Back on the Wagon again...

Tonight, I went to the YMCA and I did the Alpine Pass program on the treadmill for 30 minutes with a maximum incline of 9.0 and a max speed of 4.5. I also did some low back, bicep, tricep, rowing, and shoulder presses on the nautilus. -- I joined the Y last thursday and have gone every day since!!! Go me! We also went skating this morning, and Monday. I put the skates on too and try to get up some speed at least a couple times... it's good for the legs to try and help James along.

I'm struggling with working out so late and not having an awful snack when I come home. Tonight, I'm having a salad -- had a cheesestick last night and then DH made nachos. His prednisone eating habits don't help LOL

Oh yeah, go check out the sunset --- http://bethym99.blogspot.com/

Off the Wagon -- Illness

I was doing GREAT -- until I got a 103 fever last week. Haven't felt great since. Finally got the doc to call in some ABX today for the nasty sore throat and swollen glands. Hopefully it will work. I will be back soon, promise!

I did join the YMCA and plan to start exercising regularly. Back to the chaos.

Phase 1 - Day 6 (V Day)

Well, it's almost the 1 week mark and our first holiday. VDAY! I'm not a huge fan of Vday but like to do something special. So, I made fondue last night for the kids and hubby. I invited my MIL to join us as well, it was an awesome meal! The cheesey fondue was pretty southbeach friendly, not so much in the low fat area, but in the low carb area. I chose to dip mostly veggies / meat and bypass the carrots and bread.

But then, I did make a dessert course! I had strawberries and chocolate fondue. It was yummy, but I really don't feel like I *over* did it. Now, the one caveat to yesterday is that I did a terrible job eating breakfast and lunch --- I really have to be better about not eating meals.

So, Week 2 -- here we go! Are you going to join me??

Phase 1 - Day 5

Wow, this is really not as hard as I thought it would be. It's amazing how I'm already rid of that uncontrollable urge to go and finding SOMETHING, ANYTHING to eat. I remember rummaging through the cabinets in the afternoon searching for (you got it) something sweet! Now, that doesn't happen. I might notice I'm hungry, and then I grab a cheesestick, or some nuts or something like that. I'm just so excited! I hope my book gets here from the library before I'm ready for phase 2. I think it will actually be harder to start adding carbs in without overdoing it.

So, the big news ---- today, I was 167.5 --- that's 9.5 lbs since the beginning of the year. Woohoo!

Broccoli/Tofu Stirfry

This is my Broccoli/Tofu stirfry in Peanut Sauce. Thanks Carla for walking me through "Tofu for Dummies"

Fake Lime Cheescake

I just want to say -- ewww. Molly, thanks for the additional dessert suggestions. Peanut butter and coolwhip sounds marvelous! So does regular Jello and cool whip. While I was eating this last night, (and it was only a bite or two and I couldn't take it) -- I was thinking that making jello and eating with cottage cheese would taste better. Definitely not a recipe we'll be repeating!

They cancelled school today! Current conditions - Rain! But we've got some snow coming and it looks like it's not going to miss us this time. Woohoo!! (My kids have been dying to make a snowman so hopefully they will get to do that and I can take some pics with the new camera)

Phase 1 - Day 5

Wow, day 5. It was pretty uneventful. Did normal house/kid stuff. Went grocery shopping to buy some more fresh veggies and salad stuff. Had a friend over -- I did make a good Stirfry with broccoli, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and tofu in a peanut sauce. (Thanks Carla for the "Tofu for Dummies" lesson). It turned out good!

I also made a Lime Cheesecake -- which I haven't eaten yet but am going to do after we're done here. You mix 1 package of Sugar Free Jello with a cup of boiling water till dissolved. Add 1 cup of "cheese" (Recipe calls for ricotta - I used cottage cheese). Stick it all in the blender until frothy and then refridgerate until firm.

I'll let ya know how it tastes!

Goodnight

Phase 1 - Day 4

Ladies and Gentlemen (if there are any out there reading, hello).... Drumroll...

