Go Greek

The rage right now is Greek yogurt, it is every where! To be honest I am not sure what all the rage is about. Even though I am eating it because it is part of the 17 day plan, I don't really like it. If you have never tried it, it is very tart and a little sour. Kind of tastes like they mixed yogurt and sour cream together. I have tried all the flavors and just couldn't acquire the taste. Yet I don't mind the nonfat, plain greek in my morning smoothies. It still tastes a little tart but I use Truvia (stevia) to sweeten, along with my berries and it is delicious. It would probably be really great with a little pineapple (not on plan). Out of all the brands that I have tried, I prefer the Chobani...but this is just my opinion.

I have been wondering about the health benefits to greek yogurt and so I started reading. What I found is that both American yogurt and Greek yogurt have a lot of the same nutritional benefits. The only big difference is that the greek yogurt packs a little more protein and a few less carbs. It is thicker in consistency because the way that the whey is strained out during the process. Greek yogurty is more expensive; if you are on a budget you can just pick which you like the best!

One thing to be aware of though is sugar. For example, Yoplait yogurt has 27g of sugar in it (more than 5 teaspoons)...you can almost have a soda for that amount. Don't be fooled into thinking that those yummy yoplaits are good for you...they taste like dessert for a reason. Whether you eat american or greek yogurt, try to find a variety that is higher in protein and less in sugar. You can always do the plain and add a little vanilla and truvia to sweeten it up. Yogurt can be a great light treat and give you all those added healthy probiotics. I try to eat it at least once a day for good digestive health.

I also read something very interesting regarding Greek yogurt and the environment; thought I would share for my green friends.

Greek yogurt is not better for the environment than American-style yogurt, for one simple reason: It requires much more milk to make. For American-style yogurt, the ratio of milk to final yogurt product is about 1:1 (sometimes more like 1.3:1, since many manufacturers add in a little bit of condensed skim milk to improve the texture and protein content), while for Greek yogurt it's often as high as 4:1. Considering that dairy farms take quite a toll on the environment and produce a large amount of greenhouse gases (a recent United Nations study found that 3 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions come from milk production, including shipping) the environmental difference between Greek and American yogurt is fairly significant.

There's another problem, too: What to do with the whey that's left over from the Greek yogurt straining process? Rolf Carlson, vice president of sourcing and development at the yogurt manufacturer Stonyfield Farm explained that there are two kinds of whey: Sweet whey can be used as a food additive, but acid whey isn't as useful. Many major yogurt manufacturers give their acid whey to farmers to be used as animal feed or fertilizer, but according to Carlson, farmers must be careful when applying it to cropland, since whey runoff can pollute waterways (PDF). "It can affect the microbiology of the water," says Carlson. Some good news: Both Stonyfield Farm and the Greek yogurt company Chobani told me they are in the process building pricey anaerobic digesters to convert their waste whey into energy to power the factories.

Day 3: Accelerate

I am still feeling good today! I thought my energy would be depleted by now but so far, so good. I guess I have enough fat stores to keep me going. :) I have been really good and have not cheated at all. I am logging everything.

It is 3:15PM and for the first time since I started this diet I am feeling hungry. Not quite sure what to do about it. I am going to workout at 5:30 and hate to go there feeling sluggish. This also means though that we won't be eating until I get home which will be around 7:30. That is the next 4 hours without food. I'm going to try and drink some water but I think I may need a little snack. Hmm. I think I am going to have an apple. You're not supposed to have fruit after 2:30 on this plan but since I am going to workout I think I need the carbs.

Breakfast

Strawberry Smoothie

1 C Coffee

2 TBSP Fat Free 1/2 & 1/2

Snack

String Cheese Stick

Orange

Lunch

Zucchini Ribbon Salad

Left Over Salmon Dijon

Pre-workout Snack

Apple

Dinner

Eggplant Parmesan

7 WW Points

Steamed Ribbon Zucchini w/marinara sauce

Total WW Points was: 25

RECIPES

Zucchini Ribbon Salad

3 WW Points

1 Lg Zucchini sliced thin with vegetable peeler

(steamed or sauteed with garlic, italian seasoning and olive oil spray)

