Time to regroup

I have completed my 2 week plan of clean eating. It was easier than I thought but it did not break this plateau I can't seem to shake. I did not count points just ate until I was full. I have been struggling to eat breakfast and my meal planning has been lax this week. This often leads me to eat nothing but fruit and veggies during the day and then a great big dinner when I am starving after work. The hardest part for me has been giving up my Crystal Light. I am struggling to get in enough water. So even though I have been 'eating clean' I am not doing everything I should. Plan for this week is to sit down tonight and make a meal plan for the next 5 days. I will restock my fridge with things to make delicious meals. I am going to track points this week as well.

Exercise this week was good - a cardio kickboxing class (killer!!), yoga class, treadmill time, 10km bike ride, 2 hours of DDR and a few at home yoga sessions. For the upcoming week I have a 50km bike ride planned for Monday, yoga Tuesday, weight training on Thursday. I have also been working hard finishing our backyard. We bought this house brand new so the yard was a blank slate. Here are a couple pictures now that stage one is done.

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The deck, grass, planters and beds are all new. We have planted brussel sprouts, radishes, cauliflower, beets, tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, spinach, squash, zucchini, fennel, leeks, carrots, parsnips, shallots and swiss chard. I am looking forward to a summer full of fresh produce from mr garden. I am already enjoying my spinach on a daily basis.

Quickie

Still here, still doing pretty good, very busy working on my garden. Will post a more thorough update soon.

Not much to report...

After my post on Tuesday I managed to dig up the inner strength I needed to get through two terrible days of cravings. I definitely ate more than usual but did keep to my clean eating plan. I was craving carbs... and chocolate... I baked some of the coconut banana mini muffins (recipe posted a few months ago) and ate many many many of them over the past few days - but at 1 point each the damage as minimal. I also overdosed on pineapple (even grilling it with dinner last night) and had a lovely organic ginger-dark chocolate bar from the health food store.



I have stayed away from the scale but I can tell the water retention in fading and the ravenous cravings are gone. I will weigh in tomorrow morning and assess any damage.



I wanted to give an update on my DH's weight loss progress as he fell of the wagon in a big way after Christmas. He had lost 60 pounds from May-Dec last year. He put back on 20 from Dec 24th - March 1 of this year. I continue to pack him healthy delicious food for his meals while he is working away 4 days a week but he slipped back into his old habits of supplementing boredom with donuts, cheezies and the McDonalds stops twice a week on the way in and out of town. Those twenty pounds were very noticeable to him, clothes fitting too tight, feet and back sore at work etc... I am happy to say that he has dropped those twenty pounds in the past 10 weeks and is back to his lowest weight before Christmas. His trouble is lack of will power - he likes the instant gratification of getting what he wants, but he does not regret it afterward, he does not beat himself up over it, he does not go through the mental self-abuse that I do. At a monstrous 6 foot 5 he is also not 'obese' he is just 'overweight' - he is healthy and active, just likes donuts too much.

I was thinking today about how he and I have different struggles with our weight. For me it really is all or nothing, and I know that is a mind frame I need to work on. I do not allow myself to slip up very often. I am terrified that it will trigger some binge button that I have buried. I am proud of my willpower but I wish I could trust myself to enjoy a 'bit' of some old favourite foods.

These are things that I have not put in my mouth in 18 months:

a french fry
non-diet pop
potato chip (non-baked)
donut
store bought cookies
dairy queen anything
pub chicken wings
starbucks frappachino
jelly beans, gummi bears, licorice
pizza from a restaurant (or take out)

Before you say 'yay you' I'm starting to think my fear of these foods is not healthy. The ability to fall completely off track and binge on these things has been weighing heavily on my mind this week as I struggle with cravings. I read others blogs about how they slip up, binge and spiral into a cycle of eat-regret-eat. I don't want that to be me.. but I want to have a healthy relationship with food. As I get closer to my goal weight I have been thinking about why so many people lose 50-100 pounds only to gain it back (often plus more). I know why I gained my weight, I think I have tackled some of those emotional demons but I don't know if I have the coping mechanisms yet if another life crisis comes my way.

Not sure where I am going with this train of thought, but what better place than my blog to put it out into the universe in hopes of an answer.

Chomp chomp chomp...

I could seriously eat my left arm right now. I am PMSing like crazy and I want CHOCOLATE!!! This is the third month in a row that I have had these crazy cravings. I am usually really in control and strong, but tonight I keep opening the cupboards and fridge hoping that some cookies and ice cream will magically appear.

It does help to know what it is.. it also helps that all signs of junk food are banished from my house. I am about to cut into a fresh pineapple - I might eat the entire thing but at least it is not a tub of Ben and Jerry's.

