Staying on track in Branson

Monday was a bit of a challenge with traveling to Branson, taking in a show at night (Pierce Arrow) and getting situated at the Motel (Whispering Hills)  I doubled up my last 2 meals with 2 Mango Soft Serve.  The ice cubes are too large for the blender to chop, so I brought a metel meat tenderizer mallet and put ice cubes in a towel, wrapping the towel around the ice and hammered it until the ice was pulverized enough to work.

Today, for Breakfast, I mixed my pancake mix and put it in the Belgium Waffle maker in the Hospitality Room, where everyone was enjoying scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, donuts, etc. etc.!!!   I fixed Darby a BlueBerry waffle, then made mine.  Note to self:  Next time spray Pam on BOTH top and bottom!  I had to scrape the waffle off the top onto the plate.  It was really STUCK! 

We went to 12 Irish Tenors at 2PM today, then went to Ruby Tuesday's for supper.  I got them to fix the Tilapia without crumbs or lemon-butter, they put a cajun seasoning on it instead.  Tasted great.  Got mashed cauliflower and balsamic tomatoes with it and stayed OP.  Let my wife and Darby eat the cheese rolls! :)

Going to Kelly Van Burch, Magician tonite!

Trying something new...

Tried walking around 3 blocks, 17 Minutes, today.  Ramping up the exercise.

Tried Chicken Wild Rice Soup.  Had to add salt and some seasonings to get it palatable, then it wasn't so bad.  Probably won't buy any more.  I had just ordered 1 as a sample to try.

Tried a Peanut Butter Soft Serve and put a TBL of Peanut Butter in it.  Yummy!

Getting everything ready for our trip to Branson next week.

Thursday Weigh-in

Only lost 3.3 lbs this week.  Guess it is time to get serious about daily exercise! :)

Stew?

I tried the Vegetable Beef Stew today....it tasted ok, but it was soup, not stew.  Stew is thick....this wasn't!

Also, had Cauliflower Pizza for the 3rd time for supper!  I can't believe it has cauliflower in it...can't taste it at all!  Cut it in 4 pieces and was able to pick the pieces up and hold them while eating too!

Typical Day's Food

Today, my menu read like this:

Medifast pancake mix, that I made a waffle with for Breakfast with Sugar Free Syrup.

Lunch was Medifast Chili that I added chili seasoning and a few spoonfuls of Salsa to.

Afternoon Medifast meal was a Strawberry Crème Shake.

Supper was my Lean & Green meal that consisted of 2 Fully Cooked Chicken Patties that I heated in the Microwave, then a few sprays of “I can’t believe it isn’t butter” and sprinkles of Lemon Pepper seasoning.  Also 3 cups of Lettuce with 2 TBL Fat Free Dressing and some seasonings and olives for my Green part.

Early evening meal was Chocolate Mint Soft Serve (as in Ice Cream).

Late night meal was Lemon Meringue Crunch Bar.

So I have my 5 & 1, 5 Medifast Meals and 1 Lean & Green today!  All of this amounted to   881 Calories.

Tried a new Restaurant...

I'm slowly adding exercise to my plan.  On Friday I edged the entire lawn and mowed the front lawn.  Sprained my left wrist in the process, probably horsing the edger through the dirt that had built up.  Probably need to do this more often than every 2 years! :)

Saturday I mowed the back lawn and we walked 3 blocks and back to a Garage Sale.

Sunday we went to Ruby Tuesday's for lunch.  I had the Grilled Salmon, vinaigrette tomatoes, grilled zucchini & mashed cauliflower!  We aren't allowed to have potatoes, so this was awesome!

I had some problems adjusting to having eaten my Lean & Green meal at lunch.  Could have been mostly psychological too, it seemed like I was starved after supper time. :)

Cauliflower Pizza! YAY!

Got weighed this morning and I’m down another 5.7 lbs to 329.8!!!

My Weight Loss Ticker

 

Made Cauliflower Pizza again, this time with mushrooms, black olives & turkey pepperoni.

Great Saying found on Medifast Discussion Boards

"The pain of discipline hurts less than the pain of regret."

Muffin Recipe

I made another batch of those delicious muffins today.  Instead of 2 tsp of cinnamon I used 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp of apple pie spice.  I also made Peanut Butter Soft Serve and added a dab of real peanut butter!  (PB is allowed as a snack)  Yummy!

Tried another Muffin Recipe:

Muffin Recipe

I also like muffins and make oatmeal and pancakes into muffins.

Mix any flavor oatmeal with 4 to 5 TBSP water, put in the bottom of a rounded coffee cup (no need to spray!) and microwave for 1 minute to 1 minute 15 seconds
I make the pancakes the same way, but use only about 3 TBSP water.

Discovered Restaurants work on Medifast

My wife had an appointment with at Iowa Heart Center this morning to get her heart and Defibrillator/Pacemaker checked.  Afterwards we went to Cracker Barrel for Lunch.  I found out they have a "Low Carb" page on their menu.  I had grilled trout with turnip greens, green beans & salad.  First time going to a Restaurant on MF and felt good being able to stay OP!

After that we went to the Super Target in Urbandale and I bought a Hamilton Beach Single Serve Blender.  It is on Sale for $12. (14 oz.)  I was telling one of the ladies at our Church Sunday, that is also on MF, that it was such a pain fixing things like Soft Serve in our large Blender because it took so long just to clean it and she told me about this one.  Wow, the Choc Mint Soft Serve really tasted great, ate it right out of the mixer container!

