My First Experience with Whey Protein Powder: Jillian Michael’s Whey Protein Powder Vanilla flavor

I can’t believe it’s Thursday already. This week has flown by. It’s been busy and I haven’t had much time just to relax. Things should start slowing down for me for the week now.

I was happy when I weighed this morning to see that my weight had stayed steady. I gained .6, but that’s nothing- and totally a daily fluctuation. So hopefully I can keep this up!

For breakfast, I focused on protein. I had an omelet made of 1/2 cup of liquid egg whites, 2% sharp cheddar cheese, and deli chicken breast. I also had a banana and a cup of 1% milk for 8 points total.

Not the prettiest picture but what a filling breakfast!

On my way to class, I drank a green smoothie (2 oranges, 1 cup spinach). I was anxious to try out protein powder for the first time. I picked up Jillian Michael’s Whey protein powder- vanilla flavor. It was good. I didn’t notice an after taste at all. But it did mask the flavor of my fruit, which was too bad. But the vanilla flavor was delicious-It was creamy and satisfying- makes me wonder what the chocolate would taste like. This was 3 points.

It kept me full up until lunch time for sure- which was nice!

For lunch, I ate a salad made of lettuce, spinach, avocado, tomato, a boiled egg, deli chicken, feta cheese, cashews and light ranch for 11 points.

For a little sweet ending, I had 1/2 of a AE Dairy Greek Clementine yogurt for 2 points.

Before signing in to work, I made myself a cup of coffee with half and half for 1 point.

Work went quickly today. After work, I tried to figure out what courses I want to take next semester, but they’ve changed the system and it was impossible to find courses. I seriously looked for 2 hours and I’m still not totally sure what I’m doing. But I’ll get it figured out!

When I was hungry, I ate supper. Usually by the time I get off of work I am famished, but lately- I just haven’t felt like eating- which is weird for me. And I just wait and eventually I get hungry. This is new to me!

I baked a Tyson all natural breaded chicken patty, topped with alfredo sauce and with a side of broccoli for 7 points.

YUM! And for dessert, I had a cup of strawberries topped with 1/2 serving chocolate syrup for 1 point.

And I am right at my points target for the day! I did a really good job with my percentages today- 41.56% Carbs, 29.97% Fat, and 28.47% Protein. I’m going for 40-30-30- so that’s really close!

I couldn’t be happier that tomorrow is Friday and hubby is coming home. This has been a hard week and I’m really missing him! There’s something stress relieving about hugs from hubby- and I miss that! At least week 1 is down and hopefully only 3 more to go! The semester is staring to come to a close and that gets stressful. I have a big project to work on with a partner- so I have that to get started this weekend. I’ll feel better once we have a plan.

But for now- I’m going to forget everything for a little while and just relax. I started watching Season 1 of 30 Rock the other day- and I think I might watch some more of it and get some laughs in. We all need to take some time for ourselves every once in a while!

The Big 80 lb. Goal- An Absolutely Wonderfully Awesomely Fantastic Weigh In!

Well I guess this controlling my carbs thing is working out for me! At least this week shows that it did!!

I DID IT!!!

Not only did I lose 5 lbs. this week, which is amazing in and of itself- but I BLEW PAST my 80 lb. goal!! I have lost a total of 80.8 lbs.! What a great feeling- to FINALLY be passed that wall! Now I just want to keep on going right on down to ONEDERLAND!! I can hardly believe that I am THIS close to ONEDERLAND!

It has just taken some looking at what I am eating and seeing where some changes need to be made. But I am making progress and very happy that I may have this figured out again!

This means that I have earned my Wii Fit!!! I can’t wait to go buy it- probably this weekend! Any recommendations on good games? I’ll have to start thinking of a goal reward for 198 now- that’s a big one!!

I do want to say thank you to those of you have offered kind and tactful advice. You know who you are.

For breakfast this morning, I had 1/2 cup steel cut oats, 1/2 a banana, 1 cup of 1% milk and a hard boiled egg for 9 points. I did not get a pictures because the guests were still here.

So I finally cooked the steel cut oats on the stove and I LOVE THEM!! I had tried cooking them before and they were tough, not sure why? But these were creamy and SO good! But a little higher in points than I would like…

Before signing in to work, I brewed some coffee with half and half for 1 point.

At break time I wasn’t hungry at all- which is amazing to me! It must be the protein in the egg. So I didn’t eat anything.

But by lunch I was truly hungry! After really controlling my carbs for the past few days- I decided Wednesday’s would be a good day to be a little more lenient. Last week I didn’t control them ALL the days, just most of the days- and that seemed to work! So I had a sandwich made of Nature’s Pride Hearty Wheat with Flax, deli chicken breast, Swiss cheese, light mayo, tomato and lettuce for 9 points.

