Menu Plan ~ 2/8/10

This week I'm trying some of the Cooking Light recipes that I posted on my last menu. I'll let you know how they turn out. The menu's I'm posting now are for 2 weeks worth of dinners. I've found it easier on the budget if I shop one big trip every two weeks and make one smaller trip for produce/bread/milk the next. So, it's just easier for me to post my menu's every two weeks. Below I'll give you an update on how the eating/exercising is going.

Turkey Dogs, Baked Beans, Potatoes and Onions

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff, Steamed Broccoli

Beef and Bean Burritos, Mexican Rice

Southwestern Chicken and White Bean Soup, Mexican Corn Bread

Sloppy Joes, Corn on the Cobb, Green Beans

Italian Chicken over Pasta, Salad

Roast w/ Peas, Carrots and Potatoes, Corn Bread (moved over from last week)

BBQ Chicken Pizza, Cucumber Salad, Carrots w/ Dip


Sandwiches/leftovers/dinner with parents for the other nights.

I typically weigh on Sunday mornings but the more I thought about it the more I realized this was the worst day to weigh!! So, I'm changing my weigh day to Friday. That way if I choose to have a cheat meal on the weekend I can work extra hard that week to make up for it!

Last Sunday (1/31), I was down 3 more pounds, which makes 7 lbs total. And last week I did really well with my eating and exercising up until Friday! Thursday morning I woke up feeling like I was getting a cold.. well, my colds are never just colds. I went ahead and did my 3 mile WATP (Walk Away the Pounds) DVD.. well, it was cut short by about 5 minutes because the glass mirror on Eli's door FELL ON TOP OF HIM AND BROKE (He's okay). Yes, that is a story for later. Note to all parents: never put or leave (in our case the mirror was already on the door when we moved in and we didn't think anything about it) a glass mirror on a door. Anyway, by Thursday night I could not breath out of the right side of my nose. Friday morning I was a mess and totally stopped up. I went to the Dr Friday afternoon and got some meds but even today I'm still not feeling all that great. I can breath but I'm still really congested in my head. It just takes me a while to get over sinus infection. When I get them, I get them bad! It's totally annoying when someone tells me that they just got back from the Dr with a sinus infection and they don't even sound sick... because I am always so stopped up that it sounds like I've got erasers stuck up my nose... for days! And my appearance is lovely.. my nose gets red and peels from all the blowing.. my eyes are watery... even when I start to feel better it takes a while for me to look better. So, needless to say that exercise has been a no go. And although being sick is not an excuse to eat whatever you want, I did make a few unhealthy choices this weekend: pizza on Friday night (my in laws watched the boys so Hub's could come with me to the Dr and they picked up pizza! Thank YOU!)... although I only had two slices of cheese pizza and I did not eat the crust! And then Saturday my parents watched the boys for me (Thank you, too!) and the Hubs so we could grocery shop and nap! I definitely needed that. Saturday was actually suppose to be a date day for us but we opted to save that Olive Garden gift card for another time when I actually feel like going! So, after we dropped the kids off we had Arby's. Fast food. But it was good. Ha! I think the best thing to do after something like that is to just realize that it's okay. It's not the end of the world.. or the end of weight loss. The worse thing to do is to allow something like that lead you into a crazy 'bad' food binge. And I've been there. I know.

Anyway, enough about that. I didn't weigh Sunday and I don't plan on weighing again until Friday. So, I'll let you know when I get there! I'm hoping tomorrow I'll feel up to some exercise. I'm planning on keeping my calorie eating around 17-1800 calories a day for a week or two more and then I'm going to try to cut it back. I read an article by Jillian Michael's saying that it's better to decrease your calorie intake slowly so you're not putting your body in shock. At my starting weight I was eating 2,000+ calories a day (I know, so bad!). So, I dropped it down about 2-300 calories (plus what I burn exercising). In a week or so I'll probably drop it down to around 15-1600 calories and keep it there. Keeping it at this range plus subtracting my calories burned by exercising should equal out to help me continue to lose at a healthy pace... as long as I don't keep eating Arby's!!

I think many people cut their calories way down and then add lots of exercise and their body goes into shock.. then they end up feeling so worn down and starved that they fail. Either that or they don't cut back enough or don't exercise enough. I think often people don't realize how many calories is actually in what they are eating too. It's an eye opener to actually track your calories for a few days!

BTW, the Michelina's Flatbread Chicken Club was so-so. I probably won't buy it again. I did try another one today, pasta with cheese and marinara sauce. It was pretty good. It had a coupon in it and they are still on sale for $1, so Ill probably be trying a few different ones out.

Sorry these posts are so long. I'm trying to at least keep up with blogging about my 'diet' so that I can stay accountable. I plan on posting my (hopeful) weight loss every Monday with my menu. Hopefully this week I will be able to do some more blogging.. not about food!

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