Day 26

I wasn't feeling well this morning and stayed in bed until 3 pm.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with a cooked pear and 1/2 apple and cinnamon in almond milk
Lunch: onion soup with whole wheat flat bread
Dinner: lamb shank with herb rice, yogurt and salad.
Snack:  tea and a cookie
Exercise: 30 min of weights - arms and shoulders

I took my vitamins today and had a fair amount of water. I took it easy today since I'm still recovering from a cold.  I should have had some fruits.  I'll eat fruits tomorrow.  My day 28 photo shoot is coming up in a few days and I can't weight to see if I've made any progress since two weeks ago.

Day 25

I woke up with a bit of fever this morning ...

Today was the first time in a long time that I was alone for breakfast ... So, I took advantage of that and went to my neighborhood bakery, picked up a newspaper and ordered a soy latte, a small raisin muffin and a croissant.  I love fresh croissants, but one croissant is not enough so that's why I ordered the little muffin!  I spent about an hour at the bakery, enjoying my treats and observing people while reading the paper.

Lunch was a potluck event.  I made healthy choices, one plate of food which included salads and a cup of soup.  A cup of tea with a few spoons of baked apples with oatmeal.

Dinner was a super late dinner after mid night.  We went out and I actually ordered breakfast; two french toasts and one egg :)

I did drink lost of water today, but forgot to take my vitamins and now it's too late to take them.

So, no workout today because of my minor cold symptoms.  I'll be getting back in the swing of things tomorrow.  As you can tell, I didn't push myself to eat very healthy today ... I believe while I'm trying to eat healthier and workout, I've got to have days where I am free to eat whatever I like ...   I cant go too long without having croissant and french toast!!!

 Here is my logic ... If I deprive myself of food that I love, I might not be able to continue on this weight loss journey, but if I take a day off here and there I'm gonna keep going.  Since I have decided that during "that time of the month" I'm gonna be easy on myself ... then I'm gonna take the opportunity to eat my favorite food that I don't usually eat during the month .... hitting two birds with one stone; comforting myself and satisfying my cravings :)

Day 24

I had a long day at work ... 9 hours straight with only a 20 min lunch break, but I had my water bottle on my desk all day long and sipped water every 1/2 hour or so ....

Breakfast: protein shake
Lunch: had Lebanese finger food ... I don't even remember the name of the food I bought at the Lebanese deli, but I ate really light.
Snack: a cup of green tea and 2 cookies, one tangerine
Dinner: mushroom Swiss burger with fries and a coke
Snack: mint tea and a small piece of chocolate

I give myself a break the first couple of days of "that time of the month".  I usually crave red meat and chocolate, so I don't deny myself.  After all, women need to take care of their bodies when it's that time of the month :)

I didn't work out ... Ladies, take it easy when mother nature brings you its monthly gift ... comfort yourself for a day or two.  If you crave chocolate and sweets like I do, eat some, but don't over indulge.

Day 23

Today I started doing what I used to do years ago.  When eating out, either split a meal with someone or split two ways and ask the server for a doggy bag before you take your first bite.  Put half of it in the doggy bag and rearrange the food on your plate and then start eating.  This way you are not tempted to eat the whole thing!  Try it next time you eat out :)

Breakfast: 3 egg omelet, 3 veggie sausage link and two pieces of flat bread
Lunch: Didn't eat lunch ... I ate breakfast at 1:00 pm :) I woke up at noon!
Dinner: 1/2 Chipotle burrito bowl with chips and salsa

I gotta say ...  I used to eat a whole burrito bowl at chipotle ... tonight after eating 1/2 a bowl I was full and when I got home I didn't feel bloated and heavy like I used to.  That made me think about all the unnecessary calories I used to consume!!!!!

Exercise: Callanetics Evolution ... I skipped the ab part of it tonight since it's that time of the month and I don't need any more cramps!

