When I first started NS, I was not a fan of the breakfast pastries (with the exception of the muffins!).  I couldn't stomach the scones or the cranberry orange pastry. 

One cold morning, I didn't have anything left but the scones, so I decided to preheat the oven to 450, put the scone on a cookie sheet, and bake it for five minutes.  I don't know what happened, but the heat somehow made the overly dense block of wood taste absolutely delicious. 

This morning I did the same thing with the cranberry orange pastry, sprayed some I Can't Believe It's Not Butter on top, and I was in absolutely taste bud heaven.  Delicious.

When I first got a shipment of the NS wraps, I was bitterly disappointed.  Too much sauce, not enough meat.  I gave each of the three "flavors" a shot, and the first two, wrapped in the provided tortilla, were just too saucy. 

I had one more left: the southwestern chicken wrap.  I wasn't going to eat it, then one day I had a vision.  A vision of a leafy green salad, topped with the wrap fillings.  I tried it tonight with the southwestern chicken filling, topped it with a tomato and some salsa, and I was right!  It was DELICIOUS.

I am now changing my order to include all three different types of wraps so that I can try the other two on a salad as well.  If anyone has any suggestions for toppings, let me know!

Didn't really do so well over the holidays, but I have forgiven myself.  I even gained weight, but I gotta tell you, I had a great time doing it. 

But now I'm back in the swing of things, and I'm finally back at the gym.  Two days last week, two days this week, and it's only Tuesday!  Got a plan for a gym day tomorrow, too!

Also over these last two days, I've followed NS pretty religiously.  I had an itty bitty brownie today and an extra piece of 2% cheese, but other than that, it's been glorious.

Finally, I wanted to share a gem of dinner with you guys.  I made myself a grilled chicken panini tonight: Arnold's Whole Wheat Sandwitch Twins, Arugala, 2% cheese (my extra slice), NS Grilled Chicken Patty.  stick it on the George Foreman Grill and toast.  Delicious.  Really wanted to have two, but I refrained.  I can always have another one tomorrow :)

On a completely unrelated note, I started another blog on WordPress.  I'm spending this year counting my blessings instead of making resolutions, and this blog elaborates on one blessing in my life per day for each of the 365 days in 2010.  If you're interested, the address is www.luckyred2010.wordpress.com. 

Glad to be back!

Thank goodness for Nutrisystem. 

I've had a rough couple of days: too many holidays, too much junk, too much wine.

I was thinking about caving and ordering Chinese food, no matter how bad it would make me feel inside, and then there was a knock on my door.  It was my new shipment! 

After unpacking, I decided to try the Orange Chicken instead of ordering delivery. 

New shipment saved me from doing something I was definitely going to regret!

I have to admit it.  The first time I had the NS macaroni and cheese, I was highly disappointed.  I love mac' and cheese, and this just tasted wrong.

However, this was before I realized that I can use NS food to cook dinner instead of just eating it.  For example, tonight, instead of just eating the mac' and cheese, I added a tomato, a teaspoon of chili seasoning, and then microwaved it for a minute.  It almost tasted like one of my favorite childhood meals: chili mac.  The only thing missing was the ground beef. 

It was a nice way to include one of my dinner veggies that didn't include a salad.  I'm kind of sick of salads.

For my next experiment, I'm going to add stir-fry vegetables to one of the Asian inspired entrees.  In fact, I can't think of any of the noodle based entrees that wouldn't be delicious with some extra vegetables stirred in.  It would definitely make it look like more, and it would probably be more filling.

I haven't been the best of "dieters" since I started Nutrisystem two months ago.  Regardless, I have to say that I still love the variety and convenience, despite the fact that I haven't lost all that much weight.  I can honestly say that it has made eating more enjoyable.

Who knew?

If you haven't tried it yet, do it!  It's really good! A little gummy, but the flavor is great.  Very filling, too.

Went to the doctor today, and my weight was six pounds more than it was when I weighed in yesterday morning.  Strange.  I'm going to go with the lower number.

I felt really good about myself yesterday.

I managed to stick exclusively to Nutrisystem foods (an accomplishment I haven't been able to brag about in about three weeks), and never once did I feel deprived.  I let myself have a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup at lunchtime, but I didn't binge on four of them.  I let myself have some extra fat free cheddar cheese on my taco salad (made with lettuce, the vegetable fajita entree, and salsa), and I didn't feel guilty about it.  I ended the night with chocolate chip pudding (delicious), and even though I felt a few hunger pangs as I was going to sleep at 11:30pm, I knew I wasn't going to keel over and die because of them.

