So....

I had a really great day today then someone had to go and ruin it and now I can't seem to calm down enough to want to go to bed.... so here I am writing a post. About what though? I'm not sure.... maybe an explanation as to where I've been the past little while? Sure. Why not, right?!

Well... after becoming seriously frustrated with not being able to lose anything I decided, "It's summer, I really don't want to be on a super-strict diet right now." I want to enjoy BBQ'd burgers and hot dogs and smoked ribs and delicious steak and corn on the cob and all the other yummy food that comes with Summer-time. Now you California people don't understand this. You can BBQ outside almost any day of the year... here in Utah, you can't. Especially when Winter seems to last from Oct - May/June. So I'm taking advantage of it while I can. Maybe once Summer is over I'll start up again, but that's a huge maybe.
Plus our sister is coming to visit us this weekend! Party time! (For those who don't know.... the 24th of July is a HUGE Utah Holiday. I'd say they celebrate it more intensely than the 4th. )

But I'll keep you posted....

maybe now I can get some sleep....


Happy Pioneer Day everyone!!

A recipe! A recipe!

So this may not be a great HCG recipe, but I just made it up for dinner tonight and it was sooo good. And it's quite healthy for you, so say the guys from "Eat this, Not that."


Salmon with ginger-soy butter, sauteed mushrooms and onions in a lemon-grape-seed oil sauce with Quinoa.

For the salmon:

Salmon filets
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper


For the ginger-soy butter:

2TBS. unsalted butter, softened
1/2TBS fresh-grated ginger
1/2TBS low-sodium soy sauce
1/2TBS chopped chives
juice of one lemon


Mushrooms/Onions:

1pkg Cremini mushrooms, halved
1 onion, diced
Juice of 2 lemons
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Grape-seed oil


1. Combine butter, soy sauce, ginger, chives and lemon juice. Cover and set aside.
2. Sprinkle Salmon filets with salt and pepper on both sides.
3. Drizzle about 2TBS olive oil into large skillet and when hot, add onions. Allow to soften and then add the mushrooms, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Sautee for about 2 minutes, then move to the sides of the pan, making a hot spot. Add the salmon filets to the hot spot.
4. Flip filets once to brown both sides and let cook through. Once cooked, drizzle a bit of grape-seed oil over them, and then add a spoonful of the butter mixture.


Cook Quinoa according to package directions and place 2 spoonfuls onto a plate. Top with Salmon filet and serve mushrooms to the side.


Super yummy!! I especially love the mushrooms. And did you know Quinoa is one of the MOST healthy carbs you can eat? It has so much protein and other vitamins and nutrients it is so good for you!! It's actually really good too!! It's a new favorite in my home!

Bad. Bad. Bad.

Yesterday was Bad. Well, actually it was a GREAT day, but I made a BAD choice. My mom came and spent time with us then we went to the Midnight showing of Eclipse. What was my bad choice? We had Panda for dinner. We both love it... and I don't get to see her very often... so it had to be Panda. I don't regret it, it was delicious. And honestly, I prepped all day for it by not eating anything else (well I did have Popcorn and Licorice and Dippin Dots at the theater!) But I still gained 3lbs. Yeah. Apple Day today! But it was such a fun day with her! My little boy just absolutely loves her, as do I.

Hello!

When I stopped my last round of HCG the beginning of May, I was at a 21lbs loss total from January. I went to San Diego, enjoyed a day at Disneyland and spent much-needed time with family. All the while only gaining 5lbs back. 5lbs I could handle. My pants still fit nicely. I still felt great.
Then we came home and I don't know what happened. I just gave up, I guess. Ice cream, cookies, and chips set me back another 4lbs. 4lbs doesn't seem like much, but it was just enough to make my pants a little tight.
So with another month rolling around, I decided to start one more round, with hopes of losing another 20lbs. That way when it's over, if I gain some back, it won't make my pants uncomfortable. Last time I had a hard time dropping below 190 and when I finished I bobbled between 190-200. If I can get to 180 this time and bobble between 180-190 I'll be good! I may even get down to a size 12! Those numbers seem awfully high... but you have to take into account I'm almost 5'8" tall. Normal for me is 160, so says the BMI scale. Which, by the way, I hate. I will be perfectly happy with 180ish.

So that's my story for today.... I'm back on the program. I feel great, and I'm super excited! I started last Tuesday, and so today marks the end of Week #1. I've lost 6.5lbs so far. Funny thing is, during my Load Days, I actually LOST weight! So I took an extra Load Day to try and gain extra.... but I still ended up losing. It was very strange!

Here's to two more weeks of 500 Calories, and the return of fruits and veggies to my diet! They really do wonders to your self-esteem and over-all health!

I'm in love....

Have you tried it yet? It comes in many different flavors (which I tried this week... all are decent, but my favorite is the Original). Did you know Coconut water is the next best thing to Water itself? It's full of NATURAL electrolytes, more potassium than a banana, no fat, no cholesterol, and no preservatives! It helps hydrate you and it's good for babies and toddlers with upset tummies! Great for kidney stones also! I had no idea!!

I've always loved coconut.... coconut cream pie, coconut ice cream, EVERYTHING. Now I love the water too! Yum!!

