Day Two of My 30 Day Diet

Weight this morning 130.8

Weight yesterday 131.8

7.8 lbs to go

I'm feeling quite proud of myself because I'm taking back control of my weight, one day at a time. Okay, so I know it is only the second day, and yes, there are twenty-eight more days to go, but I feel confident that I will succeed with this endeavor- God willing of course. Really, who knows? If something else in my life goes terribly wrong, I may just hit the donuts and roll over and play dead. Today on my way home, I received a call from my roommate telling me the power was off. I immediately did a recount of all of the bills I paid this month, and after going through my mental checklist, I felt confident that I had paid the power bill, the past due portion at least. When I pulled up into my driveway, I was on hold with the power company. In my head, I had prepared everything I was going to say, like, "I paid my power bill before the date on the disconnection notice, so why is my power turned off?"

I walked into the house and immediately located my power bill receipt. Ah hah! I knew that I paid it. I rushed to show my roommate the evidence. I am not a complete loser after all, and I did not forget to pay the power bill. Turns out that there was a power outage in the neighborhood. Binge moment narrowly averted. I made a mental note to carry pretzels for those moments of panic and stress.

As I mentioned in my do's of the diet, it is best if you do plan what you're going to eat. This helps prevent you from starving at some point of the day and giving in to a fatty-sugar-sugar-and-more fat craving. Yesterday, I planned out my meals for today. What is so awesome about this diet is that even if you do plan, you can change the plan whenever you want. Just make sure you stay within the 1200 calories and within the allotted 25 grams of fat. If you check out my blog on low fat meals, you can see get ideas on how to plan out your low fat meals. Here is the plan I came up with:

Breakfast - 1 waffle (110 calories 3 fat g) 1/4 cup of Egg Beater scrambled (30 calories 0 fat) - I had 1 tablespoon of sugar free syrup 0 calories 0 fat. I used the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray (ICBINB) on the waffle and egg beaters, sprinkled salt and pepper on the eggs, and it was all dee-lish. It felt like a breakfast with a lot of fat, but it was far from it.

***Cooking tip - spray the waffle with ICBINB on both sides before putting it in the toaster. This cooks in the buttery taste, and it also crisps the waffle. ***

***Legal Note - I relinquish all responsibility for any toaster fires that may result as a consequence of you following my cooking tip. :) ***

Snack - 10 honey wheat pretzels (110 calories 1 fat g) - Just after the end of third period, I pulled two pretzels from the bag to snack on. A student walked in at that moment and shouted, "Gimme some!"

I used to be shocked when students demanded to have some of my personal food; now I've gotten used it. I handed over one of the two pretzels in my hand and proceeded to walk to the classroom door. Teachers are told to stand at the door in between periods to make sure no trouble breaks out outside. As I stood there, the student who demanded some of my pretzels stood with me recounting his minimal breakfast, a small piece of bread. He wanted more of my pretzels. I told him that he could eat at lunch like everyone else, and he told me that he didn't have lunch nor any lunch money. He also reiterated how hungry he was. I offered him half of my half of peanut butter/jelly sandwich that I had brought for lunch, but he declined. He told me he didn't like p&J sandwiches, and I retorted with, "Then you're not that hungry."

He smiled at that before going into his story about why he didn't like p&j sandwiches. Coincidentally, he and my mother share the same reason for their shared dislike of p&j sandwiches; both their mothers overfed them p&j sandwiches morning, noon, and night because that was all that was available. I felt sorry for him and for my mother at this point, so I told him that at the end of the period, I would give him some more pretzels. I ended up giving him the entire rest of the bag after grabbing a five more for myself. I didn't eat 10 pretzels yet, but I plan to add the 3 more to my snack later.

