One thing I have noticed about this diet is if you skip a meal you will be super tired, so it's a bit difficult with my schedule. Usually eating a protein bar or some nuts will get my energy back up for a bit but not long-term, so I am thinking about adding my diet/energy pills to the mix to keep up my energy.
Other than that, I like the food ok...getting used to it, but also gearing up for the holidays next week and the whole Thanksgiving grub...hmmm, it will be hard!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Best P90X Diet Meal Yet
OK so the pP90X Meal Plan just redeemed itself, totally. The chicken salad was delish, although very heavy on dressing based on the recipe and a 6 oz piece of chicken as called for. I scooped off some of the dressing and it was still a bit thick, but it tasted yummy so I didn't particularly care too much. 
The soup..ok, well I cheated...it called for vegetable soup, but I had a container of Pacific Foods Organic Creamy Butternut Squash that was about to expire, so I examined the ingredients and it was made without oils, as called for in the P90X plan....so I went for it. It is ab.so.lutely delicious. If you can find it near you, get it. Notes of nutmeg make it a little sweet, which was unexpected and fantastic.
Altogether, a perfect meal for a getting-chilly fall day: soup and salad, can't beat it. I'm gonna kick back and pull out a book I've been meaning to get to for a while and enjoy myafternoon with no classes.
The soup..ok, well I cheated...it called for vegetable soup, but I had a container of Pacific Foods Organic Creamy Butternut Squash that was about to expire, so I examined the ingredients and it was made without oils, as called for in the P90X plan....so I went for it. It is ab.so.lutely delicious. If you can find it near you, get it. Notes of nutmeg make it a little sweet, which was unexpected and fantastic.Altogether, a perfect meal for a getting-chilly fall day: soup and salad, can't beat it. I'm gonna kick back and pull out a book I've been meaning to get to for a while and enjoy myafternoon with no classes.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Today's Meal Plan
OK, so this morning I was supposed to have a smoothie (protein shake) for breakfast, so that was good but I ended up hungry not too long later. For lunch, we had shrimp stirfry, which I liked...a lot. I could eat that more often. Tonight I am supposed to have lean turkey breast with gravy and green beans, but since I have class until 7, I don't know if I will have that kind of energy when I get home. We'll see.
I just had my afternoon snack, which was a protein bar and Gatorade....the protein bars I got are made by Snickers, so they are actually very yummy. Chocolate and nuts...who can go wrong?
Now if my kids will only get in line, I'll be happy. My fuse is getting shorter and shorter because they are starting to gang up on these little schemes...exciting.
I just had my afternoon snack, which was a protein bar and Gatorade....the protein bars I got are made by Snickers, so they are actually very yummy. Chocolate and nuts...who can go wrong?
Now if my kids will only get in line, I'll be happy. My fuse is getting shorter and shorter because they are starting to gang up on these little schemes...exciting.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Dinner
OK, whooooah. I was VERY disappointed with the dinner plan. First of all, it took me over an hour to prepare a meal just for myself, so I had to juggle making 3 intricate dishes for myself and also dinner for three kids. It was NOT fun, and I will NOT be doing it every day...no way. Way too many pots, pans, and dishes to clean.
And then the recipes....unless I was doing them way off base, which I do not think I am considering I bought exactly the right ingredients, carefully measured and cooked....and they weren't very good. The Roasted Red Pepper Soup, which I was SO looking forward to because I'd had one in a restaurant previously that was divine, was not so good. Tasted like warmed-up V8 juice. I think much less celery and tomato could go into the recipe to make it taste more red-peppery. The lemon-dill sauce came out way too tart and did not thicken up right.
The dinner was supposed to consist of red pepper soup, salmon, lemon-dill sauce, asparagus, and rice. I was so exhausted I didn't even get to the salmon! So I put the lemon-dill sauce on the asparagus and that was decent. The rice was the best part of the meal...LOL.
Maybe this meal plan works because you don't eat your whole meal because it doesn't taste too great. Maybe I am just so accustomed to eating the fats and salts and all that it will take some time to get adjusted to the taste of all the vegetables.
Hope tomorrow's meal plan goes better, otherwise I will cheat big time, more for convenience than anything.
And then the recipes....unless I was doing them way off base, which I do not think I am considering I bought exactly the right ingredients, carefully measured and cooked....and they weren't very good. The Roasted Red Pepper Soup, which I was SO looking forward to because I'd had one in a restaurant previously that was divine, was not so good. Tasted like warmed-up V8 juice. I think much less celery and tomato could go into the recipe to make it taste more red-peppery. The lemon-dill sauce came out way too tart and did not thicken up right.
