YaY Phase 2!!

Hey everyone, Tim here! As you can see from the title, today is the first day of phase 2 of the South Beach diet. I was so excited for this day to come lol. Not that I'm complaining about the weight I lost on the first phase, but it is going to be so good to eat something other than salad for lunch. 


Today was kind of an eh kinda day. Gloomy all day with rain and wind. As my complaints were in past posts....it is January and it was in the 40's and raining. Not cool what so ever! Even last night there was a good size thunder storm with lightning and all. This warm crap going on in January needs to stop, but looking at the weather I don't think it is going to. 


Tonight Jamie and I had some pork tenderloin, green beans, and sweet potato fries for dinner. I don't know if it because I have not had any in a long time, but those fries were AMAZING! And tomorrow for lunch we are having a chicken couscous medley I will call it. It doesn't really matter what it is called....because there is NO LETTUCE in it at all! I don't have to make a dressing either. I do owe Jamie tho. Since she is on Primary Care rotation, she has monday's off. So she had lunch and dinner made for tomorrow basically by the time I got home from work. She had to make dinner because her hours tomorrow are kind of funky. She is working 1pm until 8pm. And she found out from her friends that there were night where they were still there around 9 or 10 so she wanted to prepare her dinner to take and so I wasn't waiting until then to eat myself. 


The weekend really can not come soon enough. Both Jamie and I get to go home this weekend. I am looking forward to seeing some old friends and visiting with family! The more I am down here, the more I realize that a life in Central Illinois would not be possibly for Jamie or myself. We both miss our families so much. I give props to my sister Kristie, I don't know how she does it. Maybe one day she will move back home :) I say that because I know she reads this :) Love you Pistie :) Well I think that is all for tonight everyone.


You stay classy Internet Land!
~Shake N Bake~

Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!

Hey everyone. So Tim just opened the blog page and set the laptop in my lap... I think he was trying to tell me something, lol. Well this weekend was a little busier than hoped. Tim got called in Friday night to salt and I was pretty exhausted from a busy week so I just watched tv and went to bed early. Saturday I was on call all day so we didn't do much. I went through a bunch of school papers and threw away all of my board studying material... YAY!!! I went through some old mail and balanced my checkbook (a little tear was shed, lol). Tim and I started watching NCIS Season 1 and then went to bed. Not 30 minutes into sleeping, I got called in to school. It was to do anesthesia for a dog who had multiple foreign bodies (basically any materials that won't pass through the digestive system). I was there from 11:30-4:30 and then came home and went to bed. Nonetheless, my morning was wasted catching up on sleep.

This afternoon, Tim and I went to Sams Club and stocked up on a bunch of meat and fish. We then went to the grocery store to get a few other things that we didn't get at Sams. After we got done it took us a few hours to get everything put away. Since we buy meat in bulk at Sams we have to split it up in to smaller portions and vacuum pack it (w/ our awesome FoodSaver). This way we can freeze everything and it will stay nice and fresh!

We made Asian glazed drumsticks and oriental cabbage/snowpeas for dinner. It was quite delicious. The only thing was the sauce didn't thicken like it was supposed to. We think it was because we used Splenda instead of sugar....

Otherwise that is about it... the diet is still going well. We joke around about ice cream, and other treats but haven't strayed away. We will be going home this weekend which may make it a little harder but will do our best. Today was the last day of phase 1 for now and we are moving to phase 2 tomorrow. Adding fruits and occasional bits of whole grain foods.

Well I have rambled on long enough... I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Looks like we are in for another thunderstorm... I think most of us are wishing it was all snow!

Better late than never

Hey everyone Tim here. Sorry that I wasn't able to get a post in yesterday. Jamie and I were just finishing up cleaning from dinner when my phone rang. I got called into work to go spread some salt, since we had a bit of an ice storm here last night. Sucks that I had to spend my friday night working but at the same time I am not going to complain about the overtime that I got for going in. I don't think that I mentioned this before,but in May Jamie and I and her family are taking a little vacation. I guess you can call it a big vacation considering that we are going to Hawaii. Jamie's boss at home was nice enough to give her a week of their timeshare. Which is awesome because we got to chose where we wanted to go, and how many chances do you get to go visit the Big Island.

I guess the only downside is all the money we have to save on not spend lol. But in the end I know that it is going to be worth it to basically take a trip that some people could only dream of taking. I guess everyone is figuring what why Jamie and I went on this diet in the first place.

