theonlyjourneythatmatters

[theonlyjourneythatmatters]

Another day, another pound

So I know I said I was going to post yesterday, but I had a very long day and I was tired, so I didn't feel like it. I've struggled this week with motivation and energy and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because of this heat- I don't know.

But with that said, I'm here now. And I've learned a few things! As I've said before, I am no expert and do not claim to be. I just know what's been working for me and that I can share that knowledge and experience with ya'll. So here we go.

What I learned this week:

It's better to get your bulk calories in at the beginning of the day. Breakfast should be your heaviest calorie meal. If you prefer a light breakfast, then focus your calories at lunch. This is because you're more likely to work off those calories during the day than you are at night after dinner. I know a lot of people prefer a heavy dinner- but this is a major reason why that weight doesn't come off like you want it to. You're not burning off those dinner calories!

Everything you do burns calories. Well, I didn't JUST learn this- I've known this. But for some reason, it didn't click! So don't think ONLY strenuous exercise will help you burn calories. Of course, exercise will help you burn them faster in a shorter amount of time, but if you can't get to the gym every day, you're still burning calories.

My apple watch tracks everything. I wear it from the time I get up in the morning til I'm ready to lay down for the night. And what's better than counting my steps? It counts the calories burned, too! Adding this at the end of the night helps me keep a better estimate of what I've taken in vs put out for the day for calories. Do yourself a favor- invest in something that keeps track of that (watch, fitbit, etc). It is well worth the money especially for weight loss.

Sundays are for meal-prep!!!

I meal prep for the following week(s) on Sundays. I typically prep every other Sunday for my work lunches. I do -not- meal prep for dinners.

Every Sunday, I prep my snacks for the week (usually strawberries and blue berries). If there's a new item I want to eat, I'll prep that up as well. Today, I wanted to add cabbage soup to the work lunch mix. SO, that's what I did. I made it in the instant pot, so this is the instant pot recipe- but this can be adapted for a regular stove top. I included pictures for reference so ya'll can see the sizes.

I also decided to meal-prep some breakfast; which I do not normally do. But the meal replacement shakes don't seem to be working as well as they had been previously, so I'm going to retire them for a bit.

Cabbage Soup

Ingredients:

2 heads cabbage, medium; chopped in large chunks

3 pieces of thick sliced bacon (I used Great Value brand); chopped and cooked

1 15oz can tomato sauce (Great Value)

1 bag Premium matchstick carrots (Bolthouse Farms- 3.5 oz bag)

1 sweet Vidalia onion, medium size; chopped in small pieces

1 tbsp. of the following: course sea salt, ground black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, Slap ya Mama Cajun seasoning (or Tony Cacheres- I like my soup to have a bit of a kick, but you can decrease or increase this amount to suit your tastes)

7 cups water (divided- explained in steps)

Directions:

Put the instant pot on sauté and set for 20 minutes. Chop the 3 pieces of bacon into bite sized pieces and begin to cook them until brown. (I cooked mine a little longer so the crisp wasn't completely lost in the soup)

While the bacon is cooking, start cutting up both heads of cabbage. Cut them into 1-1 & 1/2 inch chunks after removing the core. Set aside in large bowl.

Once the bacon is cooked to your liking, add 1/2 cup of water to "deglaze" the pot. This gets up all of that stuck-to-the-bottom flavor that you need. DO NOT DRAIN THE BACON. We need the grease.

Begin to add the cabbage a hand full at a time, making sure it mixes with the water and bacon pieces. Allow each batch to wilt down some before adding the next batch. Continue with the cabbage until it's all incorporated. Once complete, add 1/2 cup of water.

Add the carrots and mix with the cabbage and bacon mixture.

Add all of your seasonings into 1 cup of water and pour over the top of the cabbage. You can mix it now if you want to, or you can wait.

Set the instant pot to pressure cook, and set for 10 minutes. Once the 10 minutes is passed, allow the pot to Natural Release for another 10 minutes. After the Natural Release is done, use the manual release. * NOTE: this is a dish with a good amount of liquid. Use a potholder to dish towel to put over the valve when you do the manual release to avoid any splattering liquids.

Once the pressure is released, stir the soup and taste test it. Add any seasonings you feel like it may need.

Chop the onion into small pieces and add it to the soup. Add the entire can of tomato soup, and 5 more cups of water. Stir well. Pressure cook for another 2 minutes and allow to Natural Release for another 10 minutes. Give it one last stir and taste test, and enjoy!

Step one: Sauté the bacon. Ya'll see all that bacony flavored goodness stuck to the bottom?? We WANT that.

