Stacie's E Lunch - Chicken salad sandwich made with Ezekiel bread, lettuce, tomato, mayo with 4g of fat, and leftover white meat from last nights roast.

*EDIT* It was pointed out to me that dill pickles are actually an S food! Whoops! Live and learn! You could sub fresh cucumber slices for the dill pickles in this meal. :D

E because:
1) The two slices of Ezekiel bread are the giveaway here that this is an E meal. I have hit the 20-45g of carbs target with two slices.
2) I used under 5g of fat to make the chicken salad.
3) I have non-starchy veggies with the lettuce, green onion, tomato and cucumbers.
4) Berries are great in liberal amounts in an E setting.
5) Drink up! Flush your system every single day!!!

Oatmeal, Low Fat Greek Yogurt, Blended and Strained Strawberries, Fresh Blueberries and Green Tea.

I can't stop making "Mmmm!" noises! It tastes like a strawberry dessert!!! I am not a purist, so I added 1tsp of sugar free syrup to the strained strawberries to cut back the very tart flavour. But you wouldn't have to.

E Because:
1) The oatmeal lands me in the 20-45g of carbs for an E setting.
2) The Greek yogurt has less than 5g of fat and serves as my protein.
3) Berries are perfect in liberal amounts in an E setting. This is the first time I've tried blending them.
4) Green tea is a great hot drink on an E morning. It doesn't need cream or a sweetener.

Fuel Pulls!!! Oh! Fuel Pulls!!!

I ate a Fuel Pull for lunch today. Oh my word! I get hungry so quickly after eating a FP. My body is like, "Why?!??? For the love of food, why would you make me work so hard?" 

And then I remember what I read in the book. When I eat Fuel Pulls, it forces my body to "pull" fuel from my ... ample rear end...stored supply of fuel. I have nothing too energetic to do this afternoon.  I figured I might as well force my body to work a bit harder for me today. 

That being said, for me, I don't do FP's very often. It takes me back to my low cal, low fat, low fun days of dieting and the spoiled THMer in me kicks at it. BRING ME MY BACON! lol! 

Knowing that I was doing a FP for lunch, I planned an awesome and filling E dinner (White meat from a roast chicken, roasted sweet potatoes and onions, and a salad) and 3 hours later, I plan on having a satisfying S snack. (Not sure what yet, but I promise you, it will include Lily's milk chocolate.) 

That's all folks! Just my thoughts on how today went. Hope yours was equally successful and you are happily eating yourself skinny! 

xo,

Stacie

Oatmeal with Greek yogurt, berries and one little kiwi to make it look cute. 

E because:

1) There are between 20-45g of carbs

2) The yogurt is my source of protein, so I don't need to count the carbs in it. (Even if I did, I am still well within my range.)

3) I used low fat yogurt and kept the fat content under 5g of fat.

4) Berries are awesome in an E setting. Enjoy them guilt free. (Within reason of course.)

Greek Chicken Salad

I absolutely LOVE the combination of black olives, feta, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, and red onion! You will notice that I eat a lot of "greek" style salads and omelettes. I use a slightly off plan dressing called Rene's Greek Feta. It is off plan only because of the type of oil in it, which I accept as ok for me. If you prefer more pure options, there are plenty of THM friendly greek salad dressing out there.

E Lunch

Chicken Quinoa Salad

Cook your quinoa according to the package directions. Chop up whatever type of veggies you like. I personally like baby tomatoes, red peppers, and green onions. Mix up an E style dressing and pour over top. Top with a tiny bit of feta just to add flavor. I also like to add diced chicken breast to this salad.

What a gorgeous day it is! I feel like I should go outside and have a Julia Andrews "The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Music" moment. Twirl around and sing my lungs out. But it might scare the neighbors. So I won't. But it is really sunny and gorgeous out there!

Ok, so, time for some honesty. I have lost 35 pounds now. My friends, family, and acquaintances are starting to say things like, "You did such a great job getting your weight down!" and "You look great." When I say something about needing to lose another 20 pounds, they protest immediately and say, "No way! You look perfect right now! You don't need to lose any more!"

There is a part of me that wants so badly to believe them. My lazy-over-eating side wants to say, "Oh I don't? I look great now? Well! If everyone says so, I'll just settle into this weight then. After all, I throw on a pair of Spanks and I look like I'm a size 12. Pass the macaroni salad please!"

Then my newly trained THM brain takes over. Here is what my internal THM dialog sounds like:

• You need to just say "thank you" and say nothing about losing more. It invites the very polite responses, and it messes with your head.
• You are more than half way to your goal. 
• You are too close to give up now.
• This is NOT like all the other diets you've tried. This is a life style change. A long term commitment. 
• Giving up after eating off plan for one meal is like slashing three other tires because one is flat. 
• This is a marathon, not a sprint. You have come so far already, but think of crossing the finish line and it will keep you going.
• Your kids are seeing your healthy choices. Your kids are copying your healthy choices.
• Bacon. You can eat Bacon. Bacon makes you leap out of bed like a gazelle in the morning!
• Others are only seeing what I present to them. They cannot see the scales, or my BMI, or what I see when I step out of the shower. (Again, no need to scare people off!) 
• I want to be at a weight that I feel confident and healthy. I want to model that kind of body image and confidence to my daughter who will be into that soon enough. (8 years old)
• This. Works.

So friends... that was some brutal honestly for you! Some of you are doing amazing. You are 100% on plan and losing like crazy. Give yourself a huge pat on the back and keep it up! But some of you are stalled, or losing motivation, or finding that your head space is contaminated with negative internal dialog. To those ladies I ask: Are you ready to be brutally honest with yourself? What is it that you are not wanting to admit to yourself? What is holding you back from being 100% successful on this plan? If you can admit it, you can change it! 

So stick around! The next 20 pounds are comin' off! 

Your THM buddy,

Stacie