I again didn't drink enough water, but I took my vitamins :)

Day 22

I woke up this morning feeling great!
One thing I have started noticing is that I feel a different kind of hunger these days ... In another word, the sensation of hunger I experience these days is different from the hunger I used to feel three weeks ago.

Before, I would have a meal and an hour later I would feel like I was starving and I'd have to eat something sweet to keep me going and two hours later, the same thing .... But now, I don't feel hungry between meal and right around the meal time I start feeling a little hungry, but nothing like I use to feel.  Now when the sensation of hunger starts coming on, it's a gradual sensation.  I start feeling a little hungry and if I don't eat then I feel a little more hungry and when I finally sit down to eat I don't have to stuff myself.

I have more energy and steady energy as before I would have many highs and lows!

I think working out is helping with the blood sugar stabilization. 

Today I decided that I'm gonna hit two birds with one stone.  I'd bought a bag of chocolate flavor calcium tabs and took one with my tea.  They are chewy little cubes!.  Satisfying my sweet tooth while getting my calcium.  I also started taking multivitamins.

Breakfast: Protein shake
Lunch: Ethiopian food .... rice, injera bread, lentil stew, beef stew, eggplant stew, zucchini, okra, cabbage  ... etc .... I hit the Ethiopian buffet in NE Portland.  I had promised myself not to do buffets anymore, but I figured I'll be getting lots of veggies at this buffet!  I felt good about what I ate!
Snack: black tea with my calcium tab.
Dinner: green salad with balsamic vinegar, a cup of edemame beans, 3 fish sticks
Snack: 1/2 grapefruit.

Exercise: 1 hour of arms and shoulder workout.  I did the p90X arms and shoulder.  I did like this clip.  No jumping :)  I have started noticing changes in every part of my body, except my arms, so I have decided I will do one day of arms per week.  I feel pretty good.  I used really light weights; 3 and 8 lb sets.

I took pics of my arms today.  They are gonna be a bit of work :)

I have not been drinking enough water lately.  So my goal for tomorrow is going to be drinking tons of water.

Day 21

No cravings today ..... No sweet snacks :) 

I was hurting today because of last night's workout :(

Breakfast: protein shake
lunch: 1/2 Baja Fresh steak burrito with chips and salsa
Snack: a cup of black tea --- I didn't feel like I needed any sweets with my tea today!!!!
Dinner: 6 fish sticks and a bowl of edemame beans and a cup of salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Excersice: pilates core workout 58 min

My body is changing!!! I was totally feeling as if I'm in a new body today.  My next photo update is in a week!!!! I'm excited to see new changes. 

I think the chemistry of my body is shifting.  That takes a while so don't give up.  Give your body new building blocks and time to change its chemistry and make the shift.   I'm totally feeling it and it's a great feeling.  Keep up the hard work and you'll start seeing and feeling results.  Give it at least three weeks and I guarantee you'll start feeling the shift.

Day 20

It's almost three weeks since I started my weight loss journey and I must say I'm getting a hang of it.  I'm proud to say that I'm not paying a penny in gym dues, I'm not paying any big name company to prep my food and I don't consider myself on any particular diet, but I'm getting fit!!!!

I weigh 174 lb now and I started at 170 three weeks ago!!!! That means I'm gaining muscle!
My jeans fit loose around my thighs, my face looks slimmer and I feel like I stand a little taller :)

I have not had any cravings for sweets for the last two days!

I was once told it takes about a month for the body to adjust once you start exercising and I didn't believe it.  But it's true, the first two weeks were very challenging, but it's getting easier.  As I said earlier, I don't consider myself on any diet.  I eat pretty much everything and some times in big portions, all I'm trying to do is cut back on sugar intake ..... I have a sweet tooth :)

I'm never going to stop eating sweets, but my goal is to limit it to a few desserts here and there and healthier choices when it comes to buying sweet snacks!  As I mentioned a few days ago, I have replaced cookies with biscotti.  I also use natural sweet yummies instead of sugar, e.g I boil ripe pear and a pinch of Cinnamon and use the water to make oat meal and that makes it taste sweet and then I top my oat meal with the cooked pear which adds another level of natural sweetness to my oat meal!!! No sugar needed :)

OK about today

Breakfast: feta cheese and whole wheat flat bread with handful of walnuts
Lunch: frozen Indian food 370 cal
Snack: 1/2 tangerine
Dinner:  a bowl of beef stew and 2 pieces of injera bread
Snack: a cup of tea and 3 pieces of biscotti

Exercise:  I did P90X cardio for 43 min ... 368 cal. 