The dinner was supposed to consist of red pepper soup, salmon, lemon-dill sauce, asparagus, and rice. I was so exhausted I didn't even get to the salmon! So I put the lemon-dill sauce on the asparagus and that was decent. The rice was the best part of the meal...LOL.
Maybe this meal plan works because you don't eat your whole meal because it doesn't taste too great. Maybe I am just so accustomed to eating the fats and salts and all that it will take some time to get adjusted to the taste of all the vegetables.
Hope tomorrow's meal plan goes better, otherwise I will cheat big time, more for convenience than anything.
Lunch time...
OK, so I spent all morning straightening and making the run to WalMart for a few things I ordered online that finally arrived @ the store. So I didn't get my morning snack, which is probably why my salad for lunch wasn't quite filling. I'm also a bigger fan of iceberg than romaine, so I am going to do a little further research to see if I can substitute. The salad did have extra-lean, low sodium ham cubes, which is yummy, so I liked it alright. I get another snack in a couple of hours, so I think I will make it.
Until then, I have much work to do in this house, so we'll see how I'm doing later this evening.
Until then, I have much work to do in this house, so we'll see how I'm doing later this evening.
New Diet...again
So after being more and more frustrated with my weight and size (which has been steadily growing over the past three years), I decided to do something about it. At the time of this revelation, I wasn't sure quite what. I went on Weight Watchers last year....I could never make it to the meetings and it was very difficult to even figure out the "points" for the foods I made for my family every day. With little motivation, I quit that. I took some diet pills for a while, but all they did was give me incredible energy (which is why I still occasionally take them), but...alas....no weight loss.
Now, in my defense, the past five years have been dedicated to making a family...so I have carried three children and had three deliveries....not too conducive to losing weight. Also, I am not mordibly obese....I currently weigh just under 170 pounds. While my friends (and my doctor) assure me this is NOT morbidly obese for my height, I feel atrocious. I have never, ever been this big in my life. I am lingering between a size 10 and a size 12, meaning the size 10's are uncomfortably snug and the size 12's somewhat hang, especially around the rear area. Not cool. I've also been feeling yucky lately, getting sick more than I have in past years, getting stupid headaches and doing less and less outdoor activity with my kids. Obviously, this has all got to change...I'm only 27!
So, the same day I set my mind to making a change, I saw not one, not two, but three infomercials for P90X. Being an avid disbeliever in infomercial nonsense, I Googled the reviews,and they weren't all bad. In fact, I had a hard time finding a bad one! I mean, you have to do it to get results...it's not a piece of machinery or a pill or medicine....it's just a fitness and nutrition program. So, in a moment of weakness, I ordered it.
It came quicker than expected, just about four days. I actually set it aside for the first couple of days, because I had just perfected a lemon meringue pie recipe and wanted to enjoy the fruits of my labor. I also was scared to begin what I knew would be a big change to our family's diet.
I finally got the nerve to open the box, and what I saw first was not the pack of DVD's but a quite hefty nutrition guide. I was impressed and sat down and thumbed through it. I made a shopping list based off the ingredients in the recipes.
**I must add, this was a big change to our normal diet....instead of the 2 produce bins at the bottome of the fridge holding a bag of salad, some extra butter sticks, and some Coke cans, they were both packed with fresh produce, as well as the ENTIRE bottom shelf of my fridge. The shopping list actually had NO BUTTER on it. There were a variety of oils and other cooking liquids like cooking wines, sherry, and vinegars. If you are used to making a lot of casseroles and Crock Pot meals with Velveeta, starches, etc....this will be a BIG CHANGE for you, cause it sure was for me! I also want to add that some of the ingredients took some intensive research...I just couldn't find them in any grocery store around us, even the "gourmet" or specialty stores (like arrowroot...where do I get that stuff??). I had to research a suitable alternative to still fulfill the recipes.**
Day One has just begun...it's a Sunday, and I got all the ingredients yesterday and was eager to begin. The breakfast in my meal plan calls for a Mushroom Omelette, a serving of cottage cheese, and fresh strawberries. Well I am already tweaking. I had no fresh strawberries (I guess it's the season) so I subbed an orange, and I LOATHE cottage cheese, so I substituted with a serving of lite yogurt. Word to the wise, eat the citrus fruit FIRST. I ate the omelette, which didn't just have mushrooms, it also had green onion and roma tomatoes...it was pretty tasty, although VERY different than what I'm used to...and then I ate the yogurt. So eating a citrus fruit after something so sweet as the yogurt made the orange taste bitter, and I usually LOVE oranges. So, I definitely didn't like that. And I'm used to washing my breakfast all down with a hot cup of coffee, and having ice water seemed sooooo strange. But I am full, which was more than I expected.