Lunch - 1/2 p&j sandwich, yum. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are one of my favorite lunch meals, but they are very high in calories and fat, and that is why I could only indulge in a half then, saving the other half for later. I use the low fat peanut butter; it has 6 grams of fat in 1 tablespoon, and I only used 1 tablespoon- no spreading it on extra thick. My bread has more fat in it than most breads. It has 2.5 grams per slice and 120 calories. Most bread is only 1 gram of fat per slice and 100 calories. The jelly is 50 calories for a tablespoon and has no fat. An entire p&j sandwich would be 385 calories and 11 grams of fat. So half of that is approximately 192 calories and 5.5 fat grams.

Afternoon Snack - I ate a little 100 calorie bag of Cheeze-its later in the day. It had 3 grams of fat.

So, by then end of my work day, my food calorie total was 542 and fat gram total was 12.5.

That leaves me with 658 calories and 12.5 fat grams for dinner and a late night snack. Some people could consume the 658 easily in one meal. But, if you're a smart dieter, you know how to spread them out. I have class in a bit here, so I have not yet finished off the day. However, I'm going to post the plan for the rest of my day, and I'll update if it changes.

Dinner - (Update) I ended up having the Garden Veggie Burger Patty (no bread) and a side of 1/2 cup of Cheddar Broccoli rice. First I heated the burger in the microwave for 1 min 30 seconds. Afterwards, I added 1/2 cup of prepared cheddar broccoli rice to the dish and I got a little wild and added just a drizzle of honey over the veggie burger before heating the rice and veggie burger for an additional 40 seconds. Turns out that a drizzle of honey over a veggie burger adds a whole new dimension of tasty goodness. This dinner was only 350 calories and 5 grams of fat.

After Dinner Snack - the other half of my p&j- yeah baby! 191 calories 5.5 fat grams (Update!) I ate this sandwich after class, so a little late at night. Probably not such a great idea to eat after 9 p.m., but I wasn't hungry during class thanks to my great dinner beforehand.

Coffee with 1/4 cup of fat free milk - Yes, I like coffee after dinner with two Splendas and milk. 25 calories 0 fat.

(Note) I drank 3 (1/2 liter) bottles of water today.

And, if I'm still not satisfied, I will have 5 more pretzels (really 8, but I already accounted for the other 3 earlier). 55 calories and .5 grams of fat. (Updated) I didn't have the pretzels. I was just not hungry enough.

I feel like a pig looking at all that food I plan on eating, but check it out- I am still under 1200 calories at 1118 calories, and under 25 grams of fat at 23

And that is the beauty of this diet. You can eat all day and enjoy the foods you like if you just plan it right.

Delicious and Easy Low Fat Meals

Butter- most people love it. Without butter sliced bread is just dry old toast. Giving up the taste of butter is what makes many diets drab and boring. But, there is a solution. If you haven't heard of or been introduced to I Can't Believe It's Not Butter the Spray, then you need to rush out to your nearest grocery store and pick up a bottle. It's absolutely a Godsend to dieters and healthy food eaters everywhere. I don't mean to sound cheeky, but really, you won't believe that it's not butter. Be sure to get the spray and not the spread. The spread has fat and calories while the spray tastes just as great and has no calories or fat. I'll say it again- the spray tastes just like butter but contains zero calories and zero fat.

Now, why would I begin this post with a rant about spray butter? Well, because the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray is the key to many great tasting low fat meals. You might say that it's going to be a staple food in your diet. Another thing you want to pick up is Crisco Butter Flavored Cooking Spray. The key here people is that we don't want to fry our foods in fatty vegetable oil unnecessarily. Lets save our fat allotment for something better. Below are some of my own personal low fat recipes. You can tweak them as you like, but just be sure to stay within your calorie and fat allotment. If you like to eat six times a day, you can't have more than 200 calories a meal. If you like to eat 3 meals and 2 snacks, make the meals about 300 calories each and the snacks 125. You can manage your calories and disperse them however you choose so long as you don't go over!!!