Step two: Cut the cabbage. Size isn't that important- but you do want bigger pieces as cabbage likes to shrink!

Step Four & Five: Mix the cabbage and carrots and allow to wilt a little bit

Finished product: big bowl of deliciousness

This recipe yields 20 cups of soup, which is 10 full servings. There are 48 calories and and 4.8g of proteins in a single cup of soup- but I recommend 2 cups being the serving size.

*This recipe can be changed to fit your specific needs. I do not add meat to mine other than the bacon, but you can add chicken, stew meat, etc. You can also add different veggies. I sometimes add canned diced tomatoes but I didn't have any today. Just be mindful of the added calories and adjust the recipe to reflect that (especially if you're using a calorie counter that allows you to create customized meals).

I got 6 meals out of it (would have been the full 10 but I only had 6 available soup bowls); my husband and I had a bowl each, and so did my son. There was some left but no one wanted it so it got thrown out. It was delicious and filling. And the best part? SUPER low on calories! Most soups are; and I will be adding more to my blog as I make them! I make a knock-off Olive Garden Zuppa Toscano, so that might be my next endeavor!

Breakfast:

For this meal-prep, I used eggs, Conecuh sausage links, bacon (same as the one I used for the soup), and sausage patties.

Breakfast # 1: Scrambled eggs, thick sliced bacon, and Conecuh sausage

Ingredients

2 eggs, scrambled

1 tsp butter (I used Country Crock Churn Style)

1 tsp shredded cheese (I used shredded Colby and Monterey jack Great Value brand)

1 oz Conecuh sausage (you can use any type of sausage- I just prefer this brand)

1.5 slices of thick cut bacon (Great Value brand)

Course sea salt

Ground black pepper

Directions

Make 2 eggs, scrambled with butter and whatever seasonings of your choice

Add the cheese to the eggs when they're almost done cooking

Cook the bacon in the air fryer for 6 minutes (time varies depending on how crispy you like your bacon)

Cook the Conecuh in the air fryer for 7 minutes

Put the eggs in to a freezer-safe bowl

Cut the Conecuh and bacon into smaller pieces and put on top

Freeze

This recipe yields 1 full serving. It has 295 calories and 20.5 grams of protein.

Breakfast 2: Scrambled eggs, Conecuh sausage, and sausage patties

Ingredients

eggs, scrambled

1 tsp butter (I used Country Crock Churn Style)

1 tsp shredded cheese (I used shredded Colby and Monterey jack Great Value brand)

2 sausage patties (I used Tennessee Pride)

1 oz Conecuh sausage (any brand, this one is just my preference)

Course sea salt

Ground black pepper

Directions

Make 2 eggs, scrambled with butter and whatever seasonings of your choice

Add the cheese to the eggs when the eggs are almost done cooking

Cook the sausage patties in the air fryer for 8 minutes or until cooked through

Cook the Conecuh in the air fryer for 7 minutes

Put the eggs in to a freezer-safe bowl

Cut the Conecuh and sausage patties into smaller pieces and put on top

Freeze

This recipe yields 1 full serving. It has 481 calories and 29.6g of protein.

But enough of the recipes......

Like I stated previously, it's important to get the bulk of your calories during the day so you have the opportunity to burn them off. I've just been walking. I walk at work, I walk around the house- when I shop, that's when I get a lot of steps in.

Granted, walking doesn't burn a lot of calories. However, if you have your tracker on, throughout the entire day, you'll have burned at least 1 full meal off. It is also especially important to stay hydrated. Water no only helps with cutting down muscle pain (when you exercise), drinking a full 8 oz of water before each meal and after can help you feel fuller faster, and feel fuller longer.

I purchased a QuiFit 1 Gallon Water Bottle from Amazon. It arrived today and I plan to use it at work. I have the worst time drinking enough at work. The water from the sink tastes funny. We have a fountain that fills water bottles, but and don't always remember to bring a bottle of water that I can refill later. The simplest solution was to buy a water bottle and keep it at work.

I think that's all for today, guys. I have school work to do! I'll make a post later next week (unless something cool happens before then that I need to mention) that details what types of foods I eat for dinner since I do not meal prep those.

Have a great day, and thanks for reading!

XOXO, Lauren <3

[theonlyjourneythatmatters]

So, let me preface this by saying that I did struggle figuring out food choices and how to get my calories in check. I struggled with a lot. But let me start from the beginning! This is going to be long- so buckle in. Also- get it out of your head that this is a "diet". This needs to be treated like a lifestyle change.

