Low Carb Profile By Sanford Plan

I have a plan to lower my carbs Monday thru Friday and to not track and pack in the carbs Sat and Sunday as part of an experiment to see if it helps me drop more weight.

I went through to see what Profile products have the least amount of total carbs, and here is my list:

25g Protein - creamy chicken soup : 7g total carbs,
15g Protein - refreshing strawberry kiwi drink & refreshing cranberry grape drink : 4g total carbs
                      cappuccino : 5g total carbs
10g Protein Bars - creamy Peanut Butter bars 18g total carbs

Just in Profile Products, total carbs would be 33 total carbs and add in 4 total carbs if you have the lemon iced tea fiber drink. Once you have 4 cups of veggies and your meal you can easily be over 60 carbs, and the article I found said to keep to 50 carbs. Unfortunately it didn't say net or total. 😒

At my appointment time, they did not have the creamy chicken soup so I went with the chicken and broccoli, which is 16g total carbs. I also got the refreshing cranberry grape drink, cappuccino, and lemon bars (19 total carbs). I plan on skipping the fiber drinks during the week. So total with Profile products will be 60 still. I figured 1 carb with the lemon bars won't make a difference if I do the PB bars, but maybe for the next week I will do PB. I thought about making my 25g be a 15g since those have fewer carbs, but I'm trying to stick to plan.

I didn't discuss with my coach because I wasn't sure what they would make of it, but I figure I am still sticking to the Profile plan. I see a lot on Facebook say they don't drink the fiber drink since it makes their stomach hurt.

I used Myfitnesspal to figure out carb amounts.

I plan to keep to 4 cups of veggies a day:

1 cup zucchini 4 carbs

1 cup raw cucumber 4 carbs

1 cup spinach 2 carbs

1 cup celery 3 carbs

1 cup Walmart Romaine salad blend 1 carb

Here are my dinner plans:

tomato tuna melt (2 carb meal)

dill chicken salad (2 carb meal)

 grilled turkey bacon with mushrooms, adding some Mrs Dash (depends on mush and Mrs Dash used)

chicken zoodles with salt and pepper (4 carb meal, 1 cup zucchini)

I hope to be within 10 pounds of my goal weight or 134 lbs by my appointment before Easter which I'm going to try to schedule Thursday April 13th. This gives me, as of last weigh in, 22 days to lose 8.6 lbs. This is about 3 pounds a week. Kinda a stretch but a good attempt at weight loss will make me feel better going into Easter. 🐰

Update at 35

My last post was 6/27/2015. 555 days ago. I have wanted to blog but life has been busy. The kids are getting older. I have been getting involved in more activities. I changed companies and have to go farther to get to the office.

Yet today being my birthday, and New Year's Day observed, I have the day off. I was looking through a post about bullet journal list. One was about bucket list of things to do before a certain age of event. This made me remember I made of post I wanted to do in my 30's. So since I am now 35, I wanted to update to see where I am at on getting my list done.

Here is the last update I did.

1. lose 15lb 

I'm even farther from where I was. I was active, going to the gym and ran a few races. Now I can't seem to get a handle on fitting in exercise. I'm trying to work more on my weight. I'm thinking of trying one of those programs to help in this area.

2. get out of debt

We were out of debt all except the house. Then I got worn down and we bought a car. Then I realized time was slipping away and we needed really wanted to have more space for our kids. We need to get back on track with our budget.

3. save a 10,000 or more in 401K

I know I am almost there. I have some with an investor from rollover 401k and I am contributing at work.

4. visit somewhere south

LOL, not sure where I was thinking with this, but I haven't gone anywhere south.

5. visit Canada

I went to Canada this last October for work and it was great. I didn't get very far into Canada. I hope to go again with the family when I visit Seattle, Washington in the next year or two.

6. run a marathon

I could walk a marathon, but I don't think I can run one. I would definetly have to lose a lot of weight and hopefully my knees wouldn't give out. I was thinking last year about having 2016 be my last half marathon year, but I think I will be doing one in June.

7. graduate from college again

Since I changed careers I'm not sure if I would do this but going back to learn some new skills to help in my career.