I am so jealous about all the snow that Chicago got last night and Champaign didn't. Down south we really have not had a big snow so far and it is annoying me. Not only do I want to make some good money....but I am that kinda of person who looks forward to winter every year. Not saying that I don't love the warm weather of summer, but there is something about looking outside and having everything covered in white fluff that is amazing. Maybe in February we will get the big snow that I have been waiting for all year. Well that is all for now everyone.

You stay classy Internet Land!

Friday... I can almost taste it.

Hey everyone! Man Tm and I have been slacking on our posts lately. He has been busy with school and work and I have been pretty busy with school as well. I got called in Wednesday night to anesthetize a patient and was there from 6:30pm until 1:30am. Luckily Tim had dinner ready when I got home so I got a nice dinner before getting called in. He had dinner made two days in a row, it was such a nice surprise!

Well the diet has been going well this week. Not eating as many of our in between snacks which isn't that big of a deal, except it is good to eat smaller meals more often to keep your metabolism up. Tomorrow is another weigh-in so we will see how this week has been going. Today was hard for me because we had "food day" on our rotation. Everyone brought cookies, bagels, and lots of goodies! I made lemon cookies last night and tried one to make sure they were good, but didn't have anything today.

Today for lunch we had salmon and salad. For dinner we made venison burgers, green beans, and some other leftover veggies. I made a special/healthy dessert for us tonight.... chocolate ricotta mousse. It is similar to the ricotta creme we were having except a different texture basically. I hope its good!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/01/chocolate-ricotta-mousse.html

Well I hope everyone has been having a great week. I am exhausted and ready for this rotation to be over. Tomorrow we are extremely busy and then I am on call all day Saturday until Sun morning... hopefully it will be a semi-quiet weekend... fingers crossed...

Later friends!

Been a little while

Hey guys Tim here. Sorry it has taken us so long to post again. This weekend was a relaxing weekend for both 

Jamie and myself. Besides going to the store on Monday we literally did not leave the house, unless it was to go out back of our place to let Sadie run around a little bit just to wear her out. I would say we did a good job doing that. 

So, today was a big day. It has officially been 2 weeks since Jamie and I started the South Beach diet. And I do have to admit it that it has not been as horrible bad as I first thought it would be. Once I got over the fact that I had to eat a salad everyday for lunch, things started to go by smoother especially when I started to see those pounds shed off. Speaking of......since I start the diet I have lost a total of 13.2 pounds!! That is huge for me.

Jamie and I both decided that we were going to continue on phase 1 for another week to see if we can't lose some more poundage before we re-introduce fruits and a few carbs back into our regular eating habits. So we decided to take all the best meals of phase 1 and do another weekd of it. I am setting a goal for myself to hit the 20 pound mark by Tuesday of next week. I will keep you posted as much as I can of my progress.

You stay classy Internet Land!

Snow!

Hey everyone, its Jamie. I apologize I didn't write yesterday, yes it was my turn but I was exhausted. We have been super busy on my anesthesia rotation. Although I may only have one patient, my 10 other classmates all have patients too that need help, so its been super busy. Yesterday I got home and made dinner, made lunches/snacks for today, and then went and got in bed (at 8pm)! I read and relaxed for a little bit and then passed out.

Today was just as busy for me but even busier for Tim. He left this morning at 5:45 (ish) and hasn't been home yet. I just texted him to see if he has turned into an icicle yet, since he has probably been outside all day!

I made steamed broccoli and grilled pepper steak for dinner (along with some peppers/onions leftover from earlier this week). Leftovers are waiting for Tim in the refrigerator. I then made everything for tomorrow, which includes...

Breakfast = scrambled eggs
Morning snack = 2 turkey roll ups
Lunch = grilled hamburgers with salad
Afternoon snack = mozzarella cheese stick
Dinner = gingered chicken breast and some vegetables of some sort (I do not have the list in front of me right now)

Tim and I have been only doing dessert when we feel like it. And by dessert I mean ricotta creme with a little Splenda and vanilla. I have actually grown to like it. It is really good with a little fresh lime juice or lemon juice.

Well I hope everyone enjoyed the snow and was safe traveling. Be careful tomorrow and TGIF!

Just another Day

Hey guys and girls, Tim here. So let's start out with a little good news. We are supposed to get some snow Thursday!!!! WOOOOO! Bout damn time right?!?! Zero accumulations and it is January 10th already. Hopefully we will get more than expected and I will be able to rack up some overtime at work plowing snow. Oh sorry your gettin a dose of me 2 days in a row. Jamie got a case at school that she has to look up so I decided that I would write again. I think you will all survive. 