PHENTERMINE

I went to the Weight Loss Clinic in D'Iberville and got the Phentermine. It's not cheap by any stretch, but if you're like me and had zero energy or motivation, and you needed that jump start to get you started, it is worth it. The side effects for me have been mild. I barely slept the first week. They advise to take it early. I was taking it around 7:30-8:00 am. However, even though I barely slept, I did not feel exhausted and worn out the next morning- so there's that. It does make you sweat a lot, and if you're not eating enough, you will get shaky.

WATER WATER WATER

Water is a must, especially if you're taking the Phentermine. It can and WILL dehydrate you super quickly. Either buy a gallon of water to keep with you at all times, or invest in one of those large water bottles off of Amazon.

MEAL PREPPING

I did not wait to start eating better. The Dr at the clinic told me to focus on protein more so than anything else. So I did my research to find out what had the most protein in it. The obvious choices are meats- fish (very good for you, plus it has Omega-3 which is essential for heart health), chicken/turkey, and beef. I'm not a big chicken fan, but it is what it is.

Now, I love fruits and vegetables so paring the sides with the protein meals was not difficult for me.

Most vegetables are not very high in protein- they're also not high in calories. Raw, fresh vegetables anyway. A medium cucumber is about 4 calories. FOUR. WHOLE. CALORIES. For one single raw cucumber! Frozen or prepared vegetables are a completely different story. Fruit, on the other hand, can be high in calories- but the serving sizes are pretty decent.

Snacks were a little more tricky because my favorite thing to snack on is chips. And how many calories are in chips? A LOT. Too much for me to be comfortable giving up 1/3 of my caloric intake for the day, that's for sure. So, I opted for chicharrons and veggie straws.

You can absolutely tailor the meals to your liking- just be mindful of the calories and serving sizes.

Now, let's talk about actual meal prepping. Go ahead and get your eye rolling and sighs out of the way now. I felt the same way ya'll did. Meal prepping takes time. It takes planning. And most importantly, it takes dedication. This is a super important step that you do NOT want to skip if you're serious about losing weight.

For me, it helps when I'm at work because it prevents me from having to go to Taco Bell or somewhere to grab a quick lunch. And don't get me wrong- if you want Taco Bell for lunch, go get it. Do not deprive yourself of the things you want- but work it into your calories. Depriving yourself of the things you like is one of the major reasons "diets" fail. But I digress.

I went to Walmart and bought partitioned meal prep containers.

Just simple containers with clear lids. I'm sure you could find those on Amazon as well- but I didn't want to wait. I also went to dollar tree and got the round containers for my fruit.

BREAKFAST

My breakfast was something simple: cottage cheese and fruit. Some days I had the cottage cheese flips (that had fruit in jelly) and other day I just had a yogurt. Now, I got to Biloxi Nutrition and get one of their meal replacement shakes and that keeps me full all the way through lunch. My favorites are: Banana Nut Bread, Banana Pudding, and strawberry cheesecake. All of the shakes are 220-240 calories so they're great if you're trying to stay under- or if you've blown them on other meals, you could get one for lunch or dinner instead of breakfast. I also stopped going to Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks for a coffee in the morning. If I'm going to eat, I'll grab an iced protein coffee from Biloxi Nutrition. Very few calories and it tastes great.

LUNCH

I cooked all the food for 2 weeks' worth of lunch. I bought chicken and tilapia for my proteins, and black beans and squash/zucchini for my sides. The chicken and fish was cooked in the air fryer with no oil. I did season it with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, and some Slap Ya Mama! seasoning. I think I may have also put lemon pepper on some of them. I tried to mix up the flavors so I didn't get bored eating them- different flavors meant it felt like a whole new meal.

I also bought some steak medallions and shrimp. I did buy some frozen, premade veggies: broccoli in cheese sauce, a brussels sprout and carrot medley, and some butternut squash spirals.

I bought minute maid brown rice and mixed it with the seasoned black beans. This gave me a little more of a full feeling (carbs make you feel full) and added texture to the beans. Brown rice is better for you than white, but if you prefer white, you do you, boo boo!

The sweet mini peppers are just halved with cream cheese and Everything Bagel Seasoning (I found it at Walmart). Then I just had cut up strawberries and whole blueberries for something sweet. I started eating those with breakfast and that one container lasts me almost all day.

DINNER

Depending on my calorie count for the rest of the day, my dinners vary. This is a spinach wrap stuffed with 2 pieces of turkey bacon, 1/4 of an avocado, spinach, thinly sliced onion and cucumber, Bitten creamy strawberry dressing, and medium heat banana pepper rings. The cucumbers I allowed to sit in red wine vinegar and a little bit of canola oil while I prepared the rest of my dinner. And the peppers are the same as what I do for lunches.

