Half way through the 10-day challenge and I had a breakthrough. I'm finally getting it. I read through all of Geraldine's group e-mails and the ones she had sent to me with feedback on my food logs and it clicked for me. It's all about this:
Meal 1: Protein + Starchy Carb &/or Simple Carb + Fat
Meal 2: Protein + Starchy Carb &/or Simple Carb + Fat
Meal 3: Protein + Starchy Carb &/or Simple Carb + Fat
Meal 4: Protein + Fibrous Carb + Fat
Meal 5: Protein + Fibrous Carb + Fat
Geraldine sent us this meal plan before the challenge started and I did look at it and the list of foods that fall under each category, but I really didn't get it. I was too busy making sure I liked the way the shake tasted and eating only the foods that were on her list. I didn't get that there was a strategy to which foods you eat and when. Now that I'm understanding this more I am going to get some feedback from her on the reasons why.
But here's what I did yesterday. I took all the foods that I liked from each category above and put them in a simple list as you see here below:
Now I just make sure I follow the formula above to figure out what I'm going to eat at each meal.
And how am I doing with that you ask? Still really well. I am really loving eating constantly throughout the day. Before I was eating to the point of being overly full and then being uncomfortable for a few hours when I would be hungry again. Now, I eat and I'm satisfied and when I start to feel hungry again it's time to eat again. I really like it.
Of course I am concerned about getting bored with this meal plan. It seems pretty limited but things are often not what they seem. I need to be daring. For example, last night I added orange peppers to my eggs for dinner and it was awesome. I was worried I wouldn't like it but it added so much flavor.
Half eaten dinner when I decided to take a photo.
Notice the LEGO village in the background that was supposed to be moved to the basement that is still on the kitchen table!
Backing up a little, here's how my evening went ... I had a second shake before Zumba because I was in a hurry, plus it just sounded really good. I was pretty hungry and it hit the spot. Zumba was insane. Zumba is in the gym on Monday and there must not be any air conditioning in there because I was sweating before the class even started. I was dripping sweat after each song. It was almost too much.
Day 5 - Zumba
I was pretty hungry after the kids and I got home, but I wanted to spend some time with Tanner since he had been stuck inside all day. I didn't get around to making my dinner until about 8 p.m. and I was hungry. I made scrambled eggs with orange peppers, salt and pepper, garlic, a little cheese and milk. It was delicious.
I also made Geraldine's recommended salad dressing to use on the rest of the orange pepper. The first bite reminded me of Easter eggs because of the vinegar, but the more I ate it the more I liked it. I could really seem some potential with it on dressing, marinades and for dipping.
The past two days I've felt skinny. My abs seem tighter which I think also goes along with not overeating during meals and begin full. I like this feeling. I remember it and it's so motivating. Yesterday I hit 190 - officially my lowest weight to date. My original goal was to get down to 180 or 175 (I'm 5'6"). I'm so close. It's exciting and scary at the same time.
Here's my day 5 log:
My daily Weight Watchers PointPlus target is 30 pts. I used all 30 pts. today.
I earned 10 Activity Points today and used 5 pts.
(35 pts. total used today)
