Snow Day Surprise!

Snow Day!! This day put a damper on my plan to have chicken and shrimp kabobs but I enjoyed my meal tonight anyway!
I took chicken tenders and shrimp and cooked in in a pan with some old bay seasoning. Next I took some snow peas, peppers, onion and fresh salsa and I sauteed them in a pan with a little Olive oil and old bay. I plated the food and added a teeeny tiny bit of Alfredo cheese to the top of my chicken because I really wanted cheese on this snowy cold night. I added about 1 tsp. to each tender. The cheese sauce is a homemade sauce of just butter, milk and 4 slices of cheddar cheese. I made the sauce for my husbands dinner- Noodles, Alfredo and chicken and shrimp. I have to be honest, I thought my meal was way better looking than his!!! :)
Today I was home all day and had a Zumba dance party with my friend Stefanie. I was excited because I didn't snack and I kept to my meal plan. Normally on my unstructured days I feel like I want to snack. This Medifast plan is getting easier every time!
Tomorrow I will be enjoying another great snow day!!
          Happy Medifasting,
                                       ~K

medifast really is FANTASTIC!

      I am feeling great today. I have had tons of positive feedback from people who don't even know I am on a medifast. While I am thankful for my friends who know that I am doing this and their encouragement, sometimes it is nice to hear comments from people who don't know I am doing anything.
      I am down in my weight but i am no longer weighing myself weekly. I don't want to rely on a number to make me feel like I am losing weight. I want to feel it in my clothes instead. I am really starting to see my clothes fit differently and it is awesome!
      This week for dinner I have been keeping it simple. I have really been craving warm foods due to the cold weather.
Monday I had chicken with sauteed veggies.

Tonight I had venison roast with a salad and steamed broccoli.



Tomorrow night I have my last spanish class. On the way home, I am grabbing some shrimp to make shrimp kabobs with chicken, peppers and onion on the grill!

     I am beginning to think about my month of medifast almost being complete. I really love medifast and I am going to continue using it. Some changes I will make: If I want a drink at happy hour, I will have one. If I want to green meals a day, I am going to have them. I will stay strict on the weekdays because it is so easy to follow and I have so much energy.I don't want to stop but on February 1st, we are going to P.F. Chengs for a 1 month celebration dinner.

     Happy medifasting,

                      ~K

weekend 3

      I am on my 3rd weekend of medifast and it is getting easier. I find myself not craving food and it is a lot easier to make healthier choices when we are out. I went shopping with my husband yesterday and i did something I never thought I would do...I walked into Gap and put on a pair of size 8 jeans. They were loose on me and fit really well. I didn't have to squeeze into them or make several attempts to button them. The last pair of Gap jeans I bought were a pair of size 10's and they were tight, I barely ever wore them! so exciting and making this whole experience that much more fun.
    I ordered my new shipment of medifast and it came in two days. So Saturday I was able to get up and make a chocolate chip waffle with the pancake mix. It was so good. I am so happy with the new food choices and I notice that I am not getting bored with the foods.
  If you haven't ordered you should include these foods: MD crab soup, white cheddar rice cakes, Chili nacho cheese puffs, Strawberry bars and shakes, Chocolate mint bars and Chocolate chip pancakes (better as waffles). The strawberry bars and shakes are really filling my cravings for fruit :)
  Today I am meal planning and going shopping for my greens. Stay posted for some lean green meal ideas. My new favorite thing to add to my lean green is Shrimp!! sooo good right now especially on the grill with some asparagus and grilled veggies. Try some chicken and shrimp skewers this week and imagine it is a summer night feast.

          Happy Medifasting,
                                     ~K






                                                                 
                                                                                                                My half eaten waffle! Yum

Bake your brownies in the oven!

