Slender With a Blender

Hello family and friends!  Thanks for following along – and even joining me on my slenderizing, health improvement journey.  I have become aware of a number of friends and family members who are also doing the “Slender With a Blender Challenge,” with their own personal goals for our Valentine’s Day deadline.  Good luck, everyone!

 I hope this journal helps support you as you “shake your way to health.”  I certainly feel the support FROM you as we all follow the SWAB (Slender With A Blender) program.

 Today marks the completion of week two, and the beginning of week three (if you are just beginning, you are NOT ‘behind’ – just join in at any time).

 Here is my daily eating plan for week two:  Breakfast shake; a low-glycemic snack bar with a cup of coffee (or tea) mid-morning.  For lunch another shake; then an afternoon snack from the low-glycemic foods list (or a low-glycemic bar when I’m on the run).  Dinner has been salads, sautéed or steamed veggies, and some type of protein serving such as meatballs, chicken, or fish.

 I attended three social gatherings this past week.  In past diets I have found social events challenging to stick to my diet!  This time, I found it was easy to avoid the bread, and the sugary drinks, and stay on the plan – I can tell that my sugar-cravings have been greatly reduced due to my low-glycemic eating plan.

 However(!), on Day 12, I did have a “cheat day”.  I had begun the day in my new healthy way, “breaking my fast” with the Mexican Jumping Bean shake (p.8) for breakfast, and really enjoying my Chocolate Cherries shake (p.15) for lunch.  When I arrived at the get-together I mentioned earlier, I joined in the festivities with a glass of wine and some cheese.  After dinner the desserts were presented, and I ate one of  “you HAVE to break your diet for this!” homemade brownies.  It was delicious and buttery, bittery, chocolatey good, and I only ate one (this is noteworthy, since I formerly would have enjoyed two or more!).  You can believe it, I savored every morsel… Truthfully, it was good, and I don’t regret it.

 I haven’t been feeling deprived at all using the Slender With a Blender weight management plan.  I mean, look at the recipes – I can have yummy-yet-low-glycemic treats every day!  I find that the shake recipes with the melted bittersweet chocolate in them, make me feel very indulged.

 My body feels well-nourished, and I’m not hungry or craving my usual ‘down-fall’ foods!  By dinner time, I look forward to having something savory (veggies & chicken – yum!).   I am going to sample some of those savory shake recipes in “Jenny’s chapter” soon…

 I have to say that it was a really good thing that I started carrying around low-glycemic snacks, especially the peanut crunch bar. When snack time rolls around, I really need that bar at my fingertips.  I was glad that I carried around a few to share with friends and co-workers, too.  I have some other great tips on handy, low-glycemic snacks that I will be discussing in upcoming blogs.

 As far as actual weight loss this week?  I was SO busy that I wasn’t able to schedule my official weigh-in.  The button on my slacks today, tells me that I’m trimming down, and that is so important – I am aiming at trimming my mid-section for optimal health.  So, I will weigh in again as my schedule permits, and report to you, my loyal readers!

 I hope you’ll continue to check in with me on the weekly blog – there are so many diet and health tips I plan to share, and I love getting the feedback!  I really look forward to hearing from you on your own “SWAB Challenge”!

Do you have your own favorite recipe yet?  Please let me know, and thanks for continuing to check in… Have a SWABBIE day!  Two weeks down!  21 more to go!