I did a lot of this!

I did very little Saturday other then sit on the couch and watch the Kids Championship Baking Show. I watched multiple episodes. We were waiting to go ski when it warmed up, the high teens for the day. It took till around 2pm for that to happen. I was happy to get off the couch and actually do something with my day! 

I also spent a lot of time looking at food on TV and looking on line. I loved the look of this cake! I need this for my birthday! 

 Still on my diet, day #7 (1 week done)!! It's reward time again!!! I'm looking for an outdoor fire pit, a new gold ring, or an outdoor trail camera, or new white front window curtains to be my reward. I'll be searching today on what I want to purchase. It's not a need but a needed reward for sticking to this weight loss diet plan. My goal is 100 day diet, to lose at least 30 pounds. I will give myself extra days to lose 30 pounds since Summer doesn't officially start in MN till June 1st! Plenty time to drop 30 pounds if I stick with it and a few purchased rewards are a small price to not have to buy more summer clothes in a larger size! I'd rather spend money other places that buy fat clothes in a larger size! I'd like to just wear my last year summer shorts and skirts! 

Monday, I'll be taking measurements to see if I've lost any inches and will actually step on the scale, plus measure my % fat. It's time to know all the numbers so I can see progress from my diet. You can't always go by weight, it's more how I feel and inches dropped to fit into clothes comfortably. 

What I've been doing for exercise? 

Cross country skiing 3.6 to 4 miles

Lifting 15 pound dumbbells

1 min plank bent arm. 

What have I been eating? 

Baby Carrot sticks with 1 TBSP lite ranch dressing (snack)

Thai Chicken veggie soup with either white rice or wild rice. 

A few roasted nuts (almonds and cashews)

A taste of other foods. Just a bite. 

What we can do in Winter!

Temperatures are finally up above zero, in the middle to upper teens. Plenty warm enough to get out and ski again. We also had a bit of fresh snow to make the trails perfect for cross country skiing!  

Steve has been skiing with me the last two days. He is starting to like it better, but still likes a slower pace. I just ski ahead and we meet at the loop to turn around. 

My fingers were freezing on Thursday, so I wore heavy gloves and instantly regretted my decision. They felt thick and hot. I ended up just taking off my gloves half way through skiing. I just never know how to dress when its in the teens. Anything in the 20's and I'm back to wearing a light coat and thin gloves because I know after 1 mile I'll start to get hot! 

We've just been skiing 3.6miles. While dieting/fasting, I don't need to ski 5 miles. I'm on day #6 of my fasting diet and its going great! I do allow a healthy snack. I've just been choosing baby carrot sticks with a table spoon of ranch dressing. I did get a bottle of lite ranch so I won't have to use the full fat version. I like both and can't tell a difference. I either have my snack before dinner or after depending on how hungry I am that day. 

I made more Thai soup, but it didn't taste as good using light coconut milk. I'll probably just stick to the full fat version and not worry about the added calories. This is what I've been eating for dinner. I'll have leftovers today and probably Sunday before moving on to make something else to eat for my meals. I do need to research more healthy meals. On this diet/fasting and only eating one meal per day. My meal can be anything I am craving. This way, it doesn't feel like a restrictive diet. I'm just looking to eat less and cut calories. 

I've been so unmotivated to get our office desk/ shelves painted. I just need to force myself to get started again. I did get the upper cabinets and some shelves painted one coat of primer. Now to finish the rest in at least one coat of primer. I have other projects to move on to doing, so I need to finish this big one up! 

What are my next projects?

Re-tiling our master bathroom floor, tub surround and shower with a new frameless shower door. It's not my project to do, but we need to pick out shower tiles and set a start date for Steve to begin. 

I need to paint the entire basement and re-paint the kids bathroom. We used flat paint in the bathroom and the steam has made the walls look awful. 

I need to find new white curtains for the two front windows and the stair landing window. New handles for the bathroom vanities and kitchen cabinets. 

While we are trying to do more saving than spending, I feel its a need to keep up on our house should we decide to sell. I want to enjoy the updates! It's just little updates that make a big difference. 

Over the dieting hump

 I'm on day #4!! I am over the three day hump. It not smooth sailing from here but I go through the hardest first days. Now to reach 100 and get to my goal! 

