point in making a whole separate meal just for me.  Especially when Chris & Sydney are so easy to cook for.  (Unless they want pizza, or something I really can't eat).  For example, dinner tonight is: pork chops marinated in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, some steak seasoning and oregano.  Along with roasted asparagus (LOVE) and zucchini!! Sydney gets to have rice and a roll with hers! Super sonic easy right?! :) 

Speaking of dinner, I'd better get off the computer and get to cooking!!! Hope you are all enjoying this beautiful weather!! <3 

Weigh in & TSFL Recipes

Weigh in day 3!! :) I am down to 176.8, which means since the very beginning I have lost 10 pounds! WOOHOO! Since beginning TSFL I have lost 5.8 pounds! In 3 weeks!! I am so excited! I can definitely see the difference.  Chris and I were talking late last night, and I was telling him how yesterday, for the first time, I could see my face becoming slimmer.  My yoga pants and scrubs are fitting better! I'm still a little too afraid to try on my jeans! I'll give that another few days.  LOL  Point is: I can see the difference! :) In as little as 3 weeks! 

Yesterday I promised you  TSFL friendly recipes, and here they are!! (these are not approved by NS, this is what I have estimated them to equal.)

Baked Turkey Spinach Meatballs

1 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/3 cup Chopped Onion

2 Garlic Cloves (we used minced, so I did 2 tsp)

1 tsp salt (we use kosher)

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper (I have not figured out how to measure f.g.p, so I estimate)

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4-1/2 tps red pepper flake

16 oz frozed spinach (after thawing and draining, mine weighed 13 oz)

2 TBS Worcestershire

1/2 cup egg beaters

2 1/2 lbs ground Turkey (the leaner the better, I used 98% fat free)

1. Set oven to 400 degrees

2. Saute onion, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano and red pepper flakes together with olive oil over medium heat.

3. Thaw and drain your spinach, add to onion mixture until well combined.

4. Combine turkey, egg beaters, Worcestershire and onion/spinach mixture.  Mix.  (I used my hands) 

5. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper.  Weigh out 1 oz portions of turkey mixture.  Roll into balls.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until internal temperature is 165 degrees.

This made 55 meatballs for me, I separated them into 6 bags of nine.  With one leftover for Chris to try.  He liked it! :)

1 lean portion w/ 2/3 of 1 green.  So you will need to add 2 1/3 Green to this.  It also has all of your condiments for the day, but you should add at least 1 healthy fat, if not a little extra.  :)

Cheesy Cauliflower Pancakes

1 head of Cauliflower

1 cup of egg beaters

1/2 cup reduced fat mexican blend shredded cheese

1/2 cup moderate fat mozzarella

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1. Cut cauliflower into small pieces, boil until very soft.  

2. Mash cauliflower.  (I used a whisk) 

3. Add egg beaters, cheese and spices.

4.  Heat pan on medium, spray with Pam.

5.  Make patties.  (I used a measuring cup to scoop, and flattened with a spatula.)

6. Fry on both sides, about 3-4 minutes each side.

I made 9 patties total, and had 3 count per meal.  So 3 patties equals 3 Green and a little over 1/3 Lean.  

Have a great day!!! And an amazing Easter!!! <3

Back and Going Strong

Wow, this week has flown by! I can't believe it is already Friday!! That's exciting for all of you M-F workers!!! Unfortunately that means today is my Sunday and it is back to work tomorrow for me! Today is day 5 of being back OP (on plan).  I am feeling great, ready to not cheat at all and keep going strong through the end! :) I'm not weighing in until tomorrow which will be my 3rd weigh in since beginning this journey.  I'll update ya when I see the numbers tomorrow. 

With it being Friday, my prep day, I am going over and over my recipes that I keep adding to my Slimproject folder on Pinterest!! I think I have decided with a Baked Turkey Spinach Meatball recipe and a Cheesy Cauliflower Pancake.  Can you say yum?!  I'll put the links to the original recipe at the end of this post and post my "TSFL friendly" version later today.  I still need one more meal, I'm sure I'll come up with something delicious!! :) 

Yesterday, I was reading a friend of mines blog; she is also on a weight loss journey.  She said that she keeps getting discouraged due to the fact that she is an instant gratification kind of girl.  Let me tell you, when I read that I yelled "Oh man, Me TOO!!!!"  I think that has been part of my problem; I want what I want, and I want it NOW!! 

