Thursday, August 26, 2021

I figured it was time for a little update on how I’m doing and what I’ve been eating lately. I feel a little weird writing about this; maybe no one cares!

I have now lost 30 pounds! A quick recap: I started on my journey to a healthier lifestyle on April 8th, 2021. It’s a slow process, but I am enjoying what I’m eating and I really don’t feel deprived. I understand that I didn’t gain it over night and that it won’t come off overnight. I’m doing WW Purple and basically it encourages whole foods. I can eat whatever I want, but am encouraged to eat lean proteins, whole grains, and tons of vegetables and fruit. I am strictly doing the digital app version and not going to any meetings. I love the app. It is really, really good in my opinion!

Typical Day:

-2 cups of coffee with mini moo creamers (one per cup)

-half of a Premier Protein with instant coffee made into an iced coffee

-veggies (zucchini, onion, mushrooms) with a square of low carb egg casserole

-banana

-low carb lunch with a lean protein and lots of vegetables

-small snack of popcorn, string cheese, apple, or something like that

-low carb dinner with a lean protein and lots of vegetables

(examples of my fave lean proteins: ground turkey, chicken breast, tuna, eggs, veggie burgers, fish)

-dum dum sucker or a small dessert like a fiber one bar heated up in microwave

-maybe another snack before bed

-as much water as I can drink! During the week I only drink coffee and water unless I have a happy hour.

On the weekends, I do have some more fatty and caloric foods. This past weekend, I had a decadent giant soft pretzel. I still have a few cocktails on the weekends.

Here are some things I recently found:

OMG! Do you love popcorn like I do? I use my popcorn kernel and lunch bag trick in the microwave here and this stuff makes it taste just like movie theater popcorn! After looking in my Kroger that never has anything, I ordered a 3 pack off of Amazon.

And, I ordered this ramen off of Amazon for the noodles only and not the seasoning mix. The seasoning mix makes it 980 grams of sodium. These little noodles are yummy boiled in some chicken broth and I can see this being a go-to as the weather gets colder.

Here are some meals I have enjoyed lately:

One night recently I had whole wheat bowtie pasta with broccoli and mushrooms and chicken. I have grown to love whole wheat pasta. I have bought Barilla and found I need to boil it longer than regular pasta.

One of my school lunches was Asian lettuce wraps. I cannot wait to make these again. They were great and so spicy. I did not follow a recipe but used ground turkey, green onions, shredded fresh carrots, and a tiny bit of sesame oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and lots of siracha and a little bit of water and honey. We wrapped it in iceberg lettuce leaves.

My co-worker Erica is doing lunches with me, as I have mentioned. She is doing WW Blue and has now lost almost 10 pounds in just 4 weeks. She makes two or three meals a week and I make two or three meals a week for our lunches. For five day weeks, we alternate who does three and who does two.

Here is what we have had so far:

adult lunchables (hard boiled egg, chicken breast, Greek yogurt dip with veggies, and fruit)

tuna wraps

buffalo chicken dip with celery

egg roll in a bowl

sweet potato lasagna

Asian lettuce wraps

zoodles with chicken and tomatoes

sausage and roasted veggies

burrito bowls

basil coconut chicken curry pictured below

We have been eating well!

It has been fun to talk recipes, look for new recipes, and kind of rate the lunches we have enjoyed the most. We are talking about making some sort of Google Doc with our recipe rotations. Both of us are looking forward to some fall/winter recipes like soups, too. It’s been really fun and helpful!

Some more foods I have eaten lately:

A recent dinner of sausage, roasted veggies, and mashed potatoes. This was also a lunch. I am trying to do one dinner for Tom and I and one lunch for Erica and I sometimes.

This is what my breakfast looks like: I take it to school to eat during my first period planning. I do not heat it up in plastic, but put it on a paper plate. I would like to move to all glass storage containers.

Dinner of a veggie burger and the ramen with a tiny bit of mac and cheese powder. Tom had the real Kraft mac and cheese! We found out he is not a fan of the veggie burger like I am. He had his leftover lunch sandwich instead.

Next week I am receiving two Blue Apron WW meals. Did you know they have that option? One is a tilapia dish and the other is a chicken dish. It is more affordable for two people so I thought I would try it out.

Any suggestions for me?

Thanks for reading!

Amy