Green-Berry Smoothie for a change

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Today I felt thinner. So, I hopped onto the scale and found I still weigh 130 lbs.! Yeah!!!!! I think I attribute it to my morning smoothies and my calorie counting on SparkPeople. I try to stay within the required ranges and it is working. Now that I count my calories, I find that I don't eat as much as I did when I did not count them. I stopped the grazing "because it is there". I was notorious for eating walnuts (salted) or almonds. They are good for you but contain a lot of fat. You have to eat a serving, which is hard when you eat them out of the container. I also did not realize how low my protein levels were (I am a vegetarian), until SparkPeople (which was why I was eating all of the nuts). Now, I do my best to get to the range required. This has helped my body tremendously. I tried on a bathing suit this morning and the bottoms were falling down! Wow! They were a medium. Since that is one of my trouble spots, I am psyched!

I also attribute the weight loss to my running. I have learned so much about the sport from SparkPeople and the team you can join. If you haven't joined a group, please do so. You can connect with others and the wealth of knowledge out there is amazing. You can also learn from other's mistakes. I just love it and I am now running longer distances. I am even finding it "peaceful" to run without my ipod. I just get into a zone and enjoy the scenery. I wish I could get the hubby to run with me. Maybe this winter when he has more time.

My weight loss is on schedule for the end of September being 125 lbs. But I am good with 130. It is well within my range for my height and bone structure. I still have a little roll when I sit, but none when I stand. I am firmly a size 6 and probably a size 4 at some stores, since the 6 is a little loose.

I also do "fall off the wagon" when I go out to eat and on weekends. You can see the increase in calories on those days. But, we are all human, right? It is the nature of the beast. And it is perfectly okay to live a little.

Okay for today's ingredients in the smoothie. This made approximately 4 servings:

2 tbsp. chia seeds (soaked)

2 tsps. salba

1 packet berry amazing grass superfood

1 c. european nonfat yogurt (Trader Joes)

.25 c. strawberries

.5 c. fresh pineapple

1 c. blueberries

1 c. arugula

1/2 c. soy milk

1 c. water

1 c. crushed ice

Total calorie count: 449, carbs: 50, fat: 12, protein: 13

This is the total for all four servings. I am having 2 this morning for breakfast before heading to Ballys for the killer 75 minute HiLo with weights class and 15 minute yoga class.

Lynda