I got P90X from a friend last year and only used it once and gave up.  I wanted to try it again.
I must say, I'm not a big fan of P90X .... after the workout I wasn't feeling that great!!!! My knees hurt because of all the jumping!  I prefer Callanetics and Pilates over P90X.  I might not burn as many calories with callanetics and pilates, but at the end of the workout I feel energized and relaxed at the same time!  I believe we need to choose our exercise regimen wisely.  Pick something that you enjoy, something that makes you feel good!  You'll stick with it if you enjoy it.

Day 19

I'm going to tell you what I learned today before writing about what I ate!!!

I went out to lunch with an old professor of mine, a 70 year old fit guy.  We knew we would be chatting for a while so we ordered an appetizer first.  We slowly ate the appetizer and chatted for about an hour an half.  When the server was back to take our meal order neither one of us were hungry any more!!! We both ended up ordering salads.

So, if you are out with a friend, order an appetizer and take your time eating it.  Then re-evaluate your appetite and you might not want to order that bowl of pasta  and end up ordering a smaller or healthier meal!!!

Ok, I did really well today.  Today was probably my best day so far.

Breakfast:   I didn't eat breakfast since I woke up at 11 and had a 12 lunch meeting
Lunch:  Shared an artichoke dip with my professor and had a spinach salad with roasted hazelnuts!
Afternoon Snack:  Whole wheat flat bread with feta cheese and watermelon
dinner: Small cup of beef stew and a piece of injera bread

Exercise:  I deep cleaned my house for 4 hours non-stop!!!! I was sweating like crazy :)
After I was done cleaning, I did  70 min of callanetics evolution.

Finally, I can say I had an amazing day! :)

Day 18

Instead of writing about what I ate today, I'm going to write about what I learned.

We were out with friends ice skating.  A friend of mine and I bought hot chocolate and a giant cookie to share.  Another friend of mine didn't get anything and when I offered him a piece of the cookie, he said ; " I can't just have a piece of cookie in the middle of the day"

I know he eats cakes and cookies, but I was amazed that he doesn't eat them in the middle of the day!!!!!

That made me think!!! This guy has no dietary restrictions, but he doesn't eat sweets between meals!!!!!
He is naturally fit!

I need to stop snaking on sweets in the middle of the day!!!!!! I'm serious this time around.

REFLECTION

It's passed mid-night and I just finished watching "Super size Me".

That makes me reflect back on food that I usually eat to feel good.  They are usually starchy, sweet snacks: cookies, chocolate, dried fruits and nuts, biscutti, etc

I have stopped buying cookies and chocolate, but I still buy biscotti to have with my tea.  I can't drink tea without a sweet bite with it and after much research I have figured that having a biscotti is better than cookie having a cookie!  I have been buying biscotti at my international food store.  1 serving is 6 pieces of biscotti and has only 130 cal.  So if I reach for 2nd or 3rd I don't feel bad!
So, pick a mini biscotti over a cookie!

Also, reflecting back on the last 17 days, I can say drinking water throughout the day helps a lot with controlling my cravings and I'm more likely to work out if I'm hydrated.  Days when I don't drink any water until I get home I feel tired to work out.

So, drink tons of water throughout the day!

I sometimes wait until the end of the day to workout and by the time I'm done with all the chores, I'm too tired to workout.  On days off, when I workout the first thing in the morning, I don't have to worry about it and the second benefit to that is I'm thirsty after a good workout and I keep drinking water for the rest of the day!