So today was another eh kinda day. One of those days where you are in a bad mood the hole day with no real apparent reason to be. That was me today. Today was the first day of my Plant Design Class. This class will be a breeze since my professor is amazing at what he does and knows how to make the classes fun and exciting. So even though I am going into turf everyone.....that doesn't mean that you can't pay me to design you a landscaping lol!!! Just kidding I give great discounts :) I know I didn't leave a menu yesterday, but tonight we have sauteed chicken with onions and South Beach Mashed Potatoes (cauliflower mashed up ). I swear the more I eat that and think that it is actual potatoes.....the more it tends to taste like potatoes.

Here is what we are in store to eat tomorrow:

Breakfast

Whatever is scheduled is nasty so scrambled eggs it is. 

Mid-morning snack

2 turkey roll ups

Lunch

Greek Salad (for me basically lettuce and cheese because everything else on it is NASTY!!)

Sugar Free Jello

Mid-afternoon snack

Celery with laughing cough cheese

Dinner

Fish Kabobs

Oven roasted vegetables

Sliced cucumber with olive oil (Jamie will have that one)

Dessert

Lemon zest ricotta creme

You stay classy Internet Land!

Better late than never

Hey everyone, Tim here. Sorry that I am writing so late. I am actually laying in bed right now lol. Tonight Jamie and I had a delicious steak and a couple sides for dinner that was actually very good. After dinner Jamie's friend Jess came over and hung out for most of the night. That is part of the reason why I am writing so late.

Today was kinda a eh kinda day. First day back at school and work. Back to working 40 hours and going to class full time. Back to being tired all the time :(. That is ok....Ill rest when I am dead right?!?!? The start of my last semester of school. Kinda sounds weird to say. Seems like only last week I decided to go back to school to complete my edumacation. Really hard to believe that 2 years have gone by and soon I will have to start looking for a big person job. I think that I am ready to take that next step though. Get a job....save up some money and who knows what will happen.

Well this is the time where I would usually put what Jamie and I would be eating tomorrow. But considering it is almost 10:00 and I don't have our cheat sheet in front of me, you all will just have to wonder for one day:) Hope everyone's week has started off ok and that the rest of the week just flies by.

You stay classy Internet Land!!

Sunday Funday!

Hey Everyone, its Jamie... So today was going to be a day of relaxing, however it kind of turned in to a day of cleaning/cooking. We bought a new vacuum yesterday so I vacuumed the entire house including the stairs and couches... so much pet hair! We cooked Chicken Caesar salad for lunch which was pretty delicious (minus the croutons). Then we took Sadie to the dog park to run around. There were probably about 30 dogs there, the most I have EVER seen! I did all our laundry today too, which means we have to put it all away tonight (boo!).

Tomorrow I start a new block, but it is the same rotation = Anesthesia. Two more weeks of it and I am done. Tim starts classes tomorrow but only has one in the morning and then work. Hopefully he will like these classes as much as he has liked most of his others.

Well that is about it, nothing too exciting going on. Hopefully this week will go by fast and easy! Prepared our snacks and lunch for tomorrow and here is what is on the menu:

Breakfast
6oz vegetable juice
Scrambled eggs (egg substitute)

Midmorning snack
Celery stuffed w/ 1 wedge laughing cow light cheese

Lunch
Crab Cobb salad
Sugar-free Jello

Midafternoon snack
2 slices low-fat mozzarella cheese w/ 2 slices tomato sprinkled w/ balsamic vinegar, olive oil, pepper (Tim will probably substitute)

Dinner
Marinated London broil
Surprise south beach mashed "potatoes"
Sauteed cabbage
Tossed salad w/ olive oil and vinegar to taste

Dessert
Lime zest ricotta creme

Hope everyone had a great weekend and has a great Monday!

YaY!! For the Weekend!

