I tell ya, keeping a blog really helped me stay on track. I'm sure I would have given up after a few days if I didn't have anyone holding me accountable. And guess what? I hit 5,000 pageviews! My goal was 4,000 (with a hope to get 5,000) and I'm at 5, 027 right now! YES!
Well, I'm pretty proud of myself for doing this challenge. It required a lot of thinking and planning and cooking (obviously), but that was fun. I mean, if this was a workout challenge, I may just have to think about the challenge for an hour or two a day. But, this was in the forefront of my mind all day because I had to be sure I ate E2 friendly for each meal, plus any snack.
Like I've said, I am really glad for the opportunity to learn how to cook with no oil, salt or sugar. I've learned some great techniques and recipes that I will continue to use after the challenge ends. And, I really plan on cooking more. I already cooked my breakfasts and lunches before the challenge, but dinner was when I caved to fast food cravings. And snacks. We have so many free snacks at work (cookies in our Store Leader's office, cheese samples on the floor) that I was always quick to snatch up. I didn't even think about what I was putting in my mouth. And a lot of that had to do with the fact that I'm on a limited budget. A free cookie in the back saved me $1.50, even though I may not have bought one in the first place. But, I always found a way to justify eating it. The life of a "starving" singer/songwriter hey? I say "starving" loosely, but you know what I mean.
So anyway, I've really loved snacking on my apples and almond butter during this challenge. It's so much better and more filling than a cookie or whatever I chose as a snack. Thinking back, I can't believe what I ate sometimes. I honestly would eat breakfast before work, start work at 6:45 AM and then eat a plateful of our breakfast bar as my snack around 9:45 AM. Bacon, quiche, breakfast potatoes with sausage gravy. As a SNACK! Then I'd clock out for lunch at noon and eat another full meal, sometimes something decadent from the hot bar like our chicken fried tofu or macaroni and cheese. Yikes! Redoing my snacks really helped me. And, not eating bacon has saved me from heartburn!
I've also really enjoyed how I've felt after eating so many veggies during this challenge. And I could still stand to eat more. Especially salads. But, they just made me feel full and satisfied and just good. So, I'm definitely going to keep that up, and push myself to eat more greens.
Speaking of pushing myself...it looks like I still have a ways to go. I feel pretty good about my progress, but my eyes were opened when I went to my final weigh-in and body scan at Eternal Fitness & Nutrition, Inc. Like you know, I started this Engine 2 Challenge at 176 lbs. I weighed myself at the YMCA and according to their scale, I lost 10 lbs! So, I was super pumped about that....but found out that I actually lost 7, according to the scale at Eternal Fitness & Nutrition, Inc. And they were the ones initially weighing me, so I'm going with their scale. I was a little bummed that I didn't lose 10 lbs, but, I still lost 7! That's the weight of a newborn baby! Or the weight of my cat! So I have to be proud.
One other thing that disappointed me, however, was how much I still need to lose, according to the body scan they did on me. 28 lbs. Yikes. That seems a little severe. I know I have a good 15 lbs to lose still. I'd love to get to 150 or even lower. But, I guess losing 28 lbs would drop me to 141, which is a good weight for my height. Ugh....that's a daunting thought, but hey, I lost 7 lbs in just 28 days. So, if I kept this pace up, I could lose 28 lbs by July 2. Just in time for bikini weather! Haha! Either way, no matter if I'm ever confident enough to bare my stomach in public in a bikini (is that any different from my progress photos?), I just want to feel better. And I have been. More energy, less intestinal issues. I want to continue to increase my energy level, as well as my self-esteem!
So, today on my last official Engine 2 Challenge day, I started with my favorite bowl of raisin bran! Mmmm! I bought more sliced almonds for raisin bran for the rest of the week. Yes! I enjoyed another delicious apple and almond butter on my 15 minute break. Can't go wrong there! And, lunchtime was a homemade enchilada. Those things are pretty darn good! I put some guacamole on top too. Mmm!
After work, I celebrated the last day of the Engine 2 Challenge with a bag of DELICIOUS Southwestern Kale Chips! There is some salt in this product, but no oil, so I let it slide. It's just the best kale chips I've ever had! It was raining cats and dogs, so I ran to my car after work and enjoyed the chips there before I started driving.
I love Kale Chips!
It was raining cold cold rain! But the kale chips made my night!
I got home and made some more chicken baked tofu, asparagus and a baked portabella mushroom cap with balsamic vinegar. It was so so good! I wanted to take a photo, but my phone is out of space. I gotta get that thing looked at since I have no apps or music but only have space for like 25 photos. ARGH!
So, anyway, I guess that leaves me just one more thing to do, and that's show my progress photo! My sister, Jen, created this little photo to show my before and after progress! I still think I've look a little more bloated in these past couple days, but either way, you can tell I've made progress! YAY! Go me! :)
Thank you so much for following my journey each day! I'm really going to miss writing to you all! It's been so cool to see my pageviews grow each day and even cooler to see my audience grow from nationwide to worldwide! That's just so amazing. And here's one more thing to share with you....I've mentioned being a singer/songwriter but have never shared my music! Here's a link to one song I wrote called "Dancing In The Moonlight". I play and sing on this recording too!
Thanks you guys for all your support. I am not sure if I could do this without you. Maybe I could, but it'd be less fun. :) If you are reading this for motivation in your own life, just know that you really CAN do it. Find something that works for you and push yourself. Allow yourself to get uncomfortable for a few days or weeks until your body starts getting used to your new lifestyle. It feels awesome to set goals and actually see them come true.
Today I felt: Bittersweet that the challenge is ending, Excited I made it this far, Proud of my progress!!!
Stay tune, because I'll be posting another blog with all the recipes I shared soon! Take care!!! :)
You must continue to blog, I feel like you are a family member now!!
ReplyDeleteHi. Loved your E2 blog. Can you post monthly updates?
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