10 lbs. down!

Well, I do have a few things to report today.... I get my spa pedicure reward, because I made my 10 lb. goal! Happy Birthday to me! (Well, my birthday is Friday, so I plan on taking a nice long lunch and treating myself then!) I fit comfortably in my size 12 old navy jeans that are my favorites... ("The Sweetheart"), with no "cutting off the circulation lines" on my legs or waist!

(Do be alarmed, this picture was taken while I was using the bathroom...)

I got measured at QWLC last week (at 7 lbs. down) and had lost 1/2" in my chest, 1" in my waist and 1" in my hips. This is funny because my brother saw me this weekend and said "Hey, it looks like you are losing weight... right in this area especially." and he points to my chest area. I was like yeah... You know how it is ladies, ol' Lucy and Ethel lose the pounds first.

So I am 1/4 of the way there. People are starting to notice which really keeps the motivation fire burning. My ass looks smaller, clothes are fitting a whole lot better, but I do have 30 more to go to make my goal.

I do have to be honest, I did cheat this weekend. My adviser at QWLC wanted me to lose 2 lbs over the weekend, which I did do... but I ate a whole lot of celery to cancel out the "no-no's" I did eat. I spent the weekend with my mom for her birthday and we had a great time. This is what we did:

One, we went to see The Lion King in 3D. I did great here. I sipped on my unsweet tea I smuggled in from McDonalds and had maybe 3-4 little kernels of Carly's popcorn.

The next day we did a lot of walking! We went to yard sales and to Antique places which I love to do with my mom and James because we always score pretty big. Then, we ate lunch. It was my mom's birthday. We went to eat Mexican food. I assured my family I could order something there and not to worry about it. I ordered beef fajitas with no seasoning and asked for corn tortillas. Totally on plan. Then I asked the waiter to bring my mom a Sopapilla for her birthday, and yes, I ate some. Not on plan. Oh well.

Third, we went to THE FAIR... the sights and sounds and smells of Funnel Cakes, Fried Onions, Gyros, Cotton Candy and, gulp, Corn Dogs. I had one. There. I said it. And it was freaking good. I only ate 3/4 of it. But I cheated. AND did I write that on my paper to share with my adviser on Monday? Hell to the no.

And to top it off... I ate cookie cake on Sunday. Again, mom's birthday and I had turned down enough food from her that "I can't eat" but I did not turn that down. And I wrote "2 servings of green beans" on my food diary and went on with life.

I'm not saying I will cheat like that every weekend, but I have been on this diet for 3-1/2 weeks and it was about damn time. And when I weighed myself Monday morning after cheating some the weekend before and the scale said "191" I became more motivated than ever! I was at 9 lbs...

So, many of you might be asking if I am getting bored with the food. yes, I am. I have had enough chicken breasts and broccoli to fill up 2 potato sacks, and I am tired of it. So to keep hopes high and my motivation up, I made 3 new things last night that I would like to share. They are all from the QWLC cookbook, so they are all "on-plan".

Zucchini Fries
Cut up a few peeled zucchinis into little fry shapes
Wash and drain
Take the Melba Toast crackers and make bread crumbs (I placed them in a Ziploc and hammered them...)
Toss the bread crumbs into a bowl with some Italian seasoning, Morton's Lite salt and pepper
Coat the zucchini cuts in the bread crumbs and place on a cookie sheet sprayed with PAM
Cook at 350 degrees for 25 minutes

THESE ARE YUMMY! And a very healthy alternative to french fries and Logan LOVED them.

Chips and Salsa
For the salsa:
Chop tomatoes, green onions (with the stems) and a green pepper and place in a food processor.
Add Morton's Lite salt, onion powder and garlic powder to taste
Add Chipotle powder to hottness desired.
Mix it all up and Wah-la!

Chips:
Take 10 or so corn tortillas and cut into triangles (I used a pizza cutter and cut each into 4 triangles)
Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes
Salt them with Morton's Lite salt
Place in an air tight container

People, I will never buy store chips again. I swear these tasted so fresh and were soooo yummy, I will always make my own chips. It was so easy!

Cucumber Veggie Dip
Chop 1 cucumber, 3 large green onions (with the stem), 7 radishes and place in food processor
Add 7 oz. of cottage cheese and blend
Squeeze about a tsp. of lemon juice in and add a tsp. of dill
Blend, blend, blend and you have a delicious greek tasting snack!

Serve with Wasa crackers (whole grain)

So, I woke up this morning and weighed myself and the scale said 190.4! I even made up a little song I sang in opera about losing 10 lbs. It was amazing. Maybe not so much to my family, but that's what I felt like doing.

So at this point (contrary to the 3-5 lbs a week QWLC wants you to lose while on the program) I am averaging 2.5 to 3 lbs. a week and I am happy with that. ;) I feel like if I go at this rate I will keep it off when this is all said and done. So I am going to pat myself on the back and keep doing what I am doing.

P.S. I left my sweet mom's house with cash to get me 2-3 weeks worth of my "supplements" from QWLC and groceries for the week. Everyone knows eating healthy is expensive... so I just wanted to publicly thank her. Moms rock!