1. Honey Fried Tilapia: Two 4 oz pieces of Tilapia 100 calories a piece 2.5 fat grams, three tablespoons of Zatarain's Fish-Fri Batter, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1/2 cup I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray (ICBINB). Take the pieces of Tilapia and cover them in the Fish-fri; if pieces are not wet enough, spray them a bit with ICBINB. Pour the 1/2 cup of ICBINB in a pan and heat on medium high flame. After the ICBINB starts to sizzle a little, put in the fish. Cook the fish for 2 minutes on each side. Then, drizzle the honey over the fried fish until all of the honey is gone. Cover the pan, and allow the fish to fry for another minute; flip the fish again, cover the pan, and cook for one more minute. This meal is 335 calories total and only 5 grams of fat. You get the great taste of fried fish without using oil.

2. Scrambled eggs with corn tortillas, fat free sour cream, and fat free cheese - If you choose, you can use 1 large egg or 1/2 cup of egg beaters. Obviously the egg beaters will have less fat, so if you want to save your fat allotment, you should go with the beaters. In a pan, pour about 2 tablespoons of ICBINB, and then, fry 2 corn tortillas, 1 at a time. Cook the corn tortillas to your desired amount of crispiness. I enjoy mine pretty crispy. In a separate pan, pour 1 tablespoon of ICBINB, and either scramble 1 large egg or scramble 1/2 cup of egg beaters. When the eggs are done put them on top of the corn tortilla and add fat free sour cream and fat free cheddar cheese for a great low fat breakfast. If you use 1 large egg and 2 corn tortillas 1 tbsp of fat free cream cheese and 1/4 cup fat free cheese, your meal will will be 222 calories and 4.5 grams of fat; if you choose the egg beaters, your meal will be 212, and 0 grams of fat!!! This meal is also good if you have some Del Taco Mild sauce to add to it.

3. Garden Veggie Burger with Swiss Cheese - Hmmm, I love this one, and it's quick and easy. Don't be put off by the veggie burger. I have tried my share of veggie burgers, and this one is one of the best out there. It's not gross; I promise. Here's what you need, 1 Morning Star Garden Veggie Patty, 1 slice of Kraft 2% Swiss Slice, 2 slices of bread, 1 tablespoon of Miracle Whip, 1 slice of tomato, 1 slice of onion. Microwave the Garden Veggie Patty and then fry in a pan of ICBINB for one minute. Add the slice of cheese onto the patty as it sits in the pan. Spread the Miracle Whip on a slice of toasted bread, add the tomato and onion, and put it all together in a sandwich. It's dee-lish. Total calories 250 calories and 11.5 grams of fat.

More Meals Coming Soon!!!

Day 1 of My 30 Day Diet - Food Journal #1

Who isn't in a rush these days? I know that I am. Eating breakfast is one of the hardest things for me to schedule in. I'm up by 5 a.m. and rushing to get ready for work and out of the door by 6:20. If I'm lucky and if I plan, I can have breakfast at home. Today I was not lucky. I woke up late, and then, I went back to sleep for ten more minutes, making myself even more late. So, needless to say, I did not have time to make any breakfast. I did grab a lunch box Yohoo and a bottled water before setting off to work. I am a teacher, so in my classroom, there is a steady supply of sugar. I have an entire drawer of sweets. I tried to hold out, but by the end of fourth period, I gave in. I didn't worry too much about having the snacks because I knew I could cut calories later on my real meals. When I got home from work, I snacked on some pretzels before making dinner. The pretzels tasted great, and I made a mental note to bring some to work tomorrow. Pretzels are a better snack than Now-a-Laters. Dinner was great and extremely filling. I had a bottle of water before dinner, and that helped satiate my appetite. I feel that this day has gone well, and I'm going to go dance in my garage for ten minutes before heading out to law school. The specifics of my food journal are below.

