Sara's Accountability Journal

Today I weighed myself again.  Doing well to not focus on weight, but on a general idea of being healthful and role-modeling a healthful lifestyle.  I have been doing regular workouts and trying to eat healthfully while not denying myself a treat when I would like one.  Today I weight 177.8 pounds.  Down from 182.  I will admit, at first I felt a little bummed.  I mean, it's been four weeks and I have been working hard.  But then I reminded myself, 4 lbs in 4 weeks is a healthy weigh loss.  And besides, I don't want to focus on weight anyway, right?  Why would I let that get me down?  I have had mostly good days.  I have made good changes in my life.  I simply need to live each day to the fullest and do the best I can.  And so I once again put away my scale.  I will pull it out again next month to see if there is any change.  But, for now, I am still going to focus on making each day a good one.

Sara's Accountability Journal

Week has been a good one.  On Thursday I made it to another toning class.  My thighs are definitely feeling it today.  Since eating few carbs I have been feeling full and even ending most of my days with extra calories.  Today I could have eaten better, but it was more of a day on the go, which I struggle with more than days at home.  Even though today wasn't the best, it wasn't the worst either.  I didn't spiral into bad habits and overindulge.  I even resisted buying fries- twice.  Feeling good about my week.

Sara's Accountability Journal

It was a great day today!  Went to a toning class this morning with the littlest babe.  He crawled all over me, but I still managed to make it through. I spent the day with a friend - it was nice having the kids entertain each other and get some mommy mental health time.  I managed to eat less carbs than usual, wasn't crazy hungry, and even had extra calories at the end of the day.  No worries, I used them somewhat wisely.  I made myself some bacon. At least, I didn't eat anything sugary and sweet, which is my usual go-to.  Now to sit, put my feet up, enjoy a small peppermint patty, and get a little 'me time' before I head to bed for a solid night's sleep.

Sara's Accountability Journal

Today felt like a good day.  I was productive - weeding and trimming and cleaning.  I took the dog on a 20 minute walk.  I made healthful food choices.  A few treats, but in moderation: ONE cookie, a small (1/4 cup) bowl of ice cream, and a small York patty to end my day.

As I was eating my tiny bowl of ice cream with a tiny spoon, I realized that I really enjoyed it.  It wasn't a large amount, but I took the time to savor it and fully enjoyed it.  But perhaps, most enjoyable of all, is the feeling that I was in control of my choices.  That helps make the treat entirely more enjoyable.  How is it that I know that this is the case - moderation and control make me much happier - but in many moments I decide to throw caution to the wind and REALLY splurge.  I somehow think that will make me happier, to treat myself to a giant bowl of ice cream, but it makes me feel worse.  Because I feel out of control.  And I know this, deep down, and yet I still make poor choices.  I must find a way to keep this information more readily accessible in my brain.

Moving onward and working to make better choices each day.  Looking into ways to make wiser choices with my meals, probably with less carbs and sugars.  Not a low-carb diet, necessarily, simply a lower one.

Sara's Accountibility Journal

I weighed myself yesterday.  It was up to 182.  But I have come to the conclusion that I don't want to rely on weight.  Weight is an indicator, but that is all.  I want to more simply be leading a healthy lifestyle.  I want to have healthy days.  Days I can be proud of having.  Days that will teach my children healthful habits of their own.  I have put my scale away and promise not to weigh myself again until October first.  I want to focus on my days personally, one day at a time.  Sometimes I may have to focus even smaller than that.  Perhaps one meal at a time.  Or one portion of a day.

Today was an okay day.  We had Krispy Kremes in the house, so I ate 2 of those.  Is it sad that I actually consider this rather good?  I remember days when I would have eaten 4 (or even 6) in a day.  Easy.  And I was sorely tempted to have more than the 2 I consumed. We also had ice cream for dessert, but I served myself an appropriate portion.  I went on a 20 minute walk with the baby and the dog.  I resisted the urge for a Coke.  (Can this be considered a daily achievement? I say yes.)  And even though it wasn't perfect, I logged my food intake entirely.

A Grown-Up Grilled Cheese and Thinking Outside the Box

Growing up my parents bought medium cheddar cheese for everyday use.  But on special occasions, my dad would buy a small brick of sharp cheddar to put on crackers. 

Ooh, how I loved that sharp cheddar!  Num!!

One time we were going to Costco and I was telling my husband this, how much I loved sharp cheddar and how we should get it for a special occasion sometime.  The Hubster gave me an odd look and said, "Why do you have to wait for a special occasion?  If you like sharp cheddar, buy sharp cheddar."

Duh!  Why had this never occurred to me before?  I was simply stuck in the habit of buying medium cheddar because it is what I had always done.

That day I bought a giant block of sharp cheddar (extra sharp white cheddar, to be exact) and never looked back. 

It is delicious and I get real joy every time I put it on my food.  It just adds much more flavor. 

Fast forward to tonight.  In a huge lack of imagination and preparation, The Hubster and I decided to have grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.  I opened the fridge to grab what I needed and saw a bottle of real bacon bits (another new staple in our house).

Mmmmmm...bacon bits.  I bet that would be really yummy on a grilled cheese.  All of the sudden I started thinking of what I could do to make a grilled cheese more interesting.  I grabbed a few things in sight and went to work making special grilled cheese sandwiches just for the grown-ups.

Voila!

I was in love with this new variation of grilled cheese.  It was so flavorful!  I am already thinking of making another one tomorrow.  

I figured I would just share what I did here.  Because food does not always have to be the same as it has been before.  Variety is the spice of life, right?

Sara's Grown-Up Grilled Cheese

INGREDIENTS:
Sandwich bread, 2 slices
Extra sharp white cheddar

Mozzarella (mine was shredded)

Parmesan (mine was shredded)
Real Bacon Bits

Tomatoes
Green Chiles

Miracle Whip

Butter

Spread a light layer of Miracle Whip on each slice of bread.  Sprinkle Parmesan and Mozzarella on one slice and put the white cheddar on the other.  Sprinkle on a few bacon bits and green chiles.  (Yes, I live in New Mexico now and everything has green chile on it.  Why should grilled cheese be any different?)  Slice the tomatoes and layer them on.  Squish sandwich together.

Melt about 1/2 TBSP of butter in your frying pan.  Fry on medium-low heat on each side until golden brown.

Want to make sure your cheese is melted?  Here's the trick my dad taught me.  Once you put the sandwich on, splash a couple of drops of water in the pan and instantly cover it.  This will create steam and lock it in to melt that cheese perfectly.

But the great thing?  You don't even have to follow this recipe exactly.  What do you like?  What do you have on hand? What sounds good to you?  Avocado?  Sour dough bread?  Feta cheese?  

Mix it up and try something new!

Accountability Journal

The last half of last week was a rough one. 

My husband was out of town, so I had no backup help.  My baby wasn't sleeping, instead he was crying all night.  Stressful!  I had very little sleep and found myself heavily leaning into bad habits.  I craved sugary things - probably for the quick energy that they provided.  And I especially craved soda and gave in to the cravings, hoping the caffeine would help me stay awake and more alert.

So I didn't do as well as I would have liked.

However, it is a new week.  Hubby is home. Baby is sleeping more (and me too). I'm off to a good start.

Sunday weight: 175.8