We have a record!!! Not only is this the 4th day of my 'eating plan' (I'm just not a fan of the word diet)... but, it is the 4th consecutive day I have posted on my blog!! WOOHOO!! Let me hear the love... ahhh

Ok, so, even more amazing is that we had pizza again tonight for dinner! I had three slices, and just ate the top! I'm having some ham with cheese rolled in the middle now. Had some more italian spinach pie for breakfast, will need to make a store run for more ingredients so I can make that again. I think it will be a SouthBeach Phase 1 staple for me! It's so convenient to reheat. Also going to check out the Kraft site and come up with some more things to make --- what looks good to you? (Not just from there, but any phase 1-friendly 3smallchild-friendly things)

The Kraft site: http://www.kraftfoods.com/south_beach_diet

In other big news, I registered my son for 3 year old preschool today. I'm excited, but it's hard to believe how much he's growing up. Won't be long and he'll be a big kid on the bus.

Off to another exciting episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

Phase 1 - Day3

First day of the weekend down, and it went pretty good. I had the Italian Spinach Pie for breakfast --- boy, it was GOOD! For lunch I had a salad and some roast, snacked on a cheesestick. Dinner at our friends was so fun! The kids were crazy, but what do you expect with 4 under 6. We had salad and pizza. I did eat just the cheese off the pizza, but the salad croutons were HOMEMADE -- how can you pass that up!? And then, my dear friend served us a delightful pound cake with strawberries and whipped cream. Yum. Yum. I will say I enjoyed it! I'm not sure where that puts me in the "detox" of things -- but you do have to live.

Italian Spinach Pie was a huge hit at the friends house as well! Everyone enjoyed it. I understand our friends in Canada had a marvelous dinner with it as well -- I have no vegetarian plans for tomorrow though, so not sure what you should cook Carla :-)

Good night!

Phase 1 - Day 2

Well, I am sitting here enjoying quite a nice treat at the end of day 2! I got the recipe here:

http://www.kraftfoods.com/South_Beach_Diet/main.aspx?s=SBDBlank&m=recipe/knet_recipe_display&recipe_id=66085

For Italian Spinach Pie. I'd already had my salad with tuna for dinner, but Diet Power told me I'd had fewer than 1000 calories today. I know from experience, that not eating enough keeps you from losing weight as much as eating too much so off I went to find something. I am excited and think this could make a yummy lunch.

Tomorrow starts the weekend and that will certainly bring with it new challenges. We tend to eat out on the weekends and we've got dinner at a friends tomorrow. However, she is a vegan so I'm going to take the vegetarian pie (I think she eats cheese occassionally). At least I'll have something to dine on :-)

Added Ticker

I added a ticker at the top of the page -- It is not a "final" goal but I think a mini-goal that can be achieved is a bigger motivator for me. So, the goal is 160 by my birthday (April 8). I started the year (January) around 177 and I think just being rid of the constant sweets in the house helped me get to the 171.5 that I'm starting South Beach at today.

Remember, I'm short people :P Yes, pictures will be coming eventually.

Phase 1 - Day 1

I have three children, ages 5, 3, and 1. I have spent the last 6.5 years either pregnant or nursing (with a 2 mth break between child 1and2). I will be turning 30 in just a couple months (Easter Day if you're interested) and have decided in the words of Oprah that "This is The Year". This is the year to spend more time focusing on getting myself healthy and reclaiming my body. Join me on the journey, let's see where it takes us!

Yesterday, I started Day 1 of Phase 1 -- This is my first time being able to fully do Phase 1, last time I reduced my carb intake I was still nursing my baby. I am happy to say that Day 1 was a success. It was not 100% carb free, I did have a couple pieces of the kids cereal at snack time but I was satisfied with my success.

I'm going to be monitoring my progress with a phenomenal tool called DietPower. I used DietPower a couple of times before, it really does give you the information you need to reach your goal! It can be used while pregnant/nursing and in conjunction with many different eating styles, including South Beach. If you want to learn more, you can go http://my.dietpower.com/dealer/dealer.php?action=webpage&id=899. Bookmark the link, if you like it there's a coupon on the page to save you some $$.

So, the result of day 1 was that I was FULL. I had a salad with tuna for lunch. Beef Roast and a salad for dinner. Some deviled eggs for a snack because Dietpower showed me I hadn't had enough calories yet. I only had a cheesestick for breakfast, because I forgot when the kids were eating so that's an area to work on -- Breakfast is really important. I snacked on some nuts, celery w cream cheese, and cheesesticks. All in all, I was really full at the end of the day which surprised me.

So, off we go to day two!