Salads, and a correction

I realized that when I was marking my calendar for the 17DD, I accidentally put 7 days for some of the cycles, instead of 10. I also decided to do the first cycle for 10 days, just like the rest of the cycles, instead of just 7 days (I know, I'm all over the place!). It just made sense to make it all 10. After making the corrections, I will be done with the 17DD March 25! That feels like it's just around the corner!

Monday's are going to be my weigh in days. So next Monday I will see where I'm at with the scale (I would have weighed in this morning, but I made the decision to do Monday weigh-ins this evening:)

***

I've still managed to eat out almost everyday, while being on the 17DD. I just always get a salad, and be sure to ask them to leave out foods that I'm not allowed. Here's some salads I've had over the past few days:

Greek salad from Jim-n-NicksChicken Cesar salad from Spicy PickleBuild your own salad from Qudoba. This one kinda looks gross, but I put lots of veggies in it, and it was delish!Chicken and fruit salad from chick-fil-a
Keep in mind that there are a lot of salads, that are high in fat and sugars. Most of the salads I see on menus don't go along with the 17 DD. I usually have to custom order mine. If you're doing the 17 DD,
follow these 3 steps when ordering a salad:
1. Choose a light dressing, and always ask for it on the side.
2. Make sure you only have ingredients in your salad that go along with the guidelines of whichever cycle you're on.
3. Even though it's a salad, and it's filled with healthy greens, stop eating when you're just about full, to avoid over stuffing yourself. Too much of a good thing, is a bad thing :)

I found this neat link on Pinterest that gives a big list of healthy salad dressings. I can't wait to try some of these on some of my salads! Here's the link!
PS. Do you ever want to give a gift to someone who's on a diet, and have no idea what to give? "Chocolates? NO." "Homemade cookies? NO." "Cupcakes? NO." "I give up!" A nice big jar of healthy homemade salad dressing is a great idea!!

Do you have a favorite restaurant salad?

Clear headed, and my plan

TOM is finally gone, and I've finally got my sanity back. I swear I'm not normally an emotional wreck when good old TOM rolls around (and for those of you who don't know, TOM is "that time of the month";), but for some reason this time was a whole different story.

I've had a good week on the 17DD, but not perfect. I've had a Hershey kiss, and a bite of ice cream, here and there. If there's one thing that I've learned from the 17DD, it's that if you want to have amazing results, you really need to follow it to the T. Otherwise, you'll probably lose just as much weight a week as you would any other diet; In that case, it makes sense to go ahead and do another diet :) I want to have 1 perfect week like I did the first time around. After that, I'll go onto cycle 2, but, it will be a little different...

I've formulated a plan of my own, that I feel really good about:

I'm discovering that I really miss my :Deliciously Healthy way of losing weight, and I miss blogging about it the way I used to. But I also really want to finish the 17DD. My solution to this, is to shorten the 17DD. Instead of having each cycle last 17 days, my plan is going to have each cycle last only 10 days. The 17 DD book says that you can go back and forth between the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cycles, if you have more weight you want to lose then you would be able to achieve by only going once through.
This is how my 17DD will look:
Cycle 1, cycle 2, cycle 3. Cycle 1, cycle 2, cycle 3, cycle 4. DONE!
But, my cycles will only be 10 days, instead of 17. With the exception of the 1st, 1st cycle, which will only be one week, since I've already done the 1st cycle. You still with me? ;D

I've got it all mapped out on my fridge calendar!:
I don't know if you can see the colors, but the pink days represent the 1st cycle, blue is the 2nd cycle, and black is the 3rd. According to my calculations (I've always wanted to say that;), I will be done with the 17DD on March 14! That's only 50 days away :)

So far, so good

Day two was a success!

I've been so emotional all day. I seriously broke down crying for no reason at all, at least twice today. Oh the joys of being a women. The good news is, I didn't have the urge to turn to food. I just kept telling myself, "Eating a hamburger is just going to create more problems, then it would solve." Now if only I could have been telling myself that for the last two weeks... but whatever :)

Lately I've been experimenting with spaghetti squash. I like it, but I can't seem to make it right... it keeps coming out slightly crunchy. Tonight I decided to experiment with it some more. I made chicken with marinara sauce, on top of spaghetti squash, and veggies.
It was quite yummy. and slightly crunchy :)

Onto tomorrow!

