Time To Shake Things Up!

Do you like what I did there?  Pretty clever, huh?  In getting back on track, I need to make a few changes to my daily routines and eating habits.  I'm sad to say that after 5 1/2 years together, for almost every day, I'm making a clean break from my Click protein breakfast shake.  We had a good run.  A very, VERY good run.  But as the title says, it's time to shake things up a bit.  So, this week I decided to order one of my old favorites.   This morning I picked up a new to me protein flavor, Fuzzy Navel by Syntrax single serve packet at Hy-Vee on the way into work.  My go to for a long time was Roadside Lemonade by Syntrax (which may or may not be on it's way to my house), but I couldn't find it in town so I have to wait.  But I didn't want to wait too long to change things up, because if I wait too long, I won't do it.  I know this about me.  

My Breakfast Today Plus A Banana

My thoughts on it?  Well, it's not coffee.  It doesn't have any caffeine.  And it didn't have any vodka (I swear that's water in that blender bottle) but for 24 grams of protein and 100 calories?  It was pretty darn tasty.  As tasty as my Roadside Lemonade?  No.  Will I get this again?  YES!  The only problem I had was that it took longer to mix in the bottle than I thought it would.  I had this along with a banana and saved about 100 calories.  Worth it?  You bet!

My Next Breakfast Adventure

Next on my agenda?  Actually eating my breakfast, not drinking it.  I'm wanting to try to make breakfast burritos (without the tortilla), portioning them out and freezing them so I always have something on hand to grab to take to work in the mornings.  Any of you have a kick-a** recipe you want to share?  Or a secret ingredient I NEED to have?  I have a very simple recipe in mind:  ground turkey, red and green peppers, an onion, eggs, cheese, salsa and taco seasoning.  Or I might mix it up with some ham or bacon depending on my mood when I make them.  Easy Peasy!  

I think at this point, I might have a handle on breakfast.  I have decided to break my meals down and work on them individually so it's not so overwhelming and perhaps easier to get back to the basics. I'm open to any suggestions or help anyone has to offer.  Any food journals, menu planners, recipes. Anything!  

Until next time!

It's Never Easy Admitting Failure...

Oh, here I am!!!!

I've been sitting here, trying to think about how I'm going to approach this blog post.  It's never easy admitting that you have been sliding backwards in your weight loss journey.  But it's time I throw up the white flag and admit it.  I have gained some of my weight back.  Enough that I need to be held accountable for it.  And to start being held accountable, it's going to start here today with this first blog post since December 2013.

So, where have I been?  NOT working out.  NOT watching my food intake.  NOT eating healthy.  NOT food planning.  NOT keeping appointments with my surgeon..  Basically, I've been doing nothing.  There you have it-I haven't been accountable for a single thing in my weight loss life, including this blog.  Having this blog being public and shared on my social media was one way of keeping myself in check.  You all were unknowingly part of what kept me going and kept me aware of my weight loss (or lack thereof right now).

I have gained back some weight-too much for me to be comfortable with.  I'm finding myself buying bigger shirts, or pulling out older clothes from early on in my journey.  This needs to stop, there's no excuse for this, but believe me, I've managed to find every one of them in the book.  "But I work 12 hour shifts."  "It's too hard to plan ahead on a shift like this."  "I don't get off of work until 7pm, by then it's too late to go for a walk."  "I don't like to drink plain water."  And those are just the excuses on the days I work!  I didn't come this far to fail, failure is not an option.  

Now that I've fessed up, it's time to do something about it.  It's only a lot of hot air if you don't have a plan of attack or goals in place.  

• The first thing I'm going to do is schedule an appointment with my surgeon and nutritionist.  Are they going to be unhappy?  Yes.  Do I need to hear it?  Yes.  It's part of being held accountable.
• Exercise.  Plain and simple.  That's it.  I miss running, I really do.  I'm not sure I'll ever get back to that point, but I sure as heck need to try!
• Menu Planning/Planning Ahead.  I did very well when I was doing this.  Every WLS person knows our daily struggle and anxiety with food.  Not planning ahead can turn into a downward spiral very quickly.  And once you get out of the habit, it's even easier to just keep going down the rabbit hole.
• Stay Positive.  The changes that I made back in 2010 did not form overnight.  The weight I've put on in the last almost 3 years didn't come on overnight, so it's not going to go away overnight. 
• Keep this blog going, even if people I know don't read it, it's out there which means someone will see it.  

They say it takes about 21 days to form a habit, so hang in there with me.  You  may not hear from me daily, but I'm not going off the grid again.  THE Midwest Former Fat Girl is back!

Until next time!

Kates