30 Day Challenge Part 2

singer201

I LOVE Litehouse bleu cheese dressing, so I just use it sparingly and account for the calories. In the past, I have mixed in a little milk, and found that I still get the good flavor, and the thinner consistency spreads over the salad greens better. Gonna have to start doing that again.

aab1

I'm at 199.8 today, down 2.8 from last week. Under 200 for the first time since last fall!

Congrats Singer to getting the heck out of the 200's!!!! YAAAAY!!!!!! Keep up the great work!

singer201

Thank you! I just hope this wasn't the easy part. I haven't been much below 190 in about three years, so that will be a happy milestone, too.

I say it again--this challenge is the BEST! I haven't been outside walking this much since I sent my horse to my daughter in Montana 3 years ago. See the correlation between enjoyable exercise and weight maintenance?????

jessicamarie81

Great information aab and singer! And congrats singer on getting out of the 200's! It's a great feeling! I've been there!
I bought some of the salad spritzers and can't wait to try them out on my salad for supper tonight, they will be a great way to practice portion control. I made a home made pizza today, it was soooo good and so easy to make. It wins over store bought already made pizza any day!

sdhorne

Great job everyone!

oliviawink

@jess - My hubby and I have both been into tortilla pizzas lately. Super easy and very low cal! just add sauce, low cal cheese and any toppings you want to a tortilla, put it straight onto oven rack and cook until cheese is melted and tortilla is crisp 5 minutes-ish. I make mine with whole wheat tortillas.

got my greens in today - salad with mixed greens for lunch and lettuce mix on my turkey burger.

jessicamarie81

@jess - My hubby and I have both been into tortilla pizzas lately. Super easy and very low cal! just add sauce, low cal cheese and any toppings you want to a tortilla, put it straight onto oven rack and cook until cheese is melted and tortilla is crisp 5 minutes-ish. I make mine with whole wheat tortillas.

got my greens in today - salad with mixed greens for lunch and lettuce mix on my turkey burger.

those sound good! I have some tortillas right now in the fridge I need to use up! thanks for the idea!

tatiana_13

I'm not a huge fan of cold food, but I find that a quick sauté (or microwave in a pinch) softens and warms the greens enough for me. Spinach is great dropped in a soup or stir fry. I also really like making a quick peanut sauce for quick microwaved kale---it's a quick side dish, and can be easily packed for lunch.

ceejay000

SW: 155
2/21: 154
2/28: 153
CW: 152

Not really what I was going for at the beginning of the challenge, but I am definitely happy seeing a smaller number on the scale each week. The one disappointing thing is like someone else said, I weighed myself on Saturday and was 150.5. Don't really know where that number came from, and I knew I was going to be back up today, but it was nice thinking I had lost that much weight in 5 days.

I've been eating a lot more salads recently. I wasn't able to make one before I left this morning, but I did eat a healthy one at work today. My favorite greens are the Earthbound Farm Organic Mixed Baby Greens.

Melissaol

Good evening,

Melissaol

Down 2 lbs from last time. At 175 lbs.. My goal is to get to 165 by April 15th. That when I leave for a girls trip for a week. I 'm going shopping the week before. Need to buy a new swim suit. Its hard to find meals that my family will eat.

kylakesgal

Just had my spinach salad with grilled chicken strips for dinner. I put green bell peppers, fresh mushrooms, bacon bits, cheddar cheese and chipotle cheddar tortilla strips (really good) on mine and ended up just using a light olive oil and vinegar dressing on mine. It was delicious! I could only eat 11/2 cups on spinach,, says a serving size is 3 cups. I could never eat that much spinach!

singer201

I goofed when I said I was having a main dish green salad for dinner at work--today's my day off, and I momentarily forgot! I'm still having a nice baby greens/spinach salad with all the different veggies on it as a side to my steak tonight

I'm also cooking up some of the feta cheese-stuffed chicken to have on hand in the freezer for packable dinner entrees.

nikki8marie

I discovered something today when my friend and I went to McDonalds. I grew up loving the golden arches. I couldn't get enough. Lately IF I go out I usually opt for taco bell and get 2 soft tacos, but my friend really wanted McDonald's. I had some nuggets and fries and, honestly, it didn't taste that great. I was amazed that something that I used to beg, plead, and bribe for was something that kinda grossed me out now. I guess it shows how much my eating habits have changed.

lesleed

I took my kids to McDonalds today as well. They had earned a "special treat" from points they've been collecting and that was what they wanted. I couldn't believe how UNAPPEALING it was to me! I actually felt kinda sick. The funny thing is that not one of my kids actually finished their Happy Meal. When a 7 and 8 year old end up wanting something other than their fries and nuggets, you know lifestyles are changing!

kylakesgal

I haven't been to McDonalds since I joined on here nearly 4 weeks ago. I used to go regularly until I checked their calories online. Ouch! It's best for me to avoid that place and since I have no small children, it is easy to do! Occasionally I would treat myself to a caramel frappe about once a week but when I seen that a small one is 450 calories,,, that was the end of that! Eek!

sheilabennett

I'm at 199.8 today, down 2.8 from last week. Under 200 for the first time since last fall!