Have you ever made spaghetti squash?
Does yours come out crunchy?

One step

Hello there!
I am so sorry for being MIA lately. As you can guess, I've been struggling. In more ways then just my diet. Usually when I'm struggling, my blog really helps me to journal all of my thoughts, and gets me through a rough patch. But other times, it can be really hard to put myself out there. Kinda like standing outside naked. Completely exposed. In those cases, I hide.

I've had so many things on my mind these past couple weeks:

~Fertility. Once again wondering if we are ever going to get pregnant, and be the parents we so badly want to be.

~Knee replacements. My knees have been killing me lately. I have to concentrate when I walk, to try and not "step" wrong. Cause if I do, I can barely walk for the rest of the day. This has been most frustrating when I'm trying to lose weight. "How am I going to lose this weight, when I can't even walk around the block on somedays?!" I've been considering getting knee replacements now. It's such a hard decision that weighs heavily on me.

~Putting our dog Kisses down. She's old, and doesn't move around much. She needs surgery again, but she's gotten to the age where it doesn't make sense to put thousands of dollars into her. We've decided it would be best to put her down. But I love her, and I don't want to.

~And of course, losing weight. Having so many things on my mind has not made it easy to start my diet back up. Especially a diet that is as strict as this. Food is my comfort, and my happy place. I was doing so well, and I'm so mad at myself for sliding off track. To get rid of that anger, I turn to mac and cheese. The official "don't worry, be happy" food. The problem with the 17 day diet (for me anyway), is that if you slide off track for a few days, it's really hard to get back on it. It's so restrictive (at least in the 1st cycle), and after a couple days of eating yummy comfort food, you don't want to go back to salads. Like, you seriously throw a tantrum like a 3 year old on the way to the dentist.

(Amongst all that, TOM is here (for the first time in a while), so I'm overly emotional, bloated, and hungry.)

Today I've realized that you simply need to take the first step. And then another, and another. But it all starts with the first. It's the hardest step to take. For me, I usually decide if I'm going to be on a diet that day, before I eat breakfast. "Do I make eggs, and get back on my diet, or do I have cookie crisps?" Lately, I've been choosing the cookie crisps, and the day is set for unhealthy eating. But today, I took my first step in a healthy direction. I already feel better. The day is set for healthy eating. Now I just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I'm going to do the 1st cycle of the 17 day diet for 1 week, to get my butt back into gear. Then onto the 2nd cycle! And I PROMISE to blog everyday, while on the 17 day diet :D

My Plan, and my early Christmas present!!

I can't believe Christmas Eve is tomorrow! I am so excited!

After 3 days of struggling on the 17 day diet (Mon, Tues, Wed), I am back on track with my eating. I've decided to stay on the 1st cycle until the day after Christmas. I wanted to give myself a day off my diet, during this fun and joyous time of year. I just had to decide if I wanted my off day to be Christmas Eve, or Christmas. After lots of thought (lol), I've decided that on Christmas Eve I will let myself eat, and be merry (in moderation of course). That is part of the reason why I've decided to stay on the 1st cycle until after Christmas.

***

My hubby brought me home an early Christmas present while he was visiting in NY:A Goldendoodle puppy!

We've named her Bellissimo. It means lovely in Italian. This little pup has definitely been keeping me busy! But we absolutely love her! She has made this Christmas very special.

Our date night, a weigh-in, and an update

This past Tuesday, my husband and I went on our date to see the nutcracker.
Me in my reward dress!:It was such a fun night with my husband. After the nutcracker, we walked around Denver, and went out to a fancy dinner. I felt beautiful and girly in my dress. Joe kept complimenting me the entire night, and congratulating me on my weight loss. I was on cloud 9, and I felt so proud of myself!

