Downsizing Has Begun

I am just 4 days shy of seeing the latest work of art, my 6th granddaughter.  She will be entering the world this Friday, March 31, 2017.  I am preparing to head out for Florida on Sunday for a 9 day stay to help take care of new mommy,  her daughter, Charley and the new baby girl.  I must admit I am pretty excited.  A month ago, I was imagining it and thinking of how my weight is so up.  I was not liking the fact that I was in the 190's for this trip. I am happy to say, that I have lost about 7 pounds since then and am feeling way/weigh better!  My clothes are so much looser and I am getting excited about seeing the 170's when they arrive, maybe by late April.

When I wrote the last blog post, I was all gung-ho about getting my weight down, but the truth is, it wasn't until Ash Wednesday that it really started happening.  My husband and I decided to diet through lent, with days off on Sundays.   He hasn't been as faithful to the idea as me, but then again, when you have 15 pounds to lose and not 45 pounds to lose, I guess its easy to take breaks.  I made a decision to lose weight, look good and most importantly get healthy.  That is my goal!  I use the word diet loosely, because as my daughter Michelle has taught me, diets mean an end, like your going to eat good, then stop.  My goal is to eat healthy and enjoy guilty pleasures in small doses, in moderation.  For now, although not wanting to claim diet here, I would say, I am less about the guilty pleasures and moderation and more about seeing the 170's on my scale.  So I am more restrictive to what I am eating.  I am not really counting calories this time, but do think about not eating more than 400-450 a meal.  I think more about how much protein, vegetables and carbs.  Carbs, are my extreme moderation right now.  Although, my daily regimen starts most days with oatmeal, raisins, nuts, chia seeds and a little almond/coconut milk.  I don't want a fad diet, nor do I want to be on Atkins, I want to, you know..I want to poop!  So I am just being cautious of what I eat, how much I eat, and what it does to my body.  My body seems to be pretty happy right now!

So, yesterday was Sunday, you know "Cheat" day.  We decided to go see Beauty & The Beast, and that usually means greasy popcorn, candy and soda for my husband.  We talked about going out to dinner first as well.  As I sat there contemplating the night, I saw myself in the morning on my scale.  I got up off the couch and said, I'm cooking dinner.  I found cauliflower, brussel sprouts and chicken in the house.  My daughter taught me to make a high protein faux mash potato with cauliflower and it doesn't take long to make.  Simply steam a head of cauliflower saute an onion, take both of those add a can of white beans, mash in a processor or blender and salt to taste.  See more healthy recipes on her website:  busybeeorganics.com.  To make my brussel sprouts, I sliced them in half, and roasted them in the oven with olive oil and salt.  I made a sauce for the sprouts with a small amount of turkey bacon, a shallot and some chicken broth.  Mixed that together with the sprouts once roasted in the oven.  Now the chicken, I took chicken broth and cooked the chicken in that, seasoned with a garlic medley seasoning I love called "gobs of garlic", then a dab of half/half and made a slurry
to thicken with a lil flour.  The sauce was poured over my cauliflower mash and the chicken.  Yum what a dinner!

Then it was off to the movies...I convinced my husband to have trail mix we owned rather than buy popcorn or candy, and I had my water.

So...lets go back to me sitting on my couch envisioning going out to dinner followed by the usual poison at the movies...and how I thought about the morning scale...I decided to eat healthy at home and not eat the crap at the movies....




Today, 1/2 pound lighter!  186.6.   If you can think about the result of your actions prior to indulging you might take the lean road.  In my case, the food was so delish and the scale was my dessert!