Week 6 - Goodbye 24!!!!

I stopped by the office yesterday to pick up a few boxes of meals.  While there they put me on the scale!!! Yikes...not mentally prepared at all! My appointment was on Friday, I still had two more days of losing to do. But on I went............holding breath.........two more down!!!!! I could not believe it! For a grand total of 24lbs gone!!
I have been told, very kindly I must add, that my pants are way too big and that I have to go shopping.  I had tried going shopping a few weeks ago, when my total loss was at 15.5. But now at 24 down, I am sure that I have to be in smaller size...right? I sure hope so, that would be ultimately reassuring and motivating!

Lets talk Energy!! I am not a coffee lover, aside from anything with a green mermaid on it!! I purchased the Essential 1 Calorie Burn favor infusers for my water. They are amazing. They give you tons and tons of energy. I drink one right after or before my second Medifast Meal of the day. And not even a third of the way down, I start feeling the energy kick in! I love it! The strawberry Lemonade is really good. I love the flavor, but the Green tea flavor is not as good but alot smoother to drink. When I need energy I open a pack! Just don't drink one before bedtime or you will be making alot of mental lists as you lay in bed!!!

My super excited meals have included repeated versions of this. Baked salmon with black pepper and canned no salt green beans. Can't go wrong with this meal! I love Salmon and Liver, my two favs! I wonder if I could have liver, must ask!

For the love of Fish!

Last week’s weigh in went FABULOUS!! Loving every minute of this plan!

During the first week on the Medifast Plan, I could only have shakes and bars.  I came to realize that packing just shakes and bars was much more convenient than adding the punch, teas, pretzels and cheese puffs. Why? Who knows! It just worked out better for me.  I LOVE the both cheese puffs and both pretzel flavors. I enjoy those more during the weekends or evening, they take a while to get through when I am at work. Also, during my first week I lost 4-7lbs compared to the 2lbs I was now steadily losing per week!

So last week was a copycat of the first week, well almost!  I made nothing but shakes, shakes and more shakes. There were some bars thrown in there for fun.  I cooked mostly fish, Tilapia and Salmon. Repeating the same Lean and green meal all week may not work for everyone, but I find it helps out with managing my time.  I am in the middle of planning a birthday party for my two year old and staying up late into the night! Having 2-3 meals prepared and having only to worry about fixing my veggie side is great! 

I purposely stayed away from the scale.  I had started the bad habit of weighing everyday, so stressful!! It made weighing in much more enjoyable! Almost like being back in school waiting for  test scores! And it happened! Four pounds lost in one week!!!! WOW!!! I was so happy! Total weight loss to date (as of last Friday) 22.5lbs! Oh my!  Super excited!! Super Happy! This is such a nice number to know that its gone and really...just to think about how easy it has been! If you let the plan work and don’t sabotage it, it will work.  During my initial consultation my counselor pointed out that the plan works. And it sure has! 22.5 is such a great number for me and its very inspirational to know how far I have advanced towards my goal in such a short time!  I always say time is going to pass anyway, why not get to the end of the road, at exactly where you want to be. I am nowhere near my ultimate goal (1/3 of the way there), but I have been re-assured I will reach it by the end of November of this year.

That is the most exciting part, to be at my goal by November. How far is November really? It’s practically around the corner! And it’s been so easy, more than easy; it has made my life less stressful. Meal planning has taken care of itself!!!  Just to think back on the Friday nights of meal and shopping planning we would do! So much easier now!  And I feel great!

Lean & Greens!

Last weigh-in went great. The total weightloss to date is 18.5 lbs!! I am totally excited and happy about it. Some days are harder than others to stay on track, but overall there has been no "cheating", I haven't eaten anything not on the approved list. Have I tasted the food while cooking and still weighed the 6 or 7 full ounces....of course not!!!!! I found this great tomato and basil, salt free seasoning and I love it. I have tons of tilapia that I froze together, so we have alot of tilapia to go through the next couple of days.
For this simple meal, I used my healthy fat of olive oil with tomato and basil seasoning, with red pepper flakes. Just prepared on the skillet, tilapia cooks super fast!

 The finished produced plus two cups of greens and half cup of sauteed zuchinni. Delish!!

 With a little black pepper!

 This was another great meal! I love buffalo!!!!! Here it is paired with 2 cups of salad topped with the .5 cup of cauliflower and Walden Farms Thousand Island dressing!

 For another dinner, I had the rest of the buffalo with baked asparagus!

 I discovered a "secret" at the Medifast office. They sell SAMPLES!!! Great way to try new things without the commitment or the fear of wasting money.  I sampled the Southwestern Eggs. This powder was to become eggs....I was skeptical....?

Once it was mixed with the water, the mixture looked much better!! 

 Halfway through I took sneaked a quick peak at the process. The egg mixture was starting to look like real eggs....go figure!! LOL

 Finally, we have eggs! The texture was PERFECT. The taste was really good! It had a kick, not a spicy kick, but a flavorful kick that was so good! I would buy more samples if availble to prepare on weekends. But I am not a big egg lover to begin with.

 Today's Lean and green was.....drumroll.......tilapia!!! Here are the three ounces with half a cup of broccoli and cauliflower.

 My second lean and green of the day. Rotisserie chicken w/ two cups of mixed greens and water!

 Tomorrow's Medifast lunches are waiting in the fridge. I have Capuccino, Dark Chocolate shake and peach tea.  The flavor of the peach tea does not have me completely convinced and sold! I am debating if its a possible rebuy item...? I will ask what makes it better, since they completely turned the Fruit Punch around for me! Lean and green is half portion of tilapia with veggies.

Monday Ready!!!

