Dandelion Greens & Strawberry Smoothie

My drink creation today got me thinking about how the weeds in our lives can be good for us if we learn to use them for our own benefit (in the spiritual sense as well as the physical)... This smoothie was made with blended dandelion greens, strawberries, banana, hemp seeds, and coconut milk.

My Pretty Juice

Pink Grapefruit, Carrot & Celery

I love the colors of the food and the pretty drink they created.  It was a treat in more ways than one.

My St. Patty's Day Special

Kale, Green Apple and Celery Juice

May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's been 10 weeks and almost 22 pounds gone so far!

I'm pleased with myself for being able to stay focused on my weight goal.  So far it has been a slow loss, but it has been a steady loss.  From what I've learned, a slow loss is better for the body and more likely to be permanent.  So, even though I'm an impatient person, I will remind myself that this is exactly how it should be and how I planned it to be. 

I went through my closet last night to see what I have for my upcoming cruise and I was pleasantly surprised at how my clothes were fitting.  I can now say that I'm a size 16 in pants and I can take a 14 for tops.  For me this is great news since I started out as a size 20!  I'm also seeing some nice curves showing up!  Yippee!

Top 10 of What Has Helped Me Most

Doing these 10 things has helped me to continue to be successful in my weight loss and fitness journey...

1-Keeping workouts interesting by challenging myself to try new things.

2-Having events to look forward to such as a Caribbean cruise (March 30 - April 4th) and my 25th high school reunion (end of June).

3-Trying new foods and experimenting with new recipes so that meals do not become boring.

4-Being more present while eating by focusing on the food's taste, texture, smell, appearance.  This helps me to feel more satisfied with my meals.

5-Keeping a vision board.

6-Weighing myself every morning and documenting it, then looking back to the prior week to make sure I'm making progress.

7-Taking measurements every month, so I can see the changes in inches which helps to keep me motivated by showing my progress.

8-The weight chart I created (see below) and update every Sunday has been especially helpful.  Mostly because I am an impatient person and when I look at the chart, it shows me in black and white the progress I've made and the realistic time frame I chose for my goal.  The bars on the chart indicate the weight loss progress with a new bar each week indicating the progress up to that date.  The thin diagonal line indicates how far those bars should reach (at a minimum) each week in order for me to reach my ultimate goal of 130 pounds by my goal date of April 1, 2011.  To date I have been passing the minimum requirement to stay on track.  This chart works well for me since I'm a very visual person.  Click on the chart to enlarge.

9- Making sure I get enough sleep each night by going to bed at a reasonable time.  If I don't get enough sleep, I'm hungrier the next day which typically leads to greater calorie consumption.

10- Taking time for myself to just be...to think, to read, to sit in the sun, and do things that help reduce my stress level.  This ironically helps me to be more productive as well.

Physical, emotional & mental improvements I've noticed so far...

No more back pain

Better sleep

Feel more relaxed

Do not wobble anymore when I walk

Greater energy levels (without caffeine)

Clearer thinking (no more brain fog)

I can put pants on without having to sit, lean on anything, or hold on to anything.

Increased flexibility

Increased stamina

Increased overall feeling of well being

More stable moods

Greater feeling of contentment

Greater feeling of hopefulness

Bottoms of my feet no longer hurt

Reduced frequency of irregular heart beats

Slimmer appearance in the mirror

Improved complexion

No unexplained aches and pains
 
Able to physically do more without fatigue
 

Pushing Myself At The Gym Really Helped

After 2 weeks of no results I put it in high gear at the gym trying out a more challenging cardio machine and increasing my time on it throughout the week. It paid off with a 3.6 pounds weight loss. I even ate out last night and had lasagna this past week. My son recently asked me to make lasagna, so I decided to play around with the traditional recipe and created a lower fat version that is less than 400 calories per serving and fantastic! My husband and the kids are still talking about how good it is and they had it a couple of days ago. I used ground bison meat instead of sausage or regular ground beef. Bison has much less fat and calories than beef. I also used low fat ricotta and low fat mozzarella. Here's the recipe (click on it to make it larger). If you decide to try it, please let me know what you think. Take care.