So, this is what it looks like when you call Victory!  What’s victory about?  Have I achieved a goal?

Well, sort of.   Today’s victory dance isn’t a weigh in goal, an inch goal, or anything that you may cheer for when you’re encouraging a friend to keep it up!  Today’s victory is simple.  Realistic.  And a signal that I over the last 17 days, I have become smarter.  So, will you stop what you’re doing and celebrate with me?  Take a bite of your cupcake for me.  Live for me.  Drink a sip of your wine.  Toast my success.

I have eaten my last shelf stable dinner.

For all that is holy, that had to be one of the single hardest challenges – and probably why people lose so much weight in the first week or two.  When you have this type of food to eat, you’d rather starve!

NO MORE JACK!  (Sorry if your name is Jack.  I’m not meaning to call you out.)

So, with that, let’s jump on board some things I’ve noticed!

Changes in Clothing:

Yesterday, when I was getting ready, was the first time I had to change my shirt 3 times because the shirts I was putting on looked frumpy and baggy (more words that end in y, brought to you by Sesame Street).  Y’all, this is like ginormous!  I mean, I was ginormous, too, but this success is huge!

PowerFuels and SmartCarbs:

So, I’m struggling to figure this one out some.  Anyone who has more information can weigh in here.  Nutrisystem has a whole grocery guide that tells you some examples of what a PowerFuel (PF) or SmartCarb (SC) is.  However, what it doesn’t do is tell you if you buy those high protein waffles in the store, is that a PF or SC.

According to the grocery guide:

PowerFuel:  PowerFuels consist of high quality proteins that contain essential amino acids and healthy fats from nuts. It takes longer for your body to digest these foods, so they help you stay satisfied.

SmartCarb:  SmartCarbs are a specific group of carbohydrates that are nutrient-rich and measure “low” on the Glycemic Index. These carbs are digested more slowly, keeping you feeling fuller longer while promoting good health by delivering vitamins, minerals, fiber and other important nutrients.

So, my understanding is that you want a healthy balance of these during some of your snack options so that you don’t overindulge at other meals like dinner or lunch.

The Numi App keeps track of these, but I find myself confused by the app sometimes when something like a cheesestick (that shows up as a PF on the grocery guide) shows up as an Other (something you should be limiting in your diet overall) on the app.

The Leaf:

Nutrisystem also has a handy blog with occasional recipes, tips and tricks for added weight loss, advice on hitting the plateau, how to avoid candy (or eat in moderation) during the holidays and more.  I found a great article today on eating slower which has been something I’ve noticing too.  I find myself getting fuller if I eat slower and I consume my veggies first.  So, I make it a point to get rid of veggies first.  And, a lot of the frozen meals (especially the HotPocket type meals) are really great and I like to have these as a way to end my meal on a high note.  Veggies first, carbs last, right?

But, why?

My ‘why’ I’m losing weight – other than the My Mom Put Me on Nutrisystem reveal is these guys and my sweet husband.  Listen, I know the world is in a crummy place.  But, I want to live a long and healthy enough life…and set these little dudes up for success.  I can’t do that if I’m sitting in my closet eating Kraft Mac and Cheese because I’m addicted to it and I don’t want to share with my son.

Yes, I’m also doing it because my mom asked me to support her.  She mentioned the other week that all of our phone conversations are now along the following lines:

• Vegetable Cooking
• Air Frying
• Nutrisystem Entree Reviews
• Canned Meat
• Nutritooting (it’s just what it sounds like…)

I think one of the most important things anyone can do before starting to diet or change a lifestyle though is to locate the why and really buckle down on that, versus what it takes to get there.  I mean, I’ve got over 100 pounds to lose.  If I look at that number, I get discouraged because I know it’s not going to happen overnight.

So, what’s your plate look like?

It’s actually getting better!  The first two pics are veggies for breakfast (celery with some awesome nut butter by RXbar.  I’m trying to limit sugar overall, too just to make it easier on myself when I get off this ‘diet’.  For my breakfast, I spread some of this over the NS Homestyle Pancakes and they were actually super good!  They do have a syrup in the pancake, so there’s really no need for anything else.  It’s more a finger food to eat, I guess.  But, I found a very thin layer of nut butter made it very good!  Definitely one of my favs.

For lunch, I had the steak/cheese melt with roasted brussel sprouts and buffalo cauliflower.  Instead of wheat flour, I used almond meal and this was lower in overall calories and pretty yummy!  I found instead of using Buffalo sauce, I used the Tapatio hot sauce in a glass jar you get on the mexican food aisle of most stores. It’s a free food in the numi app, so you can have as much as you want. If you’re interested in the recipe, it’s below.

I also find this finally makes cauliflower more tolerable.  No more sad days of crying while I eat it.

The steak and cheese melt was as good as the other melts.  I really enjoy all of these.  I don’t think I’ve found any bad ones.

For dinner, I repeated the vegetables and was on FaceTime with my mom when I tried to eat the very last MRE I had.  I took one bite of the Rotini and was literally done.  I couldn’t do it anymore.  To the trash it went.

I didn’t have the snack at 8:30, either.

This put me at only 630ish calories for the day.  Y’all, this is bad.  Really bad.  That low of a calorie diet does bad things for hair loss and other stuff – not to mention forces your body to retain the food it does get.  I’ll work on this more.

Activity:

Dallas had a tornado the other day and I had not had a chance to see what happened to our property.  While we live farther north, the wind we had was really bad.  So, I used my activity to walk the property we have.  While I found no damage, I did find that the coyotes are now being considered prey by something bigger and/or stronger than them. Kind of a cool find.  Left the bones there, though and texted my sweet neighbor and asked him to start hunting.  The coyotes are entirely too close to our house these days and are less afraid each night. With our dogs being so small, I worry about them becoming a Scooby Snack one day.

Well, that’s all for now, you guys.  I’ll update you on today’s status once I finish out my day, tomorrow!  (Now, if that’s not confusing…)