Hey everyone, Tim here! So here we are...the first weekend of the diet. Jamie and I have usually been making our lunches the night before. Kinda as we are making our dinner we are cutting everything up for lunches as well. It was really nice last night not having to make lunches. Once we were done with dinner we looked at the clocked and realized that it wasn't as late as it usually is. So we had the extra time at night to just sit on the couch and watch a movie together. Even though I had to keep nudging her to make sure she stayed awake until the end :)

So as you read yesterday in our blog.....yesterday was the first weigh in day since we started our diet last Tuesday. And I was a little skeptical that I had lost 5 pounds in 3 days. So I decided to weigh myself again this morning to see if the number had changed. This morning it had said that I lost another 3 pounds on top of that. So now I am really confused. It would be awesome if I had lost that much weight already, but I am not sure if the scale is wrong or if I actually lost the weight that it is saying.

I think Jamie and I are going to try and get all of our running around done today so tomorrow we can just relax all day. In a little while we are going to be going to the store to get all of the food that we need for next week and maybe take Sadie for a little walk to get our exercise in for the day. Then tomorrow we will probably get together with a friend or two and take Sadie to the dog park so she can get her running in and tire her out.

Here is what is on the menu for tomorrow:

Breakfast

Scrambled eggs w/ fresh herbs

2 slices of Canadian bacon

Mid morning snack

1 cheese stick (string cheese)

Lunch

Chicken Cesar Salad (no croutons)

Mid afternoon snack

low-fat cottage cheese with 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes and cucumber (lol not likely for me )

Dinner

Mahi Mahi

Oven roasted vegetables

Arugula salad

Dessert

Lemon zest ricotta creme

You stay classy Internet Land!

TGIF!

Happy Friday everyone! I have been waiting all week for this day to get here, and it finally is. I had a great day at school/work/clinics (whatever you want to call it) today, even though it was super busy and long. I anesthetized a huge Great Pyrenees (130 pounds) and got to place an epidural before his surgery (cruciate ligament repair). He was an overweight dog which made it more difficult and it was my first one... but success!

So today was the first weigh in since we started on Tuesday... and Tim and I both were happy with our results thus far... yay!!

So weekend plans = nothing! I am very happy to say that I am not on call and would like to do some cleaning, maybe take Sadie to the dog park, and kind of enjoy the weekend. We will probably have to go to the store at some point to get a few more things for next week. And speaking of the diet, here is what's up for tomorrow:

Breakfast
Western egg white omelet
Vegetable juice

Midmorning snack
2 turkey roll-ups (lettuce, turkey, red pepper, and green onion)
with cilantro mayonnaise

Lunch
Grilled sirloin hamburger
Tossed salad w/ olive oil and vinegar to taste

Midafternoon snack
Cucumber rounds (or celery for Tim since he doesn't like cucumbers)

Dinner
Balsamic chicken
Stewed tomatoes and onions
Sauteed cabbage (instead of spinach)
Tossed salad w/ olive oil and vinegar to taste

Dessert
Vanilla ricotta creme

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Day 3

Hey everyone, Tim here. Hope everyone's week is coming to a delightful end.  Today has probably been the best day of the diet so far for me. Had a shrimp salad for lunch that was actually decently good. And for dinner instead of the sirloin steak that we were going to eat, Jamie and I decided to use some of my venison steak instead which naturally would boost up the taste :). I really hope that results come along with this healthy eating. It would be very discouraging if it is all for nothing. The diet has us weigh ourselves every third day....so I am hoping that tomorrow morning I will be a little happier with the number on the scale.

Work as usual is very boring lol. Not that I am complaining to get paid to do basically nothing. I'm just praying that we will get some snow soon so I would have something to do and actually make a little extra cash. And today I finally buckled and went to the store and got some icy/hot for my back. I felt that it was slowly getting better but it still is sore when I bend over and stand back up. So hopefully that icy/hot does the magic that I know it can do. Other than that life at work is just peachy. 

Well lets find out what is in store for Jamie and I tomorrow for our meals. 

Breakfast

Scrambled eggs (substitute)

2 slices of Canadian bacon

Mid-morning snack

Celery stuffed with laughing cow cheese

Lunch

Chef's Salad (with ham, turkey, and cheese)

Mid-Afternoon snack

10 cherry tomatoes dipped in cottage cheese (I ain't eating that garbage :) )

Dinner

Orange roughy (we are having tilapia) in scallion and ginger sauce

Shredded Cabbage sauteed in olive oil

Steamed Snow Peas

Dessert

Mocha ricotta creme

You stay classy Internet Land!!!

Happy Hump Day!

Hey everyone, thanks for reading! So Tim told me it was time to make my debut and do a blog tonight, so here goes nothing. I haven't done a blog since myspace probably six years ago or more.

