Y’all. I’m tired. Not a little tired, but I am frickin’ exhausted. I’m not sure if I’m not getting enough calories or maybe I’m just not getting enough sleep, but I haven’t been feeling like doing much of anything except sleeping and sitting in front of the TV.
Not sure if that’s change in diet or what.
I don’t really feel the need to veg out on terribly crappy food, which I had before. But, let me be clear. It’s not that I don’t want to stop at Whataburger or Chick-Fil-A and grab my usual, it’s more that I know if I do, I would negate any progress so far and would probably be in the bathroom so long I’d regret it.
Probably TMI, but I’ve even noticed a difference with just general digestion. (That’s a proper and ladylike way to say my poops different, y’all.)
So, in light of me missing a few days, today is actually Monday. I weighed today, but that’s tomorrow’s post! (And how I’ve changed my food to switch to the regular Nutrisystem platform instead of staying on FreshStart. I’ve honestly been losing so much hair that I think I need some more nutrients, so I’m switching off FreshStart a week earlier than I had intended.
One thing I learned a while back when I was doing the Optifast diet (a bariatic prep diet my doctor put me on where I lost 40 pounds and then gained it allllll back), was that anything under 800 calories makes my hair fall out. Now, according to my Numi app, I never got under 800 calories, but I think it also made the assumption that I was eating all of that food – and the last two days for dinner…
well…
Read on below. You’ll find out.
So I’ll stick to reviewing some of the foods I have not tried because there are starting to be some repeats for what I had in my box.
On one of the days I missed sharing with you, I had the Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal. Now, here’s something interesting. When you select your plan, Nutrisystem picks things that are Best for You and labels them as such. Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal was not on that plan, but it sent it to me anyway.
Popular Product Reviews by Amy had an amazingly realistic picture and since I failed to capture the pic, I found one on her site and grabbed a capture. (Thanks, Amy!)
There isn’t much oatmeal in here. Note that it’s a little less than what you’d get in the Quaker instant oats you’d buy in the hot cereal section. It was really good though. I did make it with unsweetened soy milk and found that it was so dry when it came out that I had to add some extra water to it to make it more of what I consider an oatmeal consistency. So if you’re cooking this one, add a little more liquid than what’s recommended – or be prepared to add some at the end of your cooking cycle.
Another day I had the Blueberry Lemon Baked Bar, which looked exactly like the picture from Nutrisystem. This one is another one of my favs. I’m finding I enjoy the bars quite a bit compared to some of the foods, which is a little bit of a shock for me. I’m not typically a bar person. However, this one isn’t on the Best for You list, so I won’t get it again. There is a chocolate one (so confusing) that is, so I’ll try that, next time. But, consistency, this was nice and crumbly and didn’t have the texture of a protein bar. It was soft and not overly sweet and I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t too dry and it tasted like a soft cereal bar. A fav, for sure.
I also had a Double Chocolate muffin (this one came with my FreshStart that I had saved) and I liked this one. The muffins aren’t on my Best for You list, but I had it, so I ate it. I liked this. I’m adjusting to the size/density of the muffins. I had to switch my lunch and breakfast one day, so this was lunch and I had a Ham/Beans soup for breakfast.
I can tell you, I don’t recommend that. Not the ham/beans soup, because I find I kind of like that, but switching their lunch/breakfast entrees messes with calories and I found myself very hungry by the time snack time came around.
So, in more enlightening news, I’ve mastered cooking those stupid little burgers. But, first, pictures! I did the grilled chicken sandwich and the hamburger again for two lunches and I definitely prefer the chicken sandwich.
So, if you’ll remember in a previous post, I nearly died from how dry the hamburger was and I noted I would try a few things.
First, I love that the meat is bigger than the patty. It means I get more protein than carbs!
Second, always always, always and forever make sure before you microwave this, wrap it in a damp paper towel. After I did that, I checked the sandwich and noticed one bun was warm and the center of the meat and the other bun were still a little cold in the center. I rewrapped just those and put them back in for another 15 seconds and…
It.
Was.
Perfection.
I added some raw spinach and stone ground mustard and was pleased at how filling this was. With the hamburger, I had it with brussel sprouts again and with the chicken sandwich, I had it with mashed cauliflower.
So, now feels like a good time to tell you this, too.
Cauliflower simply will never ever be a potato. No amount of mashing these wet liquidy (my word, ending in ‘y’) potato wanna-bes will ever make them taste like mashed potatoes. But, I will continue to try to find ways I can eat these because I want to like them, but for now, they taste like. Well…pardon me, but total shit. I mean, really.
Snacks to come up to date on:
Milk Chocolate Covered Pretzels and Stuffed Apple Pie.
Save the apple pie y’all. This thing is good. Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top and it’s simply amazing. The breading is perfect, the filling is hot, and the cinnamon adds just the right touch. Size wise, it was perfect.
The pretzels were like any store brand but a little more hollow and the chocolate was a little thick. But, if you like sweet/salty, this is a good option. Beware though – 6 pieces is considered serving size. So if you need quantity to munch on, stick to the popcorn or pretzels.
Dinner – all 3 days:
Meatballs in Marinara Sauce (Shelf Stable)
Ravioli with Meat Sauce (Shelf Stable)
Lasagna with Meat Sauce (Shelf Stable)
Pretty much can sum that up with that graphic. Shelf Stable meat is NOT on any future menus. All of these, I took like 3 bites and that was literally it. I couldn’t.
And guys, they added corn or beans or something lumpy into the lasagna. I had a harrowing memory of changing my kids first diaper in the beginning of that meal and nearly puked.
I’m almost done with the shelf stable stuff though. And after that, never friggin again. Ever. Meat in a box/can/tin/paper bag is a no-go from me and I will never ever touch it again. I’ve got two more left I think. The rotini (which I already know I hate) and the chicken alfredo. So I’ll suffer through those and get it over with.
Anyway, tomorrow I catch you up on weigh day and plan changes!
I’ve written enough. Wonder how many calories I burned writing that!
