Finding the balance slowly but surely....

2 things to start: 1- yes, I change my template all the time :) What can I say, I get bored easily. and 2- I am no longer posting days in maintenance. So for anyone new, I am 70+ days into lifetime maintenance.

So, this week I have been trying to achieve some balance when it came to calorie counting and getting too obsessive. I did a sort of test and just went by the mirror and how I felt. I did what I usually do, but did not count calories or pre plan every days meals. I had a free weekend, and then did a steak day yesterday. I got on the scale today and guessed what my weight would be based on past experience. I was .4 under that :) In a nutshell, I am the same weight I always am at this point wether I am a calorie counting freak or not! Freedom :) I found that by not counting calories, I was a little more careful naturally.

I am still trying to get my weekends under control :) But, they have been so much fun! The last 2 saturdays went a little like this:

Get up and put in 3 miles around the lake with hubby.

French toast at Kneaders :)

Lay by the pool for 2 hours...... ahhhh....

Split a JCW hawaiian burger, cheese fries, and banana split with the hubby.

1 on 1 volleyball for about an hour.

Go to the movies, and have glazed nuts, popcorn and red vines.

Hottub!

TV and creme brulee cupcakes from the sweet tooth fairy :)

I mean really, does it get better than that?? I would like to say I never have sweets or indulge too much, but then again, I am not sure I really want too... ;)

Splenda..... the bitter truth!

Photo courtesy of: Dialed-In Nutrition.

I read an excellent excerpt on Splenda today over at Dialed-In Nutrition. It was a very good insight into splenda and artificial sweeteners in general. I am always questioning my better judgment when it comes to my stevia consumption. I am not sure if it is better or not. If the truth is that when we ingest anything "sweet" our pancreas have learned to produce an insulin response, then is any sweetner really "safe"?? Definitely something that needs more research. What do you guys think?? Read the article and let me know your thoughts. Of course, I write this at the end of a "sweet" filled weekend...... will I ever learn? :)

R3 LM D69..... Karma, it will get you every time!

We got a call from the Orem Police Dept yesterday. Wanting to know if we had a recent break in. Turns out they busted an apartment and they found our camera that was stolen, and it had a picture of the store front in it. We went down to claim it and see if they had anything else from the store. We were shocked to find a massive conference room FILLED with stolen goods from this one thief!! I mean tables and tables and tables of stuff. We got all of our HCG and stevia back. They did not have our laptops unfortunately, but we got everything else! So if you know anyone who has been robbed recently, chances are the Orem Police Dept can help them out :)

I have not been weighing and just been doing my normal routine. I had gotten pretty obsessive about the calorie tracking and realized that it was making me miserable. I remember after my first and second round I never counted one calorie. I just followed the "rules" and my weight stayed the same. I had never felt that free, and for once in my life did not have a running calorie count in my head. That is what I am missing. So, I am going to try and stay off the scale and go by the mirror, how I am feeling, and how clothes fit. With vacation coming up, I refuse to let a number affect how my vacation turns out. When I get back I will see how I have done, and might consider doing one more round at the end of summer. For now, I feel thin and clothes fit fine :) As for today, I am going to dance class and then lay by the pool before work...... ahhhh :)

R3 LM D66..... Crispy Nut Herb Fried Chicken & Self Sabotage!

Photo courtesy of Marksdailyapple.com.

Does that look good or what! I love the recipe ideas over at Marksdailyapple.com! You can click on this link for the recipe:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/crispy-nut-and-herb-fried-chicken-with-creamy-avocado/#more-13093.

I have been noticing lately that I have been more "crazy" about calories and coming up with plans to try and lose weight. I have done very well for a pretty long time and could not figure out why I am being such a nut ball. It finally dawned on me....... VACATION. In the past I would have a vacation coming up. I would be doing just great, but then would decide I needed to lose more weight and try to look better for vacation. I would start messing with my eating and exercise and start creating stress in those areas. It never failed that by the time vacation got there, I had ended up gaining weight and had become an emotional wreck. If I would have just continued with my regular plan I would have been fine. I realize that I have been doing that a little lately. I am putting a stop to that right now! I lost 75lbs! Do I have some room for improvement.... Yes! Is that a reason to become a freak and risk gaining..... NO! So- I will not try to LOSE for vacation. I will try to continue doing what I have been doing for the past year. Eating right, exercising, and loving life. Anything else just isn't worth it! It's pretty bad when we can drop 75lbs and still just be focusing on our flaws :) I am going to RELAX and look forward to enjoying my favorite place on earth ;)

R3 LM D65.... Happy Father's Day!

I am a very lucky girl to have two wonderful men in my life:

First of all I just want to say how grateful I am for a wonderful father! I had the dad everyone wishes they had. He always made time for us and was such a great example. He works so hard for his family and never stops giving. I love you Dad!

Second, I have to say how grateful I am to my husband for being such a great father. He is so good to us, and works his butt off for us too :) My oldest has given us such a hard time, and even though it is his step son, he has never stopped trying. I don't know what I would do without him. He is truly my best friend in the world. Love you babe!

Pumpkin Almond Butter Brownies.....

Photo and recipe courtesy of thisprimallife.com

Here is the recipe to the Pumpkin Almond Butter Brownies: You can also use peanut butter if you prefer. I personally will add dark choc chips ;)

Ingredients:

1 cup almond butter
¾ cup mashed pumpkin or other squash, canned or steamed
1 egg
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp baking soda

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Pour into a greased 8 x 8 in pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serves 8.

