Bad Blogger... Bad Blogger *slaps hand*

Okay. So I was going to blog several times a week to update my "best me" project stats. Instead, I've been updating the trackers but not actually blogging. I have hit many bumps in the road, but I'm still trucking along. I have been cooking a ton of new things and really trying stuff out.

I will go into more details soon since it is WAY past my bedtime, but I wanted to at least write SOMETHING! Yikes... it really HAS been awhile. Talk soon!

Roadblock...

Sometimes it does feel like this journey is an episode of the Amazing Race. *sigh*

I am sick. I have been sick for about 5 days now. I feel like whenever things are going well, I have to face a roadblock and try to overcome. I will do that this time and not give up like I usually do!

Today I cooked a recipe from the Diabetic Cookbook. I am not diabetic, but I like how simple these recipes are, so I ordered this cookbook. Today I made "Fresh Garlic Shrimp Linguine" and it was yummy! I made extra so I have it for lunch tomorrow. It called for Seafood Seasoning, but I used Mrs. Dash because it has no sodium. I picked the Fiesta Lime flavor and it was great!

Tomorrow is weigh-in day, and I hope I at least stay the same. With the lack of exercise due to illness, I worry about what might happen. Keep you posted!

Long Time No Post...

I got a little off track over the past week or so. I kind of forgot why I was doing this, and I needed to remind myself. I slipped back into eating takeout, so last week was the first week I did not meet my goal to prepare at least 4 dinners at home. I am recommiting to that now. Especially since I took a sneak peak at the scale this morning and saw the number heading in the wrong direction. I'm hoping that a couple really good days will get that number to at least stay the same.

Don't be shocked, but I finally cleaned my house. My whole house in ONE day. Of course, I have a tiny house, so it only took my about 2 hours, but did I mention that I hate cleaning. I am going to try to keep up with it better now that I have a starting point.

Lost a Little Mojo...

I have had a tough time of it this weekend. I didn't eat as well as I wanted and I have suffered with heartburn because of that. I also could feel myself slipping back into the "I don't care" attitude. I had to give myself a major pep talk this morning to remind myself what I'm doing this for.

I watched the Biggest Loser from this week, and that always gets me motivated, so as soon as it was over, I made my grocery list for the week and I packed my gym bag for the morning. I REFUSE to let myself down this time! I want those tracking numbers to keep moving in the right direction.

Euphoria... Followed by Problems

I am SO excited! I lost 4.6 pounds this week, so I know that I am doing something right. Realistically, I know that most of that weight is water weight, but it is still a motivator.

Then... I could feel my blood pressure was up. So I went to the doctor instead of going to the gym. he confirmed my blood pressure was up and put me on yet another medication. :( So frustrating! But I'm not going to let it get me down. The doctor said I could still exercise, so that is what I will do.

Tonight I made a really yummy recipe. It was a Chicken Parmesan recipe from the Food Network show Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger. It was not only easy, it was delicious. I am usually scared to cook chicken, but I think I could do it using this method again!

Short blog tonight, but I am tired and ready for bed.

Lentils, Lentils, the Magical Fruit...

And you should know how that song ends. haha. I made soup for dinner tonight. It was a recipe from the Weight Watchers cookbook called Simply the Best. The recipe was for Lentil-Spinach Soup and it was really good. I never realized how much fiber there is in lentils. And let's just say that fiber and me do NOT react well. I think I'm going to need a gas mask for me and one for my little kitty. I have a feeling she won't sleep with me tonight.

So the meal took over two hours to make. I like to "prep" everything first, so that once I start cooking, I have some down time to clean-up. Otherwise I end up with this huge stack of dishes to do after I eat, which I hate. So I cried my way through the chopping of two onions. Not sure how to stop my eyes from burning during the process. I had to keep walking away to splash water on my face. Then I had to examine and "pick through" the lentils. Not sure what I was looking for (my friend said rocks or debris), but I did it. After that, the process was just throwing everything into a pot and stirring occasionally for the next hour.

The end result was very good, and I have leftovers for another three meals since it made four servings. It was actually pretty filling, too. Depending on how I feel after today's meal, I may eat it for dinner tomorrow again since I plan on going to the gym after school and won't have to cook dinner when I come home.

Also, I found that I miscalculated how much I had to lose to get to my goal weight. I said I needed to lose 110 pounds when it was really 111. So I fixed my tracker in the sidebar. *sigh*

I do feel as though I need to clear the air about the cleaning bit. I don't want anyone to think I live in filth because I hate to clean. That's just not true. I dust, run the vacuum, mop the floors, and clean the toilet often. When I say I want to clean my house every other week, I mean spotless clean. Which I only do every once and awhile usually. I'm not counting my dusting, vacuuming, mopping, and toilet cleaning as part of that because I do that frequently.

Glad I cleared the air on that one. Now if only I could clear the air from the lentils...

Redefining *Cooking*

After much thought and advice from my friends at Sparkpeople, I've decided to redefine what I meant by "cooking" dinner at home at least four nights a week. My true goal was to actually have control over what I ate for dinner by preparing it for myself. Since I am a takeout junkie, I thought that eating dinner at home would do me some good.

So instead of a goal of "cooking" dinner at home four times a week, I will say that I will prepare dinner at home at least four nights a week. This means if I make a salad or eat a bowl of cereal, it will fit my goal requirement in the literal sense. With this change, I ate dinner at home... prepared by me... SIX times out of seven this week!

I cooked spaghetti tonight for dinner. It wasn't the healthiest meal, but it was a craving I couldn't resist. You can't take the Italian food away from the Italian girl, capise?

I spent most of my time today being lazy. That means I did not do my cleaning, once again. I am thinking that might be a futile goal. I am just too attached to my dust bunnies, haha.

Tracking is now in the sidebar for easy access.