Day one back on the wagon: complete.

Day two back on the wagon feels much the same.  Had my peanut butter cup (can't resist them) and a cookie that one of my students bought for me (how could I refuse?), but other than that it's been smooth sailing. 

I think the trick is to space out your eating over the course of the day.  I found yesterday and today that if I eat my breakfast entree and protein/dairy at home, then the fruit later on in the morning when I get hungry again, I stay satisfied longer.  Same thing with the dinnertime vegetables.

It takes three weeks to make a habit; 2 days down, 19 to go.

I went on a bit of a hiatus from Nutrisystem the last two weeks.  I was under a lot of stress, and I was low on funds, so I thought it would be a GREAT idea to eat a lot of fast food.  Not so much.

On Wednesday night before I left for Thanksgiving, I watched "The Biggest Loser: Where are They Now?"  The did a story on a previous winner who gained all of his weight back, which is pretty much where I find myself these days.  About four years ago, I lost 40 pounds, and I've almost put all of it back on.  What really touched me about the "The Biggest Loser" on Wednesday is what Bob said to the former winner; he said, "It's okay."

During my holiday and on the way home, I reminded myself that it was okay.  That all I had to do was start over fresh, and start over today.  I got home, took stock of the NS food that I have in my pantry and went to the store. 

When I was in the check-out line, I looked into my cart and discovered that when I'm eating well, I love the look of my shopping cart.  Fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, sparkling water: it looks like happiness feels.  There's nothing happy about filling your cart with crap.  There's nothing happy about stuffing your face with french friends or Thai food because you've had a hard day.  There's happiness in knowing that it's okay to be where I am right now when I find myself committed to change. 

My biggest challenge is reminding myself of this commitment when faced with daily temptation.  I was thinking I could get a tattoo on my forehead, but that's not a very good idea.

Here's another thing I discovered: the Mint Chocolate Crunch Bar is amazing.

Tonight I decided to have the flame-broiled beef patty for dinner.  I've been getting a little tired of the pasta dishes, so I figured, "Why not?" 

I was expecting the beef patty to be "soft canned" like the rest of the meat in the NS meals.  I did not expect what looked like a styrofoam replica of a burger patty.  It kind of reminded me of a Necco wafer, but big and burger-like.  Add boiling water, let sit for two minutes, and...burger??

I'm not one to shy away from new things (perhaps one of the reasons I've gained so much weight), so I was not about to let the Necco burger get the best of me.  I cooked it, added it to a whole wheat bun with some mustard and lettuce, and amazingly enough, it tasted like a real burger!  I really enjoyed it!

Next time, I'm going to pile it high with onion, lettuce, tomato, reduced fat cheese, mushroom, ketchup, mustard, and good times.

What a pleasant surprise :)

I didn't know what to expect this morning when I stepped on the scale.  I had a big time on Saturday night; I was a tad indulgent with beer and the likes on Halloween and I'm still feeling the after-effects.  It just goes to show that, while I'm only 28, I am not as young as I once was.

On the bright side, I ate my NS dinner before I went out and avoided the Mexican take-out that all of my friends ate and I really didn't feel like I missed out on anything.  That was a plus.  On the gloom and doom side, I ate fried chicken and biscuits for brunch yesterday in an effort to stave off my impending hangover, which did not work.

So when I stepped on the scale this morning, I didn't know what to expect.  I was pleased to see that I lost 1.2 pounds, bringing the three week total to 6.4.  My goal this week is to try and avoid indulgences to the best of my ability and to add the gym to my daily routine.  We're in a slow couple of weeks on my yearbook staff's deadline cycle, so that should help with time management. 

I'm also expecting a new shipment of NS foods any day now, which is good because I'm one entree away from having to eat split pea soup, and I have a gag-inducing aversion to all things "pea". 

I had my second weigh-in today, and I was up .2. 

I'm not surprised; I didn't exactly follow the plan last week.  Mexican food one night, overloading on pizza another. 

However, there is a bright spot.  I feel better about my habits than I have in a long time.  I'm not constantly eating junk or ordering take-out three to four nights a week.  I'm happy with the food on Nutrisystem.  I just need to have more willpower.

I also need to start working out.  I put my gym bag in the front seat of my car this morning so that it would taunt me on my way home from work, but I forgot to put socks in it, so I didn't go.  Any excuse is a good excuse.  Not the best of mindsets, but I'm going to throw a pair of socks in there tonight and go after school tomorrow.

It takes three weeks to make a habit; this week isn't over yet.