1. Two Now-a-Laters at 13.3 calories a pop and 1 fat gram for 9 = 26.6 calories and 0 fat

2. One Airhead at 60 calories for the stick and 1gram of fat = 60 calories 1 fat

3. Two pieces of bubble gum at 20 calories a piece 0 fat= 40 calories 0 fat

4. Five Mambas at 19 calories a piece and approx 2 fat grams=95 calories 2 fat

5. 18 honey wheat pretzels 198 calories and 2 grams of fat= 198 2 fat

6. Two pieces of 4oz Tilapia fried with I Can't Believe It's

Not Butter Spray, seasoned with Fish Fry Batter,

& 1 tablespoon of butter. 335 calories 5 g fat

7. 1/2 cup of Lipton's Cheddar Broccoli rice 130 calories 1 fat.

8. Yohoo Chocolate Drink 100 1 fat

9. Two .5 liter bottles of water N/A

10. laffy taffy and tootsie roll - 55 calories 1 fat

___________________________________________________________________

1016.6 13 fat g

So, as you can see, I wasted a lot of my calories on junk food today during work, but it still didn't hurt my overall calorie intake. Tomorrow I am going to try to lay off the sugar and eat healthier snacks. It is 10:30 p.m., and I'm going to prepare my lunch for tomorrow. I am going to follow my own advice and plan ahead. I know this will help me avoid resorting to the candy drawer. 1 Day down- 29 to go.

Today's beginning weight was: 131.8 lbs

Pounds away from goal: 8.8

Do and Don'ts of the 30 Day Diet

We probably all wish that there was the miracle diet that had all do's and no don'ts. Do eat as much chocolate as you want; do eat all the fat you like; do eat morning, noon, and night. Unfortunately, most diets are more don'ts than do's, and dieters have to give up many of their favorites without much return. My diet has its do's and a few don'ts. Luckily, the don'ts are not that bad and not that many.

---The Don'ts----

1. Don't drink calories unless you really must. This diet, like any efficient diet, is based on limiting calories and fat intake. Drinking calories is a waste unless your drink really keeps you feeling full.

2. Don't eat fast foods unless it is your cheat day. This is common sense. Fast food is chalked full of calories and fat.

3. Don't eat more than 25 grams of fat per day, and don't consume more than 1200 calories. This is the rule you must follow. It doesn't matter what you eat, sugar, carbs, whatever- just stay within your allotment for fat and calories.

4. Don't forget to keep track of your calories and fat intake.

----The Do's----

1. Drink plenty of water. It's best if you drink a small bottle of water or .5 liters with each meal. The water will help keep you feeling full, and it will help you rid your body of toxins and fat.

2. Plan ahead. Eating on the fly is what puts on the weight. If you plan your meals in advance, you won't overeat or binge at the last minute. See my blog on quick low fat meals.

3. Try to be active during your day. If you can't hit the gym, try doing some jumping jacks, running in place, some squats, or just dance like maniac in your living room for ten minutes.

4. Eat. I know it seems obvious, but some of us think that starving is the best way to go. It's not.

5. Schedule in a cheat day. All work and no play is never fun, and the same goes with dieting. Scheduling in a cheat day allows you something to look forward to, and when things get rough, that cheat day is the like the light at the end of the tunnel.

6. Eat what you want so long as you manage your portions.

7. Keep track of what you eat, even the small things like gum, and write it down in a food journal. This really helps. You will find yourself refusing foods because you don't want to have to add them to your calorie log. It also helps because as the pounds start to fall off, you can go back and see what you were doing right.

Okay, so that is the diet in a nutshell. The trick to this diet, aside from following it, is really the cooking. I have found great ways to eat under 1200 calories and 25 fat grams a day, and I'm going to share them with you as I go. Keep checking back for more updates.