1-2 stalks raw broccoli

1/4 C feta cheese crumbled

1/2-1 C cherry tomatoes

1/8 C Zesty Italian Dressing

Eggplant Parmesan

6 WW Points

1 Lg Eggplant

4 Egg whites

1/2 C shredded parmesan

1 bottle marinara sauce <10gr carbs

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut into ¼ inch slices. In a shallow dish, beat egg whites and 4 tablespoons of water until foamy. Dip eggplant slices into egg whites, then into fat-free Parmesan cheese, pressing cheese into eggplant. Place eggplant on prepared baking sheet that has been sprayed with vegetable spray and sprinkle with garlic powder. Spray vegetable cooking spray over eggplant slices. Back 30 minutes at 400 degrees, turning eggplant over after 20 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Cover with 1 cup of low-carb marinara sauce. Bake for 20 minutes, or until eggplant is piping hot and sauce is bubbly. Makes 2 very large servings.

Did he say high school?

I have some very close family friends, Peggy & Roy, that are here visiting TN this week. They are some of my grandparents dearest friends and were our neighbors for years when we lived in California. I grew up with their daughters and one of them, Tracy Sise, was a blog award winner. I have literally known these people since I was born and think of them like a second set of parents. While growing up if my grandparents were ever out of town, I stayed with them. I knew where their hide-a-key was and their house was like my second home.

Today my grandparents and them were headed to the lake and it was so hot that I quickly found a babysitter for the baby, then got Hudson and I packed for a day of swimming. Even after all of my weight loss I still hate wearing a swim suit in front of people so I was kind of dreading it. I had seen them in March right after I had Reese and I had seen them last October when Tracy was visiting but it had been about 9 months. As you all know that past 9 months have been pretty slow when it comes to weight loss but I have continued to lose.

Well, today was a good day. As soon as I saw Peggy & Roy they both just kept saying "Wow!" and commenting on how great I looked and how much weight I had lost. This was just what I needed. At one time, Roy even said that he thought I looked like I did when I was in high school and how he couldn't believe how much weight I had lost in my face. Did he say high school? He obviously doesn't remember exactly what I looked like in high school...but hey...I'll TAKE it!

It felt really really good today and it is keeping me going! They are all coming over for dinner on Thursday so I am excited to put on a cute outfit and get fixed up. I guess that even though I don't notice all the small changes, other people can. It just got me that more excited to lose the 20 pounds by labor day. I am really excited to show every one the product of all my hard work. I know that I am no super model but 100 pounds is a lot and I love that every day I am feeling better about my body and more confident.

Can't wait to say hello to 150! Here I come! :)

Day 2: Accelerate

Today was a little bit challenging because around 10AM my grandparents invited us to go out on the boat. It was too early to eat lunch and it is really hard to pack a hot meal on the boat. I just filled up my Nalgene bottle with water and packed a couple pieces of string cheese and an apple. My grandpa had some salami and I had two small slices. This was not on the plan but I know that it wasn't many calories and it was no carbohydrate. I also spent a lot of time in the water, playing with Hudson and treading water. Not a huge workout but I at least feel like I got a little exercise. I am still feeling good and have energy. I haven't drank enough water yet but I will get some in tonight. I am hoping to make it to my 6PM workout; we will see how the day turns out.

Breakfast

Blackberry Smoothie

1 C coffee

2 TBSP fat free 1/2 & 1/2

Snack

Apple

2 String Cheese stick

2 pieces of salami

Lunch

Left-over Oven Roasted Chicken

Greenbeans

Dinner

Salmon Dijon

Steamed Brocoli

Total WW Points was: 27

RECIPES

Salmon Dijon

5 WW Points

4-4oz salmon pieces

1 C fat free sour cream

2 tsp dried dill

2 TBSP lemon juice

2 TBSP diced green onion

1.5 TBSP dijon mustard

Coat salmon pieces with sauce and bake until opaque or about 20 minutes.

Day 1: Accelerate

Well I feel pretty good so far. It is 5PM and I am getting ready to prep for dinner. I have not felt hungry at all but I have felt deprived. Since it is so restrictive; while I haven't been hungry my brain knows that something is wrong. I have had plenty of energy but we will see how that goes. Last night before we left the restaurant our waiter brought us a special gift from the chef to bring home. Every time I open the fridge it is staring at me but I am being strong. Travis said that he would eat it or take it to work. It is huge! I bet it is 4inches square.