***

Monday was supposed to be the end of cycle 1, and the beginning of cycle 2. Here's my final weigh-in for cycle 1:
(my starting weight was 190.4) On the 1st cycle, I lost 14.4 pounds!

Since Monday, I haven't been doing so good.
Monday I was busy, busy, busy, and didn't make time to eat. I didn't eat until 9pm! I was starving, and too tired to cook, so I had a burrito. Tuesday was our date night, and I just wanted to enjoy myself at the restaurant, and not eat yet another salad. I felt content with that decision. One fancy dinner wasn't going to kill me, or undo everything I accomplished on the 1st cycle. But of course that thought process spilled over into today. Today I've eaten 3 cookies.

UGH!

So now I'm trying to figure out what to do from here:
Continue on with the 2nd cycle, even though I haven't been doing well, and have gained back 2lbs?
Or go back to the 1st cycle for a few days to undo my bad behavior, and then start the 2nd cycle fresh?

Why did this have to go and get complicated? I was doing so well...

17 day diet- cycle 1, day 16: My Christmas dress

I was going to wait until Saturday or Monday to buy my dress, when I actually finished the first cycle. But I just couldn't wait. And I'm glad I didn't, because there was only one dress left! Luckily it was the size I needed.
I bought a clutch to go with:And a belt :) Now I just have to find a cardigan, and my Christmas outfit will be complete. Here's the outfit so far:If you're asking yourself if I hung my dress on the chandelier, the answer is yes. Yes I did.
I was going to take a picture of me in the dress, but my photographer is out of town ;) I'll be sure to take pictures on our Christmas date night!

This was such a fun reward for myself. I had fun putting it all together, and I absolutely love the dress! The bottom is flowy, and I couldn't stop twirling in it, in the fitting room.

I'm almost done with the first cycle, and I have to say, all the hard work has been worth it.

17 day diet- cycle 1, day 15: Switching it up

Friday is my last day on the first cycle. Since I had a couple less then stellar days last week, I want to extend the first cycle just a tad. I want Sunday to be the end of the first cycle, and start the 2nd cycle Monday. Call me crazy, but I just feel better about this for some reason.

I also decided to switch my reward for successfully ending the 1st cycle. Instead of getting that darling purse, I want to buy a Christmas dress for my reward. The hubby is going to take me on a date to see the nutcracker, and I want something festive to wear. Plus, with Christmas being on Sunday, I want something pretty to wear to church. I found a red sparkly dress (and a clutch to match;) at kohls that I fell in love with. I'm going to go back in the next couple days to get it! I'll most def take pictures :) That purse is definitely still going to be one of my rewards, though. I mean, that purse belongs on my arm. Maybe at the end of the 3rd cycle?

I've been reassessing my goal weight for the past couple months. My goal weight was 120 pounds; but when I look at pictures of myself at that weight, I just don't like the way I look.
120 pounds: However, when I look at pictures of myself at 140 pounds, I do.
140 pounds:So, my new goal weight is 140 pounds. It just feels right to me. I'm a women with curves, and I like that. I don't need to be a stick. With us trying to get pregnant, my 120 pound goal was stressing me out. "Do I try and reach that before we get pregnant?", "That's so far away!". A 140 pound goal seems very doable. After having a baby, I may take a second look at my 120 pound goal, who knows. For this time in my life, 140 pounds feels right.

17 day diet- cycle 1, day 14: Weigh in, and meals

I can't believe it's day 14! Time has flown by this week. Sorry for not keeping my promise to blog everyday while I'm on the 17 day diet. With Christmas just around the corner, life has been a wee bit hectic. We had our, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause" date night party this week: I had the girls put on red lipstick, and kiss the Santa. The husbands had to figure out which was their wife's kiss mark ;) It was lots of fun, and I didn't have a single dessert. Yeah, I know, I rock. We got our Christmas cards/pictures ready:And lots of shopping, wrapping, and decorating in between.

I had a good week on the diet, but it wasn't perfect like last week pretty much was. I've let a couple things slip, like having soup with corn in it, or a salad with beans... but over all, I'd say I did pretty darn good.

Today's weight:I lost 2.9 pounds this week. That puts me at a 9.9 pound loss in 2 weeks.