On my counselor's advise, I am returning to having my lean and green meal divided in half.  Tonight's half of my lean is extra lean ground turkey. With my whole green, two cups of spring mix with tomato and two tablespoons of this awesome zero calorie salad dressing. It was so yummy. 

Tommorow's meals are in the fridge.  Chai Latte which is meant to be a hot drink, but I am trying it cold. Chocolate pudding for my mid-morning Medifast Meal, Caramel crunch bar for mid-afternoon. The soup was meant for lunch but will stay in the fridge for tonights last medifast meal.

For lunch, half of my lean and green, includes 2 1/8 ounces of Cod fillet with 1/2 cup of white mushrooms.

 The Cod was prepared stovetop with Mrs. Dash, salt-free, tomato basil seasoning.

Meal Planning the Medifast Way!

Happy Tuesday!  This weekend was soooo much better than the last one.  It took some basic planning just to make sure I was always on schedule with my meals and lean and green.  During my last weigh-in, I purchased a month's worth of food. Lot of newbie foods, soooo excited!!! 

 Some of the new items are:

• Parmesean Cheese Puffs
• Vanilla Pudding
• Brownie
• Chai Latte
• Caramel Crunch Bar
• Tropical Fruit Punch
• Peach Drink
• Cream of Broccoli Soup

I spread everything out on the dinner table by groups. Breakfast always a drink (easy to drink while driving), lunch (always a warm filling soup) and dessert (ending the day with sweetness!). Weeks worth of food is all waiting for me in neat little bags.

Todays Meal Plan was:

Breakfast           Essential 1 Cappuccino
Mid-Morning     Chocolate Shake
Lunch                 Beef Stew
Mid-Afternoon   Tropical Fruit Punch
Evening              Chocolate Brownie

And of course, lots and lots of water.

For dinner, I had to stop and run an errand so I had leftover Buffalo meat with canned no salt added green beans and H2O.

 Really good! No seasoning other than a little black pepper.

Tommorow's lunches are waiting in the fridge. Cappuccino for breakfast, Dutch Choc Shake for mid morning, Beef stew for lunch and Tropical Fruit Punch for mid-afternoon meal.

Weigh-In #4 - Day 15

Weigh-in  #4 was this week. Less 2 more lbs for a total of 13. So excited! Averaging 6.5 per week! Yay! Such a positive note to finish off the week with. Unfortunately, weigh-in #3 was not great.  Did not gain any, but did not lose any either.  This past weekend really affected my weight-loss goals. It was great to know I was getting back on track!  

I was visiting the office twice a week, but beginning next week I am doing only one visit per week. Yikes. A bit nervous but I think I can do it. The support has been great in providing the guidance and answering all the questions that came up during the beginning.

Our next step is joining a gym.  The hot humid weather is uncomfortable to even walk in. The enjoyable walks are gone! So we will tour the Fort Bend YMCA, the online tour has a great kiddie area.  The office recommended Fitness Connection for their low monthly price. Just today I saw that one is coming soon less than a few miles away. We do have a stationary bike, a weight machine in the garage, and pilates videos, so we have to decide what we think will work best.

To catchup on this week's dinners, here is the Citrus-Grilled Pork Chops. Five ounces of boneless pork loin chops marinaded with lime juice, garlic and olive oil. So good!

 We also tried the sun-dried tomato chicken baked with broccoli.

The night before work. I prepped all my meals for the next day. In the blender cup is the morning favorite iced Cappuccino, ready for a final spin in the blender in the morning.  Chicken and wild rice soup for lunch, with chocolate shake and pretzels.

Our favorite recipe from the Lean and Green book is the Nothern Italian Shrimp & Broccoli. Such a good recipe and quick to prep and cook!

The Medifast office gave me a sample of this Peanut Butter Soft Serve. 

 I crushed the ice in the blender.

 Combined the peanut butter soft serve powder.

 The results! Smooth and delicious. I don't think I would buy it again. I am more of an almond butter lover.

 I am trying out the Chocolate pudding for my 5th Medifast Meal of the day.  What better to end the day with chocolate pudding.

 Combine water with the pudding powder.

 Wisk away until combined. Do not stop to take a picture or the result will be a little lumpy.

 Not like the picture on the box, but definately really good! I placed it in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Just enough time for it to chill. Love it!

Weekend of missing meals =(!

This was a very trying weekend on the plan. It seemed I almost missed the 2-3 hour window between every meal!  I actually completely missed two meals without noticing the time. Visiting family and running after a soon-to-be two year old makes it much more hectic than sitting at the office =/.  I can't wait to go back to work to get back into the routine of things! That sounds so sad!

The soups are a great filling way to do lunch and still feel like you are having an actual lunch portion. They are so filling and taste pretty good.

I was running late for dinner. So I needed something quick and easy to prep, with no defrost time. The Zucchini Fritters were perfect.  Grating the zucchini had to be the "hardest part". That and actually having to finish 2 whole eggs and 4 egg whites!!! Lots of egg! I am not an egg lover, specially after the second one!! So this one was a tough recipe to finish.

The zucchini is grated, ready for the egg.

 Combined both together to give me this.

Into the pan they went, 2-3 tablespoons per fritter.  These spread pretty easily when on the pan. I would have preferred them to be a little thicker. Again, not an egg lover here.

 So naturally, I stacked my portion pancake style. Again, one portion gave me way to much food.

 Closeup!

 For the last Medifast Meal I had the Coffee Soft Serve. It is delish! Took the ice through couple of rounds in the blender to give me this.

 Halfway through, I opened it up to scrape the powder of the soft serve still remaining.

 At the end I got this smooth and creamy textured soft serve. LOVE IT! The texture is just right. And with the wonderful hot and humid weather in Sugar Land, its a keeper!

 Ready to be enjoyed with a good glass of water!