Sometimes I'll have a big salad with a lot of added stuff (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, lots of veggies, chicken, steak, or shrimp, olives, etc).

SNACKS

I usually eat trail mix, or the 100 calorie pack of nuts. I sometimes pair that with fruit, turkey bites, and/or a stick of colby jack cheese. I also enjoy chicharrons (BBQ is my favorite),

CALORIES

So I know I'm talking a lot about calories. So how do you figure out how many calories something has? Well, for starters, it's on the back of most packing along with the other nutrition information. Duh. But I would assume your question would be more along the lines of "How do I know how many calories are in my meal?" This has a simple answer. Get a calorie counter! There are plenty of free ones that you can use. I use MyNetDiary. Some of the options do want you to use the Premium paid service, but for the last 3 weeks, the free options have worked just fine for me. This app will ask you what your weight goal is, and will set a daily calorie intake for you based on your current weight, your goal weight, and when you want to reach that goal. It will adjust automatically based on your entries.

You can also link smart watches and smart scales to it.

On this app, you can track your calories by meal and snack. You can also track your weight loss, water intake, and goals. What I love about this app is it allows you to scan barcodes of the food you're eating and it automatically inputs the calories and nutritional information. AND it figures out the calories for you, based on how many servings you input. You can find the serving size on the package.

This doesn't work for everything, though. There are some things that you can't scan (restaurants, the drinks I get from Biloxi Nutrition). So with these, you can go online and search the calories or you can ask (Biloxi Nutrition has their values listed on their menu boards).

Portion control is imperative. Especially for calorie counting. It seems crazy that you can have only 3 mini pickles per serving- but pair it with a few almonds and a little bit of cheese and beef jerky and you have a low calorie snack and it's not going to feel like you're cheating yourself.

Log absolutely everything that you eat on the app. You may struggle for the first week but you WILL get it. It takes research and practice, and detailing your menu to the things that you enjoy.

GYM MEMBERSHIP

I got active. I joined the gym, and I actually go and work out. The best part of being active and doing workouts, is that it BURNS calories! What's so great about that? Well, let's say that the calorie app said you need 1500 calories a day to hit your goal weight in the time you allotted. You go to the gym and do a moderate workout on the treadmill or bike (or whatever). You burn 400 calories. Your 1500 limit just went up to 1900. Now, that doesn't mean you have to reach that limit- but you now have more wiggle room to eat something that may be a little higher in calories. The gym I go to has a separate app that you can download and scan the QR code on the machine- it automatically logs it so when I go to enter my exercise on the calorie counter, I can just pull the app up and see my total for the day rather than trying to remember it later on.

I don't get crazy with working out. I DO NOT go every day. The general rule of thumb is 30 minutes of moderate activity per day. Some weeks I go twice, some weeks three times. This also varies based on my schedule. However, when I go, I make sure to spend at least one full hour working out (So if I go twice, that's really 4 days; three times is 6 days, etc). So if you can't make it to the gym every day for 30 minutes, on the days you can go, double your time and do light activity during the days you're unable to go. 30 minutes a day seems like a waste to me- so I make it count when I do go.

One thing you have to remember: muscle weighs more than fat. So while you may see the scale rise in number (if you're focusing on muscle building), you will also see your clothing size shrinking. DO NOT let this discourage you! If you're working out and your clothes are loose but the scale says 5 lbs heavier, you're not failing- you're gaining muscle.

Also, learn to go to the gym by yourself, and be okay with the fact that you may not always have a companion to go with you. Sure, it's nice to have someone along with you- but you're never going to get anywhere in life if you're having to wait on someone to be with you in order to do what you want.

APPLE WATCH AND SMART SCALE

I also started wearing my apple watch every day. This keeps track of my heart rate and my step count (which you can also log on the app- I usually don't unless it's a workout day).

I purchased a smart scale that I can link to my phone. When I weigh myself, it gives me other measurements too. I purchased the RENPHO Body Fat Scale Smart BMI Scale Digital Bathroom Wireless Weight Scale, Body Composition Analyzer with Smartphone App sync with Bluetooth, 396 lbs - Black. It connects to my phone and keeps track of everything in the app. It shows me my BMI, body fat %, water, muscle mass, etc. It shows you how much weight you've lost or gained since your last weigh-in. It also shows how much your BMI has decreased and how much your body fat has decreased. You can set a goal on this app as well- but I haven't.