Didn't our mothers always preach "patience is a virtue" and "squeaky wheel gets the grease"?  Well, at least my mom did.  :) (She has plenty more sayings like that also).  I am so not patient, nor do I particularly care to be 'squeaky'.  Maybe this is the time when patience becomes part of our lives, I guess I am in my mid-20's it is time to learn some patience.  I'm trying, really!!  Keep with me, and I'll make it to the end.  Just you wait and see!!

For those of you who are also on TSFL, I have a few tricks that I've learned along with way w/MM.  
*Hot Cocoa: Only add 1-2 TBL of hot water, mix until all the powder is gone, then add the rest of your hot water.  This makes for a nice smooth, no lumps cocoa.
*Brownie & Soft Bake: Adding 2 1/2 TBL of water, mix well, microwave for 1 min 15 seconds.  
*Mac & Cheese: (not a big fan), but if you mix a TON of fresh ground pepper and make sure to either eat it quickly or take big drinks of water after every bite... it makes it bearable.  
*Shakes: The colder the water the better
*Soups/Stews: Add the water 12+ hours in advance and let it soak!!!!
*Pancakes: Spray mug with Pam, mix pancake and 1/4 cup of water until most of the lumps are gone.  Microwave for 1 min 20 seconds.  Makes a little pancake muffin.  :) I cut mine into 8 bit-size pieces and add a little SF syrup.  YUM!

*One avocado is 2 healthy fat servings! (learned last night) 

well, that's it for now! It is beautiful outside, I have my tennis shoes on and all ready to go on a walk then to the grocery store! I sure do love living in a small town!!! Stay tuned for my updated recipes with lots of pictures!!! 

<3

Websites Mentioned:
Cheesy Cauliflower Pancakes
Baked Turkey Meatballs
Jones to Borninkhof

Oops, I did it again...

Whew, finally, in my house and on my couch with no where to go! The last month has been so busy and definitely kept me on the run.  Although, I can't complain too much.  I have a great job and a loving boyfriend & step-daughter to come home to.  :)  I am so thankful to him and my family!! They have been so supportive and accepting.  Chris even makes sure that whatever he is making for dinner is something I can eat.  We had steak and shrimp w/asparagus and zucchini! Yumm!! I love that I live w/a chef.  ;)  He made sure to make mine completely on plan and weighed out exactly right.   

I bet you are wondering how I am doing with TSFL.  It has been a while since I wrote a post, my apologies.  Well, here it is: I fell off the wagon this weekend.  :( I was doing so so great, lost another 1+ pound, meaning 5 total.  WooHoo!! But, this weekend we had a family reunion.  It was absolutely lovely to see all my family that I hadn't seen in ages.  I kept pretty on point through the buffet line with amazing pasta salads, and top raman salads, I even avoided all the rolls.  I had meatballs with my mom's homemade Orange Chili Marmalade (OMG! YUM!!), I had some BBQ shredded pork w/o the additional BBQ sauce, and a couple salads.  Pretty good, right?! 

Then I saw the dessert table.  EEK!!! Now, let me back track and make sure you know that the night before I had made 2 different kinds of cupcakes and didn't have any! But, when I saw a lemon cheese cake and my mom's banana-nilla wafer pudding! I lost control! Now, I only had a little bit, but still.  WAAAAAAYYYYYY not on my plan.

But, life happens and you just back on the horse.  Right?  I should have been back on that horse today, but I am taking to today off as well.  I will get back on plan, I promise.  Either tomorrow or when I go back to work on Wednesday.  Right now, I just want to relax.  I have just been so darn busy, and having to eat every 2-3 hours just seems like a pain today.

I know, I'm making excuses.  I do promise, to all of you and more importantly to myself, I will be back on plan by Wednesday at the latest.  

Hope you all are enjoying our beautiful weather! :) I know we have been!! Have a great day and an amazing week!!

Weigh In Day!!

So, the day I have been scared of, arrived.  Weigh in day.  I was supposed to weigh in on Saturday, which I will be doing from now on, but I did not pack my scale to go to conference.  But, good news, I lost 3.8 lbs.  :) Woohoo! I was honestly quite nervous.  :/  Only reason I was nervous is because I never feel hungry.  Oh, and because I totally cheated and had dessert when we went out to dinner on my conference.  And, it wasn't just a piece of pie or cake, we were at a buffet, I tasted quite a few different things.  Oh man, I felt so sick & guilty afterwards.  I don't think I will be cheating again for quite a while.  