Cooking my favorite foods are hurting me!!!!! I tend to eat more of my own home made food and go back for seconds or fourth meal!!!  I have stopped making my favorite dishes and when I make them next time, I'm gonna cook them in very small quantity so after my family is done eating, there won't be much left.  I tend to cook in bulk since it's easier to warm up left overs than cooking food.

I think as I write about my weaknesses, I'm finding solutions to the problems!!!!

My worst days over the last 17 days have been buffets and parties!!!!!  A tip a friend of mine gave me was, eat a meal before going to a party!  I'm going to do that next time...... I'll have a healthy meal before heading out and no more lunch buffets .....  NO MORE until i loose all the weight!

Day 17

Breakfast: I had a piece of fig newton with tea
Lunch: a side of potato salad, rice and bean stew.
Dinner: I snacked on a few things earlier, so I wasn't hungry.

I got a little lazy today and didn't work out earlier in the day and now have too much to take care of before bedtime.  But tomorrow is Saturday and I can get in a good 2 hours of workout!


I admit day 15, 16 and 17 were not good days as far as food choices and I didn't workout either.  I really have to get back on wagon tomorrow!!!!!!  I promise!!!

Day 16

Breakfast: I woke late and did not eat breakfast
Lunch:  I had Greek food.  Two cabbage wraps with some rice pilaf and a side salad.
Dinner:  Basmati rice with herbs and baked trout with greet salad

I was at a friend's house and had dessert - a piece of chocolate cake
I should have skipped the cake
I didn't work out today
I admit I fell off the wagon for two days.  But tomorrow is a new day! 

Day 15

Breakfast:  protein shake
Lunch:  I went to an Indian buffet for lunch.  Two rounds!  Not happy about it, but the food was really good!!!
Dinner: I had some left overs from previous days
Exercise:  Cardio Callanetics!

Well, I didn't do well but I can't be too harsh on myself.  I'm doing OK overall and my clothes fit differently

Day 14

Breakfast: Oatmeal and half a pear.  I chopped up half a pear and boiled it in water with a teaspoon of Cinnamon for three minutes.  I removed the pear and used the Cinnamon pear water to make my oatmeal.  I added a cup of almond milk to it.  I added the cooked pear to my oatmeal.  Almond milk is a good source of calcium and pear and Cinnamon provide natural sweetness.  I did not need to add sugar to my oatmeal.

Lunch: a small piece of steak with sauteed onions and a piece of rye toast. 

Dinner: I was at a gathering and had some finger food.  Pita bread with humus, veggie quiche, green salad with balsamic vinegar, a couple of dates with black tea and a couple of small cookies size of a quarter, and a tangerine!  Ok I could have ate less at the gathering, but I worked out jut before going there and I was starving!  I just couldn't say no to the cookies and dates.  I was craving sweets!!!!

Exercise: I didn't make it to bikram yoga, but did 40 min of cardio callanetics and some arm workout.  I wore my heart rate monitor.  38 min of cardio callentics burns 300 cal!!!!!

I have not had enough water for today.  I'm gonna try to get two glasses in and do some arm workout before going to bed.

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to take pic of everything I eat!!! I may or may not post all the photos, but I'll be a good way of keeping track of exactly what I eat and I may wanna think about it twice before I take a photo.

Goal for tomorrow:  drink more water

Day 14 Photos

I took some pictures this morning.  Eventhough the scale is not changing I am starting to see some changes when I compare today's photos with those from two weeks ago.  The first picture in each set was taken today and the second photo two weeks ago! 

Day 13

Breakfast: Protein Shake
Lunch: a turkey sandwich with a small bag of Lay's chips
Afternoon snack: Green Tea and a piece of chocolate
Dinner:  three slices of beef tongue and 2 slices of rye toast
Snacks: 1 orange, 1 tangerine, 1 chocolate chip cookie, a cup of herbal tea, 1 activia yogurt.

