Jenn's Losing It

Boost your know how about this essential nutrient. During the April 9th meeting we discussed protein and its importance in your daily diet.  It's something that will help you to sustain yourself a little longer with higher protein foods.  especially is you're working out. According to the Weight Watchers weekly, you should aim for 8 grams of protein daily for every 20 pounds you weigh.  If you weigh 180, for example, you'd aim for 72 grams of protein per day.  Let's remember that protein is a nutrition hero!  Protein can help to strengthen your bones and support muscles, cartilage, skin and blood health.  We all are fairly familiar with animal proteins such as poultry ,seafood, eggs and dairy.  But don't overlook vegetarian proteins like beans, peas, soy products, nuts and seeds.  Many high protein foods are rich in B vitamins, vitamin E, iron, zinc and magnesium, all of which help keep the body running smoothly.  Since much of our...

Apparently I've been slacking! Whoops, sorry for not posting daily life went ahead and got in the way again. I've been doing ok on the cleanse, but if I'm going to be completely honest, I've been eating some processed snacks that's have no business eating-cleanse or not. Processed foods and sugars sure do have a tight hold on me. I've been able to give up pasta and bread-so why not the other stuff. It's frustrating especially when I figured I'd easily drop 20lbs doing this cleanse and that is most definitely not the case. However lately the thought has crossed my mind that I'm simply not eating enough. So today I'll be tracking my calorie intake, which I haven't done since starting the cleanse. I'll also be trying my very hardest not to eat anything on the "no eat" list today. I'll be going to a family BBQ this afternoon with all the things that will tempt me. So we'll see how it goes! Here's the meals from the past ...

Things are still going well on the no carb front for me. I can't say the same about sugar. I am still craving it in the worst way. I stopped taking Gymena(to help curb the sugar cravings) daily when the cleanse began, I think I need to add that back in and see if that helps. I also felt kinda bloated and crappy after dinner. I was eating cheese for the first time in 9 days. I LOVE cheese, but it seems that cheese no longer loves me. Which is a great thing to know. I probably never noticed before because I was bloated from all the bread I was eating.  Smoothies have continued to be my staple. Here's day eight and nine for food- Breakfast-smoothie & 2 eggs, Lunch- Smoothie, Dinner-spaghetti squash with meat sauce-loaded with portobello mushrooms, tomato and onions Breakfast-smoothie and eggs, Lunch-Smoothie, Dinner- cauliflower pizza with spinach and goat cheese

Was I expecting insane results...yes. Did I cheat....yes. Did I get in what I put out...yes. So all in all I'm satisfied with my results. My belly is getting flatter, feeling less bloated. I admit to cheating with sweets a few times. Apparently their hold on my is tighter then bread and pasta. I haven't had any of those in a week. I will continue to do my best in this next week, adding in some exercise. I haven't done any in well over a week. I used the cleanse as a crutch as to why I couldn't exert myself. Lame I know.  So off to the next week, I hope you continue to follow my progress.  Here's a week one picture side by side.  I weighed in this morning at 205.4, a 3.8lb loss for the week. 

Day seven, last day of the cleanse capsules. I can't say I will miss taking all those capsules. Today was one of the easier days for me. I worked out in the yard, my personal slice of paradise as I like to call it and it distracted both me and the kids from becoming irritated at one another. Which then of course leads me to do the right thing when it comes to food.  Here's a look at today's food- Breakfast-Smoothie, Lunch-salad with a turkey dog, Dinner-beef & mushroom kabobs with quinoa

Days 5 & 6 are done and you'd think by now I'd have the food rules down pat. I don't. Day six was nothing short of embarrassing. I started out fantastic. Then life got in the way.  In the early afternoon I found myself super agitated at just about everything. The kids were misbehaving, the house was a mess and I had a million and one things to do. I quickly found myself back in my old habits. I had poptarts. I felt like I blew the whole plan. I'm embarrassed to even write it out. I stress eat. Even with trying as hard as I can to clean eat I can't stop myself. My body rejected the sugars and crap snack within a short time. I definitely paid for my poor choice. I'm also not sure that it will deter me from doing it again.  With all that said I will celebrate my victory against eating all the party foods tonight. I went to a wine tasting and there were no "approved" foods there for me. I politely declined. I had a few sips of wine for the tasting, but...

Day four down. Feeling a little better about things today. Keeping lean proteins in has been helping me feel full longer. I snuck a bite of cheese today. I'm not sure if that what was gave me the massive stomach ache, but I won't be sneaking cheese again for a while. Apparently I am a do it and learn the hard way kind of girl. 😁  Here's what was on the menu -

Saying that today wasn't a challenge would be a lie. I started the day off great, then around 2pm I found myself caving to one of my weaknesses...frosted animal crackers. I bought them for the kids, knowing full well I would have a hard time resisting. So after I indulged I felt like crap, my stomach bloated and of course I confessed to my group that I'm cleansing with. They were all so supportive. It was a great feeling. I'm hoping these cravings subside even a little.  Here's what made my menu today - minus those tempting crackers! Egg whites, smoothie and water for breakfast Spaghetti squash with marina sauce-loaded with diced tomatoes and onions for lunch Steamed cod with California melody veggies for dinner with a smoothie

Today was less stressful around the house so that helped me not want to snack on things I shouldn't. No headaches today, however my energy was on the lower side. I got tired out quickly. I also ended up adding a protein at dinner time since I was feeling so lethargic.  Here were some of the things I ate today, along with 2 SP smoothies.  Half of an acorn squash baked with butter and paprika Lentil soup Hamburger with A1 sauce and whipped carrots and parsnips