What I Ate Yesterday #2

Hey Guys!

Did you check out the video from yesterday? Please read that post. It will definitely give you something to think about!

How is your week going? I am busy over here as usual. I was supposed to go to the running shoe store yesterday, but decided time wise today would be better. Wish me luck on not having to spend my entire savings of my poor little allowance!!!

I decided to take some time to make another food summary post. This one includes everything I ate yesterday. Do you guys like these? Should I do something like a weekly summary maybe? That might be better than an everyday one since I don’t eat that differently each day. Let me know in the comments!

Brandi also asked about my food/exercise journal. I am working on a post all about that, so stay tuned!

Anyways, here’s my food summary. Got questions? Leave me a comment!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In other news: check it out! As of my last weigh-in, I am no longer in the obese category! Wahoo! Officially I am simply overweight. As weird as excitement over this sounds….progress is progress!

Thanks for reading,
Monique

What I Ate Yesterday

I hate to title a blog post so simple like that, but I have never really been asked for something on my blog before. I guess I just want to make sure that my loyal readers get what they want!

I stopped posting what I eat, like I was doing in the beginning because it became very frustrating and I felt like I had to come up with something creative every single day in order to please my readers and make it interesting for them. The problem with that was that I simply do not have THAT much variety in my diet, let alone the time to do so. I do not eat the very same things everyday, but I do eat a rotation of the same sort of foods everyday. I am finding that this is working for me, and combined with my gym time I am losing more weight than ever before on my own.

Here is a summary of what I ate yesterday. Yes, everything I ate.

So there you have it. Usually I switch out the veggies as snacks, eating them raw. I switch out the carbs, sometimes having a sweet potato, sometimes brown rice. I switch out the protein, sometimes having chicken, sometimes salmon. I also switch out my treat for the day. Sometimes I have real kettle corn, which WHOA is not a diety type food, but you can have like 2 CUPS for only 130 calories! It depends on how much time I have for the day. You guys know how busy I am. I also drink a lot….no wait, A TON of water every day. I have a bottle that is 32oz. and I fill it up AT LEAST 4 to 5 times a day. This may not be true for everyone, but let me say that for me, drinking water gives me energy. I need all that I can get with my sleep schedule.

Oh, and I finally updated my movement page for last week! Check it out!

OK guys! Got anymore questions? I’m going to answer them tonight!

Hope you’re having a great day!

Thanks for reading,
  Monique

Fast Food at Home

Good morning Bloggy Friends,
So here is the deal. I read food blogs a lot...A LOT. I learn from them and try to utilize the recipes in my life in order to incorporate more healthy options for my husband and I on a daily basis. I try to help him not feel as deprived as one would think when the words "eating healthy" come out of someone's mouth. Reading blogs have really helped me in that sense. Granted this reading (and posting of my own) is very time consuming, it has become very rewarding as well.

I will say this one thing about reading other food blogs, though....sometimes I get a little jealous of the more popular ones who seem to...I don't know...have this healthy eating down cold. You know what I mean? Like I still have to convince myself that I should eat this and not just order a pizza or just eat cheese for dinner. Is that a crazy feeling or what? Obviously these people have their stories about how they have come so far in their journeys, but I just sometimes don't see an ending to me craving the worse things and craving a nap instead of the gym. I don't know. I just feel sometimes like I may be the only one who feels these strange things.

Anyways, onto something that I have recently learned from a blog....Emily's blog! I took the recipe from her blog, along with the tofu tutorial to enhance our meatless dinner options. Here's my crack at it last night.

First I used Trader Joe's Extra Firm tofu, drained and cut it into 8 pieces, then laid it on a towel.

I folded the towels over it and put books on top of it to press more liquid out.

I cut them into more cubes.

I put them into a pan sprayed with olive oil and salted and peppered them.

Then I popped these bad boys in the oven.

After that, I started the brown rice.

Zapped my frozen veggies for a couple minutes

Then I went back to my browning tofu and turned each piece.

Emily made a sauce from scratch, which I thought was good the first time I tried this, but my husband REALLY likes this sauce. It does have more calories, but what are you gonna do? My husband agreed to eat tofu....need I push for more? So last night, into the pan it went!

...in goes the veggies.

...and then we plate it all together.

...yuuuuummmmmmy

 Thank.You.Emily! Cheap, healthier fast food at home. To die for!

My Question for You: Have you experienced any negative self talk while reading blogs? How have you dealt with that?

Temptation All Around

Goodmorning All!
I just wanted to share a little something about what I am up against externally in my weight loss battle. I am the only person in my family, both my relatives and in-laws as well, that is making an attempt at healthy eating choices. By the only, I do mean to include my husband, but yes we are the only. We also often spend quite a bit more time with his family at gatherings, almost every weekend it seems. His family is rather large and full of birthdays and events. This past weekend was a going away party for a cousin who recently joined the army. Below is a sample of the yummy, yet not particularly healthy options that were available. Get ready to pack on the pounds just looking at it all.

so by the way...this sausage pizza was about the size of an SUV tire or something like that....and there were 2 of them

a veggie pizza concoction with crescent rolls and cream cheese 

loads of white french bread

oh look! another load of french bread...

potato salad with full fat mayo and whole eggs....

macaroni and cheese simmering away with gobs of cheese, milk and butter in a crock pot...

pulled pork...

oh, this is a good one....sausages simmering in tomato sauce with green peppers and onions...

taco salad with loads of cheese and re fried beans of course!

what party would be complete without a tray of cookies?

chips to go with the taco dip of course

So I know what you're thinking. It could NOT be like this at every gathering. Well, you're wrong. It most certainly is. Obviously I am not faulting them, but is it EXTREMELY hard to be around all this yummy food that is obviously not the best choice for my goals? Of course it is. But this is family fun to them. Family Love=Must Have Massive Amounts Of Yummy Fattening Things. They add in a few games and opening presents, but this is the central theme. This is just how they are, and that's fine. I love 'em anyway! I am just going to have to be very strategic with my choices or somehow find a way to turn them down all together. This is after all, a new beginning, one that I would like to last. People sometimes either tend to be over critical of you "dieting". Or they feel like they have to babysit you, and watch over your every decision. Then there is the dreaded "are you still on that diet?" at every turn! It's a nightmare. I am tired of completely focusing on making great choices Monday through Friday, losing a mere one or two pounds, then after the weekend, gaining it all back in sodium intake even if I watch my portions!

My Question To You: How do you deal with outside influences when it comes to your healthy food decision making at social events, at work, etc?