8. change careers

I am now a Quality Analyst, which pays wells, so I am happy and love the people at work.

9. try a turducken

Maybe next thanksgiving? I think you can order them from Costco.

10. take a hot air balloon ride

Not yet, not sure if my husband would do this or not.

11. read the Foutainhead by Ann Rice

Have not read this yet. I might have given my copy away when I was purging my house. I might listen to it on audiobooks through the library.

12. remodel basement 

Construction will start at the end of January.

13. live a more organized life

I have started bullet journalling. I am trying so hard and got rid of a bunch of things and I am still trying to get rid of more.

14. bike in Ragbri with my dad

:0( My bike was stolen so not sure how I can get this done, unless I find a bike again.

15. pay off student loans

Done!

16. buy a Coach purse

Actually my husband got me a purse and wallet for christmas 2014.

17. own jewelry from Tiffany & Co.

I keep looking at the website. I got a knockoff necklace for free to wear and I really like it but the real one is too expensive right now.

18. have 50 Blog followers

Kinda hard when I don't blog. Need to get back at this. I did replace with see a live theater performance, I was thinking like Rent or something.

19. start golfing again

I was going to sell my clubs. I just don't have time so this probably won't get done. Things have changed in the last 5 years.

20. visit Disney World

Not yet, not planned or saved.

21. make lefse on my own

I did do this one, but only once. My sister makes her own which is better than mine.

22. learn to fillet a fish I caught

Maybe this summer. We don't fish a lot, but I have seen my dad do this many times. Also I'm sure I can find a youtube video on this too.

23. paint the rooms in my house/decorate my house

So far we have painted a bathroom and the kids rooms. Still need to work on the living areas and our bedroom and the other bathroom.

24. have a child graduate from high school

Still on track.

25. be a butterball blogger

I don't think this was that realistic. 

26. meet/talk to someone famous

Depends on how you define famous. I have met with Gina Franssen, who was the only women black belt in jiu jitsu in the midwest. She is a great role model for girls. I started jiu jitsu in April of 2016 with my daughter.

27.volunteer on a regular basis ( at least 1/wk or 3-4 times a month)

Definitely I have been doing this. I am den leader to my son's cub scout den. I have started teach the tween/teen Sunday school since the fall of 2016. I help out at church with hosting, setting up our nativity event. I have helped lower income kids buy christmas gifts for their families. I have gone on a weeklong mission trip to help build a deck for an elderly lady in Kansas.

28. go to an event on New Years with my Husband

We have been to family parties but not an event. It is now easier to do since he has changed to a job that allows time off.

29. make something for my house with wood

When my bike was stolen, they also stole some power tools. Once we replace these I plan to make some things for the basement, like a desk or shelving.

30. go on a TV show

Not sure how I can pull this off living in the midwest, but I was thinking of being on a game show or something.

Now that I am 35 and I am 5 years into this list, I'm going to update it with some new things I would like to do in the next five year.

New Diet? I'll Try It!

3-Day Diet Day 1 Breakfast

A while ago on Pinterest I found a 3-Day diet from Training This Body. This is also know as the Military Diet if you want to search for other sites on the internet. I thought having two jobs would make me weigh less or at least maintain because when would I have time to eat. The truth is I gained 10 pounds and I am achy and always starving. I haven't made time to workout, besides the occasional 5 min walk at lunch. I kept telling myself that I just need to get through this or that and then I can concentrate on my health. The other day my husband mentioned that I should join a gym. He usually doesn't say anything, so this is when I weighed myself to find the weight gain. They do say that lack of sleep will lead to weight gain. I have been trying to sleep but I have a hard time falling asleep.

