Grilled Chicken & Veg

This is one of my favorite simplest meals

Cut up Chicken and Zucchini and marinade in Light Cheese Fantastico dressing.

After 5 mins + put into a sauce pan and saute until done.

This time I added cut up tomatoes the last few minutes of cooking which was really good.

I've also made it with green beans.

Jackie Warner Shake

1 scoop Protien powder (low sugar)
1 tsp Glutamine powder
1 tsp BCAA Powder (amino acids)
1 Tbs L Carnitine (fat burner)
1/2 tsp Flax Seed oil
1 cup Frozen Spinach
1 cup Frozen Berries

This was on her show Thintervention. I wanted to document it for future use.

Tips and Tricks

I've been on my diet a little over a month and a half and I've come up with some of my own little tricks to make everything taste good.
The pancakes definitely need some help. I like to add an egg and some about a 1/8 tsp. baking soda. Then to make them even more wholesome I like to add about a tbs of Wheat Germ and Flax Seed.
The brownies are my favorite but I think they need either a packet of Stevia or my preference a drizzle of Da Vinci Caramel sugar free syrup.
All the shakes I do in my magic bullet with Ice. The vanilla is good with a little Cinnamon and nutmeg.
The oatmeal needs some texture and if you stir it before you cook it, it doesn't have much. So I pour the water over and microwave for a minute then stir. At first I added a packet of Stevia to it too but you get use to the taste.
More to come...

Day 1 of New Diet

I'm starting a new program today. It's a program I'm doing with the help of my friend Jacqui who is now a health coach. She's had huge success with it and has inspired me to give it a try. It's a high protein low calorie diet.
She tells me the first two days I'm going to be really hungry and then for 2 weeks it will be kind of hard, but then you just forget about eating and you start feeling great. I'm looking forward to that part, plus the loosing a lot of weight.
Wish me luck!
Start weight 160
goal is to lose 30

Taking a break

Not from my diet but from blogging about it everyday. I've still been doing really good on my diet although I'm realizing the pounds aren't going to just melt away like I was hoping but I'm not willing to do anything extreme right now because I'm still breast feeding and I don't want to do anything that would harm little Ian. I already feel like I should be eating more calories for him, but really I'm just cutting out the sugar and carbs which were the bulk of the calories I was eating before. Now I'm adding alot more protein and vegetables which are much more nutritious for him anyways.
That being said, I do have bookclub tonight and all bets are off.. The girls bring way too good of food, including desserts, and I'm eating it all!

Day 15, March 15th

It's my birthday. So even though I didn't completely go off the wagon I decided I wasn't going to count calories just for one day. I actually think I did pretty good except I ate half a cinnamon roll and some 'healthy' brownies.
I can't believe it's been 2 weeks. It hasn't been that hard really. Once you're fully committed you just do it and think about it too much.
For lunch today I was thinking about all the places I could go for lunch to 'treat myself' but decided to go to the cafe attached to the health food store and I'm glad I did. I had a really good chicken quesadilla. I think it's going to be my new favorite restaurant. There are so many good healthy choices I can't wait to try a few more options.

Day 14

Calories 1524 Protein 102.7 Carbs 82.4 Fats 67.2

Obviously this isn't completely accurate because there was Birthday Cake involved that I haven't accounted for. But I had a fun lunch with my girlfriends and even still I did pretty good with my diet, but I'm a sucker for cake, can't help it.

Day 13

Totals: Calories 1807 Protein 133.3 Carbs 115.6 Fat 53

Ok, I'll be honest. This may not be completely accurate. See it's my birthday weekend and my dear Kellee Kellee came to stay over and we went out to eat and I may or may not have has some chocolate mousse for dessert and then she may or may not have bought me a cupcake that I ate later that night. Although I did account for A cupcake, I'm sure the one I ate was more than 200 calories.
But Hey,
It's my Birthday! (almost)

Day 12

Totals: Calories 1705 Protein 133.2 Carbs 86 Fat 68.9

My friend Jacqui recommended I try Greek Yogurt and Honey, so instead I put a little Agave and some Vanilla in with Greek Yogurt. It's my new favorite treat. Then I saw on 5 ingredients or less, to make chicken salad with Greek Yogurt so I made that today and it worked great too. Yum.

Day 11

Totals: Calories 1858 Protein 125.4 Carbs 130.2 Fat 70.o

Why do I feel like if I get over 1700 I'm a failure. Really 1800 is pretty darn good I have to say. I'm pretty sure that if I would have tracked my calories before my diet I would have been at nearly 3-4000 a day easy.

Day 10

I was doing really good until I started chowing down on Sun Chips and Pistachios instead of carrots like I did last night.