Well so far so good on the diet. We are eating a lot of vegetables and salad which I really don't mind anyway. I forgot how much work it was to prepare all the food/snacks for the following day. Luckily Tim has been a major help, tonight he had dinner started when I got home from school. So now our nights consist of cooking dinner and preparing meals/snacks for the next day.

I have unfortunately had a headache for the past two days and am not sure if its sinus/cold related or no-caffeine related. I stopped drinking my morning coffee... the diet says to drink decaffeinated (because caffeine increases your appetite), but I would rather not drink any than drink decaffeinated. Hopefully the headache will go away soon.

So, lets see whats in store for us tomorrow:

Breakfast
Asparagus & Mozzarella omelet
6oz. vegetable juice

Mid-morning snack
1 string cheese

Lunch
Dilled shrimp salad w/ herb-dill dressing
Sugar-free Jello

Mid-afternoon snack
2 ham roll ups (ham, lettuce, red pepper)
With cilantro mayo

Dinner
Broiled sirloin steak (we are substituting venison steaks instead)
Steamed broccoli
Broiled tomato
Surprise mashed "potatoes" (aka. masked cauliflower)

Dessert
Almond ricotta creme

Well that is all, time to eat dinner! Have a good night!

South Beach Day 1

Hey all, Tim here. So day 1 of the South Beach Diet is coming to an end. Jamie and I right not are sitting down to eat our ricotta cheese dessert. And I would have to say that today didn't go as bad as I thought it would go. I mean we aren't eating the best food I have ever had, but I think I will be able to make it through the hardest phase 1. 

Work on the other hand was a different story. Wasn't a good day to start off the week. Sometime throughout the day (not sure when exactly) I pulled or stretched a muscle in my back and now it is bothering me to bend over and what not. Just something that is going to take some time to heal and feel better. Good thing working on the grounds of a college, during the winter, doesn't entail much when there isn't any snow on the ground. 

That is another thing that is getting under my skin. It is January 3rd and it has not snowed enough to even cover the ground so I don't have to stare at dead grass. I had this whole plan to make some good money this winter plowing snow and so far have gotten nothing. It is getting aggravating and I am hoping the Mother Nature decides to wake up and realize that she is about a month late so far with the snow. 

Well that was my day today. Time to let everyone know what will be on the menu for Jamie and I tomorrow!!!!

Breakfast
Scramble eggs (egg substitute)
2 slices of Canadian Bacon
6oz. Vegetable Juice

Mid-morning Snack
2 Turkey roll-ups (turkey rolled in lettuce with scallions and red pepper)
Cilantro mayonnaise spread

Lunch
South Beach chopped salad with tuna
Sugar Free Jello


Mid-afternoon Snack
Celery stuffed with 1wedge of laughing cow light cheese


Dinner
Baked Chicken Breast
Roasted Egg Plant and Peppers
Tossed salad(with olive oil dressing)

Dessert
Mocha ricotta creme




You stay classy Internet Land!!!
 

The Begining of a Journey

The Calm before the Storm

Well my sister Kristie started doing a blog the other day to let everyone know how her life is going and what not. I thought this was an amazing idea and decided right away that I am going to do the exact same thing. Both Jamie and I are going to try our best to post daily so everyone can keep tabs on us and know how we are doing. 

Like many other people in the United States, Jamie and I made a New Year's resolution to go on a diet and lose some weight. I would be lying if I said that I had not made this resolution many times before. But this time it is going to be different. I am hoping that with both of us doing the diet we will have each other to lean on and we can both watch the pounds drop. 

There are hundreds of different diet programs out there that people have tried. Jamie and I are going to try out the South Beach diet. Jamie and her mom had tried it about a year back and both saw results from it. I am hoping that I will see the same results. For those who have never heard about the South Beach diet, it is basically a low carb, low sugar diet. It is going to be hard for me to get use to at first, but  with a little determination I think that I can make it through it. 


So what is in store for my stomach tomorrow you ask??

Breakfast
scrambled eggs (Egg substitute)
Vegetable juice
Coffee (sugar substitute)

Mid-morning snack
String Cheese (low fat)


Lunch
Grilled Chicken Breast on Romaine Lettuce
Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette
Sugar Free Jello


Mid-afternoon snack
Celery stuffed with one wedge of laughing cow light cheese


Dinner
Grilled Salmon w/ rosemary
Steamed asparagus
Tossed Salad w/ Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing


You stay classy Internet land!!