I received this bread through Foodbuzz. I am amazed that this type of dense bread is only 2 points per slice. It has a great flavor and is very filling. According to Foodbuzz, “It's the first variety of bread to be baked with pure olive oil, its a good source of fiber, has 22 grams of whole grains and the flax seed provides a good source of Omega 3-ALA. And, like all Nature's Pride breads, it is baked using 100% natural ingredients and contains no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors or trans fats and is contains no high fructose corn syrup.” I like the sounds of that! And I can vouch that the flavor is just as good. It really is a good product!

I also had a serving of TJ’s BBQ Pop chips for 3 points. I always weigh items like this instead of counting them out, I’ve heard that it’s more accurate that way- you get so many for 3 points!

I also had a nice, refreshing glass of iced tea for 0 points.

And for dessert, I had these Duets- peanut butter and caramel truffles. I wasn’t that impressed. I will let hubby have the rest of them. 2 points.

I have to say that after lunch I felt like I was dragging. I am going to start paying more attention to how my body feels based on what I’m eating.

I didn’t have any snacks this afternoon either.

For supper, I made a salad with lettuce, tomato, feta cheese, cashews, a boiled egg, deli turkey and light ranch for 7 points.

This was DELICIOUS!

For dessert, I had FF/SF Chocolate pudding for 2 points.

That puts me right at my points target for the day! I’m just not as hungry lately, which I guess is a good thing! Today I was more lenient on my Carbs, but I still had a really good day- better than some of the days when I really tried to control the carbs, actually! I had 42.86% Carbs, 34.82% Fat, and 22.32% Protein. I would like to try to eat at least 2 servings of fruit everyday, and I only got about 1/2 serving today. But I did get my veggies in with lettuce and tomatoes. I will have to switch it up tomorrow and get some more variety in there. Overall, I am happy with my eating today!

I’m feeling positive and very happy with where I’m at right now! I just hope I can keep this up- obviously I don’t expect to lose 5 lbs. every week, but if I could at least start losing steadily again- I would be SUPER happy!

‘Twas the Night Before Weigh In

I woke up this morning to a snow covered ground. It seems like we keep getting these dustings! Hopefully it starts getting warmer again soon!

I had a few things to get done around the house- so I got those things done first and then I sat down for breakfast. I had the same thing as yesterday: 1 hard boiled egg, a banana nut flax muffin, a banana and a cup of 1% milk for 8 points.

And then it was off to school. It was a pretty low key day today and went pretty quickly.

I really wanted a hot tea, but the line was SO LONG, I didn’t have time to wait. So I got a diet Green Tea Citrus flavor for 0 points.

Instead of a sub at Subway today, I decided to go with a salad, being as I’m trying to watch my carbs and increase my protein and all. I got an Oven Roasted Chicken Breast Salad with a  few toppings for a total of 8 points. The salad alone was 3 points.

I used the Chipotle sauce because it was one of the lower carb options, although a little higher in points, I am finding that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I used to always think that cheese was a bad thing- but why? It has protein, it’s dairy- and it’s really not bad for you if you eat it in moderation.

After that I got groceries. Instead of getting a chocolate candy treat, I decided to try a Luna Protein bar for 5 points.

I didn’t have anything else until supper time. I wasn’t able to get a picture of what I had for supper because I had company over and didn’t really want to explain why I was taking pictures of my food. I made parmesan crusted tilapia with roasted potatoes and onions, a little cottage cheese and a side salad. I also had a Skinny Cow Strawberry Shortcake ice cream sandwich for a total of 16 points. I did use 3 weekly points.

I’m happy with my percentages today! 36.58% carbs, 40.26% fat, 23.16% protein. I really wasn’t hungry today hardly at all- and I only ate so many points at supper because I felt like I needed to cook a little more for company. But it was all healthy!

Tomorrow is WI day and I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a really good WI!!

The Rules of Staying in Shape

This article is brought to you by Holland and Barrett.

A healthy lifestyle is a must if you wish to stay both happy and healthy and is also a great way to avoid various ailments, which will in turn leave you feeling lethargic, miserable and unfit.

If you want to live life to the fullest and continue this into your 90’s then you will need to think about looking after both your body and your mind in the present.  A few lifestyle tips that will enable you to stay in shape and full of active energy include the likes of eating healthily, sleeping well, avoiding junk food, staying away from bad habits such as smoking, excessive drinking and over indulgence and always consuming plenty of water!

Eating healthily does indeed dramatically improve and impact the quality of your life.   This is a small price to pay in order to achieve a better quality of life and in fact, this can be very easily achieved through small lifestyle changes.
According to various researchers around the world, a continuous intake of junk food will not only heighten your cholesterol and fat levels, it is also one of the leading factors of obesity. Not only will this leave you feeling lethargic, but it will leave you craving more of those unhealthy foods and continue the cycle of emotional eating that can lead to obesity and unhappiness.