Totals: Calories 1892 Protein 120.5 Carbs 148.4 Fats 68.7

Day 9

I just ate the best Omelet. I think adding a little cottage cheese made all the difference.
2 eggs
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup milk
Spinach
a little Feta
Onion powder
Garlic powder
It seems simple but man was it good.
I was going to try and make this egg casserole that my mother in law made on Sunday but after cracking 6 eggs I added a splash of milk and smelled something funky. So I got the milk back out and smelled it and yuck. Had to throw it all away so instead of going through another 6 eggs I decided just to make an omelet and I'm glad I did.

Totals: Calories 1656 Protein 120.5 Carbs 66.8 Fat 47.5

Day 8

Ian is sick, I felt like I was getting sick, Ryan left out of town for a week, but I made it through.

Totals: Calories 1524 Protein 124.3 Carbs 124.7 Fat 55.9

Day 6

Today was much better. I feel like my cravings for sugars are going away. I even went to a birthday party and didn't have any of the cake or ice cream, even though it looked really good. I even brought my own food so I wouldn't be tempted to munch on stuff. I honestly don't know how someone only eats 2000 calories a day without counting and being really strict. I'm at almost 1800 every day and I've cut nearly all my carbs and sugars. I think if I would have tracked what I ate before the diet I would be disgusted with myself at how many calories I was actually eating. I have to say Daily Burn .com has really helped me out. I just enter everything I eat as I go so I see exactly how my day is adding up. That way I know if I splurge on breakfast (add a banana to my protein shake) Then I should keep my dinner simple.

Totals: Calories 1765 Carbs 130 Protien 145.7 Fat 76.3

Day 5

Today was my toughest day but I made it through.

Totals: Calories 1749 Protein 181.4 Carb 87.6 Fats 75.7

Negligible

Neg-li-gi-ble
adjective-
so small, trifling or unimportant that it may safely be neglected or disregarded.

This word has been going through my head alot while I've been on a diet. There are alot of things I consider negligible when it comes to counting calories and the like. Alot of vegetables are, not so fast avocado, some fruit are, not you banana, all herbs, some seasoning. If I eat 5 almonds, that's negligible. If I eat 15 or 20, I better count them. Hopefully my negligible's don't start adding up on me. So my total calorie count might not be exactly right, but I'm doing the best I can or want to do. Really I'm doing alot better than I thought I would, but then again, it's only day 4.

Day 4

Just because your on a diet doesn't mean you have to eat bad. This omelet was really good and only 182 calories and 15g of protein.

Breakfast:

Spinach Feta Omelet

2 eggs

2 TBS Feta

handful of spinach

a splash of milk

a dash of garlic powder

a little fresh basil

cut up fresh tomato on top

Pre Breakfast:

2 scoops of 'Green and Whey' Vanilla Protein Powder

Ice and water

(not my favorite shake I've made)

Snack

1 Cup low fat Cottage Cheese

3 slices of pineapple

lunch:

Luna Bar

Afternoon snack:

Atkins Shake

Dinner:

Pulled Pork Burrito

7oz Pork (roasted with can of Rotela, tomatoes and green chili's)

2 Tbs Cheddar Cheese (which is much less than I probably would have used)

1/2 Small Avocado (made in to guac)

1/4 cup Black Beans

a couple dollops of Non fat sour cream

Total for the day: Calories 1758 Protein 164.6 Fat 72.8 Carbs 111.1

Day 3

Breakfast:
1 cup soy milk
1 scoop protein powder

My friend Jacqui who is a weight loss coach suggested I have a protein shake or and egg in the morning then I won't crave carbs as much during the day. I was going to make an egg but decided to leave the house before I made it.

Snack:
Lara Bar (figs, almonds, pecans)

Pre Lunch Snack: (I couldn't wait for my soup to cook)
Low Carb Tortilla
Low Sodium Turkey
1 Slice Swiss Cheese

Broccoli slaw
Sprinkle of Lighthouse Pomegranate Blueberry dressing

Lunch:
Chicken Coconut Curry soup
Saute
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1/2 Red Onion
2 clove garlic
1 cup cut up carrots
1 cup cut up celery
Once softened add
1 tsp Curry powder (I wanted to use yellow but I only had red)
2 cups Chicken Stock
1 can Light Coconut Milk
1/2 roasted chicken shredded
Cook till carrots are soft
Add Cilantro and Lime Juice and eat up!

It turned out really good but I'm a wimp and it was actually a little spicy for me. One recipe I saw suggested adding a jalapeno, I think that would have killed me.