500 Days of Summer

500 Days of Summer begins with a bit of humor and a warning to those who might be in the mood for a good old fashioned boy meets girl love story; the narrator says it right up front- this movie is not a love story. But, as you sit watching our main character, Tom Hansen, recall his days falling for a blue eyed flighty creature named Summer, it is hard not to find yourself wanting to believe that this movie will have a fairytale happy ending. 500 Days of Summer is a movie that does an excellent job of depicting the harsh reality of falling for that person you believe is the one only to discover that you are just another person who is not the one on that person's quest for his/her other half.
Tom Hansen works for a greeting card company although his degree is in architecture. He meets Summer when she is hired to be an assistant for Tom's boss. Summer claims to be uninterested in love; in fact, she is a firm believer in the view that love doesn't exist. Tom on the other hand has an idealistic view of love. He believes in things like fate and destiny. Tom is certain that Summer is the one. And when Summer confides in Tom, telling him information that she has never told anyone before, Tom begins to believe that he is the one for Summer.
Unfortunately for those of us who enjoy idealism winning over reality, 500 Days of Summer provides the viewer with an hard honest look at love and relationships. There is a lot of humor in the movie, and despite the not-so-happy ending, 500 Days of Summer was worth the $10. I give it a B+. Here is a link to the trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsD0NpFSADM

The Thirty Day Diet That Has Always Worked For Me

When life starts to get out of control, or rather, when you start to feel like you are not in control of the things happening in your life, I have found that one of the best things to do is to try to gain back control over one element of your life at a time. One thing that I have always been able to take back control over (after I have lost it) is my weight.

I am not one of those people blessed with a fast metabolism. If being able to gain weight fast were a game, I would be a major contender. I also do not have an abundance of time to spend in the gym. And, even if I had the time, I am not a big fan of exercise altogether. Putting on weight has always been easy for me, and that is why I was once always on the look out for diets that worked. Five years ago, I stumbled onto a diet that finally did the trick. I was 160 pounds, and I am only 5'2. You can picture in your mind how chubby I must have been, a porty shorty. I hadn't realized that I had gotten so fat until a friend of mine asked me, "Why are you gaining weight?"

The question was a tough blow to my ego, but it was just the shove I needed to push me in the right direction. I immediately set a goal to lose at least thirty pounds in three months. I lost them in two. Granted, I did work my butt off in the gym for at least an hour a day to lose the pounds so fast. However, I used the same diet plan a year ago, only without the extensive workouts, and I had great results. I could lose 7-10 pounds in a month without a heavy workout routine.

Every now and again, an unwanted pound will creep its way back into my jeans. Whenever I start to notice the pounds coming back, I revert to my handy-dandy diet that never fails.

The time to diet has come again. The Holy Month of Ramadan has just ended. Many people have the misconception that after a month of fasting during daylight hours, Muslims will have lost tons of weight. This has never been the case for me. In fact, it's always quite the opposite. Because I could not eat during the day, and because I did not have time to cook before class, by the time the sun set, I was starving and I ate what came quick and readily available: junk food. At one point during the Month of Ramadan, I baked a pound cake. I'm embarrassed to admit this, but over the course of the Holy Month, I ate a slice of that cake almost every night until I had eaten almost the entire cake to myself. Amazing and disgusting, I know. It wasn't a surprise to me that by the end of the month of fasting, I had gained seven unwanted pounds; my poor hips and stomach were the innocent victims. They never stood a chance against the butter and sugar in that pound cake.

Hope is not lost. I like a challenge that I know I can overcome when I'm faced with so many other obstacles that feel utterly impossible to deal with. My plan is this: tomorrow, Monday, September 21, 2009, I will post my current weight; I will also begin posting a food journal daily. If I do exercise, I will post the details of the workout. God willing, thirty days from tomorrow, I will have shed the seven pounds that I gained, and then I will work on losing another five- Thanksgiving is just around the corner; it's better to lose the weight prior to gaining it.

What I am hoping is that YOU will join me on this journey. If my diet plan works, then I would love to share it. If you do decide to follow my diet, please post your results or lack there of. Feel free to comment with any questions you may have. Tomorrow's post will contain more detail about the do's and don'ts of the diet and a few sample meal plans. FYI, this diet will contain no pork or beef products as I do not consume those foods. However, you can include whatever foods you wish so long as you follow the main rules of the plan.

