A Few More Pounds Bite The Dust

206 has been my new norm the last few days. I guess the return to cleaner eating made the difference. I've also been going to water aerobics regularly. The ladies are fantastic, and it's a good, fun workout! I've had more opportunities to socialize with friends and that usually means beer, which means too many calories for that day. I find myself saving calories on going out days so that I end up drinking on an almost empty stomach, which is no good. A friend has set a three drink a week limit for herself- it sounds like a better plan than what I've been doing. Today I've been feeling a little cruddy- a summer cold I guess. I made a small pot of homemade chicken soup that was fantastic! No picture- sorry.

I'm closer to one-derland than ever, and for some reason it really feels far away. I've also been having a lot of anxiety about future me. I know its silly to get upset about a future that hasn't happened, but I'm just worried that I'll fall off the wagon and 1) never see my goal, and 2) get back to my old weight/size. Oh well... one day at a time right? My new goal is to be under 200 by my vacation at the end of July, and I'd like to be a comfortable size 12 by August when I go shopping with my mom. Not quite as ambitious as when I started, but it's more realistic considering my last couple of months.

45lbs Down!!

My birthday has come and gone, and I'm about 10 pounds behind my initial goals. I can't decide if 10 pounds off of a 6 month goal is good or bad. I've averaged more than a  pound a week, and I'm proud of that. I'm comfortably in a size 14, and excited about how I look. I still have fat days, but for the first time in years I have skinny days too.

The last month has been hard as far as clean eating goes. I've had more sugar and carbs than I had been eating.  I'm sure that has a lot to do with my slow down in weight loss. I'm still seeing downward trends, though, and that helps. 

Today's recipe is for Zucchini Boats-
Easy and nutritious!

Halve and scoop innards of zucchini.  Add filling (mine was shredded chicken,  diced tomatoes,  black beans, celery, bell pepper,  salsa, and cumin). Topped with enough cheese to hold it together.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Still Plugging Along

Well 30 came and went, and I neither got under 210, or hit one-derland, but I'm close, and making progress. I'm sitting at a low 210, and I'm feeling good. After getting away from the clean eating for a while I've made a concerted effort to do better the last week or so and I've certainly felt a difference. Even partaking in a little birthday cake and ice cream didn't keep me from losing a pound over the birthday weekend. So yeah- goals are a little behind, but 42 pounds in 6 months is still an achievement to be proud of. My newest goal is to be down at least one more pant size by August (which would put me at a 12) for back to school shopping with my mother.

Here's to more time in the pool, more veggies, and more clean eating!

The Most Important Meal of the Day

I'm almost recovered weight wise from the sunburn. I'm back where I was at the 211/212 range, with some water retention still around. I'm hoping when it's all said and done by the end of the week I'll be under 210.

I've been skipping breakfast lately. No real reason, I just got out of the habit of getting up and cooking/making something for a while. I can definitely see a difference in my daily overall calories when I skip breakfast. I tend to really push to the high side of my daily calorie allotment when I skip breakfast. I also teach from noon until 4 pm Monday through Friday this month. This means I'm really eating more of a brunch around 10 or 11 am with a quick snack around 2 in between classes. That leaves me a little hungrier at dinner than I have been and I tend to eat more later in the day. Just the opposite of what I should be doing. I found a recipe for Egg Muffins on Facebook today and decided to make some. They were good, easy, and should freeze/reheat quickly and easily. Recipe and pics below.

I do have a new exercise goal. The gym continued to fall apart on me. I am still going to Yoga mostly twice a week, but my body weight exercises and treadmill time was really hit and miss... mostly miss. I also don't think I was doing enough cardio, and running was so painful last time I'm been hesitant to start that again. A friend mentioned swimming. I've always loved the water, and it's been plenty hot to get in the water so I went to the local aquatics center this morning. VERY reasonable prices, and it's a heated pool so it's available year around. Lap lane times were done well before I got there, so my only option to get in the water was to join a water aerobics class. I joined 5 of my new best friends over 60 for an hour of deep water aerobics. I forfeited my noodle when I could in order to get more exercise by treading water. One hour of water aerobics later I think I have a new favorite.

Egg Muffins ~ 100 calories a muffin

Spray down a muffin tin or two with your non-stick spray of choice.
In a bowl mix 9 eggs for 12 muffins, add a couple of Tablespoons of milk or water.
In each muffin tin put about 2 Tablespoons of filling. I did 6 with black beans and salsa, and 6 with spinach, feta, and cherry tomatoes. Pour egg on top to fill it, and bake at 350 degrees until the egg is set. Mine was done in about 20 minutes.

The More You Know

So yesterday I got to do this:

I LOVE the water, and I've been wanting to go swimming for over a month now. I also got sun-burned. I'm semi-fair skinned and it was my first time really out in the sun in a while. My food and exercise has been pretty good and I really expected to be at or just below the 210 marker today. Imagine my surprise when I GAINED 3 lbs!! 

After some quick research I confirmed what I feared- sunburn = increased water retention from fluid build up under the burn. Damn. Oh well, lots of water drinking and clean eating this week to try and flush it out. So there ya go- sunburn equals water retention, and a backslide of the scale (albeit temporarily). The more you know- Go Joe!

How do you socialize on a diet?

I'm genuinely asking because I haven't figured it out. I'd like to go to dinner at least one a week with friends. I have yet to figure out how to do that and not burn a day's worth of calories with any meal that's not a chicken salad. If this is a lifestyle change and not a "diet" then I need to be able to have a meal a week that's not going to derail my weightloss. I haven't even tried to date doing this yet?! A drink and a half way decent dinner that isn't a plain salad is pretty much my whole day's calories. I guess I'm supposed to balance those overages with working out.... so to go out for dinner and a beer I need to walk/yoga/work out 1-2 hours in order to not go over my day's calories. That seems excessive.

Ugh.

In other news I'm doing pretty good. I've stalled at 211 for a bit, but considering a week ago I was stalled at 213, and before that 215, I've come to expect it. I've got exactly 1 week until I turn 30 and I'd like to be under 210. It's not where I wanted to be, but I'm damn close.

Meal of the week: Mediterranean Inspired Awesomeness!
Raw baby carrots, baba ganoush (store bought, and my FAVE), naan, and I made kababs with onion, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, chicken breast, and lean steak. Lightly seasoned with lemon pepper. The baba ganoush and naan added some pretty significant calories, but overall a pretty healthy and definitely delicious meal that was a welcomed something different.