Meggan's Journey to a Healthier Lifestyle

Sorry I have been MIA the last couple of days. But work and kids take up too much of my day. I haven't had much food that was any different. I did have a social event last night that catered in BBQ. So again like I did a few weeks back...I loaded my plate with lettuce and veggies and put a scoop of un-sauced BBQ meat on top of it...I think it was pork. I used only a bit of Italian dressing on the raw broccoli ...still can't eat that plain. And counted the fat in the pulled pork as my fat. Needless to say I have been HUNGRY the last couple of days... I am off to my next session with my Profile Counselor to see why. Weight loss total still hovering around 12lbs.

So crisis averted...I weighed myself again yesterday and that 3lbs from Sunday was back down and another 3lbs down as of this morning. So I am down 12.44 lbs after 12 days. So I promise not to freak out anymore over such spikes. I like to see the daily progression...but I wish I had a warning on those weird days to stay off the scale. Eventually the coolness of the synced scale will wear off and I will only weigh in before a counseling session. So yesterday was day 12...my meals are getting pretty predictable. I did try to make my morning routine smoother(and quieter to now wake the house up with my bullet blender) by premixing my first meal replacement shake the night before. So I blended the strawberry shake with PB powder, spinach, water, and ice. I pull the "smoothie" in the freezer and left myself a note to remember to grab it. I also pre-made my "broccoli cheese" soup(See yesterday's post for that concoction) with everything but the Profile soup powder. ...

A couple new game changers, a set back, and am hungry. Friday night we had fajitas!! They were yummy! Eric grilled off flank steak and squash(cuz I am not a fan of peppers) and we used romaine leaves instead of tortillas. I used one wedge of laughing cow and Fat free sour cream. I would have also used salsa...but we discovered mold growing in my salsa...so next time I will definitely use it. My other veggie was raw broccoli with 1.5 Tablespoon of Yogurt based dressing to dip.     I ended my day with a Chocolate Hazelnut Hot Cocoa shake with a scoop of PB powder. I slept in until 9:30am so that threw my whole eating schedule off. Started with a hot chocolate shake. Mid morning snack - I discovered the my miracle PB powder tastes good with the strawberry shakes too!! I also added spinach to it as a smoothie and can't taste it a bit...plus I get another veggie in. For lunch I had two cups veggies and the Profile Tomato Soup...I made it with a bit of broth and I added...

As of this morning I have lost 9.8lbs...I would say 10 just to round up...but my very first initial weigh-in I was wearing clothes, including a sweater and every weigh-in since has been either without clothes or with very little clothing...So I don't feel like I can really say 10lbs yet. I started the day with a strawberry Profile shake blended with ice on my way out the door. I was hungry by 9:15am but was able to hold out until about 9:45 to have my Hot Chocolate/Chai Tea shake. At 11:30am I had my spinach salad with carrots and cucumbers, yogurt based dressing mixed with Panera poppy seed dressing(so I counted it as 3/4 of a fat) and one wedge of Laughing Cow Cheese, and a cup of Profile's Chicken soup made with broth. It is now 2:19 and I am hungry. I try to hold out until 3:30 to have a snack...but I will not make it that far today. I did notice that I slept pretty hard last night (sans the baby waking up at 2:30am for the first time in months)...a quick diaper chan...

Starting the morning with a Strawberry shake...adding ice for the smoothie effect... By 9:30 was hungry again...was able to hold out until 10am where I created a "game changer" Chocolate shake made with hot water(cocoa effect) and Peanut Butter Powder....I can not say it enough...GAME CHANGER...This is something I would even consider drinking after I reach my goal!! For lunch I had a spinach salad with broccoli/carrot slaw. I split my fat up between a low cal salad dressing and a Laughing cow Cheese. FYI the white cheddar has the same cal/fat content as the swiss light and tastes way better!! And a cup of the Profile Chicken soup. Still not my favorite...but on the REBOOT plan I need 4 meal replacements and one will soon get bored with only Shakes. Remember to use vegetable or chicken broth instead of water and it makes it better. Snack what a Profile glazed Sugar Cookie bar and a glass of mixed berry fiber drink that I mixed with a carbonated flavored water....hoping t...

On Wednesday 1/20, I started the REBOOT program on my own accord. I hadn't pumped in over 24 hours and just decided to jump in. I had Eric's menu to go off of and wanted to try his Profile Products anyway before I went into the store this afternoon for my weekly meeting and stock up session. I will admit I felt a little bit hungrier. Eric's hunger scale on his chart showed a high hunger rating on his first day too but it seemed to taper off after the second day. So I am hopeful. I had a shake for meal 1, a Profile Soup(Chicken...better made with broth, fyi) for meal 2, a soup(tomato...I didn't mix it well enough) and roasted broccoli and a spinach with beet salad for meal 3(lunch), one of my last 10g protein bars(supposed to have been a 15g bar but hadn't made it to the store yet to stock up) and spoon full of powdered peanut butter(Profile freebie).....note to self...add some of this powder to shakes for a better taste on those that need a little help. I went in...