Go, try some! If you live in the same little town as I do, you can find it in the "Hippy" aisle of Smith's for about $1 a carton, less than soda! :)


Mmmmm.... I need to get me some more. I drank my last one this morning!

HCG Works!

Wow, it has been about a month since I posted last.

Since I've stopped using HCG I've taken a trip to San Diego, including a day at Disneyland. I've visited my mom in Arizona, and I've eaten pretty much anything I want.

I've only been checking my weight on a weekly basis... and I'm nervous each time I do.

BUT.... It really hasn't changed much! I'm staying right within 3-4lbs of my ending weight! I was so afraid once I stopped and started eating normal foods I'd gain all of it back. I'm super excited that I haven't! This craziness really does work! Hurray!!

I do miss the super healthy foods I was eating... but I have no desire to make them right now! lol.

I'm back!

Hello blogosphere! Have you missed me?

Well my trip to San Diego and especially DISNEYLAND was fabulous! Best trip yet! We accomplished so much and had such a great time!

I was a little scared. I jumped on my MIL's scale while we were bathing our wee-lamb and it said I had gained 10lbs! I wasn't following any protocol, but I was trying to make good choices and not indulge too much. I didn't think I had been THAT bad...

I think a lot of it was due to the circumstances surrounding the time I checked:
A. I weighed myself around 8pm.
2. I was fully clothed.
C. It wasn't my normal scale.

So when we got home I was a wee bit hesitant to jump on the scale right away. Then I got sick. Real sick. All of us were actually. Our son definitely got the worst fever, but I had a bit of stomach flu with mine. Luckily we're on meds now and doing much better. But hey, one good thing did come from spending most of yesterday in the bathroom...

The scale this morning said I only gained 4lbs during my trip!! That's much more realistic.

Now is the hard part. I'm having a hard time deciding if I want to start another round of HCG or take a hiatus for a time to pursue another chapter in my life.

It's Tuesday?!

Wow... where did Monday go? This week has just started and it's already been SUPER BUSY.

I didn't want to post a Recipe Monday because honestly, I wanted nothing to do with food yesterday, especially Recipes. I've been working on recipe cards for the past 2 weeks and I want nothing to do with them for a long, long time! lol.

It seems my body has decided to kick back into LOSE mode this week and so far I'm down another almost 3lbs! It's such a yo-yo right now... but I gotta lose as much as I can before Disney so when I get home it's not a complete shocker (and so I can still fit into my pants!).

You may not hear from me for a while... I'm not gone... just busy.

Oh, I've had a few inquiries... I still have 6 boxes of GRISSINI BREADSTICKS left. They need to be sold ASAP. Let me know if you need some.

Yesterday was a rough day. I just felt icky... and thought I had gained a ton of weight over the weekend. I didn't want to do ANYTHING.

So I was a little nervous when I stepped on the scale this morning. Not really much of a change, which was good. Then I looked at the past couple of days. Friday night I gained 3lbs. I know, right.
BUT I know why, one word, Wendy's. I hate you Wendy's. I can go to McDonald's and order a Filet-o-Fish sandwich and share my son's fries and nuggets and not gain anything, but still lose. But not with Wendy's. Arrrgh.
So that started the bad pattern. You already know what happened Saturday and Sunday. So I've gained back about 4lbs... BUT... here's the good news:

I had an awesome workout this morning!! I did the Wii Fit PLUS for about an hour, lost about 270 calories AND BEAT all my records! I even did the extra long run, running the entire way. It's probably not quite a mile... but I started with the basic run (probably 1/4 mile) and then did the long-distance PLUS run. I feel great!!
I love the Advanced Step. I do pretty good on it, I've had the highest score in our home for the past year. But today... I was damn-near perfect 100%. I only missed 11 steps, getting OK's 11 times. No misses... almost perfect! I felt pretty good!!

My stomach feels tighter, my back is a little sore and my legs are feelin it too... and man, I stink!! Time for a shower!! Until Friday....

It's Monday already?

Such a great weekend! So sad to see it go... the weather was WARM and SUNNY!! We played outside, we played in water... so. much. FUN.

But I was bad... it was like I couldn't feel full. I had granola, a sandwich, smoothies, popcorn, candy... all throughout Saturday and Sunday. It was awful. Grr... I'm pretty upset. So this week has to be SUPER Strict to make my bi-weekly goal. Let's hope that I actually reach it this time!

And the recipe this week comes from Cooks Country TV. Love them. Love this dish!

SMOKED PORK CHOPS

1/4C brown sugar
1TBS ground fennel seed
1TBS ground cumin (or 1tsp. chili flakes, 1tsp. chili powder, and 1tsp. ginger --- I didn't have cumin!)
1TBS ground coriander (my fav!!)
1TBS paprika
1tsp salt
1tsp pepper
4 bone-in blade-cut chops, about 2 inches thick (I used boneless chops, 1in thick)
2C wood chips *optional*

1. Combine sugar and spices and rub mixture all over pork chops. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hr to 24 hours.
2. Arrange chops, bone side toward fire, on grill. Cook until chops register 145-150 degrees, turning every few minutes. Transfer to platter and let rest for 20 min. Serve.

So yummy!!