I feel very good about getting thru this weekend, because Saturday was only one of 3 events I attended where "off program" food was available! On Friday we went to the monthly Senior meal event for the Seniors at our Church and they had BBQ pulled pork with sauce and without, so I was able to have OP Meat. Then I had some plain salad and green veggies. I passed on everything else including Homemade churned Ice Cream!!! I just kept repeating to myself something I learned at Weight Watchers, "Nothing tastes as good and thin feels!" :)

Then yesterday was our Church Picnic and everyone brought a salad and a dessert and they supplied grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. I had one hamburger without the bun and green veggies and my water! The desserts were easier to avoid because they were all on a large table, but the watermelon was next to the salads! Yipes! I didn't touch it though! Because there are several others at our Church on MF, we are keeping each other accountable, which makes it much easier. And, several of their relatives would check on me to make sure I was staying OP! LOL! The reason I joined is because Brad Westphal had lost 61 lbs in 10 weeks!

So, I feel pretty good about having gone to 3 events with food involved and staying OP!!!

This morning I had the MF scrambled eggs and put 2 spoons of Salsa on them...yummy!

The Iowa Energy Forum took us up and back on a chartered bus that had a restroom on it. They gave us a goodie bag with a digital camera in it. They gave us a buffet lunch when we got there, and I had Chix breast sliced and the salad was pretty plain with carrot slivers and a few cherry tomatoes. I put about a TBL of Italian dressing on it and that was my Light & Green! I just stayed away from where the free food, like BBQ, DQ Blizzards & Pizza were, so had no problems! Took along a Peanut Butter Crunch bar and a Oatmeal Raisin Bar and was able to stay OP ok! (By the way, I wrote in Rick Perry for my choice. He got 718 write-ins.) I got close enough to take a picture of Chuck Grassley, Rick Santorum & Huckabee.

Iowa Straw Poll Adventure??

I am going to the Iowa Straw Poll tomorrow, so that should be fun, with all that free food~! LOL~! Don't worry, I'm NOT going to succumb to those temptations! Taking 3 bars with me to keep me on track! It is doubtful they will have anything even close to the Lean & Green, so I will probably eat that when I get back home at 7pm. I'm going on the bus provided by the Iowa Energy Forum.

Starting Off......

I am 100% Danish and my name is Don, hence "Danedon"
A little about myself:

I just started last Friday and got weighed this morning for the first time since starting and lost 12 lbs my first week! Actually just 6 days, but I was cutting down last Thursday.
I have tried many different diets like Low Carb, Low Fat, Atkins & Weight Watchers. I lost 111 lbs in 14 months on WW in 1976, but put it all back on plus when they changed the program and I got discouraged. I've gone back to WW several times but never had the same success, I think mainly because it isn't as regimented as it was back then.

Recently I lost 30 lbs from my highest weight of 367, by not eating after supper, but had put 10 of that back on. I have friends in our church that are on MF, one man which has lost 61 lbs in 10 weeks and that got me motivated to give this a try. I really like that I get to set my goal, not the Metropolitan Insurance Company's unrealistic weight chart that most Diet Plans use! The idea that EVERY man in the world that is 6' 3" can weigh the same is ludicrous! Humans are not clones of one another; each is different in may different ways, structurally.

I am 69 and retired. My wife, Maryann, and son, Darby, and I live in Des Moines, Iowa 6 months and in Florida 6 months during the winter as snowbirds! My wife has been in remission for 7 years from Non-Hodgkin’s T-Cell 30 Lymphoma. Our son is Down Syndrome and is 39.
My last job was IT with Nationwide Insurance here in Des Moines.

2 days ago I made the Muffins that make 6 meals, from 2 Pudding, 2 Eggs & 2 Oatmeal. Really great! Tonight I made the Cauliflower Pizza~! Awesome! I keep thinking I'm cheating! LOL! I let my wife taste the pizza and she said, "Maybe I should go on this diet!"

Muffin Recipe

2 pkgs oatmeal
2 pkgs eggs
2 pkgs pudding or shake (vanilla) I used the pudding.
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup water

Spray muffin tin with PAM.
Divide batter between 6 muffin tins.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Each muffin is one Mf meal.

Cauliflower Pizza

Steam some fresh or frozen cauliflower first, just until tender but not mushy. Drain and let it cool completely. Then use a ricer or a cheese grater to grate the cauliflower to make 1 measuring cup full (not packed).

Mix 1 c grated cauliflower with 1/4c Eggbeaters (or 1 egg), 1/2 tsp oregano and 1/2c shredded low moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese. (You can use reduced fat; I used Tillamook pre-shredded). Spread this mixture on a cookie sheet that has been *generously* sprayed with Pam. I use Reynolds Non-Stick Release Aluminum. Use a spatula and spread/pat it into a circle about 10" or so around. Put this into a preheated 440 degree oven for 12-15 minutes, until it is very nicely browned. The edges should look almost burnt.

Take the crust out of the oven (if you used parchment, slide it off and remove the paper at this point) and top with 3T of your favorite no-sugar-added pizza sauce. Then sprinkle with 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella. You can now add your favorite pizza toppings. If you want a Lean & Green meal you should add 1/4 c veggies... I used diced canned tomatoes. Otherwise, add whatever you like: turkey pepperoni, black olives, peppers, mushrooms, etc.

Put back into the oven under the broiler, watching carefully, just until cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and cut into wedges. Enjoy!