Day 1 of the 10 Week Challenge

Yesterday I told you I would report what I ate from now until Friday during the strictest portion of the ten week challenge.

From today through Friday I can’t eat sugar, dairy, bread, potatoes, pasta, rice  or fruit. Basically I’m limited to meat, vegetables, nuts and legumes.

We still have family in town so it’s quite challenging. During breakfast Brent bailed on me and decided that tomorrow would be his start date and he encouraged me to do the same. I stood firm and said no. He’d already convinced me to push it back until the weekend was over. I wasn’t about to do it again.

When I first told him about the challenge he insisted on joining me. I initially told him not to worry about it because I didn’t want to get thrown off if he fell of the wagon. After all, he doesn’t need to lose weight like I do. This has happened before where we’ll vow to eat well together and then he’ll want to order something in for dinner. Since we decide to do it together I end up eating bad too because he did. After doing this over and over he still ends up looking great and I end up large and in charge. Brent is a great life partner but I really must say that he sucks as a nutrition challenge partner.

So this morning while Brent caved in and dug into another breakfast burrito I sautéed up some mushrooms, onions and spinach to be topped off with two cooked eggs. I added a bit of the left over green chili Brent smothered his burrito in as an after thought.

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See the cake in the background? I meant to have a slice before starting the challenge but was so sick of eating crappy food that I couldn’t force myself to do it.

I also officially traded in my sugar coffee for hot tea. It’s actually really good and I had no problem relaxing with a hot mug of this stuff.

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Plus, I like the tin it comes in. It makes me feel like I’m drinking something special.

My snacking style is thoroughly cramped without fruit or dairy. I kept wanting to grab an apple or eat some yogurt. I also usually carry Kind Bars with me in my purse just in case I get hungry and I couldn’t even turn to that because of the sugar. So if you have any snacky suggestions to get me through this phase I’m all ears.

The only thing I could think to snack on was carrots and humus. So I ate a handful before heading out to the mall with the family.

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After walking around for a while we headed for the food court to grab a bite to eat for lunch. Brent and I went to Woody Creek Cafe to grab a few salads and iced tea.

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What I didn’t know was that you got a complimentary cookie with your salad when you go to Woody’s. This wasn’t much of a challenge because I’ve gotten used to passing up on cookies. But it still ticked me off when Brent went on and on about how moist and delicious it was since he was supposed to be doing this challenge with me.

I threatened to take a picture of him eating his cookie for the blog and he shoved it in his mouth before I could catch him in the act… what a butt head.

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I only felt a little bit of satisfaction when he almost choked on it.

The day was going great so far. I didn’t feel deprived at all. The salad I had for lunch was really filling and I wasn’t hungry again until 6 tonight. Everyone else decided to order pizza and garlic knots for dinner.

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I ate a handful of almonds while I roasted up some butternut squash and onions in balsamic vinegar and olive oil to go along with my grilled chicken.

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I didn’t eat it… By the time I had gotten Penelope to bed and had finished cooking my meal I wasn’t feeling so great. I’ve got a headache and am feeling a little nauseous. My plate is sitting next to me as I type this still untouched. I get migraines all of the time so I’m not sure if that is my problem or if I’m just reacting to the sudden change of diet. My bet is that I’m just a weirdo.

We’ll find out tomorrow when I go through another round…

Week 11 Weigh-in and the Ten Week Challenge

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It’s weigh-in day!

I’m super excited, not because my number will be good but because summer is coming and I’ve got a plan.

This week sucked quite frankly. The flu ran rampant in my house and although I was the only one who didn’t get sick the sleep situation was awful. My eyes are still red and puffy from lack of sleep.

I drank a ton of coffee throughout the week which means I drank a ton of cream and sugar too. Oh and alcohol… you can bet that momma was guzzling some wine in the evenings after having her hair pulled out by a sick grumpy baby all day long.

My personal trainer (aka my hubby) was sick all week too so I didn’t workout the way I would have liked. I fit in maybe two runs the entire week. The jury is still out on whether you can consider hoeing your garden as a workout. My sore arms say yes.

So when I stepped on the scale I was not surprised to find that I weighed in at 205.

I looked at the calendar today and it has struck me that I only have 10 weeks left until Bridget is out of school for summer break!

This means I only have 10 weeks to make some major progress before swim suit season!

10 WEEKS!

Over the past few weeks my dedication level has tapered off. I think this is because I’m getting comfortable in my skin again. I no longer feel like Fat Bastard…

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But I’m still a long shot from being the hottie that God intended for me to be. I have a feeling that God really wants me to be hot and I’m just letting Him down by settling comfortably in my fat suit.

Do you remember my friend Kellfire? Well, I consider her to be my nutrition coach. If I do what she tells me to do then I’m destined to be super successful. The problem is that her method actually requires dedication… and I’ve got commitment issues.

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Seriously though,  you don’t get to where you look like this by eating hotdogs. Am I right?

If I had done what Kelly had told me to do when she told me to do it I would totally be a hottie right now. Unfortunatley, I’m kind of a brat and I didn’t want to give up my goodies. I’ve been able to eat what I want and still lose weight and although any progress is good progress I’ve really come to the point where I need to quit juggling back and forth.

I started out with one cheat day on Fridays and the rest of the time I ate great. Then my cheat day started to creep into Saturdays and then Sundays too. I’ve gotten to where I eat really well for four days and not so much for three days. By doing this I’m totally canceling out all of my efforts.

I know that I can maintain but I’m not to the point where I should. So I need to buckle down and do what I need to do for the next 10 weeks so that I can enjoy my summer in a fit and healthy body.

That’s where the next challenge comes in.

Here are the rules…

The 10 Week Challenge

  • No alcohol
  • No sugary drinks (aka sugar coffee, or soft drinks)
  • No carbs after 4 pm (This includes fruits so I will focus on lean meats, legumes and veggies)
  • One cheat MEAL a week is permitted
  • No whining and crying about not getting what you want.

In the past I tried to do a no sugar challenge and I totally cracked under the pressure. But seriously ya’ll I need to put my big girl panties on and suck it up!

This isn’t going to be easy but it will only last for 10 weeks. If things work out the way I have planned I will only need to lose a little bit of weight during the summer which means I can relax and enjoy myself. I love summer! I don’t want to ruin it by feeling uncomfortable in a bathing suit wishing I had tried harder earlier on.

So who’s with me?

I initially wanted to start today but Brent thinks it’s sacrilegious to swear off alcohol a few days before St. Patrick’s Day. So the official start date is Monday. He said that he would do the challenge too only he should be able to drink two beers a day. What the heck?! That’s not a challenge! We’re still debating on those terms. All I know is that if I succeed at this challenge I win a spa day. If he succeeds he wins a Cardinals dart board for the garage… don’t ask me, that’s what he said he wanted.

I’m so excited! I know that if I actually listen to Kelly I’m going to have a really great summer!

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