Meals & Snacks That Keep You on Track

Ever find yourself in a pinch, hunger has crept up on you and you find yourself not prepared? Nothing is in the fridge to heat up or perhaps your are out of this or that? Not being prepared can be a big downfall for those of us trying to lose weight.

I have found that preparing things in advance for the week has help tremendously. Having low cal snacks (wheat thins/pretzels/nuts) bagged into serving sizes on hand, a container of tuna/chicken salad in the fridge, fresh fruit/veggies always available and even leftover soup to be great ways to not lose focus. But there is another item I have found that I really enjoy as of late and that is steamers. Pre-packaged, yes, but the taste is wonderful and the calories are low.  I like Birdseye Roasted Potatoes in Chive & Butter Sauce. The whole bag is just 260 calories. Lunch! Broccoli and cheese is another yummy steamer and LOW cal! Steamers are relatively inexpensive and filling and for someone constantly on the move or even a working person, these microwaveable dishes can't be beat.

The key here is to make sure to not only have healthy choices on hand, but also go-to foods for times when you feel the need to eat right now and not spend and hour cooking.

What meals do you reach for on the go?

My Thanksgiving Nightmare

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone. For me it was literally gone Thanksgiving eve. It became very clear that my stomach has shrunk over the past few weeks because I could no longer eat like I could in the past.

I cooked the turkey and trimmings and my family came over early afternoon. I had told myself that I would have 1 piece of pie. 1 lead to 2 lead to 3... I felt extremely bloated, overstuffed and just horrid. My family left around 6ish and by 7pm I was in the bathroom vomiting everything up. :(  I was in tears thinking of what I had done to myself. At the same time it was an eye opener. I easily consumed over 3000 calories. And here, the past several weeks I had been so faithful to my caloric goal. Why is it that I think because its a holiday I've earned a get out of jail free card to eat whatever I want? I realize that kind of thinking has led me to where I am today, overweight.

Today, I woke to pecan pie, dutch apple, cherry and 1/2  a pan of pumpkin gooey butter cake. I started my day off by eating a couple pieces and then realized they had to go or I surely would eat it ALL! So, I bagged them all up and took them out to the trash. Done deal. Moving on... Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are also ready to get back on track. 

A Sign of Good Things to Come!

Today when I was figuring out what to wear, I eyed a pair of pants that just 2 weeks ago I could not pull up over my thighs. :(  Nothing fancy, just a pair of jeans I enjoyed wearing that I couldn't get into because of the pounds I had packed on, Well, I took a notion to give it a try. I've lost nearly 10 pounds, what the heck,  To my amazement, they slid easily over my thighs and buttoned/zipped just fine! Of course they are not baggy or falling off me, but I can now wear them. Definitely a sign of good things to come.  Monday is off to an amazing start! Have a great day!

Making My Life a Bit Simpler

How about that, two posts in one day! Someone must have a napping kid today tee-hee!

Ok, so my earlier post I told you all how I was cleaning the kitchen, purging the garbage and then hitting the grocery. We are pretty well set for a while on meat and "go-withs" as  I often refer to them. But snacks, well that is another story.

So now that all the crap is gone, I needed to replenish some items, including snacks. This time I decided to go with what will be easiest for me in a pinch. Now by that I don't mean I bought a bunch of pre-packaged crap, well, I did buy some 90 calories snacks, but what I mean is I sort of made my own little snacks. I took bags of pretzel sticks, marshmallows, reduced fat wheat thins and sorted them into snack size baggies in individual servings. I bought nuts that were prepacked and then a tin of nuts for my boy. I also found laughing cow queso fresco chipotle cheese (light) and bought some of that. So if someone wants a snack, there is no counting or measuring. Now, its grab it and go!

I got the kids involved. We talked about how there is food that is good for your body and that which is not. We talked about how too much candy not only rots your pretty teeth but makes your body blow up like a balloon and how hard it is to move around when that happens. Overall, I explained how it is important to be healthy so we can run and play and do the things we like to do. For example, we still have "ice cream" its just that on the package they call it frozen yogurt, LOL! Instead of sitting down with a bag of chips, we now have serving size bags readily accessible of pretzels or cheese puffs. Baby steps. Just trying to make life simpler and letting my kids help so they see the importance of making better choices. What have you done lately to make your life a bit simpler?

Cleaning Out the Crap!

That is my goal for today. I'm hitting the cupboards and the shelf and wiping out ALL the crap foods! All the high calorie, fat laden junk. The Halloween candy is going bye-bye! Although I am not quite sure where I will be disposing of it, but it WILL be leaving the house. Then, off to the grocery to replenish the good stuff that our family enjoys.Halloween is over and thus the candy needs to be gone too. It is so easy to lose sight of your goals when you've got a 5+ pound box of candy in your kitchen. Personally, I have been having a "few little" pieces here and there and it's getting out of control. My kids are wanting it everyday and it's just crazy!

Another thing that added to my weight gain besides being TOM was that I didn't drink enough water. I KNOW that when I drink ample water the scale always shows it. So I need to make sure and keep drinking the H20!

So, that is the plan for today. Had a little jump in my weight Friday. I know why. I'm doing something about it and moving on. I've got 25.8 pounds to lose by Christmas and IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. :)

Getting It..

This has been one discombobulating week for me. For starters there was Halloween Monday..all the oodles and oodles of chocolate goodness. Now too mention pizza for dinner and a chocolate cake donut! ARGH!  Then the very next day was my little boys' birthday...cake & ice cream blah, blah, blah... Throw in 1 or 2 fast food trips and its been whack!

Interestingly though I did some things different. I had "1" piece of cake, a smallish piece. "2" pieces of pizza instead of half the damn pizza. Also, McDonalds.. NO FRIES. Hear me? NO FRIES, none, not even one. 1 miniature candy bar instead of 5 or 6....ya getting this?  Yes, I am GETTING IT...I am realizing I CAN enjoy things I like, but keeping in moderation..I am realizing the FRIES are a weakness of mine and I need to just not go there at all. But CAKE...oh sweet baby Jesus, me and cake have a love affair that goes back as long as I can remember. I ate 1 piece on his birthday and a piece yesterday. Today, I am waiting for my sister to get off work and come take the damn thing to her house. YAY!

Thing is I am not denying myself. I am not passing things by. I am not letting myself feel deprived for sake of weight loss.. Nope, I am getting it. And it feels good. OH and BTW, lost 1.2 pounds this week!!