I've been getting a lot of emails asking what exactly I'm eating. I gave a list of the foods you're allowed to eat in THIS post.

On top of that, here's just a few pictures of my meals:

My two favorite things to eat for breakfast on this diet are low-fat cottage cheese with peaches, and eggs with onions and hot sauce:
For lunch I either have a salad (which I usually go somewhere to get), or left overs form dinner:
You're not allowed to have beans, or corn in the first cycle, so be sure your salad only contains items from the list.

Dinners are where I have to get creative. The two recipes I turn to the most are lettuce wrap turkey tacos, and Mexican chicken skillet (minus the corn and beans, and 1 1/2 jars of salsa instead of 1):For snacks I either have fruit (but not past 3pm), or veggies.
I'll try to take more pictures of my meals to show you.

Only 3 days left, and then onto the 2nd cycle!

17 day diet- cycle 1, day 7: Weigh in day!

I've been on the 17day diet for one week. I've never been so excited for a weigh in day; I couldn't wait to step on the scale, and see my progress!

Last weeks weight: 190.4
This weeks weight:I lost 7.4 pounds in one week!

I think the most I've ever lost in one week was 2.5 pounds. So this blew me away! All my hard work is paying off.

I definitely needed this pick me up today. I had a pretty easy first few days on this diet, but Sunday and Monday were downright hard! I had to use every ounce of strength in me to not go off track. I'm proud to say that my only slip up was having half an oreo. Last time I had a whole, double oreo, and this time I only had half, so I'd say I'm improving ;)

10 more days left on the 1st cycle, and then onto the 2nd cycle. It will be so nice to have a change in the things I can eat!

Today's weigh in showed me that hard work and dedication pay off. It has definitely given me the strength I needed to continue to kick butt.

17 day diet- cycle 1, day 5: I've got some serious willpower

Today I was at the church all day getting ready for our Christmas party.
Since I knew I was going to be there all day, I made sure to eat before I left (egg white omelet, w/ fruit), and I packed a lunch with snacks (Jimmy Johns turkey lettuce wrap for lunch, and fruit for my snack). Coming prepared was the key for staying on track today. If I hadn't brought food with me, by the time the party started, I would have been so starving that I would have pigged out on all the yummy food people brought. And it wouldn't have been pretty.

Coming prepared wasn't the only key to success today. I had to have some willpower like you've never even seen before. This picture shows just a tiny little portion of the delicious desserts people brought: There were so many desserts there, I had to pinch myself, because I thought I was having one of those dreams again. The kind where I eat 20 cupcakes, with no tummy ache at all. But since it wasn't a dream, I stayed away. I didn't even have a crumb ;)

How do you stay on track at holiday parties?

17 day diet- cycle 1, day 4: Rewards

Today was a busy, busy day. We had 2 real estate agents come to our house, to help us decide if we should sell our house or not. On top of that stress, we have our church's Christmas Party tomorrow, and I'm one of the people in charge of putting it all together. In a nutshell, I'm pretty surprised that I didn't actually go crazy today. And I'm even more surprised that I stayed on track with my diet, amidst all the stress and craziness of today. I'm pretty darn proud of myself for getting through 4 complete days with no cheats (minus 1 oreo:).

That got me to thinkin'... I really need to have a reward for myself when I get through the 1st cycle (and the 2nd, and 3rd:). And THIS is what I've decided it's going to be:LOVE. This will so be waiting for me in 13 days.

Do you set rewards for yourself? What are they?

17 day diet- cycle 1, day 3: Bedtime.

The evenings are definitely the hardest for me.
I think it's because after dinner I know I'm done eating for the day... and that's a little bit of a sad thought. Since being on this diet, I've been going to bed a lot earlier. Even if I'm not that tired, I tell myself that I need to put a little heart on the calendar ending a successful day, and just go to bed. That seems to do the trick. Plus, I have the added benefit of being on a better sleeping schedule, since I used to go to bed around 1am. But still, I hope that I can get to the point where I have more self control in the evenings, and I don't have to send myself to bed every night ;)

Day 3 was a success. I had eggs and an apple for breakfast. My snack was a couple tangerines. Lunch was turkey meatballs with veggies, and for dinner I had a greek salad at the spicy pickle. And now I'm sending myself to bed :)

Are you a night time eater?
How do keep yourself from undoing your whole day?