     I liked the medifast brownie when I first tried it in the microwave. Tonight, I was preparing my dinner for tomorrow and decided to bake the brownie. As a baker- this is something I miss doing while on medifast.
It takes 18 minutes at 350 in the oven and when it comes out it is sooo fudgy and good! I used my 3 condiments option to have a small glass of milk with it. A perfect treat while I watch the Flyers beat the Capitals!!
     First, I want to say congratulations to my friend Kelli. Today she received her medifast shipment and as I was talking to her, she was headed out to purchase her leans and greens!! You go girl!
     I have a few friends that have begun medifast this week and I want to share some helpful things. If you go to http://www.medifast1.com/ and go to the FAQs link, this will help you see what snacks you can have and will pretty much answer any question you have. You can have coffee, dt. soda, 3 celery sticks for snacks, 1/2 cup sugar free jell-o or a sugar free Popsicle. Choose 1 snack and enjoy it if you get hungry. Another great part of this site is the meal plans and options for lean and green foods you can have. If you have been following my blog, you will see some meals that I have made based on these options. If you have any questions that you can't find on medifast's web page- ask me on here so I can answer them for all too see! I am so proud of my friends that are on this journey with me!
     Tonight for dinner I made a simple green salad with celery, romaine lettuce, some red peppers and snow peas. With that I used a little hot sauce to coat 6oz. of chicken tenders. I bought a little food scale at Costco yesterday for $18.00 so that I could make sure I was portioning out meat properly. 6oz. is A LOT more than I had been portioning out. Let's just say, I was stuffed off of tonight's meal!
     Happy Medifasting,
                                 ~ K

P.S.- I weighed in today and I am officially down 10 Lbs in 2 weeks :)

Promo codes

I just wanted to let any of you that are thinking about ordering or that already participate in medifast about some promo codes you can enter.
Junkies50 will get you $50.00 off any purchase of $250 or more

Jan31H25 will get you $25.00 off of any purchase of $150 or more. *order soon, this one is only good until January 31st.

Happy Shopping!! :)
           ~K

Closet dress up day!

       Today was a great day! I went through my closet and I cleaned out a ton of clothes. I pulled out all of those clothes that I have been piling up in the back of my closet. I had clothes in there that I hadn't even wanted to try on and then when I put them on... THEY FIT!!! Some of them were even too big.
I was so happy and I moved these clothes to the front of my closet.
       I feel like Friday- Sunday I was really down and felt like I was doing all of this for no results because I can't see it on myself. But Today, trying on clothes was just the remedy I needed. The moral of this post: Don't Give Up. Even if you feel like you don't have results, try on those old clothes or hop on the scale or take your measurements. I guarantee that you are doing an awesome job and losing weight somewhere.
The most noticeable location for me is my face, legs and upper body. I wasn't losing in my tummy as much or as quickly as I thought I would but today I noticed a little difference in how my clothes fit.
       If you feel down about the weight loss ~ another good tip is to go for a run or get in a good work out. I have so much energy and I haven't wanted to take naps or sleep in. This is a sure sign that my body is getting healthy.
       Tonight for dinner I got some Mahi- Mahi and seasoned it with a little bit of olive oil and hickory. Next I took the same rub and put it on Fresh asparagus. Brandon put it all on the grill for about 6 minutes. Next, I took slices of red and green pepper, 4 pieces of onion wedge and 1/2 cup of snow peas I put them in a wok and sauteed them in the left over seasoning. Plated it all with a 6 pieces of shrimp and it was AMAZING!
        My Goal for this week: go to the gym 4x a week and try to eat better on the weekends. Weekends are still really hard for me because of entertaining and going away. This weekend was much better than last weekend but I definitely get the most cravings when I am at home and off of my work routine schedule.
       Today I am ordering some more medifast and I will be getting some strawberry shakes, hopefully this will help with my fruit cravings.
Happy medifasting,

          ~K

Gettin better all the time!

So today is day 17.  I am feeling very energized and happy. I noticed a few things today:
1.) I am not having cravings for all of the old junk that I ate.
2.) Medifast has helped me realize that I don't need a giant glass of hot cocoa or a big giant meal all the time. I am full with theses little portions and I feel like when I do begin introducing regular foods back in, I will be able to cut down BIG TIME on my portions. I now know what full and hungry feels like.

