Week Thirty-one - Successful!

Today has been most successful. I made it through the entire day and did not deviate from my path! I even kept a log of what I ate.

This was my day: Breakfast was 3 slices of crisp bacon and a cheddar cheese omelet. Dinner was Asian salad and a hamburger patty with cheese, however it was a 2 part dinner. I had the salad at my parents' house; they also had a pot of beans and kept trying to get me to eat them. They also offered me mint Oreo cookies! Outrageous! I politely declined and made sure they knew it was way too many carbs for me right now. After I came home I needed a bit more protein - thus the cheeseburger.

Yes, I even put the lid on the skillet to melt the cheese! 

And wouldn't you just know it, as soon as I sat down and turned on the TV there was a commercial that included a chocolate fountain! Really?? Ugh... I immediately had a craving for chocolate in any form.

Any... form...

I resisted...

I know I said I was not going to seek out any recipes to make, but right now my pantry is rather limited for low carb. So while perusing Facebook today I came across this recipe for Loaded Potato and Buffalo Chicken Casserole. I will be making it tomorrow, only instead of using potatoes I will use turnips. With that swap out, everything on there is on my Atkins Induction Phase food list. Yeah!!! Here is the recipe...

Loaded Potato and Buffalo Chicken Casserole

2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cubed (1")
8-10 medium potatoes (turnips), cut in 1/2" cubes
1/3 cup olive oil
1&1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
6 Tbsp. hot sauce

Topping:
2 cups fiesta blend cheese
1 cup crumbled bacon
1 cup diced green onion

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Spray a 9"x13" baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and hot sauce. Add the cubed potatoes (swap out for turnips) and stir to coat. Carefully scoop the potatoes into the prepared baking dish, leaving behind as much of the olive oil/hot sauce mixture as possible. Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and crispy and browned on the outside. While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the left over olive oil/hot sauce mixture and stir to coat. Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Top the cooked potatoes with the raw marinated chicken. In a bowl mix together the cheese, bacon and green onion and top the raw chicken with the cheese mixture. Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly delicious.

Serve with extra hot sauce and/or ranch dressing.

I will report back to you tomorrow after I've made it! But I bet it will be good.

Well that is how my Saturday went. See? Successful! I am feeling very good that I was finally able to make it through a day and not deviate at all. I hope your Saturday was just as happy as mine was! I will see you tomorrow.

…Lin…

Week Thirty-one - Sorry I have been MIA!

Yes, I am sorry to say I have been MIA. Why, you may ask? Well, let me tell you...

Right after my last post I wasn't feeling very well. In fact, I just kept getting worse and worse. I had the flu for over 3 weeks. Finally I was on the road to recovery and it was another week after that before I felt all better and back to normal again.

Then the struggle started...

I have struggled for the last 3 weeks trying to get back on track. 

I have been going to water aerobics with my mom, but I'm not really dedicated to it because it's more a social event than an exercise class, although the water does feel good! 

I have had family visit - my brother came from Palm Springs, and then my step-sister from South Carolina. It does NOTHING to help one's resolve when eating out so much or enjoying the brother's gourmet cooking.

Then on the 31st of July I had my 63rd birthday; the celebrating starting the day before with winetasting and a sumptuous dinner. 

Now I was determined, starting August 1st, that I would get back on track. I mean, Cape Cod is only 29 days away, and I wanted to lose 10 more pounds!  Remember, I'm already down 25 lbs.

Well, it was not quick, I assure you.

Truth be told, you may not know that I had lost an additional 5 pounds when I was sick, but yes, the total is now at 25!  (Or maybe 27 - I lose count! I am blonde...)

I received some old family pictures from my cousin and seeing one of them was the catalyst to make me realized I needed to continue to lose weight. This is it:

This was taken in 1987 - left to right we have son Jon (age 7), me (not quite at my heaviest - I gained another 20 lbs after this was taken), daughter Megan (age 1), son Eric (age 12) and husband Paul. (For the 34 years we were married his weight never fluctuated more than 10 lbs either way. Wish I could have said the same for me! At this point in our marriage I had gained 140 lbs.)

As I've stated before, I had gastric bypass in 1999. I lost a total of 180 lbs. I am 33 lbs from that goal, and I would like to surpass it by an additional 10 lbs.

So, August 1st was my first day back on track - at least it was until the fundraiser Captain and I attended. For the most part I stayed on track - other than the fact that the food was Mexican theme and everything was served on tortillas or tortilla chips. I avoided most, but not all of it.

Now, determined to get back on track, I am going back to my roots and referencing the Atkins Induction Phase to keep it simple. No fancy recipes, as I had been focusing way too much on how to eat more dramatically. That would be fine if I were cooking for more than just me; but since it is only me most of the time I will Keep It Stupid Simple!

K. I. S. S. 

To say I have missed you is an understatement. I have missed sharing my days, hearing feedback from my friends, and most of all I have missed the accountability.

I am back, am getting on track, and looking forward to the 10 pound weight loss celebration before I leave for Cape Cod on August 29th.

As always, thanks for hanging with me! Until tomorrow!