Other than my one time cheating, the conference went great!! :) I ate my meals that I packed drank PLENTY of water and stayed right on course.  Minus a small detour.  Oops!  We learned quite a bit to take home and use in our sleep lab, we also sat through a lot of Dr's talking about genetics and different types of blood tests and stuff that was waaaay over my head.  But I did understand some of it, mainly that the future of Sleep Medicine is changing, drastically.

The drive home on Sunday was beautiful! It quite raining shortly after I left.  Unfortunately it was incredibly windy almost the entire drive.  But still, we live in a beautiful area.  :)

I thought this picture was quite fitting for the day.  It was St Patricks Day, my favorite holiday next to my birthday.  This picture really reminds me of being in Ireland.  Perfect! Well, minus the whole driving on the right side of the road part.  ;)  I made it home safe and sound, half an hour sooner than I expected.  :) 

I made Syndey (My Step-Daughter) and I a delicious dinner of chicken & broccoli, with salad for me and rice for her.  I butterflied the chicken to cook faster added red pepper flakes (to mine), garlic powder, rosemary and kosher salt then cooked it on the stove-top.  I added 1 wedge of laughing cow cheese and a bit of shredded cheese to my broccoli, Syd isn't a big fan of cheese.  And I had a little salad to make up the rest of my green.  Amazing how easy it is to make dinner while on TSFL, but still feeding a growing 15 year old!!

  

To start week 2! I am 179.8 and I am also back to work today.  I feel like I have been working for 2 weeks straight! I am so ready for my week off that is coming in just 2 short days! :)  Tonight I packed all my MM's, the other half of my tuna from conference and "mashed cauliflower".  It isn't exactly mashed, since I can never get the right consistency when I "mash" it, so I blended it! :) With 2 laughing cow cheese wedges, I used Swiss and Sun-Dried Tomato(?), and salt and pepper! I like it, well enough.  Chris DID NOT like it! But he is a potato lover through and through!! <3 I must give him a round of applause for always trying whatever concoction I come up with.  That's love, lemme tell ya!! 

I'm not quite sure if I will make cauliflower that way again, it wasn't my favorite way of having cauliflower.  By far, it is the pizza! YUMMO!!  This week I am definitely going to try the Mockeroni and Cheese (haha!!), how could I not?!  

I am loving finding all these amazing recipes and trying new foods!  I'm sure I will soon be making my own TSFL friendly meals, until then.  I'm good with the ones already out there!! www.Sandyskitchenadventures.com has been my life saver so far!! 

Well, time for me to go eat my tuna lettuce wraps and "mashed" cauliflower!! Have an amazing night/day!! <3  

Packed and Ready

Today is day 7, and I am so sorry for slacking on keeping you all up to date.  I have been so busy getting ready for my conference which starts today.  I will be gone until Sunday and needed to get all packed; clothes, makeup, food and more!!  I have been feeling so great that I can't believe I'm actually "dieting".  Although, I'm not so sure that is the proper term.  I am creating a new body and a new way of living.  I am creating a new state of mind and a new way of thinking about what I put into my body.  

Here I am, 5am on my first day of conference.  It was a 5 1/2 hour drive yesterday and absolutely BEAUTIFUL!! With TSFL you are supposed to drink A LOT of water!! So, I stopped 4 times, twice to get more water and twice more to use the restroom! Oops! And once for gas, $3.87 a gallon.  Ouch!! But living in Washington State sure does have it's perks! Like all the animals you can see on a drive through the state.  And the windmills! My favorite!  Then when you turn down on the border of OR and WA and you're driving along the Columbia, it is stunning.   <3 

Enough about the beautiful PNW! Packing and preparing to be away from home is a pretty normal occurrence for me.  But, packing and preparing to be away from home, a microwave and a refrigerator all while on a strict eating plan is definitely a new thing for me.  Surprisingly it was much easier that I ever imagined.  Thanks to the variety of meals offered for my MM I was able to bring most that are just open and eat, along with shakes (add water and drink). I also pre-baked brownies and cookies, placed them in a ziplock and called it good.  

Along with my MM I also packed 2 days of L&G's.  It felt a little funny walking into the hotel with a cooler last night, but I don't think anyone noticed except myself. I made sure to pack my full serving of lean and 3 servings of greens for at least 2 of the days I am here.  Along with my 3 snacks, one for each day.  It all fit into one easy to pack cooler and I was ready!  

