Sonoma Diet day two (a little late)

Yesterday was a good day. I've been starting each day with one fried egg and a Thomas' Better Start Multigrain English Muffins. These are "light", with 1/3 the calories of their regular product but 1/3 of your daily supply of fiber. Honestly, I don't know how these companies are making these high fiber and whole grain products that taste so good and have good texture. I have a feeling an expose  is going to come out to tell us these companies have been lying to us, but for now I'm going to go with it! Here are some of the nutritional facts from the Thomas':

Calories: 100
Calories from fat: 10
Total fat: 1g (no saturated, no cholesterol)
Sodium: 170mg
Total carbs: 25g
Dietary fiber: 8g
Protein 5g

Diet wisdom from at least a couple of gurus I've read say to subtract the fiber from the total carbs, and that's the number you should be worried about. That means these have 17g, which isn't all that bad for bread. On Sonoma, this is a reasonable amount. In the first wave, this is fine as long as I watch it closely the rest of the day.

Yesterday for lunch we had chicken and black bean wraps, which were totally tasty. According to the recipe, we were supposed to make a black bean spread, but we didn't have all the spices so we just warmed up the beans and put them in straight. Whole grain tortilla, of course. I loved it. For dinner we had her grilled tri-tip, except we were lazy and broiled it. It's seasoned with rosemary and I don't know what else, but it's totally delish. The key here, since it's red meat, is portion control. I think you get 4oz of meat. We had a simple spinach salad with it (baby spinach and sliced almonds), and did her recipe for broccoli, roasted red peppers and kalamata olives. That we did not like. We don't really like bell peppers, but are trying to be open minded because they're one of the "super foods" she lists in the book. We can tolerate them in some applications, but this was definitely not one of them. *shudder*

In the evening, I DJed a dance (http://www.jenniferdance.blogspot.com), and ended up dancing quite a bit. I've been nursing my sprained ankle and not doing a whole lot (as my friend and bludgeon Patience would say, using it as an excuse), so I'm pretty well out of shape. I danced a lot, though, and my ankle survived pretty well and isn't any worse today. I got a lot of exercise and had a great time. On the way home, we stopped for Del Taco Tacos Del Carbon. The chicken ones have only 5 grams of fat and are really tasty! If you're going to do fast food because your starving, it's not a bad way to go.

Tonight I have my 20th high school reunion. I'm not sure what's going to happen meal-wise, but I have a feeling it'll be bad. I'm going to enjoy myself but try to be modest. Have a great day, everyone!

Back on the Sonoma Diet

Well, hello, blog! Long time no see. I know, I'm a horrible friend. What have I been up to? Well, I was working for a horse trainer for 10 months and lost a ton of weight. At one point, I was at 178, a total loss of 50 pounds. That rocked! I was working so hard, physically, that I was burning probably 4-5,000 calories a day and eating as much as whatever I want. Then, I decided to leave that job to go back to working at home full time, writing. Funny, all of a sudden I can't eat whatever I want anymore. Oh, and then I was helping a friend with a horse and it freaked out and knocked me around a bit and I ended up with a sprained ankle. Therefore, not much exercise in the past three weeks. I know, I know. Excuses. I could find exercises to do, but I'm lazy.

So, anyway, I've packed on a little extra padding again, so I need to go back to watching what I eat and *sigh* exercising. Greg and I love The Sonoma Diet, so we're going back on that. We love it because the food is fantastic--she gives a lot of great recipes. Of course, you don't have to follow her meal plans and recipes, but it's a great way to start, get some ideas and get used to this way of eating. It's basically all about balance, whole grains and lean meats, but it's also about making food taste really great so you feel satisfied. You get a wide variety of food, and it's a way of eating that you can live with for the rest of your life. The hardest part is that there is a lot of prep work and cooking involved, but we like that, and it gives us something to do together.

For lunch today, we made the Greek salad with shrimp. Delicious! We did a little extra prep so we'd have some ready-to-go salad toppings to go with dinner tonight. Tonight's dinner isn't exactly on the plan, but it could be worse--it's turkey meatloaf, sweet potatoes and salad. We bought a pre-made turkey meatloaf at the store (it's Jennie-O brand, which has a lot of great turkey products) before we decided to go back on Sonoma. It's close enough. We'll try to steer clear of packaged foods from now on when we can, but we don't want it to go to waste and it's not that bad.