In order to eat healthily, you should try to follow a few simple steps, which will in turn put you on the road to healthy nutrition.  These steps include eating at least three times a day, having your last meal at least three hours prior to sleeping, avoiding junk food at all costs, sleeping well and eating lots of good, natural and wholesome foods such as organic fruits, healthy vegetables and lean proteins. You can find all of these at health stores such as Holland & Barrett.

A healthy life and diet should be one that practices moderation. You should try to avoid drinking too much caffeine and alcohol, eating too much junk food or foods that lack nutritional value and as always drink plenty of water to keep your body hydrated.

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FTC disclosure: This post is in association with Holland and Barrett.

It’s Monday- What Else Can I Say?

I hope that you had a great weekend. Mine was just so so. It was nice to relax, but hubby and I are both sick- so we spent the entire weekend lounging around the house. I got some reading done for school, but didn’t do much else!

For breakfast this morning, I had 1 boiled egg, 1 Banana Nut Flax Muffin, a banana, and a glass of 1% milk for 8 points.

It was a sad Monday because hubby had to leave for another month again. He is home on the weekends- so that’s always something to look forward to. I went back to bed after he left for some more much needed sleep. I felt better when I woke up.

One good thing about working from home is that it’s a lot easier to work when you’re not feeling well. I can work in my comfy clothes and slippers. Have a humidifier running and blow my nose and cough as loud as I want. Yep, sounds really attractive, huh? hehe

For my first break, I had 1/2 cup of low fat cottage cheese for 2 points.

I was amazed at how much protein cottage cheese has! 16g for 1/2 cup is really good!

I also made a cup of Duchess Grey tea to sip on for 0 points.

For lunch, I had a salad made up of lettuce, spinach, broccoli slaw, 1 clementine, black beans, sunflower seeds, tuna, and light poppy seed and caramelized onion dressing for 4 points.

I just randomly threw this salad together at the last minute- not really sure what I was doing- but it was SO GOOD! And I couldn’t believe it was only 4 points!

I tried to stay away from dessert today, and drank a couple sips of a Crystal Light type drink- Cranberry flavor. 0 calories, etc. This helped give me that sweet flavor that I was craving, but for no points!

On my last break, I was craving something sweet- so I had a Fiber One Strawberry yogurt with 1/2 cup fresh strawberries for 1 point.

I think the strawberry flavor is my favorite of the Fiber One flavors. Yum!

It was a long and busy day at work and I was SO glad to be done!

I did get a fun package in the mail today! I signed up to receive a free beauty kit from Target- and I got one!

Lots of great coupons in there too!

For supper, I had 2 FF hot dogs with PB and ketchup, along with 1 potato and some onions that I broiled with a little olive oil and minced garlic. I melted Mozzarella cheese on top of them for a total of 14 points. I also had more of the Cranberry water.

For dessert, I had SF chocolate pudding for 2 points.

That leaves me with 3 Points left for the day. If I am hungry, I have a planned snack of dry roasted peanuts that will put me at 43.24% Carbs, 32.8% Fat, and 23.97% Protein. I’m still having a hard time meeting that protein goal, but overall- I think I did pretty well today!

I have some housework to get done tonight and then I’m going to relax for the evening. I’m going to try to get to bed early tonight too and get a good night’s sleep in.

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

CSN Stores Review: Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker, Gaiam Pilates Band Kit, and a Sharpie

CSN Stores offered me a credit to order whatever I wanted from their stores and write a review on it. I have nothing but good things to say about CSN Stores. You can find everything at CSN Stores. The shipping is fast and the entire process is easy!

The first item that I chose was the Mr. Coffee TM75- 3 Quart iced tea maker. This is our third iced tea maker in a little less than five years of marriage. I have to say, that I am loving the design of this one and I think that it will last.

The best thing about it is that it is dishwasher safe. Our second iced tea maker pitcher was warped in the dishwasher and eventually cracked and broke, so the fact that this one is dishwasher safe is great. I also like that you can choose how much tea you want to make. You can make 1, 2 or 3 quarts. It is made in such a way that you can use a coffee filter and even use loose tea if you prefer. I have made plain iced tea and also green iced tea- which is wonderful! You can change the settings to whether you want the tea strong or mild. It automatically turns off when it is finished running. Overall, it is a fantastic iced tea maker and I highly recommend this product.

The second item that I chose was the Gaiam Pilates Band Kit with a full workout DVD.

I love Pilates- it feels good to stretch and it’s a calming workout. The kit comes with a full workout DVD hosted by Ana Caban, and a resistance band. You can choose which resistance you want to order: light, medium or heavy. I chose the medium, not really knowing what the band would be like. I definitely could have gone with the heavy. This was my first experience with resistance bands and they really do work your muscles! This workout kit is a great addition to my workout DVD collection.

