24 lbs down..hallelujah!

Hello to all!
I know my last blog was published today but it was originally written on the 10th..I just somehow forgot to click publish...sorry :) As the title declares, I have lost 24 lbs in just three weeks. Some of you are probably saying oh she has to be starving herself etc. Well let's get this straight here and now.. I am not starving myself nor will I ever because I LOVE food...hello that is what made me fat to begin with..lol. I have just been using portion control and making sure I eat things that are nutrient rich; meaning fruit in the morn and lots of veggies with every other meal. I use the "My plate" theory for portion control. If you are not aware of what that is; It is 1/2 plate veggies, 1/4 plate protein (3 oz)
& 1/4 plate starch ( if you must). Now my plate is 9inch round plate, not one of the bigger plates that are now called the "dinner" plate.  I also eat 5 meals a day; spreading my caloric intake throughout the day has lead to less cravings for me :)  I make sure I drink at least 8 8oz of water a day if not more. Last but not least, I gave up all sugars except for what it nay call for in a marinade etc. meaning NO DESSERT, CANDY or anything that is completely sugar. I also make sure I'm Done eating by 7pm and don't eat before 6am.
Now your probably thinking I must be working out hard core. Well actually I haven't done a thing until this week. I actually borrowed a routine from Lauren Conrad's Blog post. I have started with her three week challenge of 25 push-ups a day & 100 Crunches. As per usual I have altered it just a smidge. I do the 25 push-ups but I do 50 regular crunches and then I do 50 scissors. You can do the scissors in the traditional "V" position or laying on your belly w/ head rested on arms and lifting your legs in air then doing the scissor movement. I find the last position puts less pressure on my back at this moment.
So since I promised I would be Honest...Let me tell you about this weeks uh-oh moment.
I was given the honour of being invited to a lovely young ladies' cotillion. I knew that the menu was more or less going to be unhealthy. So instead of punishing myself, I figured what the heck after 24lbs I deserved a cheat day! The Dinner didn't even begin to be served til 8:30pm...no-no #1. The salad was your traditional side salad essentially still healthy until I put regular Ranch Dressing on it...no-no #2. The main course was grilled chicken breast and Green Bean Medley but then there was a  Poppy & Dill French roll and butter to be had...No-no #3. Lastly came the dessert, a lemon cake...no-no #4. Needless  to say after consuming the dessert, I had a massive headache due to the sugar rush. Guess what that taught me? I won't be eating sugar in form of desserts etc.  for a long time because that headache was enough of a reminder to allow me not to struggle with my sugar addiction :) Oh and let's not forget the 2 pieces of Dove Dark chocolate that decorated my place setting too...no-no #5. Lesson Learned my friends!

I have been quite active on Pintrest lately and if you follow me you have been seeing various different recipes I have found. I will share 1 of those today plus two "salads" that have become my fave; very strange for a former non-veggie eater.

Cheater Korean Beef Bowl - originally from damndelicious.net
1/3 cup Brown Sugar ( may substitute honey)
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 TBSP seasame oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground ginger
1 TBSP vegetable oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 LB of ground beef ( may use lean beef or substitute ground turkey)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Cilantro, chopped
Cooked rice for serving (may use brown rice)

 In a bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes & ginger. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3- 5 minutes, making to sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat. Stir in soy sauce mixture and green onions until well combined, allowing to simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes.
Serve immediately with rice; garnish with green onions, cilantro and sesame seeds.

Jamie's alterations:
I sprayed my frying pan with non-stick olive oil spray instead of vegetable oil.
I 86-ed the sesame seed oil & seeds
I used ground turkey, which I cooked thoroughly
I served it over brown rice

Beef Stir Fry ( serves 3)
10 Slices of 1/4 inch thick flank steak
2 green onion, thinly sliced
1/2 medium yellow squash, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg, scrambled
Cooked Brown Rice to serve
Sea Salt &  Fresh Ground Black Pepper to taste
1-2 TBSP Low- Sodium Soy Sauce

First spray pan with a non-stick olive oil spray. place flank steak in pan w/ garlic and ground pepper to taste. Cook til meat is browned and middle is barely red. Pull meat from pan, place on a plate to the side. Next place summer squash & green onion in pan.  Salt & pepper to taste. Saute until tender.
Remove from pan. Next scramble the egg in pan. In a different pan, Put the pre-cooked brown rice xand steak in the pan over simmer heat. Begin to add soy sauce until the rice turn just a tad bit browner. Next stir in Vegetable mixture & cooked scrambled eggs. Garnish with the top portion of green onion and serve.