Grapefruit spoon

I'm hoping this will at least get me down a few, if not 10 pounds and then I can work on the next 10 pounds. After that I will try to maintain. I ate my breakfast at 6:30am. I have been trying to keep busy but I'm hungry! I'm going to try my best to get through day 1. I picked today to start since I am only going to work 3 hours today, 8 hours Thursday, and 3.5 hours on Friday. I am also going to walk on my treadmill for 1.5 hours or 3 miles each day. I should be able to post on Saturday my results. And here is the ugly truth, at 5':

Starting Weight: 140 lb

Goals

I didn't keep track of my goals for last week so I have no updates. I kept pretty well to eating no wheat and dairy until the weekend. I'm going to continue it this week and here are my goals:

1. No pop.
2. 9,000 steps a day.
3. Bed by 10pm.
4. Dishes done every night.
5. Get school lunches done night before.
6. Menu Plan. I posted this on Saturday and did a lot of shopping this weekend. It took 4 grocery stores, and a big chunk of change. I am going to work on freezing leftovers to make it last longer. There were a few dairy products but not much.
7. Work with my son nightly on cub scouts and my daughter to practice her violin. Saturday she would like to play for Salvation Army bell ringing and I would like her to be confident.

Link up your goals at The Diary of a Fat Mommy or Fitnasty for Life.

It's Been 7 Days...

I have not had pop since last Sunday night. What I really need to do is find a way to have more energy. I don't know if it's the season or my lifestyle that is draining me. A few months ago I had blood test and everything checked out fine, but maybe it's my amlodipine. Moving on... last weeks goals update:

1. No pop. 100%. I still miss pop, but I have been able to resist. I keep telling myself "You only think you want it and will regret after the first sip."

2. 8,000 steps a day. 88%, I tried really hard on Thursday to get my steps in and I could have if I went to bed later. I was marching in place while making dinner and trying to move as much as I could. My knees are really telling me I have been moving a lot, but I'm keeping up. I only missed it by 800 steps and made it up the next night.

3. Bed by 10pm. This I'm going to say 88%. I was in bed, but sometimes I was checking facebook a few times on my phone. Just one night I was up until 10:30 I think. I don't know it was an exhausting week.

4. Dishes done every night. I did great on this one, so 100% and still going strong. It does feel good to have the dishes done, plus no smelly sink when I come home.

5. Get school lunches done night before. I didn't do too good on this one. I try to get my kids to make their own lunch but sometimes they (especially my son) just ignore me.

For this week:


1. No pop.

Work and Workout Clothes ready for the week.

2. 9,000 steps a day. I think I'm really starting to stretch this because I am currently typing my walking on my treadmill to fit in my steps. I also plan to walk 20 min every morning. It will fit in about 2500 steps.

3. Bed by 10pm. I have been tired because of walking and the getting darker soon combined with kids activities. I really like my sleep and day dream about it at work.

4. Dishes done every night. It really wouldn't kill anyone else around the house to help with this one.

5. Get school lunches done night before. I should set a reminder on my phone to get this done. I need more lunch ideas, something I can eat easily at my desk and have time for a walk. I only have a half hour.

New Goal 6. Menu Plan. I have gone away from this since my husband and I decided on a set schedule. I think everyone is boded with that plus I want to see if I can trim food spending.

 Link up your goals at The Diary of a Fat Mommy. (not posted as of this post, but she just ran a half yesterday!) or Fitnasty for Life.

Working on Goals

Husband's M&M bar cake. I never said I was a baker, (that hole was to test if it was done).

Last week I posted 3 goals to link up to The Diary of a Fat Mommy's Weekly Linkup. Here is how I did:


1.No more pop. I made 87% of this goal. Saturday I went out to eat on Saturday and ordered a meal. They gave me a cup and the only options I saw was water (I thought it would be a waste of money) or pop, so I got pop. After I filled my cup I saw the iced tea which would have been a better choice. I'm sure the best choice would be to not go out to eat, but my husband didn't go grocery shopping last week so we had barely any food at the house. I was out with my kids all morning and only had a yogurt for breakfast. After walking around for 3 hours I was starving.What do you get when you go out to eat?

2. I only ended up running once last week, making 33% of this goal. It was Wednesday. It has been a busy and rainy week. I have been tracking my steps on my phone and my total for the last 7 days, including today is 49625.

3. I didn't get to bed on time last Monday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. It was my husband's birthday on Saturday, so we were out celebrating. For this goal I made 43% of this goal.