  Last night I ate 3 eggs for dinner topped with some fresh salsa. I cooked the eggs and plated them. Next I put the fresh salsa into the pan and then I stirred it until it was warm. Be careful not to over cook it. I really wanted to add salt and pepper to my eggs out of habit but I refrained and it was actually a very good meal.

Later on in the evening I felt a little sick to my stomach (I think a little bug was going around). I skipped my last meal and ended up just falling asleep early.

Today was a great day!! I went to work and got in 4 meals. Shared some highlights of medifast with a few coworkers and then I headed to the gym to continue my triathlon training. My concern with medifast is that I need to monitor my meals and my gym time. Biking for 20 min and running for 20 min and doing abs or weights for 10-20 min burns off 2+ meals. Also, very important- get in about 80 oz+ of water when you are working out. This food is dehydrated and you are *Glistening* so you need to make sure you are staying hydrated. I did my work out just after I ate a bar and I felt great and energized afterwards. I came home and cooked dinner and washed dishes. Normally I come home, cook dinner and sit down for the rest of the night. Tonight's dinner  I took a chicken breast and pan grilled it. Then I added some water and McCormick Taco seasoning (about 1 TBS). Next I made a Green romaine lettuce salad and added some Cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. Rather than using salad dressing I added fresh salsa (Giant) and a 1/4 tsp. of Franks red hot. It was delicious and very filling. I couldn't finish the whole meal.

Tonight we are leaving for Maryland for the day. I packed a ton of food because the good thing about medifast- there are so many choices that I never know what I will be in the mood for!!!

Cheers

 ~K

Back on Track Monday

    Today I had an excellent day. I did all my meals the right way, I drank all my water and I am feeling really good.
     For the big announcement: I signed up for a triathalon with my friend Kelli. We will be doing .25 mile swim, 8 mile bike and 5k run at Rocky Gap state park. I am nervous but very excited. Knowing that I will be training and doing something like this has given me such a rush. I have had some awesome support from my husband (who is even eating veggies now) and all of my friends and family that I feel pretty encouraged.
     I had my Monday official weigh in today and I have lost a total of 5.5 Lbs. in 1 week. I notice it in my upper body and my legs but not in my stomach. I am going to be doing crunches and ab workouts a lot to try and help that shrink.
     Today I went to the gym and did 6.5 miles on the bike and ran/walked a cool down mile. Medifast has definately taken some of my workout energy. Closer to the Tri and the more training I do, I am going to have to adjust medifast meal times with my gym time so that I am not so tired.
      Tonights dinner was awesome. I used some Slap ya mamma Cajun seasoning on chicken and suateed snow peas, peppers and green beans in the same seasoning. I plated it and added some fresh salsa for some kick and color. Yum!!!

     

Sunday back on track!

      So this morning, I passed out. I got up out of bed and just went right back down again- I learned from this... DO NOT SKIP MEALS!
       I got up and had a chocolate mint bar (my personal favorite meal from Medifast-sooo good). And a bottle of water. Then I cleaned the house and showered and had a craving for ice cream. Today is the first day I tried the soft serve( chocolate mint) and it was good, would have been better if my blender worked but it didn't mix it up and left ice chunks. So I went to target tonight and bought a better blender.
       For lunch I made chicken and rice soup- not as good as chicken noodle but way better than the chili.
After lunch I planned out my meals for the rest of the week and went online to pre plan my meal for Elephant jumps dinner on Tuesday with the girls. Fortunately they have salads and some seafood so I can handle that night. Other than Tuesday, I think I will have a pretty normal week and I won't make bad choices because I will be home.
       Tonight's dinner was my all time favorite so far. I made venison burgers and Brandon grilled them. I sauteed peppers and snap peas and put them on top with a little bit of mustard and ketchup. Along with that I had some lettuce with snap peas, celery, tomatoes and onion. YUM!
       Tomorrow morning I will do an official weigh in to see if I have lost or gained any weight. So far today is the first day that I feel like my jeans fit a little bit better. I lost weight in my upper body but my hips are still the same. I am thinking about taking Stefanie's advice and doing measurements.
       For my last meal tonight I am going to try out the chocolate pudding. :)
I am starting to feel very satisfied with this diet because it is easy to do but I am also starting to crave foods not on the menu. I am perfectly okay with chocolate on this diet but I was salty chips and queso or a big plate of nachos. Hopefully this dinner I made tonight will satisfy that craving- that will be my new challenge for this week!