I had just a little bit left of my credit, so I also ordered a green Sharpie.

Is that a weird choice? Let me explain. I use Sharpies all of the time. Usually, the ones I use are black, so I thought green would be a nice addition. When I figure out the Points Plus value of the foods that I am eating, I often write the amount on the package for easy reference. Like this:

It comes in very handy!

Once again, my experience with CSN Stores was fantastic! Make sure to check out their more than 200 stores!

Banana Nut Flax Muffins- 3 Points Plus- Recipe Week 12

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup Splenda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup ground flax seed
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup 1% milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine the first seven ingredients.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the last four ingredients.
4. Combine the dry ingredients, with the wet ingredients until mixed well.
5. Spoon into light oiled muffin pans. This makes 18 muffins.
6. Bake for about 15 minutes, depending on your oven.

Each muffin is 3 Points Plus each- and very delicious and healthy!

BMI and Another Day of Limiting Carbs

We spent last night in Des Moines so we wouldn’t have to drive all of the way home after the concert. We woke up to this:

Yuck! Thankfully, there was no snow at our place when we got home!

I started off the morning with one of these again:

I think they are helping. I have had a scratchy throat and a little bit of a runny nose- but nothing major. I have kept up on my inhaler every 4 hours due to a tight feeling in the chest, but it is bearable- but just makes me tired. Hubby, on the other hand, has not been taking the AirBorne and has a full fledged cold. So maybe it’s helping? There’s really no way of knowing for sure! I try to take it every 4 hours as it says to.

We had continental breakfast before leaving. I was trying to make healthy choices and avoid carbs, although I did have some because I didn’t know what else to have. This lower carb thing is new to me and I’m still learning- so don’t expect perfection. I had 2 boiled egg whites on a slice of wheat toast and strawberry banana yogurt for 5 points.

And I was still feeling hungry, so I had an apple with peanut butter for 2 points.

And then I felt satisfied. But the low carb thing didn’t really happen, as you can see. It’s amazing how carbs are in everything- like yogurt. But I feel like overall my breakfast was healthy- a lot better than the biscuits and gravy, muffins, and donuts that were the other options. And this was definitely switching things up for me. I feel like I need to learn how to eat all over again. Please understand that I am trying, but it isn’t going to happen over night- it’s taken me over 2 years to get to where I am today and quite frankly I’m proud of where I am. The only way this works for me is if I make gradual and slow changes- not try to change over night. This is my journey and I have a lot to be proud of. I have come a long way and have learned a lot, and maybe I am the only one who truly knows how far that is because this is my own journey. I have a long way to go and a lot more to learn. I’m excited about the process.

Before leaving, I grabbed a cup of coffee with creamer for 3 points.

Hopefully this will be the last time we have to do this!

We made it home and I had a little bit of time before I had to sign into work. I wasn’t really feeling like eating a “lunch” so I had a green smoothie (2 oranges, 1 cup spinach) and 1 oz. 2% Sharp Cheddar cheese and 1/2 oz. dry roasted peanuts for 5 points.

And then it was time to work. I really wanted to have the whole day off- but no could do!

I was hungry by my first break, so I had 1 oz. turkey with swiss cheese wrapped inside for 3 points.

I also had about 3/4 broccoli with 1 Tbs. light ranch for 1 point.

And I finished it up with a cup of Duchess Grey tea while I worked. 0 points.

I was happy when the workday was over!

For supper, I had a blueberry waffle with SF syrup, 2 Jennie-O sausage links, and egg beaters with 1 cup of spinach cooked in along with 1 cup of 1% milk for a total of 10 points.

For dessert, I had a FF/SF chocolate pudding for 2 points.

Mmmm those sweets taste good when you try not to eat them as much!

So how did I do today? Well- I ate 43.02% Carbs, 34.01% Fat, and 22.97% Protein. Remember, I am going for 40-30-30. So not too bad! This way of eating is very weird for me, but I have to say that today I was not very hungry. I’m sure it probably doesn’t look like that- but I’m trying to eat my WW points because it is important to eat ENOUGH, also, so that I can continue to decrease the amount I’m eating and still lose weight. But when I focus on getting in protein and fats- I can tell a huge difference in my hunger levels. Both days that I have tracked my percentages, I have fallen short in the proteins. I think I need to start eating more meat, I don’t think I do that enough. I am finding this process very interesting!

Another thing that I think is pretty awesome is how my BMI has dropped. At 288 lbs., my BMI was 48. Today, it is 35. That’s 13 points dropped! That is still in the obese category, but I am DEFINTELY getting close to the “overweight” category and I will no longer be considered “obese.”

This post was sponsored by Reader’s Digest health section you can find out about your BMI by checking out their body mass index calculator.