Diary of a Fat mommy Weekly Goal Link Up Party

Here are my goals for this week are going to be the same plus add in another, so here are my edits plus one new goal:

1. No pop. I'm going out of town this weekend for my 5k. I know we will stop at least once for fast food so I need to figure out how am I going to handle this: just buy off the dollar menu and have water, get sweat iced tea (does this have high fructose corn syrup or other bad things in it?), can I swap pop for milk or juice (is juice at fast food any better than pop?)

2. 7,000 steps a day. This could include running or it could not. I did run a little on my treadmill tonight. I either need new shoes (well yes I know I need new running shoes) and/or I need to take some vitamin for joints again, as my knees are bothering me. It actually seems better to run outside even though my treadmill has a thick belt. I have so much to do at night that it is hard to get out before dark to run.

3. Bed by 10pm. My current routine is go to be about 10-10:30, toss and turn for what seems like forever, semi wake up a couple times a night. Alarm goes off at 6am and if I have stuff to do I get out of bed by 6:30, if not I stay in until 7am then rush to get us all out the door by 7:30am. I would like this to be: Bed by 10:00 asleep by 10:30 (see the bedtime calculator), wake up at 6am to do an ab workout and and easily get out the door by 7:15a.

4. Dishes done before bed. I tried to do this last week and I kept up except for the weekend, they seem to be my downfall. I want to start working on getting more chores done during the week, to do fun and projects on the weekend. I also want to have everyone help clean the house, not just me.

Link up Weekly Goals at Fitnasty for Life or Diary of a Fat Mommy.

Aspirations

I found my Halloween costume! Just kidding. I always thought these shirts were so funny, but I've never actually worn one.

I love Bloglovin because it has a search button to find more blogs. I recently found the Diary of a Fat Mommy and she has a link up for weekly goals. I have been thinking I need to start setting goals, but I'm not a big person for consistency. I hope I can keep weekly goals that can turn in to habits. I'm going to try to not be over zealous and just have 3 goals for this week:

1. No more pop. I want to drink water and stay hydrated because my skin pays for it. I have a pitcher of lemon water in my fridge and tea bags at work. When I'm not drinking pop I usually refill my water bottle 3 times during the day and have a cup of tea.

2. Run 3 times a week. I have done this before, many times. I want to work on running a 5K with no problem and would love to do one in about 20 minutes. My current time is about 38 minutes. It is getting colder and darker sooner, and with kids activities, dinner and bedtime starting at 7pm, it is hard to run outside. I am going to try HIIT workouts on my treadmill to keep it interesting.

3. Get to bed by 10pm. I have been having the hardest time sleeping, and when I do sleep I wake up. I need to try to be more consistent with bed time, even on the weekend.

Link up Weekly Goals at Fitnasty for Life or Diary of a Fat Mommy.

Christmas Savings Plan

Family Balance Sheet is hosting a monthly post for Christmas Savings Plan on the 25th, Jan-Nov 2013. I just buy gifts for my side of the family, my immediate family, and for a few friends. My husband is on his own for his family since I got tired of having to go through him to find ideas and sizes etc. We also have split our money to have our own account, to stop the money fight.  I try to help his family when I can in my own way aside from gifts.
For my nieces and nephews we spend $30 on each, and then we don't buy for adults because it has gotten too hard. I usually do spend on my mom and dad, but they always say they don't need anything. Their birthdays and anniversary is also in November so this last year we did go in together to buy my dad a new laptop. For my mom I got her a few boxes of Keurig coffee which I get coupons and buy them from Bed Bath and Beyond.  I think my actual 2012 Christmas total was actually over $675, plus I was not counting eating fast food or any relaxation needed because of the season. This is why I added in the extra expenses $100 category in my chart.My husband did help pay for some of the expenses for my kids, he paid $200 towards the kindle. I want to be better about tracking my spending in 2013 so I can have a better handle on Christmas spending. I though about if I should not participate in the Secret Santa at work. It was only 4 days but I ended up spending $45. When I thought about it I decided to do it again if offered because it was nice getting gifts for those days.
So far I have been good in January about keeping to my budget. I will need to save $57.27 in 11 months or $63 in 10 months if I start shopping earlier. I received some money for my birthday so I was able to set aside $100 for the Christmas fund in January. One other thing that I counted on a lot this year was the rewards programs that I collect points on throughout the year. For the most part of 2012 I was saving the rewards for Christmas.
Next month we will need to have opened a separate account for the Christmas account. I think I will look into an online account. I have never had one and they do make me a little nervous but not having the money available so readily might be what I need to keep saving for the next 9-10 months.