       

First weekend was HARD!

             My first weekend on Medifast was difficult. I realize it is hard to travel with medifast because, I was not always around a blender or a microwave. I pretty much just ate bars and shakes all weekend and got hungry and bored with the food. I think considering it was my first weekend and I was on vacation, I did a pretty good job. I really wanted to eat beach fries and  ice cream but I didn't. I am not going to say I was 100% faithful to this diet.
            Friday I ate a shake for breakfast and a bar around 11:30 and then another bar before I left around 2:15. On my away to the beach I left all my bars and meals in my suitcase so I didn't eat until I checked into the hotel. At the hotel I had some pretzels and then it was time to go to dinner. We went to this Seafood restaurant and the other people at the table ordered Mozz. sticks for appetizers. I was starving so I caved and I ate 2 of them. They were small but I felt so guilty and gross after dinner. For my meal I ate a salad with some grilled chicken and balsamic Vinaigrette on the side. I skipped my last meal because of the mozzarella sticks I had eaten. My stomach got really hard and I felt sick! I made sure I got all my water in which was great!
            Saturday I ate a shake in the morning then 3 bars throughout the day. I was outside and doing stuff all day so I had no time to make shakes. I couldn't  any other meals because I was not near a blender or a microwave. I drank a lot of water throughout the day because I went on a run and then worked out in the hotel weight room too! For dinner we went to Ruby Tuesday- very easy to make good choices here because of the salad bar and great fish options.
I had a nice big salad and Brandon and I split a piece of Grilled Salmon. My only downfall this day was a couple pumpernickel croutons. Again, I got in all my water and meals.
             I am too nervous to weigh myself though so I am going to wait until Wednesday or Thursday when I feel like I am back on track.
             So what I learned, I am not good at diets on vacation because, I LOVE FOOD!
What can help me with these mistakes? I am hoping my exercise and skipping meals on mistake days will help a little.

Weigh in Day!!!

    This morning I weighed in and I am down 4 Lbs. I am super excited but I don't want to get my hopes up because I am guessing it is mostly water weight. Drinking 64+oz of water has really taken it's toll on my bathroom time :) It is so hard to teach and have to go to pee this often.
Today I only drank 32oz during the teaching day and then finished the rest of the 32oz during Spanish class and my last bar of the day. I really hope I won't wake up to pee in the middle of the night.
     Another change I made was eating my lean green meal during Lunch. I had Spanish class tonight and wouldn't have been able to keep my salad and venison refrigerated until dinner time. I thought that this would make me hungry in the evening but I don't feel hungry at all.
Side note- the chili was disgusting!!!! I don't know if I messed something up but it was so mushy and gross. I think that I will have to try again and if it is still gross, I will order the crab bisque that Stefanie recommended.
     My friend Kelli told me about this site to keep track of calories today and I started doing that as well, I was really excited because it has Medifast meal information so I don't have to search and type in calorie counts. Thanks Kel!   http://www.livestrong.com
     Tomorrow I am going to start back to my regular exercise routine at the gym and I can't wait to start running again :)
     I love everything I have had to eat so far except for the chili- very disappointed because I really wanted chili :(

Brownie day!!!

