Another Milestone

After no weight loss last week, I was thrilled to get on the scale this morning and see a 2 pound loss.  This put me at minus 50.  50!  That just sounds so…well…50! 

I received a message from another large family mom asking me about how I handle eating so differently from the rest of the family.  It seems so “normal” now the question took me by surprise. But in the beginning, it was a little weird that I was eating often completely different meals from what the rest of the family was eating, even though we were all sitting down at the dinner table at the same time.  Because I have changed the way I cook, relying more on seasonings than sauces, I can often eat the main dish and salad or vegetable that everyone else eats, and just skip the side dish.  But there are still plenty of nights I throw together a tilapia filet or a chicken breast instead of whatever they eat.  The secret to getting the kids' food together, especially at lunch, is gum.  Often I have to chew gum while making their lunch or I find myself picking at whatever I’m making them. =O

I’ve really simplified my lunches of late, since after making their lunch, I don’t feel like making a whole separate elaborate lunch for me.  Often I have what I’ve nicknamed my BOWIN lunch:  Bowl Of What I Need.  When I plan my food journal for the day, I always start with breakfast and dinner.  Then, after I know how many carbs, fats, and proteins I have left over, I throw together a lunch that fits the need.  Often it’s a chicken breast, turkey sausage, lean ground beef or fish, with black beans, a heated-until-crispy corn tortilla, brown rice, wheat pasta or yam cubes, with an avocado or nuts, mixed with a sugar-free BBQ sauce or Balsamic vinegar, tossed in a bowl.  It’s quick (especially if some of it is already made ahead of time, see post http://busymomofnine.blogspot.com/2012/03/day-in-life.html ), it’s easy and it’s what I need.  Here is a picture of a typical BOWIN lunch.

My new absolutely favorite breakfast is Peanut Butter Protein Steel Cut Oats.  The biggest differences between steel cut oats and rolled oats are in the cooking time and texture.  Steel cut oats are more hearty and chewy, which makes it seem more filling (to me).  I add a scoop of my chocolate protein powder, along with 1 tble. Kirkland Organic Peanut Butter, and it makes a great tasting, well balanced breakfast.

And my latest find for a late afternoon, heavy protein snack is shrimp.  Shrimp is straight protein, no carbs, no fat.  It’s also very low in calorie.  I get a back of the Kirkland Cooked, Tail-Off Shrimp just to have on hand for snacks.  You get 11 pieces for 70 calories, so I usually have 22 pieces for a typical snack.  It gets my protein where it needs to be (which is generally hard for me to hit) and fits well with my calories. 

35 pounds left, which seems so doable.  I’m shooting for the second week in November, which would make the whole journey one year.  I bought my first pair of shorts in over 18 years last week.  I’ve stuck with capris and sundresses in the summer for the past 18 years.  I haven’t actually worn them yet, but the fact that I own a pair of shorts is a pretty big deal.  Amazing what a difference seven months can bring!