The kids actually ate a version of my breakfast, too. I had to have egg whites only for my omelette, so the yolks had to go somewhere, so I scrambled them up for the kids. They also had orange slices and GoGurt instead of my lite yogurt. They all loved it, but it wasn't that different at all from what I usually give them. Maybe I should have just been paying attention to what my children were eating all this time because none of them are overweight!
We'll see how it goes....I'll keep track of it here. I plan on doing the workouts just after lunch because that's when the kids will be napping so I will have enough free time to work out and shower without the kids all underfoot (literally).
My goal is to get back down to 125 pounds, which is five pounds above my average weight my senior year of high school. I would like to be able to fit into a size 6 again, although I will definitely be happy with a comfortable 8. But most of all, I want to be in shape and no more of this jiggly belly.
Wish me luck!
Now, in my defense, the past five years have been dedicated to making a family...so I have carried three children and had three deliveries....not too conducive to losing weight. Also, I am not mordibly obese....I currently weigh just under 170 pounds. While my friends (and my doctor) assure me this is NOT morbidly obese for my height, I feel atrocious. I have never, ever been this big in my life. I am lingering between a size 10 and a size 12, meaning the size 10's are uncomfortably snug and the size 12's somewhat hang, especially around the rear area. Not cool. I've also been feeling yucky lately, getting sick more than I have in past years, getting stupid headaches and doing less and less outdoor activity with my kids. Obviously, this has all got to change...I'm only 27!
So, the same day I set my mind to making a change, I saw not one, not two, but three infomercials for P90X. Being an avid disbeliever in infomercial nonsense, I Googled the reviews,and they weren't all bad. In fact, I had a hard time finding a bad one! I mean, you have to do it to get results...it's not a piece of machinery or a pill or medicine....it's just a fitness and nutrition program. So, in a moment of weakness, I ordered it.
It came quicker than expected, just about four days. I actually set it aside for the first couple of days, because I had just perfected a lemon meringue pie recipe and wanted to enjoy the fruits of my labor. I also was scared to begin what I knew would be a big change to our family's diet.
I finally got the nerve to open the box, and what I saw first was not the pack of DVD's but a quite hefty nutrition guide. I was impressed and sat down and thumbed through it. I made a shopping list based off the ingredients in the recipes.
**I must add, this was a big change to our normal diet....instead of the 2 produce bins at the bottome of the fridge holding a bag of salad, some extra butter sticks, and some Coke cans, they were both packed with fresh produce, as well as the ENTIRE bottom shelf of my fridge. The shopping list actually had NO BUTTER on it. There were a variety of oils and other cooking liquids like cooking wines, sherry, and vinegars. If you are used to making a lot of casseroles and Crock Pot meals with Velveeta, starches, etc....this will be a BIG CHANGE for you, cause it sure was for me! I also want to add that some of the ingredients took some intensive research...I just couldn't find them in any grocery store around us, even the "gourmet" or specialty stores (like arrowroot...where do I get that stuff??). I had to research a suitable alternative to still fulfill the recipes.**
Day One has just begun...it's a Sunday, and I got all the ingredients yesterday and was eager to begin. The breakfast in my meal plan calls for a Mushroom Omelette, a serving of cottage cheese, and fresh strawberries. Well I am already tweaking. I had no fresh strawberries (I guess it's the season) so I subbed an orange, and I LOATHE cottage cheese, so I substituted with a serving of lite yogurt. Word to the wise, eat the citrus fruit FIRST. I ate the omelette, which didn't just have mushrooms, it also had green onion and roma tomatoes...it was pretty tasty, although VERY different than what I'm used to...and then I ate the yogurt. So eating a citrus fruit after something so sweet as the yogurt made the orange taste bitter, and I usually LOVE oranges. So, I definitely didn't like that. And I'm used to washing my breakfast all down with a hot cup of coffee, and having ice water seemed sooooo strange. But I am full, which was more than I expected.
The kids actually ate a version of my breakfast, too. I had to have egg whites only for my omelette, so the yolks had to go somewhere, so I scrambled them up for the kids. They also had orange slices and GoGurt instead of my lite yogurt. They all loved it, but it wasn't that different at all from what I usually give them. Maybe I should have just been paying attention to what my children were eating all this time because none of them are overweight!
