The big 100!

I've often wondered what I would feel like or say or do when I could say that I've lost 100 pounds..well I now know! It feels amazing! I lost 2.2 pounds this week putting me right at 220 for a grand total of 100 pounds lost! Thankfully my birthday week did not backfire on me. I was worried yesterday however when I had two servings of my favorite birthday entree: spinach soufflé. It's a family tradition to eat your birthday meal off of the red plate that says, "you're special today" and have spinach soufflé, carrots, and applesauce. An odd combination when you think about it...but simply delicious to the human palate! 

Spinach Souffle 

I have more exciting news as well. When I was in Florida one of the Bible studies that my sister goes to had a clothing exchange while I was out there. I was able to take some of my clothes that were too large and find some keepsakes too! I found a pair of size 14 gap pants that looked like they'd never been worn. However, when I tried them on they didn't fit. I decided to keep them anyways thinking that I'd be able to fit in them by October when everyone comes out. Well I was curious and wanted to know how much farther I had to go before they could even button and was extremely surprised to have this happen:

They buttoned! I think I may wait a few more pounds before I wear them...but I was totally shocked that they buttoned..in Florida they were at least an inch from being able to be buttoned so my mind was blown! Hooray for tangible results!

I have been doing more BMI research and I am 6 pounds away from officially being simply "overweight" and no longer "obese"! Who would've thought I'd be so excited to be categorized as overweight?! 

Alright, so recently I've had several people ask me what I eat on a regular basis. I get this question quite a bit and I normally respond with, "everything"! That's the truth. I really haven't cut out certain foods...I've simply scaled back or started to eat only 1 serving (with the exception of my birthday spinach soufflé where I had 2 helpings of both the entree and dessert)! First, I will say how much less I eat out. I used to stop at McDonalds a lot on the way to or from work. I also used to stop at Taco Cabana a lot...and I just don't have the calorie allotment to do that anymore...so I just don't! I also don't really have regular meals that I eat on a consistent basis, other than my greek yogurt for breakfast every morning. I normally eat a whole lot of random meals that consist of whatever may be in my refrigerator and/or freezer. I do, however have common food staples...so I will share them!

Breakfast: Greek yogurt (4-6 oz), with 100g total of berries (blueberry, raspberry, strawberry are my favorite), 0.6-1 TBSP of honey. That is my typical breakfast. Other breakfast favorites: poached egg on an english muffin (homemade by either of my brothers: Drew/David) with a slice of cheddar cheese. I also like Better Oats Oat Revolution instant oatmeal packs (I know it makes more sense, economically, to just buy oatmeal in bulk and make your own oatmeal but for the sake of time and portions I like the pre-packaged stuff). Those are my main breakfast staples. If I drink coffee I normally drink it black...and I occasionally like to make my own latte when I have the time. (I invested in my own Nespresso machine and milk frother so I don't frequent Starbucks like I used to back in the day).

Lunch: Well as you all know I try to make my lunch for work. My lunches always vary but one main thing I consistently try to do is have a large serving of veggies. I like salads so it's not uncommon for me to have a large salad with every veggie known to man kind thrown on top and then I add eggs or chicken for protein and try to have a lighter dressing to save on calories. I also like to get Costco rotisserie chicken and shred that up when I get home and then portion out 4 oz servings to take and have for lunch. I also like to make a simple turkey sandwich (normally with Sara Lee light bread, turkey breast (2-3 oz), lots of lettuce, small amount of mayo and mustard. 

Dinner: This is another meal where I really try to get in veggies! One of my favorite ways to eat my vegetables is by roasting them! I will take an entire head of broccoli or cauliflower, or carrots and take 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil toss the veggies in that, then add salt and pepper and throw that into an oven at 400 degrees and roast them for 20-25 minutes. I will do this with any and every veggie known to mankind! I've roasted cabbage, asparagus, beets, squash, green beans...the list goes on and on...it's truly one of the best ways to have your veggies! I am also a fan of spaghetti squash....so another favorite meal is to take Prego's extra chunky baby portabello mushroom sauce, add cooked chicken, add more veggies like bell pepper and then throw that on top of a heaping pile of spaghetti squash (which has only 40 calories per cup)!! As you may have noticed chicken is another staple for me...a favorite way for me to cook it is in 1 TBSP coconut oil, medium to medium-high heat and then I use McCormick's roasted garlic and herb seasoning to season the chicken...and it makes the most delicious chicken you've ever tasted (in my humble opinion).

Snacks: At work I sometimes go until 4 or 5 pm before I eat my "lunch" and that means I have a snack to hold me over. Right now some of my favorite snacks are: Kashi chocolate almond & sea salt bar (140 calories and 6 grams protein), pretzel crisps with string cheese, laughing cow corner, or hummus, fruit (any and every kind), mixed nuts (28 g ~ 170 calories), I also love having an apple with 2 TBSP of almond butter (yummy)!


So now you have an idea of what I eat on a regular basis. As I said I don't eat the same meal every week...I really just focus on my calorie allotment and go from there! One thing that I do know makes a huge difference is weighing out your food! Yes, it is tedious and obnoxious, however, I've learned that my mind/stomach/eyes imagine a serving size much larger than the true serving size! It's humbling (and heartbreaking) to see what a serving of ice cream really looks like! 

I've said it before and I continue to remind myself that the changes I have made are not a temporary fix. These are permanent changes that will stick with me forever...this means that I'm not okay with going the rest of my life without ice cream...but it does mean I can't have it as frequently and I most certainly cannot have it sitting in my freezer where it will tempt me until every last drop is eaten! I'm not okay with not being able to go out and eat at a restaurant with my friends...but that also means I will have to choose something from their "lighter" menu or I will have to go run a couple extra miles if I want that steak drenched in butter! It's a learning process...and it's confusing, overwhelming, exhausting...but so worth the fight to see the number on the scale go down. 

I will try to continue to think of frequent foods that I enjoy and share them with you all as I think of them or discover them! I love being able to share ideas...so if you have any ideas that have worked for you feel free to share them with me too so I can try them out or let other people know what you have found to work. I should've taken a picture...but I am all set again for the week with my lunches...got the grocery shopping one today, portioned out my snacks/lunches and I'm ready to go...so on that note I've got to hit the sack and catch some Zzzzz's before my work week starts! Have a great week everyone!