Hey stranger!

 

Honey, I’m home! I have missed blogging and I have missed being a more active part of the blogging community. Due to my summer work schedule, I’m not sure that I’ll be as active as I was in Fall, Winter and Spring, but I am going to try be around more. I enjoyed the break, but it’s time to refocus.

The past two weeks I have been living in the danger zone. I’ve been indulging a bit too much, drinking a bit too heavily and not being active enough. I feel terrible. Not mentally, I think a break was what I needed, so I do not feel guilty, but I feel ill. I’ve been getting headaches, indigestion and I’ve been exhausted all the time. The past couple weeks ware a big wake up call for me. It helped me to remember that I continue to live this healthy lifestyle not only for weight loss but because I feel better when I do. I’m not in my twenties anymore and late night pizza causes me more pain that happiness.

I feel as if I need to do a bit of a detox, so I am making some plans for success.

1. No drinking until July 3rd. Not a drop of alcohol.

2. Track all food Monday-Friday (and make a solid effort Sat-Sun), staying within my WW Points.

3. Do something active at least 4 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes. Even if I just walk the dog or do Yoga.

4. Eat only food that I prepare. No eating out or overly processed foods until July 3rd.

Now, why July 3rd? I’m realistic. I know I will have a few drinks and eat at a cookout for the 4th of July. I will work that weekend so I will enjoy food that I don’t have to prepare.

I went to the library for motivation.

The Best Light Recipe is definitely a book I will be buying. I love the original The Best Recipe cookbook, so I was elated to find a light version. It tells you the best recipe for all sorts of stuff. The best lower calorie/fat cheesecake recipe, the best veggie burger recipe, etc. They did all the work, you just have to cook!

Vegetarian Suppers From Deborah Madison's Kitchen has lots of great recipes in it and 2 of the meals from my meal plan this week will be adaptations of ones found there. I’m not going vegetarian, as I’ve said before. However, I do feel better when I eat a mostly vegetarian diet. I like to stick to vegetarian meals Monday-Friday and meats on the weekends. If I crave chicken, fish or beef during the week, I alter my meal plan.

I never thought much about getting cookbooks from the library before, but will be doing it again for sure! They are holding the book In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan for me to pick up this week. Not a cookbook, but I am excited to read it!

I’ll wrap this up with my meal plan for the week:

Monday – Quinoa, Corn and Feta stuffed Peppers

Tuesday – Polenta Squares with Black Bean Salad

Wednesday – Zucchini Parmesan

Thursday – Lentil Burgers

Friday – Leftovers (I’m on-call for work, it’s hard to cook with the risk of being pulled away at a moment’s notice)

I will share the really good recipes with you, I promise! It’s good to be back. :)