    Today was good. Being well planned for meals has made this very easy.
     I got up and had my shake, then a bar, then a very good chicken and wild rice soup. I tried the chocolate mint bars on my way home from work and it was awesome. For dinner I used one of my *extra condiment options and added Taco Seasoning to ground Venison. I put that over lettuce and added sliced cherry tomatoes. It was awesome!!! For an evening snack, I baked a brownie and it too was really good. Throughout the day I drank 65 oz. or water. I cut back so I don't have to pee all the time.
    So far this diet is really easy to follow and I haven't felt hungry at all. I am excited to continue.

    I am starting to wonder how well I can stick to this when I go to other peoples houses for dinner, girls night out and vacation. Today I was asked over for dinner. I have a monthly girls night next Thursday and it is at a Thai restaurant!! Brandon and I leave for Virginia Beach on Friday at 2 and we won't be back until Saturday evening. I am going to have to stay very organized and plan all restaurant meals in advance or just eat a bar while my girls are chowing down on delicious Red Curry string bean stir fry :(

    Also, it will be hard on vacation when I don't have a microwave and a blender available all day long. Looks like bars for the day!

    

And so it begins...

   Day one is just about over. I have one meal left to eat.
So far it is a pretty easy diet. Like I thought, the hardest part is eating all the food. I woke up at 6am and had a shake before I left for work- it was really good but very filling. It filled me up way more than slim~fast shakes. Then at about 9 I had a delicious chocolate bar. This was already too much food, I don't normally eat breakfast especially not that early.
   At 12 I had a bowl of chicken noodle soup- it was good but it took up a lot of my lunch time because of the cooking time.
   At 3:30 I ate some cinnamon pretzel sticks- I could only eat 1/2 of them because I wasn't that hungry.
I got home around 5 and ate the rest of the pretzel sticks and then started making dinner.
   At 6:45 ate grilled mahi- mahi with some blackened seasoning on it and then a salad with romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, celery and a TBSP of balsamic Vinn. This meal was really good and a lot to eat.
   Throughout the day I drank 78 oz. of water and I have to pee constantly. Tomorrow, I am cutting back down to 64 oz. I also had a couple sips of Caf. Free Dt. coke
   For my final meal, I think I am going to have a pudding or another bar.
   So far, I have the same energy and I don't feel hungry at all. In fact, I feel more full than I do on a regular day and I don't want to eat my last meal but after research on the MediFast website- i have to eat so I can get in all my calories.I am ready for tomorrow!!

    

The Last Supper

I am going out tonight with my friend Stefanie and we are going to enjoy our LAST SUPPER before Medifast begins tomorrow.
P.F. Chengs here we come!!! I think I will order lettuce wraps and the Great Wall of Chocolate.
      Today I got all my greens and I planned out meals for the week. I went and got, celery, cucumbers asparagus, green beans, spinach leaves, broccoli and peas. So far my dinners include: Mahi- Mahi in lemon marinade with a nice green salad and asparagus on the grill, Venison taco salad with lettuce, tomatoes and peppers, Grilled chicken salad with snow peas, cucumbers and tomatoes, Crock pot venison roast with a salad. I am going to try switching up my lean green meal for lunch on Wednesday since I have Spanish class til late and it will be easier to eat a bar during class then my lean green meal. 
I am faced with a challenge already- Brandon and I are headed to VA beach on Friday and Saturday so I am going to see how to work traveling and vacation into the plan.
     Last night I sat down and wrote out what I would eat exactly on Monday and I realized that it is a lot of food. So now my new concerns are:
1.) How will this look while I am teaching, I can't eat when 19 kids are there and this plan is designed to eat several times throughout the day. I am going to have to eat on my way to work, once I get to work, lunch time, break time and on my way home and then dinner time. Or, In the before work, once I get to work, lunch, break time, Dinner time and then after dinner time.
2.) This is a lot of food compared to what I eat throughout the week. Part of my problem is that I am not getting enough calories on a daily basis so my body is storing fat. I hate eating breakfast and I only eat when I am hungry. I generally just like a big dinner, this will be a challenge for sure!
                 I am ready to start...