I made 2 different "salads", a tuna salad w/hard boiled egg, light mayo, ff cream cheese, celery, salt & pepper.  I had it last night on lettuce leaves with tomato and swiss cheese! yum yum!  I also made a grilled chicken BBQ ranch salad.  It has shredded cheese in it also!  I will have that on lettuce leaves also.  I think I might be liking eating my "sandwiches" on lettuce leaves as opposed to bread a lot! Who woulda known?! By the end of eating my L&G I am so stuffed, but not gross stuffed.  It is amazing.  

Well, guess I had better get outta bed and start my day.  :) I am so excited for all that I am going to learn over the next few days!  And also to succeed in a setting that will just be begging me to eat food that is not on plan.  I hope you all have an excellent weekend!

Difficult Me!

Well friends, here we are: Day 3.  Oh man, is it as bad as I've been told!! I've been told/warned that day 3 is going to be hard, I am going to be exhausted, everything I am changing in my body is finally kicking in and my body isn't going to know how to react except to want to sleep.  Since I felt sooooo amazing yesterday and the day before, I thought, "well, that just won't happen to me, I'm going to be the exception"  HAH! Yah right!! Here I am, DRAINED!! If I could go to bed and sleep for the next 12 hours, I happily would.  Even though I went to bed and slept for 10 hours last night, then woke up for a bit.  And back to bed I went for a 2 hour nap! Oh my goodness!! It is going to be the longest night EVER! (Ps. Those of you who aren't aware, I work graveyard.  6pm-8am) 

That's all I have to say negatively though! :) Which makes me feel very great!! I may be utterly exhausted.  I may be unable to say a fully sentence without yawning.  But, I am not hungry, nor am I wishing I could have a big bowl of pasta, or some pizza.  Nope! I am perfectly happy with my MM and my L&G that I packed.  

Now, some of you may know that I have been super worried about how I was going to eat 6 times 2-3 hours apart.  Do the math, that's being awake for 12-18 hours.  I unfortunately have days where I am awake A LOT longer than that!! Tonight is one of those nights/days.  I have brought with me, along with my regular 5 MM's and one L&G,  a snack, 3 celery sticks w/one wedge of Laughing Cow light cheese (LOVE LOVE LOVE THOSE!!!), and an additional 1 oz of ground turkey to add to my Chili MM. 

I wrote to Nutrition Support and they told me to not eat more than 5 MM in 24 hours.  If I needed to, I could add an ounce to two of additional lean to one of my MM.  :) I've also heard from a few people on the FB Medifast page, and their responses have helped me as well.  Now don't get me wrong, Cathy has also been very helpful.  But unfortunately, she has never had a case like mine.  ;) Typical me, just gotta be difficult!! :) 

After talking to my coach, Cathy, today I learned a couple things.  One, I need to be or should be keeping a journal.  To keep track of my sleep, what I'm eating, when I'm eating, how much water I'm drinking and especially how I'm feeling.  So, to add my "to buy" list goes a journal.  Included in the "eating" section is not only my meals, but also any gum or mints.  You'd be surprised at the amount of sugars and carbs that can totally add up.  Thankfully, not a big gum/mint fan.  :) 

Thankfully I do have a lot of motivation and support through this journey.  I have Chris, who is my rock and I am so very thankful to/for him.  I also have my Mom!!! (For those of you who don't know me, we're super close) I have Cathy, and my many friends.  I also have a new support, all of you who are reading this, and keep telling me that you are following me and so excited to go along with me.  It shocks me every time I get online and see that I have another 80+ views!! 

So Thank You!!! You are making me be accountable!!! :) Have an amazing day/night!!! 

Pizza for One

I woke up today, day 2, feeling better than I have in months! I felt super awake, active and ready to take whatever today decided to throw my way.  Thankfully life was pretty kind to me! I ended up sleeping a little longer than I wanted to, but I'm not really going to complain about that since my sleep schedule is so not healthy, nor normal.  

I overcame a huge fear today! I have been super nervous of the night that my family would want pizza for dinner, which I of course can not have.  But thank goodness for Sandy and her wonderful website, sandyskitchenadventures.com  I also got to have pizza tonight.  Oh man! It was delicious!!! (Chris even liked it) 

I successfully survived pizza night in the Thompson household! Super sonic excited about that! Also, I am loving how great I feel! I'm only on day 2 I can only imagine what is to come!!  

Not much to say today! Hope you all had a great weekend!! :)

A Goal Without a Plan is Only a Wish

Today is day one!!! But first I think I need to backtrack and go back to the previous two days.  Especially yesterday, since so much happened and I learned so much information!!  