…Lin… 

Week Twenty-Four - A Quiet Wednesday - NOT!!!

It's Wednesday and my daily grind has started. Captain has had breakfast and is gone; I've made myself a bacon sandwich on my almond flax bread and I'm sitting here enjoying my second cup of coffee.

Then the phone rings...

It's mom calling about dad. His blood pressure spiked up to almost 200 systolic, so he took his Cataprese, which brings his BP down in about 30 minutes. Unfortunately it went too low to 100 systolic. I rushed over there to see what was happening first hand. He had a little bit of coffee, which can raise his BP, and it was now 120 systolic; the diastolic was always in the mid-50's. After talking with the doctor we are slightly modifying his meds, hopefully for the last time.

My brother had gone out for a bike ride this morning before everything went wrong, and he finally called to say he was stuck on the other side of the river and how did he get back across so he could come home? I tried to explain it to him, but the words #epicfail comes to mind; so I picked him up.

I am a good sister!

Fortunately when we got back dad was taking a nap, which is a good thing. And since it was past lunch, John decided to eat something. There was pot roast left over from dinner so he took some of the meat, added barbecue sauce to it, put it on a ciabatta roll, and had a great sandwich. I, on the other hand, just took the meat with barbecue sauce and ate it as is.

Um... yeah, that was not a good choice, apparently. It sat in my stomach like a rock the rest of the day.

I finally decided to eat some cantaloupe about 9 o'clock tonight, and that was it for me. I was done eating.

It has been another successful day, even though I would love nothing more than to eat a big bowl of rice with butter and soy sauce. #CRAVINGS Ugh... But I resisted. So I am calling it a night, wishing you all well and sending you much love. I will be checking back in tomorrow!

…Lin…

Week Twenty-Three - It's That Tuesday!

Yes, I am pleased with myself! Made it thru Monday and now Tuesday. I love how I feel when I've stayed on track.

Monday night I did have the munchies after I had posted my blog, so I ate one of those vanilla bombs. They are really rich! Next time I will make the servings smaller. I also pan roasted some walnuts. YUM!!!

Tuesday I went to my parents' house because my brother was coming to town. Before I headed over there I made myself bacon and an egg. Their place is a mine field with all the goodies they keep on hand! Good grief!

Dad bought a pot roast for dinner so he seared it before putting it in the crockpot with the potatoes and veggies to cook for dinner. Then we were on our way to Costco to shop!

I stocked up on a few basic - peanut butter for cookies, nuts for snacking, and coffee. They have fabulous Costa Rican coffee. MMMmmm...

It is so good!

After shopping we decided we needed to get out the coffee grinder and see just how good it really was. And yes, it's just as good as we were hoping it would be!

I then got a phone call from Captain. He had a hard time getting out of town (he had been invited to dinner that night) and he wanted to know if brother John & I wanted to meet him at The Happy Viking for a pint.  Absolutely!!!

And what was the pint? Heretic Brewing's Evil Cousin. The boys liked it. I try to avoid beer! LOL! Yes, I had my Bloody Mary... After they had their two beers we headed back to the house, where dinner was waiting for us.

Now remember, I only had bacon and an egg for breakfast and a few nuts that afternoon. So when dad got dinner on the table, well, it looked amazing! Not only did we have the pot roast with potatoes and carrots, but a kale salad and raw broccoli with ranch dressing. I ate everything except the potatoes. And might I just say, it was all yummy. Dad is such a good cook!

And can you believe what Mom wanted for dessert? Yep, pumpkin pie. I did have a couple of bites, but that was it. Not enough carbs to affect my day.

Calling it a night, Captain and I finally came home. A little conversation, a little news, and that was it - good night!

Now on to a new day. I know it will be just as successful as today was, so I can't wait! See y'all Wednesday!

…Lin…

Week Twenty-Three - Happy Monday!

Yesterday I told Captain I was getting really serious about watching what I eat because, remember, only 2 months until Cape Cod! And today has been successful.

My morning started with bacon - I cooked 6 thin slices so I could eat some now, some later. Out the door I go because I have a Quality Assurance committee meeting at Peach Tree Health.

After that I stopped at Mom's house so we could fill out her application for Butchie's Pool. We took it over there and got us all enrolled and... oops! She forgot her checkbook! Well, I got a check from her later and when I go over there tomorrow I will take it to them.

On the way home from Mom's I did a little bit of grocery shopping. I needed a few basic things, such as a new bag of generic Splenda, because I was going to make my Vanilla Fat Bombs again. If you haven't made this #recipe yet, I would highly encourage it. It really helps cut down on the cravings!

After that it was a quiet day spent going through 5 days worth of emails and such. Finally I decided to have a bit of dinner, so I made a beautiful salad. I used George Stella's #recipe for Green Goddess Dip as the salad dressing. I couldn't find any tarragon so I used dill. One word to describe it would be "yummy!" My salad had lettuce, ham, cheese and artichokes on it. So good and filling!

Doesn't this dip look delicious?

Maddie and I went for a little walk; I came back and relaxed with a glass of wine. Just one glass! Merlo Vineyard's 2011 Rosé chilled icy cold. Now I am going to bake a loaf of Almond Flax Bread. I will let you know how that #recipe tastes tomorrow.