Check back tomorrow for my guide to losing weight easily.

29 and Counting...

I have twenty-seven more days left as a twenty-nine year old. The reality of thirty is right around the corner, but the current pressure of figuring out bills and paying for law school is keeping me rather distracted. I'm not sure that I would care much about turning thirty even if my attention were not diverted. I have accepted aging as being a redundant part of everyday life. Really, the only good thing about keeping track of ones age is that it is away to measure achievement. Certain ages are like benchmarks. When a girl reaches twelve, she looks forward to getting her period. This is when she will consider herself a woman. She'll stand in the mirror for hours at a time, critiquing her hair, the size of her breasts, the roundness of her stomach. And, at that time, thirty is a million years away.

The next benchmark is the ripe old age of sixteen, the age to obtain ones driver's license and gain access to the roads of freedom. Passing the test is only the first step; the important step is getting a car. Some women never own a car. Some women never even learn how to drive. And, I know that even if I shouldn't, I feel like I somehow surpassed those women in life when I successfully met and accomplished those goals.

After sixteen, it's the countdown to eighteen, the age of majority in most states across the U.S.. I couldn't wait to turn eighteen because I had the naive notion that that was when I would be an adult. Little did I realize that I had years of growing up to do before I would really mature into a grown woman. Nevertheless, I dreamed of reaching eighteen and being able to make my own decisions, move out on my own, and go after my dreams and aspirations. I used to imagine that by eighteen I would have sold my first screenplay. I still haven't.

Twenty-one, now that is the age that begins the beginning of the end, yet so many of us couldn't wait to see that birthday. The world of the underground opens up at the age of twenty-one. There is no more worrying about being carded, no more fake I.D.s, no more benchmarks that you're excited to reach. I think we would all stay twenty-one if we could.

After twenty-one the benchmarks become a little less glamorous, and instead of looking forwarding to doing things, people become obsessed with the things that they haven't done. For example, if you're not married or at least in a serious relationship by the age of thirty, people begin to wonder what's wrong with you, and you begin to wonder the same. This day in age it is highly possible to be divorced with two kids by the age of thirty. If you don't have a family by thirty, then you hope that you can at least say that you have a career. Not having a family nor a career by thirty, puts you in the potential loser category; or, maybe you just haven't grown up yet. If you're still living at home and haven't moved out of your parents' house by thirty, you're really pathetic. And, if for some reason you're thirty and unemployed, well... you better at least be disabled.

When I was sixteen, I owned my own car, and I had a full-time job. I worked forty hours a week at Target. When I was seventeen, I entered my first year of college and had an apartment with a friend. By the time I was twenty-five, I had a masters degree. At twenty-six I purchased my first home. And, at twenty-seven I started law school. It is safe to say that I feel that I've done a good job at meeting my benchmarks. And if thirty is the age to have a complete meltdown, I just might make that one as well.

The truth is that I think that I've done pretty well for myself so far, and I am approaching thirty with a healthy confidence in my ability to keep up with my peers in the 25-30 age group. The problem is that I'm also on the brink of losing all that I've worked so hard to gain. If benchmarks were a belt on my waist, I'd be dropping pounds fast and losing notches. Like many Americans, I am facing the possibility of losing my house. The payments skyrocketed when the ARM went into effect, and my teacher's salary has only increased by one-hundred and twenty dollars in the last two years. I retained an attorney to help me try to persuade my lenders to modify my loan, but the lenders are being difficult to say the least.

On top of the house being near foreclosure, I am struggling to maintain a revolving payday loan. It is my own fault for wanting to travel to Europe over the summer. I've been paying the price ever since. Keeping up with the payday loan payments, utility bills, a cell phone bill, cable bill, car payment, insurance, and mortgage- well, I'm not keeping up, and that's the problem. To add icing on the cake, I have to figure out how to pay for law school.

As frightening as aging might be for some women, at this point I have bigger demons to contend with. Turning thirty is the least of my worries.