Another MAJOR thing about a scale- you're going to be tempted to weigh yourself every day to see if you've made progress. DO NOT DO THIS! This is a leading factor in why people fail with "diets". They weigh themselves daily- see no changes (or see the scale go up) and get discouraged. I'd suggest no more than once a week- twice if you must. I try to weigh myself every Saturday (since it was on a Saturday when I started this journey and my initial weight was taken the day before). If I want to see how my week is going, I MAY weigh myself on a Wednesday.

Here are some tips about weighing yourself:

Do not weigh yourself daily

Weigh yourself once a week

Weigh yourself in the morning- you weigh more in the afternoon/evening because you're carrying around everything you've had to eat and drink.

Weigh yourself naked. You'd be surprised how much clothes and shoes actually weigh.

Don't get discouraged by the number on the scale- again, if your clothes are fitting looser, then you're going in the right direction.

Also, please remember- you did not get to the weight you are over night and you're not going to lose it over night. If you're looking for a fast, low-hassle weight loss program, gastric bypass surgery may be more your speed.

WHAT I LEAVE YOU WITH...

If you made it to the bottom of this post, CONGRATULATIONS! I know it was a long read with a lot of information. You may still have questions and concerns- you may still be confused and unsure what your next step is. But the fact that you got to this means you're ready to start.

You've crossed the biggest hurdle, which is understanding that it's not going to always be easy to make the changes you need in order to see the weight loss you want. You're taking the first steps to a healthier, happier you.

If you have any questions or need any help, feel free to reach out to me. I will give advice and suggestions if I am able to help get you on the right path.

[theonlyjourneythatmatters]

How it all began

Firstly, I'd like to welcome you to my blog. This was requested and I figured I'd give it a shot. If what I'm doing can help others lose weight, then I'm all for it and will help out where I can.

To be quite honest, this "journey" began years ago. One day you're happy and enjoying life- not caring about much....least of all your body. Then one day...BOOM...you're worried about that tummy pooch. You begin to obsess over it. You think of ways to get rid of it. You diet for a few days and realize that diet food sucks and you're just going to have to learn to live with the extra weight, right?

So that happens for what, a month or two. Then it's summer time and you absolutely LOVE going to the beach. I mean it is your favorite thing to do. You get jazzed up, put on that bathing suit, then look in the mirror. All of that excitement drains out of you and here you are back in your feelings- once again vowing to "make the change" and stick to that diet.

But, again, after a few weeks, you slump back into your old habits. Fast forward a few years and you're 50 lbs heavier. You're miserable, your out of shape, and walking up a flight of stairs winds you half way up. You're diagnosed with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or a multitude of other weight-related issues.

You can't find cute clothes to wear anymore. Plus-sized clothes are frumpy. And the cute ones cost an arm and a leg. Now, you just shrug, figuring you're going to be this size for the rest of your life.

So how do you get yourself out of that mindset? There's no simple answer. You're either ready, or you're not. It's honestly that simple.

I always had an excuse to not "start" eating better or watching my weight. "Healthy food is too expensive", "I don't like going to the gym alone", "The diets don't work", "I don't know what I'm doing". Now, that last one- that couldn't have been more true. I didn't know what I was doing. I thought eating smaller portions was the answer. It is- however, it's WHAT you eat that matters; not necessarily how much.

At the beginning of 2021, after the Covid 19 pandemic started to level out a bit, I decided that whatever didn't make me happy or that was toxic in my life, wasn't going to have a place anymore. That was everything from friendships, family, jobs- and eventually, my eating habits and my weight.

At the end of July, I decided enough was enough and I was tired of the excuses I was giving myself. I made the decision to get on phentermine and change the way I looked at food. I did my research on what I needed to/should eat. How many calories I needed to reach my goal weight. I had to decide what I wanted my goal weight to be. I had to join the gym. And even more so than joining, I actually had to go.

Getting started with food was difficult. I'm not going to lie and tell you it was easy figuring stuff out. You have to weigh/measure food out, you have to look at your calories. You have to pair foods together that are going to keep you full for longer. You have to decide what route you want to go- whether it's cutting carbs out entirely, limiting them, not limiting them, increasing your protein, etc. Once you have that figured out, food selections become much easier.

I am on my third week of my self-designed program and I have lost 7 lbs. The "goal" is 2 lbs a week. So far, I'm ahead of schedule.

My next post will be about what I've done/am doing- it will include specifics, pictures, and links to all of the products/items I use to help me get through my day with as little frustration as possible.