I usually don't weight myself right away. This way I'm not overly discouraged. I always under estimate my weight by a few pounds. So on day #4, I stepped on the scale. I'm not going to announce the number. Yes, I gained more weight the last few months then I should have. I'm on my way to getting rid of the weight, so no need to get down about my actual scale weight! I concentrate more on my body measurements and %fat. I took all those measurements on day 1 and will continue to do that every week. I'm avoiding the scale because some weeks you lose more than others. No need to discourage myself if I don't lose as much as I think I should have. I'm more all about fitting into my skinny clothes and feeling comfortable in my skin. 

I've been fasting most of the days. Lunch did consist of a few baby carrots with 1 TBSP of Ranch dressing. Dinner I made zucchini, onion/garlic and roasted cherry tomatoes with some red no sugar sauce. I did have a skinny slice of my homemade bread with garlic and parmesan cheese. Delicious, lots of flavor and a low calorie meal. I am trying to stay around 500 calories for the day. This fills me up and keeps me feeling like I'm starving! I even allow myself to have a few of my favorite PB pretzel nuggets. Usually 1 or 2 for the morning. I do eat dinner early since I am starving by 2:30/3pm. I am trying to hold off eating till 5 or 5:30pm. I just eat as much as I want of dinner. One meal is easier for me to control what I eat and lose weight, then to eat all day long. Monday on the start of week#2, I'll take my body measurements again and report my progress! I'm already feeling better after 3 full days of dieting. No loss of energy, not hungry feeling and ready to get done with day #4 of 100 days. 

I am setting up some mini rewards for my dieting accomplishments. Its non-food related rewards. 

Reward #1! Accomplishing 3 days of dieting! Getting the hardest part done, just starting a diet and sticking with it! Over the 3 day hump! 

What's my reward? A wireless speaker that is on sale at Target. It will be nice to listen to music if we go to a park, camp or boat this spring and summer. 

My next mini reward is after I finish week #1! I'm just not sure what the reward will be yet! TBD.... 

Checking it off!

 I'm on day #3 of my fasting diet. Yippee for me! It's always hard getting started on a diet, but it's always day #2 which is the hardest. I'm passed that! Now on to day #3! I have a 100 day diet goal. I'm eating one meal a day, dinner. Trying to stay around 500 calories but will allow myself to eat what I want for that one meal. I did this same diet last winter and it worked great! I just have my dinner a little early some nights around 4:30/5pm. I don't feel deprived and I lose weight easily on this diet. Doesn't even feel like a diet most of the time. I do struggle a little around 1pm every day. I just concentrate on making dinner at that time. 

My meals so far have consisted of my Thai Chicken Soup and I added 1 cup of white rice. 

I do also have a few PB pretzel nuggets in the morning. I limit those to under 5 nuggets if any. 

My before picture. I'll have to take a better photo once week#1 is done! 

My Thai Chicken Soup.. So easy and quick to make. I will add more Thai curry to the next batch as it could use a little more flavor. Plus, use light coconut milk for less calories. I didn't put in fish sauce, used soy sauce instead. It makes a very tasty soup, that I found on Pinterest. 

Zoey got a new baby for V-day. A Kola Bear. She just loves her stuffed animals. 

Come and gone!

Valentine's Day was filled with me getting everyone cards and candies. 

Kendra and Evan make these cute little Valentine's Day Robots. 

Celina made some delicious ice cream bomb treats for dessert. 

Steve cooked a delicious meal of beef tenderloin, asparagus and mashed potatoes. 

Another no knead bread with cheese gift Steve's mother bough us for day. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

 Yet another Valentine's Day. 

Our first date in Stillwater March, 1994. So glad we met at Aveda working years ago. I love you more every year!

Our two cutie grand children, Evan and Madelyn. 

A little Zoey Doggie love....

Yet another Covid Scare!

 Logan had a rapid 20 minute Covid test yesterday. It was negative! So glad for that. He gave a friend a ride home who was with other friends who were all testing positive. He wore a mask, the friend did not. I isolated in my room until he got the results back around 2pm yesterday. I didn't get any thing accomplished other then watch TV and read news on my phone. 

Another -8 degree temperature morning with highs of 0*F! Good news on the weather, by Friday we will be back into the 20's and 30's! I'm ready to stay goodbye to this sub zero temperatures!