Monday Mentions 3

Welcome to this week's Monday Mentions: Quasi-Diet Edition.

• I just NOW (as in right before I started this post) discovered this site. The pictures are GORGEOUS and make me drool. One day, my home will be beautiful like these pictures.
• In keeping with my weight loss theme of late, this is a podcast series I discovered this summer. I (ahem) am a "little" behind in my listening, but I've really loved what I have heard so far. It's a very peaceful, relaxing podcast to enjoy and I suggest you keep a journal with you while you listen.
• I also stumbled upon this site (thanks to the Over the Top Meme...link, to link, to another link, and LOVED these pictures). For those of you crafty ladies out there (I'm crafty in my mind...), you will love some of these projects. And, it appears for those of us NONcrafty folks, we can purchase some special items here, too.
• Also inspired by my current diet, I'm eating a lot of cottage cheese. Mmmmm...yummy. While, this week, I'm not enjoying this particular variety, one of my favorite cottage cheese products is Rachel's Cucumber Dill Cottage Cheese. It also comes in other flavors and, apparently, she makes yogurt, too. Try them!
• This morning, I really enjoyed this post by WeaselMomma. It's a little sad, a lot sweet, and is hanging out in my heart with me today.
• I cannot wait to make this recipe this week! And, I am still so proud of the great price I got on wild caught Alaskan salmon fillets this weekend at SuperTarget! Sometimes, it pays to shop around.
• Some of my readers have wondered where I find my photos to illustrate my posts. A while back, Melanie tweeted this site out. It is easily the easiest way to search for Creative Commons photos. I LOVE it and use it all the time now.

Psst! Remember - for more mentionable links, head over to the Daily Mish Mash for the motherload of links. :)

The Morning After

I SURVIVED DAY ONE!

Whew! I have to admit, this is a little more like rehab than I ever expected.

Yesterday, after my mid-afternoon sugar (and alcohol) cravings subsided, and I thought the worst of the day was over, I came close to falling off the wagon.

You see, I watched the Gator game.

The stress was overwhelming.

...PLUS, someone kept tweeting about ice cream.

But, I held fast to my conviction and

stayed away from the kitchen. I nursed my sweet glass of Crystal Light for all it was worth. I ate a piece (or two) of Colby Jack cheese. (a treat I rarely enjoyed on Weight Watchers) And, I texted profanities to FireDaddy at the station after every stressful play.

Today, I've actually felt good. After a slow and thoughtful trip to the store, I am now stocked with plenty of plan-approved foods, snacks, beverages, and even some sugar-free candies that taste darn good.

And let me know if I'm the only one who's ever felt this way, but on Day Two of a new diet, don't you feel you deserve a little reward? No...I'm not talking about cheating. Really. I'm talking about progress. Don't you half expect the scale to drop two pounds or so? You're so proud of yourself, shouldn't your favorite pair of pants acknowledge your accomplishment by loosening up around your waist a little? I could SWEAR that I lost weight yesterday. I could SWEAR I look thinner today.

No? You don't think so??

Darn.

Photo credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kurafire/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

Simple Saturday Sweets

I've had enough. I can't take it anymore.

Over the past two and a half years I've watched myself (and I suppose I've contributed a little, too...) gain back the entire 30 pounds I lost on Weight Watchers (after GAINING twenty pounds after losing all my baby weight from Baby Girl...Yeah. Do that math!)

Last weekend, on a lovely simple Saturday at the local arts market with my parents and girlies, a wave of nausea nearly swept me off my feet. I was hungry. Somehow, thankfully, I was able to NOT barf all over my own flip flops. We made it to our usual Chili's and I was able to survive to see my next meal. This, however, is a pattern I've noticed recently. I go from intense hunger/nausea to bloated, yucky tummy.

I've decided to take this bull(sh!t) by the horns and reclaim control over my body.

I was expecting to find myself in a Weight Watchers establishment for the first time ever. (I actually did it all at home on my own with the Weight Watchers At Home kit the first time.) I knew I needed something more drastic to help me break these horrible habits I've created for myself. I knew I needed more accountability.

However, as I meandered into school one day this week and approached an old WW buddy, I changed my plan. Recently, she's had great success with South Beach. She swears by it. I, skeptic of any diet that rules out entire food groups, expressed my concerns and skepticism about this plan. She explained the diet in more detail to me and, as it turns out, this diet seems far more mainstream that I had previously assumed it to be. Actually, it ultimately preaches (in Phase 2 - and Phase 1 is only 2 weeks long) things I already do.

So, I dropped the South Beach book in my Amazon cart and here I am. Day one is upon me.

However, my darling lovies have been a wee bit oppositional today (ha!)...which has made me want two things: alcohol and sugar. Any form of sugar. Anything from Wheat Thins to ice cream! Oh, and CHOCOLATE!!!

So, I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with something "in the plan" that will help me through this day. (Especially since I really need to go to the grocery store.)

Here's what I came up with...

1/2 cup ricotta (part-skim)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 package Sweet'N Low (I prefer Splenda, but this is what FireDaddy had in the pantry.)

a dash or so of Starbucks Via (the Columbian brew)

This is actually the South Beach recipe for Vanilla Ricotta Creme, with my own addition of the Via. It tastes A LOT like coffee ice cream! The texture is quite different though, as you can imagine. And, in fact, it's VERY sweet. I never thought I'd say this about anything...but it's almost TOO sweet. If I make this again, I may reduce the vanilla extract. Good news is, a little goes a long way. I'm feeling much better.

In fact, I think I'll head into the kitchen and use the rest of my Via packet in some cold skim milk for an iced coffee treat.

**By the way, my goal right now is to just make it through the first two weeks. I'm hoping this will help my blood sugar - or whatever it is that's causing this crazy nausea crap - level out and help me kick some cravings in the bootie. Then, I'll reassess...We'll see how this goes.

Photo credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/santos/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0