In the meantime have a great night and I will see you tomorrow!

…Lin…

Week Twenty-Two - Pint Night, a Graduation, & the Rest of the Week!

Today I am feeling really focused. It feels good after the duck walk I've been on the past few days. Yesterday I was having cravings but did not cave into them. Sleep has become very erratic too, as I have had those darn Charley horses! They are not as bad as they were (am I getting used to walking more?), but when I have to get up and walk them out I want to snack! What's up with that? I just don't get why it gives me the munchies.

Tuesday morning was a quick breakfast of ham, then I was off to get new sparklie stuff on my nails! Checked on the parents (dad had a bad BP night, but is better this morning), came home and had lunch. I was going to have a tuna salad made with olives and marinated artichokes, but ended up not having the tuna, just the rest of the stuff. That's because I knew there wasn't a lot of time between lunch and Happy Viking. HV ended up being our usual - chicken wings and the Bloody Mary for me, a burger and pint for him.

Wednesday I was on my way to Indio to attend my niece Emily's high school graduation.  It is a very long drive - almost 600 miles - and so worth it, because not only did I get to see Emily, I also got to see her sister Danni, who is graduating from UC Santa Barbara.

Emily and Danni.
Aren't they beautiful?

Thursday was the graduation ceremony. It was a beautiful evening for it too, since it was outside. As the ceremony went on, a full moon rose in the east. The heavens were smiling that night!

She is now officially out of high school and getting ready for college - CS San Francisco!

Friday was the semi-formal graduation party and dinner at home that Emily requested. It was a sit-down dinner and we had grilled flank steak with olive tapenade, sour dough baguette with butter and roasted garlic, roasted red potatoes, a beautiful caprese salad, and creme brulee for dessert. Just a fabulous dinner! And the wine flowed like... well, wine!

Saturday I was up at 6:15 because I was taking Danni back home to Santa Barbara before I headed home. I had not driven up the coast in a long time and I really enjoyed myself.

Santa Barbara, California

Even though it took me 150 miles out of my way it was worth it. We got to discuss boys, her upcoming wedding, and all sorts of grown up things. It was so much fun moving into a new phase of life for her.

I got home late Saturday night, but not before stopping in Sacramento and having dinner with Captain. We ate at On the Border, one of our favorite chain Mexican restaurants. We also made plans for dinner Sunday at Pete's Brewhouse (pizza and Angry Orchard hard cider), as I had a Groupon that had to be used before it expired.

A boy and his pizza!

Even though I had not been strictly sticking to my "diet" but not going crazy overboard, I reiterated to Captain that Monday I will be getting back on track because Cape Cod is only 2 months away. He said he will support me. Hum... that remains to be seen as he has a tendency to order "pizza bones" at Happy Viking. Those are evil little pieces of pizza dough cut into bone shapes and covered with butter, garlic and cheese, baked up all hot and bubbly. Aghhh!!!

I know I stated on last Monday's blog that I wanted to blog daily, but this week has just not afforded me that pleasure. So you got the rest of my week all on one. Sorry... I'm hoping next week will be better!

So that has been my past 7 days. Hopefully the next 7 days will be more focused and in line with my goals. I will be starting water aerobics this week and they have a scale there, so I will be weighing myself more and sharing my progress.

Hope your week was productive! Sending much love your way.

…Lin…

Week Twenty-Two - Refocused with Goals!

After waivering a lot this last weekend it is time to get focused once again. Blogging daily helps me stay focused, so I am back to the daily grind, as boring as my life is.

It's Monday, the start of a new week. I've been so busy helping take my parents to all their appointments that I haven't had a chance to really try any new recipes, even though I have a bunch I would love to try. So my breakfast was the ever present hot dogs. I am pathetic that way, aren't I?

I had to take the parents on lots of errands this morning - VA, Big 5 Sporting Goods, Target, Butchie's Pool - and then I realized it was almost 1:30 in the afternoon. I was hungry!

So I told them that I wanted to go to Sizzler for their salad bar, and did they want to go or should I take them home? They decided to go; and needless to say, they were both hungrier than they realized.

Mom and I had the salad bar, dad had the fish n chips. I had a huge salad with carrots, cabbage, beets, peppers and spinach with blue cheese dressing; their seafood salad (I wish I knew what their seasonings are in it because it's yummy!); and chicken wings. I also had a couple bites of their broccoli cheddar soup. I was stuffed when I got done. Parents loved their food, too. It was a success, to say the least.

After dropping them off I ran my own errands - pet food and yarn for a baby blanket. I love to crochet. I knew I would not be hungry for dinner tonight, but I did want something to crunch on. I am glad I had celery and peanut butter on hand. It's a life saver! It's a winning combination! It's a match made in heaven! OK, maybe I went a little overboard. But it does assuage the need to eat something, and that is what is important.

It's bedtime, and I'm happy to say it's been a winning day for me. One day closer to Cape Cod; one day closer to losing the next 20 lbs. I hope you had a winning day, as well.

…Lin…