Below is my menu for the day and then I posted the recipes to any foods that weren't obvious. We have continued to the stain some projects in our backyard so I definitely had my 64oz of water intake...it is hot outside. Hopefully I sweat some pounds off. Starting weight today is 170. I am very excited to weigh in next week. While I know that some of it will be water, I think having a good loss should keep me nice and motivated.

Breakfast

1 C coffee w/FF half & half

1/2 Strawberry Smoothie

1 egg scrambled

1 TBSP salsa

Snack

Apple

Lunch

Greek Salad

Snack

1oz String Cheese

Dinner

Oven Roasted BBQ Chicken

(this was really quite tasty)

Green beans w/season salt, onion & 1 TBSP butter

Total WW Points was: 24

RECIPES

Strawberry Smoothie

4 WW Points for full recipe

1 C sliced strawberries

1/2 C non fat plain greek yogurt

1 tsp truvia (stevia)

1/3 C milk

1/2 C ice cubes

Greek Salad

5 WW Points

1 C Spring Mix

3-4 brocolli florets chopped

1/4 cucumber

1-2 TBSP feta cheese crumbled

2 oz turkey

2 TBSP Kraft zesty italian dressing

Oven Roasted BBQ Chicken

9 WW Points

2 chicken breasts

1/2 C Ketchup (no high fructose corn syrup)

1 tsp chili powder

1 TBSP worcestershire sauce

1 TBSP agave nectar

Days 1-7 (17 day diet)

Here are my dinner plans for the week. I will be posting recipes for each dinner every day. The recipes will include the nutritional values as well as the Weight Watcher Points. Every day for breakfast I will pretty much be eating the same things. Fruit & greek yogurt or eggs with salsa; I am not a huge breakfast eater, so this will be challenging. I am going to try and make big dinners so that I can have left overs for lunch almost daily. On days when there is not enough then I will eat salads. I know that these first 7 days will be the hardest. No processed foods, no sugar, no flour!

After our anniversary date tonight we went to the store to get everything I need. As I ate dinner tonight I felt like a prisoner on death row eating my last meal. I know that it shouldn't be like this and I usually don't advocate such restrictive plans but as I have said, "desperate times, call for desperate measures and I have a desperate goal". When we are in Idaho, my very talented niece Candace is going to take our family pictures. I will be 150 pounds by then! Wish me luck..I start in the morning!

Sunday

Oven BBQ Chicken w/toss green salad

Monday

Salmon Dijon w/broccoli

Tuesday

Eggplant Parmesan w/asparagus

Wednesday

Taco Salad

Thursday

Sesame Fish w/ green beans

Friday

Creamy Southwest Chicken w/mashed cauliflower

Lucky 13

I know that I said no progress pics but this really isn't a progress pic. Tonight Travis and I went to celebrate our 13 year anniversary which is really tomorrow by going to Flemming's Restaurant. We had a gift card for $100 so it was nice to splurge and enjoy a yummy meal. The $100 didn't cover it all but it at least made it more edible. :) The funny thing is that after dinner we headed to Super Target to do some shopping. We spent quite a bit cause we hadn't been to the grocery store in forever. However, I looked at Travis and said "we got this entire overflowing cart of groceries and we could not of ate at Flemming's twice for the price we paid" Shows you that eating at home is healthier and way less expensive.

I can't believe that Travis and I have been married for 13 years. It has went so fast and I can't wait to see what the next 13 years have in store for us. Everyone says that marriage is hard...but I don't really think so. Honestly, I don't. If you are both committed to each other and communicate well then I think it can be easy. I have been so blessed to have Travis for a husband. We enjoy each other so much and he is my best friend. I love all my girlfriends but truly I would rather spend time with him and my kids than anyone else. We have tons in common and enjoy a lot of the same things which has made it easy. I love that we compliment each other...seems like my strengths are his weaknesses and visa versa. Travis is a wonderful man, father and husband and I don't think I could ask for a better one. We definitely are his number one priority above everything.

Thanks babe for all that you do! I love you more than anything and I don't take for granted all the sacrifices that you make for me and the kids. Love you. Happy Anniversary! May we cherish many more years and fun adventures together.