WOO HOO!!!! Doesn't it feel amazing!

jessicamarie81

We went through the McDonalds drive thru today too! Easy to do with a 3 year old, I'd like to stay away from there if at all possible. When I pulled up I didn't see a thing on that menu I wanted. So I opted for a nonfat sugar free vanilla latte, very very low on calories! I used to eat and eat McDonalds fries and I didn't even care about them today. Yes, it is interesting how our eating habits have changed. I also was excited to get home and try my new salad spritzers(which saves me a ton on the sodium now) and I didn't want McDonalds to ruin it!


Ok, tomorrows challenge:

Try something new! I mean as in food-wise. Since starting this new way of eating I've tried all kinds of new things. Greek yogurt, Silk Soy Milk (chocolate) which is yummy, wheat pizza crust, and the list goes on. I really love it! All this variety makes me hate fast food now! Tomorrow I'm going to see what I can try that is new. Let us know what you tried, share with us!

singer201

I eat at McDonald's every day! (It's my last name--LOL).

My new food this week is feta cheese. I bought it on a whim, and so far, I've put in on salads, in omelets, and in stuffed chicken. Just something to make the same food taste a little different.

kylakesgal

Ha ha singer:) Is that really your last name? Hmm there aren't too many food I haven't tried although I have not tried feta cheese either. I've heard so many people talking about it lately plus that chicken stuffed with feta cheese sounds divine:)

singer201

Yes!

kylakesgal

Well singer I guess you do eat at "McDonalds" everyday then:)

jessicamarie81

I have been eating a lot of feta lately too! I hadn't had it much before I starting eating better. It's a nice bold cheese, kinda harder and thicker than other cheeses, I like it a lot with balsamic and spinach! And tomatoes!

jessicamarie81

My new food today is the home made pizza I made, never made one before with wheat crust and the sauce I used, or that kind of cheese in my diary. It was wonderful! Also tried those salad dressing spritzers for the first time today, balsamic vinaigrette, it was great and it really lowered the sodium. Dressing and cheese always make my sodium high but today was good besides the olives I added...which stinks because I love olives. Also the meat I used in my salad made a world of difference. Last week I bought some oscar meyer chicken strips and they were LOADED with sodium, today I made my own and it really reduced the sodium significantly!
Tomorrow I'm going to try these Kelloggs protein shakes I've had in the fridge.

microem1

Sorry I didn't get a chance to log yesterday (prob coz I knew it wasn't good lol)

My start weight was 121.5lb and my goal weight is 115lb
On Monday 21st Feb = 126lb
On Monday 28th Feb = 120.25lb
On Monday 7th March = 122.00
This week’s gain = 1.75lb
Total weight lost since the beginning of this challenge = -0.5lb

aab1

@Angela - suggestion for salad dressing - 'Ken's Steakhouse' lite dressing are really good and very low in calorie, fat & sodium. My favorite is the Lite Raspberry Walnut Vinagrette (sp?)


30-day challenge SW: 240.1
30-day challenge 2/22: 236
30-day challenge 3/01: 234
30-day challenge CW: 233
30-day challenge GW: 232
Down 1lbs

oliviawink

So, I was right. Got on the scale this morning and it said 175. That's a total of 1.5 down from last monday (1 lb down from yesterday's #). I knew something was fishy. 1.5 loss for the week? I'll happily take that! I had originally stated my goal weight was 175, but re-thought that to push myself and made it 173. I'm right on track to make it to 173.5 for next Monday (I've been consistently -1.5 each week), and I'll happily end this challenge and start the next one at 173.5 (which will be a total of 9/5 lbs lost since we started).

*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`
I'd like to add an additional motivator to this week's challenge (if I might). There is a theory of human motivation/action called "goal attainment theory". What it means is that when the end is in sight, you really kick it up and push hard. So for example, when you can see the finish line of a race, you kick it up to your fastest possible speed, because you're almost there and you just want to be done with it. This week think "I can see the finish line. I wanna end with the best (lowest) numbers I can have!" We're just 6 days from finished with this challenge, I can see the finish line and I wanna get there fast, slim and healthy. What about you?

(BTW, keep an eye out for the posted loss #s tonite)

clover5

HI. Just checking in. Weight this week is 146, so no gain, no loss. On a brighter note though, I've lost a quarter inch in the hips! Always looking for something positive.

jessicamarie81

aab, the dressing sounds great!!!
Olivia, you are right on track! And thanks for the motivator, I loved it, so true!

kylakesgal

Thanks aab for the salad dressing idea. I've heard of that brand, just never tried it:) Ok for something new, I had tried fage yogurt with the fruit added in but last night I bought the plain fage in the 17.6 oz container. I wasn't prepared for the taste as it tasted like sour cream. I love sour cream but just didn't expect it to taste like that. I was glad that I had bought some honey to go in it. It's really good and the protein content in it is great! I find most days it is hard for me to get in enough protein. Thanks to all who suggested it:) Feta cheese will be on my grocery list as things to try next.