Finding Johanna

I am freaking out! I have been seeing the same weight for over a week at home on my digital scale and it was making me feel very defeated and like all my work was just not paying off. After church today I went to the gym and kicked some booty - I will contribute it to my cute new gym pants and my old "fit and fierce" shirt I haven't work in almost TWO YEARS! As I walked past the medical scale I decided I would see what it showed. Put it on my normal bracket.... uh no? Go down a bracket???? Ok.... wait why am I still pushing it down? IS THIS RIGHT? IS THIS RIGHT? Well I honestly don't know if it is right. Which scale do I trust? I feel like a medical scale is more accurate and I feel like the fact that my digital scale hasn't budged for over a week is a big indication something might be not right. I weighed at the gym here in Marshall and I haven't used that scale in over a year so I don't really know how to compare that. I decided tomorrow at...

It's pretty ironic that I am writing about being healthy as I watch cooking channels show unique sweets which is showing me deliciousness that shouldn't be on my mind.  This past week I have not lost one single pound. SERIOUSLY? Can TV make you fat?  I have been doing really well and I am getting somewhat discouraged by it. When you work hard to lose weight and you don't it makes it easy to give up. I am not going to but the thought has crossed my mind.  I went to Kroger after work today and got stuff to meal prep for next week. I walked by all kinds of things I would have previously just grabbed and thrown in my cart without a thought of if it was good or bad. Today I made sure every thing I placed in my cart was something I wouldn't regret.  I got butternut squash, purple yams, and broccoli to roast up with baked chicken.  I also got Ezekiel Bread. I have heard of Ezekiel bread for a long time but never got around to trying it.  "Take a...

I made a seriously delicious soup tonight I have to share it with you 1 onion chopped 1 tbs garlic paste drizzle of olive oil 4 chicken cutlets cut into bite size pieces 4 cups of raw kale 2 cans of organic no sodium diced tomato 2 cans of organic white beans drained 1 carton of organic low sodium chicken broth In a large dutch oven I cooked down the onion and garlic with a drizzle of olive oil and then added the chicken and some seasonings. Once that was cooked I added in the kale until it wilted down. I then put in the tomato and beans and chicken broth and let it simmer for thirty minutes. It is SOOOOO wonderful. Even Emma loved it and I couldn't believe I had my one year old eating Kale!

It's been two weeks and I want pizza... BAD. I told my hubby yesterday I wanted pizza so bad would it be ok if I just was fat. He said no and that pizza wasn't even that good. Of all things to quit for pizza was definitely not worth it. He is right but I was having a major craving. I was actually exceptionally hungry yesterday. Im hoping that is a sign of my metabolism going HECK YEAH! and burning more fat. It made me kind of want to carb out though. This morning I weighed in at a total of 9 pounds gone.  I decided to go to the gym before church this morning. It feels nice to go in the morning and get it out of the way. I ended up doing squats today and my thighs hurt so bad I shake when I am sitting and standing haha.  Today for lunch I had my chocolate meal replacement shake and I decided to add to it a sprinkle of cinnamon and cayenne and OMG it was so good. It tasted like a mexican chocolate cookie and I want to have it that way every tim...

I literally just posted this photo BUT I'VE ONLY LOST ONE POUND!? It's hard not to get frustrated when you lost 7 pounds in one week to go to 1 pound the next. WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED? I'm eating well, I am working out, I am taking my supplements, and I am drinking a ton of water. I mean I didn't gain weight so that's always a plus. I guess over all  8 pounds in two weeks is still a great step. I could have never started and gained more weight while I was in Dallas and Houston had I not started this decision to be conscious about eating healthy.  Yes I realize with so much weight to lose the first two weeks isn't the time to be discouraged and change anything. My friend told me yesterday "If you are tired of not getting results stop quitting" And she is right. I have no intention of quitting doing what I am doing, but it is nice to be rewarded by that scale for the hard work you put forth. And again my friend said "If you keep do...

Day 6 - 9 I was on a school trip to Dallas. Being away not only makes it hard to stay connected to my blog it also makes it hard to stay on track with eating options. DALLAS DAY ONE:  We went to a food truck park... it was awful. I had a meal shake before and then ate an avocado at the park. I sat and watched others eat street tacos, noodle bowls, and ice cream sandwiches. I cried on the inside. At dinner we went to Spaghetti Warehouse and I had a salad with chicken, mushrooms, and a pesto vinegarette which very well had sugar in it. #FAIL It was a better option to me than the white pasta with creamy sauce or meatballs. At least I got in my veggies and protein and while I could have said no dressing bring me just vinegar - I did not. again #FAIL DAY TWO: First of all I got up at 5:30 and went to the hotel gym. YEAH! Then we headed to Six Flags - we walked 16,000 steps at Six Flags! That's like 7 miles. That alone made me feel pretty good about this day. At six flag...

Nothing exciting or new about todays typical menu and routine.  I did have a horrible end to my day and chose to come home after rehearsals instead of going to the gym. I had to pack for our High School Choir trip and wanted to see my hubby before he went to work tonight. Tomorrow I head off to Dallas for four days with our students and while there we are going to  1. a food truck park  2. spaghetti warehouse 3. cheesecake factory  4. dave and busters  5. six flags  6. a pizza party  UGH MY LIFE! I have packed bars, shakes, nuts, and oranges plus my supplements. I also looked at the menus to see what I could find that would work with my diet and think I will be ok. I packed gym clothes if there is time and Im not exhausted at the end of the day. I am going to try to focus on other aspects of the trip rather than the food. Typically when I go on vacation thats my favorite part of planning the trip "WHERE W...

Apparently I had a lot to cleanse out because as of today I am already down 6 pounds!!! SO CRAZY I guess it made me feel extra pretty so I decided to dress cute for work today! It was pouring down rain so it probably wasn't the best of options but I felt real cute. Today I packed pecans for my snack during boys choirs and had my regular shake for lunch. At the end of the day I had another spark to get my energy up before my trip to the gym after work.  Today I was rockin' my warrior dash tee!!!  When I got home I had berries for my afternoon snack! Apparently Emma wanted some too.  Tonight for dinner we had chicken breast with pasta and roasted garlic (same as day one) It was Emma approved. 

DAY THREE! That means no more fiber drink until day eight THANK GOD Today at school we had mock staar testing and so I sat in a hallway all day. I worked on learning the Portuguese for one of my UIL pieces and had a Pecan Pie Larabar. This flavor is probably my favorite. I had a mocha shake for lunch, spark after work before choir rehearsals, and celery and peanut butter on my way home.  Tonights dinner was sriracha salmon, asparagus, and quinoa.  Not too much to report today other than sticking to my routine and it's not hard at all. I honestly think the meal prep and organization of my daily packets saved my life.