Wow, looking at the list of snacks I age after dinner, one must say I snacked too much, but I had dinner at 6 pm and it's 12:30 in the morning now ... so I didn't do too back, but I could have skipped the cookie and the yogurt!!!!1

Tomorrow is my two week photo posting day.  Reflecting back on the last two weeks, I have decided to  keep a photo log of everything I eat throughout the day starting week 3.

I still have not lost any weight, however I feel more fit and feel better over all.
I just enjoy food too much to diet and give up my favorite foods.   I have to change my snacking habit.  I should have more fresh veggies like celery, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and cauliflower around to snack on.

In two days I start photo logging my food, therefore I can't just munch on stuff!!!

Blogging has kept me on track for the last two weeks.  I consider the first two weeks my warm up, so I did make plenty of bad choices, but I'm getting better.

I'm gonna see if I can get a 10 min arm workout before going to bed. 

Goal for tomorrow: Starting Bikram Yoga!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 12

Breakfast: egg omelet - 3 eggs, 2 veggie sausage link, 1 rye toast with butter and honey
Lunch:  I ate only 1/2 of my order of lamb curry with rice and cabbage salad
Dinner:  a small cup of soup, 2 slices of bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Dessert: 3 cookies :(
Late dinner: the left over from lunch

I'm happy for eating only half of my lunch, so I didn't feel bad when I was hungry later tonight.

10 min of arm workout with weights

Day 11

Breakfast:  2 eggs, 2 veggie sausage, hash browns
Lunch : nothing since I had breakfast at 1 pm :)
Dinner: a small bowl of soup squash soup, a side of salad, small portion of pasta, artichoke heart dip with a handful of chips
Dessert: 1 cookie, a med size of cake!!!
As you can tell I was at a potluck! 
Not happy with my will power :(

No exercise

Day 10

Breakfast: protein shake
Lunch: pesto veggie panini
dinner: spaggeti
Snack: a small piece of chocolate
Orange

25 min of upper body weight using 2 lb balls

Day 9

Breakfast: Portein Shake
Lunch: Spinach filled pita pocket
Dinner: 6 pieces of Spinach ravioli
Late Dinner: a bowl of rice and herb and beef stew

Cardio callanetics

Day 8

Ok, I didn't have time to blog about day 8 and now I don't remember much, but I remember that I did Calanetics Evolution

Day 7

Breakfast: protein shake

Snack: 1/2 almond butter sandwich on rye

Lunch: gyro sandwich

Snack: tortilla chips and freshly made salsa

1 activia yogurt

Dinner: 4 small pieces of fish and steamed chard.

Cinnamon tea

5 minutes of boxing and 45 min of callanetics

I did not drink enough water

Goal for tomorrow: callanetics evolution, morning cinnamon tea and portion control.
I have not lost any weight yet!

Day 6

Breakfast: protein shake

Lunch: rice with beef and green beans

Dinner: tuna salad on black rye and cup of grapes

Snack: beet salad

Cinnamon tea

I had a long day at work so I fell sleep before I got a chance to work out.

goal for tomorrow: work out for minimum of 1 hour

Day 5

Breakfast: I didn't have time to eat breakfast.  Mid day I had a small cup of coffe and a mini bran muffin.

Lunch: 4 soft tacos - no cheese, no sour cream!

Snack: 1 orange and 1 tangerine

Dinner: I was at a friend's house, so I did indulge a bit.  I had a plate of rice with zucchini and yogurt.

I had a few sweets with my tea after dinner.

I did not work out on Sunday
I did not drink enough water either.

Day 4

I made bad choices today.

Breakfast:  egg omelet (two eggs and a table spoon of butter), 4 veggie sausage links :)

Lunch: None, since I ate breakfast at noon

Snack: 1/2 of a kind bar

Dinner:  I went to a birthday party.  I had some crackers, quiche, grapes, salami, olives and cucumber. 

I had a piece of cake :( 

Snack:  soy latte and a biscutti :(


The cake, latte and the biscutti were bad choices and I did not drink enough water!  Tomorrow is a new day!

I made my cinammon ginger tea today which I'll drink tomorrow!