Dont Stop Believin

So I know it's been a long time since I posted more than a meal plan, but it has been crazy.  Both my kids and myself are finally in school.  I have already had my first test even.  I just have this one course before I am on the top portion of the waiting list for the dental hygiene program. Yeah!  I'm sure I'll have a lot more time to blog after December, I just need to do it.  One of my distractions lately has been pinterest.com.  It is such an awesome concept, I wish I would have thought of it.


So today we went to Lowe's and built the cute police cars with working light.  In two weeks they will be having a fire truck with siren.  Afterwards we went to Kohls and picked up a Tonka toy for my son since he has been doing such a good job sleeping by himself in his bed.  I know he is four and he should have been doing this since birth, but he hasn't so it is a big milestone for us.  I might have mentioned this before but I think he has an attachment disorder of some sort.  He likes new things, but he doesn't like letting go of his old things, such as a too small pair of shoes.  The worst part about it, is he has a pretty good memory, so he doesn't forget what he had.  At the beginning of summer he remembered a shirt that he wore last summer, so it was a good thing it still fit.  I have to keep thinking of creative ways to convince him it's OK to get rid of these things. I think this ties into the fact that he has always wanted me to sleep in his bed, but then he is mad when he woke up and I was in my own bed.

Afterwards we went to Fareway and I tried to buy a lot of healthy foods.  I only ended up spending $29.52.  I also decided to go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and buy the Eggies with my 20% coupon.  I have to still provide breakfast for my son which is worse I think than providing lunch because he isn't much of a morning eater, like myself.  I also went to Costco and spent $52.05.  They have these cute small animal pillows (knock off pillow pets) with a blanket that are really soft for about $12, so I bought one for my son and two for my nieces since their birthday is coming up and they started preschool too this year.  I still need to buy some more food for the week and tomorrow my sister and I hope to make some meals to freeze since she started and new job.  We each picked two things, and are doubling the recipes to share with each other.  I hope to keep myself in check, and hopefully I wont spend again till next weekend.

Progress and Juice Diet

So this week has been busy, and I'm sure next week will be too.  It seems like a lot is going on next weekend in my town and I won't even be here.  Yesterday I went to Costco and stuck to the plan except I bought some apples since my sister requested them and I buy her food to watch my kids two days a week.  I ended up spending $45.94. Not too bad.  Next I went to the mall to get my wedding ring checked, and my daughter talked about how she had never had chocolate dipped strawberries.  We passed by Godiva and they had them in their display so I splurged and got them.  5 for $10 plus $.60 tax.  Ouch.  Next stop Target to get mouthwash and more cotton candy for the ugly cake which cost $4.76.  Not too bad.  After the fair we stopped and bought a juicer for $83.94 ( I'll explain this), and also my husband was sad that ice cream in our freezer melted so I bought sonic for $8.15.  If I wouldn't have really thought about this I would have said I spent about $80 to $100 today.

Total for Saturday: $153.39, yeah this is more of my typical weekend routine of spending money.  So my total spending for last week was $262.16.  Over $151.86 for the three weeks.  That is a lot and I'm not sure if I'll be able to make that up.

I might have to rethink my strategy.  They other day I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.  It was an Australian guy with an Australian juicer going around just drinking juice.  He lost weight and helped get himself  off medication.  He also had a few others try it and got them hooked on it too.  Now I like drinks so I thought "What an idea".  I'm not sure how it really works but I also found this website: Juicer Recipes.  The movie also has a Facebook page and a website to help you get started on juicing.  The whole problem is they said it cost $14 a day.  For us that could be times 2, plus I don't plan on putting my kids on this diet or giving them crap, easy food while we do it, so I'm not sure how  this will work out.  My plan for now is to start with food to help clear my skin, then do a two week detox, and then repeat again in 3 months.  I'm not sure what my husband plans to do, but he wants to lose weight.  If you don't want to invest in a juicer there is also this website: Green Monster Movement.