Dinner:

Chicken and Zuchinni

Daily Totals: Calories 1428 Carbs 71.9 Protein 124.2 Fat 73.5

Day 2

I feel like I'm detoxing. I feel like standing up in a group of people and admitting, 'Hello my name is Marjorie and I'm a Sugar Addict.' I'm most likely a Carb addict too. Even though I'm eating really good food I'm definitely craving things I shouldn't eat. I'm even craving things that we've had in the house for months and I've had no desire to eat until now. I do have some 'snacks' around the house that I can eat if I need to graze. I bought some dried edemame (soy beans), sweet potato chips, mixed nuts, dried pees, and I'll have to pick up some dried bananas my next trip to Sunflower Market. I also decided I couldn't go cold turkey on the sugar so I have Agave to add to my oatmeal and other things and I bought some dark chocolate with almonds. So hears the Menu for day two...

Breakfast:
1 Cup steel cut oats (I make 4 servings on Monday which should last me the rest of the week.)
1Tbs Agave
1/4 cup Vanilla Soy Milk

Snack:
Kashi Nut Roll

Lunch:Soup from yesterday

Snack:
Chocolate Almond Banana Shake (yummy!)
1 Frozen Banana*
1 scoop Chocolate Protein Shake (I might do 2 next time)
1 cup Vanilla Soy Milk
1 spoonful of Almond Butter
*I cut up a bunch of bananas about 1/2 inch thick and laid them out on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer for about an hour. Once frozen I put them in a zip lock bag. Then I can use them in shakes instead of ice.

Dinner:

Monteal Chicken with Broiled Asparagus

I pounded out 2 chicken tenders (that's why they look so big) Then sprinkled with Montreal Chicken seasoning and pan fried with a little Pam.

Oven broiled the asparagus with a little pam and Lemon juice sprinkled on it. After it was cooked I sprayed it with a little 'I can't believe it's not butter'.

I got a kick out of a recent episode of Ruby when she kept spraying her asparagus with butter spray. I didn't use as much as her but it does help. Although I love asparagus so this was a treat for me.

I also discovered Fuze low carb drinks when I had gestational diabetes. It only has 10 calories and 2g of sugar. It gives me that little bit of sweetness I need from time to time.

Daily Totals: Calories 1689 Protein 118.8 Carbs 196.2 Fat 53.1

Day 1

Breakfast:

1 Cup Steel Cup Oats

1/2 Cups Vanilla Soy Milk

1 Tbsp Agave

2 Tbsp Flax Seed

Snack:

1 Cup Vanilla Soy Milk

1 Small Banana (frozen)

10 Blueberries

2 Tbsp Pecans

1 Tbsp Flax seed

Lunch: Soup

Pork Mushroom Vegetable Soup

1Tbsp Olive Oil

3 Garlic Cloves

1/4 Onion

1/2 Cup Mushroom

1/2 Cup Carrot straws

2 Sticks of Celery

10 Fresh Green Beens

1/2 tsp Monterey Chicken Spice

Saute all together till soft

Add

2 Cups water

3 Cubes Chicken Bullion

1/2 Pack of Lipton Mushroom Onion Soup

1/2 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup (which I shouldn't have added but it made it yummy)

1 Cooked (leftover) Pork Chop

Cook til hot and tender.

Dinner:

Chicken Marinated in Cheese Fantastico dressing

Tomato, Cucumber, Feta Balsamic Vinager Salad

Daily Totals: Calories 1522 Protein 119.1 Carbs 153.7 Fat 56.4

Pre-Planning

I came up with this diet goal about 2 weeks ago so I've had some time to plan.
I decided I needed two things. A Mini Stair Stepper and a Magic Bullet. A total of about a 100 dollar investment to start. Then I loaded up on Vegetables, Steel Cut Oatmeal, Flax seed that I plan to throw into everything.
I looked up lots of soup recipes. The best protein bars. Yummy protein shakes.
I signed up for Dailyburn.com to try and track my eating and exercise.

The Plan

Goal:
Low Carb, Low Sugar.
High Protein, High Fiber.
Lots of Vegetables, a little Fruit.
Oh and some exercises thrown in there for good measure.

My plan...
Breakfast:
Steel Cut Oats
Spinach Omelet

Snack:
Protein Shake

Lunch:
Homemade Vegetable Soup
Salad with Low Cal dressing

Snack:
Protein Bar

Dinner:
Lean and Green
7oz Lean meat and lots of veggies

Dessert? um, well that's going to be tough. But when I had Gestational Diabetes I did ok. Fruit became my friend. That and gum. It gives me that taste of sugar after a meal without the calories.

Reward:
Ryan said if I get down to a size 6 (I say 8) he would give me $1000. to spend on clothes. All I really want is a pair (or 2) of designer jeans that I look good in.

And so it begins...