Day 3

Well, day 3 went ok.

Breakfast: 1 protein shake

Lunch: I got really busy at work today and did not take a lunch break.  I was starving around 2 and had two pieces of Lindt Chocolate.  I had a small bowl of rice and beef and a handful of potato chips at around 4.  I wish I had time to eat lunch on time!

Snack: a few spoonful of wild rice with roasted almonds.  I made this dish a few days ago and this was the left over. Recipe and Pics posted below.

Dinner:  whole grain spaghetti

Evening Snack: 1 Activia yogurt and a small apple

Exercise: None!  I am still hurting from yesterday's callanetics.

Goal for tomorrow:  I'm going to make cinnamon ginger tea.  I have done some research and cinnamon and ginger are benefitial to weight loss.  cinnamon stablizes the blood sugar and ginger boosts up metabolizm.
I'll post the recipe tomorrow.
Here is the recipe for the wild rice with cherries and almond

Ingredients:

2 cups of wild rice
2 stalk of celery - chopped
1 med onion - chopped
1 bag of frozen cherries
1 cup of roasted chopped almonds
a few spoons of oil
a pinch of orange peels
1 tea spoons of Cinnamon
saffron if desired
salt and pepper to your taste


Start cooking the rice and a few minutes before the rice is done start the following: saute onions, add celery and saute them for a minute or two, then  add frozen cherries and orange peels and saute on high heat and stir frequently. Add salt, pepper and Cinnamon to your taste. Add the mix to the rice and cook them together for 5 min.

Mix chopped almonds with saffron* and garnish the rice with it.  I like having this dish with oranges.
* mix saffron with hot water, cover it and set it aside for a few hours before use.  I usually do this in big quantities and keep the liquid in the fridge and have it ready to go whenever I need saffron.

Here is a photo of the dish, but this photo does not justify how good this dish tastes.  Enjoy!

Day 2

I did OK today

I did not eat breakfast today just because I woke up at noon and went out to lunch with my friend.

Lunch: I ordered blackend salmon with steamed broccoli and rice pilaf.  I had a piece of bread with butter.
I could have skipped the bread!

Afternoon Snack: I had a cup of herbal tea!!! :))))

Dinner: I had 1 1/2 eggs sunny side up, and two piece of whole wheat flat bread.

Evening snacks:  2 persimmons, a cup of tea and 1/2 Special K bar (45 Cal)

I did drink plenty of water and I continue drinking water for the rest of the evening.

Exercise: Callanetics Evolution

I'm gonna give myself a B- today because of having bread and butter with my lunch ( 200 + cal) and having half of the Special K bar when I was not really hungry!

As I keep writing about what I eat during the day, I am starting to pin point my bad habits and start working on them.   I need to buy more fresh fruits and veggies to snack on when the urge to snack comes on!


Goal for tomorrow is to not snack when I don't really need to and snack on fresh fruit and veggies when I need to snack.

Day 1

I did not do OK today :(

Breakfast: 1 protein shake

Lunch: Indian Buffet.  I stopped at one plate.  I usually fill up two plates, so I'm happy with my will power to stop at one.  I did have little bit of dessert!

Afternoon Snack: 1 piece of Dove milk chocolate and a big bowl of watermelon.

Dinner: Bowl of herb rice with onions cooked in beef broth, spices and saffron.

Late night Snack: A pack multi-grain crackers with cream cheese and jam !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was really hungry after the workout :(
Water: 6 glasses

Exercise: Cardio Callanetics

I wish I would have skipped the dessert and the chocolate and the late night snack.  I'll try harder tomorrow.

Goal for tomorrow: No sweets and no late night snack!

Trying to loose weight!

I currently weigh 170 lb and need to loose about 30 lb.   I'll be posting my daily journal of activities and meals.   I'll also post photos of myself every two weeks!  Here are the before pictures I just took.
This is to keep me on track and motivated!

Goal for Tomorrow:  Drinking lots of water and staying away from starchy food!