So I need a new plan.  I think this week I will just keep blogging about what I am spending.  It is my daughter's birthday so I want to buy her gifts and also it is my nephew's birthday and I still need to get him gifts.  I'm also still in need of 5 more window treatments and decorative hardware.  I think I will keep dwelling on these things till I buy them.  I have been doing well on my saving money on the side so I do feel good about that aspect of life.  Maybe by next week I'll have a good plan.

What do you need another peeler for?

So today was a fail.  I don't even know why.  I thought this monkey peeler
was cute.  So when I found one, I thought I should buy it.  No real reason.  It was a good deal.  $3.38 with tax.  It sells for $7.99-$14.20 on Amazon.com.

I also spent $7 on food at the farmer's market, there really wasn't a decent meal for $5, so I spent it on 2 steak tacos, re-fried beans, and rice.  I also found a cute scrapbook store and bought a 12x12 t ball sheet for my son's scrapbook.  It was $.80 with tax.

So today's total (which I wanted to be $5) was $11.18.  I have 17.86, geez what a small amount considering last week I had $20 left over.  I also have little in the freezer to cook up so I will more than likely spend more money at the grocery store this week.  I also plan on baking a cake with my daughter on Saturday, and will need supplies for that.  It could be interesting.

I hope to post on Sunday night, but it could go to Monday depending what time I get home.  Have a good weekend!

Summer Exhaustion

Okay, not much to do with summer, but I think I'm funny sometimes.

Summer is starting to takes it's toll on me.  It was a hot day, but didn't get above 90 which is good.  There is talk about a storm coming soon.  I wanted to go to Aldi's today because we are short on toilet paper and milk, but I just wasn't in the mood.  ( Crazy,I know, me skip out on a good excuse to spend money).  My husband had a meeting today so I had to drive out to my sister's house to pick up the kids.  When we got home I heated up some leftovers and cut up some more watermelon.  The summer sucks my energy and appetite so I just plan on using what is around here at the spur of the moment for meals.  I did bike to the library with the kids today so I didn't totally crash on the couch.

So my challenge to myself to stick to the list just wasn't working.  I'm a sucker when it comes to my kids and buying them things.  Most of the time I take my kids with me shopping because my husband is at work or I just feel the need to enjoy the little time when have together.  I know soon they will be teenagers and will be avoiding me at all cost.  I swear sometimes I black out when we are together.  My son was being a little hell raiser Saturday when we were running errands.  I was trying not to spend money, but when I'm out and already near shops I like to go around and look anyways ( I guess just to torture myself ?!?).  So I was swearing in my head that I wasn't going to buy him anything, yet he really wanted me to go back to the party store for a $20 green lantern costume.  Then we got to Joann Fabrics, I saw my sister there shopping, so we starting looking around together.  We wandered into the summer clearance section which was 70% off.  There areas are like my kryptonite.  They had a kid's rake on clearance for around $3, and I have been wanting to get some so my kids could help in the fall.  Before I knew it I was loading the kid and the rake into the care, thinking "What happen?"

So I found a new inspirational blog: $12 a day
We aren't in the same situations, but she would like to spend $10 a day and save $2 for future purchases.  My budget ( I use that term loosely because is it really a budget if you never stick to it?) for grocery shopping is $70, which would be $10 a day.  I have 4 people to feed, which isn't too hard to feed for $10 a day but I always end up buying non food items.  So far this week I have spent $5 on kettle corn at the fireworks show.  I have even been places this week and have not spent money, which is a big deal for me.  I have also a few rewards at work: $5 off a $10 purchase and $10 off a $10 purchase, plus I still get my employee discount.  I think I am going to buy some curtains for my son's room.  They are black with tabs on the top, and I want to put some kind of batman symbol on them and do his room that way.  If I can do it so it is removable, they will work for when he is older, which could save me money in the future.  They are on clearance for $8 each, so I think I can handle that this week.  My nieces and nephew also are staying with us on Thurs and Friday, so I have to plan on their eating too.  I'm confident I can do this this week, as we do have a good supply of food in the freezer.  Only time will tell.