First of all, I realized that I am using Medifast as the product but really my journey is being fueled through a program called Take Shape For Life, TSFL for short.  Medifast provides the product while TSFL provides the support needed to succeeded.  So, from now on I will make sure to refer to my program as TSFL.  As I told you, I have a health coach, Cathy, who is through the TSFL program.  She is going to my rock, especially through the first few weeks which I have been told are the hardest.  EEK!! Cathy and I had our first meeting on Friday, where I had my last beloved white mocha.  ;)  

During this meeting Cathy asked me what my goals for doing this program are.  What do I want out of this?  Of course there's the obvious, I want to look better, feel better in my own skin, be confident in a bikini(that season is coming up fast).  Be able to look at myself naked and think "Damn!! I look good!!!" But then I really started thinking, and I want to not wake up with my joints screaming at me in agony, I want to not have to go to the chiropractor and massage therapist once/twice a week.  I want to have the energy to go run around with my step-kids and nieces and and nephews.  I want my skin to stop breaking out in acne, which I just realized only started to happen once I started to gain weight a couple years ago.  

With those being my goals I guess it is time to tell you, I am starting my TSFL journey weighing 183.6 pounds.  eek! Now, that is 3 pounds lighter than when I started my n.c. week.  But wow! A healthy BMI says that I need to weigh between 130-155 pounds.  Which puts me about 30 pounds over weight.  I'm thinking I want to loose roughly 40 pounds.  Easy! No problem!! :) I just need to stick to my plan completely.  And within 3-4 months I will be 40-ish pounds lighter, a heck of a lot healthier, through transition, and showing off my hot new (well, kinda) bod!!

Last night I spent a good part of the night preparing.  Both some L&G (Lean & Green) for my week at work (Big fan of grab and go), and I separated the majority of my MM (Medifast Meals) into daily baggies.  No room to think means to chance to slip up.  :)  Included in my baggies is a little saying to keep inspiring me! :) 

So I guess that puts me back to today!! Day one! I can't believe it is already here!! I woke up today and had my first MM within 30 minutes of waking up.  Exactly as I am supposed to do.  I made sure I packed all of my L&G along with my baggie of MM.  Got my shake all ready for the car ride (I have an 1 1/2+ commute), and I was ready.  

Day one is going great! :) I have my new kind of coffee, Americano w/SF caramel and little bit of half and half, I've already had 58oz of water and still going strong!  :)  I hope you all had a great day, and maybe a little inspiration was sent your way too!! :) 

Ps. If anyone is interested in more information about TSFL, please let me know.  I know Cathy would love to come talk to you and answer any questions, comments or concerns you may have.  :) 

Knives & Wives

I succeeded a night a night at home totally n.c.!! :) My lovely boyfriend made sure to make a dinner that I could eat, which is simple, just none of the carbs him and his daughter are eating.  It was so yummy! Especially after a few nights of re-heated food.  Doesn't help that my boyfriend is a chef.  :) Lucky girl, I know!! :)  I even made sure to have a few of the truffles his mom gave us for xmas.  yum yum!

Last night was Trivia night at one of our local bars.  We went with a coworker of my boyfriends and his wife, had a blast!  Our team (Knives & Wives) totally rocked it and won!! woop woop!!  But with Trivia and a bar, comes wine.  My favorite!! Which, after tomorrow I will not be "allowed" to have for many months to come.  But ya know, I'm okay with that.  The payoff is totally worth the sacrifice.  

My pants are no longer comfortable, ever! None of my shirts fit me!! And I do not want to go and buy a bigger size, again!! When or where would it end? With me in a size 3x and absolutely miserable?! No thank you!!!! I'm only 25, and for the most part I've been a healthy size and a semi-active person.  I can blame the weight gain on whatever I would like to, changing careers, quitting smoking, Chris(my bf) being injured all winter.  But at the end of the day it's because I have not cared enough to change my habits.  

I start Medifast on Saturday.  I have today and Friday with no carbs.  Then I am going to be completely OP (on plan).  But ya know, if I do fall off (not saying that I will) I will just climb right back up and keep going strong.  :) 

I do have a meeting with my health coach, Cathy on Friday.  For those of you who aren't aware, a health coach is a person who, basically coaches through your weight loss program.  They are there for all your questions, to check in on you and help you through this journey.  I am so thankful to have this person!! The 2 times before that I have attempted to do Medifast I was unsuccessful for a lot of reasons, but I'm thinking that not having a health coach may have been the reason.

Well, I did have a health coach.  My mom! :) She's been my coach through my whole life.  I think having a person who is not related to me, although I have known Cathy for many many years, will be a great help.  :)  I'm excited to see what she has to say and learn all the ins and outs.  