Back to work after the MLK holiday. This morning I had a mint chocolate shake mixed with plain chai tea and hot water for my version of a caffeinated hot cocoa. I had my 1 cup of Kashi Go - Lean Crisp and 1/2 almond milk. For morning snack around 10am, I had 1/2 of a banana, .5oz of white cheddar cheese, a triangle of laughing cow and 15 wheat thins. I am seriously going to miss my carbs and fruit when I switch to REBOOT on Thursday. For lunch I had left over Paella -  5oz of chicken, 1/3 of a cup of brown rice/green pea mixture, a spinach and beet salad with Panera poppy seed dressing, and lowfat yogurt with an almond sliver mix in(not a plan approved yogurt...but I had to finish up my old yogurts rather than toss them all out). I forgot to have my other half of my banana at lunch...so I had it a 2pm...between lunch and my afternoon snack and I was noticing I was hungry around 2pm but too early to eat my snack. But half a banana isn't cutting it...so I will have half my snac...

Days 3-5 happened over a long MLK weekend with a house guest. It was definitely a challenge to work through meals with 5 different requirements. First we have an 11.5 mo baby that requires some soft finger foods; a 5.5yo that requires something OTHER than the easy to microwave chicken nuggets and rotation of 2 vegetables; a 30 something visitor that, though health conscience, is not restricted to what Eric and I can eat; a 30 something on the MOM Profile(that's me!); and a 30 something on the REBOOT profile. Though this made for very challenging meal prep...I think we were able to make it work. First off the way we made it work was that 1.) Eric was sick a day and 1/2 so he left his meals to what every he could/wanted to consume...he followed his REBOOT plan, but did end up skipping a few meals because he wasn't hungry/feeling up to it. 2.)Because I am still allotted small amounts of carbs, we were able to just make a larger batch of what I was eating or add an extra side ...

Let me start by saying...CHOCOLATE SHAKE for the WIN!! I normally don't like chocolate "flavoring"...but way better than yesterday's vanilla. Mixed it with my warm plain Chai Tea and mmmm it tasted like hot cocoa! Note to self...buy more chocolate shake mix. So I got home form work yesterday...very hungry. I had not planned on eating my afternoon stack until I got home...but I think that might be a bad idea. Note to self #2...pack 2 snacks for the day and eat one on the way home. Eric welcomed me home with a crabby..."I'm STARVING!!" His first day was a lot more difficult than mine...but then again he is really doing the whole REBOOT plan and I am at a comfortable MOM plan. So note to self #3...be prepared next week when you switch over. Savor my dairy and small starch rations. Eric wanted to make dinner immediately and I still had a snack to eat before dinner...so he made the big kid her dinner and while I ate my snack and then he made our dinner ...

Last night I packed my food for my day at work...only to realize I was double booked at lunch with a going away party at an Italian Restaurant and a 2 hour project meeting that was also serving Pizza. Arrrgghhhh. Snag 2 and 3 hit simultaneously. Alright, First day out of the blocks...challenges will only continue. I can do this...right?! Okay "sorry, guy-I-have-sat-across-from-for-3 1/2 years,  I can not attend your going away lunch because I have to attend this project meeting." Snag 2 diverted. I brought my lunch...and will eat it before the noon meeting. Snag 3 semi diverted...though the smell of pizza in the conference room might just piss me off. So, so far today I have used one of the meal replacement shakes (Vanilla) and mixed it with plain Chai Tea. I forgot my measuring cup so I am not sure I got the water to mix ration right...it was a little too thick for my liking and had that diet shake aftertaste...but at least I got my caffeine in with out needing my regul...

After a "fulfilling" breakfast at First Watch, Eric and I had our first sessions with our counselors at Profile. They split us up because I am still pumping breast-milk for EmJ and need to follow a higher calorie diet...at least for the next couple of weeks. I will be tapering down even more between now and her birthday. So our first meeting. We get separated, as I mentioned and Eric gets what he calls the "Poor-Man's Bradley Cooper" (I said...Poor-Man's???I would say rich man's...but whatever) and I have a nice very skinny, but very nice girl named Amanda. Amanda and I chat a lot about what Profile requires and what my restrictions will be now vs. in two weeks when I have to join the ranks of the non-nursing moms. Let me tell you what...the pain and inconvenience of pumping will more than make up having to cut my calories in HALF!!! Right now she has me on a 2200 calorie plan...while once I am done pumping it will be more like 1000. The plan is pr...

So tomorrow Eric and I have our first meeting with the Profile by Sanford counselor. So far our "last meals/treats" have been: 1. Taco John's (Nacho's Navidad for Me and Super Potato Ole's for Eric) 2. Planet Sub (Planet Sub with a fountain Cherry Coke for me and an "Experience" for Eric) 3. Fronteria's Mexican (Queso Dip and sampler platter for me, Some burrito thing for Eric) 4. Key Lime Cakes from Costco...really not that great and not worth it. So we will freeze them for EmJ's 1st Birthday cake 5. Countless cookies and leftover Christmas treats 6. Eric made sour dough bread for his "treat" 7. Lobster Orzo pasta 8. The Club and tomato soup from the Ambassador Reasons why I/we are doing this life change 1. We both need more energy 2. Kids are exhausting 3. My parents were successful 4. I want to be comfortable in my own skin 5. I want to be comfortable in public seating (bus, airplanes, Sporting KC seats) 6. I reall...