My plan to get through the next few days:

1. Put away the scale - I am a daily weigher but this time of the month is too hard on my ego
2. Resume counting points - I am still eating clean but fear my portion control will lose some control
3. Bring lots of healthy food for lunch - veggies and hummus I can snack on all day long

Ok, feels better to get that out! Off to conquer the pineapple now!

Too many AP to count..

DH and I have been biking every weekend since the nice weather started. First ride was 12km, second was 20, third was 26. So today we decided we would do 50km. I mapped out a route using MapMyWalk.com (great site BTW), packed a picnic lunch and we set out around 11am. The weather was beautiful and the route I chose had us going along the ocean, through the navel base, to a ferry terminal, inland to some rain forest trails, and some old country roads.

I printed off the map but we missed a turn out in the country, by the time we were back on track and made our way home we had ridden 65km!!!!!!!!!! I am so freaking proud of myself
(and DH of course). If you had told me 18 months ago that I would ride 65km I never would have believed it. We had such a wonderful time. Lots of tough uphills but a good amount of fun downhills through scenery that has to be some of the best in the world - I live in a gorgeous place. Here are some pictures we took during some pit stops.

As we were having lunch at the beach near the airforce base we saw F18s practicing maneuvers. Last ride the Snowbirds were practicing as well. An amazing site for sure!

Me enjoying and apple at our first pit stop (Km 10) Lunch spot (km 25) Beautiful spot - DH really seems to be enjoying his turkey wrap!

This is at a BC Ferry Terminal that services Powell River (km 35)

This is at a little country store (KM 40) You can see the beginning of the sunburn I am now sporting. We had a couple of real fruit Popsicles and restocked our water bottles.

The final two pictures are shots of the bike odometer I bought a few weeks ago. It has a sensor that attaches to your tires and measures your speed and distance. It also allows you to input your age and weight so I can give you an estimate of calories burned. The first picture is showing the total distance travelled and the second is the estimated calories burned 1593.7 woohoo).







Ok, thanks for looking at my pictures. I am so tired, time for bed!!!!

Snacks

Today's WI and I was down 1lb!! Since I started my clean eating plan I have been losing a little everyday. It is so reassuring to step on the scale every morning and see a little dip. I am fine with slow and steady as long as it is in the right direction. Exercise was good this week as well. I did a cardio jump class (killer!!!), a yoga class, a few sessions with my Wii Fit and a nice long bike ride with DH.

I was in the mood for some finger food yesterday (love appetizers for dinner) so I made some chicken fingers the clean eating way. I cut up some local organic chicken breasts and soaked them in buttermilk for a couple of hours. The coating was some Nature's Path Flax Plus cereal whizzed in the food processor mixed with some spices. I sprayed them with Pam and baked them at 375 for 30 minutes (flipping once) They were so yummy, better than the chicken fingers you get in most restaurants. This will definitely make it into the regular meal rotation.

A little note about the cereal I used. It is by far the most nutritious, good tasting cereal I have found. 7 grams of fibre, 110 calories and only 1.5g fat in 3/4 of a cup. Has a slightly sweet nutty taste, stays crunchy in milk and it is available at Costco for a reasonable price. Ok, unendorsed commercial over.

To go with the chicken strips I made some hummus to serve with a big platter or raw veggies. The hummus recipe is from the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook.

1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained

1/2 cup ff plain yogurt

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

3 cloves garlic

2 tsp olive oil

1 tbsp water

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp pepper

Whizz in food processor and serve. So easy and only 2 points for 1/4 cup.

Kitchen Creativity

I have a few recipes from today's kitchen experiments that I would like to share with you. First is fish tacos for lunch. I did not follow a specific recipe - just pan fried some snapper in olive oil and spices. I marinated chopped cabbage in apple cider vinegar and agave nectar while the snapper cooked. Two whole grain flax tortillas, cabbage, snapper, tomatoes and some plain yogurt (drained over cheese cloth to make it really thick). These were delicious, next time I will make some kind of citrus salsa to go with them.

For dinner we had a recipe from the Jan/Feb issue of Clean Eating Magazine.

Spicy Turkey & Chickpea Burgers(Adapted from Clean Eating)

Serves 4 (or 2 with leftover patties)

1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3 green onions, white and green parts, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

a handful of fresh parsley, chopped

2 TBS. Worcestershire sauce

3/4 lb. ground turkey

2 TBS. olive oil

These burgers were yummy, kind of half felafel half burger. Only 3 points per patty. Add in a whole grain bun, some sweet potato fries and steamed broccoli, the entire dinner was only 8 points!!