17 day diet- cycle 1, day 2: Today, I am motivated!

Today is so much better then yesterday. Both in my stress level, and on my diet. Every time I look at my diet calendar, I get all giddy. I keep thinking, "I wonder how much weight I will have lost by the end of the 1st cycle?! I can't wait to find out!". There's only one way to "find out": STAY ON TRACK!! My calendar has definitely helped me. Having all my meals planned out for the week has taken the guess work out of this somewhat complicated diet. And I LOVE seeing myself inch closer and closer to the end of the first 17 days.
I have a slight headache. Probably from the lack of soda. Aside from that, I feel pretty darn good. I have energy, and I haven't felt starved. Both, very good things :)

I didn't realize how much being off my diet dragged me down. Both physically, and emotionally... but mostly emotionally. Every single day I would feel depressed about how far off track I had gotten. It consumed my thoughts. I would even wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it. It was like I had a rain cloud over my head constantly.
Even though I'm not down to the weight I was (or even close), and I'm still living with the consequences of eating all those hamburgers (pants not fitting), that dark cloud has completely vanished. I know that I'm doing something about it, and I will eventually get back to where I was. I'm taking action. And it's just what the doctor ordered.

I'm off to go make dinner: sloppy joe's (minus the bread) with lots of veggies :)

Making a list, and checking it twice

I was supposed to start the 17 day diet on the 23rd of November. Which I did. I was good all day, until it got time to cook dinner. As I was cooking the ground turkey for the sloppy joe's I was making, I noticed all this black stuff in the meat. Yup. Like, all the Teflon came off our 6 year old, $20 set of pans we bought right after we got married. Why we used those pans for so long is beyond me. Why we still use the useless knife set we bought with the pans, 6 years ago, is also beyond me. So, we headed to Costco, and bought ourselves a grown up set of stainless steel pans. By the time we got out of the store, I was starving, and I had a headache. So, we stopped and got something to eat. The next day was Thanksgiving, and it just didn't seem rational to start a diet ON Thanksgiving. So, I pushed it off another day. But then we had left overs... and yada yada yada... here we are.

But tomorrow, is in fact, the day. I pinky swore myself. That sounded more pathetic then I thought it would...

Today, I've been getting ready for tomorrow.

The 17 day diet is 3 cycles, of 17 days (it's really four, but the fourth cycle is basically teaching you how to make it a lifestyle change. AKA- being :Decliciously Healthy. So I will just resume my DH way of eating and losing weight after the 3rd cycle) The first cycle is the strictest. Because you're limited in the food you're allowed to eat, you really need to be creative in the meals you prepare. You definitely need to have a game plan with this diet. If you try to wing it, you'll fail. I've learned this the hard way. With that in mind, I made a list of everything I can eat, and put it in my wallet, so I have it with me at all times:

Veggies:

• Artichokes
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Cucumbers
• Green beans
• Greens
• Kale
• Mushrooms
• Okra
• Spinach
• Tomatoes
• Watercress

Fruit:

• Apples
• Berries
• Grapefruit
• Oranges
• Peaches
• Prunes
• Red grapes

Dairy

• Low fat cottage cheese
• Parmesan cheese
  
• Yogurt
• Feta cheese

Meat/protein

• Chicken breasts
• Turkey breasts or ground turkey
• Canned tuna in water
• Flounder
• Catfish
• Tilapia
• Salmon
• Sole
• Eggs

Then I pulled out the old refrigerator calendar, and planed out all of my meals for the week! Seeing it all written down made everything feel more do-able.

I am all set, and ready to go!

Tomorrow is day 1, of the first 17 day cycle.

And weigh in day!

Wish us luck! By "us" I mean wish me luck on my diet, and wish my scale luck that it may survive tomorrow's weigh in ;)