Day Two - the birthday challenge

I have a habit of weighing myself every morning. I know when you are trying to lose weight, people recommend that you only weigh weekly, but I love to watch the numbers on the scale. This morning when I weighed myself, I found the motivation I needed to jump into day two. In just 24 hours, I had lost 1.4 pounds! And I had lost it all by eating really well. It was just the boost I needed to jump start my day.

I learned a trick today that I hope will work for the future. I knew I had to plan ahead for lunch, since I'd be cooking it. So by breakfast time I had decided what I was going to eat for lunch. In the hours following my oatmeal, I kept saying to myself, "I can't wait until lunch time when I can eat stir fry." No, I'm not a fan of stir fry. But I am a fan of sticking to my goals.

The funny thing is that by lunch time, I really was excited for that meal. I ended up making teriyaki beef and grilled yellow and red peppers, which I ate over salad. No, it wasn't my stir fry, but I was excited to be eating yet another healthy meal.

After lunch, I was ravenous! I couldn't get rid of the munchies, so I made up a batch of hummus. Dipping carrots in the hummus hit the spot for me, and I was able to make it to the most challenging part of the day. Dinner.

I have to say, for the most part I can't wait to start cooking healthy dinners for my family and dragging them along this journey with me. But tonight I had a birthday party I was attending. I called someone to see what was being served for dinner and she told me it was a baked potato bar and salad. "Perfect," I thought. "At least I can eat part of the meal.'' I went to the local grocery store and picked up some already seasoned chicken, which I then proceeded to cook on my George Foreman grill. When it was time to leave for the party, I tucked a baggie of chicken into my purse, and off I went.

I got a lot of strange comments and looks when I pulled out my chicken, but I was able to top my salad with something delicious and stay within my eating rules. Dessert was cupcakes, which luckily have never been too tempting to me. I was able to admire how cute they looked without feeling too badly that I was missing out on something special. All in all, it was a good day.

Here's a photo of my teriyaki beef salad.  Yes, it was a yummy as it looks!

Here's the recipe for the hummus I made (thanks sis!):

2 cans chickpeas (Garbanzo beans) or equivalent if you make your own

the juice from one lemon

1 t. salt

1/4 cup tahini

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 sundried tomato halves, ripped into small pieces

Blend the ingredients together in a food processor or blender, adding juice from the beans a little at a time until the desired consistency is found.