Goal 2 of fixing breakfast was a success. Breakfast the first week was mostly hard boiled eggs and energy balls. Then things got a little busy and I didn't keep up with boiling eggs and I didn't get to make a second batch of energy balls, so I had to punt a few days. Breakfast on those days was a granola bar, a cheese stick, and an apple. Still considerably better than a daily heart attack in a sack from McDonald's.
Goal 3 is to start exercising. I've had a good month of making some dietary changes and now I want to bring in some physical effort. Hopefully this will give my first two changes a chance to become more automatic. I'm not going to lie, I've had a few Coke cravings and came close to giving in. As for the exercise, I'm going to focus on walking since that's relatively easy to incorporate and I can take Gunnar along with me. Freeman could use the walks too. I'll probably throw in a couple of bike rides if the weather is nice.
Stats after Goal 2:
- Weight: 223.8 lbs (down 4.2 lbs total)
- Pants size: 38 (no change; I did manage to squeeze into a size 36, but it was tight)
- Shirt size: XL (no change)
I have a really bad habit of picking up McDonald's for breakfast on my way to work. My usual order was either a Sausage McMuffin, hasbrown, and diet Coke or two hashbrowns and a diet Coke. I also enjoy the fruit and yogurt parfait. This habit was born mostly from laziness. Fixing breakfast takes time (either in the morning or the night before) and it was just easier to swing through the drive-thru right by work. Making a goal of fixing my own breakfast seemed like a natural progression after successfully giving up pop for two weeks. I will need to come up with some more ideas for breakfast that I can either eat quickly while getting ready or take with me to work so I don't get bored of eating the same things everyday. Some of my go-to breakfasts are hard boiled eggs, energy balls, yogurt, oatmeal (with brown sugar, walnuts, and Craisins), toast with butter or peanut butter, and bagels with cream cheese. I know, bagels aren't exactly healthy. My goal for the moment isn't necessarily to focus on the healthiest choice. I want to establish the habit of fixing breakfast first and gradually become healthier. And honestly, pretty much anything I fix will be healthier than what I've been eating.
Stats after Goal 1:
- Weight: 225.5 lbs (down 2.5 lbs)
- Pants size: 38 (no change)
- Shirt size: XL (no change)
My Dad turned us on to this VERY simple recipe when we were home a while ago. We call them energy balls. They are all over pinterest and are the easiest, most filling snack I have ever had. And they don't taste like you're being good, which is always a plus. I highly recommend making a batch. I grab two for breakfast as I'm running out the door and they hold me over until lunch. And bonus: they are totally customizable. :) Here's the recipe we use.
Cheers!
Energy Balls
1 cup dry oatmeal (oats)
2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
Toast coconut flakes in a small pan at medium heat on stove top. Keep moving the flakes around so they don't get burned. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. I try to put the chocolate chips on the bottom so the coconut doesn't melt them until I stir everything in. Let it sit in the fridge for a bit to harden up. Make into balls. Store in the fridge.
If you don't like chocolate, try dried fruit or nuts. And you can make these without including the flaxseed if you want.
I was feeling ambitious this morning (plus we were out of yogurt for smoothies), so I tried to make myself an omelet for breakfast. I've never tried it before and I found instructions in our copy of "Be Thrifty". I thought I was doing OK until the eggs were almost done. Somehow I got to the point that I couldn't get the uncooked eggs on top to drain under the fluffy cooked eggs. I think they cooked enough that they weren't runny enough to slide underneath, but they weren't cooked enough to not be a little runny. (Wow, that sentence is pretty craptacular) Nevertheless, I carried on and added my cheese, green peppers, and onions to the middle, folded it over, and slid it onto my plate. It looked great. In my haste to sample my concoction I forgot to take a picture. I was hoping that the slightly runny eggs would continue to cook a little bit and solidify. Sadly that wasn't the case. Plus my green peppers and onions were frozen and I didn't have them over the heat long enough to warm up. So my lovely looking omelet was filled with slightly runny eggs in the center and cold veggies. Next time I will try it with just two eggs and I'll find a way to warm up the veggies before I add them. I think having three eggs made the omelet too thick for the top to cook before the bottom started to burn. Or it was just my sloppy technique since this was my first attempt. Hopefully round two will go my way.