Now I should probably get some exercise...Maybe in the pool!

Losing weight is bitter sweet

OK, this post is going to prompt you to say, "Oh, WAH. Call the Wahmbulance!" However, I'm going to post it anyway, because it's a triumph as well as a whine.

So, remember when I showed my horse in halter back in April? I think I posted about going suit shopping. Anyway, I had found this gorgeous suit, and it was a 16--we had started with a pile of 18s and had to put them back. I was so happy that day that I was able to step down in size, although it was admittedly a bit tight--I looked pretty good in it standing up, but didn't want to sit down in it! Then, by the time the show came, it actually fit better. That was cool.

Well, I only wore that suit a couple of times. I was invited to a Christmas party the other night, and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to wear the suit, since it was a little dressy. I took a shower, put on makeup (something I rarely do) and earrings and everything, then went to get dressed.

When I pulled on the pants, I came to a sudden, horrifying realization. They were too big. Like, WAY to big. Practically falling off me. So big that putting the jacket over them to hide the bagginess wasn't even an option. Talk about a bummer! Yes, bully for me for losing so much weight in seven months that my suit was way to big...but...dang it, I hardly got to wear it! It was an expensive suit!

So, I had to find something to wear. I rifled through my clothes and discovered that even though my 16s were falling off me, I still couldn't wear my 14s. What the Hell??? I have no clothes. They're either falling off or just tight enough in the tummy and thighs that they pooch at the pockets. I have boxes upon boxes of skinny clothes...it's time to get back into them!

So, there you go. Call the wahmbulance driver! My clothes are too big!

Lost another pound

I have lost another pound, which puts me at 180 and a total of 48 pounds lost. The last time I calculated my BMI, I was at 31.5, which is considered obese. I looked through my old post trying to figure out when I was looking at that before, but I can't find it. In any case, I am no longer obese! I am now simply overweight...whee! My goal was 160, and I only have 20 pounds to go...cake, right? If I tried really hard, I could probably do that in two months. However, I am still not very good about watching my calories, so it'll take twice that long. That's OK with me, as long as it stays off!

We're headed into the holiday season. I don't plan to binge on sweets TOO much, but I'm sure there will be some here and there. I made the executive decision to not put candy canes on the tree this year, because none of us need that much temptation.

Good luck with the holidays, everyone...don't do anything you'll regret later!

Four more gone...

Hey all, I haven't been very diligent about this blog, have I? I also haven't been very diligent about my diet, although I try to make healthy choices sometimes, at least. Luckily, I have a job that keeps me working hard all day and burning lots of calories! I have lost four more pounds since my last update, so that brings me to 47 total lost. It's funny...I'll stay stuck at a weight for a long time, then suddenly I'll drop several pounds all at once. I'm feeling fitter and leaner all the time! I'm wearing my daughter's jeans and all of my belts are too big. I'm lovin' it!

43 pounds gone!

After a little over a year, I am now down 43 pounds! If I were more diligent I'd be at my goal weight by now, but that's OK...better slow than never. My new job keeps me hopping, which is great. I'm getting fitter all the time...the first week, I was in so much pain at the end of the day that I'd almost want to cry...now, I can go running after dinner. Just under a month ago, I bought a pair of size 16 white jeans to show in at Sporthorse Nationals, but at the time I couldn't wear them in public because my thighs looked too gross. Now, they look great! I also bought a pair of size 14...I can get into them, but they pull just a little. I'm hoping to lose just a few more pounds before I leave on September 20th so I can wear those, too!

Checking in

So, my new job is going great...I'm starting to get the hang of everything and learning a lot. I'm working about 11 hours a day, but I hardly feel it anymore. In fact, after grooming all day, I still have enough energy left over to work my horses or even go on a trail ride. I'm losing weight, although my stupid scale can't seem to decide how much. My clothes are definitely getting looser and you can see more muscle definition!

Just under a month to go until nationals...I'm having a hard time fitting in my running with my schedule, but I MUST!