We'll see how it goes....I'll keep track of it here. I plan on doing the workouts just after lunch because that's when the kids will be napping so I will have enough free time to work out and shower without the kids all underfoot (literally).
My goal is to get back down to 125 pounds, which is five pounds above my average weight my senior year of high school. I would like to be able to fit into a size 6 again, although I will definitely be happy with a comfortable 8. But most of all, I want to be in shape and no more of this jiggly belly.
Wish me luck!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Wishing there were more hours in the day
I just wish I had a few more hours...I would be able to spend some more time playing with my kids rather than cleaning up after them, or doing their laundry, or cooking for them...but such is life.
I also wish I had a few more friends around here. It's hard with Logan gone because I don't get much adult interaction; I mean, at school I do, but that's only sitting and listening to a professor for an hour or so and then we disperse....not like college kids have much in common with a 27 yr old mother of three anyway. So yeah, just wishing for a few minor tweaks in my life but no one can have perfection :)
Going to take some of the existing hours I actually have to do some HW.......
I also wish I had a few more friends around here. It's hard with Logan gone because I don't get much adult interaction; I mean, at school I do, but that's only sitting and listening to a professor for an hour or so and then we disperse....not like college kids have much in common with a 27 yr old mother of three anyway. So yeah, just wishing for a few minor tweaks in my life but no one can have perfection :)
Going to take some of the existing hours I actually have to do some HW.......
Monday, November 2, 2009
Navy wifedom...
Yeah, so it doesn't get better with time...every time he has to go out to sea, it flat out sucks. I mean, a part of it is that I have to do everything by myself....the laundry, the cleaning, the dishes, the kids, the cars, the pets, the bills....everything....I mean, Jami definitely helps me out, but more than that, I don't have someone to come home to and tell my problems to. I don't have someone to sit with me and watch Criminal minds and tell me how cheesy my FBI/cop shows are. I don't have someone to tell me my dinner is yummy or that he loves me, and that stinks. To everyone who thinks the military doesn't sacrifice, or that their families don't sacrifice, you should walk a day in our shoes. Logan and I laugh at that show Wife Swap when they have to be apart for 2 little weeks and they are crying and about to lose their minds being apart from their spouse for that long....and it's only 2 weeks. Try eight months... been there, done that...with a newborn. I'm just hoping with Grayson's birthday party and getting ready for Thanksgiving that it will go by fast.
Anyway...it's such a Martin Sexton/ Johnny Cash type of day. Grey...overcast...chilly, perfect for curling up with a spiked mulled cider and reading some Plath or Poe, all gloom and doom in their delicious poetic words. Mmmm, to have one day with a babysitter who has the kids at her house and I have some good book, some warm drinks, and an appointment at the salon.....aaaahhhhh....a girl can dream (and use excessive ellipsis...ten bucks to anyone who counts them...I know I have a problem).
Anyway...it's such a Martin Sexton/ Johnny Cash type of day. Grey...overcast...chilly, perfect for curling up with a spiked mulled cider and reading some Plath or Poe, all gloom and doom in their delicious poetic words. Mmmm, to have one day with a babysitter who has the kids at her house and I have some good book, some warm drinks, and an appointment at the salon.....aaaahhhhh....a girl can dream (and use excessive ellipsis...ten bucks to anyone who counts them...I know I have a problem).
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Halloween Night.
Last night was so fun, and there were so many things I wish I could just freeze in time so I could remember them forever. Callie thought she was a princess with her hair curled and dressed up in her Little Red Riding Hood costume. She was scared of some of the people wearing black robes or scary costumes on their front porches but went to every house. Grayson was so excited and so proud of his Optimus Prime costume...he took it very seriously and really thought he was Optimus Prime for the night! He was hilarious talking to every kid we passed, and he has eaten most of his bucket of candy already! John took the night, though....last year he wasn't old enough to walk, so this was his first year walking it. He is absolutely f.e.ar.l.e.s.s. He wasn't scared of any costume, any noise or scary decoration; no fog machine or jackolantern could sway him once he discovered he said those three magic words (which sounded like "Dwick Dwee" when he said it) and scored candy in his bag. Between houses, he would hold his bag open and look down into, sometimes so into it he veered off into the grass beside the pavement. He was absolutely fascinated with this event.....walking from house to house getting candy from strangers! He loved it, and all three kids passed out as soon as we got home, still in their costumes.....there is nothing cuter on earth.
So all in all, great Halloween with great friends and great kids! It' going to be hard next year without Janet, Troy, and Christian.
So all in all, great Halloween with great friends and great kids! It' going to be hard next year without Janet, Troy, and Christian.
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