Week 4 Day 6

Sorry I've been MIA friends!  This has been a big week for us.  On Monday, I had emergency surgery and have been recovering this week.  I have been doing my best to get the rest and nutrition I need to feel better, but, between the pain, fatigue and general business of this time of year, it hasn't been easy.  I am finally starting to feel like myself again and hopefully I'll check out okay at my follow up appointment next week.

It's been a struggle to eat healthy whole foods since I don't have the energy to shop, cook and clean.  Darab has been super husband, taking care of all the shopping, cooking, cleaning, kids and of course his work, which is pretty busy this time of year.  We did have some help from my mom this week, which was incredible and so appreciated.  I might be ready to take some easy walks this weekend and next week, but I need to listen to my body and my doctor and not push myself.  I had trouble with that this week.  I'm going to focus on rest and eating right for now and try not to think too much about how and when I'm going to get back into working out.

Thanks for all your continued support and encouragement!

Week 3 Day 7

Three weeks are just about complete for me!  I can't believe that I'm a quarter of the way into this thing.  I've been thinking a lot about how much I have changed in just 3 short little weeks.  Here is some of what's changed for me...

1. I have dropped a size and have a bunch of clothes that I got to try on and realize that they fit...from my own closet!  It's like shopping, but it's free.
2. I ran with my son in the rain to the entrance to Sunday School and wasn't panting by the time we reached the door.  That wouldn't have been the case a few weeks ago.
3. I wake up in the morning, and I'm moderately happy.  Sure, I would like to have slept past 7, but it only takes me a few minutes to become a happy and productive member of this family.  
4. I am managing my time a lot better now.  I'm no longer feeling behind, rushed or late all the time.  I'm not exactly sure how this happened since I have been spending at least 7 hours a week working out and cooking almost everything I'm eating.  Somehow it feels as if I have more time.  
5. I was excited to shop for my Christmas party dress and the old me would have dreaded it.  The 6 was a little big, so I ordered a 4 and when it came in the mail...it zipped!  
6. I don't miss diet soda.
7. I don't miss bread.
8. I've influenced my hubby.  He's eating almost as good as I am and working out too.  He's looking pretty good. ;)
9. I'm starting to understand that not loading my kids up with carbs as snacks is good for them and I shouldn't feel guilty about it.
10. Feeling this in control of you body and this good in my own skin is something that I don't ever want to loose.  

Can you tell that I'm happy that I am doing this?  It ain't easy, but man it feels so good.  

Today was a rest day and boy did I enjoy it.  We did some errands as a family, and then cleaned and hung around the house.  We made dinner tonight, meatloaf from Everyday Paleo.  I actually saw one of my facebook friends post a photo of his version last night.  I didn't know he was doing the whole Paleo thing, so that was a fun surprise.  Anyway the meatloaf sounded great and I'm blessed with a husband who will try anything, so we made it.  It was pretty easy, and very tasty, but it didn't hold together very well.  When we tried to slice it, it basically just crumbled apart. Here is the before...

And the mixing...

And then me making a little meat baby...

Inspired by The Meat Baby of course...

So wrong.  Anyhow, this is how the meatloaf turned out after it we tried to slice it and it crumbled...

We roasted up some broccoli and brussels sprouts with a little olive oil, salt and pepper to go along side.  Of course I forgot to put the sweet potatoes in the oven, so no baked potatoes to go along with it.  The kids don't really like any type of potato or sweet potato dish anyway, so not a big deal.  I forgot to take a photo of my plate before I devoured it, so here is my girl's plate with her seconds...

She can eat brussels sprouts like there is no tomorrow.  Yum, yum, yum!  Now I'm off to watch the season finale of Boardwalk Empire!  I'm so excited!  Good night!

Week 3 Day 6

Cheat Meal!  I had been thinking about it for hours...definitely throughout my late afternoon run.  We decided on Chipotle after the kids were in bed, so I could really enjoy devouring it without having to constantly say, "Don't play with your food" or "Don't wipe your hands on your pants".  It took me at least 15 minutes with their online nutrition calculator to decide exactly what was worth being in my salad.  I was really surprised at all the sodium in their food.  But I guess even though it's good quality, it's still fast food.  So for my cheat meal I decided on a salad with steak, black beans, fajita veggies, guacamole and something I haven't had in weeks...CHEESE!  I decided to get a few salsas on the side, so I could add a half serving, because the salsas had a ton of sodium.  Who knew?  Here is what my meal looked like...

It was so tasty.  Part of the appeal is that I didn't have to cook it.  I didn't realize until I did this program how much I relied on packaged or prepared food, or eating out.  It really does feel better to cook what you eat and control the quality of ingredients, but it does take a lot of work.  Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of options for eating well while eating out.  It's making me a little nervous for all of the parties and eating out that are going to happen this month.  I'll have to prepare myself and have a plan going into these events.  But back to cheating.  My cheat meal wouldn't be complete without a cheat dessert...and this is what I have chosen.  

I love Snickers and I'm a sucker for all the holiday themed ones that they come up with.  This little guy isn't cheap, calorie wise I mean.  It has 160 calories, 9 grams of fat and 17 grams of sugar.  I'm going to savor every bite.  By the way, I did run today and did a little ab work to.  So hopefully the 761 calories burned today will help out with the cheating.