Before Picture #1!! Saturday morning I will take a better one! W/o the flash hopefully. ;) 

Well, hope you all have a fabulous healthy day!!! 

Prep, prep, prep!!

Today is a new day! Yesterday I rocked my n.c (no carbohydrate) plan! :) Although I was very surprised to notice how hungry I was all night.  All I wanted to do was eat and eat and eat!! But I guess if I'm only putting veggies, fruits and lean meats into my system... the more the merrier!!  Since I was complaining yesterday about my complete failure to plan and prepare for my 5 days of n.c. I spent all night planning my meals; making a list of things I needed to buy and getting ready to spend 3 whole days/nights away from home and living out of a fridge and microwave at work.  

I must say though, I am super proud of myself!! Directly after work I went to the grocery store and bought all healthy n.c. food items! :)  I had my lovely man pull some shrimp out of the freezer the night before so that I had everything ready when I woke up today!  It was so nice to spend that extra hour slicing, dicing and cooking all that I may need/want for the next few days.  :) Doesn't help that I absolutely love to cook!! 

So, you may be wondering (or not) what I brought with me.  I have Boca Burgers and chicken breasts cooked and ready to go on a salad or lettuce wrap,  I have (well, had) yummy shrimp that I baked over lemon wedges and butter.  I know, I know butter is sooo not healthy.  But come on!! I'm giving up my favorite things already and I'm slowly beginning the weight loss journey that is, Medifast!! I have hard boiled eggs, great source of protein!! A ton of lettuce, both romaine and spring mix.  Of course, apples, carrots, oranges and yogurt.  Starting on Saturday those will not be in my diet, so I'm eating plenty in the mean time!!

I'm also starting to get ready to begin Medifast on Saturday.  Which, for those of you that do not know about it, is a weight loss program where you eat 5&1.  5 Medifast pre-packaged meals that you just add water and microwave if needed, and 1 lean & green meal a day.  The lean and green meals are what I am working on preparing for.  

As of last night, I have 4 meals/leans.  I have a Greek Turkey Burger, Swiss and Tuna Melt, a Thai Turkey Burger and Cauliflower Pizza.  Can you say YUM?!?!?!  :) I'll make sure to post pictures and the recipes, just in case you are interested! :)

Well, everything is going great! :) So excited to begin this journey and have you all along for the ride!! 

No carbs, No problem

Today I started my 4 days of no carbohydrates prior to beginning Medifast.  When I say no carbohydrates, I mainly mean no potatoes, rice, beans, pasta or bread.  All the things I love the most.  ;)  Now this isn't something everyone does, or really anyone.  But I am such a carboholic that I thought it would be very good idea.  Hopefully giving my body a jump-start on the withdrawals and cravings I will have soon.  

So far so good, the only problem I had, was my own non-planning.  I just hadn't realized how difficult it is to find something easy (microwave dinner/ can of soup) in the grocery store that doesn't have rice, beans, pasta or potatoes in it.  I got really frustrated for a while, wondering what is wrong with our country?!?!  Then I realized that if I had just taken a few minutes the day before to prep for all my days of work this would not be an issue.  Let me tell you, lesson learned!!! My days off, since they are few are far between, will be spent prepping for my work days!! 

It was exciting when I did get a big box full of Medifast meals on my porch today.  I am so excited to begin on Saturday.  I know now that I am ready for this, I have mentally prepared for months.  I have decided to have a health coach, who is also a family friend.  I have talked to my mom repeatedly asking her all the ways around drinking coffee, or what I am allowed to order at Starbucks.  :) Thank goodness for moms!!!  

Here's to a new me! Or at least a new body!!! :) 

Start of a new way of life...

Hey! :)  

So I have always been a huge fan of blogs, but have never thought I had anything interesting enough to write about, so I never started my own.  But I have decided to begin a new weight loss journey and therefor a new way of life.  Tonight I placed an order for Medifast/TSFL.  I have done this program twice previously with results, but I was always found an excuse to not see my way to the end.  

This time, it will be different.  For one, I'm in a much better place in my life than previous attempts.  Also, with this blog I will be held accountable for my actions.  So, I need all of you to read this!! Daily/weekly... 

My order won't be here for another week or two, but I am going to try to jump start my weight loss with cutting out carbs (my favorite) before my medifast arrives.  

Wish me luck!!! Keep your fingers crossed!! 


I know I will have the willpower, and I know that I will be able to love my own skin again! :)  

--alex