R3 LM D62.... Have you seen my pumpkin??

Okay, I would like to know where you guys have put all of the canned pumpkin?? I have been to several stores and there is none! I am trying to make these delicious pumpkin almond butter brownies and I am out of luck! If you see some, let me know.

As of this morning I lost another pound so the 5.5 is officially gone :) Three days to gain it and 3 days to lose it. I can live with that. The sun is out today which makes me happy. I think I will go to dance class and then lay by the pool for an hour before work. Then tonight the chaos of furniture moving will begin..... I need to rest up for that right?? :)

R3 LM D61.....

Down another 2 lbs this morning! Gotta love that. Just one more and the 5.5 lbs is gone. Nice to know that I can correct it back as easy as I put it on :) Spent most day of the cleaning and painting yesterday. I have to work this morning and then paint all night. The carpet arrives Friday morning and everything has to be ready. I am happy for the new flooring, but I will be even happier when its all done :0) Hope you all have a great day!

R3 LM D60...

Wow, it has been awhile since my last post. First of all I had been zig zagging calories. I had huge drops and then as soon as I got back to my usual weight of 149.4 it just stayed there. Then the weekend came and everything went to hell :) We are having all of our floors redone. This weekend was the hardwood and next weekend is all the carpet. So I had no stove, dishwasher etc. We ended up eating out all weekend and I paid for it! 3 days of fast foods and treats equals 5.5lbs! So yesterday was a steak day. I lost 2.5lbs this morning and will just follow program to get the rest off :) But now I have one month till vacation so I gotta get my butt in gear! On a better note here are some photos of the transformation!

The only problem now is that the rest of the house looks like a war zone covered in sawdust! AND the counters now stick out like a sore thumb! Those will be next!

R3 LM D55.....

Down another -1.2 this morning! Yesterday was so beautiful. I went running around the lake and then went and laid by the pool before work. It was a busy day there, and then I came home and played volleyball till I couldn't move anymore :) I ended the day in the hot tub and then crashed! My abs are so sore from Monday! I guess I need to work them out more often :) Here was yesterday:

R3 LM D54....

Okay, I am off to a great start! I lost 2 lbs yesterday!! I did the lowest of my zigzag calories yesterday since I had such a "FREE" weekend :) I did dance class for an hour and then 90 abs with 2 one minute planks. I felt really good and am happy I got some good results! The sun is out this morning so I am going running and to lay by the pool before work! Here was yesterday:

R3 LM D53....Chicken Curry Clafoutis!

I can't believe it is June and I just barely turned on the AC, and spent our first weekend at the pool! It's about time :) I am loving the sunny weather and loving that school is out. I was checking out Marks Daily Apple and found this yummy looking recipe! This is curry chicken, but you can make it sweet rather than savory too! Click here to get the recipe. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/chicken-curry-clafouti/

I am noticing that it is harder to keep free days to once a week. Lately they seem to crossover from Sat into Sun.... :) I still correct it back over the week but I don't like the habits I am forming. I am a perfectionist/overachiever type. The HCG diet is perfect for that. You always have a goal and rules to follow for each phase. I am great at achieving goals! BUT- in lifetime maintenance there is no more goal I am trying to achieve in the next month. This is very hard for me. I am leaving for my vacation in the middle of July. So I have about 5 weeks. I think I am going to give myself a new challenge. I would like to lose 5lbs and see if I can get back to my original LIW of 144.4 before I added in exercise. I will zig zag my calories and try to average 1650 to lose. I will also just do one free hour a week like I had planned originally. I will keep up with my same workouts, but I am going to try to do core everyday for swimsuit season :) Here is a sample of the fat loss zig zag I will follow in the middle column.

R3 LM D51.....

I must have blinked and a month went by! TOM showed up today and I had no idea. Because I am not weighing all the time I did not get to see the scale go up and then wonder if TOM was coming :) That does however, explain the recent constipation, and puffy feeling :)

Work is back to normal and we have gotten the store put in. We now carry all of the products most used and needed for protocol and maintenance. All in one place!! So if you know any one who needs supplies for any phase send them on in! We have stevia, yerba mate, breadsticks, salad dressing, spices, smooth move, books, scales, freeze dried fruits, almond flour, cookbooks, sugar free chocolates, protein bars/shakes and more!!

Life is good. Maintenance is great. I will be taking our annual vacation for 2 weeks soon and can hardly wait. We go to Lake Chelan, Wa. to the family lake cabin every year. It is heaven on earth!

R3 LM D50......Caveman Cookies!

In all of my "paleolithic" endeavors, I came across these Caveman Cookies. They are made with almond flour and honey is the sweetener. There have only 5-7 ingredients and are all natural. They were kind enough to send some to review. They come in 2 flavors: traditional and tropical. They were both excellent! Very sweet and chewy. They come in bags of 6 or 12. The traditional reminded me of an oatmeal raisin, and the the tropical has macadamias and coconut which are my favorite! It is so hard to find a treat that is not filled with sugar, chemicals and preservatives. For those in maintenance, this is a very nice option :)

Original Cavemen Cookies are made with honey, almond flour, walnuts, raisins, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

Tropical Cavemen Cookies are made with almond flour, honey, unsulfured coconut, macadamia nuts, and ginger.

To order go to: www.cavemancookies.com!!