Day Thirteen - Cycle One

Good Morning Everyone!

THANK YOU!
     First of all, I want to thank everyone who is chiming in and letting me know you are out there supporting me.  It really means a lot after a day like yesterday.  This is war, and I need allies in order to surround the enemy fat and annihilate them!  I'm taking back possession of my body!  There will be NO prisoners!  It's not even an option.  So you faint of heart, better close your eyes ad plug your ears.  This is really happening!  I can handle the days hunkered down in the trenches.  It's the days out on foot patrol in front of window reflections that are the hot zones.  Stay with me on those patrols, will ya?

TODAY'S POSTING
      Secondly, I want to let everyone know that I am back to feeling better today.  I feel and see my progress.  I know that I have a lot to lose (I wonder of the animal activists are going to rally and protest  the slaying of the baby elephant in my stomach?), however, I am re-focused on achieving small successes until I reach my goal.  BTW, for those paying attention, after a conversation with my beautiful older daughter, I re-calculated my goal weigh loss.  It's even worse than first suspected!  I want to lose 197 pounds.  I will disclose later the reasons for that, but I can't right now for two reasons.  One is I don't want to, and the other is it will give something away that I am not ready to let go yet.  Hang with me and you will be around for the revelation later on.

     I got up at 7:30, after my son took baby girl to school and went off to college himself.  I made my lemon water.  CAN ANYONE SAY THERAFLU?  Yuck!  That water really needs to be at the correct temperature to get down. Otherwise, it's worse than medicine.  Nonetheless, I got it down for the 13th day in a row.  I made my green tea (which I am running low on now.  I have 1 and 1/4 packets left.  What is a girl to do?) and I drank that while checking emails, blog, facebook, and farming my land on farmville.  Plus, I ate my ritual yogurt and apple this morning.
    
      At 11, I took a little nap because I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, they were burning, and I was freezing.  Heat in my house is a rare thing.  I am not giving all my money to the man!  He has enough!  We need all we can get.  The only way to get warm is blankets, slippers, and jackets, and I do not own a jacket.  Therefore, I head to the blankets.  Before I start getting a slew of emails from all you concerned people about me needing a jacket because its so cold out, I do not have a jacket by choice!  I don't like them.  I get too hot.  Genetically, my peoples come from Norway, Sweden, Yugoslavia, and Poland.  I am genetically predisposed and acclimated to the colder climes.  Thank you very much though.  I really hate being hot.  I would rather be freezing than hot.  However, once you get snuggled down with a blanket, its nearly impossible not to nod off.
     I woke up at 12:50.  Took a shower.  Started this blog post.  Had to leave in the middle to go get the little bit/  Took an apple and 2 waters with me (one bottle =2+).  I ate my apple waiting for the bus.  Drank my water after walking to her school.  Was practically starving waiting for the bus to bring us down closer to our home, and still had another 15 minute walk to wait. I should have eaten lunch before going to get her, but I decided to wait, therefore, I had my first experience with feeling starved since I started the plan.  Note to self:  Eat every 2-3 hours!  Don't wait.   I heated leftovers from last nights stir fry.  It's nice to have something warm to eat after being out in the cold wind.  BTW, I do have long sleeve shirts, and today I am wearing a long sleeve thermal Henley.  So , I do stay warm enough.  I made another cup of tea - well I warmed the cup I prepared prior to leaving to get baby girl,but did not drink.  Now, I have to wait for dinner.  I haven't decided what to do for dinner.  Although, I am seriously thinking about doing chicken Parmesan with broccoli and cauliflower.   I know inquiring minds want to know, and mine is no different.  I will let you know when I decide....

TODAY'S STATISTICS

     Green Tea = 4; Water = 6; Probiotics = 2; Proteins = stir fry chicken breast and more (baked) chicken breast; Vegetables = broccoli (lots), snow peas, onions (tons), mushrooms (tons), cabbage, carrots,; Fruits = 2 apples; Exercise =2 hours!  Yeah - feel the burn and the aches in my back!  Outlook = positive.

TODAY'S RECIPE

     I decided to make the parm chicken breasts with steamed broccoli covered in onions and mushrooms.  I am using two recipes combined to make this recipe edible for me.  I have a usual recipe for Parmesan chicken, which I am going to alter with some suggestions from Dr. Mike's Eggplant Parmesan recipe.

     4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (adjust for your family size.needs)
     3 egg whites
       fat free Parmesan cheese

     Pound the chicken breast with mallet until about 1/2 inch thick.  Soak in egg whites until thoroughly covered.  Press into the Parmesan cheese until fully coated.  If you are having trouble getting the parm to stick to the chicken, re-coat with egg whites and then re-cover with more parm.  Bake on 350 degrees for 30 minutes (45 if you are not covering it with marinara - see below)  Slice through to make sure chicken is cooked thoroughly..  
     The fat free (you can use low fat if necessary) parm replaces the bread crumbs from my normal recipe.   Egg whites replace the whole eggs scrambled coating.

     VARIATIONS ON EATING THIS PARMESAN CHICKEN
        
       1.     Use low fat marina.  After chicken  has baked 30 minutes and is crispy take it out of the oven and cover it with marinara.  Bake another 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly. 

                 a.     Serve with vegetables of your choice. 
                 b.     Other family members can eat it with pasta (penne goes great). 
                 c.     If you are at cycle 3, you can eat it with whole wheat pasta.

     2.     Bake chicken parm for 40-45 minutes (DO NOT ADD MARINARA), and serve with steamed vegetables.

     3.    Bake chicken parm for 40-45 minutes (DO NT ADD MARINARA), and grill up a huge pile of onions and mushrooms to cover your parm chicken with. 

     (BTW - my grilled onions and mushrooms are prepared as follows:  tsp of olive oil, onions, mushrooms, salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste - yummy - tastes like chili's! - NO BUTTER OR MARGARINE))

     4.  Bake chicken parm for 40-45 minutes (DO NOT ADD MARINARA), and serve with a pile of onions and mushrooms (they are vegetables too) covering your chicken and  other vegetables.  This way you get lots of flavor and tons of vegetables!

     Let me know if you try this and like it.  I, too, would like to have some new recipes, so anyone being creative out there, pass them along please.
    
     OMGosh!  This recipe is delicious!  I made it with the grilled onions and mushrooms with steamed broccoli.  It all went together so well.  The parm makes the chicken crispy, crunchy and tasty.  The onions & mushrooms added flavor to the protein and veggies.  The fam enjoyed it with penne pasta and marinara sauce.  I hope you will try it and like it.  Let me know....