The last recipe is from the new Hungry Girl 200 under 200 cookbook. Pina Colada Cupcakes. I made these for a mother's day BBQ at my brothers house. If you like pineapple and coconut you will love these and they will only cost you 2 points. I am still trying to 'eat clean' but I did try a bite of one of these and it was really tasty. This book has lots of fun ideas and unique recipes - I have a few more planned to try this week.

WI result..

I am down 4lbs from this time last week and only 1.5 up from my lowest weight three weeks ago. I have stuck to my clean eating plan and have not been counting points. I feel pretty good about my portion control and so far it has been a good experiment to see if I will ever be able to live without constantly adding up calories (points). I am committed to at least one more week and I am hoping to be below 204 by the time I post this time next week.

Exercise was great this week as well. I logged 60km on my bike and we even did some highway riding, something that always scared me in the past. It was nice to be on such a long open stretch of road soaking up the sunshine. I also had a couple great workouts at the gym, a hike with DH and I went to an aquafit class with a girlfriend last night. It is now POURING rain outside, and though my newly planted veggie garden is loving the moisture I am sad to see my bike looking longingly at my from the garage.

Onto some fun blogging news, I was tagged by Ugly Girl with a Beautiful Heart (who is anything but an ugly girl!!) for my first blog award. Her blog is always open and honest and I admire her strength!

Now it is my turn to send this off to five others.

Here are the rules for those who are tagged:

Pass it along to 5 fellow super bloggers, and comment on their blog to let them know how lucky they are today!When you present your Super Blogger awards, link back to the super blogger who gave it to you.

1. Janet at The Crumbling Muffin Top. She gives me fantastic recipe ideas and is always there with encouragement when I need it. I am always happy to see a new post from her!

2. Natasha at Girl Stuck in a Rut. She was one of the first to comment on my blog and I love her never give up attitude!

3. Julie at New Start-New Life. Hers was one of the first blogs I read when making the decision to do this. What an inspiration!!!!

4. Weight By the Seashore. Our stats are very similar.. though she is always a step ahead of me, keeping me motivated. Her blog is honest and very real.

5. Debiggering. If you have not read her blog, you definitely should. Always open and entertaining - and her commitment to achieving her goals is inspiring.

These are just a few of my favourite blogs and If you have not read them already I'm sure you will love reading them as much as I do!

Pasta lovers prepare to drool..

Last week I posted about the fresh fettuccine we made with my Christmas present. DH really wanted to try and make fresh ravioli. I was in charge of the filling and he made the pasta dough (since I made a pretty big mess last time). For the filling I roasted a butternut squash with a little olive oil, and then put it in the food processor with some sauteed shallots, grated pecorino cheese, salt and pepper. Once he had the dough kneaded we rolled it out and I used a piping bad to fill the pasta. Cut with a cookie cutter, boil for a few minutes, used a little lemon and a sprinkling of cheese to garnish and voila! A delicious dinner. I only had four of these little beauties, I have been doing so great on my plan that I did not want to introduce too much of the white flour into my newly cleaned out system. I ate my small portion slowly and enjoyed every single bite! It was actually much easier than I though it would be, here are a few pictures of the process.

We made up for these extra carbs with another long bike ride in the country. 20km this time before it began to drizzle and we headed back. I got a new toy to help with the biking.. I'll blog about it tomorrow.

A ride, a hike, and bison

This post will be all kinds of random (to quote my 14 year old niece). We did go on the bike ride on Thursday but I forgot to pack the camera. The ride was great - took about two hours and we went 26km. Could have gone longer if not for my aching butt cheeks :) We are hoping to get out for another ride today. After the ride I felt guilty for having my pup locked up in the house on such a beautiful day so we took her to a neat by nature park for an hour of easy hiking.

My new outlook on eating is going really well. My general theory is that if it didn't grow in the ground or have a mother I'm going to try my best not to eat it. Here is yesterdays menu so you can have an Idea:

Nature's Path Flax Pus Cereal

Skim Milk

Fresh Pineapple

Clementines

Apple

Raw Veggies

Local Organic Dark Chocolate Raspberry bar (all natural ingredients)

Mango-Tofu smoothie (more on that later)

Grilled Salmon

Roasted Asparagus

Last night after dinner, DH and I were watching TV and his sweet tooth was calling too him. Usually I would whip up some ff pudding or dish out the frozen yogurt. Since none of those things are in the house right now I made us some smoothies - frozen mango, soft tofu and skim milk. I made it extra thick so we ate it with a spoon like ice cream.. yum yum yum!!

Finally I have a picture to share of a recent dinner. We picked up bison sausage from a local farm - gluten and additive free, extremely low in fat and only 100 cal each. They were so tasty with asparagus and 'smashed' new red potatoes.