Salad #1
1 small Avocado, sliced
1 Tomato ( I use Roma )
10-15 Baby Spinach leaves
1 Medium Cucumber, peeled
Salt & pepper to taste

Salad #2
1 Roma Tomato
1/2 Med. Cucumber
1/2 Small Avocado, sliced
8 (perline size) Fresh mozzarella balls
Salt & Pepper to taste

 I have also made this without the Cucumbers and still quite delicious :)
 As you can see all of these salads are made without any dressing of any kind...the avocado and and salt & pepper add enough pizazz to not warrant a dressing :)

Voluptuous Me to thinner curvier me ...in progress

Why on earth am I putting this on my blog? First, you are now my accountability peeps...congrats on your new honorary job on top of all of the other jobs you may have :) Secondly, as I try new healthy recipes or alter old recipes...I will pass on the wealth of info including where I found them. In all seriousness, I have been dieting since I was thirteen, I am now 38, my weight has always fluctuated (it would probably be a really nail biting roller coaster ride :) ). Up until I had kids I was pretty good at keeping it off & then I let myself believe the lie that my weight gain is ok. I was now a mother of two kids & how was I suppose to find time between all their activities to cook right, exercise etc? Whataburger, McDonalds, TacoBell, Papa Murpheys, and the un ending list of Mexican restuarants are only a few blocks away and provided dinner in less than 15mins and why would I choose what was healthy on the menu because I could get that at home.  Those are the lies I feed myself many a times. 

So here I am 100 pounds heavier than before my first pregnancy verbalizing that I am going to take back charge of my life w/ God's help & my endless accountability peeps to no longer be a food addict. I am going to share things w/ you that I learn along the way, as a matter of fact I will be very open & honest bout my weight loss experience. 

Why now? I have spent the last yrs worrying about my children and the surgeries w/ my youngest and the death of my dad which probably added stress to my life in which helped with the weight gain. Now I am better for it! Why? Now it's not jus about weight loss but about getting healthy. I want to be around to see my kids grow up and their kids grow up. I know God has the ultimate call in matters of death and when it's our time but I sure don't have to hurry death along :) The reason I say this is because I see myself following my dad's footsteps who had a massive heart attack at age of 54. He never showed any symptoms but struggled with weight as I have and when he passed on he was at his heaviest. So knowing this, I need to help ensure that I don't leave my kids without their mom at the age of thirty due to health reasons. Now that being said, if God calls me home, Hallelujah! I'm there :) 

Ok enough of the heavy hearted stuff...let's start with the first new recipes!Sorry I didn't take pics but I will in the future and add them :)

I took this recipe from the "Zumba" workout book. It is called Ann's favorite chicken. It was absolutely delish! So simple and easy to make.

 

ANN'S FAVORITE CHICKEN

4 - 6 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup Worschersire Sauce

1/2 cup Soy Sauce

Marinate chicken in sauce mixture for no less than 1 hr in the refrigerator. Place on grill and baste with marinade occasionally as it cooks.

Jamie's modifications:

I used low sodium soy sauce. I marinated the breasts for 4 hrs. I then removed the breasts from marinade and baked them in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 mins. I held onto the marinade mix for the next recipe. The chicken was extremely moist!

This next recipe I found on good ol' Pintrest. It is from a blog called "Twirl and Taste". It is called "Roasted Cabbage with Parmesan cheese with a drizzle of brown sugar". Needless to say I altered it just a little but I will give you the original recipe and then tell you how I altered it. By the way, I never use to be a cabbage fan but this takes the bitter taste away and has the possibility to make everyone a Cabbage Eater :)

Roasted Cabbage with Parmesan Cheese With a Drizzle of Brown Sugar

1 Medium Head Of Cabbage cut into 8 wedges(cleaned, cored)
1/4 Teaspoon per wedge of each seasoning; fresh ground pepper, salt, onion powder
1 tbsp. soft butter per wedge ( or olive oil to coat)
1/4 cup fresh fine grated parmesan cheese per wedge
1 Teaspoon brown sugar per wedge

Rub with butter. Place cabbage on heavy duty foil. Sprinkle w/ remaining seasonings. top w/ cheese. Pat down gently into butter coating. Seal up tightly. PLace on a sheet pan and bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 45 minutes; open foil, return to oven and cook for additional 20 minutes until the cabbage is brown around the edges.

Jamie's alterations:
I cut the cabbage into1/2 inch slices. Next I placed the slices in a 9x13 pyrex dish. I then brushed approximatelt 2 TBSP of olive oil across the slices. Next I used the marinade from the chicken above (soy sauce; low sodium & Worcestershire sauce) and basted the cabbage with it. Next I used  fresh ground pepper, garlic powder( I didn't have onion powder). I only used 1/2 tsp of organic brown sugar on each slice and a 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese sprinkled on all the slices; instead of 1/4 for each slice. Finally, I cover the pyrex dish w/ foil and put in the oven and baked as directed.

Needles to say it was loved by all :)